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

CRESTVIEW — The Florida Department of Children and Families and the city of Crestview will provide better access to food assistance and healthcare to needy residents.

Medicaid customers can now visit the Crestview Fire Department — 321 W. Woodruff Ave. — to access their public assistance information through an online application and My ACCESS account.

The DCF's Automated Community Connection to Economic Self-Sufficiency Community Partner Network made the arrangement possible.

Learn more here>>

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Public benefits information available at the Crestview Fire Dept.

FORT WALTON BEACH — Florida Panhandle Patriots will discuss the Convention of States process in Florida and nationwide at their next monthly meeting.

Jack Cukjati, Convention of States District 2 captain, is the featured speaker from 6:30-8 p.m. Feb. 5 at the Elks Lodge on Okaloosa Island, 1335 Miracle Strip Parkway.

Event organizers request a $1 per person donation to cover reserving the meeting room. Snacks and beverages are available for purchase.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Panhandle Patriots Convention of States takes focus Thursday

FORT WALTON BEACH — RESTORE Act dollars paid for Clean Water Act violations have found their way to the federal treasury, and the shares each affected Florida county will receive has been calculated.

Come March 31, Okaloosa will have $6,405,938 in fine money at its disposal, Walton $5,768,962 and Santa Rosa $4,416,336, records show. These dollars come from Transocean, a BP contractor, as part of its settlement for violating the Clean Water Act in 2010, when the Deepwater Horizon oil spill occurred off Louisiana.

These are the first oil spill dollars “exclusively controlled by the county,” said Sal Nodjomian whose Niceville-based Matrix Design Group is acting as Okaloosa’s RESTORE Act consultant.

Recent calculations based on ongoing court proceedings have given Okaloosa County officials the notion that possibly another $65 to $66 million will come to the county when BP’s fines are calculated, said Rick Owen, Okaloosa County’s RESTORE Act coordinator.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Tri-county area will have millions in cash available March 31

CRESTVIEW — The North Okaloosa Republican Club will host a Feb. 17 forum featuring Crestview mayoral candidates and councilmen-elects.

The event is scheduled for 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the American Legion Hall, 898 James Lee Blvd. E. A question-and-answer session will follow.

Send questions for the forum to NORC President Wendell Beattie, norcoffl@outlook.com or 758-2863.

Incumbent David Cadle, Councilman Tom Gordon and residents Landrum Edwards and Jeremiah Hubbard are mayoral candidates.

Bill Cox and JB Whitten gained their city council seats unopposed. Gordon vacated his seat to run for mayor; Councilwoman Robyn Helt is retiring from the dais to focus on her family.

Crestview's municipal elections will be held March 10.

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Editor's Note: An earlier version of this article inadvertently left off Landrum Edwards' name due to a web production error. 

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview candidates forum scheduled; questions wanted