Escambia County District 1 Commissioner Steve Stroberger addressed residents at a town hall on Monday evening, pledging to push for solutions to two longstanding community concerns: the lack of nearby fire protection for Paradise Beach residents and ongoing tensions over public access to beaches on Perdido Key.
Stroberger opened the meeting by addressing the absence of a local fire station for the Paradise Beach community, a residential neighborhood situated along the northern shore of Perdido Bay, just east of the Lillian Bridge connecting Florida to Lillian, Alabama. Paradise Beach has been without a nearby fire station for seven years, following the closure of a volunteer facility. Residents have reported steep increases in homeowners’ insurance costs since then, with premiums in some cases rising from around $2,000 to $7,000 annually.
“Progress has been really slow,” Stroberger said. “When I started talking about this, it was about six years ago when we lost the volunteer firehouse.”
He told residents that the county is finalizing the acquisition of a five-acre site on Bronson Field Road, a county-owned area near the former Navy airfield, for a new fire station. Stroberger expressed frustration with the slow timeline for construction, stating, “I don't know why it would take one to two years to do this, because I know that we could build that house in a few months.”
Funding for the new station would come from Escambia County’s Municipal Services Benefit Unit (MSBU) program, which assesses property owners to fund services like fire protection. Currently, residential property owners on the mainland pay an annual MSBU fee of $125. County officials are considering a proposal to roughly double that fee to $250 for mainland residents. Property owners in areas like Pensacola Beach, who already pay higher rates due to unique service challenges, would see even larger increases under the proposal. The additional revenue would help cover the costs of new fire stations, fire trucks, and additional firefighting personnel across the county, including in Paradise Beach.
County officials estimate that fire protection currently costs $10 to $12 million more per year than the MSBU generates, requiring general property tax revenues to fill the gap. A decision on the proposed MSBU adjustments is expected later this year after public hearings.
Some residents in high-value areas like Perdido Key and Pensacola Beach have raised concerns about whether higher assessments will translate into proportional improvements in local services.
Stroberger also addressed tensions over beach access. In Perdido Key, disputes have emerged between condominium owners seeking to limit public use of privately owned beachfront and residents advocating for broader public access.
“I want our beaches to be clean. I don’t want port-o-potties on the beach,” Stroberger said, adding that he supported increased patrols to deter trespassing and vandalism.
His comments come as Florida lawmakers move to revisit a 2018 state law that restricted the ability of counties to establish “customary use” rights over privately owned dry sand areas. Under that law, local governments must hold a public hearing and then seek a court order to affirm public recreational use of private beachfront property.
A bill to repeal the 2018 measure passed the Florida Senate on April 24 by a 35-2 vote and cleared the House unanimously the next day. The legislation awaits the governor’s signature. If signed into law, the bill would make it easier for counties to recognize customary public use of private beaches, a change supporters say is critical to maintaining public beach access and protecting the tourism economy. Property owners who oppose the measure argue that it infringes on private property rights.
Throughout the town hall, Stroberger emphasized the importance of greater local investment in Perdido Key and neighboring communities. He encouraged residents to participate in upcoming county budget hearings and to continue advocating for their share of public services.
“All I have to do is listen to you,” Stroberger said. “You tell me what you want, and I’ll make sure you know everything I know.”
