Walton County may have bought land they already own

All good things come to those who wait.

I suspect I already know and I suspect Scott brannon knows too.

I suspect he knows, but as usual will not admit he knows.

Letter to the Editor in todays Defuniak Herald

Editor;

Recently George Ralph Miller appeared before the Board Of County Commissioners to profess his innocence in the Chat Holley debacle and called his termination as Special Counsel to the BCC a "knee jerk reaction" and said he has been left with a "professional black eye". Well Mr. Miller, if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it must be a duck. Mr. Miller goes on to say he is a "close personal friend" to Lloyd Blue but insisted he had not done business with Mr. Blue since 1990. As a professional attorney, if Mr. Miller had really wanted to avoid the appearance of impropriety he would and should have recused himself because of his close personal friendship with Lloyd Blue. Full disclosure of the beneficiaries of the purchase (Blue and his wife Pleas) were not revealed to the county prior to the sale and disclosure would assuredly have avoided the appearance of impropriety.

George Ralph Miller was also the County Attorney from 1969 to 2001. If memory serves me correctly there were any number of land deals brought before the BCC during those years that involved property owned by Lloyd Blue and/or his associates during Mr. Miller's tenure as the County Attorney and this isn't the first time that the appearance of impropriety has reared it's ugly head in regard to land purchases that directly benefited Mr. Miller's close personal friend. Those were also situations were because of the personal relationship between Miller and Blue that the County Attorney should have recused himself and didn't. Mr. Miller was also paid a $10,000.00 -a-month retainer to REMEMBER who told him to proceed.

I'm not sure (if anything) what a wedding and event venue owned by Lloyd Blue has to do with the Chat Holley purchase but I am more than just a tad awed by the fact that the venue is almost on top of Chat Holley Road. The BCC's intent to purchase this property ostensibly was to create a turn lane, a turn lane that would benefit a private business? Surely not. But stranger things have happened in Walton County that have benefited only a few and lined many an Attorney and the "good ole boys" pockets.

I have been to many a County Commission meeting in the past were policies and procedures or lack thereof have resulted in egg on the faces of the County Commission and the County Commission has had ample opportunity and time to rectify those problems. If the County Commission doesn't learn from the mistakes of their past history tells us you are doomed to repeat them. The Citizens of Walton County have long asked that the BCC operate in the Sunshine and avoid costly taxpayer mistakes. Isn't it time that you do so?


One more thing, Lynn Hoshihara was hired as the County Attorney at an annual salary of $95,000.00. George Ralph Miller was on a $10,000.00 -a-month retainer to serve as a special counsel. Surely the County Commission can find ONE attorney for that amount of money who has the best interest of the taxpayers at heart and will work to promote transparent government to prevent this from ever happening again. At the very least, you owe that to the taxpayers Commissioners.

Letter to the Editor in todays Defuniak Herald

This is a good summary of the events and what a reasonable person would think. In regards to the Wedding Venue, I am just speculating, but if the land across the street was a county building, it would most likely be closed at night and on the weekends. All that vacant parking space would be nice to use for cars going to a wedding.

The level of corruption in this county is truly amazing (and why no local agency has ever done anything about is more puzzling...). As more people become involved and come forward, this will only continue and is going to lead right up to DeFuniak Springs and the goings on in that city. Unfortunately for this community, this is far from over.

Whoah Nelly. I am not here to defend anyone and don't have any special knowledge of the matter. But I won't let that keep me from chiming in.

First off - the letter writer, and many people on this post seem to be a bit too quick to want to point the finger. Everyone assumes corruption and wants to throw a stone and play "GOTCHA".

There is already a turn lane there from 98 into Blue's business. The new turn lane was for widening Chat Holley.

I have no doubt in my mind that Blue would benefit from having the TDC visitor center next to him. He might need extra parking but if he owned the lot, he already had that. He also owns the house next to the business with parking.

Buying a property or two and combining them or splitting them and reselling is just part of real estate and something Blue has been doing for years. Flipping was all the rage a few years back and no one was vilified for it. A profit is a profit.

Now when a former county attorney gets involved to grease the skids there are potential problems. But lets not kid ourselves that we are not in a system where this is par for the course. If the deal had gone through it would likely have been a win win win. When you're dealing with millions in BP money a little spillage is to be expected (pun intended).

I think the whole thing comes down to a little political meandering and competition. Some people who used to have smooth sailing now have made a few enemies. The small-town ego struggle is kind of pathetic. Fists may start flying.

Now when a former county attorney gets involved to grease the skids there are potential problems. But lets not kid ourselves that we are not in a system where this is par for the course.

And I think that was the point.

Now is the time that BCC should tighten up lobbying and ethics laws in Walton County. The current attorney going to work for a law firm we already contract with, and now we are going to pay them what we were paying her for only 60% of her time, and if they apply for the county attorney position, are we not right back where we started just out a lot of extra money? The county should take steps to address all of this now and restore some confidence in the system that seems to be very skewed against the average citizen.

Now is the time that BCC should tighten up lobbying and ethics laws in Walton County. The current attorney going to work for a law firm we already contract with, and now we are going to pay them what we were paying her for only 60% of her time, and if they apply for the county attorney position, are we not right back where we started just out a lot of extra money? The county should take steps to address all of this now and restore some confidence in the system that seems to be very skewed against the average citizen.

yes, now is the time to tighten up. Should those involved all just be given a pass IF they did violate laws or ethics? How about those in DeFuniak Springs City Council. Seems there had been some questionable actions going on there with the whole city manager issue.

I was told something today (that if true and I suspect it is) ...puts a whole nother spin on this land deal and Scott Brannon's participation in it. George Ralph Miller was married once before and has a daughter from that marriage who just happens to be Scott Brannons wife.

NOtdeadyet had said way up this list that "the good ole boy system was at work".....NDY that's been going on for years..

I was told something today (that if true and I suspect it is) ...puts a whole nother spin on this land deal and Scott Brannon's participation in it. George Ralph Miller was married once before and has a daughter from that marriage who just happens to be Scott Brannons wife.

It is my understanding that Brannon is single. That is why it was so humorous when he used his "family time" as an excuse in the BCC Meetings for not being prepared to discuss the findings of the report by the attorney firm.

I don't think connecting the dots in all of this is going to be that easy. Miller was put out on his own by all the others involved in hopes that this whole drama would simply go away. No one counted on citizens rising up and crying FOUL.

Not sure which is true but I do not want to get into dragging familys into a discussion.

It is my understanding that Brannon is single. That is why it was so humorous when he used his "family time" as an excuse in the BCC Meetings for not being prepared to discuss the findings of the report by the attorney firm.

I don't think connecting the dots in all of this is going to be that easy. Miller was put out on his own by all the others involved in hopes that this whole drama would simply go away. No one counted on citizens rising up and crying FOUL.

Not sure which is true but I do not want to get into dragging familys into a discussion.

His brother is married to George Ralph Millers wife's daughter.

I think a chart showing all the different connections (business and family) would help people understand just how interconnected and symbiotic most of the BCC transactions and contracts are.

When being introduced to people in the central part of the county, I found it to be common to be asked "who are your people?" In other words, who are you related to, kind of like the Mayflower decendents. My people are from New Jersey does not go over well...... To be "in" you have to be related somehow, thus the "good ole boy" system.

Why dont we make a chart and see who is related and has business connections. I think we might surpise ourselves

It is my understanding that Brannon is single. That is why it was so humorous when he used his "family time" as an excuse in the BCC Meetings for not being prepared to discuss the findings of the report by the attorney firm.

I don't think connecting the dots in all of this is going to be that easy. Miller was put out on his own by all the others involved in hopes that this whole drama would simply go away. No one counted on citizens rising up and crying FOUL.

Not sure which is true but I do not want to get into dragging familys into a discussion.

I feel that if you are an elected official there isn't much about your life that isn't under public scrutiny...hence you should always conduct yourself as if someone were watching. Chances are, someone probably is.

His brother is married to George Ralph Millers wife's daughter.

Thank you for the correction.

Is George Ralph Miller missing in action??

http://www.nwfdailynews.com/articles/lawsuit-46776-public-chat.html#ixzz1jvZbbJGY

Bump! 😉

Rumor has it GRM been located.