CRESTVIEW — The Crestview Area Chamber of Commerce's Government Issues Committee will not meet this month.
The committee's next meeting is 8:30 a.m. March 11at the chamber office, 1447 Commerce Drive, Crestview.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview Government Issues Committee sets next meeting
CRESTVIEW — Three public forums will allow voters to meet candidates for Crestview and Laurel Hill municipal offices and hear them debate issues.
The North Okaloosa Republican Club's Feb. 17 forum features the four Crestview mayoral candidates; its Feb. 24 forum will feature the six Laurel Hill city council candidates.
Crestview's candidates include incumbent David Cadle, Landrum Edwards, Tom Gordon and Jeremiah Hubbard.
Laurel Hill's candidates include Debra Adams, Daniel Lane, Scott Moneypenny, Joan Smith, Randy Tickle and Willie Mae Toles.
Community activist Mae Reatha Coleman on Monday requested a fee waiver to use Warriors Hall, a city facility, for her Feb. 16 forum, which she called a “non-partisan political meeting.”
NORC President Wendell Beatty said the group's forums are also non-partisan.
“These are non-partisan forums because they are non-partisan elections," he said.
Though the City Council, as a matter of policy, took no action on her request, Coleman vowed to press forward and seek outside funding to pay the $100 hall rental fee and $100 refundable deposit.
Regardless of the election's outcome, she said, she wants to promote civic involvement.
“This is not for me, but I want to energize Crestview,” Coleman said. “Somehow we have gotten turned away from voting.
"You can’t speak for yourself if you don’t vote.”
WANT TO GO?
You can learn more about Crestview and Laurel Hill's candidates at these three forums:
•Crestview Mayoral Candidates Meet-and-Greet: 6 p.m. Monday, Warriors Hall, Stillwell Boulevard, Crestview. Organized by community activist Mae Reatha Coleman
•North Okaloosa Republican Club Crestview Mayoral Candidates Forum: 6 p.m. Tuesday, American Legion Hall, 898 James Lee Blvd. E., Crestview. Submit questions for debate to Cal Zethmayr, calz-waaz-wjsb@cox.net.
•North Okaloosa Republican Club Laurel Hill City Council Candidates Forum: 6 p.m. Feb. 24, Laurel Hill First Baptist Church Fellowship Hall, 3972 Second Ave., Crestview. Submit questions in advance to calz-waaz-wjsb@cox.net.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: ELECTION: 3 municipal candidate forums scheduled this week
North Okaloosa County's municipal elections are March 10. Check out these stories and videos from our campaign coverage so you can better understand Crestview and Laurel Hill candidates' positions and make an informed decision.
Cadle seeks third term as mayor
Crestview resident qualifies for mayoral race
Businessman, council member announces run for mayor
Hubbard prequalifies for Crestview mayor’s race
Mayor: FBI crime report 'doesn't tell the whole story'
Gordon challenges Cadle to debate crime
Crestview mayoral candidates discuss public transportation, sewer and water
Crestview mayoral candidate forum focuses on crime, business and traffic
MEET THE CANDIDATES: You asked, Laurel Hill's council candidates answered
Crestview mayoral race piques early voters’ interest
What’s at stake in Crestview's, Laurel Hill's elections
Laurel Hill council candidates discuss roads, businesses and dissolution
Six vie for three Laurel Hill council seats
Crestview attorney: Gordon violated no laws by using city logo
VIDEO:
Incumbent David Cadle: "Integrity is our most valuable commodity, and we should not squander it by kowtowing to personal relationships."
Business owner Landrum "Lanny" Edwards: "I want to … make sure that people have plenty of jobs, plenty of time to look for jobs, and education."
City Councilman Tom Gordon: "…Crestview and its residents deserve a better place to live and work, and an opportunity for our children to grow up, get careers and stay here…"
Business owner Jeremiah Hubbard: "I have a vision that Crestview can be a model city in the state of Florida. With major transit systems already in place, we can become a leader in commerce and industry."
General:
See E-Voter before casting ballot
LETTER: 11,083 Crestview voters 'disenfranchised'
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: North Okaloosa Municipal Election Guide
CRESTVIEW — Businesses, individuals and government entities with ideas for spending the first “pot” of RESTORE Act funds might be able to start applying for them in March.
But the process won’t be easy, according to Okaloosa RESTORE Act Committee consultant Sal Nadjomian.
While the county is likely to receive $6.4 million from last week’s Transocean settlement from the May 2010 oil spill, the committee “has designed a system that is going to force only the best proposals to come through,” Nadjomian said during Monday's Crestview City Council meeting.
The Transocean money is separate from funds already made available to businesses that suffered losses directly as a result of the oil spill.
“At the end of the day, this money is designed to make our community better,” Nadjomian said.
MORE TO COME
The bulk of future settlement money will come from British Petroleum, which was tried under maritime law, where a single judge, not a jury, decides the outcome, Nadjomian said.
Settlement funds could range between $22.4 million and $87.6 million, depending on whether the judge finds BP “grossly negligent” in the spill or that the company did “due diligence” during the event.
“From the judge’s comments, he seems to lean toward grossly negligent,” Nadjomian said. “In that case, BP is expected to appeal,” extending the settlement several more months.
City Councilman Tom Gordon, Crestview’s committee representative, said while the city has no specific projects to seek funding for from the first pot, city officials have an idea of where the money should go.
“When I talked to (Public Works Director) Wayne Steele, anything having to do with storm water is expected to do extremely well in the application process,” Gordon said.
Nadjomian said project applications will be weighed on “qualitative” and “quantitative” scores, including economic, benefit to the general public, and environmental factors.
“Pot 1 has the widest range of allowable activities,” Nadjomian said.
WANT TO GO?
WHAT:RESTORE Application Workshop
WHEN:2:30 p.m. March 4
WHERE:Emerald Coast Convention Center, 1250 Miracle Strip Parkway Southeast, Fort Walton Beach
COST:No charge
NOTES:Informational session presented by ORAC on how to apply for the first pot of RESTORE Act money coming to Okaloosa County.
Email News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: $6.4 mil. RESTORE Act funds could be available soon
CRESTVIEW — Two concurrent efforts could spur the return of county public transit buses to Crestview streets.
Okaloosa County Transit bus routes 11 and 12, which served the county seat, were terminated two years ago when county officials demanded that the city help fund the service.
The City Council refused to approve payment until the city received representation on the board that operated the transit service.
Now, the Board of County Commissioners is issuing what Growth Management Director Elliot Kampert called “a very robust request for proposals” for a new county transit operator.
At the same time, county and municipal officials are putting together a detailed plan for an Okaloosa County Public Transit Cooperative.
Tentative plans — which require approval from each represented community’s council — would assure equal representation by Crestview and the county’s other incorporated municipalities.
CITY INPUT
Crestview’s representative, City Clerk Betsy Roy, said the cooperative has been more than two years in the making.
Roy said the city also has representation on the committee producing the transit services request for proposals.
“We’re trying to get as much input as we can from the ground floor,” Kampert said.
City councilmen on Monday were cautiously favorable toward the agreement and search for a new transit services operator. A major concern had been poor timing and convoluted bus stop placement, they said.
“One of the reasons for the cooperative is to make the routes more friendly and useable so people will use it and make it work,” Roy said.
NO PARTICIPATION, NO VOICE
Council President Shannon Hayes said it is important that Crestview be represented on the cooperative board.
“If we become part of it, then we’ll have a voice,” Hayes said. “We need to do something about this. It’s broke and it needs to be fixed, if it’s fixable. But if we don’t agree to it (the cooperative), then we won’t be part of it.”
“We want to get major population centers to the table, and that’s Crestview, Destin and Fort Walton,” Kampert said.
Commissioners want to have the cooperative “up and running by next month, where people are sitting and talking, because it needs to happen,” he said.
At this early development stage, joining the cooperative brings no financial obligation, and any funds eventually sought by the cooperative would only come by approval from the respective municipalities’ councils, Roy said.
Email News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Inter-municipality board could return bus service to Crestview
CRESTVIEW — The city will soon be able to stabilize a washout threatening a number of homes and infrastructure.
A $1.25 million federal grant to reduce erosion in the Gil-Ava storm water system also will provide $85,500 to repair erosion of two Crestview Housing Authority complexes off U.S. Highway 90.
The city’s 25 percent matching funds — about $312,000; required to receive the recently awarded grant — can come from in-kind services, including surveying, acquiring land rights and engineering. The city also must contribute $21,371 for the housing complex's erosion repairs.
So, where will the federal money go?
“We’ll make erosion control structures,” said Darryl Williams, with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. “It’s not money toward a road. We don’t spend money on the roadbed. It’s money for problems adjacent to the road.”
The project must be completed within 220 days of funds arriving at the USDA’s state office in Gainesville, Williams said.
DAMAGE OVER THE YEARS
Several years ago, when storm water runoff washed out part of Phillips Drive — between Gil-Ava Street and Texas Parkway — Crestview's Public Works department and the NRCS lessened the large gully it formed with an extensive drainage system.
Heavy rain at the end of April 2014 overflowed the system, creating a gully that bypassed the NRCS’s erosion control structure, bringing the washout within feet of Gil-Ava Street and a Phillips Drive home’s side yard.
“It’s washing away private property as well as city property,” Public Works Director Wayne Steele said.
In addition to nearby structures, including an adjacent water tower's footings, the erosion threatens the environment, Williams said. The runoff washed immeasurable tons of silt and sand into what was once a small stream in a downstream wetland.
NINE-MONTH WAIT
Steele said his office applied for the USDA grant in May 2014. “It’s taken this long for the federal side to allocate funds to his (Williams’) program,” Steele said.
But the award was significant.
“His is one of the biggest pots of money he remembers getting at one time for damage to one entity," Steele said.
Despite the wait, city officials said they are pleased to receive federal relief to address the concern.
“We’re just excited about being able to finally fix the Gil-Ava problem,” Mayor David Cadle said. “That whole hillside just washed away. We need to stabilize it, but the city couldn’t afford to do it by ourselves.”
“We appreciate the efforts of Mr. Steele to secure the funds to fix this problem,” City Councilman Tom Gordon said. “He’s been a tremendous asset to the City Council and the city of Crestview.”
Email News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Fed $1.3 million grant will address April '14 Gil-Ava erosion (VIDEO)
LAUREL HILL — Resident Kathleen Moneypenny said cancellation of Thursday night’s City Council meeting won’t stop her from raising the issue of unbudgeted annexations.
The meeting was cancelled due to lack of a quorum; Councilwoman Betty Williams couldn't attend. Council Members Willie Mae Toles and Larry Hendren were the only voting members present. Councilman Johnny James can't vote while the issue of his residency is being resolved.
James’ residency was questioned when an update of voter registrations flagged his address, as well as that of 21 other residents, including former council candidate Mary Bradberry.
James' request that the city annex his Robbins Road property, adjacent to Laurel Hill, spurred Moneypenny’s complaint.
“We adopted a financial budget for the year 2015 and I did not see where it addresses any new annexations,” she said.
An agenda for Thursday's meeting originally listed an ordinance discussion to consider James and his wife, Earnestine’s, petition for annexation.
However, a revised agenda did not list the item, which was removed because there also wasn’t enough time before the Thursday meeting to notify Okaloosa County that property in its jurisdiction was under consideration for annexation, City Clerk Nita Miller said.
By state statute, at least 10 days’ notice must be given before the City Council considers an ordinance of annexation, Miller said.
James said he was shocked when he learned that annexing his property into Laurel Hill would cost him about $3,000.
“They didn't charge anybody else like that,” he said.
Moneypenny — whose husband, Scott, is a candidate for City Council — said if the annexation matter returns before the council, she will speak against it.
Email News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Resident protests proposed annexation
CRESTVIEW — Okaloosa County commissioners now have a tool to fund widening of the P.J. Adams Parkway-Antioch Road corridor.
A North Okaloosa Tax Increment Financing District will raise funds to expand the corridor to four lanes and construct an Interstate 10 interchange.
The idea behind a TIF is to siphon off all or a portion of any annual increase in property tax revenue — in a specific geographic area — for a number of years and use the money for earmarked projects.
Under Commissioner Kelly Windes’ proposal, the TIF would capture 100 percent of any property tax revenue increase during its first three years, and 75 percent of any increase during the next three years. In the seventh year, the TIF would draw off 50 percent of any property tax increase but no more than $500,000.
The TIF would begin accruing revenue in 2017, and county planners have estimated it could generate more than $4.3 million in its first six years. That money then can be leveraged to win state grants and convince lawmakers to send state money to Okaloosa County.
Commissioners Nathan Boyles, Windes and Trey Goodwin voted in favor of the TIF; Carolyn Ketchel and Wayne Harris voted against it on Tuesday.
GAS TAX VS. T.I.F.
Harris said a gas tax made sense as a funding source.
“You have a choice. You can either drive or not drive,” Harris said. “Historically, 99.99 percent of the money for roads comes from gas taxes … and we kind of set a precedent Tuesday with the ad valorem.”
Using an increase in the county’s current 10 cents per gallon gas tax would also shift some of the burden to visitors who pass through Crestview and North Okaloosa County en route to the beach communities in the south, he said.
“Forty percent of the people who transit that road are outsiders, and some of that (funding) would’ve been on their backs instead of local residents,” Harris said.
Boyles agreed that a gas tax increase would be the fairest revenue source, but “I’m a pragmatist,” he said. “A gas tax would’ve required a super majority of the county commission, but it was clear early on there would not be four votes for additional gas taxes."
FIVE MORE YEARS
It could take five more years before residents see earthmovers on P.J. Adams Parkway, but now there is a definite funding plan in place.
“This is real. It’s a sign of progress,” Boyles said. “We can now take the money from the TIF to Tallahassee and say to the state, ‘We don’t have all the dollars that we need, but we have a plan and we need your help.’”
“A good, sound decision was made,” Harris said. “We’ve got a plan. For years we had no plan.
"You’re still going to have people who are unhappy. I got a call Tuesday from a guy who said, ‘I hear you guys raised my taxes.’ No, we didn’t.”
Northwest Florida Daily News reporter Kari C. Barlow contributed to this story.
Email News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: 'A SIGN OF PROGRESS': PJ Adams expansion gets seed money
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is considering limited bear hunting in certain parts of Florida. The discussion follows increasing conflicts and several incidents where bears seriously injured people.
The FWC this week approved a plan to use a variety of tools to manage bears and help reduce human-bear conflicts. The commission asked staffers to move forward with developing specific plans for a limited bear hunt in certain parts of Florida.
Hunting alone is not likely to reduce human-bear conflicts in urban and suburban areas. However, in other states, hunting has been an effective measure for managing bear populations and can help more direct measures of reducing conflicts, an FWC spokesperson said.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Wildlife conservation commission considering limited bear hunting
Okaloosa County’s voting machines are so old they’re at risk of being decertified by the state.
Okaloosa County Supervisor of Elections Paul Lux issued that warning Tuesday when updating county commissioners on the need to replace the equipment.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Okaloosa’s voting machines among oldest in state
