Posted in Escambia County

Stroberger Must Explain Perdido Switch

   June 30, 2025

Escambia County’s two new commissioners have an affinity for operating outside the sunshine. District 4 Commissioner Ashlee Hofberger ordered countyDistrict 1 Town Hall Image staff to drop a new changing room building on Pensacola Beach that was ready to begin construction and reallocate the remaining funds to a decorative arch at the foot of the Bob Sikes Bridge.

  • Hofberger rushed her pet project and avoided any public input, only to see her design ideas blasted by the public.

District 1 Commissioner Steve Stroberger canceled a $2.8 million RESTORE project that would have constructed additional public access on Perdido Key, where current public access points are routinely overwhelmed.

  • Less than year after the county commission approved Amendment 3, Stroberger pushed staff to drop the project and resurrect a five-year-old project to expand the Galvez Landing boat launch.

Stroberger will have to defend his unilateral decision tonight for the first time at his town hall. The reason for dropping beach access given in Amendment 4 is: “Due to the property owner’s desire to sell at a price far above its appraised value, the County has decided that the purchase of the property would not be a prudent use of RESTORE Direct Component funds.”

  • The commissioner will need to prove that statement tonight.

Background

Description of the beach access project:

Planning Assistance $147,600
Property Acquisition $2.75 million

Escambia County has prioritized enhancing public access to the Gulf of Mexico. The Perdido Key Beach Public Access Project is a land acquisition and construction activity that will fund the land purchase and eventual building of public infrastructure improvements designed through Pot 1 Project RDCGR080411-01-00. These improvements will facilitate public access to the Gulf of Mexico, attract additional people to the community, and enhance the economy.

Potential amenities include public parking and a dune walkover with observation platform. Undeveloped areas may be enhanced through habitat restoration to maximize benefits to the endangered Perdido Key beach mouse. A near-shore artificial reef may be designed and permitted for increased recreational opportunities and to improve fishery habitat for snorkeling, diving or fishing. Public access infrastructure provides access to the artificial reef, allowing for the resources to be enjoyed by the public.

Hub Stacey has a project ready to go adjacent to Galvez Landing. He has been sitting on it for six years. See plans.

  • One More Thing: Before any project is approved, the county should have UWF check out the site. The name “Galvez Landing” may be tied a possible landing of Galvez on the site.

Commissioner Steve Stroberger has had several initiatives since taking office in November 2024, with mixed results:

  • Selling OLF-8 to Fred Hemmer – Failed
  • Moving Poker Room owned by the Poarch Creek Tribe to a site closer to I-10 —Success
  • Using Tourist Development Revenue Funds for Chappie James Memorial Plaza Outdoor Museum – in Limbo
  • Drop RESTORE project for Public Access at Perdido Key and replace with an expanded boat launch at Galvez Landing to help developer – TBA

TOWN HALL

District 1 Commissioner Steve Stroberger will hold a town hall today, Monday, June 30 at 5 p.m. at Liberty Church, located at 2221 S. Blue Angel Parkway. Residents are invited and encouraged to attend.

During the town hall, Commissioner Stroberger will discuss Sorrento Road and the proposed Galvez Landing Boat Ramp Project. Escambia County staff will be in attendance to address any comments or concerns from residents. This meeting will be streamed live on the Escambia County YouTube channel.

For more information, please contact the Office of District 1 at 850-595-4910.

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Author: Rick Outzen

Rick Outzen is the publisher/owner of Pensacola Inweekly. He has been profiled in The New York Times and featured in several True Crime documentaries. Rick also is the author of the award-winning Walker Holmes thrillers. His latest nonfiction book is “Right Idea, Right Time: The Fight for Pensacola’s Maritime Park.”
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8 thoughts on “Stroberger Must Explain Perdido Switch”

  1. I am ashamed that ever gave Steve any advice. Luckily he never took it.
    This project had been in Q for years. Had he followed through there could have been a pristine beach 3 times as big as the current access. The road side of that acquisition could have quadrupled parking and provided a platform for a few small vendors, both of which could have been a revenue stream to keep the beaches clean.
    Steve is either very short sighted or….something worse. SHAME ON YOU

  2. I worked in the offshore industry for more than 30 years with about half of my time spent on the GULF OF MEXICO. Thanks for not caving to populist nonsense.

  3. I think that unilateral decisions are a red flag that immediately causes skepticism about future decisions. Bottom line, I think the rhetoric we heard from candidates means nothing. Councilman Strohberger ran on transparency and honesty. It may be just one situation, but I’ll be skeptical going forward.

  5. We should all remember the Perdido Key Association pole that suggested property owners on perdido key overwhelmingly oppose more public beach access for Escambia residents is overwhelmingly voted on by owners outside of our state!!! Check the numbers of those opposing Escambia citizens having more access vs those owning property outside of our area!!! Shocking similarities!!! Poles and surveys for local issues should be disregarded by politicians when the majority of those involved are not in our community!!!

  6. Correction: The Gulf of America! Strohberger was the biggest fraud ever placed on the Perdido community. The scamming incorporation group (local builders/developers) were behind helping him getting enough votes. The people were hoodwinked.

  7. Deja Vu, seems as though Commissioner Stroberger was paying attention when Doug Underhill used this same bait and switch back in 2015-2018. Wound up with Beach Access #4 being opened up. Maybe the same type result could happen again, keep your fingers crossed.

  8. Anybody who had the misfortune to be witness to Doug Underhill’s horrendous special-interest mismanagement of District 2 can see in the blink of an eye that Stroberger is simply picking up where Doug left off, with Jonathan Owens back to run that old, tired, developer’s puppet playbook. Jonathan ought to know it in his bones, as he’s the one who put it together for Doug, whose job it was to be the endlessly yammering head.

    I wonder what the going rate for kickbacks is these days, and who has their hand out for them…

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