Perdido Key Notes

December 2019
PKA Holiday Party Monday, December 9
Please join your PKA colleagues at the PKA Holiday Party from 6 to 9 PM on Monday, December 9, 2019, at the Seafarer Condominium meeting room, 16401 Perdido Key Drive. If you would like to bring a dish to share, it would be most welcome. The date is a change from the previously advertised Friday, December 6, 2019 – a change made because of conflict with the Perdido Key Area Chamber of Commerce Holiday Party.
Consider Becoming a PKA Director
The Perdido Key Association’s 2020 election cycle has begun. If you would like to nominate a candidate for PKA Director or become a candidate yourself, please contact PKA Vice President Kelly Robertson (chair of the Nominating Committee) at kgr@thesandybeach.net by December 31, 2019. With excellent conference call capability at PKA Board of Directors meetings, you do not need to be a full-time Perdido Key resident to be an active member of the Board. Voting for Directors will take place at
the PKA Annual Membership Meeting to be held from 10 AM to Noon on Saturday, February 29, 2019 at the Eden Condominium, 16281 Perdido Key Drive. More information on the Annual Membership Meeting will be distributed in the coming weeks.
Perdido Key Drive a County Road
The swap of Perdido Key Drive from State of Florida to Escambia County control has been implemented. District 2 Commissioner Doug Underhill is optimistic the change will allow more rapid installation of new traffic safety measures, such as converting flashing yellow light crosswalks to red lights, developing designs for a traffic circle or traffic light at the Johnson Beach Road/Perdido Key Drive intersection (the likely location for much of Perdido Key Master Plan development), and working with the Flora-Bama to have paid crossing guards control the flow of cars and pedestrians. The Florida Department of Transportation remains committed to installing a “raised mid-block crosswalk” and “pedestrian activated traffic light” at the Flora-Bama to improve pedestrian safety and perhaps traffic flow as well; installation is anticipated in early-2020. For more on the upgraded crosswalk, go to the November 20, 2019 Pensacola News Journal article
“Flora-Bama will get long-awaited crosswalk on Perdido Key Drive” by Jim Lewis at https://www.pnj.com/story/news/2019/11/20/crosswalk-coming-perdido-key-drive-frontflora-bama-spring-202/4240191002/.
Recycling Woes
Perdido Key residents are fortunate to have the nearby recycling drop-off behind the Escambia County Sheriff’s office on Gulf Beach Hwy – next to the Winn Dixie shopping location. Other locales struggle to maintain recycling capability, such as Santa Rosa County and nearby communities in Alabama, and sometimes must use Escambia County’s ECUA resources. Recycling problems have recently been aggravated by China’s new policy of rejecting American material considered “too contaminated” and
hence raising costs. Contamination can be an issue with the Gulf Beach Hwy drop-off where building material, plastic sheeting, and old electronic devices have recently been noted at the site – items that would be better taken to Escambia County’s Perdido Landfill or discarded during one of the County’s Regional Roundups. To find out more about local recycling and trash disposal requirements, go to https://ecua.fl.gov/livegreen/recycling and https://myescambia.com/docs/default-source/sharepoint-wasteservices/waste-services-fee-schedule.pdf?sfvrsn=7cdaa728_7.
Old Corry Field Road now Open
The section of Old Corry Field Road between Barrancas Avenue and Navy Boulevard has been reopened to through traffic following the effective completion of the new bridge across Jones Creek. The section of road is used for access to the Warrington Office of the US Postal Service and by the many residents of nearby residential areas.
Dramatic Change in Beach Profile
For the past several months, volunteers have been measuring the profile of Perdido Key beaches at a number of sample points. The November 2019 measurement revealed a surprise at the Perdido Key State Park East Use Area: very high tides earlier in the month had swept away part of the protective dunes and left a five foot cliff where there had been a gradual slope. More surprising was a revealed wooden structure, probably
the end of a previous beach access boardwalk that had been covered by sand for many years. Assisting in this University of New Orleans “citizen science” effort were several students from the University of Alabama on a field trip led by their Geology professor.
Cool Numbers
How many pounds of red snapper were caught in Alabama waters by recreational anglers in 2019? According to the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, 1,050,651 pounds were caught in the 38 day season, just shy of the 1,079,513 quota. For more information on the recent catch go to the November 2019 Outdoor Alabama Weekly article “Alabama Snapper Anglers Stay Within 2019 Quota” by David Rainer at https://www.outdooralabama.com/node/2772.
How many people in our area work for Navy Federal Credit Union (NFCU)? According to the November 7, 2019 Pensacola News Journal article “When will Navy Federal hit 10,000 employees?” by Madison Arnold, NFCU is the area’s largest employer with almost 8,200 people and expects to reach 10,000 near the beginning of 2023; the second largest employer is Baptist Healthcare with over 6,600. The expansion of the NFCU campus in northwest Escambia County is “transformational” and worth a drive to
the Beulah area to appreciate its scope. To access the article, go to
https://www.pnj.com/story/news/2019/11/07/navy-federal-ahead-schedule-hit-10-000-employees-2026/2508949001/.
Air and Water Quality Issues
The Pensacola News Journal has been running a series of articles on environmental problems in the region, including water quality in Perdido Bay and other nearby waterways. As one article noted, the “Sins of the Past” still weigh heavily on Escambia County. Concerns extend to recent minor outbreaks of blue-green algae in Santa Rosa Sound (determined to be non-toxic), red algae in nearby Gulf of Mexico waters and the US Coast Guard decision no longer to use “Mobile Bay for certain types of exercises
after rescue swimmers reported falling ill during training.” For more on these issues, see the November 20, 2019 Pensacola News Journal article “Paradise Squandered: Escambia County confronts pollution ‘sins of the past’ | Part 3” by Kevin Robinson at https://www.pnj.com/story/news/2019/11/20/escambia-county-improves-pollutioncontrols-but-past-mistakes-linger/3998589002/, the al.com article “Coast Guard moves training out of Mobile Bay after swimmers get sick” by Christopher Harress at
https://www.al.com/news/2019/11/coast-guard-moves-training-out-of-mobile-bay-afterswimmers-get-sick.html, and the November 27, 2019 Pensacola News Journal article “Testing confirms no toxins were in blue-green algae spotted last week in Santa Rosa Sound” by Annie Blanks at https://www.pnj.com/story/news/2019/11/27/no-toxinspresent-santa-rosa-countys-blue-green-algae-bloom/4261996002/.
The “Gulf Frontal Watershed Management Plan” is an initiative to address water quality issues in the Mobile Bay and Perdido Bay watersheds. With a variety of participants and stakeholders and as part of the Mobile Bay National Estuary Program (a division of Dauphin Island Sea Lab), it hopes to bring a diverse stakeholders to the table to address ongoing environmental issues such as storm water runoff, wetlands restoration, and land use planning and practices. More information on the program is available at
several online locations, including the Mobile Bay National Estuary Program website at http://www.mobilebaynep.com/what_we_do and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mobilebaynep/.
At the 10th US Symposium on Harmful Algae held November 3-7, 2019 in Orange Beach, Alabama, discussion at a panel on stakeholder opinion about harmful algae suggested at least two important points: there was not enough money being allocated to investigate and monitor the proliferation of dangerous algae properly; and, when dangerous algae blooms appear – it can be difficult for authoritative information to reach the public because of the rapid spread of sometimes incomplete and inaccurate information over social media.
We wish you the best on this Holiday Seasons!
December Calendar
Dec 1-12 – Perdido Shop Hop
Dec 3 – Christmas Tree Lighting at The Wharf
Dec 6 – Perdido Key Area Chamber of Commerce Holiday Party at Flora-Bama
Dec 6 – Lighted Christmas Parade and Holiday Celebration in Gulf Shores
Dec 6,7,21,26,28 – Pensacola Ice Flyers at Pensacola Bay Center
Dec 6-8 – The Most Insane Show on Earth at Escambia County Equestrian Center
Dec 7 – Handel’s Messiah at Saenger Theater Pensacola
Dec 7 – Lighted Boat Parade in Pensacola Beach
Dec 7 – Perdido Holiday Flicks on the Field at Pensacola Greyhound Track Field
Dec 13 – Lighted Boat Parade on the Intracoastal Waterway
Dec 14 – Wreaths Across America at Barrancas National Cemetery
Dec 14 – Cox Pensacola Christmas Parade in Downtown Pensacola
Dec 14 – Santa Drop at the Flora-Bama
Dec 20-22 – Pensacola Ballet Presents: The Nutcracker at Saenger Theater Pensacola
Dec 25 – Christmas
Dec 31 – Various New Year’s Eve events, including fireworks at Pensacola Beach
The following websites provide additional information about Gulf Coast events
https://www.visitpensacola.com/
https://myescambia.com/
http://mygulfcoastchamber.com/
http://www.visitperdido.com/
http://mulletwrapper.net/
http://www.emeraldcoastfl.com//
http://alabama.travel/festivals-and-events