Walton County Board of County Commissioners (BCC)
April 10 regular meeting
A yes vote was to approve the motion.
Request by Larry Jones, county administrator, to reschedule the June 26 BCC regular meeting and June 28 land use hearing regular meeting in order to accommodate travel to the Florida Association of Counties Annual Conference in Orlando.
Motion by Comander to reschedule both meetings to begin at 9 a.m. on June 25 at the South Walton Annex, with land use items to be heard first.
The motion was approved unanimously: Tony Anderson-yes; Bill Chapman-yes; Sara Comander-yes; Cecilia Jones-yes; Melanie Nipper-yes.
Request by L. Jones for approval to draft a request for proposals (RFP) for county employee health insurance and bring back to the BCC for approval and permission to advertise, with current insurance contract to expire at the end of September.
A motion for approval by C. Jones carried unanimously.
Request by L. Jones to award request for qualifications (RFQ) for construction engineering and inspection (CEI) services to sole bidder Jones Edmunds and Associates in connection with the construction of the new Class I solid waste transfer station at the Walton County Landfill, and to begin negotiations with the company on these services.
A motion for approval by Anderson carried unanimously.
Request by Mike Kerrigan, director of marketing for the Walton County Tourist Development Council, for approval of the TDC’s event marketing support program for 2019 for events in south Walton County, including program overview, eligibility requirements, process and timeline, event classifications, program benefits, scoring criteria, funding amounts, application checklist, event questionnaire, inclusion standards agreement, and frequently asked questions.
A motion for approval by Anderson carried unanimously.
Presentation by Jay Tusa, TDC executive director, of appointments to TDC advisory committees as vetted and recommended by the TDC. Due to questions about quorum challenges and recent removal of some of the committee positions, Tusa offered to look at issues with the committees and bring back new scenarios for consideration.
Motion by Anderson to continue the four agenda items regarding appointments to the committees.
The motion was approved unanimously.
Public hearing on a resolution to bring forward $4.6 million from the Solid Waste Reserve Account into the current year budget to fund the new transfer station project at the Walton County Landfill.
A motion for approval by Comander carried unanimously.
Request by Sidney Noyes, county attorney, to approve and authorize the BCC chairman to sign contract with Kokalis Contracting for the construction of the new Class I solid waste transfer station at the Walton County Landfill.
A motion for approval by Comander carried unanimously.
Request by Noyes to set a public hearing for mid to late May to consider amendments to the Beach Activities Ordinance, Sections 22-54(g) and 22-55 (obstructions on the beach), and Section 22-54(h) (authorization to close the beach), the later as requested by the South Walton Fire District.
There was a suggestion by Chapman to hold the special meeting at 1 p.m. on May 8 at the South Walton Annex.
A motion to that effect by Comander carried unanimously.
Request by Noyes for BCC direction on scope of services proposed by Dr. Harvey Harper, consultant for the Driftwood Estates Stormwater System Evaluation Project, for expansion of the project to include supplemental surveying work.
After discussion, there was a motion by Comander to direct Noyes to ask Harper if he would be able to complete the original scope of services for the project without the inclusion of the surveying work.
The motion was approved unanimously.
Request by Noyes to schedule a 9 a.m. April 24 closed executive session, or to start immediately following the regular BCC agenda on that date, to discuss the Forehand v. Preble Rish and Walton County lawsuit, Case No. 2012CA750.
A motion for approval by C. Jones carried unanimously.
Citizen request by Ann Haigh for approval of a resolution recognizing June 14, 2018, as Grandparent Alienation Awareness Day in Walton County.
A motion by C. Jones for approval of the resolution carried unanimously.
Request by Paul Klocek for approval for staff to support and partner with the St. Joe Company and community residents in an application for a Joint Coastal Permit (JCP) from the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for the management of the lake level in Camp Creek Lake.
After discussion, there was a motion by Comander in favor of Klocek’s request, with the understanding that the matter would be brought before the Walton County Coastal Dune Lake Advisory Board.
The motion was approved unanimously.
Request by Mercy Multiplied for approval of an approximately-20-room nonprofit center for trained counseling of women with “life-controlling issues,” to be constructed on two parcels totaling 11.60 acres and located at 24735 U.S. 331, south of the entrance to 331 Sanctuary.
A motion for approval by C. Jones carried unanimously.
Request for approval of the Tops’l Development of Regional Impact (DRI) Essentially Built-Out Agreement, applying to the 52-acre southwestern Walton County DRI property. No request for physical development accompanied the request for approval of the agreement, which set forth remaining entitlements for commercial, residential, and hotel development for the DRI based on resolutions and ordinances approved by the BCC over the years since the 1982 adoption of the DRI. A representative for the applicants stated that requests for future development within the DRI would be required to comply with county code, the only exception being traffic, due to all traffic for the DRI being vested.
Neighboring homeowners and property owners requested a continuance in order to allow for time to review the current proposal and new state legislation relating to DRIs that had applied to the Tops’l DRI.
A motion by Nipper to continue the request to the May 8 BCC meeting died for lack of a second.
A motion by Anderson for approval of the request carried in a 4-1 vote: Anderson-yes; Chapman-yes; Comander-yes; C. Jones-yes; Nipper-no.
Request on behalf of co-applicants H. Buddy Robinson, Jr., Stanley W. Conally, Jr., Southern Link, and the St. Joe Company, for approval of the Point Washington F814C Cell Tower, consisting of a 300-foot-tall Southern Link cell tower to be constructed a one-quarter-acre site approximately 964 feet north of U.S. 98 and east of Serenoa Road in southeastern Walton County. An applicant’s representative stated that the tower would be designed to serve all wireless carriers.
A motion for approval carried unanimously.
Request by EBSCO Gulf Coast Development for approval of Alys Beach Lot 3, Black AC Replat, consisting of the adjustment of a lot line on the 0.426-acre property on the east side of Sea Castle Alley, south of Sea Garden Street in Alys Beach.
A motion for approval by Comander carried unanimously.
Request by EBSCO Gulf Coast Development for approval of the Alys Beach Phase 2A, Lots T5-T6 Plat, consisting of the platting of two residential lots in Block T on 0.19 acre on the west side of North Castle Harbour Drive and south and west of Nonesuch Way in Alys Beach.
A motion for approval by C. Jones carried unanimously.
Request by EBSCO Gulf Coast Development for approval of Alys Beach Block M Plat, consisting of the platting of 14 single-family lots on 2.64 acres located west of North Charles Street and north of North Somerset Street, approximately 1,000 feet north of CR-30A, in Alys Beach.
A motion for approval by Nipper carried unanimously.
Request by K5 Development for approval of Newbama Steel II, a 7,500-square-foot commercial warehouse and associated infrastructure to be constructed on a 0.67-acre site on the south side of Serenoa Road, north of U.S. 98 in southeastern Walton County.
A motion for approval by C. Jones carried unanimously.
An additional item on the agenda, Bayshore Townhomes, was not heard due to the request having been withdrawn by applicant Dominic Damiano. It was stated that the applicant had decided on an alternate request for two single-family homes in place of the three townhomes that had previously been in the plans for the proposal, with the new request to be brought forth at a later date.