(PENSACOLA) --- Pensacola City Council members do not want the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) administration in the hands of Mayor D.C. Reeves.
That was just one issue at the April 23 meeting, dominated by Flock, not to mention the city spent over a million dollars on a sports complex bathroom that has no dressing room.
But the CRA first.
"I think the line has been blurred by giving the hiring and firing authority to the mayor," Councilman Charles Bare said, adding, "What we have done is allowed that line to be blurred."
It seems it has.
"I got a notification that the CRA staff won't start meeting with us," Bare said. "It seems a little late to me."
Bare noted being out of the loop on both the Pensacola Sports Building and Maritime Park.
"I just believe that it makes more sense that we have more control and that things don't surprise us like another one," Bare said, adding, "I feel like if we're going to do this right, that it needs to be more separate than what it currently is, and that it makes more sense for us as the CRA to hire and fire our own staff and evaluate them."
Former Councilwoman Sherri Myers, who is running against Bare for District 2, spoke at length before officials about the CRA on January 17 and February 13.
(Photo: Former Councilwoman Sherri Myers speaks against the CRA)
While officials seemingly ignored Myers before, on Thursday, it was in their best interest to listen.
"When I got on the council in 2011, we had a very, very difficult time as a CRA because we did not hire our staff, and we had no control over that person," Myers said. "It was a nightmare."
The separation of powers came next, bringing the two candidates together.
"I just want to go on record that I support what Councilman Bare is trying to do," Myers said. "I hope that you all go back to reality, which is that you need to have the power and authority to hire and fire your own staff."
Resident James Gulley could not agree more.
(Photo: James Gulley speaks before the council at the April 23 meeting.)
"I do not like the priorities that the CRA has at this point," Gulley said. "But the CRA staff needs to go. They tell you just enough to get you to pass whatever it is they got in front of you."
It is the CRA's "secrecy and not being forthright and completely truthful" that has Gulley most upset.
"You need to vote to go back to the old system," Gulley said. "And I would suggest a change in leadership."
Councilwoman Jennifer Brahier recalled the Memorandum of Understanding, stating, "We gave away a lot of the rights that I believe that the Florida Legislature didn't actually intend us to."
Brahier cited past CRA debt, stating that when it was given away, there was not much cash flow for the CRA to oversee.
Times change.
"In 2019, there wasn't a lot to play with," Brahier said, adding that in 2025, after debt payments were all made, there would be $12 million left.
"It's changed significantly," Brahier said. "When it was handed over in 2019, it was not near what it is today."
Not to mention the sunset is not until 2043.
"It was done the wrong way in 2019, so I hope that you guys seriously consider supporting this," Brahier said.
Councilman Jared Moore does not agree.
"If it was done wrong in 2019, then I guess it was done wrong, before it was changed in 2016," Moore said. "The way that it is is currently aligned with the way that this government is structured."
Though there may be "philosophical differences," according to Moore, the current structure is "congruent and compatible."
Reeves said he is not "staunchly advocating" to keep power, but rather assuring that the present CRA staff is not charged for not doing their job.
(Photo: Mayor D.C. Reeves at the April 23 city council meeting)
As for Council President Allison Patton, she, too, says "sometimes she feels like we find out things after the fact."
(Photo: Council President votes to keep the mayor in control of CRA)
"The mayor is driving the work of the CRA board right now, and we are approving, and while I am not opposed to that being the model," we need to be able to really exert our authority over those decisions in a meaningful way.
In the end, Patton agrees to keep authority under the mayor.
(Photo: Mayor Reeves will continue to oversee the CRA staff, with only two members voting to take it away)
As for the Roger Scott bathroom, Councilwoman Jennifer Brahier expressed her disappointment on April 9 regarding the million-dollar deal, noting the "hard-to-stomach matter" and admitting she was unaware that council had "such a bold move," because they were "out of the loop" in tracking the financials.
Thursday, she said much more.
"This is a very important thing to me and a very important thing to the families in my community, and I am very upset about it," Brahier said, beginning with a very warranted concern. "There's no dressing room in what we've ordered."
If people are going to change after swimming, they're gonna have to do it in the stall with the toilet, Brahier said, adding that wasn't the original deal.
(Photo: Councilwoman Jennifer Brahier making it known that a million-dollar bathroom for Roger Scott is not acceptable)
"We were going to replace with an upgraded pool, restrooms, shower amenities, and shower, Brahier said. "That's what we put in our line item, we are not upgrading, we're downgrading since there is no longer a place to dress."
What does that mean for senior citizens' convenience?
"We've really kind of messed that up for them," Brahier said.
What could the council have done with the $832,450.66 already put into the project?
"We could have had it built, that's what I'm saying, and we would not have lost," Brahier said.
Other Key Takeaways below confirm other council matters approved Thursday.
(Photo: April 23 Pensacola City Council meeting Key Takeaways)
For OpGov.News full coverage of the meeting, click here.
The next Pensacola City Council meeting is Thursday, May 7 at 5:30 p.m.
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