Sanders Beach Community Association

Rebuilding Sanders Beach Community Center #2

Aug 16, 2005

The first meeting for community input for the reconstruction of Sanders Beach Community Center was held Wednesday, July 27, 2005 at 6 pm at city council chambers downtown. Committee members Bob Neiger and Dixie Chancellor were in attendance. Since the meeting was open to the public several neighborhood residents, sporting yellow tee shirts, also chose to be in attendance. The meeting was basically a question-and-answer session that did address a few questions, but not one of the most important - how big does the City plan for this building to be. The question was asked more than once by more than one person in the audience, but the answer was purposely given only in the vaguest of terms. Those neighbors in attendance are concerned that the City plans to take a ?“wish list?” of activities that may make use of the facility and then decide how many square feet would be needed to accommodate that wish list, and the bigger the better, as far as the City is concerned. We always thought that any architect worth their salt would be able to take a specific building size - ie, 12,000 square feet - and design it in such a way that it will accommodate as many of the ?“wish list?” activities as reasonably possible. Anyone who?’s ever built a house or building knows that?’s usually the way a good architect/design firm works. The issue of what the center might be called never even came to the table, causing Sheila Ingram of the News Journal much consternation; she had been hoping to witness a real cat fight. One African American lady in attendance (who shall remain nameless for the present) kept trying to call Sanders Beach Park a ?“private white beach?”. Comments like that make it very evident she hasn?’t been to the park in at least five years. Five years is how long this editor has been in the neighborhood, and if the truth be told the ratio of blacks to white who use the park is about 15 to 1! But ignorance, when driven by racism, goes a long way to stir people up when they don?’t know the facts. Some neighbors in attendance asked everyone to consider NOT HAVING A BUILDING in this park. It had beginnings as a beach park where people went for outdoor picnics; the Den came a little later. Everyone in the City seems adamant about keeping the waterfront at Trillium Waterfront Park available to the public (or at least to Studor Group and UWF staff). Then why are City staff and management so eager to overbuild at the City?’s only remaining white sand beach? Beach lost to an act of God is a sad thing; beach lost to city overbuilding is a sin.

This newsletter editor will reiterate her suggestion for consideration: take the $5 million dollars burning a hole in City Council?’s pocket and build a real community center in downtown Pensacola, on the new Trillium Maritime Park. Name it Corrine Jones Pensacola Community Center and the City can host every event from Mardi Gras balls to proms and graduations and other social events formerly held at the recently demolished Bayfront Auditorium. In Sanders Beach build a Community Center similar in size and design to East Pensacola Heights Club House, providing room for community activities like Jazzercize classes, a weight training room, a small free lending/swapping library, some dancing, and more outside grounds facilities including several more outside shelters and gas barbecue grills. Put beachside picnic grounds back at Sanders Beach.

A date for the next session with Quina Grundhoefer Royal Architects hasn?’t yet been announced. Call SBCA Chairman Bob Neiger if you want to know when and where the next session will be held.

Sanders Beach tee shirts are available for $11. They are a decent shade of yellow (not school bus yellow). The front bears the legend ?“Historic Sanders Beach - Pensacola, Florida?”. The back reads ?“Save Our Sanders Beach Community?”. The tee shirts are our community?’s way of being able to tell city staff and management we?’d like to keep our small residential neighborhood exactly that, and not the replacement for the Bayfront Auditorium they all envision. About $1 of the price goes to the SBCA treasury; all the rest pays for the shirt and the screening. Tees are available in sizes medium, large and extra large. If you?’d like one (or more) please call Chairman Bob Neiger at 439-1136.