CRESTVIEW — When the new City Council meets April 1, three of the five members on the dais will be new.

Defeated incumbents and candidates vowed to remain involved in civic affairs, joining a distinguished list of previous elected officials active in the community.

Appointed by the city council last year, City Clerk Betsy Roy held on to her position following stiff competition by real estate agent Wanda Davis, winning by 24 votes.

Davis said she received so much support from voters that she wants to continue her quest to "take back" the community from perceived "outsider" intent on changing the city’s character.

"As a Realtor who sells in Crestview, I know people buy homes in Crestview because we're Mayberry. Mayberry R.F.D. — that's us," Davis said.

"I want my town cleared up. I heard some remarks from behind that (city council) desk that made me hurt. Will they be seeing me? You bet! I hope the people that are in there are ready to make some positive changes."

Outgoing Council President Benjamin Iannucci III, defeated by retired construction project manager Joe Blocker, also promised to remain active as a citizen.

"I won't stop going to meetings. My involvement with the city is not going to stop," Iannucci said. "I'll keep going to the meetings and I'll let them know when I disagree with the direction they're going and I'll let them know when I agree with them."

He promised to continue supporting the Family Entertainment Center arts and sports complex he proposed.

In Laurel Hill, Mayor Joan Smith was defeated in her bid to return to the city council but likewise promised to remain involved in the community.

"I don't have the problems some people do about losing. I've got nothing to be ashamed of or hide," Smith said. "I'm just proud that we have a council that is workable."

Smith and Iannucci said that they would be able to accomplish more as private citizens without the restrictions placed on elected officials.

"You don't realize until you're on the council how handcuffed you are with certain things you can or cannot do based on (Sunshine) laws," Iannucci said. Open-meetings laws, in most cases, ban secret meetings among public officials.

"Our hands were tied sometimes," Smith said. "I like working together: People working together, that accomplishes so much. I'm proud of what we accomplished, and I'll do whatever I can to help our city."

Election Results

Unofficial results with all seven precincts reporting.

Crestview voter turnout: 1,324 of 12,652, or 10.5 percent.

Crestview City Clerk

Wanda Davis 557

J.T. Kinsey 163

Betsy Roy 581

Crestview City Council, Pct. 1

Joe Blocker 494

Landrum Edwards 353

Benjamin Iannucci III 424

Crestview City Council, Pct. 2

Bill Cox 540

Shannon Hayes 742

Crestview City Council, Pct. 3

Charles Baugh Jr. 536

Mickey Rytman 762

Laurel Hill voter turnout: 115 of 341, or 33.7 percent

Laurel Hill Mayor

Robby Adams 69

Mike Blizzard 46

Laurel Hill City Council (top two winners will be seated)

Larry Hendren 91

Johnny James 83

Joan Smith 33

Contact News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes at 850-682-6524 or brianh@crestviewbulletin.com. Follow him on Twitter @cnbBrian.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Defeated candidates vow to remain involved in their communities

CRESTVIEW — North Okaloosa Fire District firefighters swarmed over the agency's newest fire truck Wednesday afternoon.

Escorted by Chief Ed Cutler, the class A category pumper glided to the runway bay doors, where about 10 firefighters waited.

As soon as the fire engine was offloaded from the flatbed trailer on which it traveled from Deep South Fire Trucks in Collins, Miss., the men surged forward.

"It's nice. It's real nice," firefighter Ray Clemens said as he opened an equipment hatch. "Camera phones are getting lots of use today."

The truck cost $92,000, district commissioner Craig Shaw said. When new, the truck was valued between $250,000 and $300,000.

NOFD funded a capital account with $50,000 a year over the last two years to pay for it, Shaw said. The account’s balance will help equip the vehicle.

"We've been working hard to save money and we paid cash," Shaw said. "There is no debt."

The truck has fewer than 9,000 original miles on it, with fewer than 700 total service hours. Through negotiations with Deep South Fire Trucks, NOFD received $5,000 worth of equipment enhancements, including a water cannon and a front extended bumper with a hose hook-up.

The 1996 apparatus was "as new as used can be new," Shaw said, noting that most used fire trucks are worn out and cost the agency that buys them more in repairs than they paid for the truck.

Deputy Chief Danny Worrells said he and his firefighters liked the top-mounted pump controls that allow the operator to survey a fire scene and respond accordingly. Some fire trucks have side-mounted controls, meaning the truck’s body can obstruct the operator's view of the scene.

For now, the new fire engine will remain at the airport station while firefighters train on it. Its acquisition will help the district meet community fire-safety standards by having a fire truck at each of NOFD's stations, including the John King Road, Milligan and Auburn Road stations, and a truck in reserve.

"It gives us the ability to pull a truck out of service and make repairs and do things right," Cutler said, noting without that flexibility, repairs sometimes must be rushed to hurry a truck back into service.

VIDEO: See "Related Media" at top left of this article.

Contact News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes at 850-682-6524 or brianh@crestviewbulletin.com. Follow him on Twitter @cnbBrian.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: $92K fire truck addition ensures all NOFD stations have protection

CRESTVIEW — Having a bigger campaign fund than opponents in this year’s municipal elections didn’t guarantee incumbents more votes.

If having more campaign money than challengers means certain reelection, Charles Baugh Jr.'s $8,354 should have trounced winner Mickey Rytman's $3,523.95. And Joe Blocker's $624.23 should have been no match to Benjamin Iannucci III's $2,041.28.

But when Supervisor of Elections Paul Lux announced the final results Tuesday evening, Rytman, who sat stunned by the announcement, had defeated Baugh with 762 votes to 536. Iannucci fell to Blocker 494 to 424.

"Anything's possible when you deal with voting," Iannucci said.

Incumbent City Clerk Betsy Roy — out-funded $3,994.48 to $3,384.55 by her opponent — faced a tough battle against real estate agent Wanda Davis. Roy trailed Davis 446 to 414 when the results of early voting and absentee votes were coupled with results from four out of the city's seven precincts. Roy won, 581 to 557.

Baugh and Iannucci are relative newcomers to Crestview, while Blocker, Davis and Rytman are Crestview natives. Roy has lived in Crestview since 1995.

Also elected was Crestview native Shannon Hayes, who defeated transplant Bill Cox to assume the Precinct 2 seat being vacated by retiring Councilman Tim Grandberry. Hayes, who raised $2,570 to Cox's $1,120, is the son of the late council member Sam Hayes.

"I know Dad is smiling up there," Hayes said after the results were announced.

City Councilman Tom Gordon, a Crestview native, said that over the last two elections, he has seen a trend of voters turning incumbents out of office.

"Two years ago, the Crestview citizens sent a clear signal of  'out with the old and in with new,' Gordon said. "Looks like Tuesday night's results were an echo of two years ago."

Voter Theresa Lambert raised another possibility.

"I want to see the locals back in charge," she said. "Most of those people on the council aren't from here. They don't know this place like we do."

Whether voters focused more on defeating incumbents or putting lifelong residents into office is questionable, but one quantifiable fact concerned Gordon: only 10.5 percent of the electorate determined the election's outcome.

"It's hard to fathom how 90 percent can possibly be satisfied with 10 percent making the decision for them," Gordon said. "If you don't vote, don't fuss."

   •••

THE COSTS OF OFFICE

Crestview city clerk

Salary: $55,000

Campaign contributions*/expenditures:

Wanda Davis: $3,994.48/ $2,091.54

J.T. Kinsey: $1,450/ $1,446.08

Betsy Roy: $3,384.55/ $3,119.30

      •••

Crestview city council

Salary: $5,040

Campaign contributions*/expenditures:

Precinct 1

Joe Blocker: $624.23/ $273.63

Landrum Edwards: $395.60/ $100

Benjamin Iannucci III: $2,041.28/ $1,306.45

Precinct 2

Bill Cox: $1,120/ $1,002.94

Shannon Hayes: $2,570/ $2,320.14

Precinct 3

Charles Baugh Jr.: $8,354/ $6,950.48

Mickey Rytman: $3,523.95/ $1,413.64

      •••

Laurel Hill mayor

Salary: $2,400

Campaign contributions*/expenditures:

Robby Adams: $325/ $308.68

Mike Blizzard: $692/ $395.08

      •••

Laurel Hill city council

Salary: $1,200**

Campaign contributions*/expenditures:

Larry Hendren: $40/ $10

Johnny James: $33/ $10

Joan Smith: $20/ $10

*Includes monetary and in-kind contributions

** Laurel Hill city council members have voluntarily waived their salaries to allow the city to pay down its debt.

Contact News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes at 850-682-6524 or brianh@crestviewbulletin.com. Follow him on Twitter @cnbBrian.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Campaign finances no factor in political success

CRESTVIEW — Though the City Council agreed to provide logistical support for the April 26 and 27 Relay for Life, some city leaders have expressed concern that spending more than $1,000 at a time when city workers have lost their jobs is unwise.

The council on Monday voted 3-2 to approve Relay for Life organizers' request to shave $1,161.32 from the local American Cancer Society fundraiser’s expenses. Councilman Thomas Gordon and Council President Benjamin Iannucci III voted nay.

Requested city contributions included a metal trash container; equipment and labor to hang banners and mark the track; and have Public Works staff stand by during the overnight event. Relay organizers also requested the city waive its $500 rental fee for Old Spanish Trail Park’s amphitheater.

"I support it (the relay), but opening a Pandora's Box to do it — the next thing you know, every nonprofit will be asking us to provide staff," Gordon said.

Councilman Charles Baugh Jr. agreed, but suggested due to the impending event date, the council approve the request.

"We have had to unfund positions and lay people off, and then to be asked to put $1,100 of taxpayer money into the event — we have to weigh the costs," Iannucci said. "If we do it for one, how do we say 'no' to another non-profit?

“What makes one 501(c)3 more important than another?"

Contact News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes at 850-682-6524 or brianh@crestviewbulletin.com. Follow him on Twitter @cnbBrian.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview councilman questions Relay, other nonprofit support

CRESTVIEW — It was mostly out with the old, in with the new as three new members were elected to the Crestview City Council. Council President Benjamin Iannucci III and Charles Baugh Jr. were defeated by Joe Blocker and Mickey Rytman respectively.

Both Baugh and Iannucci are relatively new Crestview residents, while Blocker and Rytman are lifelong citizens, an issue that was raised during a recent candidates forum hosted by the Crestview Area Chamber of Commerce.

In the race for a third council seat being vacated by Tim Grandberry, Shannon Hayes, son of the late councilman Sam Hayes, defeated Bill Cox to represent precinct 2.

"I know Dad is smiling up there," Hayes said after the results were announced.

Betsy Roy managed to hold on to her position as Crestview city clerk following stiff competition by Wanda Davis, winning by 24 votes after trailing by 32 when the first results were announced.

In Laurel Hill, Councilman Robby Adams defeated challenger Mike Blizzard to take the mayor's seat, which is being vacated by Joan Smith who ran for city council. She was defeated by current Council Chairman Larry Hendren and former councilman Johnny James.

Thanking the voters for their support, Rytman said he didn't expect to defeat incumbent Baugh.

"It was the first time I ever got out on the street and held up signs," Rytman said. "It was a good feeling to hear so many people blow their horns."

Hayes said he wants to get out and talk to the citizens "and see what the issues are." One of his first goals is to resolve the ownership issue of the alleyway behind the Alatex Building, he said.

Contact News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes at 850-682-6524 or brianh@crestviewbulletin.com. Follow him on Twitter @cnbBrian

Election Results

Preliminary counts with all seven precincts reporting.

Crestview voter turnout: 1,324 of 12,652, or 10.5 percent.

Crestview City Clerk

Wanda Davis 557

J.T. Kinsey 163

Betsy Roy 581

Crestview City Council, Pct. 1

Joe Blocker 494

Landrum Edwards 353

Benjamin Iannucci III 424

Crestview City Council, Pct. 2

Bill Cox 540

Shannon Hayes 742

Crestview City Council, Pct. 3

Charles Baugh Jr. 536

Mickey Rytman 762

Laurel Hill voter turnout: 115 of 341, or 33.7 percent

Laurel Hill Mayor

Robby Adams 69

Mike Blizzard 46

Laurel Hill City Council (top two winners will be seated)

Larry Hendren 91

Johnny James 83

Joan Smith 33

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview council gets three new faces

CRESTVIEW — The City Council, after much discussion, is no closer to determining a use for a practically new, never-used industrial building offered to the city. However, city leaders said at a Monday work session that they would learn more about the possibilities following upcoming feasibility studies.

After hearing multiple suggestions, council members agreed that simply plucking the 3,552-square-foot warehouse off donor Gulf Power’s Cadle Drive site and depositing it on a piece of city-owned land is not that easy.

Councilwoman Robyn Helt again suggested using the building as a recreational facility at Countryview Park.

Library Director Jean Lewis suggested using a portion of it as a branch library at the Countryview Park site, citing proximity to Antioch Elementary School as an advantage.

Police Chief Tony Taylor hoped to use at least half the building for processing impounded vehicles.

Council President Ben Iannucci III continued to push for the building's placement on city-owned land behind the Brookmeade Public Safety building for use as a recycling center.

"The benefit of having it is it is revenue generating," Iannucci said. Grants are available for finishing off the building, including constructing the foundation slab and parking, he said, while other suggested uses would cost the city operational money.

Public Works and City Planning staffers said the city would face building code requirements that could include required parking spaces, drainage retention ponds and landscaping. Additionally, changing the building’s occupancy use changes its fire classification rating — potentially costing more in insurance, Fire Chief Joe Traylor said.

Any uses for the building, including if it is divided in two halves, would have to go through the Technical Review Committee and the Local Planning Agency to meet the zoning code, city officials said.

"We have to scrutinize ourselves as tightly as we scrutinize anyone else," city planner Eric Davis said.

Councilman Thomas Gordon recommended directing department heads to investigate the various ideas suggested during the workshop and perform a feasibility study of each.

Any proposals must fall within the existing city budget, Iannucci said.

Assistant Public Works Director Carlos Jones — substituting for Director Wayne Steele, who was ill — said his department would research options and report to the council later.

Meanwhile, he said, the city has received an extension to the previous deadline of removing the building from the utility’s site by March’s end.

Contact News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes at 850-682-6524 or brianh@crestviewbulletin.com. Follow him on Twitter @cnbBrian.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: City staff to provide feasibility studies for donated building use

A bill moving through the Florida Legislature would, if passed, give the state’s Commission on Ethics new tools to use in collecting debts.

There is some question, though, as to whether new methods to encourage public officers to pay their debts, if they become law, will extend to the 500 or so officials presently past due on fines incurred for failing to report financial information in a timely fashion

State Sen. President Don Gaetz said Monday he will ask the Florida Attorney General if new collection techniques — such as garnishing wages or placing liens on private residences — can be employed to collect old debts.

Visit the Florida Commission on Ethics webpage.

Lawmakers clearly cannot pass new legislation to punish past acts, Gaetz said. The question lies in whether new, tougher, enforcement techniques can be used to collect past debts the Ethics Commission still considers to be money owed it.

“If they can I’d be all for it,” Gaetz, R-Niceville, said. “You need to pay your fine.”

Presently there are hundreds of public officials and former public officials whose names have been turned over to collection agencies by the Ethics Commission.

The names appear on an ethics commission website, along with the debt each person owes for failing to provide timely financial reports as required.

The total amount of fines owed statewide comes to $517,655.

Some of those fines, 21 of about 500 to be precise, are owed by people who have worked for communities or served on boards or with agencies in Okaloosa, Santa Rosa and Walton counties.

One, former Crestview Administrative Services Director Mike Wing, holds among the highest of the unpaid debts. He owes $4,500 — three fines of $1,500 each for filing annual reports late in 2007, 2008 and 2009.

Once a fine is determined to be late, it increases by $25 per day until capping out at $1,500, according to Ethics Commission spokeswoman Kerrie Stillman.

Wing said he was only aware he owed one fine, and added that he had no intention of trying to get out of paying it.

“I would pay them. I’m not going to be in a situation where I wouldn’t pay them,” he said.

While Wing’s oldest fine dates back six years, some still on the books go back much further.

William Thornton, listed as an employee of the Okaloosa-Walton (College) Board of Trustees, owes $1,500 for failing to report financial information on time in 2003.

Michael Iovieno, former mayor of Cinco Bayou, is listed as owing $1,500 from 2007 and Willie Mae Toles, a sitting Laurel Hill city councilwoman, owes $325 from 2010.

Leroy White owes $1,500 from 2009 when he was with the Dorcas Fire District Board of Commissioners.

Josh Lingenfelter, who served as Dorcas fire chief before being fired in 2012 after his wife was charged with stealing district funds, owes $350 from 2008 when he was a member of the same commission.

Other public officials from this region who owe the Ethics Commission money include:

It could not be determined Monday why some of the older fines listed on the Ethics Commission website hadn’t reached the $1,500 threshold.

Gaetz said even if the state won’t be able to use new legislation this year to garnish paychecks or place liens on the homes of the public officials who owe the state money, the officials ought to take it upon themselves to pay what they owe.

“A public official, appointed or elected, owes the community for their illegal acts,” he said. “There is no separate door to the courthouse for politicians and appointed officials.”

Contact Daily News Staff Writer Tom McLaughlin at 850-315-4435 or tmclaughlin@nwfdailynews.com. Follow him on Twitter @TomMnwfdn.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Locals owe state ethics commission thousands of dollars

CRESTVIEW — Residents may soon be able to keep a wider variety of pets, including pot-bellied pigs and some fowl, pending approval of proposed revisions to Crestview's animal control ordinance.

In addition to such pigs, revisions would allow residents to keep up to six fowl — except for noisy roosters, gobblers or peafowl — which can provide fresh eggs for families and insect control, City Planner Eric Davis said at the City Council’s Monday workshop.

Council members discussed revising the city animal ordinance to mirror the county ordinance. That would simplify inspections for the Panhandle Animal Welfare Society, or PAWS, which contracts animal control services with the city and the county, City Clerk Betsy Roy said. Its animal control officers occasionally are unsure if they are in city or county jurisdiction when conducting an inspection, she said.

When Davis suggested dropping Crestview's ordinance and adopting the county animal control laws, Roy said if the city hired another contractor, Crestview would have no animal ordinance to enforce. In addition, county rules — some oriented toward particularly rural districts — allow a wider variety of animals, including cows, which are incompatible with urban areas.

Councilwoman Robyn Helt said she favored the city maintaining its own animal control regulations. At her suggestion, Davis agreed to revise some of the proposed ordinance’s sections to eliminate potential loopholes.

Davis will present the revised ordinance at a future meeting of the council.

Last fall, a resident addressed the city council about keeping pot-bellied pigs as pets, citing the animals' cleanliness, affection and mild temperament as reasons to revise the ordinance that prohibits them.

Under council direction, Davis researched other municipalities' animal control ordinances. His draft of revisions used Pensacola’s ordinance as a model.

Contact News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes at 850-682-6524 or brianh@crestviewbulletin.com. Follow him on Twitter @cnbBrian.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: City officials consider revisions to animal control ordinance

LAUREL HILL — The City Council voted 3-2 on Thursday to spend $75,000 on preliminary repairs for Sunnyside Avenue from 3rd Street to State Road 85 near Laurel Hill School.

Council members Clifton Hall, Larry Hendren and Betty Williamson supported the plan; Robby Adams and Willie Mae Toles voted against it.

Earlier, Hall shared his and a contractor’s recommendations, which an account for road repairs would fund. Hall — who has 25 years’ experience managing a construction business — suggested filling in potholes, replacing damaged drainage pipes and adding ditches to help water flow off the street before the county provides the most costly work.

Hall said he plans to start working with city employees on the repair work on March 16.

City leaders voted unanimously in February to seek the county's help in repaving Sunnyside Avenue. Hall said he recently met with County Commissioner Wayne Harris and Public Works Director John Hofstad to discuss repairing the school’s main route from S.R. 85. Suggested repairs the city would self-fund would precede the county’s involvement.

Adams on Thursday questioned whether the city first should apply for a Community Development Block Grant. In January, the council voted to pursue the grant, which could provide $600,000 for road repairs. The city still needs an engineer to help write the grant.

"Fourth Street, New Ebenezer and part of Second Ave were not considered for this letter (to the county) because they were the roads proposed to be paved under the CDBG application," Adams said on the News Bulletin's Facebook page.   "Mr. Hall's estimate for Sunnyside alone is ($75,000). This amount does not include the cost of the engineer or the labor cost to be incurred by the city. "If we get the grant and it isn't enough to finish the roads proposed, then we could use this money to complete that project. If we don't get the grant, this money (the $75,000) would be better spent repairing Fourth Street."

Adams motioned to delay roadwork until seeing grant results; Toles voted in favor of the motion, but the three remaining council members voted against it.

Mike Blizzard, Adams’ opponent in the Laurel Hill mayoral race, expressed support for Hall's plan during the meeting’s public portion.

Contact News Bulletin Staff Writer Matthew Brown at 850-682-6524 or matthewb@crestviewbulletin.com. Follow him on Twitter @cnbMatthew.

Editor's note: An earlier version of this article said that Councilman Robby Adams said the Sunnyside project should receive the $75,000 if the council submitted a Community Block Development Grant and was awarded it. However, he said he was referring to using the $75,000 for the remainder of the project that includes Fourth Street, New Ebenezer and part of Second Avenue.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Laurel Hill council allocates $75K to repair Sunnyside Avenue