FORT WALTON BEACH — Conservative Matt Gaetz (R-Fort Walton Beach) has officially qualified for the ballot for Florida’s 1st Congressional District.

“… Career politicians have driven our nation into a ditch,” Gaetz said in a media release. “I’m running for Congress to fight Washington and restore America through bold, conservative reforms. I’ll step on toes to get the job done — whether it’s fighting radical Muslim terrorism, defending our right to bear arms, standing up for our veterans and military, or building a wall to stop illegal immigration.

“And, I’ll fight for term limits on Congress, because Northwest Florida deserves a Congressman whose mission is to fight for a stronger America, not a permanent job in Washington.”

Gaetz is an attorney from Fort Walton Beach and represents portions of Okaloosa County in the Florida House of Representatives. He currently chairs the Finance & Tax Committee. 

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Gaetz qualifies for Congress

CRESTVIEW — The city’s budget takes focus during Crestview Councilman JB Whitten’s next town hall meeting.

The event is 6-8 p.m. June 29 at Casbah Coffee Company in downtown Crestview.

Whitten, City Clerk Elizabeth Roy and Finance Director Gina Toussaint will lead the discussion on Crestview’s budget, taxes and utility service costs.

Discussion topics include:

●What does it cost to run the city?

●Where does the money come from?

●Why did my water bill increase?

The coffee shop is located at 196 Pine Ave. W., Crestview.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Town hall meeting on Crestview budget set

CRESTVIEW — Okaloosa County property owners who have signed up to participate in the Property Tax Installment payment plan through the Tax Collector’s Office, have until June 30 to pay their first installment.

The Installment Plan divides the annual taxes into four payments due June, September, December and March.

The plan provides for 3.3 percent discount and adds the convenience of spreading out payments instead of one lump sum payment.

Payment options include:

●Using an Echeck at www.OkaloosaTax.com.

●Visiting 302 N. Wilson St. Suite 101 Crestview. Call 651-7300 for hours. 

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Okaloosa property tax early payment deadline approaching

CRESTVIEW — The Community Redevelopment Agency Board has voted 6-1 to direct city staff to prepare a $118,500 per year contract with a Fort Walton beach ad agency to manage the program.

PART 1: Read the first part of this story here>>

Current CRA Director Brenda Smith, who will serve as the Petermann Agency’s team leader, said the firm's monthly $9,875 retainer, which is more than three times her contracted CRA director’s salary, represents the “hire” of the ad agency’s eight professionals.

“This allows us to come together as a team and make sure that what we're doing with the (CRA) plan, that we're doing it the right way,” she said. Without such an approach, “we can throw money at this project or that project without evaluating the overall need.”

Petermann Senior Account Executive Stephen Smith said the agency’s first step is a thorough analysis of the CRA district and its businesses to put together a redevelopment plan.

“Our goal is to make this downtown area look better, feel better, sound better,” he said. “We want to see the businesses that are here and doing well, do better.

“We'll address the strengths and weaknesses of the area.  This area has a lot to offer, but I don't think all the strengths are being taken advantage of.”

ADDED VALUE, ADDED FEES

“The marketing goal is that for every advertising dollar that is spent, real value is added,” Stephen Smith said.

Those dollars for promotional efforts including “collateral”—such as handouts or rack cards—ad buys and television spots are in addition to the agency’s monthly retainer.

“I have a concern with the cost,” Whitten said. “If we want anything to do with advertising or marketing, that’s going to be in addition to the $118,000.”

CRA board member Shannon Hayes supported Petermann’s proposal, saying it will help Crestview stand out from neighboring potential destinations.

“I was in retail for 32 years and I know advertising well,” he said. “We have to look at what happens if Amtrak comes here. If people are going to ask, ‘Crestview, where is it?’ we're in trouble.”

COMPLEMENTING NEIGHBORS

Finding ways to draw visitors to Crestview is among Petermann’s goals, Brenda Smith said.

“A lot of people don’t look at the reality that we’re competing against other cities,” she said. “A lot of cities don’t strategize where they say, ‘How do we complement our neighbors but what are our strengths?’”

Targeting CRA funds to specific, researched and evaluated projects will maximize the board’s investment, she said.

“You don’t want to take our redevelopment dollars and dump them somewhere and say, ‘There, we’re done,’” Smith said. “If we do it right, every dollar that is invested in redevelopment not only benefits downtown, but it radiates throughout the city. That’s smart planning. That’s what we want to happen.”

“We can't go forward without investment,” Hayes said. “You have to invest in experts, and experts don't come free.”

PART 2: Read the second part of this story here>>

____________________

BY THE NUMBERS

Crestview Community Redevelopment Agency Director Brenda Smith provided this data on the CRA’s progress through April 2016:

●Fundraising: CRA, $170,000; Main Street Crestview Association, $141,485

●CRA program funding: Crestview Centennial, $13,600; Main Street contract: $25,000

●CRA fund balance, $1,431,598 (April 2015 balance, $1,385,330)

CRA PROJECTS

●Two $50,000 Florida Recreation Development Assistance Program grants received

●Twin Hills Park dog park plans to be presented June 24

●Working with Okaloosa County to develop former Piggly Wiggly grocery store into downtown parking lot

●Working with Gulf Coast Rail Working Group to return passenger train service to Crestview

●Planning July Main Street investor assessment

Source: Crestview Community Redevelopment Agency

Crestview Community Redevelopment Agency Director Brenda Smith provided this data on the CRA’s progress through April 2016:

●Fundraising: CRA, $170,000; Main Street Crestview Association, $141,485

●CRA program funding: Crestview Centennial, $13,600; Main Street contract: $25,000

●CRA fund balance, $1,431,598 (April 2015 balance, $1,385,330)

Source: Crestview Community Redevelopment Agency

CRA PROJECTS

●Two $50,000 Florida Recreation Development Assistance Program grants received

●Twin Hills Park dog park plans to be presented June 24

●Working with Okaloosa County to develop former Piggly Wiggly grocery store into downtown parking lot

●Working with Gulf Coast Rail Working Group to return passenger train service to Crestview

●Planning July Main Street investor assessment

Source: Crestview Community Redevelopment Agency

BY THE NUMBERS

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Part 2 of 2: Crestview CRA ad agency plans redevelopment focus (VIDEO)

CRESTVIEW — The Community Redevelopment Agency Board has voted 6-1 to replace a $40,000 per year director with a $118,500 per year ad agency contract.

But it gets to keep its current director and her wealth of institutional knowledge.

Director Brenda Smith’s contract was extended two months through June while the board reassessed her job description and issued a local and statewide request for qualifications — called an RFQ — for “comprehensive administrative and operations management services.”

Smith, meanwhile, joined the Petermann Agency, a Fort Walton Beach advertising, design, public relations and marketing firm, as a team leader.

Petermann was the only company to respond to the RFQ. The vote authorizes city staff to draft a contract between Petermann and the CRA.

CITY LEADERS’ CONCERNS

CRA board member JB Whitten, who cast the lone dissenting vote, said he had several concerns about the turn the CRA was taking.

“My biggest one is we now have a director of the CRA that does not work for the board of the CRA,” Whitten said. “She works for the Petermann Agency now…

“I know it sounds wild, but the day after we sign that contract, the agency could fire her and replace her with anyone they want and we have no say in the matter…I’m not a control freak, but if we have a director, I want the director working for us.”

Board member Doug Faircloth also expressed some skepticism.

“We're spending a lot of money for a director, and now we're talking about spending a lot more for an agency,” Faircloth said. “What for? Are we going to fill some of these 16 empty store fronts on Main Street?”

A ‘CRITICAL PIECE’

Smith said contracting with a firm that has multifaceted expertise is crucial to the district’s continued improvements, including filling vacant business properties.

“This is a critical piece that the CRA and Main Street (Crestview Association) need right now,” Smith said. “Coming in as a team totally covers our redevelopment effort. Not only are we doing the administrative piece but we’re doing the redevelopment.”

Addressing board members’ concerns, Growth Management Director Teresa Gaillard, under whose department the CRA and Main Street Crestview Association fall, said Smith, as a Petermann employee, will no longer draw a CRA salary or have authority over CRA money.

“Whereas Miss Brenda used to sign (checks), she will no longer have that privilege,” Gaillard said. City Clerk “Mrs. (Betsy) Roy will remain in oversight for the city so we have multi-layered checks and balances so we will remain transparent.”

As team leader for Petermann’s Crestview account, Smith will still be based at City Hall.

“I haven't abandoned the CRA or the board,” Smith said during a Monday evening CRA meeting. “What I'm doing is bringing a whole team to the board.

_________________________

PETERMANN AGENCY PROPOSAL

The Petermann Agency, upon signing a contract with the Community Redevelopment Agency Board, proposes these redevelopment steps:

●Understanding CRA and Main Street Crestview Association goals and mission

●Assessments and market research, including business and resident surveys

●Develop communication network between CRA, businesses, Main Street and city government

●Set strategies and make recommendations for revitalization

●Focus on economic development and vitality; designing a district “brand”; promoting and marketing the district

●Measuring results

Source: The Petermann Agency

The Petermann Agency, upon signing a contract with the Community Redevelopment Agency Board, proposes these redevelopment steps:

●Understanding CRA and Main Street Crestview Association goals and mission

●Assessments and market research, including business and resident surveys

●Develop communication network between CRA, businesses, Main Street and city government

●Set strategies and make recommendations for revitalization

●Focus on economic development and vitality; designing a district “brand”; promoting and marketing the district

●Measuring results

Source: The Petermann Agency

PETERMANN AGENCY PROPOSAL

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: PART 1 of 2: Crestview CRA approves contracting with ad agency (VIDEO)

CRESTVIEW — A potentially confusing letter is circulating throughout multiple Florida counties, according to the Okaloosa County Supervisor of Elections office.

The letter, which looks official, is presented on letterhead from the Voter Participation Center, which is in no way associated with the Florida Division of Elections, county officials said.

“These letters are frequently addressed to an informal name or minors in the household who are ineligible to vote due to age,” the release stated. “The letter, and its information, was not sourced from the Okaloosa County Supervisor of Elections or any representative thereof.”

The Voter Participation Center, a nonprofit organization, aims to boost voter registration among “unmarried women, people of color and young voters,” its website, voterparticipation.org, states.

Some groups have questioned its efforts. Judicial Watch Blog writes about an alleged “scandal” involving the organization; the Tampa Bay Times reports of Florida’s efforts to stop the letters, which can cause confusion; and WUFT-TV has reported that “recipients of the letters lamented some of the letters were addressed to deceased family members.”

Anyone who has received one of these letters can use the Voter Lookup Tool at www.govote-okaloosa.com or call the Okaloosa Supervisor of Elections offices, 689-5600 or 651-7272, to check their voter registration status.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Okaloosa County officials warn of misleading voter registration letters

CRESTVIEW — The city's next firehouse could stand on three acres of land fronting Old Bethel Road following the City Council's unanimous direction to city officials to start investigating the property.

Real estate agent Melissa Simpson of the Machado-Elliot Commercial Real Estate Group, who represents the property owner, said the owner has offered the property to the city for $70,000, which is below market value.

Currently, Simpson said, the average price per acre in the Old Bethel Road area is $40,910, which has increased from $33,940 in the last three months.

"The only three-acre lot that has sold within the past year sold for $252,000, or $44,613 per acre," Simpson stated in a letter to the council.

Simpson said she believes at the current rate, the value of the land could increase a further $14,000 by the end of the year, selling for $164,730.

SITE INSPECTION

The property sits in a bend in Old Bethel Road west of Staff Road. Public Works Director Wayne Steele said he and Fire chief Joe Traylor inspected the site.

"The biggest problem I saw is it being on a curve, and the problem it presents with traffic, but we have ways of working out those problems with lights and signage, and we feel the county would be a partner with us in allowing us to work it out," Steele told the council.

Steele said all utilities except for sewer service is available, so the fire station, which would be the smallest of the city's current stations, would have to have a septic system.

Council President Joe Blocker said he has been approached by other real estate agents offering properties near but not on Old Bethel.

Deputy Fire Chief Tony Holland said after much research, Old Bethel remains the preferred location.

"We have looked around but being on Old Bethel gives us the option of sending a truck east or west on (U.S. Highway) 90, or out to (State Road) 85," Holland said. "Looking at it tactic wise, it would give us better options to be on Old Bethel."

BUDGETED MONEY

City Clerk Betsy Roy confirmed that the fire department has money budgeted for land acquisition should an opportunity arise.

"We have an opportunity for property at a price that's super fair," Councilman Shannon Hayes said. "We've been looking for land. We have it. The legal technicalities will be resolved prior to handing a check to the people. That's why I'm moving forward."

Councilman Bill Cox then moved to have the city purchase three acres of the4.9-acre parcel with the stipulation that the city approves the environmental assessment, land surveys and title search. Hayes seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview council approves moving forward with firehouse land purchase

CRESTVIEW — Here is the Crestview Community Redevelopment Agency's June 13 agenda. 

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: What's on the Crestview Community Redevelopment Agency's June 13 agenda

CRESTVIEW — Here is the Crestview City Council's agenda for its June 13 regular meeting.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: What's on the Crestview City Council's June 13 agenda

CRESTVIEW — The city received a gift in time for Flag Day, which is June 14. Thursday afternoon, 12 flags, poles and mounting hardware were delivered to City Hall. The materials will form a patriotic and historical display in Warriors Wall.

A few hours before the truck delivered the flags, Public Works Director Wayne Steele, assistant director Chuck Powell and facilities manager Stan McKenzie met to discuss how the flags will be hung.

The American-made flags, many of them custom fabricated by The Flag Lady’s Flag Store in Columbus, Ohio, will project from Warriors Hall’s side walls.

The six armed services branch flags will hang in order of each branch’s establishment on the west wall. The east wall will feature the six national flags that have flown over the region currently including Crestview.

Those flags will also be hung in chronological order, beginning with the flag of the Muskogee (Creek) Nation, which donated the flag to the city. The Baker Block Museum donated the flag’s hardware.

The $2,400 display, which the Friends of the Arts proposed to the City Council in March, met with unanimous council approval. All but three of the flags were sponsored within three weeks of the presentation.

In addition to honoring Crestview’s current, past and future service members and rich cultural history, the flags serve one other purpose.

“They will really help with the acoustics in the hall,” Friends of the Arts President Rae Schwartz said.

A mid-July dedication of the display is planned, with the City Council expected to approve a date at its June 13 meeting.

Residents visiting Warriors Hall will learn about America’s military branches and the six nations that ruled the area of present-day Crestview when viewing a flag display to be installed soon.

Here is some trivia:

●The first branch of the U.S. armed forces was the United States Merchant Marine, established June 12, 1775, two days before the U.S. Army.

●Two more of the six branches of the armed services were also established in 1775: the Navy (Oct. 13) and the Marine Corps (Nov. 10).

●The newest branch, the U.S. Air Force, was established 172 years later on Sept. 18, 1947. The Coast Guard was established on Aug. 4, 1790.

●The first nation to rule the present-day Crestview area was the Muskogee (Creek) Nation.

●The shortest sovereignty over the Crestview area was the 78-day rule of the Republic of West Florida.

●Spanish colonial rule actually occurred twice, from 1513 to 1810, with a 20-year gap from 1763-83, during which Great Britain ruled the area.

●The first United States of America flag to flutter over the Crestview area was the original 15-star, 15-stripe “Star Spangled Banner.”

THE DONORS

The Warriors Hall flag display was entirely funded by these resident and business donations:

Donors are:

●Cadenhead Pest Control: U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Air Force and United States flags

●Mayor and Mrs. David Cadle: Colonial Britain

●Crestview High School Spanish Club: Colonial Spain

●Curenton family: Confederate States of America

●Brian Hughes: U.S. Merchant Marine

●Muskogee (Creek) Nation and Baker Block Museum: Muskogee (Creek) Nation

●Cal Zethmayr, WAAZ-WJSB: Republic of West Florida

WARRIORS HALL FLAG DISPLAY TRIVIA

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview officials anticipate July Warriors Hall flags dedication