CRESTVIEW — The Crestview City Council approved “A New View” for Crestview on Monday night.

“A New View Strategic Plan 2020” is a draft report made by city staff after the three-day planning session at the end of May.

“We are very excited about it,” Crestview City Manager Tim Bolduc said. “We’re looking forward to getting this thing implemented.”

According to the plan, the city’s vision is “to be known as a forward thinking, hospitable, and growing community that embraces diversity with a family-centric culture” with a mission “to improve the quality of life by providing exceptional municipal services.”

“We’re going to roll out our vision and mission,” Bolduc said. “It will be on our shirts, and you’ll hear it from me often.”

In order to obtain these statements, city staff came up with two categories: foundational strategic focus areas and quality of life. There are 10 elements to achieve these goals.

There are four areas the city will focus on as a foundation: financial sustainability; organizational capacity, effectiveness and efficiency; infrastructure; and communication.

“You can’t expect that we approve the strategic plan Monday and have a new road Tuesday,” Mayor J.B. Whitten said. “This is the plan for how we’ll get there.”

The city broke quality of life into six experiences: community character, safety, mobility, opportunity, play and culture.

“Things people are addressing and have questions about are in the plan,” Councilman Shannon Hayes said. "We need to make sure it's available to the people."

The approval of the plan gives Bolduc the authority to develop strategies under each goal. Once the strategies are developed, he will work with staff to prioritize objectives in the budget.

In other business, the council recommended a route for East West Connector that will run from Antioch Road to State Road 85 as part of the southwest bypass. Bolduc and Okaloosa County Public Works Director Jason Autrey presented nine alternative routes for the road at a previous meeting.

In order to build the connector, the city approved an inter-local agreement with the county. The city and county have already worked closely on the design on the connector.  The agreement will also establish the responsibilities for the project and the continual maintenance.

As part of the agreement, the city will provide the county with $8 million by Dec. 31 to use for the project. The money will be used for things such as the right-of-way acquisition, construction, or inspection services.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: City council approves 'New View' plans

CRESTVIEW — The city of Crestview could potentially enter a new solid waste franchise agreement with Waste Pro.

The council members unanimously approved to adopt the ordinance on the first reading with all members present at the Nov. 5 regular city council meeting.

The ordinance will go through a second reading likely in December.

Around 10,000 customers in the city use Waste Pro services, according to city clerk Elizabeth Roy.

These customers will see increases in the monthly rates for residential and commercial solid waste services.

Currently, the residential monthly rate for an 18-gallon recycle bin is around $18. The new rate will be $22.95 and $25.95 for a 96-gallon recycle bin.

The price for commercial businesses will also increase by over $3.

New service fees are expected go into effect Jan. 1.

Councilman Doug Faircloth spoke at the meeting about complaints he has received in recent months. He said he has had issues on his street with Waste Pro services.

"I've replaced my fence a couple of times," Faircloth said. "They don't know how to fit that truck in a 16-foot drive way."

Public Services Director Wayne Steele assured the council he met with Waste Pro and made demands for better service.

"I was very stern in my statements to them, and Ms. Roy can attest to that," Steele said. "…I had some concerns, and those concerns were addressed."

A bid-review committee met Oct. 16 and reviewed rankings of Waste Pro and Waste Management.

According to Roy, Waste Pro out-ranked Waste Management due to pricing differences.

The review committee consisted of the city clerk, public services director, finance director and the mayor.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: New agreement with Waste Pro means increased rates for Crestview customers

CRESTVIEW — Mobile vending might sound odd to some, but in Crestview it’s defined as "the selling of any product out of any self-propelled or non-self-propelled vehicle including carts, trucks, trailers and movable stands and kiosks."

Proposed changes to the existing ordinance regulating mobile vending would allow the city to charge licensing fees on things like tent sales, firework stands, Christmas tree stands, road side or "garage" type sales, fruit stands, mobile food trucks, hot dog carts, and other vendors.

Growth Management Director Teresa Gaillard presented the amendments to the city council Monday, Oct. 15, and the council discussed it at some length.

But by the end of the special workshop meeting, Crestview officials had yet to post the ordinance online.

Documents were provided to each council member, the mayor and department heads present at the meeting, but the press and the public were left to wonder what the ordinance might say.

This, according to Attorney John Bussian, was clearly a violation of the Florida Sunshine law.

He said based on what was described about the special workshop meeting, the city violated the open meetings law by not posting the proposed ordinance before the meeting.

“Florida’s Sunshine Law has always been read liberally to promote government transparency and not narrowly to deny the public’s right to know,” Bussian said.

According to City Clerk Elizabeth Roy, the council announced the meeting on Oct. 8 at the regular city council meeting and published the agenda online Oct. 11, which meets the seven day requirement stated in Florida Statutes. Roy also said that because Monday's meeting was a special workshop, the city was only required to give a 24-72 hour notice.

However, the issue lies with the ordinance documents that were left out of the agenda. Roy said the city was not required to publish the ordinance packet.

“We don’t have to publish all the information,” Roy said.

Although Sunshine Laws are subject to interpretation, Bussian said this statute is clear.

“The spirit of the Sunshine Law clearly commanded the city to release the draft ordinance before the workshop,” Bussian said. “The only way this occurs is when local government senses that neither the public nor the press will challenge their refusal to release documents to be discussed at a public meeting.”

For any meeting except in the case of emergency meetings, Florida Statute 120.525 in Chapter 120 "Administrative Procedure Act" states the following:

"The agenda, along with any meeting materials available in electronic form excluding confidential and exempt information, shall be published on the agency’s website. The agenda shall contain the items to be considered in order of presentation. After the agenda has been made available, a change shall be made only for good cause, as determined by the person designated to preside, and stated in the record. Notification of such change shall be at the earliest practicable time."

According to Bussian, this violation could be addressed with a civil law suit and an order barring the city from doing this in the future.

“The hope is the city can learn from its mistake,” Bussian said.

Florida Sunshine Laws are designed to give access to public government meetings and documents in the state of Florida.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: 'Florida’s sunshine law has always been read liberally to promote government transparency'

CRESTVIEW — Crestview drivers can expect some delays in the coming months while a contractor for the city of Crestview resurfaces multiple roads through the rest of October.

Midsouth Paving will begin resurfacing Crestview roads on Tuesday, Oct. 16 and are expected to be finished by Oct. 31 if weather permits, Danny Bowden of Crestview Public Works Department said.

Bowden said Mid South Paving will handle traffic control for each street.

"It’s nothing they can’t handle," he said.

The heaviest traffic is expected to be on Commerce Drive and South Pearl Street where Mid South Paving will likely have more sophisticated traffic control.

However, Midsouth will have one or two flaggers working traffic control on the other streets, according to Bowden

Drivers can expect some delays and lane closures throughout the daytime, though Bowden said there wouldn't be any road closures.

"If (drivers) can find an alternate route, that would be great," Bowden said.

According to a public service announcement, the roads being resurfaced are the following: Lindberg Street, Thurston Drive, and the area including Grimes Avenue, Alford Street, and Chappie James Street.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview roads being resurfaced, expect some travel delays

CRESTVIEW — In almost one month, Okaloosa County voters will have a chance to decide on the 10-year, local option, half-cent sales tax referendum (LOST).

But what exactly will this sales tax — also called a surtax — fund for the north end of Okaloosa County?

The Okaloosa County commissioners have a list of proposed projects that could be funded by LOST revenue.

However, that list has not been finalized as of this writing.

Commissioners and the county’s Infrastructure Surtax Advisory Committee will meet at the County Administration Building in Shalimar on Oct. 10 at 1:30 p.m. to discuss the potential projects and allow public input.

At the Oct. 4 Crestview Chamber of Commerce meeting Okaloosa County Commission Chairman Graham Fountain spoke about the sales tax.

“Ya’ll know me, what you see is what you get,” Fountain said. “We’ve got to the point where we’re running on the same or less millage rate than we were back when our population was 110,000 people.”

According to the U.S. Census Bureau estimation, Okaloosa County’s population was at almost 203,000 as of July 1, 2017.

The projects are part of an effort by the county to benefit traffic issues especially in the Crestview area, Fountain said.

“Whether you live in the south end and you work here or your trucks are going back and forth, you’re sitting in traffic,” Fountain said.

The goal would be eventually to have a bypass going all around the city of Crestview, according to Fountain.

“It’s not a north/south county issue,” Fountain said. “It is an Okaloosa County issue.”

Among those outside the city, here are Crestview improvements listed on the proposed projects document.

John King Widening

According to the proposed projects document, this project would allow for widening the road between State Road 85 and Live Oak Church Road.

The county would also consider intersection improvements and additional lanes, the document says.

Crestview Northwest Bypass

Okaloosa County looks to match funding with the Florida Department of Transportation for a Project Development and Environment study using revenue from the sales tax, the project document says.

During a PD&E study, “design options and their social and environmental effects are examined,” according to the FDOT website.

Rasberry Road Corridor

Rasberry Road, off of Antioch Road, would be phase five of the county’s southwestern bypass project.

The Rasberry Road project would receive funding from both Okaloosa County and the City of Crestview, the proposed project document states.

According to the document, the total for this project is $9 million. The county would contribute $500,000. 

More information about the potential projects will be available on the Okaloosa County and city of Crestview websites as projects become more concrete, county officials said.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: How the half-cent sales tax could be used in north Okaloosa County

LAUREL HILL — Using the services of Dewberry, the Laurel Hill city council will map out their already existing water system. The contract between Dewberry and the city states this service will cost the city $20,000.

Last month, the city was awarded a Technical Assistance Grant for $20,000 for the purpose of contracting out a company to map out the current water system.

The city council is looking to have all of the existing water system put into a geographic information system file to "expand the system."

"It's a pretty simple process to update those maps," Crystal Weatherington, a Dewberry employee, said at the Oct. 4 regular meeting. "You guys will basically have a living document — living file — that you're able to update as changes occur in your water system."

Without any discussion from the council or the public, council members voted unanimously to approve signing a contract between Mayor Robby Adams and Dewberry.

The contract states that Dewberry will perform two services for the city: surveying and deliverables.

Dewberry will spend time locating and mapping the Laurel Hill water system and provide two sets of completed maps, according to the contract provided in the agenda.

Across the U.S., Dewberry provides many services like engineering, consulting, and architectural services.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Laurel Hill moving forward with updating and advancing water system files

CRESTVIEW — In the less-than-15-minute final hearing, city council members unanimously voted with one member missing to adopt the budget and millage rate for the next fiscal year.

The millage rate will stay the same at 6.9 mills, equivalent to $6.90 for every $1,000 of assessed property value.

Millage rates are used to calculate local property taxes, and Crestview’s rate will allow the city to collect around $7 million in property taxes.

Crestview’s millage rate remains the highest in Okaloosa County.

The $37.5 million budget was approved without changes.

Both the budget and millage rate will go into effect on Oct. 1, 2018 and end on Sep. 30, 2019.

Included in the budget is the city manager position, which was also discussed in a workshop meeting on the same night.

According to the workshop agenda, some of the city manager’s responsibilities will include:

• Attendance of all meetings
• Monthly financial reports, “unless otherwise directed by the council”
• Working with the city clerk and other departments on the budget
• Advising the council on financial status and needs of the city
• Maintaining public and media relations

Qualifications were also listed on the agenda.

Although some council members prefer to have a city manager from Crestview, they are not required to live in the city.

According to the agenda, the city manager’s salary will be “negotiable.”

However, the next fiscal year budget has $300,000 allotted for the city manager position.

The council is expected to begin accepting applications on Oct. 9.

The job will be listed on www.cityofcrestview.org.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Council approves millage rate, budget for next fiscal year

CRESTVIEW — The federal government offers a variety of ways to receive funding for public transportation, and the Crestview city council is looking to take part in that funding.

At the regular city council meeting on Sep. 10, Growth Managment Director Teresa Gaillard presented the Title VI and Non-Discrimination Policy and Plan including Limited English Proficiency Plan to the council members.

The plan would be adopted by form of a resolution which states, "For the City of Crestview to continue receiving and utilizing state and federal grant funds it is necessary to adopt the Title VI and Nondiscrimination Policy and Plan including Limited English Proficiency (LEP)." The resolution is likely to be voted on at the October meeting.

According to the policy statement on the agenda, because the city receives federal funds, they are required to adhere to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in attempt to prevent any kind of discrimination of both government employees and those partaking in government services.

The policy statements also said, "As a recipient of federal funds, as well as being a Florida Department of Transportation fund recipient, the City will ensure that its programs, policies and activities comply with all federal and FDOT Title VI Regulations of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and other applicable regulations."

The Title VI program adopted by the city will be subject to review every 3 years.

Gaillard said the purpose of adopting this plan is for the city to remain more independent from Okaloosa County.

"This will put us where we can stand on our own feet," Gaillard said.

Also included in the city's Title VI plan is the Limited English Proficiency plan. LEP individuals are those who don't speak English as their first language or are not proficient in writing, reading, or understanding English. The LEP plan is to see that these individuals have equal access to city programs and services.

The LEP plan is based off information about those who speak English from the census. If adopted by the council, the plan would be based off the 2020 census.

"We may be surprised by the increase," Gaillard said.

According to Gaillard, the Title VI plan will have a "coordinator." At the moment, Gaillard said there is only one person who would be qualified, and he has completed half of the required classes.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview council seeks transportation funding

CRESTVIEW — Crestview voters approved three amendments on the primary ballot Aug. 28 that would allow for a change in government structure.

Here are some of the reactions from Crestview citizens.

Matt Gates started a Facebook group called “Crestview Citizens for Change” that has over 1,600 members. He said he advocated for the amendments, and was happy to see them pass.

“As with any big change there will be growing pains, but the benefits of an effective city government will bring droves of positives, from budget management to handling HR issues to allowing our current employees the ability to focus on their own roles and not pick up slack that’s developed from our existing structure,” Gates wrote on Facebook.

Michael Gilbert, a member of Gates’ Facebook group, wrote, “Full time problems require full time management. We will have that now.”

Paul Lowrey also wrote in the Facebook group that the city-manager position would be a positive change in the city of Crestview’s government.

“Supervision of day-to-day operations and oversight for all the departments is crucial for a City the size of Crestview,” Lowrey said. “Duties that go along with HR, such as hiring, dismissal, and discipline will be handled more effectively.”

Andrew Rencich filed to run for city council in March 2018. He said this was the outcome he wanted.

“We’ve been held back for years,” Rencich said. “…The city manager is going to be fairly expensive … but that person should be able to turn their salary into savings.”

The first amendment was a repeal and replacement of the city charter. The new charter states that it, “conforms to municipal home rule powers granted by Florida Law; describes and clarifies the duties, responsibilities and authority of City officials; makes format changes; and deletes obsolete and redundant language.”

Next on the ballot was the addition of the city manager position, which voters approved 60 to 40 percent. The city has allocated $300,000 in the 2019-2020 fiscal year budget for the city manager's office. Council President J.B. Whitten said that number is higher than anticipated costs.

The third amendment was a tight vote, 51 to 49 percent. This amendment changed the city clerk’s position from elected to appointed by the city council.

According to the ordinance adopted by the city council in May 2018, the new charter will become effective on Oct. 1.

Whitten said this could mean the council members can begin developing the criteria for the city manager position at the October meeting.

"What we'll probably doing is having a workshop to work all that stuff out," Whitten said.

For information about upcoming city council meetings, visit www.cityofcrestview.org.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview citizens react to amendment results