The Escambia County Community Redevelopment Agency approved meeting minutes and four budget and finance recommendations on Nov. 6, and commissioners directed staff to return with neighborhood‑level analyses before expanding septic‑to‑sewer tie‑in subsidies.

The agency approved the Oct. 2, 2025, CRA minutes and four items related to residential improvement and roof program funding and lien cancellations. A motion to approve the consent item and the budget and finance slate passed unanimously. The board did not record a roll-call tally in the transcript; the chair announced the measures passed unanimously.

Commissioners then discussed outreach and eligibility for the residential roof program. Staff said outreach will include flyers, postcards and distribution through community centers and programs that serve low‑income parents. Commissioner May suggested targeted outreach through community centers and programs serving families to reach eligible households.

A lengthy discussion followed about converting septic systems to public sewer in Brownsville and other CRA neighborhoods. Commissioners asked CRA staff to analyze connection rates and ownership status before expanding subsidies for non‑homesteaded properties. Staff reported that on West DeSoto, of 36 laterals installed only 22% connected; on Lee Street, of 76 laterals only 26% connected. Staff provided counts of non‑homesteaded properties in those areas and said only about 15% of grants issued had gone to homeowners in the Brownsville example presented.

Commissioners expressed concern that subsidies intended to increase sewer connections could instead be captured by landlords or developers and that converting properties to public sewer can impose a new monthly utility expense on low‑income tenants. They directed staff to produce a CRA‑by‑CRA breakdown of homeownership rates, homestead status, and whether properties are held by trusts or LLCs, and to return with a timeline and tailored plans for each CRA rather than a single districtwide approach.

Commissioner May and others also noted environmental and public‑health considerations tied to sewer access. The board referenced recent county water advisories for E. coli in Sanders Beach, Bayou Tahar and Bayou Chico, emphasizing the neighborhood health implications of incomplete sewer connections.

The board did not adopt new subsidy policy at the meeting; it instead requested more granular analysis and directed staff to report back. The CRA items approved at the meeting—minutes and the four residential grant and lien recommendations—were announced by the chair as passed without dissent.

Clarifying details recorded in the meeting (as stated by staff):
• West DeSoto: 36 laterals installed; 22% connected.
• Lee Street: 76 laterals installed; 26% connected.
• In the Brownsville sample presented, approximately 15% of issued grants had gone to homesteaded homeowners.

The board asked staff to return with a full dataset on homestead vs. non‑homestead status and to examine each CRA (Brownsville, Inglewood, Warrington, and others) separately to target programs to neighborhood needs. No new ordinances or funding authorizations were adopted at the Nov. 6 meeting relating to sewer conversions; commissioners instead requested follow‑up analysis.