Public Notice: Canceled ECUA Meeting Causes Pledge for Clearer Communication

Emerald Coast Utilities Authority (ECUA) leadership made a practical call this week: saving gas and time took priority over holding a committee meeting for a single, standard agenda item. I spoke with ECUA Board Member Lois Benson to ask what was missed and why the meeting was canceled. Benson explained the sudden cancellation of the meeting, noting it made little sense to have 10 committee members travel from across the county for one operational item. “There was only one item on the agenda, an operational item having to do with bids,” Benson said. “I'm enough of an environmentalist that I don't think we need to be spending all of that gas money to bring those people in.” Because the bid was standard operational business, staff hadn't yet forwarded the specifics to board members. Benson noted it was “sort of a boilerplate bid” that wouldn't have generated much debate. Typically, these meetings act as a sounding board, taking a deep dive into bids before forwarding recommendations to the full ECUA board. While outside input is beneficial, Benson reasoned that the environmental cost of the drive simply wasn't worth it this time. Benson assured the public that the bid will just go straight to the full board for a vote. “There was no process missed,” Benson said. However, the process of notifying the public that the meeting was off did hit a snag. While board members received a cancellation email from the executive director, public and press notifications fell through the cracks. Benson said she had fielded questions from others confused about the sudden cancellation, leading to a firm pledge for better accountability. “At the next board meeting, I'm going to make sure that we have a clear way of alerting the public and the press and anyone else, because I don't want you having to drive over there, too,” Benson said. The next board meeting for ECUA is September 22 at 3 P.M. at 9254 Sturdevant Street, Pensacola, Florida.

Photo credit: ECUA