The Escambia Board of County Commissioners may need to clarify where District 2 Commissioner Doug Underhill resides before it discusses the proposed county budget at today’s workshop that’s scheduled to begin at 9 a.m.
According to a general warranty deed filed with the Clerk of Courts on July 1, the Underhills sold their River Road homestead for $800,000 to Dearmancorp on June 27. Dearmancorp is the Mississippi developer that created Mallory Square North in Perdido Key. The commissioner’s signature is witnessed by the wife of his aide.
According to the clerk’s website, the Underhills were able to use the proceeds to satisfy a mortgage with United Bank.
Underhill was given a residency exemption for his River Road residence after the board redrew the district boundaries so he could complete his term in November, but that exemption goes away if he no longer lives there.
According to Florida law, the residency requirement for an office is a continuous one. Failure to maintain the residency throughout the term results in vacancy of the office.
During his ethics hearing, Underhill participated online – with roosters crowing in the background – from a Cassidy Road residence he owns in District 5. Is there where he’s living now?
The commissioner can maintain his residency if he rents a home, apartment or condo inside the new District 2, which he may have done. District 2 residents need to know whether he has left their district. The commissioner should be able to provide some proof – a rental agreement or utility bill maybe.
The Escambia County Board of County Commissioners will hold budget workshops Tuesday, July 12 and Wednesday, July 13. Both meetings begin at 9 a.m. and will take place in the board chambers of the Ernie Lee Magaha Government Building, located on the first floor of 221 Palafox Place. Click here to view the July 12 agenda. Click here to view the July 13 agenda.
Escambia County uses CivicClerk for its agenda, backup documentation, meeting minutes management, board and citizen portal, and electronic voting. The video from a past meeting and a link to the minutes are also available to view when clicking on a prior agenda in CivicClerk. This meeting will be streamed live and archived online for virtual viewing.
All commission meetings can also be viewed live on MyEscambia.com/ectv, YouTube, channel 4/1004 on Cox, channel 98 for Spectrum and Mediacom (Pensacola Beach) subscribers and channel 99 for AT&T U-verse subscribers.