Escambia County Commissioner Lumon May and County Administrator Jack Brown showed Pensacola Mayor Ashton Hayward how to reach out to neighborhoods when they toured the Tanyard neighborhood impacted by City’s Government Street Stormwater Project. Residents were relieved that the county’s soil tests confirmed the ground wasn’t contaminated with Lindane, and they were pleased to have an elected official listen to their issues.
Unfortunately, Mayor Hayward and City Administrator Eric Olson were no-shows.
City Engineer Derek Owens promised Commissioner May the big excavators and the filtration equipment will be removed by this weekend and a construction fence will be installed.
Commissioner May and Councilwoman Sherri Myers have been told the stormwater project is running behind schedule and is over budget. The city’s website states the project will be completed December 2016 and gives no facts about costs overruns.
Meanwhile, Mayor Hayward made the cover of Pensacola Magazine – title of the article: “Mayor With A Mission.â€
UWF Football Gift
University of West Florida alumnus Darrell Gooden, founder of Gooden Homes, gifted $100,000 to the UWF football program. Gooden’s contribution will help address the growing program’s facility and equipment needs.
Hayward Has A Study
The PYP Quality of Life Study revealed that less than half of the city’s residents believed the City of Pensacola is headed in the right direction. This week Mayor Hayward released a new study that shows nearly 70 percent believe it is headed in the right direction–a 30-point swing in four months.
The findings of the third annual City of Pensacola Community Survey that Mayor Hayward touted:
1. 69.3% of respondents said the City is headed in the right direction.
2. The report identified three areas of concern, down from five in 2015.
3. There was a 14% increase in the percentage of respondents who said they were “satisfied†or “very satisfied†with the value of services provided by the City compared to the taxes they pay.
4. The percentage of respondents who were “satisfied†or “very satisfied†with the ease of obtaining information about City services rose by 21%
Hooray!
But there’s a problem. The survey is heavily skewed towards the city’s whitest, more affluent neighborhoods on the east side – Districts 1, 3, and 4.
The neighborhoods that have had the most problems with Mayor Hayward and his administration – North Hill, Tanyards, and west Pensacola – were interviewed half as often. In fact, District 7 made up less than 8% of the respondents, even though it has 13.5% of the city’s residents – more than Districts 1 and 3. The housing projects were not well represented in the poll either.
The survey tracked the answers of 444 respondents. Districts 1, 3 and 4 (the city’s easternmost districts) comprised 252 of the respondents; Districts 5, 6 and 7 (westernmost) only 123. However, Districts 5, 6 and 7 have more residents than Districts 1, 3 and 4 – 43.3 percent of city residents vs. 41.1 percent.
The population of Pensacola is 30.4 African-American and other minorities. Districts 1, 3 and 4 are 89.4 percent white.
We aren’t sure if Mayor Hayward instructed Haas Center to focus on the city’s east side that has historically had few problems with city services and has been less engaged in city issues or did the UWF Haas Center botch the survey.
Inweekly has commissioned a phone survey of Districts 5, 6 and 7. It will be interesting to see how they view the direction of the city and quality of its services. Whatever the results, we will publish them after the first of the year. The west side deserves to have a voice.
Future of Bay Center
The Escambia Board of County Commissioners is looking at a Visit Pensacola and Pensacola Sports proposal to demolish the aging Pensacola Bay Center and replace it with a multi-use, indoor sports facility. Stay tuned.