Okaloosa County BOCC — January 21, 2014 — Minutes

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  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 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 waiting for a call back from a professional trapper. IX: NEW BUSINESS: A. Okaloosa Island Image: President Hudson was disturbed by a Spout-Off in the newspaper suggesting that Destin put the new proposed strip club on Okaloosa Island “where it would fit better”. She wanted to know what we could do to better improve the image of Okaloosa Island. After all, no one would suggest putting a strip club on Holiday Isle or in south Walton. Other communities have catchy promotions, why not Okaloosa Island? Dave Miller thought that the County did not do enough in making the Island a more beautiful place and several of those present did not think that Island residents should be doing the work in the medians. Several voiced concerns that the amount of tax revenue taken off of Okaloosa Island did not fairly match the amount the County spends in maintaining the Island. Vince Bruner brought up the idea of having  Okaloosa Island designated as a CRA community. (Community Re-Investment Act) Mr. Bruner felt that Okaloosa Island could qualify and could, once the designation was made, keep more of the tax revenue collected, for use on the Island. A CRA designation could possibly make Federal Grant money available. Per Vince Bruner, the County would still get the tax revenue they get today, but any additional revenue received due to the property values rising, would have to be spent on Okaloosa Island. In his opinion, this may be the only way to get “our fair share” of the tax revenues collected. Many of those present felt there were definitely inequities in what the County was ”spending” on Okaloosa Island and “collecting” on Okaloosa Island. Vince Bruner made the motion to request the Board of County Commissioners recognize Okaloosa Island as a CRA community. Kathy Foster seconded the motion. The motion was approved. B. Speaker in December: Ben Anderson has been invited to speak about taxes. C. New Logo: Desley Parker shared the new area logo. FORT WALTON BEACH– DESTIN- OKALOOSA ISLAND….THE HEART OF THE EMERALD COAST X. ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:15 PM.