By ALICIA LEONARD
The DeFuniak Springs City Council convened the afternoon of Sept. 25 at 6 p.m. with all members present except Council member Kermit Wright. This was the second regular meeting scheduled for the month.
The council made quick work of the first part of the agenda, approving five previous sets of special meetings, budget workshops, regular meeting, and corrective notes covering all of August and part of September.
Next, they approved the consent agenda which covered items including a joint participation agreement between the city and the Florida Department of Transportation on removal of 3,600 lf of existing Gene Hurley Road south of runway 9-27 and construction of 5,000 lf of new access road to connect the north and south portions of the airport.
Other items under consent agenda included bill ratifications and a mutual aid agreement between Walton County and the city concerning fire departments.
Under citizen comments, a large group of citizens returned to speak on behalf of not lowering the mayor’s salary. They were told the council could not make a motion on the item due to it not being on the agenda and if it was done would have to be an amendment if passed after the final budget and millage hearing and reading on Sept. 26 at 5:45 p.m.
A young couple also approached the council to speak on an incident they had involving another group and the subsequent involvement with the DeFuniak Springs Police Department. The speaker told the council he was not pleased with the handling or outcome of the situation after reading a copy of the police report.
Citizen Robert McKnight spoke to the council about the importance of the 2020 population census and how it could adversely affect the city if the population count fell below 5,000. McKnight said falling below this number would endanger the city’s chances of economic growth and opportunity.
Under ordinances and resolutions there was a reading to place a traffic signal at U.S. 90 West and 20th street. The section has had numerous accidents including those with school buses in the past.
Police Chief Mark Weeks spoke to the council about the idea of accreditation for the police department after the subject was brought to him by McKnight. The idea had been broached before but no one knew how far or why it was not completed. More research will be done before discussion in the future.
A Florida Division of Law Enforcement grant has been awarded to the DFSPD in the amount of $10,000 for overtime for officers to improve safety and seatbelt compliance. Weeks asked for this to be included in the budget. The grant reimburses the funding rather than supplying the funds upfront.
City Attorney Clayton Adkinson spoke briefly on the 280A connector road issue, saying he was still working to get all the parties aligned for a meeting to discuss the issue.
To see more on agenda items, past meeting minutes or audio of meetings, go to www.defuniaksprings.net.