Friday December 14th, 2007 - 8:41PM

* Getting down to the wire: Draft Request for Proposals for Master Developer sets the stage for who will take the dream and craft it into a reality.

* Board endorses Friends of the Community Maritime Park as the official volunteer organization for the park.

Here are the details:

With release of the draft proposal for the Mater Developer candidates, the non-profit Community Maritime Park Associates (non-profit CMPA) knocks down another task prior to Decision Day.

When this all began following the park's election victory last September, everybody knew there'd be a Decision Day; the day when the best Master Developer candidate gets the nod and takes over hands-on control.

Decision Day got closer following today's (Friday, 12/14/2007) Board of Trustees meeting. Judge Lacey Collier, Chairman of the Board, handed out the draft copy of the Request For Proposals (RFQ) that will ultimately separate the winner from the others.

They will be posted for your viewing early next week at the CommunityMaritimePark.com web site.

In a cover memorandum, he told his fellow Board members, "I emphasize that this is a working draft review and discussion by the Board, with the final draft to be submitted for approval at our January meeting.

"After further review by Owen Beitsch and the Design Criteria Team prior to the January meeting, we anticipate additional changes to ensure we give appropriate and clear guidance to the Master Developer Candidates."

A formal legal document signed by Judge Collier explains that, "Owen Beitsch of Real Estate Research Consultants (RERC) . . . have been retained to advise and to coordinate the collection and review of any submissions."

As for the timeline, "Submissions provided in response to the RFP are due no later than April 15, 2008."

And what is the Board expecting to see from the Master Developer candidates?

The RFP says the community wants "a unique site that will enable the community to enjoy a dynamic, expansive public waterfront and park on the western half of downtown Pensacola . . ."

Now the Board begins the process of winnowing out the best candidate who can deliver.

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Board endorses Friends of the Community Maritime Park as the official volunteer organization for the park.

Glenn C. Obert, the creator, administrator, and editor of the Friends' CommunityMaritimePark.com site, received the Board of Trustees' endorsement for Friends of The Community Maritime Park to be the park's official volunteer auxiliary.

Mr. Obert told the members a non-profit corporation would be formed to handle formal business matters. It will be an "open books" corporation in keeping with the non-profit CMPA's operation under the state's Government in the Sunshine Act.

Friends has already approached the Board through Ed Spears, the acting executive director of the non-profit CMPA to discuss volunteer projects on the CMP land. Mr. Spears arranged a meeting with a Friends representative and Al Garza, the Public Works Director, Tom Mulroy, the city's Risk Manager, and the assistant director of the Parks and Recreation Department, John Ewing.

They discussed projects that Friends can coordinate with the city on the CMP property. Among those are:

1) Tree survey. Trees cleared for the park can be properly credited for plantings in other venues;

2) Test wells and auger holes dot the property. Friends can map and mark these sites for the safety of those working on the property;

3) Wetlands mapping. Friends can map perimeters for environmental permitting processes.

4) "Limbing up" standing trees. In the short run, until heavy construction begins, Friends can cut the under limbs of trees on the property and thus give a clear view from the adjacent roadway to the water.

5) Bush Hog. Cut undergrowth to give the property a cleaned-up appearance.

Friends is expected to begin formal planning with the city following the holidays.

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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: jua
nita.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

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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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