CRESTVIEW — Okaloosa County's public bus service could be ending after years of budget shortfalls and dwindling ridership.

County commissioners will have a public hearing July 15 on the elimination of all fixed-route services. Residents can make comments during the board’s regular 6 p.m. meeting in Fort Walton Beach.

Under the proposal, Okaloosa County Transit — the nonprofit that runs the bus system — would lose its five routes in Fort Walton Beach, the route to Okaloosa Island, three routes in Destin and the express route from Crestview to Fort Walton Beach.

The cuts would not affect the county’s door-to-door paratransit service, funded by a Florida Commission for the Transportation Disadvantaged grant. That program aids people who cannot obtain their own transportation because of disability, age or income.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Public hearing set on whether to continue fixed-route bus system

PENSACOLA — The Okaloosa-Walton Transportation Planning Organization needs more members for its Citizens Advisory Committee. 

The CAC comprises TPO area residents interested in transportation planning projects. Members review TPO agenda items and make recommendations for their consideration. 

Meetings are held approximately every other month, during the day, and typically last one hour. 

Contact Brandi Whitehurst, 332-7976, extension 204 or brandi.whitehurst@wfrpc.org, for membership information.

Can't join the committee but want to provide feedback on transportation planning? Fill out the West Florida Regional Planning Council survey.

WANT TO GO?

Who:  Regional TPO meeting

When: 10:30 a.m. July 9

Where: Crestview City Hall, 198 N. Wilson St.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Transportation Planning Organization seeks Citizens Advisory Committee members

CRESTVIEW — A Main Street restaurant’s landmark barbecue smoker has generated some heat for its owner and chef.

Wright Choice Soul Food opened in late 2013 in a site vacated by Country Chicken and Fish. The location is across the street from the county courthouse.

Fans of owner and chef Albert Wright’s down-home cooking and barbecue were drawn by the aroma wafting from the smoker in a parking spot out front. It quickly became a landmark for directions to the eatery.

“Everybody smells this aroma and knows it’s lunchtime,” said attorney Dixie Dan Powell, whose practice is on the same block.

Wright said when he opened the restaurant, he sought and received permission from city officials to put the cooker out front.

“Then all of a sudden he was requested to remove his grill,” Powell, representing Wright, recently said while addressing the City Council.

Wright moved the grill to the back of the building, but with it went his major attraction.

“We had people come all the way from Navarre, but they said they couldn't find our place,” Wright said. “People say to look for the grill out front.”

Private smoker, public street

Placing the smoker in a public parking space was “an inappropriate conversion of public property to private usage” that if approved by the council, “could set a dangerous precedent," city attorney Jerry Miller said.

Wright said he requested permission from multiple city officials — including Fire Chief Joe Traylor, building inspector Eric Davis and building official Jonathan Bilby — to place the grill in front of his business.

“I tried to find the ordinance,” Wright said. “They said there was no ordinance because I was doing it in front of my place.”

“This was allowed and approved by the city to be used for nine months,” Powell said.

“If that's the case, I would ask the city to investigate who it was who thought they had authority to authorize this,” Miller said.

At the June 23 City Council meeting, Wright submitted a petition signed by 300 supporters, and Powell said a canvass of business owners on the block raised no objections to the grill’s placement in front of Wright Choice Soul Food.

“We don't do nothing without going out to do the right thing,” Wright said.

Powell and Miller agreed to discuss Wright’s options prior to raising the matter again during the July 14 council meeting.

Email News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes at brianh@crestviewbulletin.com, follow him on Twitter @cnbBrian or call 850-682-6524.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Placing restaurant’s smoker out front generates heat for owner

A recent Florida law change makes it legal for people to ride bicycles on the street if upgraded with a gas-powered engine.

Previously, Florida law allowed for bicycles outfitted with electronic helper engines on the streets as long as they did not go faster than 20 mph, but gas-powered engines were illegal. The new law allows gas-powered engines as long as they are below 50-cc and classifies them as a moped.

Before people can legally ride their gas-powered motorized bikes on the street, they must first have the bikes inspected and registered through the Florida Division of Motorist Services. The local inspections office for Okaloosa and Santa Rosa counties is in Pensacola and the office for Walton County residents is in Panama City.

So far this year, no motorized bicycles have been registered in Okaloosa County, said Tax Collector Ben Anderson. The registration fee in Okaloosa County is $63, while the inspections cost $40. The bikes do not require a title.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Bicycles with gas-powered engines allowed on streets

CRESTVIEW — Currently, if a house is damaged or destroyed in several developments off P.J. Adams Parkway, a zoning conflict means it can’t be rebuilt.

City GIS mapping analyst and planning technician Teresa Gaillard is identifying wrongly zoned areas to bring these 1990s an early 2000s neighborhoods into compliance. In addition, she's assisting City Clerk Betsy Roy in preparing ordinances to correct the zoning.

The Crestview City Council on Monday passed seven ordinances to rezone a section of affected neighborhoods in Countryview Estates, Eagles Landing Townhomes and Southway Estates.

Seven more ordinances received their first public reading, were accepted and moved to a second reading at the July 14 council meeting. They will correct zoning in Walsh Glen Estates, Northview Estates, and, off John King Road, Shoal Terrace Estates and Beaver Creek at Stonebridge.

Several properties off Live Oak Church Road were also covered by the newly introduced ordinances.

More to come

Together, they and the approved ordinances represent the first and second of an anticipated six cycles of rezoning ordinances, city attorney Jerry Miller said.

In briefs for each ordinance, Roy, who oversees the Administrative Services Department, explained the land was originally zoned for commercial future land use, which allowed for higher-density residential development than residential zoning. Some developments were in an industrial zoned area.

When the neighborhoods were built, developers followed regulations for single- and multi-family dwelling zoning, but the zoning didn’t change. The new ordinances rezone the neighborhoods under the zoning criteria that the homes were constructed under.

“If there were a unit lost to fire or storm, that property could not be constructed presently due to the inconsistency between the zoning and the comprehensive plan,” Miller said.

“So if a house was lost to fire, does that mean that family would be left homeless?” Councilman Tom Gordon asked.

“Yes, it would,” Miller said.

Wild Horse Drive resident Terry Hindall expressed concern that the rezoning might adversely affect his property's value.  

"I don't understand why we need to change the zoning,” Hindall said. “Why rezone it now? Why change it now? Why are we standing here wasting our time when it is just fine yesterday and it was just fine today?”

WANT TO GO?

Ordinances rezoning residential areas to conform with the Crestview comprehensive plan will be read and adopted at the next several Crestview City Council meetings. The next meeting is 6 p.m. July 14.

Email News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Erroneously zoned residential areas being brought into compliance