• Home
• News
• Events
• Features
• Sports
• About
• Contact
• Advertise

Latest Headlines

• FDOT Updates Status Of Century Highway 29 Construction Work
• Tate Grad, UWF Standout Darrien McDowell Selected In 2024 MLB Draft
• Suspect, 19, Indicted For Fatal Drive-By Shooting Of 70-Year-Old
• Blue Angels Select Officers for 2025 Show Season
• ECSO: McDavid Woman Claims Crockpot ‘Magically Makes Meth”, Charged With Child Neglect
• Driver’s License, Tag, Tax Collector Services This Week In Walnut Hill, Century
• Florida Gas Prices Hold Steady Over Last Week
• Register Now For Northview Chiefs Football Camp
• Wahoos Drop Back-and-Forth Road Finale
• Walnut Hill Man Was The Boss Of The Pensacola Beach Air Show. Here’s A Behind The Scenes Look.

Valentino Outlines Century, Pensacola And Escambia Combined Economic Plan

Commissioner Gene Valentino unveiled his economic development plant Tuesday afternoon at a joint meeting of the Escambia County Commission and the Pensacola City Council.

The plan, just as NorthEscambia reported last week,  would see Century, Escambia County and Pensacola working together on economic development.

Under the plan, an independent economic development authority — the Pensacola Escambia Development Authority (PEDA) — to be led by a 15 member board with a $300,000 to $600,000 budget.

Each of the five county commissioners would appoint one member, Pensacola City Council two representatives and the Century Town Council would appoint one. The board members would select three persons with experience in military, education and minority business interests.  The board would accept nominations from the community from “a variety of current future business assets” to serve in the four remaining board seats for a total of 15 members.

The majority of the funding for PEDA would come from a telecommunications service tax and franchise taxes on electric and gas service.  It is expected that the increased taxes will cost the average Escambia household about $1.50 per month average in utility bill increases. A one percent utility franchise fee increase would net the commission about $6 million per year to use as economic incentives to lure industry.

The plan raised a lot of questions at Tuesday’s meeting.

Pensacola council member P.C. Wu said Pensacola brings great value to the table because the city owns the airport, the port and the ESP natural gas franchise. Because of that great value, council member Diane Mack said that Pensacola should have five members on the committee, equal to the five seats that would be appointed by the commission. Valentino’s plan allots the seats based upon population, with Century having a single seat.

Mack disagreed that the $1.50 per household assessment would generate $6 million; her math, she said, indicated it would be closer to $3 million. She also questioned if the commission’s appointments to the board would become too political, suggesting that each commissioner provide a list of candidates from which one would be chosen.

District 5 Commissioner Kevin White, who represents North Escambia, echoed Mack’s concern that appointments would become too political. Commissioner Wilson Robertson expressed concern over how the economic development committee would operate “in the sunshine”, following Florida’s stiff public records and open meetings laws.

Commissioner Grover Robinson  did not speak in favor of the plan, saying that the county did not need to be in the business of selling itself.

Strong opposition to the plan was voiced by Gulf Power, with company officials saying that they would not support the one percent franchise fee hike in Valentino’s plan.

The next step for the plan is for the committees of the whole from both the city and the county to individual consider the plan and take any action they wish.

Watch Valentino’s proposal here.

Pictured: Escambia Commissioner Gene Valentino outlines his economic development plan at a joint meeting of the Escambia County Commission and the Pensacola City Council Tuesday afternoon.