Photo by PNJ's Ben Twingley
http://www.pnj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011106030315
By Jamie Page for the Pensacola News Journal June 3, 2011
Escambia County commissioners on Thursday awarded $4.38 million in BP grant money to — as Commissioner Marie Young once put it — "the same people who always get the money."
They voted 4-1 in favor — with Young opposed — of giving the money to the list of 11 organizations recommended by the Escambia Tourist Development Council for advertising, public relations, social media and special events to boost tourism.
The majority of the funds will go to DeLuna Fest, the Pensacola Bay Area Chamber of Commerce and the Perdido Key Chamber of Commerce.
Young didn't say a word about the matter at Thursday's meeting, but a crowd of about 25 people showed up to talk about the awards. Ten spoke out against the TDC's recommendation and asked that the allocation be sent back to the TDC for reconsideration. Two spoke in favor.
The group wanted a portion of the money to go to William "Cadillac" Banks, whose $385,685 request to the TDC for a free, black-oriented, R&B music festival was turned down.
They argued that the events that will be promoted by the 11 organizations slated to get the money will not benefit minorities for the most part.
"This involves recovery for all citizens impacted by the oil spill, but this agenda is not fair, it is an insult, and we are asking you to send it back so they can talk this over again," Pensacola City Councilman John Jerralds said.
George Hawthorne, executive director of the Gulf Coast African American Chamber of Commerce, made the same plea.
"I think this is really an opportunity to change the perceptions here," Hawthorne said. "We are missing opportunities with cultural diversity in this city. "
Commissioner Wilson Robertson made the motion to approve the TDC's recommendation for the BP funds, which did not include Banks' festival proposal.
"No one in other Panhandle counties has outpaced Escambia County's tourism growth during this time since the oil spill, so I do think that shows the TDC understands how to put funds to use," said Commissioner Grover Robinson IV, who also sits on the TDC. "That does not mean they have addressed everything with every particular group, and I would like to find a way to do it. But I am not sure this particular event is the way to do it."
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Grant funding
The $4.38 million in BP grant funds will be distributed to:
-DeLuna Fest - $546,342.50
-MWP Pensacola Events (Memorial Day events) - $36,000
-Pensacola Community Redevelopment Agency (Pelican Drop) - $25,000
-Pensacola Mardi Gras - $120,000
-Pensacola Big Game Fishing Club - $6,000
-Fiesta of Five Flags (Seafood Festival) - $16,000
-Pensacola Beach Chamber of Commerce (Taste of the Beach) - $26,000
-Pensacola Songwriters' Festival - $25,000
-Pensacola Bay Area Chamber of Commerce - $2,463,699
-Perdido Key Chamber of Commerce - $940,084.75
-Pensacola Sports Association - $180,703.75
Deluna Fest ripped off lots of vendors and artists for 2012. Someone needs to be investigated.
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