CRESTVIEW— A West Florida businessman has offered to commission a poll for city residents free of charge. Now for the question: Will the council accept?

Quint Studer—a Pensacola businessman, philanthropist, the owner of the Pensacola Blue Wahoos and owner of the health care consulting company, Studer Group—recently contacted Mayor David Cadle and offered to pay a polling company to survey residents, a value of approximately $37,000.

Cadle says the proposal is worth considering.

 “If he’s interested in us, there’s a reason,” Cadle said. “Maybe something good can come out of this for the city, maybe more jobs… I encourage the council to reach out, or I can, and let them do the survey.”

If that happens, the project’s supporters hope the proposal will be warmly received the second time around. Larry Harris of Mason-Dixon Polling and Research presented the survey to the council earlier this year; several council members and the mayor criticized his execution, which they believed belittled the area.

To prevent the same occurrence, some council members say they have questions for the philanthropist.

“My question is, what type of survey is this going to be, and is it going to be beneficial to the city?” Councilman Joe Blocker says.

Councilman Doug Faircloth says he is skeptical about the survey because if it asks any questions about government, he doesn’t want the survey to get in the way of the Charter Review Committee’s duties. The committee currently is determining whether the city should have a referendum on restructuring local government.

Councilman Bill Cox says he would like to respectfully decline from any involvement with Mason-Dixon because nothing is free; there are always strings attached.

According to Councilman Shannon Hayes, the survey should have nothing to do with the government but be geared toward businesses and what residents want to see come to the city.

Further, he believes Studer is well-intentioned.

“There are things where strings aren’t attached,” Hayes says. “Sometimes there are just naturally good people in the world.”

The city’s attorney, Ben Holley, says the council should first find out what kinds of questions will be on the survey before making any decisions, and that it should be acceptable as long as it doesn’t have anything to do with the government.

Time is of the essence.

City Council President J.B. Whitten says waiting too long could mean losing the opportunity. According to Whitten, the offer was sent in January, and Whitten said he is afraid if the city pushes it off any longer Studer will have better things to do.

“The citizens will be disappointed if we turn this down,” Hayes said.

THE ISSUE: A West Florida philanthropist wants to pay $37,000 to a polling company to survey Crestview residents.

LOCAL IMPACT: Quint Studer's offer could help Crestview, Okaloosa County's largest city, reach its full potential. This would be the first study of its kind in the burgeoning city, and data could help city leaders make decisions that fuel economic development.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: The $37,000 question: Should Crestview's Council accept Quint Studer's offer?

CRESTVIEW — Infrastructure and transportation in north Okaloosa County was the focus of a town hall meeting Thursday.

County Commissioners Nathan Boyles and Graham Fountain, along with other county and city officials, hosted the informal discussion. No decisions were made. 

Among officials in attendance were Wayne Steele, Crestview’s public services director; Jason Autrey, public works director for Okaloosa County; JB Whitten, president of the Crestview city council; Mayor David Cadle; Kay Godwin, deputy county administrator; and Scott Moneypenny, Laurel Hill city council member. 

Boyles expressed the need for a solution to Crestview traffic, saying it no longer is just an inconvenience but also a public safety issue. According to Autrey, about 54,000 vehicles travel south on State Road 85 each morning. 

“It’s no longer a one-direction issue,” Boyles said. “It’s no longer a one-time-a-day issue.”

About 10 years ago, a west bypass from Antioch at Arena Road to SR 85 at Raspberry Road was studied, Autrey said. 

According to Autrey, the project is too large to do all at one time, so it needs to be done in parts. It's also expensive; the entire project will cost $100 million. The current rate for simply paving a two-lane road is $1 million, and the bypass will be four lanes, 13 miles long with bridges.

Officials have a plan, a design that is 90 percent complete, right of way from the county and some funding identified for three phases. The first phase is the widening of Antioch Road to four lanes. 

“I think we will see progress in the next 12 months,” Autrey said. “Funding is the biggest roadblock right now.”

Fountain said more attention must go into moving traffic to boost the economy instead of worrying about sidewalks and roundabouts, although those improvements are also important.

“We don’t need any more palm trees,” Fountain said of the new trees along SR 85 near State Road 123. “That’s enough palm trees to pave several miles of road.”

Cadle suggested a small group ask Eglin Air Force Base for funding because many of its service members commute from Crestview. He said the problems should be laid out in front of a base commander, noting traffic accidents and congestion during hurricane evacuations. 

Crestview resident David Schneidman suggested making SR 85 eight lanes with the outside two lanes on each side for people making stops within the city and the middle two lanes on each side for continued traffic north and south.

“The problem with that is the eminent domain,” Fountain said. “We don’t take property from people without at least paying market value. That’s not cost effective.”

Many other residents approached the podium and shared their ideas on reducing traffic congestion; right now, the city and county are working together to find funding from the Florida Department of Transportation, Eglin and Duke Field and the local option gas tax dollars to continue with the west bypass project.

“People are going to die here if we don’t do something,” Fountain said.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Okaloosa and Crestview officials discuss traffic issues, possible solutions

LAUREL HILL­ — The city of Laurel Hill will invest their funds at a new Crestview bank.

The First NBC Bank, where Laurel Hill previously had certificates of deposit, closed in April. Whitney doing business as Hancock Bank took over the bank and its Crestview branch.

When the bank initially closed, the city’s CDs were sent back to them; the council members needed to find a new bank to send their CDs, and this was voted for at the June 1 council meeting.

According to Nita Miller, city clerk, there is a Florida Statute that states city funds need to be in a bank that deals with public funds. A list of these prospective banks was provided in the meeting’s agenda.

After looking over the list of six banks with branches in Crestview, the council made a motion to discuss the nominees.

Councilman Scott Moneypenny asked if the city could just redeposit their CDs at Hancock; however, upon further discussion, the council members saw that a different bank had a better yearly return rate.

CCB Community Bank in Crestview offered the city a rate of 1.45 percent, a special for new money, for having their CD with them for a year. This was a higher rate compared to four of the other banks in which 0.1 percent was the year rate, and Compass Bank which had the next highest at 0.75 percent.

Councilwoman Debra Adams said that the city could look again in a year to see if other banks have a better rate.

A motion was made by Moneypenny to reinvest the CDs in CCB Community Bank; the motion was seconded by Councilman Johnny James, all the council members were in favor and the motion passed.

Anyone with the slightest information about Calandra Stallworth, a missing Crestview mother of two who disappeared at the end of March, is requested to contact the Crestview Police Department at 682-3544 or 682-2055

HOW TO HELP

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Laurel Hill invests at a new bank

CRESTVIEW — A special city council meeting on Monday opened with Councilman Shannon Hayes rescinding the appointment of his brother, Rev. Sanford Hayes, to the City Charter Review Committee. 

Hayes said it was in the best interest of the city to replace his brother to ensure the council was as transparent as possible. Hayes then appointed Warren Robinson, who is retired from the military.

Committee members — who must follow the Florida Public Record Law upon appointment — will have 90 days to research and decide whether the city should keep the same form of government. They will make a recommendation to the council based on their findings.

The committee alone will not decide Crestview’s government structure. Placing the matter on a ballot would be the final step in the process if residents desire a change.

Last week, Mayor David Cadle nominated Joshua Molyneux, vice chairman of the Crestview Housing Authority, to the committee; City Clerk Betsy Roy nominated Adrienne McKinnie with McKinnie Funeral Home; Councilman Doug Faircloth nominated Gene Strickland, pastor and mission director of Okaloosa Baptist Ministerial Association; Councilman Joe Blocker nominated former Crestview councilman Ellis Conner; Councilman JB Whitten nominated Andrew Rencich, local business owner; and Councilman Bill Cox nominated Michelle Simmons, a paralegal who serves on the Crestview Board of Adjustment.

In other business, Cadle spoke about a regional committee meeting that he and Whitten attended in Fort Walton Beach last week about the regional use of the Triumph Funds.

The meeting was hosted by the Northwest Florida Regional Planning Council and was attended by about 100 people, most of whom were state agency representatives.

Attendees discussed looking at projects that had regional impact for the use of the funds resulting from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

The City Council then continued with a workshop after the special meeting.

The first item on the workshop agenda was the annexation of city property, 100 acres on the south end of town and 2.7 acres adjacent to Spanish Trail Park.

Both properties are owned by the city but have never been annexed. The direct cost of annexing both properties would be $10,250. Twenty acres of the 100 acres would be used for a future shooting range for the police department. The council approved the annexation.

Also on the agenda was the Nuisance Abatement Code. According to Teresa Gaillard, growth management director, Growth Management is in the first draft of the Land Development Regulation revisions and needs direction from the council.

The question is whether to redefine Chapter 24 of Code Enforcement Citations and Chapter 38, Health and Sanitation, of the City’s Code of Ordinances, with more direct and enforceable language, clear and precise procedures, together with the appropriate fines and penalties.

This is part of what is needed to help eliminate the blight, detrimental conditions, unsafe structures or physical threats to public health and safety. Growth Management will research and develop a new ordinance to bring back to the council for a consensus.

In other council news:

•The Florida Retailers Association has named Mike Carroll of Hub City Smokehouse and Grill as Florida Retailer of the Year. April Meier of Pawsitively Scrumptious Bark Bakery and Boutique is the Florida Outstanding Retail Leader.

• Cadle met with officials from Wal-Mart about the city’s new north-end store. He noted that the Wal-Mart officials commended the city on being business friendly.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Charter review committee gets new member

CRESTVIEW — City leaders in a special meeting Wednesday selected seven residents to research Crestview’s government structure.

The councilmen, Mayor David Cadle and City Clerk Betsy Roy announced their choices for members of the City Charter Review Committee.

Selections are as follows:

• Cadle nominated Joshua Molyneux, vice chairman of the Crestview Housing Authority
• Roy nominated Adrienne McKinnie with McKinnie Funeral Home
• Councilman Doug Faircloth nominated Gene Strickland, pastor and mission director of Okaloosa Baptist Ministerial Association
• Councilman Shannon Hayes nominated Rev. Sanford Hayes, pastor of New Life Baptist Church
• Councilman Joe Blocker nominated former Crestview councilman Ellis Conner
• Councilman JB Whitten nominated Andrew Rencich, local business owner
• Councilman Bill Cox nominated Michelle Simmons, a paralegal who serves on the Crestview Board of Adjustment

The City Council set a special meeting for 5:15 p.m. May 22 to appoint a replacement for one charter review member, according to a media release that arrived at press time.  

Committee members — who must follow the Florida Public Record Law upon appointment — will have 90 days to research and decide whether the city should keep the same form of government. They will make a recommendation to the council based on their findings.

Theresa Gaillard, the city’s growth management director, will stay in contact with the committee and a city charter review page will be added to the city website, www.cityofcrestview.org.

In discussion preceding appointments, Blocker maintained that there needed to be larger resident input as to whether they want to change the city charter. He contended that many Crestview residents do not know about this proposal.

Faircloth made the motion to form a city charter review committee comprising Crestview residents who are registered voters. The motion received a second and passed unanimously.

The committee alone will not decide Crestview's government structure. Placing the matter on a ballot would be the final step in the process if residents desire a change.

Since this would be a referendum and not a candidate vote, ballots could be sent to registered voters via mail, Okaloosa County Supervisor of Elections Paul Lux said at a previous city council meeting.

—

Editor's Note: Article updated to include more background information on the restructuring process. Also corrected Josh Molyneux's title. 

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: 7 residents appointed for city charter review

CRESTVIEW — The City Council will continue discussion on a half-cent sales tax proposal at its next meeting.

The Okaloosa County League of Cities’ executive board has proposed the sales tax for five years as a way to fund capital improvement projects in the county and its nine municipalities.

Each municipality has been asked to consider the resolution in May. If a majority of them supports it, the resolution would go before the Okaloosa County Commission to decide whether to eventually put a referendum before voters.

City leaders briefly discussed the matter Monday night but tabled it for further discussion.

If approved, Crestview initially could receive an estimated $1.5 million from the half-cent sales tax, according to City Clerk Elizabeth Roy.

In other council business, there was a discussion of forming a committee to review the city charter. Councilman Joe Blocker stated that residents should be asked first if they wanted a city charter change. A motion was proposed and seconded to form a committee. Four members agreed, but Blocker was against the proposal.

Councilman Shannon Hayes then proposed a committee be formed with the council members, Mayor David Cadle and Roy to decide how a charter review committee would be formed within 30 days. All members approved the second proposal.

In other council business:

•Senior Fire Captain Jody Smallwood was named Firefighter of the Year.

•Changes were approved to Council Meeting Rules and Regulations. Members agreed to have a set agenda at the start of each meeting and to have a 10-minute speaking time limit at council meetings.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: City Council to consider half-cent sales tax proposal

LAUREL HILL — A half-cent sales tax proposal is making its way through Okaloosa County.

The Laurel Hill City Council received a resolution from the Okaloosa County League of Cities to levy a half-cent sales tax for five years to fund capital improvement projects.

The council unanimously voted May 4 to submit the resolution to Okaloosa County commissioners.

Councilman Scott Moneypenny, who made the motion to send the resolution to commissioners, said he is not in favor of raising taxes.

Councilwoman Debra Adams said she thinks the half-cent tax is a fair way to collect money, as opposed to property taxes.

If commissioners approve the resolution, Okaloosa’s registered voters will decide on the sales tax issue in the 2018 election.

If approved, capital improvements would benefit the entire county. Each city gets a certain percentage of funding based on their population. 

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Council sends sales tax resolution to Okaloosa commissioners

LAUREL HILL — For now, Laurel Hill residents will just have to deal with potholes on city streets.

Virgie Bowen, with the Florida Department of Transportation District 3 Chipley office, attended Laurel Hill’s May 4 City Council meeting to answer questions about filling potholes on a 3-mile segment of Steel Mill Creek Road.

“Unfortunately, we don’t have a funding program to address that need that you have,” Bowen said. “So, unfortunately, we are not able to help along those lines.”

There was also a request for sidewalks along Ebenezer Road and T.E. Rogers Road. The FDOT’s Transportation Alternatives Program can fund this type of improvement, but the city needs to submit an application for consideration.

“We recently did [an application],” City Clerk Nita Miller said. “Actually, it wasn’t through FDOT; it was through the Safe Routes to School Program.”

This is a different program, out of the FDOT’s safety office, and the funding comes from the same place.

There was also a request for maintenance on sidewalks near Laurel Hill School. Bowen said that when sidewalks are completed, there is no funding for maintenance; therefore, local residents typically agree to take care of the maintenance.

Numerous projects in the FDOT’s five-year work program in Okaloosa County are in the south part of the county, where most residents live. According to Bowen, FDOT is starting to look at rural areas’ concerns.

Councilwoman Debra Adams asked if there was a program pertaining to the pothole maintenance.

“There is what is called a County Incentive grant Program, but to qualify for that, you have to show how that improvement is going to relieve congestion on a state road,” Bowen said.

Councilman Daniel Lane asked Bowen if the installation of streetlights falls under a program due to their importance to safety; Bowen said it likely wasn’t under the TAP program.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: No funding for filling potholes

THE DETAILS

The Okaloosa County courthouse was reduced to rubble in January with the intention of being rebuilt.

Standing since 1955, the structure became overrun with black mold and asbestos. County commissioners voted to demolish the building in October 2015 and its doors closed for the final time April 2016.

After months of debate, the county decided to rebuild on the existing site, hoping to complete the project by July 2018. Groundbreaking began shortly after the former complex was demolished.

The new building received a cost estimate of $23 million, compared to the $400,000 spent constructing its predecessor in 1955 and $29,000 spent on the original building in 1918.

“The goal is to achieve a facility that the citizens [in Crestview] can be proud of and make sure Crestview will be the home of the county courthouse for the next generation,” Okaloosa County Commissioner Nathan Boyles said when the decision was made to rebuild on the same property at 101 James Lee Blvd. E.

THE PROGRESS

After months of demolition and site clearing, the courthouse construction is seeing significant progress. Multiple walls have been built and a steel frame for portions of the building are in place.

According to Jason Autrey, Okaloosa County’s public works director, recent storms have only had mild impacts on construction, and rain days are being tracked in accordance with the contract.

Autrey said the construction project is currently on schedule, and the contract completion date remains July 3, 2018.

Staff Writer Alicia Adams contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: County courthouse moves closer to completion

1. Past failure

The City Council’s effort to possibly alter the city charter and government structure isn’t Crestview’s first venture into the reform.

The measure was presented to voters Nov. 6, 2012, after an extensive, multi-year review process. The ballot question asked voters if they would approve of the hiring of a city administrator—replacing the mayor-council government structure—and making the city clerk an appointed position, as opposed to elected.

The question needed a simple majority to pass but fell short. Results showed 4,319 people voted against the measure and 3,795 voted to approve.

Although it was featured on the ballot, a clerical error made the question invalid. Several hundred voters in the 2012 election didn’t vote on the reform, possibly due to its invalid status, according to current City Council President J.B. Whitten.

2. Size an issue

Crestview currently operates under a council-mayor form of government, which is commonly used by large areas like New York City and Houston or by small towns, according to the National League of Cities.

Larger cities, like Pensacola, opt for a strong mayor system, which places departments and administrative positions under the mayor’s supervision and sometimes grants mayors veto power over city council. Smaller cities often use a weak mayor structure that gives limited oversight to the mayor and instead places city departments under the council.

There are 84 cities in Florida that use a council-weak mayor structure, out of the state’s 411 total cities. Only 33 of those—not including Crestview—have a population over 1,000. Crestview (approximately 24,000 residents) and Sebring (approximately 10,400 residents) are the only two council-weak mayor governments in Florida with populations over 10,000.

Whitten believes this is a sign the city has outgrown its current form of government.

3. Changes aren’t just about a city manager

Most of the conversation about changing the charter has focused on the hiring of a city manager but this isn’t the only decision that could possibly be on a ballot.

One other contested topic is a possible alteration to the selection of a city clerk. Crestview elects its clerk position, as opposed to most Florida cities, which appoint their clerk. The difference resides in qualification standards and accountability.

Electing a city clerk can lead to questions about a candidate’s qualifications and ability to perform the tasks of the position. This is compared to an appointed position, which gives the mayor or council ability to hire someone based on their experience and can terminate their employment if they believe it is sub-par. This issue was raised in DeFuniak Springs in 2010.

However, supporters of an elected clerk argue that it reduces the chance of possible corruption because the clerk is answerable to the people and not other officials. Therefore, if a clerk were to be pressed to do something unethical or against standard procedure, they would be able to say “no” without risk or termination. An elected clerk, in this theory, is accountable to the voters first and thus, creates a more transparent government.

4. The cost of change

While city council members and mayors make little to no money in salary, a city manager is a different situation.

Fort Walton Beach pays their city manager Michael Beedie $120,000 per year in salary, which is an average amount for cities that size, he said.

Crestview has not yet disclosed what a manager would be paid but six figures per year would be a large investment for the city. These costs can be made up by cuts to other funds but Beedie added improving the efficiency of the city has been worth the extra cost to Fort Walton Beach.

The city would also have to pay to place the motion on a ballot if they decide to move forward with a reform. However, these costs are in the range of a few hundred dollars and have yet to be a deciding factor in any conversations.

5. How Crestview residents will decide

If a review commission is created and decides to reform the city charter, residents will have the final say at the polls—and maybe at the mailbox.

Officials and residents have discussed mailing the ballot to eligible voters as a way to increase voter turnout. The city’s elections in March generated a little over three percent turnout. Okaloosa County Supervisor of Elections Paul Lux confirmed at a previous City Council meeting the measure could be done via mail.

Aside from how residents can vote, it’s still undecided how many items they’ll be voting for.

Beedie and former City Councilman Tom Gordon believe that lumping all aspects of the bill into one question could cause residents to vote “no” if they disagreed with one aspect but agree with everything else. Gordon believes this was an issue in the 2012 election.

When Fort Walton Beach adopted a new city charter several years ago, voters had seven measures to vote on. Officials were concerned residents would get “voter fatigue” and not make a decision, according to Beedie, but that was not the case. That decision was made partially in response to seeing Crestview’s reform attempt fail by having all measures lumped together, he added.

Splitting measures apart also allows for more in-depth descriptions on each issue. Florida limits ballot summaries to 75 words, making it difficult to fully describe several measures.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: 5 things to know about a charter reform