CRESTVIEW — The Crestview City Council’s Monday workshop included discussion on Crestview’s “2017 Community Redevelopment Agency Comprehensive Master Plan.”

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.

The CRA’s Comprehensive Master Plan allows for development within the CRA District. It was approved for conformity with the Comprehensive Plan for the City of Crestview 2020 by the Local Planning Agency.

At the July 10 City Council meeting, Ordinance 1623, for adoption of the updated 2017 CRA plan, will be presented to the City Council for first reading.

Also discussed at the workshop were traffic impact fees. Ordinance 1419, which was adopted Jan. 26, 2009, created Article V — Traffic Impact Fee in the Crestview Code of Ordinances. An impact fee is a fee imposed by a local government on a new or proposed development project to pay for all or a portion of the costs of providing public services for that development.

Ordinance 1603, adopted by council on June 13, 2016, waived the traffic impact fee for a period beginning June 13, 2016 and ending Sept. 30, 2017. If the council wants to increase the fees from the existing 2009 level by any increment, it must be accomplished with the adoption of an ordinance by July 31.

In other council news:

•City leaders received status updates on working projects in a presentation from Growth Management Director Teresa Gaillard. The City Charter Review Committee met for the first time June 13 for an orientation meeting. All meetings are open to the public and held in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 198 Wilson St. N. The next meeting will be held June 29 at 6 p.m.

•City leaders discussed the proposed schedule for rezoning the Downtown Mixed Use District. Meetings are as follows: June 30, certified letters to property owners shall be mailed; July 10, Public Notice Signs shall be posted within the district; July 21, two open forum public information meetings shall be held in the Council Chamber of City Hall — the first will take place 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and the second at 5-7 p.m.; Sept. 11, a city council meeting will be held at 6 p.m. for the ordinance’s first reading. If approved, there will be a request for a special meeting for Sept. 25, at 5 p.m., for the ordinance’s adoption.

•There are openings on the City Board of Adjustment, Code of Enforcement and the Planning and Zoning Board.

•Crestview Historic Preservation Board member Marsha Johns is retiring this week. She received a plaque honoring her 16 years of service to the board.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Council talks area master plan, impact fees

PENSACOLA — Airports in Okaloosa and Escambia counties will receive $2,618,796 in federal grant money from the United States Department of Transportation, Congressman Matt Gaetz announced.

The money will go toward airport improvements, including taxiway and apron improvements in Okaloosa County, and demolition work for a commerce park in Pensacola.

The Eglin Air Force Base/Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport will receive $2,107,000 to rehabilitate a combined 2,000 feet of taxiway.

The Bob Sikes Airport in Crestview will receive $270,000 to fund designs for rehabilitating 38,000 square yards of existing apron.

The Destin Executive Airport will receive $198,000 to prepare for rehabilitating 65,000 square yards of existing apron.

The Pensacola International Airport will receive $43,796 to fund removal of structural obstructions on land acquired for further airport development.

“It is critical to invest in our airports. Maintaining and upgrading airport infrastructure, while giving them room to grow and expand, will help our airports better meet the needs of travelers,” Gaetz said.

“Northwest Florida has always been a popular destination for tourism, business and governmental travel. The $2.6 million in grants from the Department of Transportation will allow Northwest Florida’s popularity as a travel destination to continue to grow, now and in the years to come.”

The grant money is expected to be disbursed before September.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Northwest Florida airports receive $2.6 million in grant money

CRESTVIEW — People dissatisfied with the direction the two dominating political parties have taken in America can learn about the Constitution Party of Florida. 

A meeting is set 6 p.m. June 15 at Hideaway Pizza, 326 Main St., Crestview.

"The members of the Constitution Party believe this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions but on a foundation of Christian principles and values," a media release states. "For this very reason peoples of all faiths have been and are afforded asylum, prosperity, and freedom of worship here."

Party members believe government must be bound by the Constitution of the United States, and that the Declaration of Independence, US Constitution, and Bill of Rights are the founding documents of the US. 

The press release states, "Party members believe in the following seven principles:

1. Life — Life for all human beings: from conception to natural death.

2. Personal liberty — Constrain the government to its enumerated powers so it does not impede the liberty of the people whom it serves.

3. Property rights — Each individual possesses the right to own and steward personal property without government burden.

4. Originalist interpretation —Interpret the founding documents according to the meaning originally intended by the founding fathers.

5. Family — Family is the bedrock of a healthy society. It is imperative that government maintains a favorable position to the divinely instituted nuclear family, not one that leads to its destruction.

6. Personal responsibility —Americanist ideals are rooted in self-sustenance. Government social and cultural policies have undermined the work ethic, even as the government’s economic and regulatory policies have undermined the ability of citizens to obtain work.

7. Sound money and constitutional banking — End the Fed and return to the stability of gold- and silver-based money."

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Constitution Party sets Crestview meeting

CRESTVIEW — A concerned resident broached the topic of public transportation during a June 8 town hall meeting hosted by Okaloosa Commissioners Nathan Boyles and Graham Fountain.

Becky Brice-Nash, the facility director at Crestview Manor, approached commissioners and several other county and city officials to voice her concerns about Okaloosa County’s transportation company, Maruti Fleet and Management LLC.

'I AM EMBARRASSED' 

Crestview Manor, an assisted living facility with 62 residents, has been having issues with Maruti that include drivers not picking up residents on time and making them late to doctor's appointments multiple days in a row, and abandoning elderly patients at doctor's offices for hours, according to Nash.

According to Nash, this is not the first time she has approached the county about these issues; she has been to four county commission meetings this year and her problems have been going on for at least 18 months.

The newest issue Nash brought to the attention of the commissioners was that Maruti hadn’t paid 65 employees on June 5, and the employees still hadn’t received their money by June 8.

“I don’t have the staff and I don’t have the money to get [62] people to doctors,” Nash said at the meeting. “I know that the road is an issue, but these people here are not getting paid … I am embarrassed. I’ve said it over and over again how embarrassed I am for this county … No more. These people need to be paid.

Two Maruti employees attended the meeting and told the council about the issues they have been having for several months. Although one employee said she loves her job, she stated that it is hard to continue working when she’s not getting paid.

RECCURRING ISSUES

According to Elliot Kampert, Okaloosa County’s growth management director, the problems are being taken care of.

“The explanation that has been given to me—and apparently all the employees have received their pay—was that they switched to a new bank, Wells Fargo, because they are setting up a direct deposit system, Kampert said. “They haven’t put that into effect yet, they’re saying it’s going to be available to you June 20.

“However, because it’s a new bank, they’ve just opened this Wells Fargo account, when they transferred money to [First National Bank], Eglin Federal Credit Union and the Teacher Federal Credit Union, a security hold was put on several of the accounts because they didn’t recognize the Wells Fargo account.”

When contacted by a News Bulletin reporter, a Maruti representative said they would send a formal statement on Monday, but the statement never arrived.

The same issue happened in June 2016 when 73 local Maruti employees were not paid. According to Boyles, the county’s public transportation, once provided by a private, not-for-profit company known as Okaloosa County Transit, has been provided by Maruti for approximately two years; they are under contract for five years.

Boyles said that less than a year into the contract with Maruti, they started seeing serious issues, particularly with the paratransit service; the fixed-route system was improving while paratransit was falling apart.

“That appears to be largely relative to Maruti’s consistent challenges in recruiting and retaining a qualified workforce,” Boyles said. “If you don’t have good people, you’re not going to have a good system.”

The commission has put the company on probation numerous times, and they have seen bouts of improvement followed by reoccurring issues, according to Boyles.

“There have been improvements in service; you have these individual situations … and they’re egregious,” Boyles said. “What you have to look at when you’re trying to make decisions about whether this provider keeps their contract, it’s kind of bigger-picture stuff.

“Whether or not they can improve quickly enough to the level that we expect them to, that’s an open question.”

Boyles said that the commission has directed county staff to prepare contingency claims in the event that a transition away from the current provider is required; however, because federal dollars are involved, there are procurement limitations, and because this is a contract that requires continuous operation, the very act of transitioning to a new provider can be very challenging.

“The general direction of the commission has been to try and bring this contractor into compliance because that is likely to be less disruptive to the users of the system than terminating this provider and trying to find a replacement on an emergency basis,” Boyles said.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: County revisits issues with public transportation

CRESTVIEW— A West Florida businessman has offered to commission a poll for city residents free of charge. Now for the question: Will the council accept?

Quint Studer—a Pensacola businessman, philanthropist, the owner of the Pensacola Blue Wahoos and owner of the health care consulting company, Studer Group—recently contacted Mayor David Cadle and offered to pay a polling company to survey residents, a value of approximately $37,000.

Cadle says the proposal is worth considering.

 “If he’s interested in us, there’s a reason,” Cadle said. “Maybe something good can come out of this for the city, maybe more jobs… I encourage the council to reach out, or I can, and let them do the survey.”

If that happens, the project’s supporters hope the proposal will be warmly received the second time around. Larry Harris of Mason-Dixon Polling and Research presented the survey to the council earlier this year; several council members and the mayor criticized his execution, which they believed belittled the area.

To prevent the same occurrence, some council members say they have questions for the philanthropist.

“My question is, what type of survey is this going to be, and is it going to be beneficial to the city?” Councilman Joe Blocker says.

Councilman Doug Faircloth says he is skeptical about the survey because if it asks any questions about government, he doesn’t want the survey to get in the way of the Charter Review Committee’s duties. The committee currently is determining whether the city should have a referendum on restructuring local government.

Councilman Bill Cox says he would like to respectfully decline from any involvement with Mason-Dixon because nothing is free; there are always strings attached.

According to Councilman Shannon Hayes, the survey should have nothing to do with the government but be geared toward businesses and what residents want to see come to the city.

Further, he believes Studer is well-intentioned.

“There are things where strings aren’t attached,” Hayes says. “Sometimes there are just naturally good people in the world.”

The city’s attorney, Ben Holley, says the council should first find out what kinds of questions will be on the survey before making any decisions, and that it should be acceptable as long as it doesn’t have anything to do with the government.

Time is of the essence.

City Council President J.B. Whitten says waiting too long could mean losing the opportunity. According to Whitten, the offer was sent in January, and Whitten said he is afraid if the city pushes it off any longer Studer will have better things to do.

“The citizens will be disappointed if we turn this down,” Hayes said.

THE ISSUE: A West Florida philanthropist wants to pay $37,000 to a polling company to survey Crestview residents.

LOCAL IMPACT: Quint Studer's offer could help Crestview, Okaloosa County's largest city, reach its full potential. This would be the first study of its kind in the burgeoning city, and data could help city leaders make decisions that fuel economic development.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: The $37,000 question: Should Crestview's Council accept Quint Studer's offer?

CRESTVIEW — Infrastructure and transportation in north Okaloosa County was the focus of a town hall meeting Thursday.

County Commissioners Nathan Boyles and Graham Fountain, along with other county and city officials, hosted the informal discussion. No decisions were made. 

Among officials in attendance were Wayne Steele, Crestview’s public services director; Jason Autrey, public works director for Okaloosa County; JB Whitten, president of the Crestview city council; Mayor David Cadle; Kay Godwin, deputy county administrator; and Scott Moneypenny, Laurel Hill city council member. 

Boyles expressed the need for a solution to Crestview traffic, saying it no longer is just an inconvenience but also a public safety issue. According to Autrey, about 54,000 vehicles travel south on State Road 85 each morning. 

“It’s no longer a one-direction issue,” Boyles said. “It’s no longer a one-time-a-day issue.”

About 10 years ago, a west bypass from Antioch at Arena Road to SR 85 at Raspberry Road was studied, Autrey said. 

According to Autrey, the project is too large to do all at one time, so it needs to be done in parts. It's also expensive; the entire project will cost $100 million. The current rate for simply paving a two-lane road is $1 million, and the bypass will be four lanes, 13 miles long with bridges.

Officials have a plan, a design that is 90 percent complete, right of way from the county and some funding identified for three phases. The first phase is the widening of Antioch Road to four lanes. 

“I think we will see progress in the next 12 months,” Autrey said. “Funding is the biggest roadblock right now.”

Fountain said more attention must go into moving traffic to boost the economy instead of worrying about sidewalks and roundabouts, although those improvements are also important.

“We don’t need any more palm trees,” Fountain said of the new trees along SR 85 near State Road 123. “That’s enough palm trees to pave several miles of road.”

Cadle suggested a small group ask Eglin Air Force Base for funding because many of its service members commute from Crestview. He said the problems should be laid out in front of a base commander, noting traffic accidents and congestion during hurricane evacuations. 

Crestview resident David Schneidman suggested making SR 85 eight lanes with the outside two lanes on each side for people making stops within the city and the middle two lanes on each side for continued traffic north and south.

“The problem with that is the eminent domain,” Fountain said. “We don’t take property from people without at least paying market value. That’s not cost effective.”

Many other residents approached the podium and shared their ideas on reducing traffic congestion; right now, the city and county are working together to find funding from the Florida Department of Transportation, Eglin and Duke Field and the local option gas tax dollars to continue with the west bypass project.

“People are going to die here if we don’t do something,” Fountain said.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Okaloosa and Crestview officials discuss traffic issues, possible solutions

LAUREL HILL­ — The city of Laurel Hill will invest their funds at a new Crestview bank.

The First NBC Bank, where Laurel Hill previously had certificates of deposit, closed in April. Whitney doing business as Hancock Bank took over the bank and its Crestview branch.

When the bank initially closed, the city’s CDs were sent back to them; the council members needed to find a new bank to send their CDs, and this was voted for at the June 1 council meeting.

According to Nita Miller, city clerk, there is a Florida Statute that states city funds need to be in a bank that deals with public funds. A list of these prospective banks was provided in the meeting’s agenda.

After looking over the list of six banks with branches in Crestview, the council made a motion to discuss the nominees.

Councilman Scott Moneypenny asked if the city could just redeposit their CDs at Hancock; however, upon further discussion, the council members saw that a different bank had a better yearly return rate.

CCB Community Bank in Crestview offered the city a rate of 1.45 percent, a special for new money, for having their CD with them for a year. This was a higher rate compared to four of the other banks in which 0.1 percent was the year rate, and Compass Bank which had the next highest at 0.75 percent.

Councilwoman Debra Adams said that the city could look again in a year to see if other banks have a better rate.

A motion was made by Moneypenny to reinvest the CDs in CCB Community Bank; the motion was seconded by Councilman Johnny James, all the council members were in favor and the motion passed.

Anyone with the slightest information about Calandra Stallworth, a missing Crestview mother of two who disappeared at the end of March, is requested to contact the Crestview Police Department at 682-3544 or 682-2055

HOW TO HELP

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Laurel Hill invests at a new bank

CRESTVIEW — A special city council meeting on Monday opened with Councilman Shannon Hayes rescinding the appointment of his brother, Rev. Sanford Hayes, to the City Charter Review Committee. 

Hayes said it was in the best interest of the city to replace his brother to ensure the council was as transparent as possible. Hayes then appointed Warren Robinson, who is retired from the military.

Committee members — who must follow the Florida Public Record Law upon appointment — will have 90 days to research and decide whether the city should keep the same form of government. They will make a recommendation to the council based on their findings.

The committee alone will not decide Crestview’s government structure. Placing the matter on a ballot would be the final step in the process if residents desire a change.

Last week, Mayor David Cadle nominated Joshua Molyneux, vice chairman of the Crestview Housing Authority, to the committee; City Clerk Betsy Roy nominated Adrienne McKinnie with McKinnie Funeral Home; Councilman Doug Faircloth nominated Gene Strickland, pastor and mission director of Okaloosa Baptist Ministerial Association; Councilman Joe Blocker nominated former Crestview councilman Ellis Conner; Councilman JB Whitten nominated Andrew Rencich, local business owner; and Councilman Bill Cox nominated Michelle Simmons, a paralegal who serves on the Crestview Board of Adjustment.

In other business, Cadle spoke about a regional committee meeting that he and Whitten attended in Fort Walton Beach last week about the regional use of the Triumph Funds.

The meeting was hosted by the Northwest Florida Regional Planning Council and was attended by about 100 people, most of whom were state agency representatives.

Attendees discussed looking at projects that had regional impact for the use of the funds resulting from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

The City Council then continued with a workshop after the special meeting.

The first item on the workshop agenda was the annexation of city property, 100 acres on the south end of town and 2.7 acres adjacent to Spanish Trail Park.

Both properties are owned by the city but have never been annexed. The direct cost of annexing both properties would be $10,250. Twenty acres of the 100 acres would be used for a future shooting range for the police department. The council approved the annexation.

Also on the agenda was the Nuisance Abatement Code. According to Teresa Gaillard, growth management director, Growth Management is in the first draft of the Land Development Regulation revisions and needs direction from the council.

The question is whether to redefine Chapter 24 of Code Enforcement Citations and Chapter 38, Health and Sanitation, of the City’s Code of Ordinances, with more direct and enforceable language, clear and precise procedures, together with the appropriate fines and penalties.

This is part of what is needed to help eliminate the blight, detrimental conditions, unsafe structures or physical threats to public health and safety. Growth Management will research and develop a new ordinance to bring back to the council for a consensus.

In other council news:

•The Florida Retailers Association has named Mike Carroll of Hub City Smokehouse and Grill as Florida Retailer of the Year. April Meier of Pawsitively Scrumptious Bark Bakery and Boutique is the Florida Outstanding Retail Leader.

• Cadle met with officials from Wal-Mart about the city’s new north-end store. He noted that the Wal-Mart officials commended the city on being business friendly.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Charter review committee gets new member

CRESTVIEW — City leaders in a special meeting Wednesday selected seven residents to research Crestview’s government structure.

The councilmen, Mayor David Cadle and City Clerk Betsy Roy announced their choices for members of the City Charter Review Committee.

Selections are as follows:

• Cadle nominated Joshua Molyneux, vice chairman of the Crestview Housing Authority
• Roy nominated Adrienne McKinnie with McKinnie Funeral Home
• Councilman Doug Faircloth nominated Gene Strickland, pastor and mission director of Okaloosa Baptist Ministerial Association
• Councilman Shannon Hayes nominated Rev. Sanford Hayes, pastor of New Life Baptist Church
• Councilman Joe Blocker nominated former Crestview councilman Ellis Conner
• Councilman JB Whitten nominated Andrew Rencich, local business owner
• Councilman Bill Cox nominated Michelle Simmons, a paralegal who serves on the Crestview Board of Adjustment

The City Council set a special meeting for 5:15 p.m. May 22 to appoint a replacement for one charter review member, according to a media release that arrived at press time.  

Committee members — who must follow the Florida Public Record Law upon appointment — will have 90 days to research and decide whether the city should keep the same form of government. They will make a recommendation to the council based on their findings.

Theresa Gaillard, the city’s growth management director, will stay in contact with the committee and a city charter review page will be added to the city website, www.cityofcrestview.org.

In discussion preceding appointments, Blocker maintained that there needed to be larger resident input as to whether they want to change the city charter. He contended that many Crestview residents do not know about this proposal.

Faircloth made the motion to form a city charter review committee comprising Crestview residents who are registered voters. The motion received a second and passed unanimously.

The committee alone will not decide Crestview's government structure. Placing the matter on a ballot would be the final step in the process if residents desire a change.

Since this would be a referendum and not a candidate vote, ballots could be sent to registered voters via mail, Okaloosa County Supervisor of Elections Paul Lux said at a previous city council meeting.

—

Editor's Note: Article updated to include more background information on the restructuring process. Also corrected Josh Molyneux's title. 

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: 7 residents appointed for city charter review

CRESTVIEW — The City Council will continue discussion on a half-cent sales tax proposal at its next meeting.

The Okaloosa County League of Cities’ executive board has proposed the sales tax for five years as a way to fund capital improvement projects in the county and its nine municipalities.

Each municipality has been asked to consider the resolution in May. If a majority of them supports it, the resolution would go before the Okaloosa County Commission to decide whether to eventually put a referendum before voters.

City leaders briefly discussed the matter Monday night but tabled it for further discussion.

If approved, Crestview initially could receive an estimated $1.5 million from the half-cent sales tax, according to City Clerk Elizabeth Roy.

In other council business, there was a discussion of forming a committee to review the city charter. Councilman Joe Blocker stated that residents should be asked first if they wanted a city charter change. A motion was proposed and seconded to form a committee. Four members agreed, but Blocker was against the proposal.

Councilman Shannon Hayes then proposed a committee be formed with the council members, Mayor David Cadle and Roy to decide how a charter review committee would be formed within 30 days. All members approved the second proposal.

In other council business:

•Senior Fire Captain Jody Smallwood was named Firefighter of the Year.

•Changes were approved to Council Meeting Rules and Regulations. Members agreed to have a set agenda at the start of each meeting and to have a 10-minute speaking time limit at council meetings.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: City Council to consider half-cent sales tax proposal