CRESTVIEW — After an hour and a half of often impassioned addresses before the Crestview City Council, city leaders adjourned without discussion regarding the "Uncle Bill" Lundy memorial.

At issue was the Confederate battle flag flying above the memorial on city-owned land at the intersection of First Street and State Road 85.

Several Tallahassee-based Sons of Confederate Veterans representatives praised Lundy's service in the Confederacy, which some historians have questioned.

Bob Hurst, commander of the organization's Florida division, said the battle flag is an integral component of the memorial.

"It is not fitting and proper to honor Uncle Bill Lundy and not have the flag that he honored and revered," Hurst said.

"It is not a sign of evil," he said. "It is not a symbol of anything bad. It is a symbol of a group of people who fought for their honor and independence."

Speakers who oppose displaying the flag were exclusively from Crestview.

"I believe it is time for the Confederate flag to be lowered and stored away with other items of the time. A museum is a suitable place for it," Okaloosa NAACP President Raymond Nelson said, reading from a letter sent by former president Sabu Williams.

Nelson compared the Confederate battle flag's symbolism to the Nazi swastika and SS runes.

"These symbols have been associated with racial superiority and intimidation," Nelson said. "Allowing it to remain on the streets sends a clear message to the people of Crestview that the leaders of our city couldn't care less about their citizens."

Lundy's great-granddaughter, Cheryl Ferdon, countered their arguments, saying feelings about the flag are "just a matter of perspective."

"Unfortunately, a lot of bad groups have taken that flag and used it in a derogatory manner in the past," she said.

Bill Lee, who identified himself as a descendant of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, questioned whether the battle flag is the correct banner for the Lundy monument at all.

"The flag that flies over the Lundy memorial is the flag of Northern Virginia," he said. "My point is this, that the flag that flies over the memorial is not the flag of the Confederate States."

Community activist Mae Retha Coleman cited census data that suggest Lundy wasn't old enough to have served in the Civil War. She suggested removing the entire monument until the historic questions are resolved.

"I am still trying to figure out how a five-year-old boy can be in the service. I'd like to see us get this straight," Coleman said. "Was he really in the service? Until we find out, I want all of it moved, flag and all."

After the public comment period, Council President Robyn Helt called for fellow council members' action. When no discussion ensued, she gaveled the meeting closed.

Several residents were upset by the lack of action as Crestview policemen and county sheriff's deputies immediately escorted the council members out a side door.

"They allowed all those people to speak for nothing," former councilman Charles Baugh Jr. said. "They did a bad job tonight."

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Council adjourns without action on Lundy memorial flag issue

CRESTVIEW — Few North Okaloosa historical figures inspire as much passion, discussion, dissension and questions as William Allen Lundy.

Descendants fondly consider "Uncle Bill" Lundy a loving ancestor and a simple farmer. Local residents widely accepted him as Florida's last Civil War veteran.

Lundy died Sept. 1, 1957. A year later, the Crestview Lions Club erected a monument in memory of Lundy and other Confederate veterans near the intersection of U.S. Highway 90 and State Road 85. It was later moved to its present location on a small, city-owned triangle of land bounded by S.R. 85, Hickory Avenue and First Street.

While the monument itself is not controversial, the Confederate battle flag fluttering above it periodically stirs up debate. The City Council will discuss the topic at a specially called meeting tonight.

The man

Uncle Bill was born Jan. 18, 1848, on a farm in Pike County, Ala., according to family members quoted in "Crestview: The Forkland" by Claudia Patten and Betty Curenton.

Uncle Bill said he never saw Civil War battle, serving instead as a home guardsman protecting the Coffee County, Ala., courthouse, according to the book.

"He didn't even fire a shot during his wartime service," the article states, using information provided by Lundy's grandson, Gerald Lundy.

Lundy moved to Florida following the war, ultimately settling in Crestview to live out his years with his son, Charles. He is buried in Alamarante Cemetery in Laurel Hill.

Controversy

Public records don't support Lundy's claim to veteran status, according to an article by Virginia native William Marvel in the February 1991 issue of "Blue and Gray," a Civil War history magazine.

"The census of Walton County, Fla., shows he was not born until May 1860," the article states. "In 1910, he made no mention of having been a Civil War soldier."

The 1910 U.S. census provided opportunity for Civil War veterans to identify themselves, Marvel's article stated.

During the Great Depression of the 1930s, people started to claim Civil War veteran status so they could qualify for pensions, according to Marvel.

"An aging (Southerner) need only tack on a few more years and fabricate service in some obscure militia unit," Marvel said.

The practice was not uncommon, Betty Curenton's nephew, historian Mark Curenton, a Laurel Hill native, said.

"By the late 1920s and early 1930s, actual veterans were getting scarce," Curenton said. "Old men would get together and swear to each other's pension application in order to qualify for the money.  There were not any real soldiers left at that time to dispute their claim."

"Civil War A to Z," a 2007 reference edited by Clifford Linedecker, describes Lundy as a "discredited veteran," whose claim "would have meant he was serving under arms when he was a mere 5 years old."

Lundy's great granddaughter, Ani Powell, did not return requests for comment in time for publication.

The flag

While no one on either side of the issue disputes honoring Lundy, it is the flag flying over the memorial the excites passions the most.

Tonight's discussion was initiated when the previous flagpole was replaced earlier this year and the Confederate battle flag, which had previously flown with the Stars and Stripes, was hoisted alone.

Ironically, historians say the likelihood of Lundy having actually served under it was unlikely.

His year of service, if it wasn't a fabrication, was spent guarding a civil institution, which would instead have flown the Confederate States of America's "stars and bars" flag.

However, Mark Curenton said, by that late stage of the Civil War, what flag was flying was of minimal concern.

"By the end of the war, they were more concerned with getting enough food to eat and clothes to wear than making sure they had the correct flag," he said.

WANT TO GO?

WHAT: Crestview City Council special meeting to discuss Uncle Bill Lundy Memorial

WHEN: 6 p.m. tonight

WHERE: Crestview Community Center, behind the post office

DETAILS: Each person or group wishing to make a presentation should fill in a blue speaker card and present it to the City Clerk designee prior to the meeting.

Contact News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes at 850-682-6524 or brianh@crestviewbulletin.com. Follow him on Twitter @cnbBrian.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Special report: Who was 'Uncle Bill' Lundy? The man behind the debated Crestview monument

LAUREL HILL — The City Council has declined to fund $2,975 of engineering services for Sunnyside Avenue repairs. City leaders said the Niceville engineer, Charles Bolen, lacks Florida certification.

Bolen's plans received scrutiny after the Okaloosa County Public Works Department agreed to help the city repair Laurel Hill School's main access route. Since plans weren't signed or sealed by a Florida-licensed engineer, county officials advised city officials not to proceed with Bolen's plans, city leaders said.

Using Bolen's plans would present liability concerns, Mayor Robby Adams said Thursday before the council's 3-2 vote.

Still, Councilman Clifton Hall, who recommended Bolen for the task, was adamant about paying Bolen.

"I strongly suggest that we pay this man; he did his work," Hall said. "If you do this (decline payment), it will be something immoral and wrong."

The council agreed to use Bolen's plans when the project was handled solely by the city, Hall said, adding that the county's involvement does not allow the city to back out of an agreement.

Councilwoman Betty Williamson agreed. However, Hendren, Willie Mae Toles and Johnny James voted against paying Bolen.

Bolen, who has a Mississippi engineering license,  said he was disappointed by the council's decision and was unaware the council discussed the issue Thursday.

He said Adams informed him by letter, a month ago, that the city would not reimburse him.

Contact News Bulletin Staff Writer Matthew Brown at 850-682-6524 or matthewb@crestviewbulletin.com. Follow him on Twitter @cnbMatthew.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Laurel Hill City Council declines paying engineer for services

CRESTVIEW — The city may provide janitorial services for city-owned buildings. To compare costs, the City Council has unanimously agreed to have Public Works solicit bids for a cleaning service.

After the city's contract with Southern Management expired Oct. 1, department heads transferred $40,000 in designated janitorial funds from their budgets to Public Works' budget. Public Works assistant director Carlos Jones requested the City Council’s permission on Monday to hire two part-time janitors and buy cleaning supplies with the money.

Council President Robyn Helt recommended the department obtain bids from janitorial companies before the council considers the request.

City Councilman Tom Gordon said if the city is intent on cutting costs, staff could clean their own workspaces, as many businesses do.

Lately, Public Works staffers have been diverted from their usual duties to clean facilities such as the library and city hall, Jones said.

Library Director Jean Lewis said library staffers serve more than 500 patrons a day, so it would be impossible for them to do all the necessary cleaning.

Cleaning high-traffic areas, such as city hall's lobby, requires professional cleaning equipment and experience, City Clerk Betsy Roy said.

Contact News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes at 850-682-6524 or brianh@crestviewbulletin.com. Follow him on Twitter @cnbBrian.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview officials weighing cleaning service options

CRESTVIEW — The City Council has unanimously approved department heads’ request to divide city employees’ Christmas party observances.

The city’s budget includes $2,500 for one midday party for all employees. The annual tradition is a morale booster, Council President Robyn Helt said, adding she didn’t want to see employees segregated by department.

Fire Chief Joe Traylor expressed concern about paying for a party when employees must take 32 hours of furlough. "Would it be better to give a gift card so an employee can buy what they need?" he said.  

Councilman Shannon Hayes moved to spend $5,000 to buy some 220 employees a $20 gift card. The extra $2,500 could come from the city's contingency fund. He moved that the city spend $6,000 after Councilman Joe Blocker suggested a $25 gift card would be more generous.

Helt and Councilman Tom Gordon voted nay, defeating the motion; Mickey Rytman was absent. Gordon suggested holding an after-hours potluck that employees could attend with their families.

Blocker then moved to divide the budgeted $2,500 among the departments for separate observances, which passed unanimously.

Contact News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes at 850-682-6524 or brianh@crestviewbulletin.com. Follow him on Twitter @cnbBrian.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview City Council OKs departmental Christmas parties

CRESTVIEW — A report by consultant David Penzone recommends several ways that the city can trim pension costs, which for 2014 are more than $2 million of the city’s $29 million budget.

Funding city employees’ pension benefits represents 27.7 percent of the public safety employee payroll budget and 25.9 percent of the general employee payroll.

During the council's Monday meeting, Penzone, a Pensacola-based consultant, said Crestview's pension situation compares “really well" to other cities, but he made some suggestions to trim costs.

Among Penzone's recommendations are:

•Eliminating overtime when defining employees' salaries, calculating pensions on the workers' base salaries only

•Limiting the maximum retirement benefit to 80 percent of the average final compensation instead of the current 100 percent

•Extending normal and early retirement by five years

While the city should consider making changes by Jan. 1, Penzone said that’s impractical, and suggested phasing in changes by the 2014-15 fiscal year.

Contact News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes at 850-682-6524 or brianh@crestviewbulletin.com. Follow him on Twitter @cnbBrian.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Consultant advising on how to cut Crestview pension costs

CRESTVIEW — After approving funds Oct. 14 to support the city's two bus routes through the 2013-2014 fiscal year, the City Council passed a motion Monday to fund the routes only through January.

The Board of County Commissioners initially demanded the city pay for half the buses’ operating costs or risk losing the service.

When the city scraped together the money — counting on as-yet undetermined gasoline tax increase revenue — commissioners changed parameters and said the routes would only operate through January 2014.

Though the $13,125 city contribution approved during Monday evening's council meeting is significantly less than the original $48,125 demand, council members expressed frustration with the increasingly complicated situation.

"After February, what happens?" Councilman Tom Gordon asked City Clerk Betsy Roy.

There has been no indication from county commissioners what their stance will be after the current city contribution expires, Roy said.

City taxpayers, unlike other county and municipal residents, are expected to provide federal, state, county and now city tax contributions to the bus service, Gordon said.

"And now we're going to take funding out of our contingency fund and we're going to fund it four times?" he said. "This was never meant to be a city of Crestview busing system."

Contact News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes at 850-682-6524 or brianh@crestviewbulletin.com. Follow him on Twitter @cnbBrian.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview council funds bus service through January

CRESTVIEW — A citizens advisory panel was seated Monday evening to offer district improvement suggestions to the Community Redevelopment Agency.

New committee members are April Meier, Main Street merchant; Bill Kilpatrick, former city councilman; Linda Parker, former city councilwoman; Cal Zethmayr, Main Street representative; Pat Hollarn, former Supervisor of Elections and Historic Preservation Board appointee; David Wheeler, retired Eglin Air Force Base mission support staff member; and Doug Capps, a member of the city Board of Adjustments.

Members received information about the special taxing district, and were told about funds already designated, including the $50,000 facade improvement grant and $10,000 toward the city's centennial celebration in 2016.

The volunteers were also cautioned that as a city committee, they are subject to state Sunshine Laws.

Five appointments were made by the City Council, one appointee is from the Main Street Crestview Association and another is from the Historic Preservation Board, City clerk Betsy Roy said.

Board President Robyn Helt said the committee will be unfettered by the board and should work out its goals among its members.

Some suggested projects the committee might consider include a dog park and skate park for Twin Hills Park and a linear pedestrian park connecting the historic district and Twin Hills.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: New Community Redevelopment Agency citizens advisory committee seated