CITY OF CRESTVIEW

OFFICE OF THE CITY CLERK

P.O. DRAWER 1209, CRESTVIEW, FLORIDA 32536

Phone # (850) 682-1560 Fax # (850) 682-8077

August 14, 2017

6:00 P.M.

Council Chambers

REGULAR AGENDA (Amended)

1. Call to Order

2. Invocation: Associate Pastor Brett House, Central Baptist. Pledge of Allegiance

3. Open Policy making and legislative session

4. Approval of Agenda

5. Special Presentations

6. Approval of Minutes

Approval of the Minutes from the June 26, 2017 Workshop, June 26, 2017 Special Meeting and the June 26, 2017 Budget workshop.

7. Public Hearings:

a. Ordinance 1620 – Vacation of Alleyway – Growth Management

b. Ordinance 1624 – Traffic Impact Fee Waiver Extension – Growth Management

c. Ordinance 1625 – Cannabis Activities Moratorium Extension – Growth Management

8. Public Opportunity on Council proposition

9. Consent Agenda

a. Approval of Paint Bid – Public Services

b. Approval of Certification Pay Raise Fire Dispatch – Fire Chief Holland

c. Approval of use of funds from the sale of Fire Truck – Chief Holland

d. Approval of use of Public Education funds/establishment of account – Chief Holland

e. Approval of new position in Fire Department, replacing Assistant Chief – Chief Holland

f. Approval of BCBS as HealthCare Provider for fiscal 2017-2018 – City Clerk

g. Approval of invoice from Allen, Norton and Blue in the amount of $409.75

h. Approval of invoice from Ben Holley in the amount of $_3762.5.

i. Approval of invoice from Ard, Shirley and Rudolph in the amount of $1313.50

j. Approval of Credit for Percentage of Impact Fees – Public Services.

k. Approval of Resolutions for the Florida League of Cities Conference

l. Approval of the issuance of an Alcoholic Beverage Certificate of Compliance for a

2COP Beer & Wine License for Mia’s Italian Restaurant.

m. Approval of Site Construction and Building Plans for AA Tactical

10. Resolutions

a. Resolution 17-12 Out of City Services – 220 Duggan Avenue

b. Resolution 17-13 Out of City Services – 544 Mayo Trail

c. Resolution 17-14 Out of City Services – 3107 Chestnut Avenue Trail

d. Resolution 17-15 Out of City Services – 824 East Williams Avenue

11. Committee Reports

a. Report on 2015-2016 Financial Audit, Saltmarsh, Cleaveland and Gund

b. Quarterly Update from EDC – Nathan Sparks

12. Scheduled Presentations from the Public

a. CAYA Presentation – Bud Tipton

13. Project Reports and Comments from Mayor and Council

14. Staff Reports and Recommendations

a. LPA Board Appointment – Growth Management

15. Comments from the Audience

16. Adjournment

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview City Council meeting agenda: Aug. 14

CRESTVIEW — Crestview resident DeLeon Ward is one of roughly 500,000 World War II veterans still alive, according to data from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

In 1942, Ward, then 17, was a Seaman 1st Class, or E-3, stationed on the U.S.S. Yorktown. The aircraft carrier was christened by Eleanor Roosevelt on April 4, 1936 and was commissioned by the U.S. Navy until it sank during the Battle of Midway in June 1942.

“Some people say the Battle of Midway was the turning point in the war, but I disagree on that,” Ward said.

The battle took place June 4-7, 1942, about six months after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, which led to the United States’ entry into the war. A number of historians state that the Battle of Midway was a decisive win for the U.S. because the Navy managed to destroy four Japanese aircraft carriers that the country couldn’t adequately replace.

The Crestview veteran sees things differently. 

THE A-BOMB FACTOR 

“Roosevelt was president,” Ward said. “We had been in war now for two years — ’41-’43 — but in ’42 we stayed in war for another three years, the war wasn’t over until 1945. Then President Roosevelt died and Harry Truman took over and he dropped the atomic bomb on Japan and that’s what stopped the war; that’s what changed the war…”

But Tom Hone — an executive in the Office of the Secretary of Defense — wrote in a Sept. 12, 2013, article on warontherocks.com that “[Japan’s fleet commander Adm. Isoroku] Yamamoto wanted his carriers, led by Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo, to ambush any American carriers and surface ships that ventured to contest the Japanese attack and assault on Midway.

“Instead, he was ambushed by the three U.S. carriers — Yorktown, Enterprise, and Hornet — that had steamed north and west from Hawaii. In just one day — 4 June 1942 — Admiral Nagumo lost his four carriers to the air units of his American opponents, while U.S. naval forces lost only one carrier (Yorktown) in return,” Hone wrote.

“Why was Midway such a critical victory? First, the fact that the U.S. Navy lost just one carrier at Midway meant that four carriers (Enterprise, Hornet, Saratoga, and Wasp) were available when the U.S. Navy went on the offensive during the Guadalcanal campaign that began the first week of August 1942. Second, the march of the Imperial Japanese Navy across the Pacific was halted at Midway and never restarted.” 

FIRST-HAND ACCOUNT 

During the Battle of Midway, Ward’s primary task was transporting ammunition throughout the ship. “We had four gun turrets on it and we had one five-inch gun in each turret. Then we had .50 caliber machine guns,” he said. “I was on gun turret four on the port side and I was moving ammunition to that turret and there were other guys moving ammunition to the others.”

Today, the 93-year-old does not exemplify Shakespeare’s famous quote, “Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.” He has stayed in shape and rides a three-wheeled bicycle through the streets of Crestview with an American flag and a sign attached to a metal basket on back that says, “World War II Veteran — Don’t Follow Me, I’m lost too.”

And he still remembers what happened when the U.S.S. Yorktown was torpedoed. 

“A Japanese pilot spotted us and radioed an aircraft carrier and he dropped two torpedoes and one of them hit the Yorktown on the port side — and that’s when we abandoned ship. And then we went back and they pushed all the guns off port side and pushed all the airplanes that couldn’t fly overboard and then they tied up the ship on the starboard side to give us power,” he said.

“They pushed all the guns off and the weight off of it so it would settle up again straight. We got it back on its own keel and it was on its own power, and this was on July 2, 1942. Everyone said the Battle of Midway was on the second, but it was on the fourth; but on the sixth, it was back on its keel and it was level.

"A Japanese sub came up and floated some torpedoes on the starboard side and the other torpedoes hit and it sunk. When it sunk, the depth charges [weapons] were set to go off at a certain depth … and they went off.

“And it took it 24 hours after then to sink.”

Editor's note: an earlier version of this article incorrectly identified a turret.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Reflecting on the Battle of Midway

LAUREL HILL — Laurel Hill Councilman Daniel Lane has resigned from his position.

He announced the resignation after Councilwoman Deborah Adams slammed the gavel, officially ending Thursday’s meeting. 

Lane said he is moving out of the city to serve as the senior pastor at The Gospel Tabernacle in Hudson. 

“It was almost as bad leaving as when I came,” he said while Adams, looking on, shed a few tears. “It’s a small, loving town with wonderful people and I am proud to serve with the citizens.”

Nita Miller, Laurel Hill's city clerk, said if someone wants to fill the now vacant city council seat, he or she must pick up a nomination form at city hall.

During the next council meeting, Sept. 7, city leaders will vote on the nominees (who only need one signature).

The candidate who wins a majority — three of the four council members — will be appointed to the seat . 

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Laurel Hill councilman resigns; candidates sought

LAUREL HILL — The City Council will soon issue a 90-day notice of a public hearing to discuss an impending increase in water rates.

Laurel Hill is taking its cue from a water study issued by Bob Mearns of the Florida Rural Water Association, who provided two long-term financial plans to gradually increase water rates. Options include a three-year and a five-year plan. 

City Councilman Scott Moneypenny said the five-year plan would take “way too long” and said he would like Mearns to come to a future meeting to discuss his financial proposals. 

Moneypenny also said he wanted to be careful about how the council decides to implement the increase.

City Council members, he said, “want to be sensitive to these increases and do it over time.”

Laurel Hill's water system operates at a deficit of $86,037, which represents a 43 percent income shortfall, according to a report from the Southeast Rural Community Assistance Project.

Customers in the city limits could receive a $2.50 base increase and $3.25 increase in cost per 1,000 gallons. Those outside the city could see a $2.50 base increase and a $3.30 increase in the cost per 1,000 gallons, according to the report. 

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Laurel Hill Council mulls water rate increase

CRESTVIEW — Florida Senator George Gainer will attend a Crestview town hall on city transportation issues.

Gainer completed his first legislative session recently as chair of the Senate Transportation Committee. During that session, he received a proposal from the Crestview City Council requesting assistance for the town's highest priority road project. He requested $1.75 million in state budget funds to fix the Crestview road project, which Gov. Rick Scott vetoed.

The first part of Gainer's visit consists of a 9 a.m. meeting Aug. 7 with Crestview Mayor David Cadle, city council president JB Whitten, and a Crestview Public Services Department representative.

Gainer's Crestview itinerary includes an 11 a.m. tour of North Crestview, a working lunch at noon with city business leaders at the Crestview Area Chamber of Commerce, and a public town hall meeting.

The town hall is 1-3 p.m. Aug. 7 at the Warrior's Hall, 201 Stillwell Blvd., Crestview. The public, including residents from Gainer's district, may come listen to the senator, make comments and ask questions at the event.

Afterward, city officials will take Gainer to PJ Adams Parkway to further discuss projects planned for that area. 

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Sen. Gainer to attend local transportation town hall

THE ISSUE: State Road 85 is the only main road for Okaloosa County's largest city. Any traffic accident on S.R. 85 can virtually halt all activity in the city, causing notorious delays. 

LOCAL IMPACT: A state senator is exploring options that could improve the situation. Among them is public transit, which could not only reduce traffic on the overburdened roadway, but also encourage lifestyle changes for some residents. 

—

CRESTVIEW — North Okaloosa County traffic is a well-known concern for anyone who travels the area, particularly through Crestview.

State Sen. George Gainer (R) says he wants to do something about it.

"We have got to tell the [Florida Department of Transportation] in Tallahassee what they need to hear," he said. "First of all, I don’t think they understand the gravity of the situation and I hope that I can express that."

“As far as the funding, some of it can come from there, some from the federal government and some can come from the counties who all got $15 million [in oil spill money]. I just think that the opportunity is now that we can make this thing happen, and it is going to take a lot of money, but we got the opportunity to come up with a lot of money now and that will be our number one priority.”

Some residents have questioned whether a western bypass would help, but that would involve nearby Eglin Air Force base. 

“The most important issue with Eglin is the encroachment issue; we have talked about a western bypass for a long time,” Okaloosa Commissioner Carolyn Ketchel said.

“The main thing with Eglin is the mission at the core,” Crestview Mayor David Cadle said. “They don’t want to be a part of anything that would deemphasize why they are here and we understand that. That’s why we try to work with them.

“I think things have changed enough that they see how difficult it is to evacuate their own personnel in time of a hurricane who live up this way. In fact, they have to evacuate days early because of the problems that we have. The last evacuation we had was a complete disaster and we are aware of the problem.”

Crestview City Councilman Joe Blocker said, whatever the solution may be, time is of the essence.

"I want to see something develop here like yesterday to get 100 thousand-million cars off of 85," he said. Can you get an Amtrak to get people off of 85.”

Public transit via train is one option if passenger rail service is revived.Can you get an Amtrak to get people off of 85.”

"Can you get an Amtrak to get people off of 85?" Blocker said. 

Gainer said he wouldn't vote against the measure, but residents should consider the need for safety crossings to get across the tracks.

As for State Road 85, Cadle said, “The major problem with traffic in Crestview is the limited roadway that we have. We want to have one north-south roadway and it is just overtaxed; it is overburdened with people going back to-and-fro from work.

An overturned tanker on State Road 85, the only main road through Okaloosa County's largest city, in 2013 notoriously halted traffic for several hours.

Another factor is the heavy tourist and commuter traffic that fills the main road and even its side streets.

On June 24, a Honda van with an out-of-state license plate crashed into two vehicles while making an illegal U-turn at the intersection where PJ Adams Parkway meets Tom Thumb, slowing traffic in the area for hours while the police conducted an investigation.

Sgt. Josh Grace of the Crestview police department said that out-of-state drivers often ignore traffic signs, such as U-turn notices, in Crestview because it’s not their final destination.

“Crestview is a travel area. People have tunnel vision and they don’t pay attention to the signage because they are using it as a travel way,” he said.

Another notably dangerous intersection, he said, is where Walmart Road intersects with 85.

“Walmart Road and 85 is more of a problem,” he said. “It’s more dangerous there because of the width of the road, there isn’t enough room to make a U-turn.”

It all boils down to 85's limitations.

“So there has to be … more than one roadway — and [Gainer] has some ideas that will help expand what we have never been able to do before, and he thinks there are things that can happen…" Cadle said.

“He is chairman of the powerful transportation committee, he is from Northwest Florida, and he understands the problem, so hopefully we will see some progress in the coming days.”

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Funding traffic solutions is 'number one priority'

CRESTVIEW — The Community Redevelopment Agency held a special meeting Monday evening to decide compensation for its new director.

Alisa Burleson will take over CRA duties from Brenda Smith, who recently retired from the position.

At the start of her contract, Burleson will earn a $60,000 annual salary with an increase of $5,000 after she has received state CRA certification. 

Councilmember Bill Cox said, “it’s unclear [at the present time] whether the additional $5,000 will be a bonus or a salary increase."

Crestview’s CRA district, established in 1995, today encompasses much of downtown, plus Twin Hills Park and Martin Luther King Avenue, areas that were added when the district expanded in 1998.

It aims to combat blight. 

The agency's duties end in 2025, unless the board requests an extension from Okaloosa County.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview Community Redevelopment Agency sets new director's salary

CRESTVIEW — City Council President J.B. Whitten said during the July 10 city council meeting that 10 proposed projects have been approved to receive money from the Triumph Gulf Coast fund.

The fund — which distributes money owed following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill — has allocated $300 million to the state of Florida, $15 million of which is going to Okaloosa County.

A significant portion of the projects, he said, “had to do with enhancing the marina on Okaloosa Island.”

On July 29, 2016, development officials and city council members from several municipalities met in Fort Walton Beach to discuss allocation of the Triumph Gulf Coast fund.

Whitten said, “The consensus around the room was why don’t you get together and link it together to make it the regional project they were looking for.”

Another topic on the evening's agenda was the outcome of a recent Okaloosa-Walton Transportation Planning Organization meeting. The city council has asked the TPO to place a high priority on widening State Road 85 from 123 coming into Crestview to I-10. The next OWTPO meeting is July 20 in Niceville. 

Also, in the second reading, the council voted to extend the moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries for six months. The moratorium includes any person or entity who is not approved except where inconsistent with Florida law.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview Council gives updates on BP settlement funds, 85 widening

LAUREL HILL — The City Council voted unanimously to maintain the ad valorem tax rate at 3.5 mills for the upcoming budget year. The amount brings in approximately $58,000 a year to the city.

Councilman Scott Moneypenny opened the topic for discussion during the July 8 meeting.

He said, “Understanding how the property values work and the number of properties that don’t pay it, we shouldn’t take advantage of the people who do pay it. If we lower it, we are going to get hurt on grants; we want to take care of ourselves first.”

Another topic on the evening's agenda was how the city plans to propose projects that would receive funding from the Triumph Gulf Coast Oil Spill Trust Fund that allocated approximately $6.7 billion to the state following the BP oil spill of 2010. 

According to Moneypenny, an estimated $15-$16 million of the settlement has been allocated to Okaloosa County, but getting the money may be difficult because Gov. Rick Scott still needs to appoint two members to Triumph Gulf Coast, at which point the board will decide how to dispense the money throughout the county.

“The county will divvy it up as they see fit. Escambia’s county commissioner said that nothing will go to the cities,” Moneypenny said.

“The cart is before the horse here,” he said.  “We have the money, but we need to know how they are going to award the money to the city and it has to be ‘transformational.’”

Two potential projects that the city council may attempt to seek funds for include Steel Mill Creek Road improvements and extending sewer system.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Laurel Hill to maintain ad valorem tax rate; oil spill projects discussed

Okaloosa County Board of County Commissioners Chairman Carolyn Ketchel has been appointed to the Vice-Chair position for the Florida Association of Counties’ Finance, Tax and Administration Committee, as well as a 2017 Presidential Advocate.

According to the FAC, the title of Presidential Advocate is awarded to those “county commissioners who have shown exceptional leadership in partnering with the FAC during the 2017 session to advance the legislate agenda.”

A statement from the FAC said, “Chairman Ketchel's willingness to advocate for counties was not only essential to the success of FAC’s legislative efforts, but it was also of great service to the citizens of Okaloosa County. The commissioner’s advocacy was invaluable in helping ensure that local governments are provided the flexibility and tools they need to meet the needs of Florida’s citizens.”

Devin Suggs, the director of Public Policy for the FAC, says, “We are honored to recognize [Chairman Ketchel] for your strong commitment to address important local government issues during the 2017 Legislative Session. Your dedication to improve and maintain a high quality of life for all Floridians and to strengthen public policy is especially appreciated.”

Ketchel was recognized publicly at the Florida Association of County’s Annual Conference and Educational Exposition’s Awards Luncheon in Palm Beach, Florida.

Ketchel also received certification from the FAC as a Certified County Commissioner. The award recognizes her completion of voluntary education programs specializing in training for Florida county commissioners.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Florida Association of Counties recognizes Ketchel