Lois Benson: Candidate, ECUA District 2
EDITOR'S NOTE: The following is an interview conducted via questionnaire by the Pensacola News Journal with Escambia and Santa Rosa County election candidates for their respective races. All of the answers were submitted to the Pensacola News Journal by the candidate and are available to our readers to show the candidates' position and priorities on the issues.
Candidate: Lois Benson
Race: ECUA District 2
Occupation: community volunteer, interior decorator
Education: B.A. Emory University
Why are you running for this office? I believe that Pensacola is a great place, but it can be better.
What makes you stand out from your opponent? I have a record of accomplishment on behalf of this community. I was instrumental in moving the Main Street Sewer Plant out of downtown, and now it is time to extend the downtown renaissance to communities on the west side. I was a leader in developing our recycling operation which now includes turning leaves and limbs into mulch. And I have been working to get septic tanks out of areas near surface waters, but we need to include commercial corridors like Navy Boulevard and Brownsville. Beyond these, during my years in this community, I have walked door-to-door throughout the county. I know the people who live here. When I vote on public policy or budget, it is their faces which I see and their voices which I represent.
Previous elective office/ elective office experience: I served on the Pensacola City Council. I also served in the Florida House of Representatives.
Do you have a criminal record? Have you ever been found to have committed any other civil or ethical violations? No
What are your three most important priorities if you are elected or re-elected? 1. I believe we need to extend sewer service to areas on the west side near surface waters as well as making sewer available in commercial corridors like Brownsville, Navy Boulevard, and Gulf Beach Highway. It is good for the environment and will help spur the rebirth of the west side of our county. 2. We need to repair our aging infrastructure. Our system has about 1000 miles of gravity sewer. It has cracks and fissures. When we have storms we often have floodwater intrusion that results in sewer spills. 3. We must balance the imperatives to repair and extend the sewer system with keeping rates low.
How would you implement Priority 1? I have been working on sewer expansion for years. During my tenure we have expanded service to Edgewater, the Lakewood area, most of Navy Point, and now to areas of Beach Haven. Sewer expansion is expensive--even in densely populated areas--so we need to budget for this annually. We have also partnered with the County. When they do stormwater projects, we extend sewer. The roads are torn up once instead of twice, and neighborhoods are disrupted only once. This partnership helps stretch the County and ECUA budgets for these vital projects.
How would you implement Priority 2? We are a wonderful community, rich in history. However we also have an aging infrastructure. The ECUA is now in Year 5 of a plan to repair the I & I (inflow and infiltration) into our sewer system--which results in sewer spills. The overall budget is $150M. We have bonded funds for this huge effort. The first phase included assessing the system foot by foot. We have performed repairs and replacement of lines in older sections of our County including downtown, Pen Haven, and Pensacola Beach. There is a lot left to do. And we must balance the imperative to make these repairs with the need to extend sewer service while keeping rates affordable for the families who live here.
How would you implement Priority 3? Every year we go through the budget thoroughly. We balance those costs that are unavoidable--chemicals, ongoing repairs of lift stations, replacing equipment, for example, with those that enhance recycling or expand sewer. We find innovative ways to save money. For example, by changing our entire fleet of vehicles to CNG we save about $900,000 per year. We also seek creative ways to turn costs into revenues. For example, in the past we disposed of yard debris in the landfill which incurred tipping fees. Now we compost leaves and limbs and create mulch which we sell. (Have you tried Bloom?) We have turned a cost center into a revenue center. We partner with the County on sewer expansion/stormwater projects. And we scrutinize every project and every priority before it gets funded.And I always ask, how does this line item support our mission.
How would you work with your peers in city and county government for the betterment of our community? I have been so energized by the CivicCon initiative. I think it has unleashed a great deal of creative and collaborative thinking. Of course partnering with the County on joint projects is a logical effort, and we are doing that. We developed a contingency plan with Santa Rosa County to be sure that there was a continuous flow of water to the beach when the new bridge construction needed to cut off underground water flow for three days. We made sure to reserve capacity for City recyclables in our recycling operation. We do lots of routine collaborating that is never seen. But I think we could do more innovative collaborating--beyond inter-governmental partnerships. What about enlisting the local chapter of the AIA to find creative, affordable designs to to nestle lift stations into dense urban or infill areas. I think there are exciting opportunities ahead.
Do you support open records and open meetings laws? Would you ever support any exemptions to the public's right to access information? Would you support efforts to expand these laws? I have worked under the Sunshine Law for many years. It is the law of the State, and it ensures that government is accountable. I do not see the need to enact more exemptions. Nor have I perceived a need for expansion. The Sunshine Law covers virtually all of our policy and budget deliberations and decisions. I believe Florida is a model for other states.