CALL TO ORDER

Mayor Carroll called the meeting to order at 12:04 p.m. at Two Trees Restaurant in Fort Walton Beach.

PRESENT

Mayor Sara Carroll - Cinco Bayou (President)

Councilwoman Brenda Bush - Crestview

Mayor Craig Barker - Destin

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

Mayor John Thomas - Mary Esther (Vice-President)

Mayor Gary Combs - Shalimar

Commissioner Heyward Strong - Valparaiso

County Commissioner Elaine Tucker - Okaloosa County

ABSENT

Councilwoman Fay Miller - Laurel Hill

ALSO PRESENT

Tina Smith, Deputy Town Clerk - Shalimar

MINUTES

Commissioner Strong moved to approve the March 6, 2003 Board of Directors’ minutes with corrections. Mayor Combs seconded motion and it carried unanimously.

TREASURER'S REPORT

Mayor Glover gave the Treasurer’s Report as follows: The balance as of 3/31/03 is $3,002.15. Activity during the last month includes a payment to Bon Apetit for $64.58 for lunches and a payment to Tina Smith for $250 for the web site.

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

UNFINISHED BUSINESS:

Mayor Sara Carroll stated that the web master, Tina Smith, is willing to accept any ideas for the web site. Everyone agreed that the site was fine and had no inputs today.

Commissioner Strong explained that he tried to contact Joel Blackwell but Mr. Blackwell no longer has a contract with the League of Cities. Commissioner Strong will contact Councilman Swihart and inform him that Niceville will have to find another speaker for their June League of Cities Dinner.

NEW BUSINESS:

Mayor Sara Carroll announced that she will be resigning (effective May 1, 2003) as Mayor of Cinco Bayou and will, therefore, have to resign as League of Cities President and board member. She is moving out of Cinco Bayou. In the meantime, Mayor John Thomas from Mary Esther will head the Okaloosa County League of Cities board meetings.

Mayor Glenda Glover spent some time lobbying in Tallahassee and found that many of our local representatives do not know anything about HB133. HB133 is a bill that requires the municipalities to prove that any “condition or impairment of health of any firefighter [or municipal Law Enforcement officer] caused by tuberculosis, heart disease, or hypertension resulting in total or partial disability or death was accidental and suffered in the line of duty, unless the contrary be shown by competent evidence”. Commissioner Strong was already aware of the problem and had a letter drafted up to send out to all of the representatives to let them know that the cities are against this bill. Commissioner Strong read his letter and it was redrafted by board consensus during the meeting. The cities would like the option to op out, if possible. Mayor Thomas suggested discussing the letter at this meeting so the League can get the letter in the mail. Mayor Thomas will type the letter, print it out on Okaloosa County League of Cities letterhead and send it out to all of the local legislators.

Mayor Carroll passed out a letter, along with a sample resolution, that Cinco Bayou received from Crestview. Mayor Carroll asked the cities to introduce this resolution to their councils/commissions at their next meetings.

Mayor Barker asked County Commissioner Elaine Tucker if she could explain the gas tax. She talked a little about the tax and added that she would e-mail everyone her notes to help them better understand.

ANNOUNCEMENTS/REPORTS FROM CITIES

Cinco Bayou – Mayor Carroll stated that Cinco Bayou opened bids for $150,000 in grants for the city’s 2 parks; Laguna ($50,000) and Glenwood ($100,000). Cinco Bayou is planning on upgrading grills, pavilions, parking lots, etc.

Crestview – Councilwomen Bush iterated that Crestview has a new water tank and the new water well behind the North Okaloosa Medical Center is ready. Lowe's is on track with their proposed construction and the Fed Ex building behind Auto Zone is going up. The water department is starting its initial change from water meters to the new touch read type for accuracy and efficiency. She also briefed that she was reelected last month – the swearing in ceremony is tonight if anyone is interested. Kathleen Bowman, who ran for mayor, was replaced by the one new person on their council.

Destin – Mayor Barker briefed that Destin’s Beach renourishment plan is in the works. He also mentioned that they will have their final public meeting on their Comprehensive Plan.

Fort Walton Beach – Mayor Glover updated the executive board that Fort Walton Beach’s swearing in is on April 1. She also mentioned that Councilman Tucker will be bringing up the sign ordinance at their next meeting.

Laurel Hill – Not present

Mary Esther – Mayor Thomas stated that Mary Esther received a $500,000 grant in order to add 4,000 Square Feet to their public library.

Niceville – Not present.

Shalimar – Mayor Combs had to leave the meeting but Tina Smith briefed the board that Shalimar is having trouble with speeding and increased traffic on one of the smaller streets in the town. The Shalimar Town Commission will address this problem at their April meeting.

Valparaiso – Commissioner Strong affirmed that their CDBG Grant is still in the works for a new water tank for Valparaiso. They are also converting all of their water meters to touch meters to make them easier to read.

Mayor Carroll added to her report that she has had great feedback from her guest column in the paper that explained the boat launch fees.

Okaloosa County – County Commissioner Elaine Tucker let everyone on the board to know that:

the county is working with Fort Walton Beach on a noise issue. The Board agreed that it is difficult to enforce noise laws. Commissioner Tucker doesn’t understand why Okaloosa County allows drinking past 2:00 a.m. They are looking at several viable options.
there is a garbage workshop tomorrow.
the county is working on a lighting issue in Cinco Bayou. In issues such as lighting, the municipalities are not allowed to defer the issue to the county to enforce unless they have their own ordinance.
Bud Day Park in Mary Esther is awesome, if you haven’t seen it.
the Florida Senate is pushing for funding $30,000 for Beach renourishment but the house isn’t, they’ve cut it in half.

Commissioner Strong expressed his appreciation to County Commissioner Elaine Tucker for sticking with these Executive Board meetings.

NEXT MEETING

The next meeting will be held on Monday, May 5, 2003 at 12:00 p.m.

ADJOURNMENT

Being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 1:32 p.m.