(PENSACOLA) --- An hour-long discussion on a stormwater assessment consultant resulted in a confusing debate at the Pensacola City Council meeting.
The June 18 regular meeting agenda drew resident opposition beyond the usual Flock and AI data center protests, with a lengthy, confusing conversation about an amendment to the stormwater assessment consultant contract, to be performed by Raftelis Financial Consultants, Inc.
At the Monday, June 15, Agenda Conference, the item listed a 3-year contract for a stormwater assessment consultant, stating the first-year not-to-exceed amount of $69,310, with $26,510 billed to the city for years 2 and 3. That changed to reducing the initial year's cost from $166,295 to $26,510 in years 2 and 3 after officials held a two-and-a-half-hour special workshop on June 17.
But even then, officials' comments on what revisions were made remained unclear on what they were voting on after moving it from the consent to the regular agenda for discussion.
“I believe that this extra expense is justified,” Councilman Charles Bare said. “I feel like this year we need to take the steps necessary to find out what the true impervious surface is in these homes, and not just go with an AI-generated figure.”
While Councilwoman Jennifer Brahier said the contract was a “gold standard,” at the beginning of the conversation, she voted against it.
(Photo: Councilwoman Jennifer Brahier discusses the proposed stormwater assessment consultant contract)
“For how expensive the other option was and only getting 10% of the properties for half the price, as opposed to getting 100% of the properties for this price and getting an actual, accurate assessment once again of what is impervious within our city, is incredibly important,” Bare said.
Councilman Jared Moore did the same, saying he opposed it initially but then voted for it at the end of the discussion.
“I just haven't heard a real clear benefit to the public other than that we will be more precise in our assessment,” Moore said. “It seems like the cost is awful high for being more precise with a public benefit for me that is nuanced and negligible at best, so that's where I'm struggling with supporting it this evening."
Mayor D.C. Reeves, who sponsored the contract, said the “size of the cake remains the same,” regardless of his lack of support.
“It's what our previous experts have been saying; this is a very commonly used standard, the way we're doing it now,” Mayor Reeves said. “I would rather spend $200,000 cleaning out people's stormwater ponds to make sure their houses don't flood, and that’s why I don’t support it.”
(Photo: Mayor D.C. Reeves at the Pensacola City Council meeting June 17)
Former Councilwoman Sheri Myers took the podium to voice concerns about her heavily forested property.
“Do I get any credit for having a lot of trees?” Myers asked. “Because trees remove stormwater.”
Myers was told she would not get credit.
(Photo: Sheri Myers calls the proposed stormwater assessment fees unfair)
“I have a problem with that, I really do, because it's one way to incentivize people not to cut down their trees,” Myers said, adding the assessment is unfair when compared to her neighbor's property. “We're paying the same thing because we have the same size house and the same size property.”
Along with the live coverage of the meeting, OpGov.News platform picked up the confusing discussion, reporting “deep divisions emerged during the discussion of a stormwater assessment consultant contract, where the council ultimately voted to adopt a less expensive option, prioritizing direct maintenance over a costly, more precise assessment methodology.”
By the end of the hour-long discussion, Council President Allison Patton had to clear the figure before the vote, which led those who had seemed to favor it at first to reject it, including Bare and Brahier, with Moore voting to approve.
Next, property acquisitions and appointments raised concerns.
When it comes to buying property, Councilman Bare questioned the acquisition of 2623 West Cervantes Street for the Pace Cervantes Corridor Revitalization Project.
(Photo: Councilman Charles Bare rejects acquiring property on West Cervantes Street)
“So we are taking it off the tax roll so we can hold it and hopefully do something with it; I am not going to support that,” Bare said, adding that he understands there is a grant for the property and it is not paid for with General Funds. “Eventually, if we are going to incentivize it, there is going to have to be some other funding.”
The 5-2 vote did not include approval from Bare or Brahier.
What did get a 7-0 vote was Mayor Reeves' appointment of Stephen Baham as the new Economic Development Director, despite resident Joe Wade's concerns.
Wade said the appointment lacks transparency due to Baham's former role in Citrus County, where Baham helped secure funding for a wastewater project that later turned out to be a hyperscale data center park.
Speaking of appointments, Gerald Washington was one of the last residents to speak about his termination from the city sanitation services after he received a promotion.
(Photo: Gerald Washington told officials he was unjustly terminated from the sanitation department after receiving a promotion)
“That is the reason when I walked out, Mr. Singleton walked out because they know what is going on in sanctification services,” Washington said.
The news platform picked up other Key Takeaways from the meeting, including the 7-0 approval to enter into a new opioid litigation settlement for $1.5 million, with staff clarifying that the funds would still need to be appropriated by the council before expenditure.
(Photo: OpGov.News Key Takeaways from the June 17 Pensacola City Council meeting)
0
0
Comments