Tuesday, December 11, 2007

City Council Approves Preliminary Design of CMPA, but Funding is Still a Question


Last night, the Pensacola City Council approved the preliminary design of Vince Whibbs Sr. Community Maritime Park. They also approved the allocation of the money that will go towards covering pre-construction costs of the park. The City Council voted 8-1 to approve the plan for the park and the pre-construction costs of its development.

This seems like good news for Pensacolians who welcome the park, but its construction cannot begin until the City Council knows they will be able to fund it.

The current funding scheme for the park could be ruled unconstitutional by the Florida Supreme Court. The court will soon lay down their ruling on the constitutionality of the funding scheme. If the court does rule it unconstitutional, the City Council and the Community Maritime Park Association will need to figure out a different way to fund the construction of the park.

If the current funding scheme is ruled unconstitutional, let’s hope the City Council will consider an alternate funding scheme for the construction of the park. If they don’t, we might never see a baseball game played in downtown Pensacola.

No comments: