##VIDEO ID:SkLhfshw0F8## e e e e good morning everyone welcome to 
the board of County Commissioners   uh we're going to go ahead and call 
this meeting to order on December   12th 2024 and we'll start out with the 
CRA commissioner May if you'd like to begin thank you Mr chairman it's gami County 
Redevelopment agency regular meeting December   12 2024 9:00 a.m. uh please turn cell phone to 
vibrate silence or the off setting the board   of county commissioner allows any person to speak 
regarding item on the agenda the SP the speaker is   limited to 2 minutes unless otherwise determined 
by the chairman was there proof of publication   the c meeting was published in the gambi county 
Sun press on November 28th 2024 are there any   speakers for public for uh not to thank you 
Technical and public service consent agenda   please all right we have two for your uh approval 
first one uh recommendation concerning community   redevelopment agency meeting minutes November 7th 
2024 and second one is recommendation concerning   the scheduling advertising of a public hearing 
to adopt a resolution creating the Myrtle Grove   uh Redevelopment area are there any speakers uh 
for the technical Public Service um items one and two if there are no comments CH move items one 
and two of the consent agenda thank you do have   a second second we had a Moot and I need a second 
I'll second second so we have a motion in a second   please vote that pass is unanimous thank you so 
much Budget Finance consent agenda uh yes we have   two excuse me oh okay all we have two uh for your 
uh for your approval first one's recommendation   concerning residential uh Improvement grant 
program funding and lean agreements and the second   one is recommendation concerning residential roof 
program funding and lean agreements if there are   no comments the chair will entertain a motion 
uh for the budget and finance consent agenda   so move we have a motion I'll second thank you 
commissioner kler we have a motion and a second   please vote that pass is unanimous thank you so 
much um no discussion items at this time we have   no discussion items if there's nothing for the 
good of the order Mr chairman we stand a journ and   turn it over to you okay in the interest of time 
we'll move right into the agenda agenda review   we'll do a my intent on this is to do a very uh 
by disclaimer on the agenda and then um if there's   anything to pull out then we'll go from that 
to the Cal since we're doing that today uh call   okay um so as we go through I'll do the invocation 
tonight um anyone like to do the pledge Steve can   you do the pledge maybe ER Steve Barry you'll do 
the pledge thank you that's all right I apologize   there's two Steve's good with me all right iiz 
get us on the ratifications of the proclamations   I think we've got uh Mr Carter who's reading 
the uh ecat one is it the ecat director that   is okay and who's reading it uh commissioner call 
it looks like that is D port's going to be reading   it this evening if you had no one I'd be happy to 
read it all my life and then as far as B it looks   like um Nikki pal HR director's reading that and 
C Mr humble so the other two the last one be just   ratified all right any any issues with that um 
I want to go back will there be any items that   we need to add tonight or that you would want to 
wait for later commissioner Barry do you want to   anything to add no sir not that I'm aware of that 
okay commissioner may I I may have a discretionary   but we'll get it added my a will added through the 
day and have it a part of the agenda tonight all   right commissioner Sher no Comm hoer I have 
nothing okay I don't have any I do have two   items I need to bring up I think Wes she added 
them one is um we didn't have the legislative   wish list which will they will meet the day before 
the 9th did that get added to us it did okay and   the other thing was a scheduling error that I'll 
need to discuss um it's it's got to do with acc2   it's on the 23rd that's our meeting and if I'd 
like to move it that uh morning meeting to the   22nd if possible if everyone would that work with 
everyone's schedule yeah in February pardon me in   February no no January 22nd we have a meeting on 
the 23rd the the schedule when the ACC came out   uh our schedule that hadn't come out so there's 
a conflict on that day for me sounds good Steve   do you have a problem with moving the 20 okay 
how about commissioner okay so if we could move   the 23rd meeting to the 22nd of January 0900 
that would be helpful um I don't think I have   anything else on that all right is there anything 
on written Communications that we need that there   will be discussion about I think this is in 
your your District commissioner May number nine oh no it's fine we can address it tonight 
I I don't see I don't think we have any   issues okay unless there's something from code 
enforcement I don't see Tim day here okay well   um obviously 10 we'll talk about the Publications 
tonight uh I imagine is there going to be any   discussion on the public camping you think from us 
for the community I know we have a lot of stuff on   the agenda tonight but at 5:31 I think actually 
could we could have some discussion I I guess you   know I mean a conversation is looking at the city 
policies and our policies to make sure they're in   line I know commissioner halberg and myself both 
represent a large portion of the city uh and so   it would be to me important that we at least 
have conversation with the city on on their   policies to align our policies I mean to adhere 
to what the state is saying because I commission   Hallberg represents more of the city than do but 
a large part of my district is the city I would   agree with that okay yeah and I appreciate legal 
working on that I know the sheriff wanted to have   that discussion and thanks Alison for you and your 
team trying to marry up what the sheriff wanted   and somewhat aligned I think we're close to what 
the city wanted so hopefully there isn't we'll see   where we end up with that um how about 533 I think 
the franchise there was a couple comments that   came up uh we'll see if there's some discussion I 
already had that conversation with uh legal this   morning I I feel comfortable with the answer I got 
but does anyone else that'll be a 30-year deal if   we if it moves forward um I think it'll be you 
know I know Rick Byers has been working with us   and I think that'll be useful if we get that okay 
clerking hey Mike yep I'm sorry I'm curious about   the franchise fees okay um it's it's 30 years and 
if we if we're if we're redefining something are   we do we have the ability to negotiate the whole 
contract uh we do Alison would you like to comment   on this so the current the current franchise 
agreement with FPL expires next year at the end of   the calendar year the intent of this was to keep 
the agreement the terms as close to status quo   as possible that in spite of the fact that we 
now have a different electric provider for this   particular franchise agreement we have a separate 
franchise agreement with ere which also provides   Electric Services um it is a new agreement but 
it was intended and it was written to keep it   as close to status quo as far as the rates and the 
caps and everything as humanly possible um within   the scope of working with new people so I I don't 
understand the franchise fees and I wonder if   they're negotiable because I I'm guessing that FPL 
might be doing more in the future providing more   services not just electricity so this is intended 
as an electric and electrical power franchise   agreement there are some leg I'm not sure exactly 
what kinds of services or utilities you might be   con they might be considering but there are things 
for example already uh there's a state special act   that provides that water goes to ECUA for any 
new water service there is already a couple of   franchise agreements that we have relative to the 
provision of natural gas so if they were to come   up with some new service or utility we would most 
likely need to engage in a new agreement and a new   negotiation with regards to some new service okay 
okay we'll see where we end up but I yeah I had   to call on that as well and that's why I reached 
out to Legal so Mr chairman yeah please so Alon   so the franchise agreement that we have with FPL 
is consistent with the franchise agreement they   have with the city it's my understanding and don't 
I'm not the expert on this but my understanding is   that the city and the FPL franchise agreement has 
lapsed and they have not negotiated a new one yet   to agreement I do believe that they are in some 
sort of negotiation that's the latest information   that I have to the best of my knowledge there is 
not currently an active agreement I do believe   that FPL has defaulted to the terms of their 
previous now expired agreement so they are   collecting franchise fees but I don't believe they 
have an active agreement and so you you've not   been in contact with the city legal department 
of how they're negotiating or what their terms   are there is not currently an active agreement 
my understanding is that they were encountering   some problems in their negotiation because there 
was a real estate matter that was getting folded   into their negotiations having to do with the 
fees and so it was getting a bit convoluted   but I am not engaged in those discussions so I 
am not an expert on what's Happening and again   Mr chairman you know I'm just you know in in 
in the Spirit of Harmony and collaboration   yeah I'm just trying to make sure that as we move 
forward and and many of these issues that we're   addressing uh that we are working with the city uh 
in making sure that the negotiations from the city   to the county are step by step because it puts 
us in a stronger bargaining position um if we   know exactly what they're bargaining I so I mean 
we they shouldn't get a better deal than we get   and we shouldn't get deal they we we approached 
the conversation with FPL from the perspective   of no changes to what we've been doing to try to 
keep it as close to the status quo and it does   keep the rates and the Caps the same so it's not 
a there's no perceivable change for us at when we   get to the end of next calendar year January 
1 of 2026 there should not be a perceptible   change as far as what the County's agreement with 
our electric provider is the city's situation is   quite different I don't know exactly what's going 
on and I think they've been in negotiations for   quite some time now Allison when you and I talked 
you mentioned that other counties are moving to   a different plan but we chose to stay with the 
same plan that we've had historically because   we felt like it was a better benefit for us can 
you elaborate on that so I don't know that it's a   better deal what you think of is a better deal 
is certainly up to the board's um ideas about   what they're after but yes FPL did as FPL has 
come into the Panhandle FPL has negotiated some   new franchise agreements with different counties 
they have gotten away from the idea of caps but   my feeling from the board was that you all wanted 
to keep the caps and you wanted to keep them the   same as what we already have in our existing 
franchise agreement with what was Gul power   now FPL um what they have done in other counties 
like Bay County for example is they have reduced   the amount the percentage but re eliminated caps 
so for example go from 5% down to 3 and a half%   but with no cap what I understood from the my 
thinking was that the board wanted to keep it   as status quo as possible so keep it at 5% but 
keep those caps so no more than like $10 a month   for a residential account if that's not what the 
board wants we can go back to the drawing board   but that was our understanding and FPL has 
accepted that we're doing that it will be a   little bit different than some of their other 
new franchise agreements commissioner bar you   have a com thank you Mike so I mean to when we 
talk about the the better deal for us or what   the revenue source is going to be for us I mean 
there's there's going to be no more Revenue that's   possible from fpnl whatever Revenue the county 
produces is going to be from our citizens so if   I mean we can we can discuss anything you know 
obviously that the majority of the board would   like to do but you know any other any other 
equations that we see producing more Revenue   which they would is in fact going to be only born 
100% by our citizens so and and that is I believe   some of the discussions with the city is you know 
trying to you know remove the Caps or raise the   Caps there's I mean there's there's not much 
wiggle room in the language as far as internal   revenue that's going to come from fpnl the company 
that doesn't include money that's going to come   directly from our citizens so it's simply a pass 
through to them if we were to re just hypothe   what Madam Council said if we reduce to 3 and a 
half% but remove the Caps it would be tremendous   more Revenue I mean it would increase the County's 
Revenue tremendously from fpnl point of view I   mean they're they're kind of indifferent to that 
because it's simply a pass through to them rate   payers pay more and they pass more on to us so I 
it was you know it's it's been my impression from   discussions with the board especially when we went 
through you know some of the changes with Gulf   Power to fpnl and you know some rate increases 
a couple of years years ago that that the board   dealt with uh pretty directly and intimately um 
that we wouldn't be in the intent of there's it's   very difficult to spend a change in the franchise 
that's going to produce more Revenue to us in   any way other than a a fee tax increase on the 
citizens and if that's not our intent then you   know the I I think that you know the program that 
we have in place is you know is is good but Steve   certainly I I support the Caps because quite 
frankly the cost of eggs and and groceries   are going up uh whatever we do as you just said 
and that's why I wanted to make the correlation   to what the city is doing is passed on to the 
citizens I mean it's not you know something   that FPL is paying is something that the citizens 
are paying I can just tell you if it was it if it   was a percentage maybe it would be worth the 
discussion because you know if we're in a need   for Revenue especially general fund revenue and 
50% of it would be you know would be fpnl funds   and 50% would be from citizens may maybe that's 
a different discussion but if we're if we're just   talking about 100% of the increased Revenue 
would be coming from the citizens then makes   it tough would would which for me and and and the 
constituents that I represent commissioner Barry   uh who can't pay their power bill who are calling 
week in and week out $10 $20 makes a difference   and so to me as you said we're putting it back 
it's coming back to our general fund it's coming   back to the county uh and then all it would 
do is make us have to figure out another um   you utility assistance program and so I'd rather 
for the citizens to keep it in their pocket than   for them to have to come and petition you know 
social services and agencies uh to help them   pay their utility bills I mean so to me you know 
it's all in one pot we shouldn't we should put   the least amount of burden on the citizens that 
we can uh in this agreement so that's just my   opinion well I I appreciate this discussion 
I you know I saw that since it's 30 years I   think it's important that whatever decision 
comes tonight that um that this citizens know   that we took it seriously because it's length to 
the franchise fee probably outlive most of us on   the board so all right we'll push on from that 
uh Clerk and comp trollers report anything that   needs to be added no okay uh growth management 
report anything from horse you want to mention quickly okay then we will push on with that 
this evening since there's nothing else uh Wes   the consent right County Administration 
report I'm sorry sry Mr chairman real   quick yes back on the on the gmr there's 
an item I'm sorry two two- two not one D   two- two that I'm going to need to 
abstain from the okay there is uh   the owner in the item is an LLC the 
LLC has multiple members man multiple entity members one of those entities I have a 
conflict with one of the principles on one of   the entities that's a member of the LLC so I need 
to abstain from that okay thank you very much um   all right down to the county administrative 
report um is there any items that uh do you   want to talk about or any of the Commissioners 
would like to notice to be pulled now for this evening nothing okay all right   then we'll push on to the second part of this 
I don't know where it ends at give me just a second um there may be some discussion commissioner 
may I some folks came up on the 58 through   62 I'll probably lean on you since you're on the 
affordable housing I asked um I asked um Everett   to talk to Garrett about those items so I know 
there's going to be some discussion from a citizen   anything that needs to be added on discretionary 
funds I think we're you said you had one you bring   later okay all right how about three car any 
uh discussion on that Les we'll need to hold   car 2-54 for commissioner Barry to abstain a car 
2-54 all right thank you county attorney's report   um any I know the last one on the uh technology 
policy I'm sure that's a discussion item is there   any other items that anyone will want to pull 
this evening to discuss Madam attorney you have   any comments just to point out to the board 
that the uh legislative wish list is on the   uh C3 so that may be something that during the 
day the board wants to put some thought into oh   yeah we'll definitely have to discuss that this 
evening as well thank you and if I have gotten   some individual feedback about the technology 
policy it's on here as a discussion item for   tonight it's obviously a policy that's specific to 
the board so your feedback is really helpful and   we can certainly try to make any tweaks during the 
day today or we can just have a discussion tonight   and we can bring it back at a later meeting or 
we can make verbal changes from the floor and   adopt it tonight whatever you guys wish to do 
in the interest of time the countless you want   to discuss it now I'd like to just defer it to 
tonight if that's okay okay and then the other   thing um um Wes are we going to add the discussion 
for ola8 was that added I didn't see it is okay   so just so the citizens after they hear what we 
do this morning um we'll have an opportunity to   make comments all right unless there's anything 
else on the agenda I think we can move forward   to the Cal Mr chairman so is it your intention 
to have a discussion of outline field 8 in the   committee of the whole and move an action item 
tonight or just further discussion I yeah the   committee of the whole discussion this morning 
we added it as an action item or discussion   item under car 3 so the board can ratify or uh 
vote on whatever Direction board wants to give us I don't think we have to make a decision but I 
think we should have the option to that's that's   why it was added okay so if we didn't add 
it it would have to go to the next meeting   and who knows what's going to happen this 
morning so that's why it was added Commission   me whenever yall ready to move on I'm ready 
well it's long people in the audience may   have a warm fuzzy with that all right so let's 
go ahead and move to the cow if that's okay so   we haven't had a cow in quite a while and I 
was I was thinking about this last night um   I've never been here for once I'm going to lean 
on commissioner Barry commissioner May and staff   on how to do this but just out of levity I thought 
maybe we should try this you know an interesting way oh yeah yeah I'm here for you is give be some moov I apprciate if that doesn't work we'll do this 
Florida cowbell so to start this off I think   we're going to have wuwf Nicole out here hey 
you know I was trying to get the Chick-fil-A   uh you know cow to come in but it was short 
notice so I couldn't make that happen maybe   the next one thank you so so if I can just set 
a few boundaries of how we're going to do this   this morning what would I'd like to do um Nicole 
from WWF did the hos study she's going to give   us a little brief on that and then um we'll 
have developmental Services talk a little bit   about the dpz and then each one of the current 
bers will have an opportunity to share their   comments if the board would like to comment 
after each speaker or and then do a summation   at the end I'm fine with that unless there's 
another way you guys would like to handle it   you have a comment commissioner May so just 
those who have submitted we have opportunity   to speak at this Committee of the whole or are 
we allowing for other people to speak I was one second oh give me that okay come I got I got a um 
comment that it was properly advertised we missed   that right so was it properly advertised well Mr 
chairman this meeting was advertised on December   5th 2024 in the board's weekly meeting schedule 
in the Pensacola News Journal okay thank you sorry   about that administrator uh the intent was going 
back to commissioner May was that we were going to   let the people that had a bid speak and that was 
the reason for this evening on the discussion for   those that were here that they would be able 
to speak tonight um and I think historically   that's what I was told how the cows were run is 
that correct gentlemen so is that okay any any   problems no not at all I mean I mean typically 
I mean Commissioners have been able to ask the   subject matter experts um who oh yeah I'm fine 
with that anything that they want to ask abs   absolutely yeah I actually I want that so if I 
said that incorrectly I want to make sure that   yeah everyone has an opportunity to ask questions 
okay Nicole please please uh tell us who you are   and what you did at hos hi there good morning so 
nice to be with you yes my name is Nicole G Lon   I'm with the University of West Florida H Center 
and uh for about 30 years now my team of talented   students and colleagues uh have been analyzing 
the economy um disseminating information and   measuring economic success in our communities so 
um oo all right we'll get this slid show started   here do I have control need more cowbell right 
I think there we go all right um I never miss   an opportunity to talk about some of the good work 
that my talented teammates accomplish and uh here   are some of the clients and and uh projects that 
we've worked on in recent years actually in in   the last 12 to 16 months so you see that we have 
numerous uh public and private Partners as our   customers um I've highlighted a few for you um 
one one of which is Navy Federal and that's of   course adjacent to outlying field 8 they're a 
tremendous employer they're the largest employ   private employer in our community and we've done 
economic impact analysis for them in fact four of   their locations around the United States um um you 
also see here our work in community health and our   digital dashboard known as achieve dashboard 
it's a nationally recognized information tool   with over 144 different metrics and uh we're we're 
very proud of that but of course today we're here   to talk a little bit about our jobs comparisons um 
you know interestingly enough one of the customers   that's not featured here on this particular slide 
but um only because it's been several years now   we did the original analysis for dpz in their 
Community master plan that was a lot of fun our   team and I had a our first opportunity to take a 
peek at what the possibilities are for that that   large plot of land so um very very interesting 
work and now we've come here to uh provide you   with yet a new um independent analysis that no 
one else from outside the university has seen   except uh when it was noticed yesterday as part 
of this meeting so we'll move right into that   we have several tools to uh model various economic 
outcomes at the hos Center uh one of which is impl   and that's what we're using for today's scenario 
I characterize these as uh models or assessments   uh I would not call it a study but there's um 
there's a lot of information that goes into   this the model we've selected in plan uses uh 
data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and uh   numerous other things to uh examine what can be 
accomplished in a given geography like a scambia   county and I will note that this this particular 
analysis focuses on our County's geography only   not the metro area so we're modeling a 100 jobs 
in retail and restaurants so we've split them   evenly 50 jobs in retail 50 jobs in restaurants 
and a 100 jobs in aviation parts manufacturing   so the reason I selected that particular man 
type of manufacturer is it's in our Target   Industries it's among those Target Industries 
in the State of Florida and particularly here   in Escambia County since we have um already 
accomplished um things in this particular   area we are the Cradle of Naval Aviation and um 
we are also uh very close to another commercial   manufacture known as Airbus so the possibility 
for our community to recognize new jobs and   Aviation manufacturing is is a great possibility 
and so that's why it was selected and you can see   here that we are only looking at jobs we're not 
looking at construction or capital expenditure   Investments we are only focusing on those jobs 
over time and this particular slide shows us   the difference in personal income Gams gains and 
what is personal income those wages wages that we   earn propri proprietor's income for operating a 
business related to to these industries and the   great news is that each of these industries 
grow jobs in our community some more than   others right some pay higher wages um but they 
also require more skilled labor um also more   precise Machinery automation things like that 
so it makes it a higher value for any given Community diving into some of the details we 
have the economic output there in the lower   right hand corner you'll see that um economic 
output for a 12 Monon period for these jobs in   restaurants and Retail establishments in Escambia 
County comes to about 3.5 million and um this   includes the direct jobs that we've imagined 
at a 100 uh the indirect and the induced jobs   so indirect jobs are just the business-to 
business transactions among suppliers and   primes on a given project right um those induced 
jobs are things where that I describe as support   support jobs so when an architect helps to uh 
build a facility for for a restaurant and that   architect then go goes and purchases a a brand new 
skateboard for her son that's manufactured right   here in Escambia County that's an example 
of an induced expenditure with within our economy here's the contrast to that for uh 
Aviation parts manufacturing so indeed we have a a   much higher output for that um higher jobs number 
as well and and the difference between the two is   48.4 million now um you know while I'm focusing on 
these these two three Industries actually I will   say that a job in either of these industries is 
an important job I started off in retail myself   and it's a good first job right teaches one 
how to work with the public deal with cash and   same is true I imagine for restaurant workers 
too so both both valuable um opportunities for   our young people um but we want to be able to 
grow the the uh incomes for our residents and so   that's why we examine different Industries to see 
which we might which ones deserve more resource allocations the other good news component 
to this is that when we grow manufacturing   we also grow other parts of our economy so 
you can see here that these Investments that   that uh manufacturers might Embark upon in our 
community also provides us with other benefits   right so we see here additional housing is 
required hospitals will will also expand as   a result of this type of investment um monetary 
authorities and depository credit intermediation   those are bankers and Credit Unions um you 
see here that growth in wholesale is also   important as well as others that are on the 
the screen here we are contrasting this with   retail jobs again you see growth in the economy in 
various sectors so that's that too is a very good thing I'm going to end back on this slide because 
I think it's a nice comparison here um again we're   trying to grow wealth in our community and this 
piece of property that you're uh looking at today   in depth um is large enough to house a NuMe house 
numerous types of businesses retail restaurants   and light manufacturing so I'll I'll pause 
here and take your questions or or I'll have a seat so have you looked at the average wage of 
any of these jobs when you did your analysis yes   sir I have so um I'm going to speak in terms 
of full-time equivalents right retail and uh   restaurant jobs are not always full-time 
positions um and but if we were to make   those a full-time equivalent our our area posts 
about4 $444,000 for a full-time role in in the   restaurant and retail occupations comparing 
that with uh Aviation parts manufacturing oh   that's that's up there that's uh looking at 
about $9,000 for an average wage um so but   the range is is is pretty big you know 52 54,000 
all the way up to to the six figure jobs uh I've   the range goes up to 200 even in our $200,000 
Even in our community of Escambia County so it   is a high paying field high skill High wage 
occupation um but that that's the difference   between the the two comparisons there good 
question thank you ma'am I have I don't know   if this is if you can answer this question or 
not but obviously pedc would like to split the   property we've heard that I'm sure all 
the Commissioners have heard that what   do you think that they could do that one of 
the biders for this property couldn't do the   same way you know that's outside of my area of 
expertise I'm going to let the uh okay I just I   thought I'd ask it CU it's that's I think that's 
the conflict with the biders and PDC and I just I   thought you may have the answer I I wasn't trying 
to stump you I just no Mr chairman I do have so   you know I've I've yielded on this project to the 
Commissioners no matter who sit and seat to my   right my left because it represents your District 
only thing that I've been consistent on is that   you know there was a a a promise of high wage 
jobs you know light industrial jobs you know to   $60,000 plus I mean what targeted industry do we 
have to go at in this scenario to make sure that   we're getting jobs that are 60 plus I mean well 
um Florida Department of Commerce has identified   several targeted Industries and our Economic 
Development Professionals in our community   have as well um so so you uh have Navy Federal 
that's a great example of high-wage jobs right   um different type of setting than a manufacturing 
setting those jobs don't come around all the time   as you you may guess um but other manufacturing 
organizations are also great opportunities for for   high skill high-wage jobs um I think I think also 
of uh machine Machining for the maritime industry   right right so we have a a growing sector in our 
economy specifically here in downtown Pensacola   where we're going to see uh high-tech um Yachts 
on display and our our youngsters sailing those   Yachts at high speeds Around The Bay so I think 
there's the opportunity for new uh organ new   businesses to take root here in Escambia County 
and build some of those highspeed components for   those yachts and I look forward to that so that's 
another example of a taret targeted industry for   our community okay thank you so much thank you 
Mr chairman thank you Nicole is there any other   questions or oh I'm sorry yeah I have one more 
question I feel like manufacturing has a bad   reputation and people think High pollution 
Smoke Stacks lots of noise semi- trucks it's   my understanding that manufacturing has changed 
significantly in the last 10 years and especially   with AI can you describe the type of manufacturing 
that would be ideal for this piece of property   thank you for that um yes indeed so um I I suspect 
that uh most residents and I'm a a scambi County   resident we'd like to see manufacturing that 
is highly automated requires uh high-skilled   technicians operating that that equipment 
um you know and it is not the same as it was   several decades ago where you saw dirty dark and 
dangerous situations not to say that doesn't exist   in manufacturing at this point in time but I if 
I were select ing an industry I would select one   that has no emissions and no discharge right um 
because that's that's the best opportunity for our   County um I mentioned that manufacturing is highly 
highly automated um the hos Center does have one   lane of service related to Advanced manufacturing 
and that's additive manufacturing U we have   a small Laboratory um down in the museum of 
Commerce known as c3d science engineering and art   and in that facility uh we lean forward in terms 
of not only additive and 3D printing but also   the design for additive manufacturing and I would 
hope that one day um there is a um a large number   of Manufacturers that utilize 3D printing for a 
variety of Industries right so you have additive   and subtractive manufacturing um Machining 
is a great CNC Machining is a great example   of subtractive manufacturing and they both both 
have their place um in in advanced manufacturing   but I suspect you'll see more of that over 
time and that is highly automated so great question yeah I do um I've worked in that in the 
Aerospace industry I know it pays really well and   I've had to travel to go to those jobs what is 
what's our biggest obstacle to having those jobs   here in es scampia that's a really fascinating 
question and I think there are there are many   responses to that at this time land is a scarce 
resource right and we don't have a lot of land set   aside for industrial purposes so um I would label 
that as a as a challenge right um we would we have   the uh opportunity to perhaps utilize the the land 
in front of us at outlying field 8 um but there   are very few part available for for that type 
of development our our airport is expanding and   uh we have a great manufact a maintenance repair 
and overhaul organization at the airport there's   only so much land right there in the middle of the 
City of Pensacola to expand that industrial base   around Aviation so I would say that's one of our 
core challenges is land for Light Industry what   what about Workforce oh Workforce is is uh the 
largest challenge facing almost every industry   in the United States so um skilled labor is at 
a premium and uh recruiting and retaining that   skilled labor for any industry sector is is a 
common problem commissioner hofburger you have a   comment thank you you mentioned that the the jobs 
created for manufacturing and then the ancillary   jobs behind that and the housing needed and 
the restaurant needed looking at olfa could you   give us a breakdown of what percentage ideally 
would be spent on the manufacturing versus the   housing versus the retail just in your ideal 
world so in in the dpz master plan they've   set aside 270 Acres as I recall and that 
seemed to be a great compromise in that   situation so um I see no reason to to alter 
that in any way you this board this previous   board has uh has done a nice job in in coming 
up with that that number and um I that creates   nice diverse economy there in the right at I 10 
in in The Bu region so I I really have no opinion   of changing that so well I want to thank you for 
your comments I appreciate the brief I think the   board does and uh was very informational for 
me thank You' you my pleasure appreciate it Mr   chairman just just one more one more question 
I'm please because we get to get you for free   today so thank you so much we we we know how much 
we know how much you're worth so thank you kindly   so if if we're looking at at a board trying to 
line up our Economic Development workforce job   creation goals how do we begin to align that with 
our educational training and our educational uh   institutions that we have how do we align that so 
we don't I mean so we don't have to recruit people   from outside the area to take these high skill 
jobs that you just referred to I mean what do   we plan much time do we have allocated for this so 
um I mentioned I'm with University of West Florida   and several of my colleagues would be um better 
positioned to speak to this um however I think   investing in education is the number one thing we 
can do and you know no surprise that I would say   that right right but you know bringing industry 
into that education partnership is important as as   uh commissioner stroberg mentioned um Pro gaining 
skilled labor for any industry is is a challenge   and is a particular challenge for the aviation 
sector right that's a highly regulated um field   so to the extent you can promote opportunities 
for our youth to participate in certificates   certificate programs um that will align them with 
with high skill High wage opportunities in the   future I you know I applaud every effort to do 
that whether it's uh going into a Career Academy   and into one of our fantastic tech technical 
schools or our Pensacola State College um or   the University of West Florida I think all 
of those opportunities are wise ones and to   the extent that Escambia County can encourage and 
invest in that that's a that's something that all   of our residents will benefit from in the future 
does that answer your question yes ma'am thank   you so much thank you thank you again appreciate 
your comments this morning all right if uh Drew   you could come up and talk a look just shortly 
about the DBZ and and then we'll move into the the brieze yes sir good morning Andrew Homer 
development services department um I'm going to   give you just a very brief overview of the master 
plan and the steps moving forward for development   so across the whole 540 acre piece the majority 
of the land is cleared Uplands uh southwest corner   has some wetlands and there's the plan itself 
acknowledges that um it created zoning districts   that are specific to ol8 these are separate and 
distinct from any of the other zoning districts   we have within the county and the basic idea being 
you would have commercial type uses commercial   retail towards 9mile then working North you get 
into some mix use districts which would allow for   U residential as well as a mixture of offices 
things like that going to the northern portion   that's where we come in with the manufacturing 
light industrial jobs creation type area uh and   that split is as was just mentioned roughly half 
and half between those those mixtures now going   forward with development and whatever whichever 
path you choose um those zoning districts are   much more uh regulated than our general ones 
because they can they contain a lot of design   guidelines in fact there's a separate design 
code Associated just with this master plan um as   you mentioned earlier about Smoke Stacks right um 
this this design code brings in elements of a form   based sort of zoning um Smoke Stack manufacturing 
doesn't necessarily have to look like Smoke Stack   manufacturing that's why these very intense 
design standards are in there uh it also provides buffering and other ways to try to 
accommodate the existing uses in the area right   now is an empty field there are houses off to the 
West you've got some North and South um so moving   forward the plan gives a list of requirements for 
any submitt for projects within there over and   above our regular development review so as each 
project comes in it's we're going to match it up   against the plan it does give some leway as far as 
making these things these design criteria fit the   uses coming in um once again that's that's very 
regulated this board has reserved a right that   you can make adjustments to that as so needed and 
the plan is it's kind of ambitious on a timeline   we're just going to have to see how the market 
works out for any changes that would have to   come but any projects we would just schedule them 
and get them through the process and let's let's   get going is there any questions from the board I 
have a couple questions but so it's the property   zoned exactly the way dpz dictates it needs to 
be yes yes I I want to get too deep in the weeds   but there's a there's a way it transitions over 
time but as of right now yes Drew couple of the   I know there's been some discussion and this is 
some of the conflict with the citizens out in Buu   is the some of the modification to the Planning 
and Zoning that they think needs to be done how   extensive do you think that would need to be done 
and what kind of changes that we wouldn't upset   the spirit of the dpz plan it's a tough question 
uh without an actual plan in front of me but you   know keep in mind if there's a regulation put in 
there it's there for a reason um we need to know   that reason before we can say hey let's just 
toss that out or open this up we really need   to know why it's there in the first place um but 
that that right is reserved for this board yeah   and we'll I'll ask some of the the people that put 
a bit in what they would think they'd need to do   so we'll have that on record um I don't have me 
oh commiss May so when you look at the dpz plan   do you see challenges that would impair prohibit 
slow down the economic growth of the developers   of what what the current plan as it's laid out 
um and I would assume you believe it's a good   plan um do you see that there are challenges 
that would not allow for us to get the best Roi   right now in terms of dollars that the developers 
would look if we say we're putting out an RFQ and   RFP uh for a proposal and we want you to follow 
this design that the citizens have given their   input uh and um we want to live by that by by that 
road map are there challenges for the developer   in your opinion that will cause them to maybe say 
well we're not going to give you 40 million we're   going to give you 30 million because of these 
zoning challenges or these land use challenges the   the plan is what it was designed for okay it would 
provide opportunities for someone to move forward   in that direction uh the whole idea of live work 
play because it's got so many mixed use elements   it allows for a wide range of those opportunities 
um as far as any kind of design specifics for each   plan I need to have it in front of me because it 
does regulate the intensity of the uses allowed   in each district so so it's it's a little more 
intense than that well and and I know we'll meet   tonight I mean in terms of you got to get it in 
front of you and to be able to take a look at it   but you know I think there are many of us that are 
ready to uh raise the arm and and make a decision   uh but I I have to make a decision based on the 
best Economic Opportunity for all the citizens   of esamia County uh in maximizing The Highest 
Potential of dollars that can be brought in uh   with the least amount of restriction that gives us 
smart and good growth and so I just want to make   sure that that plan addresses that because you 
know that certainly is going to you know at the   end of the day the bottom line number is going to 
be a determining factor for me to make a yes vote   tonight but I want to make sure that there are no 
restrictions that a developer can say you know if   we didn't have a b and c we would have given D and 
F I mean and so I'm that's gets my question to our   zoning people because that's we all know that 
land usage zoning uh is going to be the number   one is issue uh when that land gets ready to 
get developed other than storm water yes sir yes   sir and commissioner and and and as if with any 
proposal um with my tenure in doing this a long   time most develop going always state that there 
are restrictions that could hinder the development   of any project yet with the understanding is that 
with those regulations they could make they could   make the value even higher because people do 
want to come to those typee of Master plans   community so they going to always they're going 
to always be a take that yes this going but with   if they really want to develop it and want to 
partner with the community that's going to the   value is going to be there so they can bring in 
all the jobs as requested by this board and you   can get that pristine development and when we look 
at it if it's challenging we can work with them   to try to keep to get what they do and yet be in 
harmony with the neighborhood with the witches of   the board so saying that that may they don't to 
always say that but once if they really want to   be here and be good partners many many of them 
they're going to try to miss try to adhere to   those standards understand yes sir thank you thank 
thank you haris I mean M just just to that point   hars I mean yeah at the end of the day for all the 
citizens in all five districts at the end of the   day I mean we can go through and we have to make 
sure the zoning uh is amical uh to the developers   uh because we want to make make sure that we get 
the most dollars that we can we can get with the   greatest return for the citizens and we want and 
we as the zoning staff development service we want   that to be for this board because we we going to 
we want to adhere to your standards and what your   desires are for the betterment of the community 
in any development project so and haris do we   have any examples of light Manufacturing in this 
cam County where people have pulled permits uh   and they're currently operating um without smoke 
stacks and that's you I mean I I can speak from   firsthand experience in the central Commerce 
Park there's uh a business out there that does   a tremendous amount of Defense Contracting but 
they do Den is an audience Den come up for just   a second I what exactly just I mean I've toured 
the building they've got these big 3D printers and   stuff what exactly does custom control build um 
they build control systems and it's a wide variety   of control systems so imagine um uh and I'll just 
say an example uh Ascend performance materials or   international paper and the internal computerized 
control system that runs their operation that   would be one example they also build natural gas 
stations that they've shipped to California and   these are Big housing units that look like 
uh containers but are completely controlled   for the processes of of manufacturing thank you 
Denita and just as an example if you drive by the   business that's in the central Commerce Park off 
high Highway 29 I mean you would think that they   were processing mortgages in there I mean yes you 
wouldn't you wouldn't have any indication of the   of the high-tech manufacturing that's going 
on within the structure it's you know I have   two did a couple times I could remember exactly 
what they did but it's it's very fancy it's very   Hightech and and I don't have and commissioner 
bar as I've yielded to you and commissioner mcos   and now you and commissioner stroberg I don't have 
those in my district but I I certainly think that   you know that type of smart growth is important 
for the citizens uh to make sure that we have   manufacturing that's environmentally sensitive 
and environmentally healthy to all the citizens   and commissioner yes and and commissioner B 
absolutely we have other projects where you   don't have to have that quote unquote the 
old where you can have distribution where   it everything can be manufacturing well pristine 
and be a helpman for the community in still bring   in that high dollar pain jobs with with those 
stand with Stout smok that's pollution that was   way like we have in accting currently than Denita 
do you want to make a comment I I would like to   just uh point out a couple more examples where 
we have clean manufacturing taking place in our   community um one of those is for example U since 
Florida West Inception 2014 we have generated 63   projects a more than half of those projects 
are with manufacturers that are already here   um for example uh in the LS an industrial park 
we have uh Pegasus Laboratories which is a pet   pharmaceutical company that's been in operation 
for 30 years we help them expand into a new   173,000 foot facility they're going to generate 
an additional 63 jobs with average wages of about   61,000 a year because a lot of what they're doing 
involves scientific research and development on   the pharmaceutical side of things and so that's 
just another example of you know companies that   are here that have a great deal of employment uh 
as well as GE manufacturing um one of our largest   manufacturers in the community producing uh wind 
Nels that are shipped from Pensacola all around   the the uh the Midwest up to and up to Canada area 
as well so those are high paying Ally highp paying   jobs as well and everything takes place on the 
interior there is a lot of back and forth related   to their work with the port importing product in 
and then ex uh incorporating that and exporting   it as well Denita and I was going to wait to after 
the presenters present this and I was going to ask   either you or Rick BR this question um but since 
you're here talking there's been a lot of effort   a lot of time spent on this project and in quite 
frankly my opinion way too long so the forecast   of creating these light manufacturing clean 
industry jobs how do we look I mean we there's   there's vacant land probably not as valuable as 
the piece of property that's in front of us uh   but we've often had attempts and we've not quite 
been able to get across the Finish Line and other   projects but timetable looking at it I mean how 
do you feel about I mean you're in the business of   forecasting and predicting jobs and and creating 
these jobs for Citizens I mean you know everybody   wants to know what did you do for them yesterday 
citizens have had this High Hope for this project   for many years until the point where many believe 
that it's not going to going to happen I mean so   how soon can we get those jobs are the are the 
prospects out there now and just waiting on us to   make a decision or can you talk about that just 
a little yes AB absolutely I have presented ol8   to multiple potential prospects in from Aviation 
to manufacturing uh Etc um and the the hampering   aspect of ol8 is the lack of the infrastructure 
that's there I worked with um County staff and FPL   on um uh their uh powering Florida program which 
is really takes a look at site Readiness and so we   have worked together with County staff to take a 
look at where the utilities are currently existing   and what are those improvements that are needed to 
be made so as soon as we can work together to you   know get infrastructure in place the businesses 
will come the hampering aspect is the timing   related to you know whether it meets the business 
model of when they need uh their production to be   taking place and so if we can get ahead of getting 
the infrastructure in then projects are going to   naturally come it's an exciting opportunity for 
this community uh countywide to have so we were   sever ready today you believe that you could fill 
up to 270 Acres absolutely we could we could make   a good dent in that uh to begin with I believe 
there's a lot of interest out there in um you know   manufacturing Arena and um you know working with 
a couple of projects for Central Commerce Park   as well um where we actually have infrastructure 
that needs to be just ex so you being our Economic   Development arm you're being our job creation arm 
you need for us to assist you in getting this site   shovel ready absolutely Economic Development 
doesn't happen in a silo it takes a village it   takes all of us working together getting on the 
same page to move help to move projects forward   and Denita if you looking at Santa Rosa how many 
sites do you think they have shovel ready today uh   at least three industrial areas right off of the 
interstate that's ready to go and that's who we   are competing against at that and Alabama There's 
a mega site in Alabama and there's looking at   some additional um you know investment as well 
so we continually need to look at available or   potential available properties not only for today 
tomorrow but in into our future as well so um we   look forward to working with you all in uh you 
know helping to identify potential uh sites uh   one of the areas that we do lack in is a rail 
served sites um but we've got Midtown Commerce   Park and and uh other areas in the north part of 
the county that we could look at um I'll be much   more opinion yes we call it product our inventory 
of available ready too properties thank you Denita   thank you thank you Mr chairman commissioner 
strober do you have a question yeah Denita you   could answer this maybe too I don't know um 
Drew or or Horus um Can someone Define what   the spirit of the plan means because that kind of 
goofy language worries me and I think it worries   residents out there what that means because 
it sounds like a margin for error that that's unacceptable so keeping in mind the the overall 
design idea behind the plan was for this town   center type Place uh with jobs included jobs 
and housing included um to kind of fill a   need in that area because it's going to provide 
goods and services for the greater Bula area uh   something that's really lacking at this point 
and the idea was to make this an attractive um   friendly place for folks to come and do that 
live work play it's got an area set aside as   Civic is one of the zoning categories that set 
aside yes it includes that the Wetland area   and would include you know storm water in a larger 
sense but it also would provide for Walking Trails   um different amenities that are out there yes 
Navy Federal has their rec center right next door   but this would also include for more smaller scale 
services like that and that I that's kind of where   in my head it is is the the spirit of it is the 
plan is almost aspirational and and having a nice   place to attract people to and provide for those 
folks that are already out there so it sounds like   you're telling me that we we would eror at least 
looking at the Spirit we would ER toward beautiful   we would erir toward there's nothing there's 
nothing wrong with things looking good for the   public you know we can we can have better products 
okay and if I if I may and there are some yeah and   and there are some some areas and what the intent 
is not directly specific so when it says the   experienced intent in those category that that is 
allowed the intent of the ideal is there to have   the beautification of it but it may not fit within 
that specific category in those certain Zone and   districts that has that language that that give 
us that Spirit intent yeah but that intent is not   good enough for me either yes sir that's not good 
enough so Alison you had mentioned that we can   lock in the dpz as almost like deed restrictions 
on the property and maybe that would help the   situation can you elaborate on that the the board 
really does have a a blank canvas at this point   and there are tools that you have in your toolbox 
uh one of the things we discussed I it's been   months and months ago but when we had a previous 
interested party we did talk about recording the   master plan as a restrictive covenant on the Deeds 
with that property um there are potentially some   other tools that that you might have to help 
ensure the history or in the future of what   goes there so it just depends on what the board is 
after there may be ways of um you know obligating   a buyer into maybe a development agreement or some 
other kind of contractual Arrangement or you know   you do control the land use and the zoning and the 
regulations for that property uh as the governing   agency so there are ways to control it not 100% 
not 100% but there are certainly ways to steer it   all right um I haven't just since we're on the our 
our time here a little bit three of the different   people on PDC asked me about appraisals and why 
we haven't had an appraisal Steve can I wanted to   know that I went back to our staff Steve do you 
mind comment on that because it keeps coming up   like why aren't we doing a current appraisal 
I know you and I have had a con ation about   it I got it last night as well and I think just 
for I'd like you to explain what you told me so   it's on the record there's no requirement that 
you have an appraisal you can certainly get one   um but typically that would be something that the 
prospective buyer would want to get for themselves   um but if the board chooses they can certainly 
get an appraisal if uh if that's the will of the   board yeah I guess for me it just seemed odd we 
didn't have one but I I defer to the experts on   this from your staff so it's been asked like I 
said I just wanted to have the comment on the   record as there's no other questions we can move 
on to the briefs thanks Steve right so this is   alphabetical has nothing to do by priority other 
than alphabetically so the first presentation we   can do now is berer ranch if uh Ryan oh there you 
are thank you come on up we're looking forward to   hear what you have to say thank you commissioner 
uh thank you Commissioners for your time and thank   you uh people of scambia County and Bula for 
your passion for this project and showing up   and um making your voices heard so our lovely 
assistant here is going to put up a slide for me I'm going to give her a second because I 
believe this is important it is directly t   to the conversation we just had and it's 
the mission that got me excited about this   and and what I want everybody to 
focus on and coordinate together that's it thank you thank you appreciate that um so I just want 
to Simply look at the dpz design uh so I labeled   um and named my group and this design bu Ranch 
because I've been a long standing member of this   community fifth generation um and I I love what 
the history of bua has been which is an equestrian   um Metropolis um and when I was growing up going 
to Tate High School I really enjoyed eating at bu   land barbecue where one of my friends her dad uh 
Doug Allen owned that restaurant and um so bu has   developed Pensacola's developed and and I'll get 
into that a little bit but I love that statue of a   horse right there in the center and although I may 
not build that exact one that is something very   similar to what I want to build and be the theme 
as you drive in uh to this beautiful community   that I know we can do together so I have comments 
prepared and then I'll talk a little bit if I   have have time um so uh the one thing that we 
really need uh to focus on is leadership that's   one thing that this process uh is is desperately 
needing is leadership clear and simple Direction   This is a complex process for sure and I am fully 
capable and my team is fully capable of working   through the complexities of this process but what 
we need to focus on is um clear Direction and and   simple facts and a quick story about my character 
so I'm wearing my running shoes today because I'm   nursing a leg injury from a Thanksgiving football 
uh Super Bowl that we have every year at my family   and my opponent was a commander he is out at um 
the Navy base in uh New Orleans He is 65 250 lbs   and when I was in eighth grade he broke my collar 
bone playing Thanksgiving football and this year   he spraying my leg uh trying to score a touchdown 
against him um but I'm all in whether it's playing   Thanksgiving football or it's something as 
important as this project I am Allin a th% and   it was this design that got me excited and when 
I moved my family back here to um the Pensacola   area it was a family decision for me to raise my 
kids in the environment that I was raised in that   gave me the family values and the faith values of 
this beautiful Community um so that's why I moved   back but man since being here and seeing this 
design I jumped on the phone with my friends   down in Tampa that I've built long-standing 
relationships with these are folks that have   built skyscrapers in Miami they own stadiums and 
I'm not going to name them because you would know   who they are and they told me not to do that um 
and one individual is the owner of a Fortune 100   private company um and he's interested in this 
deal and with those relationships I know that   I can deliver this product at least the contract 
get it close in 8 months in order to fulfill this   Vision um so some some quick stats about what has 
happened to our area since Navy Federal came to   town so we already had our beautiful beaches 
we had worldclass uh flight in the Navy Blue   Angels and our NAS Pensacola uh but bringing 
a worldclass the largest Credit Union in the   world and bringing the economic impact that that 
had um our representatives from WF left but they   can back me up in this it's been about $4 billion 
in economic impact so for a town of Pensacola that   and the metro area when I say Pensacola I mean 
a scambia County Santa Rosa County that is a   massive impact so what that has produced when you 
go online and read the statistics from the Federal   Reserve of St Louis we have grown at a rate of 
1.2% every year for the past 10 years which is   amazing um and it it shows in our infrastructure 
and how quickly that that has happened uh because   it has stretched our infrastructure um so it's 
time to use something like this and have a a well   planned well executed uh design that we focus on 
all aspects and one of those is is infrastructure   um so we have grown at a rate at 1.2% so for 
500,000 people between the two counties that's   5,000 people a year that we've grown at our units 
of housing units has lagged behind that at about   4,000 units so that means that we've been behind 
for the past 10 years about 500 units each year uh   to support the growth that has happened to 
Pensacola why has that happened it's because of   Navy Federal but also because of other groups like 
the IHS MC um like our wuwf and our cyber security   uh now we're the worldclass sailing home uh which 
is amazing and and we've heard that talked about   um and then palifox has been completely redone to 
be this really fun place where you can come and   eat and um have a wide culture in Parks um so when 
I've lived in t aamp and worked with groups like   the groups I want to get involved on this project 
I've been a part of these developments and lived   in these developments where we meet the design 
we meet this design right here where you can live   work play have a golf cart Community where you 
can drive down to your restaurant in your golf   cart and experience um an environment like this 
and it's very special and that's why I want to   focus on this is because that's my target that's 
what I'm going to go after um and I also have the   local relationship so ceron collie is here with me 
he's with nii he's who is my pick to help me with   the uh management of the commercial leases and 
then also uh the commercial sales uh he's done   a standup job and he has National relationships as 
well uh and he we have people that are asking for   when we're going to be done you talk about it 
being shovel ready I am ready to get it shovel   ready within eight months um now the planning can 
be done in that time the closing can be done in   that time but it may take a little more time than 
that to actually get all the engineering done get   the approvals done so that the roads get built um 
so I don't see my time but I just want to speak to   uh my relationship so some of my distant cousins 
are in the room and I won't say what their names   are I'll I'll talk to you after the meeting uh 
that live next door to the to the community uh   and then my kids and my cousins walk down Frank 
reer Road so I said this on the news uh yesterday   morning when you talk about putting 18 wheelers 
on Frank Rita Road that's a big deal that that   is a big safety concern and there's also a 
potential issue at the bottleneck so at the   at the intersection of bua and Frank reer there's 
that subdivision right there and there's a little   retention drain that's right next to it that's 
the only piece of dirt that we have to expand   that road unless you go into the uh people across 
the street and take some of their land by imminent   domain to widen it enough to get the trucks down 
that road so it's not in the contract but I'm   willing to negotiate it because I have family that 
is in that area and I want to protect them by not   saying where they live um that's why I'm willing 
to pay up to $5 million to have that service road   specifically just for trucks uh because I have 
had conversations with Florida West and Denita and   other principles of uh pedc and so I understand 
the momentum behind the jobs that they're bringing   and I believe those jobs are extremely important 
but I also understand the needs of the people in   that area and to protect those people and some 
of those people are my family members um so I   do believe that I can help quarterback this and 
marry um the goal to get jobs but then also the   goal to make sure that this is a responsible um 
development so if there's any other questions   with that I'll go ahead and yield my time but 
I've I'm excuse me I'm sorry I'm the only one   of the three developers that have signed this 
contract and that's because I'm ready if you   are ready I'm ready to get this started to get the 
money delivered to get the jobs delivered to get   my friends to not just talk about doing this but 
to bring them here and I am excited to use this as   something to do other developments that I've 
already kind of just laid out there for them and   I'm not going to mention those developments right 
now but they're downtown Pensacola and it would be   very exciting uh to get this done thank you guys 
thanks Ryan let's open it up commissioner may you   have a question thank you Mr chairman and you feel 
comfortable with the T DBZ design design I do I   love it and that's why I put it up here so to the 
point that we just had the uh conversation about   the design yes it's a beautiful design um it may 
need to be enhanced when we get the real companies   we get the real housing we get the real shops and 
restaurants um it will need to fit the buildings   that are going there so what I mean by that is 
that I'm going to stick to the zoning because   I believe in it and I believe it's appropriate um 
but it it the the exact details of the engineering   and the architecture need to be added maybe that's 
the safe way to say that to the to the plan and   you feel comfortable that in8 months you'd have 
all the design and Engineering completed yes sir   absolutely it could be done sooner than that when 
would you think that you'd be shovel ready after   the contract is executed after the eight months 
after the eight months after the eight months   would I want to do it sooner yes uh that's not 
necessarily a realistic uh thing for me to say   in in this time right now and what was your 
bottom line offer in your contract so it's   30 million and um is that negotiable or is 
that your hard I mean such a hard number so   I there is such a passion and an energy from my 
group and my friends to get this done and from   my local friends to get this done and that's why 
Cameron's in this room today um so there's there's   there's a desire to get it done now that's why 
I signed the contract now so that we could move   forward under the current terms of the contract 
and that's why my attorney uh trip May Garden   uh here at Morhead law advised me to not put the 
terminology of the road in the contract for today   um but sorry to answer your question yes I think 
there's some room but I so the number is not hard   it's not hard from your perspective so I mean 
because the number seems just a little low can it   yeah sorry I'm looking at a 15 minute clock behind 
you or 15 seconds I'll y you time if you want to   answer it so here's here's something that's super 
important about this deal and why this has been   back and forth and back and forth and back and 
forth in the design there's 180 acres for public   use and for park that's great it's beautiful 
and I do believe that I can hit the investment   numbers that I need to hit for my group based on 
the current design however if we go back and take   out 270 Acres of that total in the design code the 
developable acres are 424 acres so if you take out   270 of that that then leaves me with 270 you take 
out 180 for civic and public that leaves me with   90 Acres 60 of which are residential for me to try 
and hit my investment goals I'm sorry that's just   not that's not going to happen so the 30 million 
includes the 270 it does not include the 27 the 30   million includes all of it yes sir okay y thank 
you Mr chairman any any other comments from the   board okay thanks Mr B I appreciate that thank 
you everyone um uh we're going to start next with   Bel Town Center uh Fred I don't know who's 
briefing from your group but please come up good morning I'm Fred hmer as most of you know 
I'm principal with bu town center and I've been   up here a number of times and I'm finally very 
thankful we're getting to this position where   I think we're going to finally be able to have you 
all have the information to make a decision I want   to introduce our our partners and principles Chad 
horn I think most of you have met he's been my   partner up here for the 14 years we've been doing 
business and we've been very close friends for   almost 40 years Brian Spencer obviously know local 
architect and Brian Chad and I have been good   friends for the last 10 years and Brian is also 
a partner with us on other projects in St Pete   as well as does architectural service for us in 
St Petersburg will dunway is our attorney as you   know and where's Rob Rob barons and Ben are with 
Metro development because of our time limitation   here we think it's most important for us to give 
all of our time to Rob with Metro so that he can   show and explain what Metro does obviously at the 
end of that all of us are available to answer any   questions and the the rest of us may speak tonight 
as individuals too thank you thank you friend well Ben's hooking me up here let me just give 
you a brief thank you for having us here this   morning I'll reintroduce myself to some of you uh 
thank you all for letting us do this presentation   uh Metro Development Group is a uh headquartered 
in Tampa Florida and we work all over the State   of Florida this is what we do for a living we 
do Master Plan mixed juice communities and I'm   going to walk you through this just a little bit 
so you can understand what we do um here's the big   Point here we've been in business since 2002 I've 
been a principal at this company since then um so   I've been through all this ups and downs in a real 
estate market we have tremendous experience uh as   you can see we have over 50 employees just in our 
development company uh we own 3500 multif family   units uh we have 1,200 Acres of commercial uh we 
currently have 28 active projects throughout the   state of Florida uh with over 60,000 Lots included 
with all of that mixed juice some of the people we   do business with I know most of you know those 
names uh you'll see some of them are commercial   developers some are Hotel some are uh even School 
Builders and we'll get into that in a little bit throughout our history we've won a number 
of awards for what we've done in the community   these Awards don't sit in our offices they 
sit in the county offices we are very I guess   passionate about partnering with the county or 
the municipality this won't work unless we're all happy we went into Pasco County which is down near 
Tampa we asked that County what do you want how   do you want to see this developed we had 4,000 
Acres inside this County we got with all of our   neighbors we got together and formed 8,000 
Acres of a mixed use Community Way larger   than what we're talking about here today but 
all the same planning has to go into this it   has to have a road Network the industrial or 
manufacturing has to be inside the community   but where you position it is going to be very 
important the previous speaker had concerns about   that up at the North End so do I that that road is 
substandard I don't know if that's where that all goes to do this we have to have Partners involved 
with every single part of this community so the   count's a partner but if you want to build 
commercial we need a commercial partner we   need one best-in class that's who's going to 
deliver this and do the right job you have a   phenomenal piece of property here I would suggest 
we don't blow it we do this kind of commercial we   think it's different we think it's upscale we 
think it's what you need here in this County   we partner with all sorts of people that do all 
sorts of things they are Financial Partners and   they're Builder Partners I our company does not 
build multifam but we have Partners who build   multifam we partner with them best in class and 
we deliver phenomenal communities this is some   of the stuff that we do with our partners not 
necessarily upscale I think we need to cover   the whole Gambit of whatever the community is 
but I think you need to have this something you   can be proud of so successful in what we called 
connected City 1.0 that we own 6,000 Acres on   the other side of the county we did connected City 
2.0 the big difference with that we convinced the   mafit cancer center to do their World Center for 
Cancer Research 24 million square fet 15,000 jobs   just with mfet we partnered with them to get them 
in our community and we worked with the county to   make sure they had a seamless transition 
into that County this is what we've done   in Pasco County since we started with that 
collaboration with everyone involved so here's   my pitch this shouldn't be contentious this should 
be a work in progress do I agree with the zoning   plan I don't even know the worst thing we can do 
is build a building and no tenant I hope Denita is   right I hope there's a line out our door when we 
start this and we're going to together make this   a community we can be proud of so I don't know 
if everything's right in your zoning conditions   but together we're going to figure out if it is 
but this isn't me coming in and trying to choke   you with something and it can't be the other 
way around so it has to be something we've all   agreed to and that's what we do best with every 
single Community we build we partner with the   municipality to make sure they got what they 
wanted I'm going to beat my 10 minutes so um   there you go that's me that's Metro Development 
Group um and here to answer any questions you   guys might have does the board have any questions 
for Rob just just one um so are you satisfied with   the dpz plan I mean you think you can work within 
the confines of that or you would stray from that   no I'm I'm going to say we're going to stray 
um but I don't know enough about it that I can   tell you how but I already know I don't think the 
Industrials up at the North End of the project um   I think traffic is going to be one of your 
bigger concerns in a project like this and   so I think you need to have seamless integration 
between um all of the uses in here we named it   connected City because it connects a whole bunch 
of different ways we own a high-speed internet   company we have the fastest internet speeds in 
the Country 2 gig over two gig it's symmetric   important in this thing part of the connection we 
do golf cart paths everywhere in our communities   they're zoned to be on a street but what we've 
also done is we've connected neighborhoods and   sections with shortcuts so imagine this your son 
or daughter can get to school on their golf cart   you can go to the grocer on your golf cart so 
that's important it creates a social Fabric in   a community I think it's going to be important 
that you have a town center with common space so   everyone can go down there and enjoy life in this 
community I think it needs to cover everything   live work and play although maybe overused very 
important in a community like this you can't have   vacant Parcels for 10 or 20 years for this to be 
successful you need to start it off with a bang   and you need to get going and create that energy 
that a community like this is going to need and   so I think when you're planning this I think we're 
going to come together and go I don't know if this   makes any sense you know and and and maybe it 
does and maybe it doesn't but I will commit to   you it will be a collaborative effort I I am not 
here to try and choke anybody with anything you   like that plan I'm going to come in and show you 
why maybe that plan doesn't work and maybe most   of the plan does don't don't know yet and again 
what was the bottom line number for the contract   your offer 42 and A2 42 and A2 is that negotiable 
always at heart everything's negotiable okay thank you all right um I don't see any other uh 
mics on so I I obviously thank you for the   presentation I know you guys have been 
involved with this for a long time um I   um I look forward to the discussion after 
the last one but thank you for coming and   presenting the brief appreciate it um 
if we could have I don't know if it's   going to be Chad or Mr Wilson or Ashton from 
triw come up and present their U presentation Comm H you here Al can help look you help me 
look for this I don't know all right Mr chairman uh Commissioners thanks 
so much for for having us uh my name is Chad   Henderson I'm representing the Catalyst Wilson 
team that has presented um an offer on OA Faith   um I going start off by by saying that you know 
we we really really and truly believe um that   this is this is way more than than than a 
real estate um a real estate transaction   uh this is we we understand the gravity of the 
decision that you guys are are are thinking   about and and being prepared to make uh we also 
understand that this has been you know a decade or   more worth of work and that uh we're here standing 
on uh the shoulders of giants like folks like Jim   cononley that has done fantastic work in order 
for this to have this to even be a possibility   uh but we also know that this is not just a real 
estate transaction this is a partnership selection   uh this is who is going to be your partner with 
this Gem of a resource and a gem of an asset to   Northwest Florida we're committed to working 
within the dpz plan I know the word Spirit has   been thrown around uh but uh we certainly want 
to work in within the confines of dpz we would   reach out to them and work with them within the 
spirit if there was need to be tweaks uh certainly   working alongside with you and those Milestones 
as well you know but we believe this is about   alignment we believe this is about partnership But 
ultimately what's it really about is outcomes is   the outcomes um we believe there needs to be 
one master developer to hold accountable you   know we we in our shop we call it one throat 
to choke you know so so one uh one entity an   organization a group of Partners to look at and 
hold accountable for their work um and there is   so many different details uh meticulous details 
when you're talking about a property of this size   uh in a lot of moving parts to make sure that you 
have a fantastic working relationship with one   group uh to work so um so ultimately we are very 
much in favor of holding the property together and   having one um one developer uh on the real quickly 
I'm going to walk through just as the plan sits I   really think there's three key stakeholders here 
uh there are those that are are very much about   you know what the original intent of intent 
of this project was which is job creation so   we're going to call that the E District so the E 
District stakeholders uh certainly the mixed use   District stakeholders that our folks in the 
community that are really uh uh in favor of   having a beating heart of Bula and finally just 
the stewardship of this group here of of just   what it means to try and move this forward we also 
want to tell you about our team and our our firm's   experience as well as a few case studies that 
we're going to walk through from an e District   perspective um you know Denita said this but it 
is 100% going to take a united front to bring   the jobs that we all want to bring it's going to 
take a united front certainly the developer has a   a huge role in this uh but any developer will be 
remiss not to use you know the local and Regional   tools in the toolbox to make sure that we are 
best oriented to recruit the best uses the best   employers onto the site so we've had many work 
we've had a couple workshops with pedc leadership   in Florida West leadership uh just this week we 
have submitted an mou a member of understanding   of Our intention to partner with those groups you 
know through from an e District perspective and a   commitment to creating jobs into creating the jobs 
that we all want we have great uh case studies and   examples of how we have done that in the past um 
and looking forward to sharing with that in a bit   uh we also you know just want to make sure that 
we're coming about this from a as a unified front   of being a leader out front and and focusing on 
quality and and just creating this sense of belief   that we can do this together that we we believe 
that we can recruit the highquality employers   that we want now certainly just having a shovel 
ready sight is it's great it's a great place to   start but having a curated master plan that works 
together that creates a sense of place and a sense   of community certainly AIDS in how we can bring 
and how we can recruit those those employers so   this is absolutely connected and that's why 
it's important to have one master developer other stakeholders is uh the mix use District we 
have met with uh uh with several key stakeholders   of The Bu Community um and we have both from 
U large employers like Navy Federal Theresa   Blackwell and and others to talk about what a 
beating heart means to them um and certainly we   we we think that with our experience we can create 
that within the confines of in the spirit of the   dpz plan you know a place uh that is curated 
not a place that just hang shingles to to to   collect any type of rent but to create you know 
experiences where people can gather where they can   have a human capital exchange where they can enjoy 
family where they can talking about uh you know   starting the next business or that game on the 
on last Friday night but places to gather and and   certainly Civic anchors help to do that you know 
my background uh has been more on the healthcare   and wellness and health span sign we believe 
that Healthcare is certainly a Civic anchor to   a community and those are what we're talking about 
creating Civic anchors to where we can build on   but a purposeful mix of uses of national regional 
and local operators that create that sense of   place and I mentioned an 18-hour environment 
and why I say that is that I don't want to have   a just an office Park where where people show 
up at 8:00 a.m. and they leave at 5:00 P p.m.   and it's and it's just dark on the weekends but 
I certainly not trying to create just a shopping   and a retail District either or an Entertainment 
District of nothing but food and beverage that's   that's activated at 5:00 p.m. and Beyond but 
it's a mix of those uses that come together that   curation that really creates a a sense of place in 
community and honestly it's it's a it's where you   end up is you know the whole is way greater than 
the sum of its parts right it's not just about a   retail center it's not just about a park uh it's 
not just about an e District but it's how these   things interact with one another and that's why 
when we come as a partner and we work with dpz and   others to make sure that we have uh while while 
we're certainly grounded our feet are grounded   in the spirit of that plan but we're coming back 
to you maybe if we needed some augmented changes   based on interest we have you know from from an 
employer or user that that would make sense of   move the needle uh from a stewardship perspective 
which is this on you we I think choosing the right   developer means everything whether that's us 
or someone else uh because while the purchase   price is certainly important it is a uh it's an 
immediate Roi on on your investment uh on your   your your your strategy of land swap uh but 
ultimately it's just a beginning that's where   it starts that's day one uh but if you're not 
thinking about day two and Beyond I think we're   really missing the boat so you know choosing the 
right developer means everything um obviously uh   this is a fiduciary responsibility for this piece 
of property in this District but also we believe   for the greater Northwest Florida in the region 
where you know a rising tide floats all boats   um but I I would I would also say that you know 
this is imposs possible with without the access   to a few things it's the right access to private 
Capital the type of capital I mean we believe this   is over a you know half a billion to a billion 
dollar project over a certain you know longer   period of time and access to Capital is extremely 
important uh and myself and we we'll tell you some   more examples and some details in a bit uh 
but access to uh some of the leading private   Equity you know platforms uh uh in real estate uh 
throughout the nation and the world you know folks   like Cowper um in Harrison Street and heightman 
and Mitsubishi pension and metti uh but bringing   this institutional capital and the network that 
comes with it is certainly and certainly important   uh We Believe on having the right relationships 
nationally regionally and local nationally from   a capital perspective from a user perspective same 
thing from a regional perspective but also from a   local perspective and a Statewide perspective to 
how to navigate you know all of those important   relationships that help us further leverage our 
tools in the toolbox to make sure that we're   getting all that we can get to be successful and 
certainly we want to make sure that we're made   up of the right team of significant talent and 
meaningful experiences uh this is not the project   uh to embark on something new uh but to to align 
and partner with someone that has done this before   platforms that have done this before we think that 
is extremely important um what I want to point out   between me and and and my partners behind me 
is that there's really two platforms coming   together uh so certainly U we'll highlight some 
key leadership and some key leadership experiences   but these are platform organizations uh that run 
the gamut of experience in mixed use you know   residential um you know e District development 
uh Health Care retail food and beverage and so   forth so the power of the platform and between the 
platforms is over 250 individuals and these come   from Capital markets background construction and 
development background Asset Management background   financial reporting and accounting background 
Business Development and Innovation background   that's the platforms that are coming together uh 
I was lucky enough to to to find um to to found   Health uh Catalyst Healthcare real estate back in 
2009 uh I I originated this organization here in   Pensacola Florida I'm very proud of the team uh 
that we have built uh we have offices in Dallas   Texas and in Central Florida as well in Milwaukee 
Wisconsin um and and have um you know the benefit   of of traveling throughout the country and see 
how other communities do it and how they think   about it um but so certainly being grounded here 
in Pensacola uh I grew up just uh one exit down   the road went to Pine Forest High School so this 
is my backyard this is a legacy opportunity for   me and my family as well um I think that this is 
um uh to to be grounded in this local uh aspect   as well as having this natural reach National 
reach is certainly important to be successful at   Catalyst we've placed over 600 million of equity 
in The Last 5 Years uh what that means is if you   leverage It Up by 65% of uh of debt I mean that's 
1.4 1.5 billion um in activity in commercial real   estate in The Last 5 Years um jwa Jim Wilson 
and Associate Will Wilson my partner has immense   experience uh in in in a myriad of different uh 
real estate sectors including job creation uh   as well as retail uh and residential uh based in 
Montgomery Alabama they are um uh certainly a um   a Powerhouse partner to have I'm lucky that they 
would um even think about partnering with someone   like me to come down here and do a fantastic job 
they've done over two billion uh in development   um and they uh have uh 25 million square feet of 
experience working with institutional Capital uh   on retail we we we'll go through some case studies 
as well um we have U we are going to give you a   copy of our um of our presentation so you can 
dig deeper into some of the um uh some of the   individuals and the leadership's experience um I 
do want to pour out some some somebody that I'm   certainly proud of uh who moved to Pensacola three 
months ago is Eric Fischer here um Eric uh is the   um is the chief development officer of catalyst 
Eric comes from comes to us from Washington DC   where he was the former managing director of traml 
crow company which one of the most high-profile   prolific developers um in the country um he um 
is also uh the chair the co-chair and founder of   uh UL life sciences and um and healthc Care um um 
uh committee um so Eric brings to us uh over 13.4   million square feet of development experience 
as well uh valued of roughly 4.7 billion a lot   of those um experiences we'll point out here in a 
second with some case studies moved to Pensacola   with his wife certainly certainly happy to have 
him and he'd be a fantastic resource uh on this   project uh certainly um U having Ash in our team 
and and to be able to navigate his relationships   at the local and state level uh and even the 
federal level to make sure again that we are   leveraging all the tools in the toolbox and 
working with pedc Florida West and others to   make sure that we are getting uh all of the best 
um you know I hate the word leverage but the best   you know orientation uh to to be successful and 
so happy to have Ashton on our team as well uh   a couple of quick just I'm going to fire through 
these on um um these case studies East Chase is   in Montgomery uh in 1999 this was a 330 acre 
uh Hayfield uh and today uh it is um over 250   million investment that created 4,500 jobs over 
1.5 million square feet of a real estate built uh   mixed use of um a mixed use community that does 
have a sense of place and a sense of walkability   uh over 30 restaurants uh in East Chase uh offices 
and a partnership um with a a large Insurance   organization in this development uh Redstone 
Gateway and Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville   Alabama um is a a really large I think in a very 
fitting example uh 468 Acres uh 550 million uh in   investment that has created almost 8,700 jobs uh 
a partnership with the United States Army uh and   working in the defense Contracting industry and 
and bringing really high wage jobs as an anchor to   this development and certainly we believe there's 
there's some uh relationships to leverage on there   um it's interesting here if you look at the dpz 
plan and and the website dpz they point out uh   kin's Maryland uh dpz as an example of scale um 
and um actually Eric uh ran point on some of that   development in the astroica campus that was the 
E District of Kentlands in addition uh down the   street uh working with John's Hopkins University 
uh for 1.5 million square ft and 60 Acres which   is kind of a a separate phase of Kentland at 
the bellward cancas that is research um that   has biofarma pharmaceutical manufacturing um 
and all of that he work in Rand point on that   we're certainly looking forward to leveraging his 
experience and relationships from that experience   uh locally um I have led efforts at uh downtown 
East Garden District uh that is we just broke   ground on our placemaking hotel hotel Tristan 
uh but uh curating uh different spaces to create   another 18-hour uh node or or District in downtown 
as well as ransley station which is one exit over   uh that's 60 acre development uh including 
residential uh retail U and other uses uh and   just to wrap up um you know I think why you why 
you should consider Catalyst and uh and the Wilson   team is really there's three major things that I 
think you should consider in choosing a developer   and I don't think you can have two of these 
three things you have to have all three of them   do they get it do they get do they get the type of 
development that you're trying to create do they   get working with than uh the master plan uh do 
they want it do do they want to get up every day   uh with their ass on fire uh to make this uh the 
everything that it can be and use every resource   that we could use to make sure that this is a um a 
success and then finally do they have the capacity   and the relationships to execute do they have the 
capacity from a capital perspective do they have   the relationships from uh an employer perspective 
network uh a a and other users that help to create   this mixed use environment and this e District 
everything that we wanted um so I will end there   and um open for questions Mr chairman Mr chair 
Mr may please greetings CH welcome good to see   you hey are you happy with the dpz plan I kind of 
heard you allude to it a little bit that you could   work within it or yeah what's your thoughts yeah 
U yeah we certainly believe in the bones of that   plan we use the word Spirit um but ultimately 
I think the question was was asked I mean by   you commissioner strer is like what does the 
spirit mean well the spirit means is I think   that that we're grounded in that plan but if 
we think that a high level design is going to   be just hard and fast everything that we need to 
be successful uh I think that is a little um um   maybe far-reaching but how to work within that 
plan and certainly that's where I that's where   I say that we're Partners we're coming to you 
with any changes of that plan but I think you   know what it really uh boils down to again from 
from a dpz perspective is having that mixed use   Beating Heart of Bula approach and then having 
that commitment to the E District which is the   original t of this plan to create job jobs so um 
we've already at a high level spoke with dpz and   um uh about bringing them back in and thinking 
about uh how uh there may be some changes but I   mean I think again the bones is the bones is there 
I mean I think certainly the bones are there and   In fairness CH to what I've asked the previous two 
presenters uh in your contract what's the number   that you're offer 40 million 40 million is that 
negotiable or is that hard well well we started   uh in our underwriting in financial modeling 
at a 30 at a number that started with a three   um and and um we we we try to put our best foot 
forward um W with the $40 million number uh I'm   not saying that we're not willing to listen and 
and to talk uh but that number does come from   a place that I feel that uh the developer can be 
successful excuse me um so the number wasn't just   you know thrown out we're not interested in um a 
bidding war we're we're we're interested in in in   putting a number out forth that we can execute on 
uh the other thing that I would really uh ask the   commission to consider is is the certainty of 
execution it's one thing to say a number it's   another thing to uh actually make sure that uh we 
believe that we're ready and willing to execute   on that number uh now um does that mean that 
we won't listen to a conversation we'll listen   uh but we're we're pretty we're pretty sound at 
40 million and that includes the 270 for the light   industrial correct yes sir it does um we uh part 
of our positioning and conversations with pedc in   Florida West is that as we get into the plan and 
as we have control and obviously having control of   the property uh through a uh a binding contract 
allows us and gives us the Comfort to spend uh   you know the means uh the time and the resources 
to dig in further uh and if we find tools in the   toolbox leveraging um you know other um folks like 
pedc in Florida West and if there is a another um   a way to go about this we would certainly present 
that to you and talk about it but we are prepared   to uh uh to execute on our 40 million for the 
whole property thank you Mr Henderson thank   you Mr chairman commission Barry do you have a 
comment yeah thank you real briefly and I I know   we'll have a I suspect a lengthier discussion 
this evening but um when you mentioned the you   know kind of working with dpz as you you know if 
you if you were to go under contract then you're   comfortably spending money which I certainly 
understand that but you're talking about working   uh you know considering the master plan and then 
you know kind of working with the board if there   may be some tweaks or something to that but you 
also mentioned working with dpz so you would see   that you would anticipate the ability to work with 
dpz and have their agreement and their rationale   and their narrative to whatever if some tweaks 
need to be made you would you would anticipate   support in those tweaks and then that coming to 
us right with with their kind of stamp you would   anticipate that I mean even in their um you know 
culminating kind of statements and comments on   their own plan they mentioned the fact uh that 
as time passes uh that it that the plan could   need to be massaged uh alongside a developer uh 
so we certainly uh you know they have a ton of   experience and a ton of resources not only uh 
from their broader background but with this uh   project specifically and and hold holding shetes 
um and and getting feedback uh from stakeholders   and and Community users as well as you guys uh and 
other uh proe District folks and jobs folks uh so   we find that they would be a great partner to uh 
to go back and assess the plan I think another we   were talking about getting into more of the 
nuts and bolts of of how the infrastructure   comes together from a traffic uh from a utility 
perspective from a master storm water perspective   as we get into more of those details that's 
really where we could help to drive you know   some of the tweaking because we want to make sure 
that the infrastructure is set up for success but   you you would be managing that relationship with 
DP the group would be that would be under us yes   sir and then you would anticipate you know if 
you needed if you needed three acres to be from   X to y or something you would anticipate managing 
the relationship with dpz and then bringing that   idea forward with you know kind of with their 
stamp saying look this you know we understand   why this makes sense some change conditions 
over the last seven or eight years whatever   the number is exactly but that's the way you 
would anticipate the if there's meaningful and   um uh changes for sure to come back I think um 
you know if we're going to move you know a stop   sign across the road I mean we would certainly 
you know we want to waste anybody's time and   resources but if there's meaningful changes in 
and and there might be uh but again under the   you know the context of what the bones of the 
original plan is we would certainly work with   you as a partner and bring that back to you for 
your for your I guess kind of what I'm saying is   so if you think about the podium being there and 
you know you would be managing that relationship   on the it's on this side it's it's on this side 
we we we we are bearing that cost we are bearing   that time and effort we're a steward of that 
and then bringing that back to you if there is   material change as a kind of finished product this 
is what we've you know collectively come up with   is uh is our idea yes sir okay super thank you Mr 
chairman commissioner Hoffer um how many jobs are   you anticipating on creating and what would you 
guess the average pay for those jobs would be   um that's it's a good question but but I certainly 
don't want to get over my skis I certainly think   at at a property this size if you look at the 
examples I mean even within 60 to to 80 acres   of a well you know uh orchestrated e District 
you can create thousands of jobs uh so I would   anticipate thousands of jobs you know we we use 
East Chase as an example at 4500 jobs at 330   Acres um you know there's 8,700 jobs at Redstone 
Arsenal that's 468 acre so we would certainly   believe that we would bring um you know thousands 
and thousands of jobs you know 8,000 or more uh   over 540 Acres 6 68,000 or more over 540 Acres 
um the you know the from a pay range perspective   in that e District specifically you know we're 
going to be going after exactly what uh has been   presented to you um and and um commissioner May 
has spoke to earlier of 61,000 or more uh we're   certainly going to be going after for that with 
with great Earnest uh to create those types of   jobs in the E District uh commission stroberg I 
saw like this is there is there an equation for   how many jobs we should be putting on a property 
that size um you know I think the certainly um   there are formulas and equations uh but that also 
is very relative to what market and submarket that   you're in uh you know obviously the more dense 
and the more urban uh the the more jobs that   you would create on a less amount of Acres uh 
this being um out uh in in The Bu Community we   certainly want to be mindful of what we're trying 
to stay within that the bones of that plan and the   density associated with that in some capacity 
so we want to make sure that we're you we're   orienting U you know to to the overall again mixed 
use and E District so the E District site would   have a higher density of jobs because it's jobs 
only well the mixed use site certainly mixed use   commercial could also create jobs uh but probably 
less per acre given that there's a myriad of uses   there I will say I was told by someone involved 
in the initial uh attaining of the property their   goal was 8.5 jobs per acre with an average wage 
of $65,000 a year so that would have been 4590 jobs a lot all right is there any further 
comments or questions Well Chad and to   the whole group thank you thank you for the 
presentation um I found I found it very useful   for me and I appreciate that and Mr chairman 
just to clarify what our intent is going to   be this evening so this is on a discussion 
item for the administrator's portion yes   sir okay so hypothetically at least you know 
aspirationally we could end up this evening   giving some direction to Wes and Allison to try 
to negotiate an acceptable contract with a party   that's that's that's your thought for putting on 
so we could act I'm only one person but I would   yeah I would be willing to go forward with that 
if we could that's what I me aspirationally that's   all I'm saying that that's and that's why you put 
it on the agenda said we could take action if we   chose to okay do we want to discuss numbers 
now if we have numbers in mind or do we want   to hang on to that for this afternoon or what's 
the protocol for I'm open for coming if anyone   wants to make it today or we can wait till this 
evening my my I'm happy to do whatever the the   board would like to do I I I my impression was 
we would probably just take all the discussion   and then have our discussion I was leaning 
as well but if you if you're compelled we I   would rather do it this evening I think we'd 
have a little bit of decision space I'm sure   some of you guys will I've talked to everyone 
multiple times I I will tell you this I think   the county and the board is in a good position 
there's a lot of Pros here and it's I for me I   think we're at a point where we need to make a 
decision with somebody um so we'll see where we   end up tonight but I would like to have further 
discussion tonight unless there's any further   so Mr chairman I mean you're you're looking for a 
a motion to accept these projects as presented to   accept them modified Ian I mean because I I would 
just like to know the clear gold and certainly I'm   going to yield uh to commissioner stroberg and 
commissioner Barry I mean it it directly affects   our districts um but I'd like to at least if I'm 
you know trying to study uh before tonight because   this is a major decision probably the largest 
land decision that will make on this di in in   our career uh which you know um is 15 years old to 
me because it was talked about before I was ever   elected uh with Jim cronley and and trying to make 
it I I wanted I think that important as a board   that we are lock step together I mean because it 
is Major I just like to know what the tenants are   or where we trying to get you know I know there's 
still discussion uh from our Economic Development   Partners as it relates to taking out that AC 
and I think all the presenters have presented   whole none of them had presented partial uh but 
I think I'd like to from my colleagues know what   direction we're going I can go I can go either way 
I can go wherever what's best for this community   uh but I'd liked it rather than come back and 
go round and round and round in in a circle   uh once again I mean even if I'm want to go for 
10 minutes and everyone say what's important to   them on the parameters and then then we know and 
then we'll have some we'll have some guidance for   this evening I mean I just want to know I mean I'm 
like you let's let's let's get off first base man   I mean all right let's couple minutes each person 
what's important to them and then let's wrap it up   all right commissioner B do you want to go first 
sure um I mean purchase price is is is a Topline   number that's what gets uh you know that's that's 
what the headline is in a newspaper or you know on   the television station so it's a factor um it's 
not the the overall deciding factor I think that   one of the things that came up in uh some of the 
discussions last year was uh some projected uh   you know some economic forecasting and projected 
Revenue that's going to come from the project uh   I know that some of that data I would presume 
some of that data is going to exist related   to uh the Redstone project related to east east 
chase project related to some other projects that   jwa has done I'm sure it exist related to some 
projects that Metro has done I say that because   I know it was a factor when we were looking at 
another developer a year and a half ago a couple   projects that they had done in Atlanta uh some of 
the Sal tax and the the creation for the revenue   that was being created for local government was 
you know they were very substantial dollars per   acre created there so that's a that's that's a 
factor uh the job creation is a is a is a huge   Factor especially the non you know non- retail 
non-service industry jobs um you know and and   anything happening inside a building I'm I'm 
good with that I know there's a I know there's   a greater multiplier that's going to come from you 
it's going to come from not just not just Aviation   type jobs but any type of manufacturing the 
multiplier is going to be greater coming off with   the do jobs than it is uh even high wage office 
jobs but it's not that great of a multiplier and   what you end up seeing is you know if you're 
talking about 60 or $70,000 office jobs we see   the success of that next door and the impact that 
that has and the multiplier that that's had in our   community and it's and it's substantial and um 
and you know one of the presenters mentioned you   know the the or I think all three of them may have 
mentioned and they all three did a very good job   um but the partnering you know is important to me 
it's a it's a partner that does have the financial   capacity to execute the contract I trust that they 
have the intent to execute the contract which I   had an issue with uh some discussions that we had 
last year you know I I I I was not comfortable   that there was actually the intent for closing 
on the contract in the county being paid so that   they have the capacity that they have the intent 
to actually close and then that they have the um   the relationships to put well paid butts in seats 
on those Acres which is the you know which is the   which is the intent you know we have settled for 
you know we've settled for mixed use project and   and and that's okay and you know dpz to a person 
everybody says they do a fantastic job so I have   to you know I have to believe that so we have a 
mixed ju product and uh but the wellp paid butts   and seats on the northern half of it is important 
to me and I think that there are a couple of the   folks that uh that presented today that I I would 
be comfortable that they could put those butts in   seats and and that's uh just a few of the things 
that are really really important to me but I'm   happy to talk some more this evening thank you 
very commissioner may you have some thoughts Mr   first let me thank you for your leadership in 
in moving this forward um there are a couple   things I think I've been pretty consistent and 
I've been pretty consistent in supporting uh my   two colleagues who represent those districts and 
listening to my friends like Teresa uh who know   how important it is to Residence because although 
I don't represent that uh Community I do have   friends and I have friends that uh live right on 
the out side of outline fi8 and and they're very   concerned I think the number one priority this 
started as an economic development project for   job creation uh to create jobs that were high- 
wage jobs I'm excited about a town center but I   certainly recognize that if people can't make at 
least $60,000 and I like your number actually 65   actually uh we're not going to lower the cost 
of housing there's no such thing as affordable   housing it's what you can afford is how do we 
provide people with jobs that provide them an   opportunity for an attainable house nice house to 
live work and play like all other citizens and so   to me uh number one to me is is that job creation 
because that was a commitment when sitting down   with the Admiral Freddy Donovan and Jim cronley 
long before this ever became an issue of the   opportunity uh to create light industrial jobs and 
we had no more land in esamia County to do this   and Santa Rosa was beating us to the Finish Line 
every time as they continue to do and so people   have to um drive to Santa Rosa County to get a 
job and their children end up going to schools   and the schools are better than our schools 
and why it's all based on economics because   they have better jobs and so people that live 
in poverty uh have find themselves in uh poor   situations with poor outcomes and so for me that's 
important and the other thing is you know although   I'm very respectful to my two colleagues about 
representing the district uh the initial 17 20   million whatever million that we invested was all 
the taxpayer dollars and all five of us deserve   Roi for our citizens before their devest for 
their investment no investor or developer is   going to put forth money without an Roi uh to be 
able to make money they need to make money but at   the same time our citizens we have critical issues 
within the infrastructure of all of our districts   that uh that bottom line number means a lot I mean 
certainly I don't want to create a bidding war but   $2 million means a lot $25 million $3 million 
means a lot because for $500,000 I can do a lot   of sidewalks a lot of lights you know I can do a 
lot of small drainage projects uh in my district   so um I'm hoping to get that back so my my three 
things you know obviously it's price it's jobs and   then it's respect to the citizens who live there 
and to my colleagues that represent those District   so those are my three points but at the end of 
the day I cannot uh discard that you know the   bottom line number is going to be important to me 
in that promise of those job the only promise that   we ever made that I ever made was job creation 
that's the only only promise I've ever made in   this whole thing that I was going to try to get 
people jobs and you know although we have some   good jobs I mean 16 $17 an hour jobs don't allow 
for people to live there I mean and so what are   we going to do bust people in like we bust them 
downtown I mean because they can't afford to live   and they can work but they can't live watercolor 
it don't matter I mean if people can work there   they ought to be able to live there and so to 
me how do we coordinate that and so that's just   going to be important to me that I can support so 
thank you Mr chairman thank you commissioner Bay   commissioner shurer so second meeting for 
me and we're talking about decision space   and and I'm GNA be making a decision pretty 
quickly I i' I've met with everybody Ryan um   Fred and and his group and Ashton and Chad 
and and I think we've got great potential   here I think what we have in front of us looks 
great I think they'll build something beautiful   I um and I think I told all of you that I'm not 
as interested in the this the purchase price of   the land I know that we'll get what we what we 
need for it I'm more interested in what's going   to happen out there and how you know I'm thinking 
of it as a homeowner or a um somebody looking for   a home would I want to live there would I want 
to live there that's how I look at it I want to I   want something that the residents there would love 
to be continue to live there next to so that's   what I'm looking at because I know that we'll 
get what we want for that property um I know the   original attempt was to create jobs I still would 
like to re-evaluate the viability of um light   industrial how much we actually need out there 
you know and what we can really bring out there   I I brought up Workforce um earlier with the need 
because I I'm I'm concerned that we don't have a   the trained Workforce to bring some of those jobs 
that we want here and but I think if we build   something beautiful that people want to live you 
know we could bring those jobs we can bring those   jobs then because I want those jobs I mean this 
has been this is the Cradle of Naval Aviation and uh I'm a man of a certain age so I get emotional 
sometimes when that for no reason um but and and   I came here it's the Cradle of Naval Aviation and 
and the home of the Blue Angels and I want it to   always be that I want it to always be that and 
and I want it to be a place we all want to keep   living at we've got these we got the hospitals 
the universities and the colleges we got the Naval   Base we have the tourism we should be fat and 
happy here in Pensacola and I want to be I want   us to all be happier that's what I want I want 
our happy index to just Peg the peg the scale okay   that's what I'm looking for um I'm looking for 
jobs too I'm looking for all those things I think   the developers that we have have the bandwidth 
to do all those things that we want um I I I I   if we have to make a decision tonight I think 
I'm prepared to make the decision um if we had   a little bit more time I I might make a different 
choice I don't know maybe we get other choices   I don't know that either um but I'm happy with 
the presentations we had thank you very much for everything thank you Steve and um you're happy 
index is always high if you please go be happy   live in good places have a good job right 
um so for me top priority would be jobs so   I would like to see some guarantee on jobs and 
the average wage for those jobs um Allison can   probably work that in with some legal magic 
into the contract maybe uh I would also like   to see a higher dollar down something close to 
maybe 5% down on that that goes hard within 180   days just to make sure that we do have a partner 
that's serious about that uh so those would be my priorities well thank you commissioner hoffberger 
so I really like I started to mention earlier   I appreciate the players in the room that are 
committ commed to this but the defining factors   I'm a numbers guy that's what I do and I'm not 
talking the final price I look at some of the   stuff like the board has struggled with over the 
last two years should we sell the whole property   or split it up and I'm I'll just put out there 
I I was on record thinking we should sell the   whole property but I'd like to see where PD pedc 
has a role with whoever gets the bid I think we   pay pedc a lot they have a function I would like 
to see some sort of marriage with whoever gets to   bid with pedc because it's important to me that 
we utilize them and and they've been very uh   passionate about their role and um and what they 
could do and I don't know how we could work that   but that's something that would be important 
to me deliverables are obviously important   and timelines and as I mentioned with you Chad 
your timeline was a little longer than the rest   I would like that to either change or say why um 
we couldn't get there I also just agree with what   commissioner hoffberger says I like a larger down 
payment if we're not going to get more on overall   price I think the commitment Factor there is 
a little bit more favorable for us to invest   when whoever gets it so I I like that as well 
and um jobs obviously are important I know that   we all know that there's a thousand people a day 
moving into into Florida the problem is the local   people that are from here can't buy the houses 
um so we have to have more housing and good jobs   and the last thing I want to say is I do agree 
with commissioner may this is a community County   project it's going to be affect commissioner strob 
Burger's district and the people of buo and we've   heard from them and I think we're trying to make 
um the spirit or most of the things we can with   them but he's right the price does matter to 
people Warrington and Beach Haven and Oakfield   they're not going to go out there they're not 
going to get out out there but they may be able   to get something out of that in their community 
so prices and everything but as a commissioner   that has a very diverse District I understand 
when I go to some places in District 2 they're   going to say what does ol8 have to do for me and 
I want to share with them that it's a community   project so a lot of good things here I appreciate 
what everyone's done um hopefully tonight I don't   know if we'll get there or not uh but I can tell 
you it's going to get there soon I'm pushing that   way because I we've been doing this for two 
years and I think it's time to make a decision   Mr chairman if someone was gauging everything 
that commissioner harberger said scholler you   and commissioner Barry I agree I mean I would be 
raising my hand uh to vote I mean in Ideal World   I want to thank our presenters because in an idea 
where we would have put out an RFQ and RFP listed   our criteria and let people submit it told them 
what we wanted gave them the plan it was almost   unsolicited so it's it's hard to compare apples 
to apples and oranges to oranges on unsolicited   because we didn't give them the guidelines you 
know I mean so probably you know in hindsight   we probably should have had a consultant and put 
on an RFQ and RFP and for people to come in with   qualifications guidelines the plan and the best 
presentation uh or the best skill sets should   have been the one that should have been awarded 
and but I agree with with you and I think pedc   in Florida West has a role I think government has 
to get out of the development business we're not   developers it's not what we do you know I mean 
we'll we'll be here in in perpetuity hours and   hours and hours trying to make a decision and uh 
in the words of Jee Valentino you got to give it   to your subject matter expert or break the gavel 
whichever one you want to do but I mean I'm you   know listen I mean all of us do real estate I 
do real estate but not to the level that these   guys have to do it so to me we have to have 
the experts the Consultants uh those who know   how to do it to do it we just can't do it I mean 
in in my opinion and so I'm certainly glad to be   a policy maker glad to make a hard decision uh 
what's in the best interest of you know all of   this g county but particularly our districts like 
you said that it is important because everyone   has played a part in it and so I think that we're 
there and commissioner stroberg you second me uh   if you need time to make a large decision I've 
been only 15 years years uh you would not find   me not supporting you for not making a decision 
in two meetings and when we've been on this ride   for 15 years you know what I mean and so we don't 
want to make a mistake and so uh I don't want to   get to the point where uh it's from my position 
that we put a gun to someone's head and say you   got to make a decision and I I want all five of 
us uh to be able to come together in harmony to   make a decision that's best for everybody and if 
it means a pause for you you certainly have my   support and I only say these things so we'll 
know where we're voting tonight because we   can't talk outside of these Chambers well if 
you give me more time I promise I won't cry   I think it's time to end this meeting yeah if 
we any longer I'm thank you for for everyone's   time today if there's no further business 
we'll reconvene at 4:30 for the public forum