Okaloosa County BOCC — December 15, 2015 — Approval of Conceptual Plan for Veterans Park at Baywalk — agenda request

BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS AGENDA REQUEST DATE: December 15, 2015 TO: Honorable Chairman and Members of the Board FROM: Ed Schroeder SUBJECT: Approval of Conceptual Plan for Veterans Park at Baywalk DEPARTMENT: Tourist Development Department BCC DISTRICT: 2 STATEMENT OF ISSUE: Request approval of the Conceptual Plan for Veterans Park at Baywalk and permission to initiate the permitting process. BACKGROUND: Veterans Park at Baywalk hosts a variety of wildlife, large pine trees, wildflowers, native grasses, and other vegetation, providing unique habitat on Okaloosa Island. The park is a birding hotspot, with nearly 200 species found here throughout the year. The Board of County Commissioners has directed staff to develop a design & management plan that will reverse the erosion occurring along Choctawhatchee Bay at Veterans Park and improve the upland area to provide for easier public access. The direction from the Board and local stakeholders was to keep the park as natural as possible and minimize hardscaping while maximizing the use of the park by local citizens and tourists alike. This conceptual plan has been approved by the Okaloosa Island Leaseholders Association and other local stakeholders. Letters of support have been provided. The erosion along the shoreline will be addressed by a living shoreline project that will not only reverse the erosion currently occurring but will create new habitat, enhance the aesthetics of the park and avoid the alternative of a costly and high maintenance seawall. The upland section of the park will feature a Veterans memorial, an ADA-compliant elevated walkway, educational signage and other "soft" amenities, while a multi-use dock/breakwater will connect Choctawhatchee Bay with the upland section of the park. The costs associated with permitting this project are included in an existing Board-approved Task Order with Taylor Engineering, Inc. This project will be presented to the Tourist Development Council for approval at its December 10 meeting. OPTIONS: Approve or Disapprove RECOMMENDATION: Approve the Conceptual Plan for Veterans Park at Baywalk and authorize staff to begin the permitting process. RECOMMENDED BY: APPROVED BY: John Hofstad, County Administrator