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Escambia County Approves $5 Million More For ST Engineering Expansion
February 8, 2019
Escambia County will contribute another $5 million dollars to the expansion of ST Engineering at the Pensacola International Airport.
The Escambia County Commission approved the increase on a 4-1 vote, with Commissioner Doug Underhill voting against. The move brings the county’s total contribution to the project to $15 million, mostly from local option sales tax funds.
The Pensacola City Council also voted this week to contribute another $5 million to their previous $10 million commitment.
The city asked Friday morning for another $12.5 million from Triumph Gulf Coast in addition to their previously committed $56 million. The Triumph board committed to additional $10 million, $2.5 million short of the ask, for a commitment of 1,325 jobs for at least seven years.
A total of $210 million in funding is needed for the project by March 31.
The project includes the construction of hangers and is expected to create over 1,300 jobs.
Comments
12 Responses to “Escambia County Approves $5 Million More For ST Engineering Expansion”
( John D Otnes ) well said, no accountability in local gov.
That is an awful lot of money.
What exactly, is it buying?
The speeches by the ones opposed was puke worthy.
Emotional rhetoric about babies die in the street. Hows this..
The dude was drunk and a hit and run killed the baby.
This is a great opportunity for this area.
Roads are being worked on all over the county, bridges are being replaced one by one in D5, I don’t think people would cotton to, to many more detours all at the same time.
Good Lord some people would complain if you hung them with a gold rope.
People complain we need jobs jobs, they work to bring some here and people complain side walks side walks..
and if you have to have a street light– hows this go in at dark and go to bed.
WELL I TOLD YOU ALL WAY BACK WHEN THIS LOST FUNDS , FIRST STARTED FOR THE ROADS THAT IT WOULD BE USE FOR EVERYTHING BUT THE ROADS AND IT HAS . THIS IS ONE MORE WAY THAT THE LOST MONEY IS BEING USED AND NOT FOR THE ROADS!!!!! NEXT TIME THE LOST COME UP FOR A VOTE GO A HEAD AND VOTE FOR LOST TAX, THIS WAY YOU CAN WATCH IT GO FOR EVERYTHING EXCEPT FOR WHAT THEY IT WILL BE USE FOR
If this doesnt work out I think the COMM should pay back the money!!!
Here is the Escambia County bridge replacement and Prioritization Report the County received from Mott McDonald in June of 2018:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/EscCitizensWatch/permalink/2067168839985537/
The back up at the BCC meeting said that the county has 145 bridges with the majority having outlived their useful life and needing to be replaced. Some are 50 years old or more (some ages unknown, the reports says.)
The extension of the Local Option Sales Tax IV was sold to the people as a way for Escambia County to take care of the infrastructure needs for the community.
We are not doing that. There are roads, bridges, and stormwater issues that cannot get funded.
Instead, they are betting that this $15,000,0000 use of LOST funds might bring the growth we need to later do infrastructure repair. The existing citizens are always deferred to the needs of the new business idea. (We spent $17 million+ on the OLF8 property swap on Nine Mile Rd. so far, they say.)
What they never calculate is that these projects and the new citizens that come for these jobs bring increased stress on the existing infrastructure, demanding even more funding. (new housing demands new or upgraded roads and highways, stormwater facilities, new schools, law enforcement, interstate exits, etc.)
They also don’t calculate the increased cost of building and repairing bridges and roads years from now vs. now because we are spending money on this Singapore business.
Government should do the things that are their main responsibilities first, infrastructure and public safety, and that creates the environment that makes businesses want to locate here. Stop diverting our LOST funds elsewhere!
$250,000,000…WHERE IS OUR MONEY!!!!!????
I thought the “windfall” from the tragedy of the deep horizon was to rebuild the “pristine beaches” and assist businesses that were negatively impacted by crude oil: nature is doing a fine job with the beaches, so I truly hope this expenditure builds real careers for locals
15 million?!?!? SMH
as long as the firetrucks pass certifcation there should not be a problem.
We cant buy new fire trucks to provide services to the citizens of the county but we can give 5 million to private industry. When the insurance rating for the county drops because of poor equipment your insurance premiums are going up up up.
Could report what the money is buying and the far reaching positive results from this investment. Glad to see the leaders bring in this new industry.