Energy Services of Pensacola (ESP), the City-owned natural gas utility, has been awarded a $6.5 million contract for upgrades at NAS Pensacola’s National Naval Aviation Museum. ESP and subcontractor Siemens Industries will perform a complete upgrade of the museum’s Energy Management and Control System (EMCS). The contract is expected to provide net revenue of $202,616 to ESP. Mayor Ashton Hayward stated that the contract was yet another way to create new revenue sources for the City and reduce the burden on taxpayers.

"One of my 20 Solutions is to find new revenue streams for the City so we can continue providing great service to our citizens without raising taxes. This contract is another example of using an existing resource of the City, in this case the top-notch service and maintenance teams at ESP, in a new way or in a new market, to generate value for the citizens. This contract puts money back in the city coffers so we can continue funding our citizen services without negatively impacting our taxpayers or ratepayers.

The Mayor’s Neighborhood Cleanup held Saturday, September 24 netted 51 tons of bulk waste, 1,048 gallons of old paint, and 64 old tires. These cleanup totals represent the largest volume of debris collected this year in the Mayor's monthly Neighborhood Cleanup program. The next Neighborhood Cleanup, covering the area east of Spanish Trail Road and north of Summit Boulevard, is scheduled for October 29. Formerly known as the STEP Cleanup, the Neighborhood Cleanups are performed once a year for every neighborhood in the City. During these cleanup weekends, residents are able to dispose of all sorts of household equipment, appliances, furniture, and other waste that is not suitable for weekly trash or recycling, or material that would otherwise cost residents money to properly dispose of.

The City has launched the Employee Award of Excellence Program, implementing another of Mayor Hayward’s 20 Solutions for 2011. The program provides a financial incentive for employees who identify innovative ways to cut costs or otherwise improve delivery of services. According to interim Human Resources Director Sherrer Kuchera, employees have already started submitting ideas. Hayward said he looked forward to engaging the city employees to continue finding new and more efficient ways of delivering City services. "I'm excited about this new opportunity for us to get our 'front line' employees involved in running our City more efficiently. Who knows more about the best way to deliver services to the citizens, than the men and women who are delivering those services every day?" said Hayward.