Okaloosa
County League of Cities, Inc.
Executive
Board Meeting
Minutes
Monday,
December 3, 2007 CALL
TO ORDER President,
Mayor PRESENT
BOARD MEMBERS Mike
Anderson - Fort Walton Beach (President) Heyward
Strong - Valparaiso (Vice President) Nick
Chubb - Cinco Bayou Deborah
Thatcher - Destin Margaret
McLemore - Mary Esther (left at 12:48) Bill
Smith - Niceville ALSO
PRESENT Robin
Bailey - Eglin AFB MINUTES:
June 4, 2007 - Councilman
Smith moved to approve the minutes from the June 4, 2007 and
September 10, 2007 meetings as written.
The motion was seconded by Commissioner Strong and passed unanimously.
TREASURER’S
REPORT:
$1995.12 after paying for the September meeting lunches
- Councilman Smith moved to approve
the Treasurer’s Report. The motion
was seconded by Mayor McLemore and passed unanimously.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS: - Continuum of Care/Opportunity Inc - Discussion of Coordinated County-Wide Approach to Homeless Issues - Mayor Anderson asked if anyone from the Executive Board would be able to attend these meetings. Several members stated that they could go to a few meetings but no one is available on a regular basis. It was decided that if each city has a representative, it isn’t necessary for the Executive Board to have one also.
NEW BUSINESS: - Committee for a Sustainable Emerald Coast - It was reported that most of the changes are for growing areas now redevelopment. Everyone was advised to keep their eyes out for changes that may affect their cities. - January Dinner (Niceville) - The next quarterly dinner will be hosted by the City of Niceville. Mayor Anderson asked that invitations be sent to all of the state representatives. -
Board Members/Board of Directors - This item was skipped.
The board will come back to this item. -
Mayor Anderson stated that the participating cities need to know the
outcome of the Enhanced Use Lease so it can be considered during their budget
process. -
Board Members/Board of Directors - The 2008 Executive Board nominees are:
Mayor Combs for President, Mayor Barker for Vice President and
Commissioner Strong for Secretary/Treasurer.
These members will be sworn in at the January dinner meeting. It
was suggested that the people in these seats rotate.
For example, the 2009 President will be the 2008 Vice President.
This will be discussed at the next meeting. Commissioner
Strong asked if the Executive Board should meet before the January 29
referendum. The Florida League of
Cities (FLOC) has taken a position to oppose it and has sent out a resolution
for every city to approve. None of
the cities have received the resolution yet but as soon as it’s distributed by
FLOC, Mayor Anderson will e-mail it out to everyone and call a special meeting
to discuss it. ANNOUNCEMENTS/REPORTS FROM CITIES: Cinco
Bayou - Cinco Bayou had nothing to
report. Crestview
- There was no one from Crestview present. Destin
- Destin had nothing to report. Eglin
AFB -
Don King will be on Eglin AFB signing autographs tomorrow. -
The Housing Privatization RFP has slipped to February. Fort
Walton Beach -
Fort
Walton Beach Mayor -
City Employee and Manager of the Year The
City announced its Employee and Manager of the Year during the Florida Local
Government Week Celebration on October 24th.
-
Liza Jackson Park Improvements The City is gearing up for boat trailer
parking construction at Liza Jackson Park. The
parking lot on the east side of the park will be extended to include 24 new boat
trailer spaces, as well as 25 regular car parking spaces.
Work will begin on the new parking spaces January 3, 2008.
Once complete, Liza Jackson Park will have 66 boat trailer parking
spaces. This project is being funded
in part by a FRDAP grant the City received in 2006.
-
Oyster Reef Grant The City has begun working on the Lower
Choctawhatchee Bay Coastal Conservation Project this week, taking several steps
to get ready to start building the reef. Staff
has begun coordinating and meeting with local businesses about donations of
oyster shells and the use of barges for the shell transport and reef
construction. The City is also
looking to partner with local schools to incorporate ecological stewardship
lessons and creating hands on activities. The
City received a grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to build a
7,200 square foot oyster reef with shells collected from local restaurants, just
off the shore of the Sound Park. This,
along with the planting of vegetation, will create an oyster garden that will
provide conservation benefits and a habitat for over 300 marine and plant
species, improve the water quality through the filtering process of the Eastern
Oyster, revitalize economically viable game fish, and promote conservation
through educational awareness. The
project is similar to Project Green Shores in Pensacola Bay. -
New Observation Deck at Heritage Park The
City’s Public Works Department recently completed construction of the new
preservation deck at Heritage Park. The
deck allows visitors the opportunity to view the Mound without walking on the
property. The deck is phase one of a
project that will help preserve the mound from erosion caused by foot traffic
and mother nature. Other plans for
the mound include enclosing the facility, undertake a mound resurfacing,
lighting and landscaping. All these
future planned projects will help preserve the mound and provide safety. -
Sound Park The
City of Fort Walton Beach officially opened its newest park on Friday, September
28th. Sound Park, which is located directly across from City Hall, is
a 90-thousand square foot passive park located along the beautiful Santa Rosa
Sound. The park is home to over
2,800 native plants and grasses, 52 native trees, a 95-foot fishing pier,
winding walkways and a beautiful gazebo.
The project was made possible by a Florida Recreation Development
Assistance Program grant, and donations and assistance from the Community
Redevelopment Agency, Fort Walton Beach Beautification Committee and Fort Walton
Beach Rotary Club. The City provided matching funds. Hurlburt Field - No one from Hurlburt was present. Laurel
Hill - No one from Laurel Hill was
present. Mary
Esther - Mayor McLemore had already
left. Niceville
- Niceville had nothing to report. Okaloosa
County - No one from Okaloosa County
was present. Shalimar -
Town Manager Burns is working on the RFP for a new maintenance
department. We hope to have it
started by February, 2008. -
One of our Police Officers will be leaving for a one-year tour in Iraq -
We are still waiting on the County to trade property with us for our
storage lot -
One of our Police Officers is still recovering from a fight with a
homeless man -
Other than that, we are just getting read for the holidays…our town
Christmas parade/party will be on December 11. Valparaiso
- Valparaiso is looking at property in the city for retirement housing.
ANNOUNCEMENTS: - January 15, 2007 - OCLOC Dinner hosted by Niceville
ADJOURN: The Executive Board Meeting adjourned at 1:08 p.m.
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