The Pensacola City Charter allows for citizen-led referendums. We’ve covered all the petition drives over the past 25 years. Unfortunately, many wild conspiracies, allegations, and analogies have been part of the process.
As we have in the past, we will challenge them as they surface.
Ann Hill, former District 6 councilwoman, posted this on her Facebook page:
YOU CAN’T HAVE IT BOTH WAYS. On the one hand, we are thrilled about Pensacola hosting the Sun Belt Conference Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championship in Pensacola March 5 – 11. It will be at the much-maligned and demolition-threatened Pensacola Bay Center. On the other hand, our mayor and city council want to demolish the perfect space to host local at-risk youth for basketball tournaments at the Malcolm Yonge Community Center.
Let’s support basketball locally for all ages, skills, and income levels.
Save the Malcolm Yonge gym!
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There is no connection between the Pensacola Bay Center and Malcolm Yonge Gym, except they have basketball courts.
- The Escambia County Commission controls Bay Center; Pensacola City Council/CRA controls the Malcolm Yonge Gym.
- There is no engineering report stating the Bay Center is unsafe for public use; the Malcolm Yonge Gym was closed due to severe structural issues. The gym is far from being the “perfect space.”
Dig Deeper: From JDA Structural Engineers’ report on the gym’s arches:
The seven (7) glue-laminated wood arches supporting the roof are severely damaged. The damage is the result of long-term moisture exposure combined with the accompanying effects of certain wood-destroying organisms. The condition of the arches is very poor and they are nearing failure. The building is thereby deemed unsafe for occupancy. Temporary shoring will be required at all arches if repairs are attempted.
Our structural condition survey of the arches is presented as Exhibit A to this document and addresses arch deflection, delamination, and decay. The overall rating for all seven arches is 20. This rating represents a (near) failure condition. This rating system is based on NAVFAC MO-111.1, Inspection of Wood Beams and Trusses.
Read Malcolm Yonge_Glulam_Arch-Structural Report and look at the photos. The wood is so rotten that you can easily push a screwdriver into the wood.
The report at the link above was a “Limited Structural Assessment” dated April 21, 2023. A copy was not provided to the council or CRA. I gave them the key pages in September which is when they found out about it. The key part of the report reads: “We recommend that the building not be occupied at this time. It should be temporarily shored up if occupancy is required for any length of time such as during the future assessment or repair phase. An inspection of the entire facility for wood destroying organisms should be conducted by appropriate personnel and a report provided. We recommend proceeding with a continued comprehensive building assessment to include all structural and non-structural systems. The comprehensive assessment must include a cost analysis addressing all required repairs. The feasibility of repair versus demolish/rebuild should be evaluated and presented as part of a comprehensive building assessment.” None of that has been done. The council claims the city can’t afford to do it. I disagree. As recently as December, Mayor Reeves said that the city had a good idea about the condition of the gym. He estimates it would cost $3 million to refurbish the gym. That seems like a bargain and a lot cheaper than a new Malcolm Yonge Gym II. Of course, Reeves ‘ primary focus is only on converting the land to housing for the homeless. Six councilmembers agree with him though I wonder how they’ll feel when he comes for a park in their district. Councilman Bare remains the only pro-park councilmember.