PNJ.com headlines: Here’s what’s in the news on Thursday, July 25
Homeless living at Jones Swamp in Warrington evicted from campsite, and Chilean ST Engineering workers say layoffs came with no warning
The Santa Rosa Island Authority’s draft budget for Fiscal Year 2025 includes funding for the renovation of the Bob Sikes Toll Plaza, increased spending on beach nourishment, additional bathrooms, and infrastructure improvements including bike path renovations and crosswalk lighting.
In a meeting July 8, the SRIA board discussed moving forward with a nearly $8.5 million budget, up about 10.6% or roughly $813,000, from the previous year’s $7.86 million budget. Working capital has been budgeted at a 9.05% increase and commercial revenues have been budgeted at a 12% increase, which are more conservative increases than what was proposed in the FY2024 budget.
Although Pensacola Beach revenue has begun “leveling off” from increases seen in 2022 and 2023, operating revenues for the current year are still projected to see an 8.69% increase.
What that means for the average beachgoers is that they will see a number of investments in local infrastructure and quality of life improvements, likely starting at the Boardwalk.
The SRIA’s Executive Director Mike Burns told the News Journal that the SRIA board will likely meet to finalize the budget in September.
What infrastructure projects are planned?
There are 11 infrastructure projects in the funding priorities for the SRIA’s budget draft for the upcoming fiscal year.
Six of these projects are tier-one funding priorities, so they will be addressed first, while the remaining five projects are in the second tier.
The tier one funding priorities include projects for bike path renovations, Casino Beach cameras, crosswalk lighting and dune restorations. These four projects were budgeted as cost-sharing allocations with Escambia County for FY2025, which stem from a 2015 Interlocal Agreement.
According to the draft budget, $200,000 was allocated for the project to renovate the Bob Sikes Toll Plaza.
Sen. Doug Broxson requested $250,000 in state funds for the project. In a Local Funding Request Initiative form to the state, Broxson said that the project is intended to reduce congestion and stop the toll booth’s presence from cueing motorists to slow down.
In the same form, Broxson said they expect no traffic backup for visitors trying to enter Pensacola Beach, except during holidays and special events like Blue Angels weekend. He also said that changes to the toll booth will keep the motoring public moving efficiently onto the island while collecting the toll and providing an aesthetic greeting area to keep tourism thriving on the Island.
Any potential changes to the toll booth are still in the conceptual stage and the SRIA still needs to seek funding for the project to happen, according to Burns. Broxson told the News Journal in July that he has not been involved in the latest plans for the toll booth’s renovation.
“(Funding) will be something similar to (Broxson’s request) that we’ll have to do with either one of our senators or one of our state representatives,” Burns said. “There are different drawings that have been put out there but nothing concrete, only conceptual. Same thing with the bike path and boardwalk improvements. Those are county engineering projects and still in the design phase.”
New bathrooms are also planned for the Boardwalk at the flags near the beach. The project for new bathrooms isn’t finalized yet, but it’s the “most concrete” one so far according to Burns.
“Those steps will go away and the bathrooms will go there facing the water,” Burns told the News Journal.
Another $300,000 was budgeted for landscaping improvements, which was the largest allocation out of the projects in tier one.
Tier two funding priorities in the SRIA’s budget draft include expenditures to improve parking on the Island, add more amenities to the Island, improve upon its existing stormwater infrastructure, establish a uniform signage plan and conduct a dredging at Little Sabine Bay.
A final replacement trolley for Pensacola Beach’s free trolley system will cost a little over $237,000. The two replacements that the SRIA already bought cost approximately $475,000 combined.
Aging trolleys replacements for SRIA: Pensacola Beach’s trolleys are near the end of the line, but replacements are on the way
How were the beach improvements prioritized?
The infrastructure projects in the SRIA’s FY25 budget are organized into two different tiers depending on its priority level among the organization’s plans for the beach.
The SRIA’s budget for the upcoming fiscal year was created with the following things in mind:
- The funding priority tiers that were reaffirmed in late April.
- A five-year trend analysis, from 2019 to 2023, that provided a better picture of overall growth across the beach.
- The SRIA’S goal in providing quality administration, communication, and technology.
- Their mission to preserve Pensacola Beach’s natural resources while managing growth and promoting eco-friendly tourism in a clean, safe community environment.
The SRIA hopes to finalize the FY2025 budget during their next workshop.