(Above) Delegates with Rebecca Peterson and Nathalie Bowers of the Emerald Coast Utilities Authority.
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The August 2009 Project on Planning and Implementation at the Local Government Level
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Our council welcomed five International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) participants from northern Uganda to Escambia County in August. Four were local government leaders and the fifth was a member of parliament. Their program included stops in Washington, D.C., Kalamazoo (MI), Jackson Hole (WY), and Albany (NY).
The goals of their national project included enabling the participants in:
- Observing and learning ways in which towns and counties plan and implement the delivery of social services;
- Learning about the interplay and communication between non-profit organizations, local, state, and federal government officials; and
- Discussing and addressing the issues of transparency, civil society involvement, and efficacy in local governance.
In addition to the above, IVLP project personnel requested that our council incorporate water resource management, solid waste management, and emergency management into the program.
To do this, we requested several appointments which included site visits along with traditional conference room meetings. Sandra Jennings, Bureau Chief of Escambia County Neighborhoods and Community Services, arranged for the group to tour the county’s award-winning landfill along with herself, Jim Howes, Pat Johnson, and Ron Hixson of the Solid Waste Management Division. The delegates were interested in the organization and scientific approach behind the operation and spent several hours examining recycling and landfill gas extraction.
John Dosh, Chief of the Escambia County Division of Emergency Management, next welcomed the group with an introduction to the county’s emergency center, emphasizing that it is not just for hurricanes but for all emergencies. The division is recognized regionally and statewide for its excellence in emergency preparedness, and their planning impressed at least one delegate who confided later that it was a sharp contrast to emergency management in his own region where reactive rather than proactive work is the norm. Brad Hattaway also joined the meeting.
At the Escambia County Water Quality and Land Management Division in the Department of Neighborhood & Environmental Services, Brent Wipf, Environmental Program Manager, gave the delegates an orientation to the area, focusing on environmental challenges and successes. He discussed the balance between habitat conservation and reasonable development, retrofitting projects for the improvement of surface water quality, wetland preservation, and drinking water protection. He took the delegates outdoors to the Glynn Key Stormwater and Educational Project, a wetland treatment area home to numerous native plant and animal species, where Jimmie Jarratt, County Arborist, spoke about future plans and elementary school educational projects.
Councilmen Sam Hall and Ronald Townsend greeted the delegates the next morning at the City of Pensacola City Hall along with John Appleyard who presented a facinating history of the city and its government. Dr. Jack Kichler of the City of Pensacola International Relations Advisory Board also joined in the meeting which included an overview of current challenges in both Pensacola and Uganda. The city charter and the current review process was one topic which generated a fair amount of discussion from both the Ugandans and the Pensacolians with members at the table voicing various opinions about city managers vs strong mayors. One delegate stated his admiration for how citizens of the United States take up the responsibility for change through referendum. The meeting ended with the presentation of Honorary Citizenship to the City of Pensacola for the Ugandans.
Next, the delegates examined wastewater treatment at the Main St. Wastewater Treatment Plant where Rebecca Peterson, Engineering Contract Coordinator, and Nathalie Bowers, Public Information Officer, of the Emerald Coast Utilities Authority (ECUA), presented the planning and design behind the plant currently being built as well as its environmental and economic benefits. The ECUA’s interaction with citizens, lifeline rates for lower income seniors, and the importance of project transparency for the money being spent on the new plant were all covered.
Mary Gutierrez, Environmental Planner, and Terry Joseph, Executive Director, at the Bay Area Resource Council (BARC) continued the theme of citizen involvement, sustainable development, and responsibility towards the environment by talking about the role of BARC and how regionalism can promote the general welfare of an area. The delegates were pleased to receive copies of the BARC Watershed Management Plan which they plan to adapt for use in their own country. Particularly poignant was one delegate’s statement that the amount in the Ugandan federal budget devoted to the environment makes her “just want to cry red tears.” Both BARC representatives empathized by acknowledging that funding for environmental projects is not always a priority in the United States as well. Another delegate commented that the BARC model could help the delegates’ districts combat river blindness following the example of shared problem solving as demonstrated by BARC.
Our council would also like to thank the many others who helped make the Ugandans feel at home, including Mike & Karen Jurkowich who took interested delegates to church, Bishop John Ricard who incorporated them into the service, and Monsignor Luke Hunt who welcomed them on Sunday and also gave them Nina Fritz prints later in the week. Joyce Cranford took another delegate to a Pentecostal worship service and gave the group their final souvenirs, and John Appleyard presented the group with copies of his books. Jack & Cookie Kichler, the Richard Hough family, and Michael, Belinda & Kathy Kerr all hosted the delegates for dinner in their homes.
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| With Jim Howes, Sandra Jennings, Pat Johnson & Ron Hixson of the Solid Waste Management Division at the Escambia County Landfill |
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| Jim Howes sharing waste management techniques used by Escambia County |
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| At the Emergency Operations Center |
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| With John Dosh and Brad Hattaway at the Emergency Operations Center |
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| With Brent Wipf & Jimmie Jarratt of Escambia County; Also pictured are GCCDC intern Haley Willis & ELO Johnsy Middleton |
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| At Glynn Key |
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| John Appleyard shares the history of area government |
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| Councilman Ronald Townsend discusses current issues at Pensacola City Hall |
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| Councilmen Ronald Townsend & Sam Hall presented the delegates with Honorary Citizenship with the City of Pensacola. Dr. Jack Kichler presented the group with gifts from the GCCDC. |
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| Presentation of Ugandan map made of traditional bark cloth |
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| Exploring local government issues |
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| At the Bay Area Resource Council with Terry Joseph and Mary Gutierrez |
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| At the Emerald Coast Utilities Authority |
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To see more delegation photos, go to www.pnj.com & enter "citizendiplomacy" (one word) under the "Search People" feature. Once on our page, select the photos box to find photo folders organized by event. Photos are also at www.flickr.com/photos/gccdc.
Visit our calendar to view upcoming events and to see how you can become involved with the Gulf Coast Citizen Diplomacy Council.
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