CALL TO ORDER

President, Mayor Mike Anderson , called the meeting to order at 12:02 p.m. at Two Trees Restaurant in Fort Walton Beach .

PRESENT BOARD MEMBERS

Mayor Mike Anderson - Fort Walton Beach (President)

Commissioner Heyward Strong - Valparaiso ( Vic e President)

Commissioner Ricardo Garcia - Shalimar (Secretary/Treasurer)

Councilman Ellis Conner - Crestview

Mayor Craig Barker - Destin

Councilwoman Fay Miller - Laurel Hill

Councilmember Fay Young - Mary Esther

Councilmember Al Swihart - Niceville

Bill Roberts - Okaloosa County

ALSO PRESENT

Greg Kisela - Destin

Wanda Jones-Heath - Eglin A.F.B.

Tina Smith - Shalimar

MINUTES

Commissioner Strong moved to approve the minutes of the March 6, 2006 meeting as written.  Councilmember Conner seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.

TREASURER’S REPORT - $3026.80 after paying $84.30 for March 6, 2006 lunches.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

-  Proposed Sales tax - Destin’s City Council voted against supporting the sales tax initiative.  Mayor Barker explained that his council doesn’t agree with the distribution formula and they feel the timing is wrong.  Also, there was no one from Okaloosa County at the meeting to answer their questions.  The proposed sales tax issue is on the agenda for tonight’s meeting in Destin and County Commissioner James Campbell and County Administrator Jim Curry will be in attendance along with Mayor Anderson.  If Destin does not approve the initiative, Commissioner Roberts stated that the Board of County Commissioners will have to discuss the issue at their next meeting.

-  April Dinner Date (moved to April 13 - invitation attached)

NEW BUSINESS

-  BRAC Committee Task Force Representative (see next agenda item)

-  Vision 2015 Military-Community Partnership - Mayor Anderson explained that the Executive Board will need to appoint a representative for the BRAC/Vision 2015 Military-Community Partnership.  He also briefed that there will be a need to appoint representatives for subpanels at a later date.  Mayor Barker moved that Mayor Anderson be the representative for the Executive Board.  Councilman Conner seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.  Mayor Anderson stated that the Vision 2015 meeting is at 1:00 p.m. today.

-  Web site contract renewal - Commissioner Strong moved to renew the web site contract.  Mayor Barker seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.

ANNOUNCEMENTS/REPORTS FROM CITIES - Mayor Anderson asked that everyone e-mail their city reports to Tina Smith before the meeting.

Cinco Bayou - No one from Cinco Bayou was present.

Crestview - The City of Crestview will be celebrating its 90^th Anniversary downtown on Main Street on Saturday, April 8 at 10:00 a.m.

Destin - attached

Eglin AFB - There will be a Public Meeting for Housing Privatization on April 25 at 6:30 at the FWB Civic Center .

Fort Walton Beach -

-  Work to build a 750,000-gallon water tank at the FWB Golf Club and a 500,000-gallon water tank on Nicholson Street is nearly complete.  The tower at the Golf Club has been painted, and painting is mostly complete (except lettering) on the Nicholson Street tank.  Once these tanks are put “on line”, two existing tanks will be dismantled (additional storage capacity added after existing tanks are taken off line will be 850,000 gallons). 

-  The Utilities Department is preparing for a project to move the sanitary sewer force main at the bottom of Cinco Bayou to under the Cinco Bayou Bridge .  The existing main is being replaced due to its age and damage from recent hurricanes.   Maintenance/repairs will be easier with the new aerial force main on the bridge.  Construction is expected to begin later in the spring.

-  Starting in April, FWB Fire Department personnel will respond to many emergency medical calls via a rapid response vehicle.  The vehicle will respond with both a driver/EMT and a paramedic.  The new rapid response vehicle will help cut down on wear and tear of the department’s larger trucks.

-  The City's second annual Earth Day/Arbor Day celebration will be held at the Fort Walton Landing on Brooks Street in downtown Fort Walton Beach on Friday, April 21st from 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.   The event will include a variety of hands-on activities, including planting seeds/saplings.  Booths will have information on water quality, seagrass, pollution prevention, Florida-friendly landscaping, hybrid vehicles, watershed protection, trees native to our area, and many other topics.  The public is invited to attend, and teachers are encouraged to bring their students to this educational and fun event. 

Hurlburt Field - No one from Hurlburt Field was present.

Laurel Hill - In anticipation of future grown, the city is trying to create a Building Department.  They are also considering adding a 2^nd meeting to their monthly calendar.

Mary Esther - The city now has a new mayor and 3 council members were voted in.  Also, the library expansion has finally begun.

Niceville - There is nothing new to report.

Okaloosa County - There is nothing new to report.

Shalimar - The Town has received the updated Shalimar Yacht Basin plans that will be reviewed at a special meeting tentatively set for April 18.

Valparaiso - The city’s water tank is complete.  Valparaiso has also begun planning their July 4^th activities.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

-  May 1, 2006 -- Executive Board Meeting Lunch

ADJOURN – The meeting adjourned at 12:50 .