Latest / Rick Outzen: (we don’t) color on the dog / 20 Years Later: Quint Studer on the Fight for the Maritime Park
Transcript
- Rick Outzen: Welcome, I'm Rick Outson. This is Rick's Blog Live. Thank you for watching. is the week, ⁓ the 20th anniversary ⁓ the referendum vote on the Community Maritime Park, where Blue Wahoo Stadium is. it's hard to believe now when you move around Pensacola and you go to a ball game or go to any event there. people believe was a struggle to get that park built, ⁓ to even get vote to allow it to happen on city property, to do the bond issue. The public private. it was pushing up a hill, to put it very bluntly. the person who's who really was the guiding light for it and helped push it all through is Quent Studer, and Quint's with me today. Quent, thank you for joining us. ⁓ We've had this a lot, just really ⁓ this summer a just because we remember all the different bits and pieces. I don't think people understand Quint Studer: Appreciate being here. Rick Outzen: Where you were in 2002, three, four leading up to Hurricane Ivan and which became the impetus the community maritime park, you you and wife owned a little bitty minor league baseball team and you kind of backed into that just because of love of baseball. you were a national health care consultant, spent most your days traveling. it it seems You were willing to step into this this fight, when the when you to Pensacola, this is where you came to rest. And now you c walking into every weekend when you came back, it was gonna be was gonna be a fight. Quint Studer: first of all, I walked into it not knowing what I was walking into. Right, right. I've been asked periodically, ⁓ what you know now, would have done it again? ⁓ And course the political answer is ⁓ yes. ⁓ I'm sure. I'm not It was I d I was optimistic and walked something not exactly what what w it meant. And then once you get halfway into it, sort of like having a baby, once you're dilated to six, you ain't going back. And and that's sort of what happened and just sort of got into it and then I got it's probably more emotional. I just didn't wanna I felt we were being bullied and I didn't give these people that were saying things that weren't right, weren't accurate, a victory. And I think it was only a victory for themselves, but really it would stop our ⁓ from being what it be. Right. Rick Outzen: Well, and so many other big projects had failed That that that there was a a an a element that didn't won't change at all, that always fighting against it. Going into ⁓ Ivan and the big to to do the park, you know, we had Admiral Jack who was, you know, the head of the Navy Museum Foundation, was looking for a museum spot. He was with the city council and The city council wouldn't make a decision whether it would be at what was called the Trillium property where the Wahoo Stadium is or at the port, and they wouldn't make a make a call. were looking for a ballpark space. Quint Studer: Yeah. working with Morto Sullivan who's been with me for a long time as financial advisor. I just looking at other cities. And, you I go to other cities. I travel a lot and say, Well why why does Lansing have this? Why does Fort have? Why do these other cities have these things? And at the time even Mobile, in fact, people said we don't need a team here, Mobile's got one. And so I was curious why not? And then we sort of got excited. I was actually meeting with Miller Caldwell ⁓ our team and ⁓ and were looking at sites and we're put a stadium ⁓ at the ⁓ and then was gonna commit to put my office building on the site and then we wanted to put a conference area for seminars and things like that. ⁓ So the we looked at is still in the news today. ⁓ It's way Garden Street past j or past Jump on Main Street, sort of with that big busy street. You know there's Rick Outzen: Right, right, right the old golf colour. Used to be where the train cart was there. Quint Studer: So golf carts at the corner now. we looked at that EPA site and they said ⁓ absolutely no way you could do anything. We actually had blueprints and drawings ⁓ Right. They asked me about a downtown and ⁓ had just seen how these people were beat up ⁓ I said, No, it's too political, too sensitive, I want to go on that site. ⁓ Then Ivan came. Mort sort of knew my ⁓ Miller knew plan, he knew Rick Outzen: Right, he was working with Jack on the expansion of the naval ⁓ aviation. Quint Studer: So they were having meetings after Hurricane Ivan and they asked me to attend and Jack was there and and Jack basically said he thought the trillion properties where this could fit. That's really where he wanted it. he'd worked so hard. And said to him, I d I don't want to interf I don't want to let this be so controversial that you lose what you're trying to do. So I to do nothing. And he said, no, no, it's perfect, it's a bookend. ⁓ And the thing he that he pushed Rick Outzen: Yeah, yeah, that was the the big story was that that Admiral Federman act like he was playing poker and he pushed that he was all in. ⁓ other thing about that property and the thing that you you meant you touched on was two before, there had been another referendum about putting making it a festival park with possibly an auditorium there because they were tearing down the Bayfront Auditorium. ⁓ and the council voted it in Many of the same players that ended up opposing you with the Maritime Park also had posed that project. It was called the Trillium Project at the time. for the first time ever in the city's history, the did a drive ⁓ and overturned council vote for that piece of property. And that created atmosphere where city snake bit. They really want to do it, and it put you in a position and Jack. of of this only gonna happen if y'all made it happen. Quint Studer: Yeah, Tom Bomfield was really good to work with and he he's in your book you mentioned Tom Bomfield, which is a great book. People really want to know the story, they should read their your book. he just said, you know, if we lead this, I'm afraid it it you they just got collateral damage. ⁓ Will guys lead it? Now at the time, remember I didn't know the city council members or but you know, people like Alice Bullock did and Dickie Appleyard, Jack Fetterman certainly You know, bigger than life Jack Fetterman and that. So we met with the city council and through. We also did some other things. We drove to Pittsburgh. So we didn't say, let's go do this. We did some work on other cities, looked at it. Mort sat down with the financials and studied what this would mean to the CRA. I was very scared the last thing I wanted to do is build something and have them say, ⁓ ten or twenty years now, ⁓ my God, what a disaster this was. So We were very cautious, so we did probably more research than most would do. Rick Outzen: And then what ended up happening, and we're gonna break for a few minutes and come back and tell the story of the referendum itself, but what ended up happening in January and February, the council approved the concept. Yes. you committed to doing bringing in Ray Gendros, internationally known ⁓ planner, designed project. ⁓ We through a whole year of you jumping through hoop after hoop after hoop. And then had the council vote March. And that's where we're gonna take a break. We'll come right back. When we come back, we'll get more in the Maritime Park. I'm Rick Altson and this is Rick's Blog Live. Hi, I'm Rick Altson and this Rick's blog live. We're talking about the community maritime park. years ago was the vote, a of a referendum that made the whole thing possible. ⁓ Quent I had spent just a few minutes going through ⁓ what up to the big council vote. and that didn't happen ⁓ until ⁓ of And Quent, when look at it, there were a couple really big events that happened that changed the course of it. was losing Fennerman, wasn't it? Yeah. Quint Studer: ⁓ gosh. it all started, Jack Fetterman, ⁓ everybody knew, everybody at least I think everybody loved, you know, was just larger than life person. Right. So he was gonna be the face of it. The plan was Wibbs, ⁓ who ⁓ got really because said, you know, as mayor, I should have done something this. He wanted to almost do something because he realized we don't want to this opportunity. it was ⁓ Jack and and mayor whibbs, mayor emeritus whibb in fact they'd call me on Friday afternoons, a hour at Jack's house, to tell to relax, ⁓ calm down. ⁓ you know, I had never been through anything like ⁓ like having people say me, You should have heard what Luke McCoy said about you today and I said, Why? ⁓ Or you hear what's happened. Facebook was out of control back then. So yeah, they were gonna be the face of it. Rick Outzen: Powder dry. Quint Studer: I was gonna be sort of the dollars that supported the project behind the scenes. Rick Outzen: Well and what ended up happening is the council voted almost you know, Jack out right before the vote, suddenly. he'd been sick but but passed. th the vote happened, it was a nine-one vote. They had ten council members at that time. Marty Donovan was the sole vote against it, ⁓ and almost immediately they ready to galvanize same group of people before that had opposed Trillium with a new organization called Save City. ⁓ and they immediately began a petition drive. But there was something two things were different this time. One Pensacola young professionals. Yes. Talk about their role. Quint Studer: Well, that's you and Yvonne Emerson got them together years ago and I went to one of your early meetings ⁓ Hausman, James Housman and the group, ⁓ Jason Crawford, they really together and they you know, the message was don't wait for else to lead. This is your city and you're the ones are gonna be raising your kids in it. And I think they really galvanized, in fact, ⁓ they really galvanized the professionals, which we needed desperately. 'Cause they need to also tell their parents, we need you to support this. Right. We we need you to back Rick Outzen: were sort of the ground troops. They're the ones who know ⁓ the neighborhoods, explain the park. They worked the precincts the day of the vote, ⁓ they were ⁓ letters to the editor. They were ⁓ were doing a lot of the debates ⁓ Save Our City. It really something we hadn't seen before in the community that I think really truly made a difference. And you mentioned Facebook really where things were bought fought politically was the opinion page. in weekly and the opinion page of the News Journal. Yes. Because you were gonna have there were viewpoints, there were always constant letters, ⁓ lot of misinformation. And we ended up doing to fight the misinformation became the birth of the blog, Rick's blog, which gave an opportunity to if ⁓ one of Donovan or Charlie Fairchild or somebody went on radio and there was radio then that was important, ⁓ go on COA and would say something. We could respond right away. Jeff Deweis, was a fantastic, worked for Mort at the time, he's a great CPA. he would go to their open meetings and tell what they were doing. ⁓ And it a of constantly being able to respond ⁓ very, very quickly, today happens without Quint Studer: you look at marketing, they what they call a rapid response team. Right. So every business, big business, a rapid response team. This shows up on TV or this shows up on radio, this shows up on social media. There's actually full-time paid people to be rapid responders. We had nothing like that until this. And blog became rapid response ⁓ organization, and the people were trying to were so frustrated with it 'cause they'd always been able to say things. remember I remember one the people that were against it got up at a city council meeting, looked at me, took his wallet, held it out and put it in his front pocket, like I'm pickpocketing the city. ⁓ And got away with this. ⁓ Inappropriate behavior many ways. Right. 'Cause no I really say much 'cause it doesn't work that But you're rap without the Rick's blog, there wouldn't be a maritime park. ⁓ Rick Outzen: We're showing the cover, one of the big covers of the News Journal, and and that was a constant theme of the summer of 2006. divided, two of arguments. Save Our City was seeing it ⁓ as representing a dollar giveaway that a hobby baseball team that we couldn't do this ⁓ unless we moved the sewage plant first. ⁓ The city could not handle and if they tried to do it, the CRA would go bankrupt. and general fund, city services would have to go ⁓ cover this. but don't think i and we really worked hard, but there are lot of things you committed to that ⁓ I don't any baseball team o owner anywhere would ever Quint Studer: No, the craziest one was pledged five million and they said, Well, what if you die before fifth ⁓ what if you die? ⁓ So actually had to take a life insurance policy out and I paid fifty two thousand a year for this life insurance policy and because dragged on to like two thousand ten, right, I paid like a quarter of a million dollars for a life insurance policy. ⁓ Then I'll a state I'll build an office building that I didn't need. You know. And and you get to a point and I 'cause I didn't know how to do this, you finally probably if I had to do it again I probably would have said, No, stop it. ⁓ again you get close to the finish line. You know, we brought in Ray Gindros 'cause Charlie Fairchild ⁓ Bring in Ray Gindros. So it cost two hundred fifty thousand. Then after Ray went, ⁓ said, What'd you think, Charlie? So it didn't count 'cause you paid. I said, I wish I'd have known that ⁓ half time. And so we we we I just had never been through anything like this before. Rick Outzen: Well, you know, we as it as it comes down and I've got you know, I'll go ahead and plug the book, but it really breaks through almost by week, month by month, the whole fight. ⁓ night of the vote, and we're we're running out of time, I knew this would happen when we do this, but w at the night of the vote we had ⁓ all PYP had worked the neighborhood. Juanita Scott, Lumen May and Juanita had or galvanized the the black community. They w they worked really hard in Quint Studer: It's a great book. And one need to skip. Rick Outzen: Pretty quickly we knew as the precincts came in, we knew we had won. ⁓ weren't you weren't that confident. But but I think the the statement that you made, and that's the the the day after, what it was like. Yes, ⁓ the know, that's what the cover of the news journal was. But you know, night, that feeling, ⁓ you you kind of it up pretty well about how you felt about the victory and what it meant for Pensacola. Quint Studer: You guys knew. I'd never been there. Yeah, ⁓ Channel Three interviewed me and they said, What would you like to say? And I said, your children they can come back home. Because this thing was never about a stadium, never was about just a park, and that's vital. ⁓ was about creating a type of community that keeps your talent home. And, know, the are your kids living here would they like to? At that only nine percent of ⁓ people, ⁓ students went away to college came back to Scambia County. Today we're about forty five percent. Right. So th it was about keeping your children home or getting your children back. Rick Outzen: And we've seen what's happened in downtown how it's changed. Quent, thank you so much for coming on. We the have a n we'll have a part two someday until this one again. But thank you so Quint Studer: We encourage people to buy your book. It's a great, great book. Rick Outzen: Thank you. We'll do it. We'll go ahead and break. We'll be right back. I'm Rick Altson. This is Rick's Blog Live.