The purchase of the property on the south side of Destin Harbor came as DeSantis and the Cabinet also moved forward with 10 other land deals. The Cabinet is made up of Attorney General James Uthmeier, Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson and state Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia.

The 11 parcels total 30,478 acres and include a $278.14 million price tag, with the money mostly coming from the state’s Florida Forever and Rural and Family Lands Protection programs. The projects primarily involve purchasing easements, which allow ranchers and farmers to continue agricultural operations in exchange for limiting future development.

The Destin deal drew the most attention. The property, owned by Pointe Mezzanine LLC and Point Resort LLC, is next to a row of condominiums and had been eyed for development.

DeSantis and the Cabinet approved the deal as part of a bundle of projects. Ingoglia said during the meeting he had reservations about the Destin proposal but declined to elaborate afterward.

“I just wish to say I have concerns,” Ingoglia told reporters.

Pointe Mezzanine and Pointe Resort, registered in state corporate records to Louisiana developer and political donor Rodney Guidry, acquired the land for $7.9 million in 2016 and 2017.

The land is zoned for high-density residential use.

After the meeting, Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson defended the deal as a land protection measure.

“I wonder what it would look like with 250 condos on it,” Simpson said. “Now, we will never have to imagine that.”

A Cabinet staff report said buying the land would improve public access, with plans for 100 parking spaces and opportunities for boating, fishing and swimming.

Okaloosa County has pledged $5 million to support the new park.

“If the state buys this property, it means that the public will always have access to it, and I think that’s a beautiful thing,” Okaloosa County Commission Chairman Paul Mixon wrote to the state Department of Environmental Protection in August. “The public — our residents and visitors — will get to participate and experience our beautiful coastline and our natural resources here in Okaloosa County.”

Fine print in the state budget that took effect July 1 directed purchasing the land, though it did not include a dollar amount.

Among the other deals approved on Sept. 29:

• $68.15 million to purchase an 1,893-acre easement at 4G Ranch in Pasco County. The county is expected to cover half the cost.
• $32.1 million for a 5,940-acre easement at Remlap Ranch in Okeechobee County.
• $25.1 million for a 5,631-acre easement on property owned by Hoot Holdings in Collier and Hendry counties.
• $17.169 million to purchase a 1,670-acre easement at Bar-B Ranch in Martin County.
• $9.47 million to purchase a 2,559-acre easement from Bentley Ranch Inc. in Hardee County.
• $6.477 million to purchase a 1,889-acre easement from Finca Vigia, LLC in Hendry County.
• $6.3 million to purchase a 1,400-acre easement from Lake’s Place, LLP in Osceola County.

The property eventually could be developed for a single-family home subdivision.

The parcel, which stands across from the city’s Blackwater Golf Club at 4927 Antioch Road, is owned by Hardball Holdings LLC, of DeFuniak Springs. The new ordinances will lead to the parcel’s current future land use designation of commercial being changed to residential and the property’s current zoning designation of commercial low-intensity district being changed to the single and multi-family density dwelling district classification.

City officials said the city has not received a development application for the vacant property but has received a conceptual plan for a proposed residential development at the site. A rendering provided by an engineering firm working with Hardball Holdings shows the conceptual layout of a potential 31-lot single-family home subdivision.

The City Council unanimously approved the new contract on Monday.

This past June, Leavins marked her sixth year of employment with the city. After working in other city jobs, she began serving as deputy city manager this past January, then was promoted to interim city manager on May 1, the day after Tim Bolduc worked his last day as Crestview’s first-ever city manager. After a little over six years in that role, Bolduc left it to become Adams Sanitation’s CEO.

Leavins was promoted to city manager in July. While serving as deputy and interim city manager, she received an annual salary of $144,400.

Her new city manager contract was negotiated by City Attorney Jon Holloway and Mayor J.B. Whitten. The employment agreement is retroactive to Aug. 1, the first day of the month following the council’s approval of her appointment as city manager.

Among other benefits, the new contract provides Leavins with the option to select between a $400 monthly vehicle allowance or the use of a city vehicle, with all maintenance and expenses to be paid by the city. Following Monday’s council meeting, Leavins said she will keep using the city vehicle she used when she was the deputy and interim city manager.

According to the new contract, Leavins would receive no severance pay if she is fired or resigns in lieu of being terminated during her first year as city manager.

She would receive severance pay equal to five weeks of her base salary if she is fired or resigns in lieu of being terminated during her second year, and would receive higher severance pay amounts if such separation occurs in her later years of service.

Leavins must give the city 90 days advance notice if she decides to voluntarily resign. In that scenario, she would not receive any severance pay, according to the contract.

The overall contract “represents a mid-range compensation package compared to other similarly situated municipalities and takes into account an upward salary trend in Florida to retain high level city and county managers,” Holloway wrote in a report to the council.

At Monday’s City Council meeting, the council unanimously agreed to have City Attorney Jon Holloway negotiate a contract with the church for the purchase of “The ROC” at a cost not to exceed $1.5 million.

The rec center, which consists of a gym and a five-lane, 25-yard, 56-person-capacity pool, is located on a 1.5-acre parcel at 1105 S. Pearl St. It’s just east of Central Baptist Church, which stands at 951 S. Ferdon Blvd.

While there was no mention of him at the meeting, District 1 Okaloosa County Commissioner and Commission Chairman Paul Mixon is the senior pastor at Central Baptist Church.

Among other swimmers, the ROC pool, which is operated by the nonprofit Emerald Coast Fitness Foundation, is used for training sessions for Crestview swim teams.

The overall ROC facility “is within the city limits, which is very important to us. It is not too far from our current gym” at Twin Hills Park and, unlike the gym at the park, the ROC gym is air-conditioned, City Manager Jessica Leavins said at the council meeting. “We would be able to get into it for our kids for the upcoming basketball season. It is the only facility, already constructed, that we could find in the city limits that would meet all of our needs. This is a solution for our kids today.”

Leavins added that buying an existing rec facility would be far less expensive than building a new facility.

Currently, the city is not staffed or trained to operate the ROC pool, she said. At the time of the potential purchase of the overall ROC facility, the city would ask the Emerald Coast Fitness Foundation to continue managing the pool.

“They’ve done an amazing job acquiring sponsorships and memberships to cover the cost of operating that,” said Leavins, who added that local swim teams would continue to train at the pool under city ownership.

She also noted that the ROC gym could be repurposed to serve as a space for volleyball and pickleball games, not just basketball games.

According to research conducted on the city’s behalf earlier this year by Midway-based Ajax Building Co., the many decades-old Twin Hills Park gym does not have a humidity controlling vapor barrier, which makes installing an HVAC system at the facility futile.

After those findings were made public, there was “quite the public outcry to get these kids playing basketball in an air-conditioned facility,” Leavins told the council.

At its July 8 budget meeting, the council learned that making a long-proposed city sports complex a reality could cost up to $118 million, plus many millions more in finance costs. Rather than asking city residents to face greatly higher property tax bills to pay for the complex, the council agreed to focus on building an indoor rec facility or obtaining an existing one, while also looking at other ways to expand rec opportunities.

Besides pursuing the possible purchase of the ROC, the council on Monday agreed to move forward with a long-term planning study for the city’s Spanish Trail Park, with the idea that the park could house 10 ballfields and potentially an indoor rec facility. The almost 24-acre park stands next to Stillwell Boulevard.

The millage rate for FY ’26 is 6.65 mills and one-tenth of a percent lower than the existing rate of 6.75 mills. The rate of 6.65 mills per $1,000 of taxable property is equal to $665 per $100,000 of property value.

The council’s action tonight marks the second consecutive year of the millage rate being decreased by one-tenth of a percent.

The FY ’26 budget totals just over $81 million. New positions in this spending plan include a deputy public services director, three police officers, and an animal control supervisor, with the latter position filled by promoting a current animal control employee.

The new budget also includes 2% cost-of-living raises and up to 4.5% merit-based raises for all full-time employees.

The new budget year, which begins on Oct. 1, will mark the ninth consecutive year with the 3.83 rate in place.

The rate of 3.83 mills per $1,000 of taxable property is equal to $383 per $100,000 of property value. Because of higher property values, many property owners will see higher tax bills.

The new budget is $38.7 million, or 6%, more than the existing one. Next year’s spending plan includes 26 new positions, primarily in parks and tourism. The additional workers will bring the total number of employees under the commission’s purview to 1,125.

The new budget also includes 3% cost-of-living raises for all employees.

Near the end of Tuesday’s final budget public hearing, longtime County Administrator John Hofstad told the commission that he and county staff “want to thank this board for your guidance and leadership in developing this budget. For me, this is my 11th year working with you to pull the budget together. You continue to hold the line on the tax burden for the citizens of this county. That is greatly appreciated.”

The commission began serving as the district’s governing board in June 2024, after District 4 state Rep. Patt Maney, R-Shalimar, reported that the district had not filed an audit for three years and needed more oversight.

On June 13 of last year, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a Maney-sponsored House bill into law, changing the district from an independent special district to a dependent special district of the county.

Shortly after the bill took effect, the commission agreed to temporarily suspend the operation of the district. Since then, fire coverage and medical services for the unincorporated area of Dorcas, which stands 9 1/2 miles northeast of Crestview, have been provided by the Crestview Fire Department and the North Okaloosa and Almarante fire districts.

Expenses of the Dorcas Fire District “are currently much lower due to the coverage from the other departments,” county Public Safety Director Pat Maddox said in a report to the commission. “However, this will quickly change as we move to make the department operational again and add some core staffing. Formerly, the department was entirely volunteer and so any staffing alone will begin to materially affect the budget.”

The district’s operating revenue comes from assessments, grants, and earned interest.

“Based on the initial funds we received when we took over the district and the net revenues since then, we have been able to accumulate various reserves that will be invaluable in getting the district started back up,” Maddox said.

Fiscal ’26 starts on Oct. 1. The district’s new, commission-approved budget totals $700,021. Expenses include those for an array of new equipment, as well as $235,700 in personnel costs.

County staff received the commission’s approval to hire a fire chief immediately and a fire captain next March, at approximately the halfway point of FY ’26.

“These positions will be responsible for command level evaluation of assets and needs, station, equipment and operational readiness, recruitment of volunteers and standing up the operation behind the scenes while the current interlocal agreement (with other fire service providers) draws down,” Maddox said. “At a point to be determined, the interlocal agreement will end and the Okaloosa County-led fire service will take over.”

Currently, each of the properties is served by a septic tank. Benjamin Street is located southwest of downtown Crestview.

On Monday, the City Council approved paying almost $177,000 in state appropriations to Pensacola Concrete Construction Co. for the septic-to-sewer project. Of the four companies that submitted bids, Pensacola Concrete was the lowest bidder.

The company’s tasks will include the installation of approximately 1,210 linear feet of 2-inch low pressure sewer force main, which will discharge into an existing gravity sewer manhole on Benjamin Street, according to city information.

The work performed by Pensacola Concrete is anticipated to take about 90 days, city Public Services Director Carlos Jones said.

The city also has state funding to pay for the installation of grinder pumps, which are a type of sewage pump, on the Benjamin Street properties. While the city intends to eventually have all the 10 properties connected to the sewer system, only two of them currently have agreements to do so.

City officials expect the purchase price to be around $1 million, which potentially could be financed via bond money, City Manager Jessica Leavins told the council.

“There would be some additional refurbishment cost,” Leavins said. “I’m hesitant to go too far into the property (details) because real estate, you know, is all about negotiations, right? But if the council is interested, if there’s some consensus, we will move forward and then we’ll be able to bring back an agenda item next month.”

The council unanimously agreed to move forward with the possible purchase. The next regular council meetings are scheduled for Sept. 8 and 22.

“Considering that it is (an) existing (facility), and that even purchasing it with (refurbishment) is going to be so much cheaper than the alternatives that we had already discussed, I say move forward with it,” Councilor Dusty Allison told Leavins.

In July, council members backed away from pursuing the construction of a major city sports complex after learning it could cost more than $100 million and require a large millage rate hike to help pay off the resulting debt.

“Any positive improvement for our young people, I would support,” Councilor Shannon Hayes told Leavins during Monday’s discussion. “I’m sure whatever (existing facility) you’re looking at, it would be adequate. When you give us more details, we can make a decision.”

The potential purchase of the existing facility is “kind of a bridge to get us to a point where we can financially do something even more” to enhance recreation opportunities, Mayor Pro Tem Doug Capps said.

Unlike the decades-old Twin Hills Park gym, the facility the city is looking to acquire is climate-controlled, Leavins said. On another note, she said city staff members and consultants continue making progress toward the goal of adding more city ballfields.

City staff members “believe that there’s going to be some drawings coming back to us very quickly to prioritize some master planning, which would determine the overall cost to add some fields,” Leavins said. “We’re looking at how we can add those fields at a price point that we’re all happy with.”

In an email to the News Bulletin, the resident said that on Aug. 1, the Clerk’s Office switched to a new company for online foreclosure auctions.

“We used to pay a flat $60 auction fee for each property sold,” the resident said. “With the new Bid4Assets company, it’s now .5% of the sale price! So, if I win a $200k property at auction the fee is now $1,000! I don’t know why they switched but it’s not legal. The statute says they can only charge a maximum auction fee of $70.”

The resident cited the state statute that reads: “If the sale is conducted by electronic means, as provided in s. 45.031(10), the clerk shall receive an additional service charge not to exceed $70 for services in conducting or contracting for the electronic sale, which service charge shall be assessed as costs and paid when filing for an electronic sale date.”

In an email sent on Thursday to the News Bulletin, Embry said the Clerk’s Office did switch contractors related to the online auctioning of foreclosed properties in Okaloosa County.

“There are a multitude of reasons for us terminating our relationship with the previous vendor, the biggest one being the unsustainable increases in fees being charged to the Clerk’s Office for their service,” Embry said. “Essentially, public tax dollars were being expended to sell and/or advertise foreclosed properties under the previous contractor because the $70 statutory fee no longer covered the actual costs incurred by the Clerk’s Office in the on-line foreclosure sale process. Additionally, the Clerk’s Office was expending significant time and resources managing monetary accounts for bidders.

“The current contractual arrangement requires the third-party individuals or entities using and/or participate in the process to bear the cost of the service, rather than the tax paying public. Additionally, the current contractor manages the accounts for people bidding on properties, rather than our county-funded finance department. This is essentially a no-cost contract for the Clerk’s Office that substantially reduces the expenditure of taxpayer money and other resources from being expended unnecessarily.”

Embry noted that the 0.5% convenience fee charged by the new contractor only applies to successful third-party bidders and is in line with the current statute.

“It is significant to note that plaintiffs in foreclosure actions who end up being the successful bidders at the online foreclosure sales are exempt from this convenience fee,” he said, adding, “The third-party bidder convenience fees are charged and retained entirely by the contractor, not the Clerk’s Office. This is something that has been reviewed and approved by legal counsel.

“While I understand that there are some people that are upset over this change, my ultimate goals are to find ways to reduce costs to our taxpayers and maintain the highest level of service to our citizens.”