Editor's note: The original story stated that the cost for the CRA director's yearly cell service would be $15,000. The correct cost is $1,500.

CRESTVIEW — The Community Redevelopment Agency board reviewed the tentative 2017-2018 CRA budget during a special meeting Thursday.  

According to Teresa Gaillard, Crestview’s growth management director, the budget can be changed prior to the final approval at a Sept. 21 CRA meeting. If the board would like to make changes to the budget after the approval, budget amendments will need to be made.

According to the tentative budget, estimated revenue for the CRA during the 2017-2018 fiscal year is $1,183,387, which includes the 2016-2017 end of year balance forward in the amount of $1,144,387 minus $100,000 for a Florida Recreation Development Assistance Program Grant and $50,000 for operational funds to cover bills between now and the year’s end.

The $50,000 includes $20,000 for contract services for new CRA director Alisa Burleson; $10,000 for a portion of a planned dog park, $1,500 for cell service for the CRA director, $900 for the hosting and maintenance of a CRA website, and the remainder of funds going toward training classes and traveling to conferences for the CRA director.

Projected expenditures for the 2017-2018 fiscal year are $1,345,887. An estimated $489,587 will be spent on economic revitalization and marketing for CRA projects such as the Crestview Depot and welcome center, the dog park at Twin Hills park, a green park between Twin Hills and Main Street and building and land acquisition.

An estimated $300,000 would be spent on CRA incentive and grant programs, $203,500 on parking, land, signage, buildings and security, and $205,000 on the Community Development Block Grant and grant matching, funding, leasing and partnerships. A total of $12,500 is expected to be spent on education, training and conferences for the CRA director.

Of eight CRA incentive and grant programs projected in the tentative budget, the only program currently in use is the Façade and Building Improvement program, which helps downtown businesses do external beautification projects to enhance aesthetics, according to Gaillard.

CRA Commissioner Doug Faircloth said that he would like to see businesses match the funds or reimburse the CRA, rather than the CRA just give them the money.

“I want [the businesses] to have a dog in the fight,” Faircloth said.

The board approved the tentative budget with all commissioners in favor. The CRA Master Plan and final budget will be approved and adopted on Sept. 21.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Marketing for Crestview Depot, dog park among CRA projects

FORT WALTON BEACH — Chairman Mel Ponder and members of the Okaloosa County state legislative delegation will have a public hearing.

The meeting is 5:30-7 p.m. Sept. 5 in room 142 of the Northwest Florida State College Robert L.F. Sikes Education Center, 805 James Lee Blvd. E, Crestview.

The Florida Department of Transportation will host a 5-5:30 p.m. meeting beforehand.

Delegation members will hear public comments on proposals for the 2018 legislative session. They may also consider and vote on a “local bill” (which is state legislation that only pertains to a municipality, taxing district, or school district within the county).

Contact Ponder's legislative assistant, Samantha Sullivan, before 5 p.m. Aug. 28 to present information at the hearing. Call 833-3713 or email Samantha.Sullivan@myfloridahouse.gov.

Due to the limited amount of time and to ensure fairness to all speakers, presentations are limited to three minutes.

To provide the delegation with any background documentation or handouts for their review prior to the hearing, mail or drop off four copies no later than 5 p.m. Aug. 28 at 25 Walter Martin, Suite 202, Fort Walton Beach, FL 32548. The information will be organized in a three-ring binder for members to review.

The Okaloosa delegation includes Rep. Mel Ponder, Rep. Jayer Williamson, Sen. George Gainer and Sen. Doug Broxson.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Legislative delegation sets hearing

CRESTVIEW — Bud Tipton, the football director of the Crestview Area Youth Association, asked the City Council Monday if they would consider outsourcing football and baseball. 

“Niceville outsources baseball, soccer, football — everything is outsourced in Niceville. Same for Shalimar, the same for Baker, so what we want to do is, ‘hey,’ maybe CAYA isn’t good for baseball, maybe [that particular sport is] good for the YMCA, maybe it’s the Veterans Association — we just want something better for the kids,” Tipton said. 

Following Tipton’s presentation, Councilman J.B. Whitten asked, “Do we want to explore outsourcing our city sports? If we want to do that we would have a public workshop.”

Tipton replied, “If the city council can outsource it and go out for a bid, programs like CAYA, most of those are outsourced. My goal is to provide the safest equipment. We want to set up a feeder system so the schools actually get good-quality athletes.”

The president of CAYA, Terry Jackson said, “Mainly we wanted to come together and work with the city because they have facilities we don’t and they are bound by things in their charter that they can’t do that we can. Like with sponsorship and that type of stuff.

"We can take on sponsors to help upgrade facilities, help sponsor individual teams, so we can bring in Little League and support All-Stars and bring in tournaments for travel teams during the summer time."

“We want to work with the city, we don’t want it to be us against them,” said Jackson. 

And in response to the idea that CAYA may want to take over Crestview city sports, he said, “We want to work with them; they provide the facilities and the maintenance, we pay them for that and we run the organization of the baseball and the football.”

No public meeting on the proposal has been scheduled. Further decisions will need to be made before city officials take a step beyond Monday's preliminary discussion.

"Nothing has been decided at this point and the discussion was to have a workshop sometime in the future, but no decision was made," City Clerk Elizabeth Roy said.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: CAYA suggests outsourcing city sports

PRE-FILED CANDIDATES FOR 2018 PRIMARY

(As of August 10, 2017)

BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSION, DISTRICT 2

Date Pre-Filed Party

Carolyn Ketchel 03-2-17 REP

PO Box 7

Shalimar, FL 32579

(850)243-1302

BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSION, DISTRICT 4

Date Pre-Filed Party

Trey Goodwin 06-5-17 REP

PO Box 217

Fort Walton Beach, FL 32549

(850)710-1980

SCHOOL BOARD, DISTRICT 1

Date Pre-Filed Party

Lamar White 04-7-17

88 Meigs Drive

Shalimar, FL 32579

(850)200-0143

Willie Harmon 07-28-17

233 Burnett Avenue

Fort Walton Beach, FL 32548

(850)200-3526

SCHOOL BOARD, DISTRICT 3

Date Pre-Filed Party

Joe Slusser 06-9-17

2009 Hidden Springs Drive

Baker, FL 32531

(850)206-1066

Linda Evanchyk 08-10-17

604 Mooney Road NE

Fort Walton Beach, FL 32547

(850)862-0413

SCHOOL BOARD, DISTRICT 5

Date Pre-Filed Party

Arden Farley 05-17-17

1305 Limestone Creek Cove

Niceville, FL 32578

(850)428-3844

Diane Kelley 08-07-17

1281 Bayshore Drive N

Valparaiso, FL 32580

(850)217-5207

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Okaloosa County pre-filed candidates

CITY OF CRESTVIEW

OFFICE OF THE CITY CLERK

P.O. DRAWER 1209, CRESTVIEW, FLORIDA 32536

Phone # (850) 682-1560 Fax # (850) 682-8077

August 14, 2017

6:00 P.M.

Council Chambers

REGULAR AGENDA (Amended)

1. Call to Order

2. Invocation: Associate Pastor Brett House, Central Baptist. Pledge of Allegiance

3. Open Policy making and legislative session

4. Approval of Agenda

5. Special Presentations

6. Approval of Minutes

Approval of the Minutes from the June 26, 2017 Workshop, June 26, 2017 Special Meeting and the June 26, 2017 Budget workshop.

7. Public Hearings:

a. Ordinance 1620 – Vacation of Alleyway – Growth Management

b. Ordinance 1624 – Traffic Impact Fee Waiver Extension – Growth Management

c. Ordinance 1625 – Cannabis Activities Moratorium Extension – Growth Management

8. Public Opportunity on Council proposition

9. Consent Agenda

a. Approval of Paint Bid – Public Services

b. Approval of Certification Pay Raise Fire Dispatch – Fire Chief Holland

c. Approval of use of funds from the sale of Fire Truck – Chief Holland

d. Approval of use of Public Education funds/establishment of account – Chief Holland

e. Approval of new position in Fire Department, replacing Assistant Chief – Chief Holland

f. Approval of BCBS as HealthCare Provider for fiscal 2017-2018 – City Clerk

g. Approval of invoice from Allen, Norton and Blue in the amount of $409.75

h. Approval of invoice from Ben Holley in the amount of $_3762.5.

i. Approval of invoice from Ard, Shirley and Rudolph in the amount of $1313.50

j. Approval of Credit for Percentage of Impact Fees – Public Services.

k. Approval of Resolutions for the Florida League of Cities Conference

l. Approval of the issuance of an Alcoholic Beverage Certificate of Compliance for a

2COP Beer & Wine License for Mia’s Italian Restaurant.

m. Approval of Site Construction and Building Plans for AA Tactical

10. Resolutions

a. Resolution 17-12 Out of City Services – 220 Duggan Avenue

b. Resolution 17-13 Out of City Services – 544 Mayo Trail

c. Resolution 17-14 Out of City Services – 3107 Chestnut Avenue Trail

d. Resolution 17-15 Out of City Services – 824 East Williams Avenue

11. Committee Reports

a. Report on 2015-2016 Financial Audit, Saltmarsh, Cleaveland and Gund

b. Quarterly Update from EDC – Nathan Sparks

12. Scheduled Presentations from the Public

a. CAYA Presentation – Bud Tipton

13. Project Reports and Comments from Mayor and Council

14. Staff Reports and Recommendations

a. LPA Board Appointment – Growth Management

15. Comments from the Audience

16. Adjournment

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview City Council meeting agenda: Aug. 14

CRESTVIEW — Crestview resident DeLeon Ward is one of roughly 500,000 World War II veterans still alive, according to data from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

In 1942, Ward, then 17, was a Seaman 1st Class, or E-3, stationed on the U.S.S. Yorktown. The aircraft carrier was christened by Eleanor Roosevelt on April 4, 1936 and was commissioned by the U.S. Navy until it sank during the Battle of Midway in June 1942.

“Some people say the Battle of Midway was the turning point in the war, but I disagree on that,” Ward said.

The battle took place June 4-7, 1942, about six months after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, which led to the United States’ entry into the war. A number of historians state that the Battle of Midway was a decisive win for the U.S. because the Navy managed to destroy four Japanese aircraft carriers that the country couldn’t adequately replace.

The Crestview veteran sees things differently. 

THE A-BOMB FACTOR 

“Roosevelt was president,” Ward said. “We had been in war now for two years — ’41-’43 — but in ’42 we stayed in war for another three years, the war wasn’t over until 1945. Then President Roosevelt died and Harry Truman took over and he dropped the atomic bomb on Japan and that’s what stopped the war; that’s what changed the war…”

But Tom Hone — an executive in the Office of the Secretary of Defense — wrote in a Sept. 12, 2013, article on warontherocks.com that “[Japan’s fleet commander Adm. Isoroku] Yamamoto wanted his carriers, led by Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo, to ambush any American carriers and surface ships that ventured to contest the Japanese attack and assault on Midway.

“Instead, he was ambushed by the three U.S. carriers — Yorktown, Enterprise, and Hornet — that had steamed north and west from Hawaii. In just one day — 4 June 1942 — Admiral Nagumo lost his four carriers to the air units of his American opponents, while U.S. naval forces lost only one carrier (Yorktown) in return,” Hone wrote.

“Why was Midway such a critical victory? First, the fact that the U.S. Navy lost just one carrier at Midway meant that four carriers (Enterprise, Hornet, Saratoga, and Wasp) were available when the U.S. Navy went on the offensive during the Guadalcanal campaign that began the first week of August 1942. Second, the march of the Imperial Japanese Navy across the Pacific was halted at Midway and never restarted.” 

FIRST-HAND ACCOUNT 

During the Battle of Midway, Ward’s primary task was transporting ammunition throughout the ship. “We had four gun turrets on it and we had one five-inch gun in each turret. Then we had .50 caliber machine guns,” he said. “I was on gun turret four on the port side and I was moving ammunition to that turret and there were other guys moving ammunition to the others.”

Today, the 93-year-old does not exemplify Shakespeare’s famous quote, “Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.” He has stayed in shape and rides a three-wheeled bicycle through the streets of Crestview with an American flag and a sign attached to a metal basket on back that says, “World War II Veteran — Don’t Follow Me, I’m lost too.”

And he still remembers what happened when the U.S.S. Yorktown was torpedoed. 

“A Japanese pilot spotted us and radioed an aircraft carrier and he dropped two torpedoes and one of them hit the Yorktown on the port side — and that’s when we abandoned ship. And then we went back and they pushed all the guns off port side and pushed all the airplanes that couldn’t fly overboard and then they tied up the ship on the starboard side to give us power,” he said.

“They pushed all the guns off and the weight off of it so it would settle up again straight. We got it back on its own keel and it was on its own power, and this was on July 2, 1942. Everyone said the Battle of Midway was on the second, but it was on the fourth; but on the sixth, it was back on its keel and it was level.

"A Japanese sub came up and floated some torpedoes on the starboard side and the other torpedoes hit and it sunk. When it sunk, the depth charges [weapons] were set to go off at a certain depth … and they went off.

“And it took it 24 hours after then to sink.”

Editor's note: an earlier version of this article incorrectly identified a turret.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Reflecting on the Battle of Midway

LAUREL HILL — Laurel Hill Councilman Daniel Lane has resigned from his position.

He announced the resignation after Councilwoman Deborah Adams slammed the gavel, officially ending Thursday’s meeting. 

Lane said he is moving out of the city to serve as the senior pastor at The Gospel Tabernacle in Hudson. 

“It was almost as bad leaving as when I came,” he said while Adams, looking on, shed a few tears. “It’s a small, loving town with wonderful people and I am proud to serve with the citizens.”

Nita Miller, Laurel Hill's city clerk, said if someone wants to fill the now vacant city council seat, he or she must pick up a nomination form at city hall.

During the next council meeting, Sept. 7, city leaders will vote on the nominees (who only need one signature).

The candidate who wins a majority — three of the four council members — will be appointed to the seat . 

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Laurel Hill councilman resigns; candidates sought

LAUREL HILL — The City Council will soon issue a 90-day notice of a public hearing to discuss an impending increase in water rates.

Laurel Hill is taking its cue from a water study issued by Bob Mearns of the Florida Rural Water Association, who provided two long-term financial plans to gradually increase water rates. Options include a three-year and a five-year plan. 

City Councilman Scott Moneypenny said the five-year plan would take “way too long” and said he would like Mearns to come to a future meeting to discuss his financial proposals. 

Moneypenny also said he wanted to be careful about how the council decides to implement the increase.

City Council members, he said, “want to be sensitive to these increases and do it over time.”

Laurel Hill's water system operates at a deficit of $86,037, which represents a 43 percent income shortfall, according to a report from the Southeast Rural Community Assistance Project.

Customers in the city limits could receive a $2.50 base increase and $3.25 increase in cost per 1,000 gallons. Those outside the city could see a $2.50 base increase and a $3.30 increase in the cost per 1,000 gallons, according to the report. 

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Laurel Hill Council mulls water rate increase

CRESTVIEW — Florida Senator George Gainer will attend a Crestview town hall on city transportation issues.

Gainer completed his first legislative session recently as chair of the Senate Transportation Committee. During that session, he received a proposal from the Crestview City Council requesting assistance for the town's highest priority road project. He requested $1.75 million in state budget funds to fix the Crestview road project, which Gov. Rick Scott vetoed.

The first part of Gainer's visit consists of a 9 a.m. meeting Aug. 7 with Crestview Mayor David Cadle, city council president JB Whitten, and a Crestview Public Services Department representative.

Gainer's Crestview itinerary includes an 11 a.m. tour of North Crestview, a working lunch at noon with city business leaders at the Crestview Area Chamber of Commerce, and a public town hall meeting.

The town hall is 1-3 p.m. Aug. 7 at the Warrior's Hall, 201 Stillwell Blvd., Crestview. The public, including residents from Gainer's district, may come listen to the senator, make comments and ask questions at the event.

Afterward, city officials will take Gainer to PJ Adams Parkway to further discuss projects planned for that area. 

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Sen. Gainer to attend local transportation town hall

THE ISSUE: State Road 85 is the only main road for Okaloosa County's largest city. Any traffic accident on S.R. 85 can virtually halt all activity in the city, causing notorious delays. 

LOCAL IMPACT: A state senator is exploring options that could improve the situation. Among them is public transit, which could not only reduce traffic on the overburdened roadway, but also encourage lifestyle changes for some residents. 

—

CRESTVIEW — North Okaloosa County traffic is a well-known concern for anyone who travels the area, particularly through Crestview.

State Sen. George Gainer (R) says he wants to do something about it.

"We have got to tell the [Florida Department of Transportation] in Tallahassee what they need to hear," he said. "First of all, I don’t think they understand the gravity of the situation and I hope that I can express that."

“As far as the funding, some of it can come from there, some from the federal government and some can come from the counties who all got $15 million [in oil spill money]. I just think that the opportunity is now that we can make this thing happen, and it is going to take a lot of money, but we got the opportunity to come up with a lot of money now and that will be our number one priority.”

Some residents have questioned whether a western bypass would help, but that would involve nearby Eglin Air Force base. 

“The most important issue with Eglin is the encroachment issue; we have talked about a western bypass for a long time,” Okaloosa Commissioner Carolyn Ketchel said.

“The main thing with Eglin is the mission at the core,” Crestview Mayor David Cadle said. “They don’t want to be a part of anything that would deemphasize why they are here and we understand that. That’s why we try to work with them.

“I think things have changed enough that they see how difficult it is to evacuate their own personnel in time of a hurricane who live up this way. In fact, they have to evacuate days early because of the problems that we have. The last evacuation we had was a complete disaster and we are aware of the problem.”

Crestview City Councilman Joe Blocker said, whatever the solution may be, time is of the essence.

"I want to see something develop here like yesterday to get 100 thousand-million cars off of 85," he said. Can you get an Amtrak to get people off of 85.”

Public transit via train is one option if passenger rail service is revived.Can you get an Amtrak to get people off of 85.”

"Can you get an Amtrak to get people off of 85?" Blocker said. 

Gainer said he wouldn't vote against the measure, but residents should consider the need for safety crossings to get across the tracks.

As for State Road 85, Cadle said, “The major problem with traffic in Crestview is the limited roadway that we have. We want to have one north-south roadway and it is just overtaxed; it is overburdened with people going back to-and-fro from work.

An overturned tanker on State Road 85, the only main road through Okaloosa County's largest city, in 2013 notoriously halted traffic for several hours.

Another factor is the heavy tourist and commuter traffic that fills the main road and even its side streets.

On June 24, a Honda van with an out-of-state license plate crashed into two vehicles while making an illegal U-turn at the intersection where PJ Adams Parkway meets Tom Thumb, slowing traffic in the area for hours while the police conducted an investigation.

Sgt. Josh Grace of the Crestview police department said that out-of-state drivers often ignore traffic signs, such as U-turn notices, in Crestview because it’s not their final destination.

“Crestview is a travel area. People have tunnel vision and they don’t pay attention to the signage because they are using it as a travel way,” he said.

Another notably dangerous intersection, he said, is where Walmart Road intersects with 85.

“Walmart Road and 85 is more of a problem,” he said. “It’s more dangerous there because of the width of the road, there isn’t enough room to make a U-turn.”

It all boils down to 85's limitations.

“So there has to be … more than one roadway — and [Gainer] has some ideas that will help expand what we have never been able to do before, and he thinks there are things that can happen…" Cadle said.

“He is chairman of the powerful transportation committee, he is from Northwest Florida, and he understands the problem, so hopefully we will see some progress in the coming days.”

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Funding traffic solutions is 'number one priority'