CRESTVIEW — A "safety-improvement project" for P.J. Adams Parkway will begin to address the road's notorious congestion sooner than expected, Okaloosa County Public Works officials have announced.

However, it is not the road's anticipated four-laning project that may not even be funded until 2030, Public Works Director John Hofstad said.

"The state has a safety-improvement project on their docket now. They'll do some shoulder work, some striping work, some widening in some sections to include a left-turn lane. It only runs from where we completed the four-laning at (State Road) 85 and terminates at Ashley (Drive)," he said.

The project should begin in 2015, Hofstad said.

Re-striping of P.J. Adams will continue to Antioch Road and on to U.S. Highway 90, but adding turn lanes or widening the stretch of road is not included in the project at this time, Hofstad said.

The growth of neighborhood communities off the P.J. Adams-Antioch Road corridor has led to increased traffic during morning and evening rush hours. Countryview Estates residents have complained that relentless flow of evening rush-hour traffic west on P.J. Adams makes them virtual prisoners of their own neighborhood.

The state's allocation of funds for the safety improvements came as a surprise when county engineer Jason Autrey learned about it last week, Hofstad said.

"If the state's going to manage local projects, you'd think they'd let us know about it, but we're not going to turn our backs on it," Hofstad said.

A study on widening the P.J. Adams-Antioch Road corridor to four lanes and making it an anticipated bypass around Crestview's southwest quarter concluded last summer, but funding for that project is not expected until 2030 at the earliest, state officials have said.

Hofstad said his department hopes to accomplish some of the bypass project components in intervals as financing becomes available.

The recently announced safety improvement project is a first step.

"There are some dollars available," he said. "It's not going to be four-laning and it's not for a couple years — but at least it's something."

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: State surprises county with PJ Adams Parkway improvements

FORT WALTON BEACH — Okaloosa County Administrator Jim Curry and County Attorney John Dowd still had their jobs on Wednesday.

Curry remained employed despite tendering his resignation at Tuesday night’s county commission meeting. Dowd held onto his post despite Commissioner Kelly Windes’ attempt to fire him.

The tension-filled, seven-hour meeting was the latest example of county officials seeking to satisfy critics calling for accountability in the wake of the Mark Bellinger fraud scandal.

The board voted unanimously to reject Curry’s resignation, which was offered just before 9 p.m. during a discussion about the county’s response to the scandal.

“The theft of public funds to purchase a house, a car and other items was beyond comprehension,” Curry said in a prepared statement. “In retrospect, perhaps I should have been better prepared for such, especially after so many other criminal revelations involving other constitutional offices.”

He said he regretted not recognizing the circumstances under which the Tourist Development Council was operating and the conditions “that enabled a crook to steal from the public.”

“I also was at times a part of the approval process that allowed these transactions to take place, and I do not take that responsibility lightly,” Curry said. “I regret that perhaps I should have recognized and acted earlier to prevent the crimes that Mark Bellinger perpetrated upon our community.”

All five commissioners voiced support for Curry and asked him to stay at his post for another 60 days. He already is scheduled to retire sometime between May and October.

Commissioner Wayne Harris said Curry and the TDC members are “not guilty of anything other than being hoodwinked by a criminal.”

“I think it’s appalling that people are asking for resignations,” Harris said. “Accepting his resignation at this time would be a travesty, and I won’t accept it.”

Dowd did not have the same across-the-board support. His contract came under fire a few minutes before the meeting adjourned at 1 a.m. Wednesday.

Windes told the board he had serious concerns about Dowd continuing as the county’s attorney in the wake of the TDC scandal. He said Dowd’s oversight and legal advice on various department matters, contracts and leases have fallen short.

“I believe the people would be best served by starting over with a new face and reset of our legal representation,” he said.

Windes’ comments echoed those of state Rep. Matt Gaetz and Senate President Don Gaetz, who have criticized county officials for keeping the county attorney and not having already fired employees who approved Bellinger’s questionable purchases.

Windes said “new faces, time and accountability … will make Okaloosa proud again.”

“So having said that, Mr. Dowd, do you have any interest in following Mr. Curry’s lead and stepping down?” Windes asked.

“No sir," Dowd answered.

He declined to comment further during the meeting.

Windes then pushed for the board to provide Dowd with his contract’s required 90-day notice of termination, but that proposal was voted down 3-2.

Windes and Commissioner Dave Parisot voted to fire Dowd. Harris, Commission Chairman Don Amunds and Commissioner Nathan Boyles were opposed.

Parisot said he supported firing Dowd for reasons unrelated to the TDC scandal. He said he’s had concerns about the quality of some of the legal work Dowd has provided the county, specifically contracts that have required major changes.

Harris disagreed, and reminded Parisot that he isn’t a lawyer.

“With the exception of one commissioner up here, I didn’t know we all had law degrees and know the peculiarities of contracts and legal issues,” Harris quipped.

Sounding frustrated, Windes interrupted, “C’mon, Wayne, this is common sense.”

“No, no, I don’t agree with you at all,” Harris fired back.

“Well, you can vote against me,” Windes said.

“Well, I intend to,” Harris answered.

“That’s fine,” Windes said.

Harris argued that Dowd has done “a very good job” and “has always been there with the right answers.”

Boyles prefaced his vote with support for Dowd, adding that he planned to meet with Dowd to discuss his work for the county.

“I’m not going to vote to terminate John Dowd tonight,” Boyles said. “It’s 15 minutes to 1 a.m., and we’ve been at this for seven hours.”

He said Okaloosa County has changed tremendously since Dowd took his job and the county is “no longer a one-attorney county.”

Boyles said the county must look at restructuring its legal representation in the near future.

Contact Daily News Staff Writer Kari Barlow at 850-315-4438 or kbarlow@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @KariBnwfdn.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Commissioners reject Curry’s resignation; Dowd survives vote

“A cloud of smoke and confusion developed over this bill and I couldn’t push it away,” said Broxson, R-Midway.

He said the misinformation came from groups that sold the public on the notion that oil would be spilled into the Blackwater River and that prospectors would spoil hunting, fishing, hiking and camping opportunities.

“Nobody offered to explain the history of drilling in the Blackwater, the safety of the drilling in Santa Rosa and Okaloosa counties, and the fact that they’ve been doing it for over 30 years and nobody knew anything about it,” he said.

He said a petition opposing House Bill 431 with 2,500 signatures arrived Tuesday at his district office.

In a news release, Broxson defended his introduction of the bill “as a means to guarantee safety, protect the environment and increase optimal financial benefit for the state and Panhandle.”

“The bill related to the way private companies competed for oil leases in the Blackwater River State Forest where drilling and petroleum exploration has already been underway,” the news release said.

Broxson said he remains committed to hosting a town hall meeting Monday in Jay in Santa Rosa County to discuss drilling.

“I look forward to continuing this discussion … as a means to safeguard our quality of life and achieve maximum economic benefit for every citizen in Northwest Florida,” Broxson said in the news release.

He said he is prepared to point out that 14 billion barrels of oil and 770 cubic feet of natural gas have been pumped out of Northwest Florida wells over the decades without leaving a footprint on the environment.

One of the first organizations opposed to H.B. 431 was the Florida Audubon Society and its Pensacola-area chapter.

Audubon spokeswoman Julie Wraithmell congratulated those who helped defeat the bill and applauded Broxson for his decision to withdraw the legislation.

“There’s something to be said for Rep. Broxson. He clearly listened to his constituents on this and we applaud him for that,” Wraithmell said.

Contact Daily News Staff Writer Tom McLaughlin at 850-315-4435 or tmclaughlin@nwfdailynews.com. Follow him on Twitter @TomMnwfdn.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Broxson withdraws Blackwater River State Forest drilling bill

Okaloosa County hopes to recoup the money Mark Bellinger used to buy his home in Destin some time in March.

Bellinger, the former director of the Tourist Development Council, purchased the home illegally in August 2011 with $747,000 from a BP oil spill grant. He lived in the four-bedroom house in Kelly Plantation with his wife Kathy until his death in early May 2012.

The home was seized by the U.S. Marshal’s Office last summer and now is under contract to sell for $620,000.

“The way the process works with the federal government is they have contracts with outside brokers who attempt to arrive at a buyer for these properties,” said attorney Greg Stewart, special counsel to Okaloosa County.

Stewart on Tuesday presented county commissioners with a plan to “aggressively” pursue the recovery of some of the revenue Bellinger spent illegally and without authorization while he headed the TDC.

See presentation about TDC recovery efforts.

Stewart said the county has filed a petition to receive 100 percent of the proceeds from the sale of the house minus maintenance and broker fees.

He said the county has contacted BP and the company has agreed that no refund is necessary as long as the money recovered is spent according to the oil spill grant’s intent.

In addition to the house, only two other items — a $48,000 2008 Porsche Cayman and $6,258 worth of furniture — are considered illegal purchases, Stewart told the board.

Not only were they purchased with public funds, they “went to a private person for a private person’s gain,” Stewart said.

The Porsche was one of Bellinger’s first thefts, occurring in August 2010, about three months after he was hired. He eventually traded it in for a Subaru sedan.

“And I believe there was a cash component. There was $6,000 in cash that ultimately went to him,” Stewart said.

The Subaru has been turned over to the county, which plans to take it to auction.

The county also has seized the furniture purchased with BP money and is deciding how to dispose of it.

“If we use it for alternative purposes, we will be obligated to refund BP,” Stewart said.

If the furniture is sold, the money would have to be used in accordance with the BP grant’s purpose.

Stewart also briefed the board on efforts to recover several of Bellinger’s unauthorized purchases. They include:

Contact Daily News Staff Writer Kari Barlow at 850-315-4438 or kbarlow@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @KariBnwfdn.  

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Okaloosa lays out plans to recoup Bellinger theft losses (DOCUMENTS)

Okaloosa County has been vindicated in its assertion that it never abandoned its courthouse annex in Shalimar.

Florida’s First District Court of Appeals went along last week with a circuit court’s ruling and rejected the Meigs family trust’s effort to have the land on which the annex complex stands returned to it.

The family argued the county violated a reverter clause built into a deed drawn in 1973. The deed gave the land on which the Shalimar annex now stands to the county for as long as a courthouse function was maintained at the property.

When the county mostly vacated the annex in October 2011 in favor of the new Courthouse Annex Extension on the Northwest Florida Fairgrounds property in Fort Walton Beach, the family claimed the reverter clause had been violated.

The county argued it had no intention of leaving the annex building mostly empty and that it expected to use about 15,000 square feet of the 66,000-square-foot complex for courthouse functions.

The appeals court agreed.

“There is no evidence that constructing the annex extension somehow precludes continued judicial use of the annex,” the judges said in their ruling, citing case law that states “reduction of use or even non-use is not in itself abandonment.”

While the Meigs family still has time to request a rehearing, plans are moving steadily forward to begin filling a renovated Shalimar annex building.

County Administrator Jim Curry said a “design and build team” expects to present its plans for modernizing and revitalizing the annex, built in 1976, at the County Commission’s second meeting in March.

Newly invested Circuit Court Judge Mary Polson and Okaloosa County Court Operations Manager Alicia Wardlow represent Florida’s First Judicial Circuit on the task force deciding what to do with the Shalimar annex.

Circuit Court Judge William Stone, Okaloosa’s administrative judge, said the task force and county have “shown great deference” in allowing those representing the judiciary to decide what its presence at the annex will be.

“The only request we have made is to ask that they please use their facilities at the annex to conduct the full gamut of judicial proceedings,” Curry said, indicating that hearings, motions, mediation and actual trials all should be conducted in whatever space in Shalimar is allocated to the courts.

At this juncture, Wardlow said, discussions have revolved primarily around using the Shalimar annex for family law or juvenile court proceedings.

“There’s been discussion on that,” she said. “We haven’t hammered out all the details.”

One consideration, Wardlow said, is the ease of movement for children within the one-floor annex structure.

Stone said it isn’t likely the judicial function in Shalimar will return to any of the four big courtrooms where major cases were heard before the move to the annex extension.

 The county’s tax collector, property appraiser, clerk of court, supervisor of elections and sheriff’s office could also be among those occupying space within the renovated Shalimar annex, Curry said.

“We just want to be careful not to try to put ten pounds of potatoes into a five-pound bag,” he said. “We’re trying to determine who will fit and who won’t.”

Contact Daily News Staff Writer Tom McLaughlin at 850-315-4435 or tmclaughlin@nwfdailynews.com. Follow him on Twitter @TomMnwfdn.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Court sides with county over Shalimar courthouse annex

Editor's Note: Voters of municipal elections on March 12 will decide several positions in Crestview and Laurel Hill city governments.

To help readers make informed decisions at the polls, the News Bulletin will publish profiles of each candidate running for office in each edition of the newspaper through March 2. Today, we profile the two candidates running for mayor of Laurel Hill.

Each candidate was asked to answer the same questions and received the same amount of space to respond. Candidates appear alphabetically.

ROBBY ADAMS

Personal: Lifelong north Okaloosa County resident. Grew up just south of Laurel Hill in the Campton community and moved within Laurel Hill city limits in November 2005.

Married to his high school sweetheart, Debra Adams, for 18 years. Two children, Dylan, 8, and Aidan, 4. Employed by the USDA/Farm Service Agency as a program technician, serves as Laurel Hill's council vice chairperson and is a member of Laurel Hill School's School Advisory Council.

Relevant experience:

Appointed to Laurel Hill City Council in June 2008, began four-year term in April 2009. I have served as council vice chairperson several times and overseen the completion of the Florida Recreation Development Assistance Program grant project for Gene Clary Park. Responsibilities included planning for upgrades to Gene Clary Park that were feasible based on allocated funds and selecting vendors through the bid process.

Other education/experience: Associate of Arts in Physical Education;Associate of Science in Drafting and Design Technology. Employed as program technician with the USDA/Farm Service Agency, where my responsibilities include overseeing programs implemented by the USDA Farm Bill.Prior to my employment with the USDA/FSA, I worked as a planner at EJM Aerospace Services for six years.

Reason you seek this position: This is a tough question and maybe the standard answer shouldn't be "because I feel like I am the best person for the job." But why would anyone subject themselves or their family to the public scrutiny that comes from holding a public office? I think I can make a difference.

The citizens and employees of the city deserve to be treated with dignity and respect and I intend to make this a priority. I will treat all citizens equally and approach all issues with an open mind. It's time to bring honesty and integrity back to the office of mayor.

Biggest issue this position faces and how you plan to address it: The city recently began a process to explore dissolving the city charter. With this process, the citizens should be given the opportunity to decide if they choose to continue as a city or if they will be better served as part of Okaloosa County.

As mayor, I want to make sure the citizens are well informed of all aspects of this decision. If the citizens choose to dissolve the city, I want to be their voice in negotiations with Okaloosa County. 

However, if the citizens choose to stay a city, I will work with the new council in continuing to pass financially responsible budgets so that we may remain a city with the least amount of tax burden upon our citizens. 

MIKE BLIZZARD

Personal: Married to Theresa Blizzard (Weaver) for 32 years. Three sons: Michael, 27; Justin, 23; and Josiah, 15. Resident of Laurel Hill since 1992.

Served as a security policeman in the United States Air Force and retired from Eglin A.F.B. in 1994. Employed as a corrections officer with the Walton County Department of Corrections, where he also serves as a field training officer. Politically conservative and a strong supporter of the U.S. Constitution.

Relevant experience:I initially served as a city council member in Laurel Hill in 1996, filling a vacant position. I was then elected to the office of mayor and served two terms, 1997-1999 and 1999-2001. I have experience in city government and the budgetary matters.

Other education/experience:I am a certified corrections officer in the state of Florida, I attended the Corrections Academy in 2005 at Santa Rosa Correctional Institution. I also have 32 credit hours of college.

Reason you seek this position:  I am seeking the office of mayor because I want to see the city of Laurel Hill remain a city. 

There has been some interest expressed in dissolving our city and I think it would be a travesty to allow this to happen. Laurel Hill has a rich history and can have a brilliant future.

Yes, we have budgetary problems, which must be addressed, but I believe we can find solutions to our problems if the mayor, city council and the citizens all work together.

Biggest issue this position faces and how you plan to address it:  Our streets are in a deplorable condition but they did not get that way overnight.

It will take time to resolve this issue, but I think it is not an insurmountable problem. We will continue to seek grants to improve the roadways as well as try to work with Okaloosa County to seek a solution. With the gas tax money we receive each year, we can address this problem a little at a time.

The dissolution of the city will not result in the immediate paving of our streets.

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: MEET THE CANDIDATES: Adams, Blizzard vie for Laurel Hill mayor