LAUREL HILL — Laurel Hill's city attorney, Dan Campbell, recently decided to end his contract with the small North Okaloosa County community, but he plans to provide services until a new attorney is found.

Campbell has been the city’s attorney for many years, but according to Councilwoman Debra Adams, he is in the process of moving and possibily will retire. Campbell did not attend the city council's most recent meeting, which was Dec. 7. The council discussed hiring a replacement attorney during that session.

Campbell has already closed his private practice, Adams said. The city has issued a request for proposal for the service.

The council initially planned to choose a new attorney during the January City Council meeting; however, Adams suggested pushing the decision to February since the city will likely get few responses before Christmas.

The council agreed to change the deadline for applications to Jan. 25, and open them during the Feb. 1 city council meeting.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Laurel Hill begins search for city attorney

CRESTVIEW — At Monday night’s City Council meeting, Okaloosa County Supervisor of Elections Paul Lux explained to the council the options they have regarding a referendum for their recently amended city charter. 

In May 2017, the city council appointed seven members to the Charter Review Committee with the duty of researching and deciding whether the city should keep the same form of government. The committee had 90 days to review the charter, and they presented their findings to the council in September.

"You’re at the crossroads," Lux said. "Your charter review committee has done its work… so I asked my staff to come up with a good-faith estimate, so you basically have the same three options that you always have."

Residents of Crestview who are eligible to vote can vote on the new charter. According to Lux, the city has three options when it comes to administering the referendum: a vote-by-mail election, a stand-alone election or add on to an already scheduled county-wide election.

With a mail-out ballot, every eligible voter in the city is mailed a ballot. This would cost the city approximately $12,439.

A stand-alone election would be similar to the semi-annual city council election. Lux would need to reserve the polling places and staff them with the number of poll workers specified by the law. This option would cost approximately $15,646.

The cost of legal advertising to put in conjunction with another election would be the only cost for an add-on election.

"[An add-on] brings up a lot more questions," Lux said. "If you’re only going to have one referendum about the city charter, then obviously the cost for that legal advertisement is smaller. If you decide to have multiple questions… the cost is going to go up."

Lux told the council to not consider the November 2018 election, as there will be no room for the charter referendum on the ballot.

"There are already two legislative initiatives slated to go on the ballot, there are two citizens' initiatives that are very well poised to make ballot position, and… the constitutional revision commission is meeting, and the last time they met they gave us 11 constitutional amendments to go on the ballot," Lux said. "I’m rapidly running out of room on the ballot already."

According to Lux, the earliest opportunity would be to have the referendum in conjuction with the August 2018 primary election.

The referendum is limited to 75 words in body and 15 in title. According to Lux, the last time Crestview put a referendum on the ballot, they made it a "catch-all" and many citizens voted no due to not agreeing with or not being educated on certain parts of the referendum.

"I would contend that doing it as a big giant catch-all amendment is probably a bad idea, unless [you] budget and plan for a very robust outreach to the voters," Lux said.

There are currently approximately 7,200 households in Crestivew with eligible voters. A not-for-profit bulk mailing to those households with an informational booklet would cost the city approximately $1,000, Lux said.

Councilman Joe Blocker made a motion to have the referendum added to the August 2018 primary election ballot and Councilman Shannon Hayes seconded the motion.

The motion passed with all council members in favor.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: City adds charter vote to August ballot

LAUREL HILL — The City Council Dec. 7 received an update on projects currently being completed in Laurel Hill.

Joe Rector, West Florida regional manager of Dewberry, shared information on nine projects underway.

According to Rector, Sunnyside Avenue work is nearing completion. All that is left to do is road striping, and projected completion — depending on weather — is the beginning of January.

Designs for Millside Road improvements are underway, Rector said. Dewberry is coordinating with Okaloosa County Water Management to start the project.

Gene Clary Park improvements await review of documents by the Department of Environmental Protection.

Rector said an application for a Department of Economic Opportunity grant for additional Millside Road improvements awaits the council's signatures.

Dewberry submitted a Statewide School Zone Implementation Plan application Nov. 6 that states all school zones in Florida will meet new criteria for signing and marking. Local agencies must submit a list of existing deficient school zone locations to districts for inclusion in their implementation plan within one year of the criteria being set (by July 2018). School zones must comply by July 2022, five years after the plan is set.

An application for a Legislative Appropriations Request for Steel Mill Creek Road improvements is being submitted, according to Rector. An application for a grant through Safe Routes to School is also being submitted, and applications are due Jan. 31.

Dewberry will meet with a contractor next week to discuss improvement of a culvert on Chicago Avenue and to get a better cost estimate for the project.

Dewberry is working on a pre-application for Laurel Hill for Triumph Gulf Coast funds. The city submitted a list of projects they would complete using the funds if received. Triumph oversees funds recovered by the Florida attorney general for economic damage resulting from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Triumph must administer distribution of the funds to be used for the recovery, diversification and enhancement of Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton, Bay, Gulf, Franklin and Wakulla counties.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Laurel Hill improvement projects in the works

CRESTVIEW — The Yellow River Plantation subdivision's developer eventually could, with state and Okaloosa County approval, build hundreds of single-family homes on adjacent, currently wooded land.

The County Commission on Tuesday took the first major step toward making that possibility a reality by unanimously agreeing to send the developer’s requested large-scale comprehensive plan amendment to state agencies for review.

Coordinated by the state Department of Economic Opportunity, the agencies will consider whether to approve changing the future land-use map of six unincorporated parcels that encompass a total of about 689 acres.

If that and other approvals are granted, the overall property would have the potential of containing more than 900 single-family homes.

The site of possible development is west of State Road 85, east of Welannee Boulevard and south of Bill Lundy Road, and is owned by the U.I.L. Family Limited Partnership of Pace.

According to state records, the partnership’s registered agent is Edwin Henry. He owns the Pace-based Henry Company Homes, which developed Yellow River Plantation.

"We’ve built approximately 20 homes a year (over the past five years) in the Yellow River Plantation," Henry told commissioners, adding that it could take about 40 years to reach build-out status on that ongoing project.

The adjacent, proposed development also would be a long-term project, and each of its lots would be no larger than a half-acre, Henry said.

County Growth Management Director Elliot Kampert said the developer proposes building about 42 homes per year "over time" for the proposed subdivision.

The developer seeks to have the property’s future land-use map designation changed from agriculture to rural residential. If state officials approve that change, the developer would then seek to have the county rezone the property from agriculture to rural residential.

The overall approval process could take many months. Following that process, the county would begin to review more specific details about the proposed project, such as the location of access roads to the potential subdivision.

After subtracting wetlands and areas for roads, parks and other infrastructure, the developable area might total about 458 acres, according to information Henry provided to the county. At a possible density of two homes per acre, the overall site could have a total of 915 homes.

"Based on this data, any future development of this site, reasonably speaking, would be accomplished by a "multi-phase construction/development plan" and could take approximately 20 to 22 years to build out," Henry wrote in a report to the county.

"We don’t have that actual number (of new homes) because we don’t have the actual development (plan) in front of us," Kampert said at Tuesday’s meeting.

Several Welannee Boulevard residents who attended the meeting expressed concerns about the proposed development, such as its effect on State Road 85 as well as neighborhood roads.

Commissioner Nathan Boyles said the future land-use map amendment would, if approved, allow for higher-density development on the roughly 689-acre site, which would mean more vehicles on area roads.

But the county shouldn’t hold up any developer to make them fix S.R. 85, Boyles said. Expanding that highway to accommodate growth is a Crestview, county and Florida Department of Transportation problem, he said.

Boyles also said that while expanding S.R. 85 to six lanes is a top priority of the Okaloosa-Walton Transportation Planning Organization, that potential project has not been funded, might not get funded and cannot be relied on to satisfy future traffic concerns.

Commission Chairwoman Carolyn Ketchel said perhaps the county should not approve more developments until it’s able to get new roads in place to handle the future growth. But Boyles deemed putting a moratorium on the private use of property "pretty draconian in nature."

Earlier in the meeting, Commission Vice-Chairman Graham Fountain said the commission understands residents’ concerns about the proposed, large-scale housing development, the site for which is in his district.

"Anytime you add homes, there’s a concern," Fountain said. "But we live in a great country, in a country that anybody who owns property has the right to develop the property and make use of the property as long as they meet the requirements. I’ve reviewed all of the supporting documentation and everything appears to be in order, and I feel sure that it will be in order as they move forward with future developments there."

Commissioner Trey Goodwin said while the county has pressing needs for new and larger roads, it also has big needs for more housing.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Area north of Crestview could see housing boom

CRESTVIEW — An ordinance banning medical marijuana will take effect Dec. 1. But even though dispensaries to pick up the prescription medication won't be allowed within city limits, North Okaloosa residents may have another option to secure local access.

According to Growth Management Director Teresa Gaillard, the city would have to regulate medical marijuana treatment centers the same as pharmacies.

A city map highlights commercial areas where pharmacies are allowed. Medical marijuana dispensaries have to be regulated the same as pharmacies; therefore everywhere a pharmacy is allowed, a medical marijuana dispensary would also be allowed.

Gaillard says the new ordinance bans the centers until the state allows for a number or location rule. Okaloosa County also has the option to vote for or against medical marijuana dispensaries in the county.

"The majority of the areas that are around our particular areas … in Okaloosa County are either residential or mixed use," Gaillard said.

If the county allows dispensaries into its mixed-use or business-use properties, it would be able to allow a medical marijuana treatment center within Crestview as long as it’s not within city limits and is in the unincorporated areas, according to City Attorney Ben Holley. 

However, such a facility would have to abide by a 500-foot buffer area for the schools.

"The only thing I have on it, and the only thing I’ve ever had on it, is I want something, either in state law or county ordinance or city ordinance, that says this is not your wholesale ability to legally buy buds of marijuana and walk down the street smoking it," Councilman Doug Faircloth said.

Faircloth said instead of calling it medical marijuana, the city needs to call it "the derivatives of marijuana that are medicinal," as he is in support of people with illnesses using cannabis oil.

Councilman Shannon Hayes said he supports the ban, because there are still too many unknown variables and the state hasn’t given the city direction. Hayes said Crestview "doesn’t want another Colorado on their hands."

A moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries will end Dec. 1. The new ordinance will take effect that same day, banning medical marijuana facilities in Crestview until further notice. 

A number of residents question the City Council's statements and their intentions. 

"How dare these people deny the will of the people who voted for this," Kimberly Mathis said. "Our voice should be heard! This council member should have to go face the people that need this and tell them no their lives and quality of life is not worthy… they need to be voted out of office.

"Looking at Crestview , I know they don't know what's best for us. Is there a way for the people of Crestview to go over these people to the state level?"

"Meanwhile, half of Crestview is strung out on meth, pain pills and heroin," Daniel Foster said. "This is ridiculous, [the] system is ass backwards."

"Let's deny people something that could enhance their quality of life and instead keep building McDonalds on every corner," Leslie Brown said. "We can have multiple liquor stores and a sex toy shop, but not medical marijuana which is proven to help people.

"Not only that, but the people have spoken! We said yes in an overwhelming number."

According to Councilman J.B. Whitten, the council has researched the subject and attended topical workshops and a symposium with the Florida League of Cities.

Whitten said he had many concerns with the legislation, including the need for more police training to be able to better assess DUIs.

"First and foremost, this is not a permanent ban," Whitten said. "This is a ban with a built-in monitoring system to address at a later date, if needed. Monitoring is needed because although many think all the guidelines are in place in the state, right now there is a current bill in the House that would change this to say that smoking would be permitted — right now it’s not."

The bill Whitten references is one filed by Sen. Gary Farmer, D-Fort Lauderdale, on Nov. 2. Farmer filed a proposal that would undo a ban on patients smoking medical marijuana. The bill is filed for consideration during the 2018 legislative session, which starts in January.

However, House Majority Leader Ray Rodrigues, an Estero Republican, told the Associated Press the House won’t go along with allowing cannabis to be smoked.

THE ISSUE: An ordinance banning medical marijuana treatment facilities within city limits will take effect Dec. 1.

LOCAL IMPACT: Residents who have prescriptions for medical marijuana will have to look elsewhere for their medication. Crestview leaders won't allow the dispensaries until they receive more direction from the state legislature.

However, area residents could still have local access on one condition: If Okaloosa County does not decide to ban the facilities, a medical marijuana treatment center could open in unincorporated areas of Crestview and throughout the county.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Medical marijuana ban has one loophole

CRESTVIEW — Following the second reading of the ordinance amendment concerning recreational vehicles, the City Council held a public hearing.

According to Growth Management Director Teresa Gaillard, this new ordinance would affect 7,800 parcels of single-family homes and approximately 70 percent of the city. The ordinance would require that residents who own RVs park them on the side or back of their home and cover them with some type of screening.

The screening can be a 6-foot privacy fence, a faux fence, plants and shrubbery, or other forms of approved screening apparatus, according to Gaillard.

According to Councilman Doug Faircloth, the main reason for the ordinance amendment was to ensure residents aren’t hooking their RVs up to their homes, using the utilities and living out of them. With a 6-foot fence, he said, the city would not be able to tell if someone is living in their RV.

Another issue Faircloth had with the ordinance was the lack of specification of who approves the screening. According to Gaillard, the growth management department would approve the screening.

While the council discussed the amendment, Councilman Shannon Hayes said if the ordinance amendment is not approved, they will revert back to the previous ordinance which is more restrictive; RVs 24 feet in length or longer cannot be stored on property.

Councilman Joe Blocker questioned if the city is crossing the line by regulating private property. City Attorney Ben Holley said the city has a right to regulate what residents do on their private property.

According to Gaillard, the council did not provide firm feedback to staff when the ordinance was discussed at previous meetings, workshops and during a first reading. Councilman J.B. Whitten disagreed with her statement, and said they provided much feedback to city staff.

Residents approached the council to voice their opinions; among them was Andrew Rencich, who received a notice of code violation in early 2017.

"As I mentioned before… the ordinance… affects working and retired, middle-class families through the city of Crestview," Rencich said. "This ordinance is a gross government overreach on individual property rights. The way the ordinance is written leaves massive holes for possible litigation and is open to interpretation."

Rencich said the ordinance is discriminatory against RV owners, as other types of trailers are not mentioned. Resident Stephen Strom agreed.

"I don’t have a dog in this race, as I don’t have an RV," Strom said. "This is discriminatory. Flat out, no question about it… We can put any boat in our yard; I can put the Queen Mary on a trailer and park it in my yard… and it would be no problem."

Hayes made a motion to approve the ordinance and send it to the mayor and the city clerk to sign. Councilman Cox seconded the motion. According to Cox, the ordinance was well done; there was a length restriction before, and now there is not.

Whitten said the council promised the citizens they would continue on until the ordinance was fixed, and he feels it needs to be fine-tuned before passing. Most back yards aren’t equipped to take on an RV, and equipping them would be costly or impossible.

"I think we overdid it, and got carried away with what we wanted to do," Whitten said. "In case you can’t tell, I don’t support it."

The council voted on the previous motion to pass the ordinance, but it failed with only Cox and Hayes in favor. Hayes made a motion to hold a continuing workshop on the issue on Jan. 22, 2018, and all council members were in favor.

The moratorium was extended until the council can make a decision.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: RV ordinance doesn't pass second reading

CRESTVIEW — The Democratic Women's Club of Okaloosa County has selected its officers for the upcoming two-year term.

New officers are President Deborah Baker-Rian; First Vice-President Frost Jones; Second Vice-President Kathy White; Secretary Toni Pentecouteau; and Treasurer Beth Campbell.

The group meets the third Thursday of each month.

Visit www.okaloosademocrats.com or contact Deborah Baker-Rian, deborah.bakerrian@gmail.com, for information on scheduled events.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Democratic women's club selects officers

CRESTVIEW — Okaloosa County Commissioner Nathan Boyles says a project to construct a parking lot where the Piggly Wiggly store once sat at the corner of Beech Avenue and Wilson Street is right on track.

In early 2016, county commissioners approved acquisition of the parcel of land home to a vacant, dilapidated building after the grocery store’s closure.

The plan was to demolish the building and supply additional parking for the adjacent Brackin Building, which houses offices for the county Supervisor of Elections, Tax Collector and Property Appraiser offices, along with several others.

Those dreams became a reality and the building was demolished in early 2017. Since then, the county has worked to come up with a design of the projected parking lot. Boyles presented the design to the Community Redevelopment Agency to look over, since the lot will be within their district.

The conceptual plan includes 20 standard internal parking spots, nine standard 60 degree roadside parking spots, two handicap accessible parking spots required by the Americans with Disabilities Act, a 400-square-foot restroom facility, picnic tables, cornhole boards, table tennis, grassed stadium seating, a mural, a play structure, a rock wall and an events board.

During a previous meeting, CRA members asked Boyles if bathrooms could be added to the design. On Thursday, Boyles returned with a conceptual plan that did indeed include bathrooms; however, the cost of maintaining the bathrooms would fall on the CRA, according to Boyles.

Boyles said they would like to construct the bathrooms consistent with the other facilities in the district. CRA Commissioner Doug Faircloth suggested spending some extra money, but making the bathrooms vandal-proof with concrete vanities and steel toilets and sinks.

According to Boyles, funding is available and approved for the county’s budget for the current fiscal year; therefore, the design will be completed and construction should begin early 2018.

Whitten said part of the CRA’s Redevelopment Plan includes a section on beautification, greening and parking within the district, so this project coincides with that mission.

Boyles said the next step is to have employees of the public works departments from the city and the county meet to discuss logistics, as well as the legal staffs from each government creating a base interlocal agreement.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: City, county move forward with downtown parking lot project

CRESTVIEW — At the Monday workshop, the City Council was presented with a list of 5- to 10-year capital outlay projects to introduce to the county for possible funding by the local government infrastructure surtax.

According to City Clerk Betsy Roy, the 12 projects would cost a total of approximately $25 million; however, the city would only get between $1.3 and $1.5 million each year for five years with the possibility for an extension.

The projects presented are not set in stone, Roy said, and must be related to general fund infrastructure of public safety; the surtax cannot be used for utility projects.

Roy said the surtax would go into affect in January 2018 if passed by the county. The county will mail out a ballot with a referendum for residents to vote on. If the surtax passes, the city can then prioritize the list of projects; for now, the county will look over the list.

The projects are as follows, and the costs are estimates:

•    Enlarged turn radius at Industrial Drive and Highway 90: $32,000

•    Crestview Corners access road: $150,000

•    Redstone Avenue widening, Highway 85 to Brookmeade Drive and roundabout construction at Redstone and Brookmeade intersection: $899,000

•    Medcrest Drive to Duggan Avenue connector road: $1,936,000

•    Arena Road paving, phase 1: $2,083,000

•    Arena Road paving, phase 2: $1,433,000

•    Arena Road paving, phase 3: $3,529,000

•    Duggan Avenue extension to Arena Road: $2,055,000

•    Gun firing range for police department: $100,000

•    Rasberry Road extension (city/county project): $9,000,000

•    Sports complex (including land) (city/school board project): $4,000,000

•    Environmental center upgrades: $250,000

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Council OKs proposed surtax projects to send to county

CRESTVIEW — City officials participated in multiple activities during Florida City Government Week; among them was serving customers on Friday at Hub City Smokehouse.

Councilmen J.B. Whitten, Doug Faircloth and Shannon Hayes joined Mayor David Cadle and City Clerk Betsy Roy at the restaurant from 5:30-7 p.m. and assisted Mike Carroll, the owner of Hub City Smokehouse, and his waitstaff as they served food to guests.

The aim of the week's activities was to provide and foster civic education, collaboration, volunteerism and celebrate, showcase and engage citizens in the work of municipal government.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Pleasure to serve you