When the Escambia County Commission felt the park deal wasn’t done properly last September, it voted it down and had staff rebid it. The commission still bought the property, but the public trust was renewed by holding to the proper process. County Administrator George Touart lost his job (retired? or resigned?) over not properly disclosing all aspects of the deal, particularly his businesses relationships with the owners and their agents.
The Pensacola City Council needs to do the same thing here. I feel for Julian MacQueen because none of this is his fault, but city staff blew this. It can’t be swept away as a simple mistake.
Furthermore, the City Council should hire an independent investigator to interview all personnel involved with this deal and report back to the council.