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Molino Library, Community Center, County Offices Price Tag: $2.95 Million
September 26, 2011
Bids are in on a project to renovate the old Molino School into a community center, museum and library, and to construct a new building to house offices for the tax collector and property appraiser.
At their October 6 meeting, the Escambia County Commission is expected to award the project to low bidder Birkshire Johnstone, LLC for $2,950,000. Each of the seven other bidders on the project submitted bids ranging from a $3.03 million to $3.48 million.
The project’s original plans called for a library, complete with the usual shelves of books, children’s areas and computer terminals. But without funding for daily operations and employee salaries, library plans were first shelved. The county needed thousands more to complete building renovations for a library, including the addition of more structural supports under the building’s 72-year old floor to accommodate thousands of pounds of books.
After $700,000 in local option sales tax (LOST) funds were reprioritized at the request of County Administrator Randy Oliver, an additional $1.8 million was funneled to the project to once again include a library.
Pictured top: A conceptual drawing of the Molino School after renovation. Pictured below: A recent photo of the building. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Comments
20 Responses to “Molino Library, Community Center, County Offices Price Tag: $2.95 Million”
i still say they shouldve made it a retirement home or a small community college, it would be more peaceful, and something that would create more jobs, and would be more productive and last longer! but we spend our tax money on something useless… just shows how much say we have! something we r going to have to deal with!
This needs to be put on a ballot.3 million ..for which half… could go to much more needed projects that all would benifit from…no some money pit.
Another future drain on the county funds.What a waste…This is just good ol boy politics again.I give it 10 years and then it wil flushed away under another excuse ..like what they do up Century way,,,,Just a way for the county to get a unremovable grip on a
piece of real estate…that will eventually turn into a lease to a supporting bubba project.
GLAD Bama 54 doesn’t have his head stuck in the sand.
GO GATORS!!!!!!!!!!
It’s going to be a great thing for this community. Ten years in the making and
it is cheaper to repair the existing building than to tear it down. Some of us are
really looking forward to all the possibilities for our area. The tax office has a lease in Cantonment and they have to move. I for one will love to have them off 29 in a slower moving area. Thanks to all who have worked so hard in our area for this. We really appreciate your time and effort.
will you people get your head out of the sand. Molino needs something to get it started or we will find ourselves traveling to downtown pensacola for everything. if you’re not willing to help then please don’t hurt the ones who are trying. This county needs to grow and this is part of the process. With this I say Roll Tide Roll!!!
That is the truth there.
Call the police and they don’t do anything and on top of it they tell the
people your the one who called and you get vandalized.
I am still wondering when the Sheriff is going to make them do their
jobs, instead of sick the trouble makers on the decent citizens.
Will we ever get a Sheriff here who isn’t afraid to uphold the law
and make the people we pay for protection do the work.
Everytime I go to town there are three police cares at the station in
molino, and 2 police cars under the trees in Cantonment.
We all know who is trouble up here, and so do the police..
thats such a waste of money,energy bills, cleaning ,,, old buildings create dust from deteriorating wood,,not enough parking,,the old building should be torn down,,,,,., its on an over traveled road,, next will be bricks falling off of the building, lawsuits,. hwy 29 is the hwy to build on . , if its worth doin , its worth doin right.
We have called the law before and they do not do anything. Just brings on more problems because they want to get you back then for calling.
Red head:
There use to be a tag office and tax office in century but thay shut it down about two years ago duh. Before you call any body out know your facts.
i am a neighbor of this school and i think all this construction is gonna suck for me lol.. i need a really tall privacy fence.!!!
We are spending out major money so we can have a more convenient place to go spend more money. (pay your land taxes, register your vehicle, vehicle tags, etc.) I think the TAX offices should be the worse looking place around; however, we want them to look there best so when they are taking our money we can feel good about ourselves!!!!! GRRRRRRR!!!!!!
Well some one here need to get their facts straight its the tag office in Cantonment that is closing duh. They haven’t said one word about closing the one in Century . Might need to pay attention there Neighbor also why haven’t called the law if they are on the property.
Don’t understand—-it seems to me people have been trying to completely shut Century down for years. Century is the only other city in Escambia County that has a mayor and council. That’s why our hospital, schools, drivers license and tag offfice, and police stations have closed. Just trying to extend Pensacola city limits to the Alabama line
It’s all about who is in office!Or who is up for reelection!
I don’t understand if the building was not good enough for the school board to remodle and use how is it good enough for the county to use it. Don’t get me wrong it will be good for the kids and the community. So we close the tax office in century because we don’t have the money to keep it open but now we build new buildings in molino for the same office that we closed in century. How does this add up?
I want this so bad for our kids to have, yet I just keep playing that amount
of money in my head over and over. You would think we were all millionaires
up here.
I agree with putting a fence around the place, and it might be nice if the
police did their job and started picking up kids vandalizing everywhere.
Parents might also want to take an active roll in KNOWING WHERE YOUR
TEENS ARE, AND WHAT THE HECK THEY ARE UP TO. We all know…
DO YOU?
Please put up a tall privacy fence for those who live around there to protect there livestock and animals soon please. There are people out there all times of the day and night and they are coming over our fence. They also have loud music and sounds like they are demolishing it for them.
We need a paved walking/ bike track in the back with a really great playground for the kids.
Glad to see something useful being done with this building…it was beginning to fall into disrepair. I think it will be an asset to the community.