local | Crestview News Bulletin

Crestview increases storm debris cleanup funding to $550,000

Written by Eric Brown on October 27, 2026. Posted in government, local, News.

The City of Crestview is making headway with the cleanup efforts following Hurricane Isaias. However, the price tag for that cleanup is growing.

During City Council’s regular session Monday evening, City Manager Jessica Leavins asked the council to increase the allotted funding for contracting debris removal from $250,000 to $550,000. The measure passed by a 4-0 vote, with at-large council member Shannon Hayes absent from the meeting.

Leavins said the removal process is going well, even though the process may not be moving as quickly as residents would like in some neighborhoods where debris remains. Crews are continuing the pattern of moving from the west side of the city to the east side.

“We have four trucks going through town and are currently working in the center of town,” she said.

As of Monday night, contracted cleanup crews had removed 21,000 cubic yards of debris, while the city had removed another 5,000 to 7,000 cubic yards.

“(Crews) are making substantial headway,” Leavins said. “We did have a lot of very large trees down, and they’re actually right on schedule for what we predicted.”

Precinct 3 Council member and Mayor Pro Tem Doug Capps made a motion to approve the measure.

“That is why we have a healthy reserve,” he said. “Hopefully we can get everything or most of it back from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).”

Leavins said the city decided several years ago, as part of the strategic planning process, to make financial sustainability one of the administration’s core values and set specific goals.

“One of those (goals) was our franchise fee we collect from sanitation collection, goes into a specific fund for things just like this, specifically storm debris,” she said. “We know it can be a costly expense, and we want to be prepared when there is a storm.”

Leavins hopes some aid from FEMA will help offset the cleanup costs.

“We are in a good place still, and we do hope that we will only end up having to cover a small portion of that (expense) once FEMA kicks in,” she said. “But nothing is guaranteed in the world, and we will be in a sufficient place either way.”

Mayor JB Whitten applauded the efforts of residents and volunteers from Georgia, Mississippi and Texas who came together to help with cleanup.

“It was amazing to see neighbors helping neighbors,” he said. “It was great and I thank everyone for doing that and being involved.”

The city expects to have all debris removed from neighborhoods by approximately Nov. 14.

Meet Crestview’s Precinct 2 City Council candidates

Written by Staff Reporters on October 8, 2026. Posted in local, News.

Sylvester Echols

Echols is campaigning to keep his seat after his appointment to replace Councilman Ryan Bullard in early 2026.

In addition to his eight months serving on the City Council, he has almost 50 years of experience, both in the U.S. Air Force and in security at Eglin Air Force Base.

He’s running on a platform of community, with a slogan: “bringing Crestview together.”

“Division is not the way that we’re going to survive anywhere,” he said.

He recognized the challenge that the city of Crestview faces in budgeting ahead of Amendment 3, in terms of maintaining funding for public safety initiatives like police and fire services.

“When we talk about a property tax cut, it’s not an easy thing to say to people – not to vote for that,” he said. “I do want people to understand the impact it could have on the essential services that the city provides.”

He said, if re-elected, he would encourage engagement between residents and government through further town hall meetings and social media but would also encourage further dialogue between residents themselves.

“Let’s get to know who our neighbors are,” he said. “Because, for example, we’re facing this hurricane, and our first response in any community – it’s going to be our neighbors.”

April Rencich

Rencich, at one of her businesses, Aerohead Inc.

Rencich is a local business owner and mother, running for City Council to preserve Crestview’s quality of life for families, youth and small businesses.

She has been involved in politics since 2017, going to local meetings and leading community clubs.

“I think it’s my time to serve,” she said.

Managing five businesses alongside her husband and former City Council member Andrew Rencich, she said she’s well-versed in the community and in Crestview’s small business scene.

She anticipates a challenge for Crestview in November’s ballot initiatives, particularly Amendment 3, when it comes to careful spending. She hopes to balance a mindful and deliberate city budget without sacrificing quality of life for Crestview residents.

“We do not want to take jobs away from anyone here,” she said. “We just need to make sure it’s spent wisely.”

She emphasized the relationships she has built through her companies, with the local community and with county and local government.

“I’m very easy to find in the community with the businesses,” she said. “They just need to reach out, and I am here to listen.”

She said, if elected, she looks forward to advocating on behalf of Crestview residents to the county and the state, if necessary.

Louis Rodriquez

Rodriquez, a U.S. Air Force veteran of 24 years and a federal employee of the U.S. Navy for 14 more, hopes to translate his federal civil service to local service on Crestview’s City Council.

Having lived in Crestview since 1996, he worries his precinct and community have been overlooked in recent years.

“I want to be the person who gets information out to people,” he said. “Like, ‘We haven’t forgotten about you,’ you know?”

Rodriquez hopes to “trim the fat” from Crestview’s budget, prioritizing the completion of ongoing projects and guaranteeing that Crestview has the necessary transportation infrastructure to continue growing.

“There’s no such thing as expanding if we don’t have certain things in place,” he said. “I want to get the infrastructure completed, so we can not have so much hardship for the people of Crestview.”

If elected, he wants to find a balance between bringing more business to the city and developing the infrastructure to handle it, with some extra fiscal responsibility to account for the uncertainty imposed by Amendment 3.

“I want to leave a mark,” he said. “To know that I did something for the city of Crestview, for the community, for the youth, the seniors and everybody else in between.”

Crestview considers more flexibility for affordable housing

Written by Staff Reporters on October 7, 2026. Posted in local, News.

Affordable housing developments must meet minimum lot dimensions and maximum setback requirements set by the city’s code. Currently, administrative waivers allow a 10 percent deviation from those requirements.

Ordinance 2026, presented to the board by Strategic Initiatives Director Nick Schwendt, would increase the permitted deviation to 25 percent.

Schwendt said that some of the older lots in downtown Crestview tend to be smaller and more irregularly shaped, which restricts their use even if the lot is suitable for affordable housing development.

The ordinance follows a recommendation made by the Affordable Housing Advisory Committee in April to increase the allowed deviation by administrative waivers to “provide further flexibility in affordable housing development,” according to the staff report.

Board member Robert Bounds asked whether the ordinance would allow for affordable housing development on undeveloped lots in established neighborhoods.

Schwendt said that while the ordinance does not explicitly preclude that, administrative waivers would not typically apply to plots of regular size and geometry, which would likely be the case in established neighborhoods.

The ordinance would require that developments be cohesive with the surrounding neighborhood. He described as an example 30-foot lots that, when enforced with 7-foot setbacks, only allow for 15-foot-wide construction, which does not meet building code requirements. The waiver would allow code-compliant and cohesive structures that might otherwise violate lot size or setback requirements.

The ordinance also details the waiver process, as well as qualification and reporting requirements that ensure the property remains affordable over time and across different property owners.

To be affordable, monthly rent or mortgage payments, including taxes, insurance and utilities, must not exceed 30 percent of a household’s gross income. Eligibility for affordable housing support is based on income tiers determined by a household’s income relative to the local median income.

“We don’t just want to approve a single-family house to be developed that’s an affordable price right now and then ten years from now – five years from now – the property owner flips it for market rate and it’s no longer affordable,” Schwendt said.

Bounds made a motion to recommend the ordinance to the City Council, seconded by board member Phillip Estrem. It will be presented for first reading Oct. 26.

Okaloosa County offers free sandbags ahead of weekend rain

Written by Staff Reporters on October 6, 2026. Posted in local, News.

The county will be offering free sandbags to the public starting Oct. 7 at 4 p.m. There will be distribution centers located at Stillwell Park at 714 Essex Road in Fort Walton Beach and at the Okaloosa County Public Works Department at 1759 S. Ferdon Blvd. in Crestview.

The sand will be available for residents to shovel into bags at any time.

Residents can sign up for local emergency alerts at AlertOkaloosa.com.

Exotic animal store opens in downtown Crestview

Written by Staff Reporters on October 6, 2026. Posted in local, News.

The store, opened by businessman and former city councilman Andrew Rencich and his wife and partner April Rencich, has been in the works since spring 2025.

Rencich said he saw a gap in the local market. Crestview has big-box stores for common pet supplies, but having owned exotic animals himself, he knew there was a niche waiting to be filled for exotic animals.

Emerald Exxxotics — the provocative name described by Rencich as an attention-grabber — offers live animals, from sugar gliders and rats to lizards and budgies, as well as supplies to care for them. Still, it was a soft launch. The sections of the store that will be dedicated to aquatics, insects and spiders are still in progress and will open in phases over the next several months.

Walking in, visitors are greeted by a green Catalina macaw named Solo and a breeding pair of hyacinth macaws. Neither the macaws nor Solo, a beloved longtime pet of the Renciches, are for sale.

Solo, the Rencich family’s pet and the inspiration for the wings in the AA Tactical logo, is a Catalina macaw.

In fact, April Rencich said the first clutch of hyacinth macaws is already promised to the Emerald Coast Zoo, as part of the couple’s plan for the store to double as an educational space. A toucan named Tookie and a wallaby named Jack are also not for sale, but visitors can meet them for educational encounters.

Andrew Rencich said they are aiming for an outdoor mini zoo area to open in 2027, complete with skunks, otters, foxes and more, to bolster the program.

Emerald Exxxotics shores up an already diverse portfolio of businesses owned by the Renciches, which include the gun store AA Tactical, aerospace manufacturing company Aerohead Inc., Property Management Solutions of NWFL and the new coffee truck Chaos & Freedom.

Andrew Rencich said they like to start with something they know next to nothing about and learn it through their businesses. Their success in other ventures has allowed them to focus less on sales at Emerald Exxxotics.

“They afford us the ability to make this company more about education than about selling stuff,” he said.

Tookie, the store’s toucan, nips at employee Hailee.

Emerald Exxxotics, like the Renciches’ other businesses, is family-oriented and is part of how Andrew Rencich said he and April Rencich are modeling entrepreneurship for their children. Their daughter, Katelyn Wickliffe, will manage the shop.

As for the Renciches’ next venture, that remains to be seen.

“We don’t really know until I say, ‘Hey, what about this?’, and she pinches me,” he said, referring to April Rencich.

First phase of Williams plant nears completion

Written by Staff Reporters on October 5, 2026. Posted in local, News.

The $1 billion project located at Shoal River Ranch Industrial Park, which is about seven miles east on Interstate 10 from State Road 85, broke ground in October 2025 on the first 250,000-square-foot section.

Sparks, presenting at a Crestview Area Chamber of Commerce breakfast, said that the design for the second section is already complete and will be built by the end of next year.

“So come Christmas of next year, we’ll have a 500,000 square foot facility employing hundreds of people right here in Crestview, in the aerospace manufacturing center,” he said.

He also confirmed that a Williams supplier with the alias “Project Hawk” has entered into a land agreement with the Okaloosa County Commission and committed to build a 50,000-square-foot facility, which will employ 50 people.

“Williams continues to be the gift that keeps on giving, and we couldn’t be more excited about that,” he said.

Another company known as “Project Windjammer,” a manufacturer of industrial-scale battery systems, has shortlisted Shoal River Industrial Park for a 400,000-square-foot facility that would generate a potential 400 jobs.

Sparks also thanked District 5 Commissioner Drew Palmer and state Rep. Nathan Boyles for their commitment to the projects at Shoal River Ranch.

Three things to look out for ahead of Crestview’s Oct. 5 Planning and Development Board meeting

Written by Staff Reporters on October 5, 2026. Posted in local, News.

Draft ordinance regulating cottage food businesses in the city

Responding to “a surge in public interest,” according to the staff report, the council directed staff in August to draft language that would allow and regulate cottage food businesses in Crestview.

Cottage foods can be homemade and sold directly to consumers without a USDA permit. Regulations concerning what can be sold, as well as health and safety, are the purview of the state, but the city can regulate how the businesses operate.

Currently, such businesses operated from homes or accessory structures are not permissible according to Crestview’s Land Development Code.

The ordinance includes language governing parking, stand sizes, ingress and egress points, signage and other concerns that fall under the jurisdiction of city code enforcement.

The draft is up for review by the Planning and Development Board at its Oct. 5 meeting to determine whether the ordinance will be forwarded to the City Council for first reading. If approved by the Planning and Development Board, it will be sent to the City Council for first reading Oct. 26.

Draft ordinance to loosen administrative waiver requirements for affordable housing development

Affordable housing development is governed by minimum lot dimensions and setback requirements. Administrative waivers currently permit a 10 percent deviation from those standards, which, according to the City Development Services staff report, restrict development of affordable housing on smaller lots.

The Planning and Development Board will review a draft ordinance to increase this deviation to 25 percent to “provide further flexibility in affordable housing development.”

Affordable housing developments that are permitted administrative waivers must still abide by the definition of affordable housing. Monthly rent for affordable rental housing must not exceed 30 percent of 60 percent of the area median income (AMI). The monthly payment for a purchased affordable housing unit must not exceed 30 percent of 80 percent of AMI.

The ordinance will also be presented to the City Council for first reading Oct. 26.

Development report

When time permits, Planning Administrator Dawn Barnes updates the Planning and Development Board on current and future projects, such as housing developments and new businesses. She provides an overview of developments in review, development orders issued since the last meeting and final plats.

Okaloosa County’s case for the half-cent surtax

Written by Staff Reporters on October 3, 2026. Posted in local, News.

The surtax, which was approved by voters in 2018 for a decade, is a half-cent sales tax designated specifically for critical infrastructure needs, including public safety initiatives, stormwater improvements and road construction and maintenance.

Other funds may not be diverted so easily to replace the infrastructure surtax fund should voters choose not to renew it this year, District 1 Commissioner Paul Mixon said.

“There’s no replacement to it,” he said. “There’s no replacement to it, and then you have to see what this Amendment 3 is gonna do.”

Amendment 3 is a state initiative, also on this year’s ballot, that would raise the homestead exemption from property taxes to $150,000 by 2027 and $250,000 by 2028. Florida TaxWatch estimates Okaloosa County would lose almost $205 million over five years if it passes, which Mixon said would come from social services — libraries, parks and events.

“The government would no longer be able to look at your quality of life,” he said. “They would have to look at their fundamental responsibilities only.”

Ad valorem taxes account for 59 percent of the county’s general fund, so with Amendment 3 looming, the infrastructure surtax fund may stand alone when it comes to improving Okaloosa County infrastructure.

Both Public Works Director Scott Bitterman and Mixon raised the Southwest Crestview Bypass as a highlight of the surtax in north Okaloosa County. The project was funded by the Transportation Regional Incentive Program (TRIP) in partnership with the Florida Department of Transportation.

Bitterman said the county used the surtax funds to pursue state and federal grant funding that required a local cost-sharing agreement, like the TRIP grant, which required a 50 percent nonstate match. The county used $2 million in surtax funds to contribute to the locally funded portion of the $212 million project.

Other ongoing surtax-funded projects in north Okaloosa include the improvements to Millside Road, the reconfiguration of Okaloosa Lane and the “50 in 5” dirt road stabilization project, which was initially intended to pave 50 miles of dirt roads in five years and which has since stabilized over 180 miles in four years.

The county compiled a 2026 needs list of projects that would benefit from the renewed infrastructure surtax, including the Northwest Crestview Bypass, the West 98 Collector Road project, further dirt road stabilization and improvements to the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office training center, among others.

An independent audit of the surtax program, which reviewed the efficiency and success of surtax management and surtax-funded projects, examined 24 areas and found that Okaloosa County met 14 of those areas, partially met seven and did not meet three. Those it did not meet were related to insufficient performance metrics.

The report otherwise found that, while there is room for improvement, “the departments that expend funds have sufficient policies and procedures in place, supported by appropriate documentation, reports, monitoring tools, and personnel” needed to meet statutory requirements.

Bitterman said that without the surtax, Okaloosa County could only maintain the public works it already has.

“We have funding to maintain what we’ve got,” he said. “The surtax funding can expand road networks and improve stormwater infrastructure.”

Mixon said he doubts even that much.

“There’s been tremendous efforts done, but each one of those roads that have been stabilized, every few years, they’re gonna need attention,” he said. “And where does that money come from?”

Two Crestview men arrested after domestic violence related incident

Written by Staff Reporters on October 3, 2026. Posted in local, News.

Deputies arrested Delairius Leshaun Watts, 45, for allegedly grabbing a woman and trying to take her phone, according to the victims. Two family members, including an 80-year-old woman, tried to intervene and were attacked as well, according to deputies.

Deputies said Watts struck the first woman, which led a family member to intervene before Watts began to “slam” her into the furniture. The first woman’s mother, 80, told deputies he struck both women before striking her in the chest, causing her to fall to the floor.

Deputies recorded injuries on all three women consistent with their accounts of the incident.

Watts said the first woman held him down after an argument and the second woman struck him multiple times with a baseball bat and that he did not fight back. Deputies did not find injuries or marks consistent with his account.

Watts was charged with battery on a person 65 or older, as well as two counts of battery, including one domestic violence-related charge.

Deputies said Watts tried to escape but was located and is being held on $25,000 bail.

During a search of the home for Watts, deputies found Charles Tucker, 48, in possession of a short-barreled shotgun with a defaced serial number, ammunition, methamphetamine, cocaine and oxycodone after he allowed a search of his room. Deputies said Tucker was found to have 11 felony convictions.

Tucker was charged with possession of a short-barreled gun and ammunition by a felon, removal of a serial number from a weapon and possession of a controlled substance without a prescription. He is being held on $76,000 bail.

Crestview Community Redevelopment Agency approves $1.2 million budget

Written by Staff Reporters on October 2, 2026. Posted in local, News.

City Manager Jessica Leavins presented the budget to the board and highlighted major projects within the budget, which were discussed at budget workshops over the summer.

The board consists of Director Barry Henderson, who has been on paid administrative leave since July, the five City Council members and occasional ad hoc members, such as District 3 County Commissioner Sherri Cox. It is tasked with the development and revitalization of downtown Crestview around Main Street, Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue and Twin Hills Park.

It was the CRA behind the yearlong revitalization project on Main Street, as well as last year’s improvements to Twin Hills Park. Thousands of dollars have been allocated to continue those improvements in 2027.

Included in the 2027 budget is $50,000 to continue resurfacing the walking track at Twin Hills Park and $150,000 for drain repairs in the park. It also allocates $50,000 for streetlights on Main Street, almost $82,000 for sidewalk construction and almost $315,000 in grants for awning repairs, which is part of a recurring program offered by the CRA.

Also included in the budget is a $90,000 allocation for dumpster enclosures along the business corridors of Main Street and Wilson Street, which Leavins said should improve both the look and the trash handling in the area.

Council Member Shannon Hayes moved to approve the budget, and Council Member Sylvester Echols seconded the motion.

The CRA’s plans, according to the Strategic Plan approved in 2020, include implementing improved wayfinding signage to Crestview’s historic district, developing green space and other public spaces to encourage community gathering, enhancing the State Road 85 bridge downtown and encouraging mixed-use development along Main Street.

Until then, Leavins encouraged residents to look out for events on Main Street, particularly those partnerships hosted by the recently opened Eglin Federal Credit Union Arts & Education Center, as well as Main Street Crestview Association events, like Oktoberfest.

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