Recycling
Mayor D.C. Reeves admitted that thinking the City could pick up 21,000 recycling cans in a week was “a little ambitious.” City crews are continuing to pick up the cans, and the mayor asked residents to keep them on the curb.
“We’ve been double timing, brought on additional staff and rented some trucks. We’re going as quickly as we can. As you can imagine, picking up 21,000 recycling cans is heavy lift,” said the mayor.
He hesitated giving a deadline by which all the cans would be picked up. “We appreciate everybody’s patience. I know we are moving from the north part of the city further south in general.”
The mayor hopes to have a recycling transfer station for residents to drop off their recyclables set up on Leonard Street by Monday, Nov. 1. But he asked the media to “put it in pencil.”
Fricker Center
Mayor Reeves said the public comment period for suggestions to improve the Fricker Center has been extended to Monday, Oct. 16. The public input will be used to complete an application for $4 million to enhance the education, health and employment services at the community center. Grants are through the Florida Department of Commerce’s Multi-Purpose Community Facilities Program, which has designated $83.9 million for such improvements.
The mayor pointed out the city already has received $5 million for stormwater and hardening of the Fricker Center. He said, “If awarded that would give us another $4 million, we’d at 9.5 million to really do something transformative there.”
Old Baptist Campus
The City continues to negotiate with Baptist Hospital on its abandoned E Street campus.
“We’ve shared our thoughts and some discussions, things that we wanted to see in the donation agreement with Baptist last week. They have returned a draft donation agreement for legal to review and all of that. I have not reviewed it yet, but it should have reflected some of those things. And what we also know is that there may be some sister agreements or addendums to or separate agreements that one thing that we’re considering is the potential donation of property in advance that we ask at Baptist to donate US property now. And that if we don’t meet certain benchmarks, if we aren’t able to raise the money, then we deal with that at that time.”
To get an appropriation bill to the Florida Legislature to pay for the demolition of the old hospital and medical towers, the mayor wants an agreement reached this month.
Malcolm Yonge Center
The bids for demolition go out this week, and the solitication period ends Monday, Nov. 6. City staff is working on the workforce housing options for the site.
“We have our folks analyzing what can and can’t be done in terms of workforce housing; how many units could be built there as the current zoning allows, knowing that Senate Bill 102 could change things,” Mayor Reeves said. “We want to set the groundwork for RFP for workforce housing that you would be able to put X number of units under the current rules. Our housing and planning departments are working in hand in hand with the CRA to figure out what that is.”
North Pensacola Police Substation
The mayor wants to add a police substation outside of downtown. He said, “We’re looking for potential places for a police substation on the north side of the city. A lot of time that would normally be out working through those neighborhoods and having additional police presence has been spent in transit. And so, we thought we’d try to figure out a good partnership to establish a police substation in that Ninth Avenue area.”
The City has identified a potential location, but the mayor wouldn’t give any details because the negotiations are ongoing. He expects to finalize a deal in the next two weeks.
Co-responder Policing
Mayor Reeves said the two social workers who will work with the Pensacola Police Department are scheduled to report for work on Monday, Oct. 16. He expects them to be on the street by Nov. 1 after they complete the PPD onboarding process.
“Once they’re on board, I want to convene a meeting of every resource there is in mental health and homeless reduction and let’s get them in the Rolodex and educated and to really make sure that all of these resources that have been in our community for years and years understand this is not us and them, this is all of us,” Mayor Reeves said. “Our intent with this model is to further accentuate and improve our ability to help people in need.”
He added, “This is us stepping up to the plate.”