Pensacola Mayor D.C. Reeves held his regular press conference this morning, highlighting the city’s recent resident satisfaction survey results. The survey, conducted by the University of West Florida Haas Center, showed that 70% of residents believe the city is heading in the right direction – the highest percentage since 2017 and a three-point increase from last year.
HIGH MARKS: The comprehensive survey gathered input from 1,504 city residents and revealed strong support for several city services. Pensacola International Airport received a 78% favorable rating, while the Port of Pensacola came in at 71%. The 311 service saw a significant improvement, jumping 11 points from last year to reach a 53% favorable rating. Mayor Reeves proudly noted that open service tickets have been reduced from over 2,000 when he took office to between 70-80 currently.
Public safety departments received exceptionally high marks, with the fire department earning an impressive 98% favorable rating and the police department at 79%.
Parking and Traffic Safety Updates
The survey showed strong resident support (81%) for implementing discounted parking permits for city residents, which Reeves confirmed is still in development.
On the topic of red light cameras, the mayor revealed that February saw 2,300 violations at just four intersections, averaging 82 per day. The worst offending location was 9th and Bayou, where 34% of violations occurred at night. Rather than seeing this as a revenue generator, Reeves emphasized safety, noting that all funds collected will be directed toward public safety improvements.
When confronted with this increase in violations, Mayor Reeves acknowledged the numbers but suggested it was too early to draw conclusions. He argued that one month of data isn’t enough to determine effectiveness, saying: “Well, listen, certainly I understand the media world because it’s new, there’s lots of attention around it, and in the grand scheme of life, one month is not going to tell the tale.”
Economic Development Progress
The mayor also discussed ongoing economic development, highlighting that ST Engineering is moving 200 positions from Mobile to Pensacola, including their entire senior leadership team. This transition is expected to occur over approximately six months, with significant movement in the next 60 days.
- When I asked if all funding was secured for Hangar 4, Mayor Reeves acknowledged that they don’t have complete funding yet. He explained that the funding stack was established nine years ago (around 2015-2016), and construction costs have significantly increased since then, especially post-COVID. Due to the funding gap, Reeves indicated they’re likely to build a “modified version” or “smaller version” of the original hangar design while trying to maximize job creation and productivity.
Current Strategy: For now, they plan to “extract everything that we can out of the existing funding” rather than seeking additional funding sources. Mayor Reeves made it clear that while he’s willing to participate in discussions about additional funding, he doesn’t see the burden falling primarily on the city: “If we’re 30, 40 million short of a hangar, I don’t see that burden being primarily [on the] city.”
Relationship Status: Despite the challenges, Reeves expressed confidence in the current relationship with ST Engineering, saying communication and transparency are “as good as it’s been since this project started.”
Bay Center Future
When asked about the Bay Center’s future, Reeves expressed support for Commissioner May’s proposal for a joint task force between city and county officials. “What we all want is to get the outcomes,” Reeves stated, suggesting that renovation of the existing facility should be the first priority before considering any new construction.
He emphasized the importance of getting everyone in the same room: “What we don’t want to do is spend… I can guarantee you all five commissioners, all seven city council members; I can speak confidently that we all don’t want to dance around for four years psyching about what we may or may not do.”
His personal priority is renovating the existing facility before building anything new. “If we were to just start it at step one, it’s going to be hard for me personally to support anything ahead of the renovation of the basin.” He suggested this could be a starting point of common ground.
When PNJ’s Jim Little asked if Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) funds might be part of the conversation, Reeves kept options open.: “I feel like if the city’s going to play a part in it other than it being in the city limits, then we should always approach that with an open mind.”
The mayor suggested creative funding approaches could include parking revenues or CRA dollars for adjacent properties like the Grand Hotel.
Community Events
Reeves concluded by mentioning that the next Mayor’s Neighborhood Cleanup is scheduled for March 29, focusing on the northern East Hill area and surrounding neighborhoods.
Residents can find additional details about all these initiatives, including the full survey results and neighborhood cleanup boundaries, on the city’s website.
