Okaloosa County BOCC — February 18, 2014 — reading text

request was presented, discussed, and approved by the Okaloosa Island Leaseholders Association at a meeting held November 11, 2013. Due to existing Gulf Power infrastructure at the requested site there are no installation fees. The monthly fee of $6.04 will be absorbed by the MSBU and no additional assessment will be required. Pursuant to Ordinance No. 77-30, the governing body of the Okaloosa Island Street Lighting District is the governing Board of County Commissioners: “The business and affairs of the District shall be conducted and administered by the current duly elected Board of County Commissioners of Okaloosa County, Florida, who shall hold the same offices relative to governing the affairs of the District as are held in governing Okaloosa County.” A request for the public hearing was approved by the Board of County Commissioners on January 21, 2014. The public hearing has been advertised in the Northwest Florida Daily News. OPTIONS: Approve/Disapprove the request for the additional street light. RECOMMENDATIONS: Request Board approval and authorization for the Chairman to sign the contract with Gulf Power for the installation of the new street light at 614 Pelican Dr., Ft. Walton Beach which is within the Okaloosa Island MSBU. RECOMMENDED BY: APPROVED BY: Packet Pg. 30 Ernie Padgett, County Administrator Packet Pg. 31  10-7-13 To: Okaloosa Island Leaseholders Association and Okaloosa Island MSBU Board of Directors I am writing this letter to request a street light on Pelican Drive between 613 and 614 Pelican Drive. There is already a power pole there. Two numbers are on the pole and I do not know which is the actual Pole Number, so I am including both. 33225 51476 and a small metal tab with P 172776. This is a Very Dark corner as the closest light to the west is 160 feet away. The closest light to the east is at least 400 feet around a curve on a cul de sac. (that is 5 lots away). There are 4 permanently occupied houses in this area with one only seasonally occupied. There are 3 widows living here and it is very dark We would appreciate more light – especially with the influx of coyotes!!! Please forward this request to Gulf Power and permit an installation under the MSBU. Ann Forrester 614 Pelican Drive Ft. Walton Beach, Florida 32548 Packet Pg. 32 Packet Pg. 33 OKALOOSA ISLAND LEASEHOLDERS ASSOCIATION MINUTES BOARD MEETING: November 11, 2013 LOCATION: Okaloosa Island Fire Station Meeting Room I. CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order at 7:03 pm by President Paula Hudson. Commissioner Dave Parisot led the Pledge of Allegiance. Thirty-five (35) people attended, twenty-seven (27) people signed the attendance sheet. (Attachment 1) II. ROLL: Board members present were Paula Hudson, Desley Parker, Jim Simpson, Kathy Foster, Trisha LaBahn and Vince Bruner. III. ANNOUNCEMENTS: President Paula Hudson welcomed all those present and requested all speakers state their name, address and if they were members of the Leaseholders Association. IV. GUEST SPEAKERS: Dave Parisot /Okaloosa Co. Commissioner –District 2 Topics discussed were as follows: - Flooding on Santa Rosa Blvd.(SRB): The earlier work being done along SRB was interrupted due to work required in other parts of the county. Work is expected to begin again in the coming months. The County is expected to work with property owners and condo associations to complete the swales along SRB. - Block 14: Mr. Parisot unveiled the most recent proposed rendition of Block 14 by Genesis. An addition of expanded parking was pictured encroaching upon the natural area. Mr. Parisot and those present felt that the additional parking, which includes approximately forty (40) parking spaces, would adversely affect the wildlife. Commissioner Parisot planned to vote against the proposed additional parking at the next BOC meeting on November 19. Commissioner Parisot has heard that the creation of a Veterans Monument had also been suggested. Given the number of Veterans Monuments that already exist in the area, it would be nice to keep the area in a more natural state. IE: A Serenity Park, a place to enjoy the wildlife and gather your thoughts. The park would be dedicated to the Veterans of Okaloosa County. - Marler Park Boat Ramp: Three boat ramps are on site. When the project is completed, there will be twenty (20) additional parking spaces with 24 hour access allowed for the boat ramps. Due to design issues, the additional parking will be near the Convention Center, but will tie in to the boat ramp area. Access to the main area of the park will remain restricted to daylight hours only. - Wildlife Refuge Center: Commissioner Parisot met with Matt McGhee and Steve Christopher last week about moving a registered historical building on to the Block 14 location of the Emerald Coast Wildlife Refuge Center. The building would need to be brought up to code and approved and/or permitted by the Okaloosa Island Architectural Committee, the County Commissioners, the Florida EPA and the Army Corp of Engineers, etc. Dave Parisot wanted to assure those present that a situation like the Summer House in Navarre would “not” happen. Matt McGhee said the Center was in the early stages of planning for the move and would only proceed if the move was feasible Packet Pg. 34  and all state and federal requirements could be met. Mr. McGhee noted that the building has 4500 square feet and would be a great asset to the Emerald Coast Wildlife Refuge Center. In closing, Dave Parisot wanted Island residents to know that he will do everything in his power to keep the promises made to residents and the Audubon Society when the leases were signed for Block 14. Some of the questions asked of Commissioner Parisot were: When was the additional parking added to the plan? Which County Commissioners support the additional parking? Was the 1961 Park Dedication plan being followed? Was it legally binding? As to the covenants for Okaloosa Island, was the space being used as stipulated? Per Commissioner Parisot, he was unable to answer some of the questions because of Sunshine Laws. He did say that he thought there should be discussion about the expanded parking at the Board of Commissioners Meeting. Kathy Foster expressed concern that the once beautiful 50 acres that make up Block 14 were being picked apart by different entities. Some were concerned about the wetlands and the amount of paved area in the park and the impact on the wildlife. Commissioner Parisot ended his presentation with additional information about the feral cats that had been living at Marler Park. The cats have being trapped and relocated. He also reminded those present about the cost sharing with the new hotel being built on the Military land on Hwy 98 for a new and larger lift station. V. MINUTES: Mike Mitchell made the motion to accept the October minutes as printed in the November issue of the OIL Lantern. The motion was seconded by Trisha LaBahn. The minutes were accepted and filed. (Attachment 2 – page 3) VI. TREASURER’S REPORT: Jim Simpson gave the report (attachment 3) Assoc. Discretionary Fund Balance $ 31,640.82 Beautification Fund Balance $ 1,615.68 Total Funds Balance as of Nov. 11, 2013 $ 33,256.50 (These figures are a summary only. Attachment 3 contains the full report.) Mr. Simpson, who is also the Newsletter Editor, requested reimbursement for the purchase of stamps to mail the October 2013 of the OIL Lantern. Total reimbursement requested was $19.32. Kathy Foster made the motion to accept the Treasurer’s report and to approve the requested reimbursement. The motion was seconded by Mike Mitchell. The motion was unanimously approved. Per Jim, 230 members have renewed their OILA memberships to date. . VII. COMMITTEE REPORTS: A. Architectural Committee: The report is in the November issue of the OIL Lantern. (Attachment 2 - page 2) B. Beautification Committee: Kathy Foster: Pine straw has been added to the base of the palm trees in the medians. The expense is being shared with the Island Garden Club. Joan Bomar, Connie Herring and Kathy Foster worked in the Island Welcome Triangle over several days. A bid request has gone out to work on the first median. The century plant in front of the Azure has been removed. Per President Hudson, the committee is still working with property owners to improve and clean their properties. The property owner on Dorado with the concrete pedestal foundation is working with the committee and wants to remove it. He does plan on building on the lot in the future. He has given permission to trim the palm trees that are hanging over the street. Mr. Street on Sailfish is making progress on his property. The committee is Packet Pg. 35 hopeful that the property owner on Tropic will remove the yard debris on her property. Contact President Hudson with any property covenant concerns. A copy of the Island covenants can be viewed on the OILA website. We should all be proud of how “Our Island “ looks. C. Membership Liaison: Jim Simpson: 264 members. (Attachment 3) D. Website: Bob Seitz: No activity. E. Boat Basin: Cathy Taylor/Treasurer: No activity/the boat basin report will be next month. F. Street Lighting MSBU: Maryl Bednar was unable to attend, but did send her report to Paula Hudson. The report is as follows: - No Financial Report since September 30, 2013. She will request the information from the County for the December meeting. - A letter of request for an additional streetlight on Pelican Drive was requested at the October OILA meeting. The request needs to be sent to the BCC via the liaison, Ms. Allen with Public Works Dept. The BCC has to approve the request and have Gulf Power install the light. -Subcommittee requests addition of a committee member to replace the loss of our good member, Paul Foster. Paul was an original member of this committee. From the beginning, he was the member with the most knowledge of accounting. He worked very hard helping to figure out just how our account was being kept by the County and where there were deficiencies and errors. He was our financial advisor and Mike Mitchell has been our guidance through his actions to establish the MSBU. His knowledge and Paul’s have made this a successful endeavor to make sure the property owners have a better accounting of these funds. -Please report burned out streetlights. The procedure has been printed in the OIL Lantern several times, but very few ever seem to notice or take responsibility. One very loyal resident reports many of the burned out lights, then follows up with Gulf Power. Obtain the exact address and email lightsout@gulfpower.com . Verify the light in not a private property light. The account number is 28920-58618. Advise the employee this is an Okaloosa Island MSBU light. Some of the light poles have an identity number, use that if it helps. (This is a summary only-Attachment 4 contains the complete report) Kathy Foster made the motion to approve a request for an additional streetlight on the east side of Pelican, the motion was seconded by Desley Parker. The motion was approved. VIII. OLD BUSINESS: A. Coyotes: Jim Simpson has been unable to obtain coyote traps. He is