PRESENTATION ITEM
FROM: City Council President Andy Terhaar
SUBJECT:
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PORT VISION PLAN FINAL REPORT
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REQUEST:
recommendation
That City Council receive a presentation on the Port Vision Plan Final Report.
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SUMMARY:
At the request and direction of City Council, the Mayor’s Office in 2018 engaged the global infrastructure advisory firm Moffatt & Nichol to conduct a Port of Pensacola strategic planning process that would be informed by and heavily dependent upon community and stakeholder engagement and input.
Since June 2018, the study team conducted online surveys and held numerous public input sessions throughout the community in order to gauge the community’s top answers to the question of what the port could and should look like over the next several decades. Out of this process, some key findings emerged:
• The vast majority of participants do not want the port to be closed or eliminated.
• Most believe that the port’s core assets should be maintained and safeguarded for trade activity and other maritime dependent and related uses.
• Most believe there are opportunities for the port to diversify into marine technology focused industries, marine & maritime related education and research, light industrial & logistical uses, and marina related facilities (such as dry boat storage, small craft repair & fabrication, etc.).
• Some liked the idea of limited shopping, dining & entertainment uses, particularly as an extension of the existing Fish House complex.
• Parks & open spaces, commercial/office, civic uses, and residential uses, in that order, were viewed to be the least desirable uses.
From these results, Moffatt & Nichol established six core project tenets that they used to inform the creation of three conceptual site plans for the study area, which included all property from Commendencia Slip to Bartram Park whether currently port, other public lands or privately owned. These concepts were vetted during a follow-on series of community work sessions out of which a “preferred” concept (i.e. the Vision Plan) emerged.
Completion of the Portside Pensacola Vision Plan & Reinvestment Strategy final report is imminent and Moffatt & Nichol would like to send a team to Pensacola to present the findings and recommendations to the Mayor and to City Council in a Council Workshop format.
PRIOR ACTION:
September 7, 2016 - City Council appropriated $100,000 in port funds to commission a Port Economic Feasibility Study.
October 15, 2016 - City Council scheduled a workshop to establish guidelines for creation of a Port Economic Feasibility Study Committee.
January 12, 2017 - City Council directed Council Executive to schedule an initial meeting date for the Port Economic Feasibility Study Committee.
June 8, 2017 - City Council abandoned establishment of a Port study committee and reverted control of the Port study process and funding to the Mayor’s office.
STAFF CONTACT:
Don Kraher, Council Executive
ATTACHMENTS:
1) None
PRESENTATION: Yes