Underhill is new face on Escambia Commission
- December 13, 2014
- / Mollye Barrows
- / government
Doug Underhill is wasting no time moving forward on his campaign promises.
The newly elected Escambia County Commissioner for District 2 is still settling into his new office at the county administration building, where pictures are waiting to be hung along with Christmas decorations.
Underhill is busy attending ceremonies, talking to citizens and preparing for meetings where he wants to put his plans into action.
“We’ve got some really good, what we call in the military, five-meter targets,” Underhill says. “Five-meter targets are something you’ve got to hit right now.”
The former Naval counterterrorism officer believes it’s his practical approach and willingness to listen that helped him beat two-term incumbent Gene Valentino in last August’s Republican primary.
Now he’s ready to zero in.
“Much of the focus will be Perdido Key,” Underhill says. “For a long time movement on the key has kind of been held hostage by the idea of this four-lane road and a very large, tourist destination for Perdido Key. That is not what Perdido Key is.
“Perdido Key is a neighborhood beach. It’s a community; it’s not a corridor.”
With that in mind, Underhill is asking the Florida-Alabama Transportation Planning Organization to drop plans to expand Perdido Key Drive on the island from two lanes to four.
“Right now the four-lane of Perdido Key is number 25 out of 25 priorities,” he says. “My intention is to make the first steps toward removing it from the list of priorities.”
A Perdido Key resident himself, Underhill says the expansion is unnecessary and doesn’t fit with the vision of Perdido Key he believes most District 2 residents want.
He also wants to revive a master plan for key that was designed by Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company (DPZ), an award winning, urban architecture firm out of Miami.
[caption id="attachment_12170" align="aligncenter" width="850"]
Escambia County Commissioner Doug Underhill talks about plans for Perdido Key Drive. Michael Spooneybarger/Pensacola Today.[/caption]
DPZ worked with county staff and Perdido key residents to build a plan that best determined how to use and develop the island in 2012. The plan did not include expanding Perdido Key Drive to four lanes because the firm said it wasn’t needed.
County planners disagreed and dropped the master plan.
Underhill wants it back on the table, in consideration the Habitat to Conservation Plan and the development agreements the county already has with WCI Communities, the construction company behind Lost Key Golf Club.
“I think that this is low hanging fruit,” Underhill says. “Bring Andres (Duany) back up here, bring the environmentalists, bring the developers all back to the table and build a master plan, because this is how modern societies work.
“You plan your work and your work your plan. In order for the plan to be valid, it has to have all the stakeholders at the table, in their proper places. I think there’s so much support for this, that this will actually be done very easily.”
Helping the whole district
Although issues on Perdido Key are among Underhill’s top priorities, he says there has been too much focus on the key.
“If a master plan for Perdido Key is the right thing, then it’s also the right thing for Warrington, they deserve one. Myrtle Grove deserves one,” Underhill says. “We need to start putting our focus on these parts of the county that have simply been neglected over the years.”
Underhill says he didn’t realize how neglected other constituents felt until he hit the campaign trail. He says people living in the core of the district aren’t the only ones who want something done about the blighted areas.
“If you ask those of us on Perdido Key, you’ll hear, ‘I have to drive through Warrington every day, why aren’t we doing something about Warrington?’” Underhill says. “If you talk to real estate agents who pick up clients from airport and say, ‘I shouldn’t have to be back peddling and saying don’t worry about what you’re seeing now, wait until we get out to the key.’
“All of us have the same focus.”
Underhill wants to help communities define and pursue a vision that helps move Escambia County forward. That includes focusing on big issues such as crime prevention and education, a system he says needs to be transformed.
“The problems that we’re seeing in Warrington Middle School, it’s a lack of inspiration. It’s not a lack of ability or intellect,” he says. “We have failed at this point to capture their imaginations. Once you capture a kid’s imagination, then it’s not a matter of spurring him on anymore, it’s a matter of trying to hold onto the reins tight enough because they’re going to take it and run with it.
“We need people in our education system who think like that.”
In support of that, Underhill is helping to plan “Cyberthon 2015,” an exercise for students to get hands-on experience defending virtual networks from an attack. The student will be paired with cybersecurity experts for the exercise at the National Flight Academy.
Underhill knows he’ll be facing some big issues in his first term, but he believes finding the balance between industry, tourism, and the military will help.
Flood followup
The big problems Escambia County is facing now with flood water management, the jail explosion, and polluted borrow pits in Wedgewood, Underhill says are expensive examples of what happens when a community doesn’t do a good job with planning.
They also opportunities to plan for a better future.
“As we deal with the ramifications of bad decisions in the past, we also need to be looking to make sure we’re not making the next generation’s bad decisions,” Underhill says.
He believes other commissioners are hearing the same thing from their constituents and is hopeful they can tackle these problems prudently, especially when it comes to RESTORE Act money, the funds headed our way as a result of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
“We need good dialogue and to use RESTORE Act money wisely,” Underhill says. “This is a good opportunity to spend it on infrastructure and address core issues. We all suffer if the county has to spend its wealth on problems like the jail explosion, Wedgewood and flood management. This is a real opportunity.”
Underhill feels like he has a good handle on what constituents want after walking through so many neighborhoods and knocking on doors.
He expects discussion and some dissent, but feels there will be a lot of support for his plans for District 2. Ultimately he hopes the board’s work will better the county.
“We should be there to manage the discussion and foster the flow of ideas, not tell you what’s best for the county,” he says.
“If you want to address problems, talk to the people who are affected by them to find a solution. If people have not brought into the plan, then they won’t be on board for the execution.
“We need to build consensus and unity.”
Escambia County Commissioner Doug Underhill talks about plans for Perdido Key Drive. Michael Spooneybarger/Pensacola Today.[/caption]
DPZ worked with county staff and Perdido key residents to build a plan that best determined how to use and develop the island in 2012. The plan did not include expanding Perdido Key Drive to four lanes because the firm said it wasn’t needed.
County planners disagreed and dropped the master plan.
Underhill wants it back on the table, in consideration the Habitat to Conservation Plan and the development agreements the county already has with WCI Communities, the construction company behind Lost Key Golf Club.
“I think that this is low hanging fruit,” Underhill says. “Bring Andres (Duany) back up here, bring the environmentalists, bring the developers all back to the table and build a master plan, because this is how modern societies work.
“You plan your work and your work your plan. In order for the plan to be valid, it has to have all the stakeholders at the table, in their proper places. I think there’s so much support for this, that this will actually be done very easily.”
Helping the whole district
Although issues on Perdido Key are among Underhill’s top priorities, he says there has been too much focus on the key.
“If a master plan for Perdido Key is the right thing, then it’s also the right thing for Warrington, they deserve one. Myrtle Grove deserves one,” Underhill says. “We need to start putting our focus on these parts of the county that have simply been neglected over the years.”
Underhill says he didn’t realize how neglected other constituents felt until he hit the campaign trail. He says people living in the core of the district aren’t the only ones who want something done about the blighted areas.
“If you ask those of us on Perdido Key, you’ll hear, ‘I have to drive through Warrington every day, why aren’t we doing something about Warrington?’” Underhill says. “If you talk to real estate agents who pick up clients from airport and say, ‘I shouldn’t have to be back peddling and saying don’t worry about what you’re seeing now, wait until we get out to the key.’
“All of us have the same focus.”
Underhill wants to help communities define and pursue a vision that helps move Escambia County forward. That includes focusing on big issues such as crime prevention and education, a system he says needs to be transformed.
“The problems that we’re seeing in Warrington Middle School, it’s a lack of inspiration. It’s not a lack of ability or intellect,” he says. “We have failed at this point to capture their imaginations. Once you capture a kid’s imagination, then it’s not a matter of spurring him on anymore, it’s a matter of trying to hold onto the reins tight enough because they’re going to take it and run with it.
“We need people in our education system who think like that.”
In support of that, Underhill is helping to plan “Cyberthon 2015,” an exercise for students to get hands-on experience defending virtual networks from an attack. The student will be paired with cybersecurity experts for the exercise at the National Flight Academy.
Underhill knows he’ll be facing some big issues in his first term, but he believes finding the balance between industry, tourism, and the military will help.
Flood followup
The big problems Escambia County is facing now with flood water management, the jail explosion, and polluted borrow pits in Wedgewood, Underhill says are expensive examples of what happens when a community doesn’t do a good job with planning.
They also opportunities to plan for a better future.
“As we deal with the ramifications of bad decisions in the past, we also need to be looking to make sure we’re not making the next generation’s bad decisions,” Underhill says.
He believes other commissioners are hearing the same thing from their constituents and is hopeful they can tackle these problems prudently, especially when it comes to RESTORE Act money, the funds headed our way as a result of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
“We need good dialogue and to use RESTORE Act money wisely,” Underhill says. “This is a good opportunity to spend it on infrastructure and address core issues. We all suffer if the county has to spend its wealth on problems like the jail explosion, Wedgewood and flood management. This is a real opportunity.”
Underhill feels like he has a good handle on what constituents want after walking through so many neighborhoods and knocking on doors.
He expects discussion and some dissent, but feels there will be a lot of support for his plans for District 2. Ultimately he hopes the board’s work will better the county.
“We should be there to manage the discussion and foster the flow of ideas, not tell you what’s best for the county,” he says.
“If you want to address problems, talk to the people who are affected by them to find a solution. If people have not brought into the plan, then they won’t be on board for the execution.
“We need to build consensus and unity.”
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