MINUTES OF THE

OKALOOSA COUNTY LEAGUE OF CITIES

BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2003

 

CALL TO ORDER

Mayor Carroll called the meeting to order at 12:00 noon at Cinco Bayou Town Hall.

 

PRESENT

Mayor Sara Carroll - Cinco Bayou (President)

Councilwoman Brenda Bush - Crestview

Mayor Craig Barker - Destin

Mayor Glenda Glover - Fort Walton Beach (Secretary/Treasurer)

Councilwoman Fay Miller - Laurel Hill

Mayor Gary Combs - Shalimar

Commissioner Heyward Strong - Valparaiso

Commissioner Elaine Tucker - County

 

ABSENT

Mayor John Thomas - Mary Esther (Vice-President)

Councilman Al Swihart - Niceville

 

ALSO PRESENT

Helen Spencer, City Clerk - Fort Walton Beach

 

MINUTES

Commissioner Strong moved to approve the January 9, 2003 Board of Director’s minutes.  Mayor Glover seconded motion and it carried unanimously.

 

TREASURER'S REPORT

Mayor Glover gave the Treasurer’s Report as follows:  current balance of $3,140.63 with a payment to Two Trees Restaurant for $1,128.90, to the Department of State for $61.25, and to Bon Appetit for $90.14.

 

Commissioner Strong moved to approve the Treasurer's Report.  Mayor Combs seconded motion and it carried unanimously.

 

LEGISLATIVE FORUM RECAP

A brief discussion was held on the low turnout by the Legislators at the Legislative Reception held Saturday, January 25.  It was noted the last Legislative Reception held in September had a good turnout by the Legislators.

 

Mayor Glover moved that the Legislative Reception be held annually in September beginning with September 2003.  Councilwoman Bush seconded motion and it carried unanimously.

 

OCLOC WEB SITE

Mayor Combs recapped the presentation given last month on establishing an Okaloosa County League of Cities web site.  The presentation given included the costs involved as follows:  $35.00 per year for the domain name; $10.00 to $50.00 month hosting service; $345.00 flat fee to create the web site pages, up to 20 pages; and $10.00 monthly maintenance fee (after the first year) to include secretarial support for recording and publishing agenda and minutes; for a total cost of approximately $500.00 for the first year and approximately $275.00 a year cost thereafter.

 

Commissioner Strong moved that the Okaloosa County League of Cities proceed with the creation of an OCLOC web site at a cost not to exceed $500.  Mayor Glover seconded motion and it carried unanimously.

 

A one-year contract will be drawn up with Tina Smith to develop the OCLOC web site for an amount not to exceed $500.00.

 

LEGISLATIVE DAY

Commissioner Strong gave a report on the Legislative Day held February 4, 2003 in preparation for the Legislative Action Day.  Commissioner Strong suggested that Joel Blackwell, a consultant on contract by the Florida League of Cities, be invited to speak at the March dinner meeting to give a grass roots briefing and to train elected officials who plan to attend the Legislative lobbying sessions.  The Board agreed that Commissioner Strong work to set up a briefing/training session with Joel Blackwell to give training on grass roots lobbying at the March dinner meeting.

 

NLC LEGAL EXPENSE FUND

Mayor Glover mentioned the NLC is requesting voluntary contributions of 5% of the annual dues from NLC members that will be contributed toward a Legal Expense Fund.  Mayor Glover noted the NLC is creating a new Legal Expense Fund that will cover legal fees of carefully selected litigation on behalf of cities and towns where Court decisions or regulatory ruling, either favorable or unfavorable, could have a significant impact on a large number of municipalities across the country.  It was noted that some Cities/Towns in OCLOC are not members of NCL. No action was taken on this item.

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS/REPORTS FROM CITIES

Cinco Bayou - Mayor Carrol reported on new construction that will take place.  She also mentioned that Cinco Bayou was rejected on their CRA application because, according to the State Department of Revenue, there has never been any retail sales in the Town of Cinco Bayou that brought in any revenue due to the fact that the 86 businesses in Cinco Bayou could not be identified because they have a Fort Walton Beach zip code.

 

Crestview - Councilwoman Bush mentioned the election on March 11th to elect the Mayor and all Council members.  She reported on the dedication for the Veterans' Memorial that will be held in March.

 

Destin - Mayor Barker reported they would have the State of the City address on February 24th.  He also reported on the beach re-nourishment project that Destin is contemplating.

 

Fort Walton Beach – Mayor Glover reported the police have moved into the new building with a ribbon cutting to be held in July and renovations are proceeding on the Fire Department.  She reported on the private sector businesses that are opening in our downtown area.  She mentioned the election on March 11th to elect four Council members.  Additionally, she mentioned the Golf Course problems.

 

Laurel Hill – Councilwoman Miller reported Laurel Hill recognized Ola Richbourg as the citizen of the year.  She also mentioned the Town is applying for a grant.

 

Shalimar – Mayor Combs said the Town was progressing along with no problems.  Further, they would like to annex the businesses located on Eglin Parkway and are considering tasking their Town Attorney to look into possible options. 

 

Valparaiso – Commissioner Strong reported TDC is trying to award them another grant for $25,000.  He also mentioned he is working with the FLC and the TDC to schedule some type of conference to be held at the new convention center.

 

Okaloosa County – Commissioner Tucker reported there would be a workshop on February 11th to discuss a Taxi Cab ordinance and the Animal Control Services.  She encouraged everyone to contact his or her County Commissioners about anything that comes up.

 

MARCH MEETING

The next meeting will be held on Thursday, March 6, at 12:00 p.m.

 

ADJOURNMENT

Being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 1:00 p.m.

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