Friday January 11th, 2008 - 10:06PM

* Board nails down timeline for Master Developers while ensuring city is protected in its agreement

* Email Friends' Board of Trustees

* Designated "Official Friends of the Community Maritime Park" vendors

* Email non-profit Community Maritime Park Associates

Visit your Friends at http://www.CommunityMaritimePark.com

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Here are the details:

Board nails down timeline for Master Developers while ensuring community is protected in its agreement

The news is good - the non-profit Community Maritime Park Associates (non-profit CMPA) Board of Trustees met Friday afternoon and nailed down a solid timeline for selecting a Master Developer for the site.

Better yet, it is designing the process to ensure that even when a Master Developer is picked, the non-profit CMPA can pull the plug and dump the firm if it doesn't produce solid results 9 months after its selection.

"This procedure has safeguards built into to it to protect the city," Dr. Owen Beitsch, principle of Real Estate Research Consultants, told the Board.

Dr. Beitsch's firm was granted a 90-day contract by the Board to organize sending out the Board's Request for Proposals (RFPs) for the park, which the firm described in its written proposal to the Board would include, "supporting the CMPA's efforts to distribute an RFP, coordinate the receipt of proposals, and interact with one or more developers responding to the proposal opportunity."

First on the agenda for the Board was protecting the community's interest in waterfront preservation. This includes ensuring equal access opportunities for physically challenged individuals.

Dr. Beitsch explained that, "The Master Developer will have massive amounts of legal requirements designed to guarantee access to the park and its facilities for everyone regardless of physical limitations."

In another twist for the best interests of the community, Dr. Beitsch suggested that the Board not use a strict ranking system to immediately cull out all but one applicant.

Rather, he suggested that the top two, or perhaps three, candidates enter into simultaneous negotiations with the city so that the city can enjoy the fruits of having one firm creating its proposal mindful that its competitors are still able to match, or even beat, the top-ranked firm when it gets to the bottom line of the contract.

"Rather than ranking," he explained, "perhaps a pass-fail system might be implemented among two or three candidates."

The best news to come out of the meeting is that the timeline continues to become more concrete. As it now stands, the draft RFP will be returned from Dr. Beitsch's firm by January 24. If there are no objections to its content by January 28, the Board will hold a special meeting on February 1 to vote approval for the RFP and permit its circulation to interested Maser Developer candidates.

Dr. Beitsch emphasized the extent that he is placing the burden on Master Developer candidates to invest in their proposals, and not seek government funding by expecting the city to provide answers to questions the Master Developers need to get answered.

"Master Developers will do their own due diligence," Dr. Beitsch told the Board. "As for the content of their proposals, we are telling them that all criteria are equally important. It is up to their creativity to weight what they offer in response to the RFP."

Without prompting from Board members, Dr. Beitsch took the issue of real estate uncertainty head-on.

He feels confident that the non-profit CMPA will enjoy good response to its RFP because, "what we see now in prices is a market correction. I expect it will sort itself out over the course of this project" and thus investor confidence from those following traditional long-term growth will see the Pensacola Bay Area as a highly lucrative market investment, guaranteeing more than adequate return on the money put into our market.

Dr. Beitsch said he is certain, "We will have responses that reflect the best creativity."

But if things don't go as the Board expected with its selected candidate, Dr. Beitsch's solution is best termed as a form of "sudden death" for the lagging Master Developer.

"After 9 months," he told the Board, "the agreement can be dissolved in favor of another Master Developer candidate. That is why we need to explore all options with all the Master Developer candidates."

Produce or perish; with Dr. Beitsch's hand on the tiller, this ship is steaming full speed ahead into safe harbor.

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Email Friends' Board of Trustees

Glen C. Obert, owner of Webfoot Enterprises, Chair: glenn@webfootenterprises.om

Kenneth E. Lamb, owner of CyberSmart Computers, Inc., Vice Chair: kenneth@kennethelamb.com

Ellen C. Hoefer, assistant city banking manager for Peoples First Community Bank, Secretary/Treasurer: ellenhoefer@peoplesfirst.com

Katie White, attorney with McDonald, Fleming, Moorhead, Board member and legal counsel, registered agent for Friends, linking member to the non-profit CMPA Board: kmwhite@pensacolalaw.com

Mike Bates, owner of talk radio station WEBY AM-1330, Board member: mikebates@1330weby.com

Friends' website: http://www.CommunityMaritimePark.com

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Designated "Official Friends of the Community Maritime Park" vendors

* The Official Friends of the Community Maritime Park Photographer

MBaldwin Photography / Micah Baldwin

Studio: MBaldwin Photography
Email: baldwmr@yahoo.com
Phone: 850-748-7865
Website: http://www.mbaldwinphotography.smugmug.com

If you want to know more about becoming an Official Friends' vendor, or service provider, contact Kenneth E. Lamb at:

kenneth@kennethelamb.com

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Email Board of Trustees members with your thoughts and ideas!

Here are the email addresses for the Board of Trustees members. Remember, the non-profit Community Maritime Park Associates, Inc. (non-profit CMPA) operates in full compliance with Florida's Government in the Sunshine Act. All email communications are open public records available to anyone who asks for them.

The syntax for the Board members is first name.last name@whibbspark.org

Judge Lacey Collier (Chairman): lacey.collier@whibbspark.org
Mayor John H. Fogg: john.fogg@whibbspark.org
Collier Merrill: collier.merrill@whibbspark.org
Dick Baker: dick.baker@whibbspark.org
Dr. Jimmy Jones: jimmy.jones@whibbspark.org
Eddie Todd: eddie.todd@whibbspark.org
Rev. Hugh King: hugh.king@whibbspark.org
John Merting: john.merting@whibbspark.org
Juanita Scott: juanita.scott@whibbspark.org
Kathlyn White: kathlyn.white@whibbspark.org
Rodney Jackson: rodney.jackson@whibbspark.org
Susan Story: susan.story@whibbspark.org

Acting Executive Director on loan from the City of Pensacola

Ed Spears: espears@ci.pensacola.fl.us

Friends' web site:

http://www.CommunityMaritimePark.com

Email Friends:

glenn@communitymaritimepark.com


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* Link up to the Maritime Museum

A number of people asked us to include a link for those interested in learning more about the Adm. John H. Fetterman State of Florida Maritime Museum and Research Center at the University of West Florida Community Maritime Park Campus.

Give this link a try, and then bookmark it for future updates!

http://www.uwf.edu/maritime

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Email Relay Participants: Please forward this to your email lists, blogs, message boards, and other publications. Thanks to you, more than 500 people not on the regular Friends email list get the latest updates on the Community Maritime Park each week. You are making a difference!

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Questions? Ed Spears has the answers!

"When in doubt, call Ed to find out!"

Here is the contact information for Ed Spears, acting Executive Director of the non-profit CMPA:


Edward E. Spears, Neighborhood & Economic Development Administrator, City of Pensacola
180 Governmental Center, Pensacola, FL
P.O. Box 12910 / Pensacola, Florida 32521
(850) 436-5655 (office) / (850) 595-1143 (fax) / email: espears@ci.pensacola.fl.us

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Don't miss even one exciting second as the CMP goes from vision to reality!

Get your own FREE subscription to the Friends report: http://supporters.communitymaritimepark.com

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That's it for this week - until then, "Thanks!" from all your friends . . . who are Friends of the Pensacola Bay Area's Vince J. Whibbs Sr. Community Maritime Park!

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