What's next for Pensacola? Mayor D.C. Reeves will answer your questions at CivicCon

D.C. Reeves is early into his term as the new mayor of Pensacola, but he's already having a big impact.

Since taking office in November, Reeves has collaborated with the City Council on a $3.25 million public safety, maintenance and planning package; been accepted into a prestigious Harvard social equity and urban design program; met with federal policy makers in Washington, D.C., at the U.S. Conference of Mayors, and finalized a transition team report serving as a roadmap for the city's policies and priorities.

So what's he doing for an encore?

Find out from the mayor himself when Reeves discusses what's next for our city at a free CivicCon event Feb. 7.

"What I want to share is some of my early impressions and data that we've received from our employees, as well as some of the steps we've been able to take in these first 60 days," Reeves said. "As well as some projects, big and small, that we have eyes on or have taken steps toward in the coming months."

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The importance of strategic planning

Last year at age 38, Reeves, a Pensacola native, became the youngest person in 101 years to be elected mayor, according to the city.

"I campaigned for 14 months, and I'm not doing this to become the president of the United States one day," Reeves said. "I'm doing this because this is my hometown. I love it. My daughter is going to grow up here, and I'm going to give you everything that I have."

Reeves spent his professional career as a sports journalist, author, community builder and entrepreneur, including six years as chief of staff for Quint Studer, as the owner of a downtown Pensacola brewery and as chief entrepreneur officer at The Spring Entrepreneur Hub.

He was also instrumental in the founding of CivicCon in 2017 and said many of the concepts he's learned from CivicCon have informed his approach to community building. In particular, he cited a renowned sustainable development and urban design guru who said people — and in turn businesses and opportunity — are drawn to places with character and identity.

"I borrow Ed McMahon's original CivicCon line from when I was organizing CivicCon, which is, 'When you have no plan, everything fits it,'" Reeves said.

Reeves describes his administration's current posture as an "assessment phase" where they are still collecting feedback from staff and department heads, sifting through available data and plotting out a course not just for the next four years, but ideally for well into the future.

To that end, Reeves sought and received Council approval to allocate over $700,000 toward strategic planning for initiatives that include:

• City-wide strategic plan: Comprehensive strategic plan to evaluate and plan holistically for the city of Pensacola's future.

• City-wide Land Development Code study: A comprehensive look at the city's Land Development Code to identify potential areas for improvement.

• City-wide salary and FTE study: A study of all city of Pensacola employee salaries and full-time equivalents to ensure equitable pay for all staff.

• Congestion management plan: A plan to help identify future needs and foster economic development as the city continues to grow.

• New positions to invest in the city's success: New senior grant writer position and economic and neighborhood development director position dedicated to helping the city of Pensacola grow and prosper.

"So, when you talk about what's my long term vision ... I'll be really excited to learn from those (studies) to make sure that we're setting up success for the city of Pensacola not just in my term, but in the years beyond that."

After winning the primary election in August, Reeves had 13 extra weeks to prepare for the position. He used that time to staff and meet with his transition team, composed of 29 of Pensacola's brightest minds on 12 focus areas of the city's operations, including attainable housing, education, livability and public safety.

On Jan. 11, that transition team approved a 102-page plan full of recommendations for each of the 12 focus areas.

"I'm so appreciative of that whole team for putting the report together," Reeves said. "I've really leaned on my staff, our department directors to say, 'Tell me what you see here. What are our opportunities? What are things that we're already working on? What are things that that we haven't thought about?' And kind of challenged them to give me one takeaway you've seen from that report that can be implemented, that you believe in, that your department believes in.

"I think to have success in our administration and to be able to move our city forward is, we've got to have collaboration and we all have to be motivated to get things across the finish line."

An obligation to be coachable

Along with leaning on staff and local peers for knowledge and ideas, Reeves is also tapping into his peers around the country.

The Mayors' Institute on City Design and Just City Lab announced this month that Reeves was chosen as one of eight mayoral fellows from across the U.S. to join the 2023 MICD Just City Mayoral Fellowship. The program is a leadership initiative to educate mayors on city design and connect them with thought leaders on municipal challenges.

The 2023 program will run from February to April 2023 virtually and in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and will include mayors from Albany, New York; Kansas City, Missouri; Sante Fe, New Mexico; St. Louis, Missouri; and other cities.

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"We continue to build stronger relationships outside this (city hall) building — in Tallahassee, in Washington, D.C., and all over the country because we want what's best for the city," Reeves said.

He added, 'I think as mayor, it's my obligation to the city to always be coachable. You know, the second that you think you've got all the answers is, I believe, the second that you put your community in a disadvantageous position. So, we've got great people around here that advise our office and great employees that take the lead on moving our city forward."

Reeves said that sentiment extends to the citizens.

At the CivicCon event, he said he is eager to hear questions from Pensacola residents, learn about what issues are on their minds, and hopefully get them up to speed on good things that are happening that they may not be aware of.

"I'm excited to hear your questions and hear feedback," Reeves said of the community. "That's an important part for anybody in my position, is to make sure you're really hearing things that are important to your community. So, I'm excited to share the progress we've made so far and the direction that we're going as a city, but I'm excited to hear from the people I represent."

Get to know your CivicCon speakers

Reeves' CivicCon presentation is free and open to the public. The event will be 6-7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 7, at The REX Theatre, 18 N. Palafox St.

Registration is available by searching "CivicCon" at eventbrite.com. Those who register for the event will have an opportunity to submit a question for Reeves to answer during the event. Questions can also be emailed to moderator Lisa Nellessen Savage at lnelless@gannett.com. The presentation will also be livestreamed at pnj.com and on the News Journal's Facebook page.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pensacola Mayor D.C. Reeves Q&A at CivicCon event downtown