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CRESTVIEW — The Adminsitrative Services Department released the following agenda for the CRA Buildings Improvement Grant Review board meeting, to be held at 6 p.m. Nov. 29 at Crestview City Hall.

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NOVEMBER 29, 2012 THURSDAY, 6:00 P.M.

AGENDA

1 . CONVENE MEETING

2.    REVIEW A BUILDING IMPROVEMENT REIMBURSEMENT GRANT. APPLICATION SUBMITTED ON BEHALF OF CCKD, LLC, (CLIPPERS HAIR DESIGN, BUILDING LOCATED AT 470 NORTH MAIN STREET,) AND DETERMINE AN INITIAL RECOMMENDATION TO BE FORWARDED TO THE COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY (CRA) BOARD.

3.    REVIEW A BUILDING IMPROVEMENT REIMBURSEMENT GRANT. APPLICATION SUBMITTED ON BEHALF OF CRESTVIEW PROPERTY SERVICES, LLC, (FORMERLY PMI BUILDING LOCATED AT 468 NORTH MAIN STREET) AND DETERMINE AN INITIAL RECOMMENDATION TO BE FORWARDED TO THE COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY (CRA) BOARD.

4.    CONSIDER OLD BUSINESS.

5.    ADJOURN MEETING

ALL BOARD MEETINGS ARE OPEN TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview Buildings Improvement's Nov. 29 meeting agenda released

CRESTVIEW — It will come as little surprise to motorists slogging through northbound State Road 85 rush hour traffic to learn the city’s traffic consultant said that the major north-south artery is a major impediment to the community’s growth. During a Nov. 26 presentation to the Crestview City Council, the consultant reported a key is not expanding the state highway, but removing more local traffic from it.

Whit Blanton, vice president and principal of the Renaissance Planning Group, told council members that with the city’s projected growth — the population is expected to double to more than 40,000 residents within 25 years — but little federal or state highway funding, it’s up to the city to find creative ways to alleviate traffic on S.R. 85’s problem stretch between P.J. Adams Parkway and downtown.

“The wait won’t be growing shorter, it will be growing longer,” Blanton said.

“The big issue in looking at how to evaluate the different transportation connections is how to alleviate the traffic on 85,” Blanton said. “There’s not much you can do about 85 but there is something you can do about trips beginning or ending in Crestview. About 60 percent of the traffic that is on 85 has a beginning or end in the city of Crestview.”

A partial solution to alleviating some of that traffic is to make it easier to access destinations in town with a network of east-west and north-south connections that make it easier for local traffic to access businesses and residential areas without having to travel on S.R. 85, the Renaissance study stated. The group’s study showed local traffic on S.R. 85 could be reduced by as much as 35 percent using a local road network.

“Economic development is not going to happen if you don’t have good connectivity,” Blanton said.

Using roads such as the Brookmeade Drive extension has already alleviated some of the S.R. 85 congestion by routing local traffic north from Wal-Mart behind the North Okaloosa Medical Center, Blanton observed. Motorists taking “the back way,” using Brookmeade to Redstone Avenue and Okaloosa Lane to U.S. Highway 90, bypass S.R. 85 entirely.

“The plan recommends developing a city network to make those connections,” Blanton said. “You can do a lot on your own to make traffic better in the city and then work over time to develop that bypass.”

While an optimum solution is the long-discussed P.J. Adams Parkway/Antioch Road bypass around the southwest part of the city, Renaissance’s report faces the economic reality that there is no funding for the project. Some of the study’s recommendations include:

• A bike and pedestrian network that mirrors recommendations for local street networks.

• Improve bus service, increasing it from the current one bus every 70 minutes, “which is pretty lousy,” to 20 or 30 minutes. Also revisit plans for a commuter bus service to Eglin Air Force Base from park-and-ride lots in Crestview.

• Revisiting the S.R. access management plan “that didn’t go over so well” a few years ago, but this time, work with business and property owners to lay a foundation for them to “buy in with an access management strategy.”

• Incorporate the Renaissance study into the city’s comprehensive plan. “Once you codify this in your comp plan it gives you more leverage when you work with developers,” Blanton said.

• Prioritize local network projects and incorporate them into the city’s capital improvement plan as funds allow.

• Work in coordination with private development to realize some of the plan’s components.

“(S.R.) 85 is still going to be congested unless you choose to widen it, which is not economically feasible or desirable,” Blanton said.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Local roads can alleviate S.R. 85 traffic, consultant says

CRESTVIEW — Pot-bellied pigs might soon be allowed to live lawfully with their human companions within the Crestview city limits thanks to a concerned resident’s petition to the city council. Currently city ordinance, which dates from the 1980s, prohibits the Vietnamese-originated pets.

“I didn’t realize pot-bellied pigs aren’t allowed in city limits until I wanted to adopt one from PAWS, but I can’t adopt her because I live in Crestview,” Brenda Montgomery said. “They are loving. They are hypoallergenic. They are smart.”

Montgomery pointed out that Fort Walton Beach once had similar restrictions, but as pot-bellied pigs gained popularity as pets, the neighbor city revised its animal control ordinance to permit them within city limits.

“They’re not destructive. They’re not feral pigs,” Montgomery said. “Health-wise, they’re pretty hardy animals if they get their vaccinations. They don’t stink.”

Saying she was “not opposed” to revising Crestview’s ordinance, Councilwoman Robyn Helt recommended city staff consult local veterinarians to determine if there are any health issues connected with the pigs. She also advised checking with counterparts in Fort Walton Beach to learn what procedures they used to revise their city’s pet ordinance.

Councilman Tim Grandberry agreed with Helt that prohibiting the pets seemed foolish and said many people in the city, unaware of the ordinance, already have pet pot-bellied pigs.

Councilman Charles Baugh Jr. advised consulting with PAWS (the Panhandle Animal Welfare Society, which handles Okaloosa County animal control services) when revising the city’s ordinance. Baugh also cautioned that pot-bellied pigs turned loose when they grew too big for their owners’ comfort have bred with wild pigs and gone feral.

“There are many wild pot-bellied pigs running around north Okaloosa County because irresponsible pet owners, who don’t realize they’re going to grow into 150-pound pets, brought them up here and turned them loose,” Baugh said.

“I can concur with what Mr. Baugh stated, but I could apply the same standards to cats or dogs,” Helt said. “I believe we should have limited regulation in matters that effect peoples’ day-to-day life. I don’t want to be Big Brother. We have a specific ordinance that prohibits it (having pet pot-bellied pigs). The less amount of prohibitive ordinances that we have in our city, the better.”

The council then voted unanimously to direct city staff to research revising Crestview’s pet ordinance to include pot-bellied pigs.

In other matters, the council:

• Received a request from resident Mae R. Coleman, who encouraged her fellow citizens to support the Okaloosa County Transit bus routes that serve Crestview. “I don’t care where you go, think about your little town,” Coleman implored. Information on using the local bus routes will be mailed with water bills, City Clerk Betsy Roy said.

• Unanimously approved closing city offices from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Dec. 13 so all city employees can share a Christmas luncheon together.

• Received a report from Roy on the progress of issuing a social media policy. When Mayor David Cadle said that the police department was working on a similar policy for its new manual, Helt suggested the two be combined. “Why should we have two separate standards for different employees?” she asked.

• Unanimously approved a memorandum of understanding between the First United Methodist Church and the Crestview Fire Department, which will use a building vacated by the church for rescue and extraction training before the building is torn down.

• Unanimously approved the fire department hosting a regional hazardous materials handling training program at the Community Center in January.

• Unanimously directed staff members to research how city council meetings could be streamed, saved and retrieved by citizens on the city’s website.

• Received a report from Kay Rasmussen of the Economic Development Council, who said she has been appointed interim president of the council upon the recent resignation of Larry Sassano. Rasmussen said she is also be a candidate to fill the position permanently.

• Voted 4-1 against lending up to 100 traffic cones to the 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) for its Jingle Bell Jog footrace in Fort Walton Beach, citing city policy that prohibits the loan of city equipment outside the city limits.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Pet pigs, bus service and fire training discussed at council meeting

CRESTVIEW — When the proposed city charter comes back before voters in the March 2013 elections, they may get to pick and choose which parts of it they wish to have implemented. Concerned that voters may reject the entire document because they disagree with only one or two of its provisions, the Crestview City Council agreed to consider breaking the charter into several ballot measures.

Click here to see the proposed charter.

The idea of offering a “menu” of charter provisions was broached by Councilman Tom Gordon at the council’s Monday night meeting. Gordon said he has spoken with several residents after the Nov. 6 elections and assessed their feelings about the proposed charter.

“If they had something they didn’t like, people voted against the whole thing,” Gordon said.

Though the vote was non-binding because of a clerical error, nearly 72 percent of the city’s registered voters voted on the measure anyway, defeating the proposed charter 4,319 to 3,795.

Several council members said they recognize the most contentious components of the proposed charter are the provision for a fulltime, council-appointed city administrator and a council-appointed city clerk. Currently the city’s voters elect the clerk. After consulting with Okaloosa County Supervisor of Elections Paul Lux, Council President Ben Iannucci III suggested offering the charter on the ballot in three parts: the city administrator, the city clerk, “and all the rest.”

“My only concern would be, if you take out one piece, it has a domino effect of affecting other parts of the charter,” Councilwoman Robyn Helt said. “It would be very difficult to do that.”

“If it is a big piece like this, I don’t think it’ll pass,” Gordon said.

“Then the citizens might be content with having a city physician and other things we haven’t needed since the plague,” Helt replied, referring to a provision in the current 1960s city charter that, among others she described as “archaic,” calls for a city physician.

Prior to her election to the council, Helt had served on the citizen Charter Review Committee that evaluated the current document and made recommendations to the council for the composition of the proposed charter. She and Councilman Charles Baugh Jr. have been two of the proposed charter’s strongest proponents on the council.

“I would not like to give three choices,” Baugh said. “We either present one animal or we don’t present it at all.”

“It’s not giving them (the voters) three choices, but giving them a yes or no on three different categories,” Iannucci replied.

After consideration during the discussion, Helt said offering the charter in three components would allow the council more opportunity to more thoroughly describe the charter’s provisions. Because ballot measure descriptions are limited by law to 75 words, offering the charter in three components would triple the descriptive text the council could place on the ballot in March.

Iannucci also welcomed the opportunity to more thoroughly explain the role of the city administrator, a position he described as “vital to the success of the city.”

“We need that kind of control in the city,” Iannucci said of the administrator’s day-to-day oversight of city operations. “That one piece alone is vital. If I could pull that one piece out and put it before the people, I would be happy with the rest. It is vital in this city moving forward.”

The council defeated a motion by Baugh 2-3 — with Baugh and Councilman Tim Grandberry voting yay — to approve on the first reading placing the charter on the March ballot. The council then unanimously agreed to hold a public workshop on Dec. 4 to discuss offering the charter as several ballot measures.

“This is too important for the city, no matter how you slice the pie,” Baugh said.

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: Voters may get to choose Crestview charter provisions (document)

FORT WALTON BEACH — A new task force is set to begin the process of freeing Okaloosa County government from its dependence on landlords.

“Our goal by 2014 is to be out of the rental business,” County Commission Chairman Don Amunds said.

Amunds is one of nine people who will serve on the Shalimar Annex Renovation Project Task Force, which meets for the first time Friday. All the county’s constitutional officers will be represented, along with the state attorney’s office and court administration.

The panel’s name is slightly deceiving.

While deciding how best to renovate the 58,900-square-foot Shalimar annex — while maintaining 15,000 square feet for some type of judicial function — will be a big part of its job, there are other renovations to be discussed, Amunds said.

“It’s a big picture concept,” he said. “Where all do we have space and where can we renovate?”

By moving all its offices into county-owned buildings, Okaloosa can save $1 million a year, Amunds said. He favors putting the anticipated savings into the renovations.

Amunds said the first target for renovation could well be old Fort Walton Beach Hospital building the county owns on Hospital Drive. The old Garnier’s wastewater treatment plant on Essex Road in Ocean City also will also be reviewed.

Amunds said he hopes the Sheriff’s Office’s Investigative Division will go along with a plan to move to the old hospital or another county-owned location so the $125,000 to $130,000 rent for its offices in Shalimar can be eliminated.

The biggest rental cost the county pays is about $400,000 to lease the tax collector and property appraiser offices at Uptown Station in Fort Walton Beach.

Those leases run out in November 2014. Amunds said the two offices definitely will be relocated.

One problem the task force faces is that the county still is technically entangled in litigation over the Shalimar annex property.

The annex was almost completely vacated following construction of the new courthouse annex extension at the C.H. “Bull” Rigdon Fairgrounds and Recreation Complex on Lewis Turner Boulevard.

The Meigs family trust, which deeded the Shalimar annex land to the county decades ago, sued. The Meigs trust claimed that by moving, the county triggered a reverter clause that states if court functions were abandoned in Shalimar, the property would be returned to the family.

A judge ruled in February that by agreeing to maintain a judicial presence at the annex, the county had not triggered the reverter clause. The Meigs’ family has appealed the ruling and a decision is expected in February or March.

With the appeal pending, the county’s judiciary is weighing what its presence will be at the Shalimar annex, said Clerk of Court Don Howard, another task force member.

Until that decision is made, full-blown renovation plans for the annex remain on hold, Howard said. Both the clerk’s presence and the sheriff’s presence at the annex will be predicated upon the extent of court functions there.

“What the judiciary does will directly impact my office,” Howard said. “Like any other construction-type project, you have to first decide what it is you’re going to achieve at that location.”

Tax Collector Ben Anderson, who is on the task force, said he’s already studying plans to determine how his office can best use space at the annex.

“We’ll do our part to make it a good place for the citizens to do business,” he said.

Anderson said the “overriding focus” is to continue to provide the efficiency and convenience residents get at his office at Uptown Station.

He said he fears some difficulties in doing that at a 40-year-old building with low ceilings.

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: Okaloosa panel to review how to eliminate rental costs

CRESTVIEW — Potential candidates, or those who want to learn about the candidate process, may attend Candidate University, a three-hour seminar by the Okaloosa County Supervisor of Elections office.

Two Dec. 10 sessions are available.

The first is 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on the conference room’s third floor of the Water & Sewer Building, 1804 Lewis Turner Blvd., Fort Walton Beach.

The second is 6-9 p.m. on the conference room’s third floor of the Buddy Brackin Building, 302 N. Wilson St., Crestview.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Candidate University set Dec. 10 for budding politicians

FORT WALTON BEACH — Okaloosa County commissioners on Tuesday voted to extend through December a pilot program that increases recycling and decreases garbage collection.

The program started in February in the neighborhoods of Poquito Bayou, Longwood and unincorporated Shalimar.

County commissioners are considering implementing the program countywide.

Public Works Director John Hofstad told commissioners that he and his staff still are negotiating with Waste Management to amend its current contract with the county.

“We continue to hammer away with Waste Management to try and structure a deal,” he said. “We’re not quite there.”

Under the new program, solid waste customers would swap their 18-gallon curbside recycling bins for 96-gallon rolling cans. Household garbage pickup would drop from twice a week to once a week, and three different trucks would collect garbage, recycling and yard waste on the same day.

Hofstad assured commissioners that any amendment to Waste Management’s contract would have to include “a significant rate reduction” for customers or it wouldn’t happen.

Commissioners said they support a rate cut and want the county staff to take the time to reach a deal.

“I think we need to walk through this cautiously and do it the right way so our citizens get benefits from this,” Commissioner Wayne Harris said.

Commissioner Nathan Boyles, who was sworn in at the beginning of Tuesday’s meeting, said the county must “be careful to look at the numbers” as it moves forward to secure an agreement that is best for residents’ long-term interest.

 “If we can take steps to move towards a recycle-type mentality … we could save ourselves substantial problems down the road,” he said.

Hofstad said Waste Management expects to present the county with a “best and final offer” sometime in the next few weeks.

 “Our goal is to have it resolved by the end of the year,” he added.

If the county decides not to amend Waste Management’s contract and implement the new recycling program, the next opportunity would be in 2016 when the contract expires.

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: Okaloosa extends pilot recycling program, may become countywide

FORT WALTON BEACH — Okaloosa County Commissioners on Tuesday denied the Tourist Development Council’s request to allow Kathy Houchins to serve as chairwoman for a third year.

Commissioners would have had to waive existing TDC rules because the current policy prohibits a chairman from serving more than two one-year terms. The TDC requested the waiver because it said Houchins’ experience would be helpful to Dan O’Byrne, the county’s new tourism development director.

Commissioners praised Houchins’ service but voted unanimously not to grant the TDC’s request.

“I don’t think it’s necessary to do this,” said Commissioner Dave Parisot, who also serves as a TDC member. “The TDC is an advisory committee. I don’t think retaining long-term membership … would be necessary for Mr. O’Byrne to do his job.”

Parisot said many TDC members even have supported the idea of having shorter terms and more turnover on the council.

Commissioner Kelly Windes, who was sworn into office at the beginning of Tuesday’s meeting, agreed.

“There’s times when you need to make waivers on policy,” he said. “I don’t think it’s in the best interest of the people of Okaloosa County for this to be one of those times.”

Commissioner Wayne Harris said the county needs to “stay tuned to its existing policies.”

“Kathy (Houchins) is a phenomenal friend and a phenomenal person,” he said. “I just think we’re sending the wrong message when we wave a policy we’ve just established.”

In early May, the TDC was among many county departments rocked by the discovery of a financial scandal that ultimately claimed the life of former tourism director Mark Bellinger.

Bellinger, 53, died May 4 of a drug overdose amid fraud allegations. The FBI discovered that he spent $747,000 from a BP oil spill grant to illegally buy his home in Destin. Authorities also found that Bellinger had made numerous questionable expenditures with bed tax money, including $710,000 for a Marquis yacht.

O’Byrne, who was hired in August to replace Bellinger, has been dealing with increased oversight from commissioners and more stringent policies, particularly those governing spending.

Contact Daily News Staff Writer Kari Barlow at 850-315-4438 or kbarlow@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @KariBnwfdn.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Okaloosa denies TDC request for Houchins third term

LAUREL HILL — Mixed emotions abound for this north county town’s residents after city leaders on Tuesday unanimously voted to consider dissolving the city and becoming an unincorporated community.

City leaders voted 4-0 to set a Dec. 11 town hall meeting on the fate of Laurel Hill. The town’s history stems to 1895, when it first appeared on a map; the Florida legislature incorporated it in 1954.

That longevity counts for something, some residents said.

"It's one of the oldest establishments in Okaloosa County and to take it away so many years later is just sad," said lifelong resident Krystal Kirkland, who plans to attend the 6 p.m. town hall at First Baptist Church of Laurel Hill.

She won't be alone, according to resident Pam Nolan, who opposes the measure.

"I hope it doesn't happen," Nolan said of dissolution, noting she will attend the town hall meeting and encourages others to give input. "I think many people feel the same way. If people care about (the city), they will be there.”

However, Paul Mack, who lives on Skyline Drive, said his road is in dire need of repair and he would support the measure, under which Laurel Hill would run under Okaloosa County’s control.

"We are not getting our money's worth for taxes we pay (as citizens)," he said, adding that if Laurel Hill were to rejoin the Okaloosa County, he believes many roads would receive repairs.

The topic arose after resident Harold Jones addressed the council about many of the city’s roads in disrepair.

"I think it's time we looked at this realistically," Jones said. "The roads are a problem, have been a problem, and will continue to be a problem."

Jones said he has met with Okaloosa County officials several times for assistance in fixing the roads, without success.

He suggested removing the "city" title from Laurel Hill, making it an unincorporated community.

Jones suggested the issue come before residents in the next election cycle. Council Vice President Robby Adams motioned to begin the process of having a referendum on the matter.

Council member Betty Williamson seconded Adams’ motion, which passed.

Larry Hendren and Clifton Hall also voted in favor of the motion. Willie Mae Toles was absent.

Adams’ motion to begin proceedings for possible dissolution was necessary to draft an ordinance for the March ballot.

"Before the council can get the ball rolling, they have to get the citizens’ input in a town hall meeting," city attorney Daniel Campbell said. Should the council proceed with drafting the ordinance, its leaders must work with the Okaloosa County tax collector's office to ensure they follow Florida statutes.

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

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Laurel Hill sets Dec. 11 town hall to mull dissolving the city