Community Affairs
Summary of May 5, 2010
Meeting of Bill McCollum, Attorney General, State of Florida
Pensacola Bay Area Chamber of Commerce
Bill McCollum, Attorney General for the State of Florida, spoke to tourism representatives at the Pensacola Chamber of Commerce on May 5, 2010. Representatives of the industry included hoteliers, restaurant owners, as well as diving, fishing and charter boat businesses. A few introductory comments followed, although he stressed he was in Pensacola to “listen” to the affected community and businesses.
AG McCollum discussed that British Petroleum has demonstrated cooperation, first by the $25 million funding to assist local governments in each of the four affected states, including Florida. Also, the claims process is easy to access through various sources, such as Florida DEP and through BP. It is obvious the claims process will remain open for some time. The effort to stop the flow of oil is serious and is the major focus of their ongoing efforts as well as having an open claims process.
AG McCollum stressed to the business participants the importance of gathering detailed data and record keeping. The AG’s office represents Florida DEP and McCollum stated that BP is committed to insuring that Florida is made whole. He stressed patience is needed as this unfolds. He mentioned that another office in St. Petersburg is being opened today as it is very likely they will be affected. McCollum pointed out that there are no limits to the liability (state law) but there are some limits of liability from a federal standpoint. It is likely that damages will accrue for years to come (similar to the Exxon Valdez incident).
Comments were made that cash flow can be problematic and again it was stressed that BP has an open claims process. Efforts are underway to get assistance from the Small Business Emergency Loan program under SBA. The group discussed ways to insure appropriate records are kept (cancellations of hotels are easier to document as opposed to restaurants). However, it was noted budgets should be preserved and created as needed to support future claims, including business revenue growth. The name of Kile Anderson (and Liz Castro) was mentioned as BP representatives who may be contacted to assist more directly with the claims process. Even “house sales” that may fall through because of this disaster are “legitimate”. One of the participants suggested that it would be worthwhile to determine if “advances” can be made on claims (even though they may be left open for some time). McCollum agreed that it would be worthwhile to see if a pool of “advance funds” can be negotiated. It was suggested the Chamber could assist in the claims process. The Chamber is staying updated on the Small Business Loan program to assist small businesses.
Further questions arose about the nature of “health effects” and toxins. It was stated oil will have an impact – however, many people are doing everything they can to stop it, including using dispersals to break it apart. There is real concern if the oil reaches our marshes, estuaries, etc. because of the wildlife and the extreme difficulty of removing it. AG McCollum stated that the Surgeon General is a part of the team effort (and involved in the EOC effort with the local Health Department) and that the question of chemical composition will be addressed as part of the ongoing effort.
Another business stated that the “attraction” industry will be severely affected, as 90% of their revenues come within the next 90 day period. It essentially will affect the attraction industry for the entire year. It was suggested that BP be approached about funding a “restoration” plan of local support and promotion to assist the community - due to the negative publicity of the oil spill and its affect thus far (business cancellations, lost business, etc.). AG McCollum stated that the oil spill is very likely to affect international tourism as well as local/regional.
AG McCollum stated that the five Attorney Generals of the affected states have met and they agreed to send letters to the responsible parties asking for “written” confirmations by the responsible parties, asking them to 1) memorialize the specifics of funding the cleanup, 2) assign a specific point of contact and 3) provide the State investigatory agencies with specifics of information.
Prepared by Natalie Prim, VP, Community Affairs, Pensacola Bay Area Chamber of Commerce, May 5, 2010
For any questions or more information, staff contact is Natalie Prim, nprim@pensacolachamber.com.