Population shift is to the South and that is the future. All the data points that way.
A Better South Walton Town Hall Meetings: Aug 23 & 25
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I don't disagree, what I was attempting to explain was the SBA and the group that is financing Mr Anderson don't want a business license and I would bet they don't want a city with a tax. If incorporation was to happen what's to say they don't put their money where their mouth is and elect a council that is to their leaning. As has been noted, Commissioner Jones carried the precincts south of the bay. You may have less of a say than you had hoped.
And money talks and bullsh*t walks, as the saying goes. All these new residents won't be familiar as some and we both know that isn't likely to change if you look around.
Maybe, But commissioner Jones also lost all the presicts south of the bay when she became a commissioner for District 5. The powers at be can only buy or influence so many votes. Education is the key. Once the people are educated and have had enough, lawyers and developers with bad intentions will be stripped of power. No one can make you do anything once you are in the voting booth. I really hate using the word developer as a bad thing because we have quite a few around here that have built beautiful compliant projects that add value to our community. But a few loud powerful and greedy ones have spoiled the punch.
Literally....this is the reason I would be more open to succession and the formation of a "South Walton County" before I would be for another level of taxation/government as with incorporation.
We wi
Has there ever been a successful succession in Florida?
Destin got incorporated to manage growth. All they did was manage to build a beurocrcy and build a bunch of buildings for the beurocrats to work in.
Destin FUBAR'd so bad it's not funny.
Example #1:
Much of the catalyst for incorporation was the harbor front Yacht Club building that Mr. Bos built. "We don't want the county approving such buildings in our town"
Couple decades after incorporation...Mr. Bos gets approval to build TWO buildings on the harbor. (Approval actually consists of 4 or 5 buildings)
Example #2:
Destin refused ownership of old 98 through Crystal Beach and Silver Beach. Citing the newly formed city couldn't afford the maintenance.
So the county approved the Crab Trab land lease at James Lee park. The largest beachfront public property in the "city"
The county also sporoved the relocation of the roadway "Odom's Curve".
Example #3:
The Kelly family, Mattie Kelly, was successful in carving out the Kelly property from city annexation. That's nearly everything from Indian Bayou to the county line, north of Hwy. 98.
All that development not in the city's juristiction. All that tax base not in the city's juristiction.
As I see it.
The City of Destin hadn't managed anything except manage to grow government.
Sadly, the same will happen to South Walton. You can bet on it.
Destin FUBAR'd so bad it's not funny.
Example #1:
Much of the catalyst for incorporation was the harbor front Yacht Club building that Mr. Bos built. "We don't want the county approving such buildings in our town"
Couple decades after incorporation...Mr. Bos gets approval to build TWO buildings on the harbor. (Approval actually consists of 4 or 5 buildings)
Example #2:
Destin refused ownership of old 98 through Crystal Beach and Silver Beach. Citing the newly formed city couldn't afford the maintenance.
So the county approved the Crab Trab land lease at James Lee park. The largest beachfront public property in the "city"
The county also sporoved the relocation of the roadway "Odom's Curve".
Example #3:
The Kelly family, Mattie Kelly, was successful in carving out the Kelly property from city annexation. That's nearly everything from Indian Bayou to the county line, north of Hwy. 98.
All that development not in the city's juristiction. All that tax base not in the city's juristiction.
As I see it.
The City of Destin hadn't managed anything except manage to grow government.
Sadly, the same will happen to South Walton. You can bet on it.
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I'm back and forth on the Incorporation piece. Lots of good ideas on both sides.
Really, for me it's about having more direct say and control of the area I consider home.
I'll be honest, I don't really care about paying more taxes IF the representation is there. That's the issue.
I don't feel the BCC represents me 90% of the time.
They are too busy trying to avoid embarrassment, make up for sins of the past and repay political favors.
I understand that same situation May occur with Incorporation and a City Council, but at least the people that would be elected would love in the specific area and would be accountable, at least on a more local level.
There is, has and always will be a N and S Walton divide on things.
I'm willing to let the N end handle their own, we'd like a chance to handle ours.
The question is WHO will lead this new city, right now I'm not so convinced we have the right people or plan.
I still think having specific representation from ones district, NOT County wide elections, is the way to go.
People who live in that specific district vote for their one Commissioner. They then hold them accountable, not the way it is now.
Really, for me it's about having more direct say and control of the area I consider home.
I'll be honest, I don't really care about paying more taxes IF the representation is there. That's the issue.
I don't feel the BCC represents me 90% of the time.
They are too busy trying to avoid embarrassment, make up for sins of the past and repay political favors.
I understand that same situation May occur with Incorporation and a City Council, but at least the people that would be elected would love in the specific area and would be accountable, at least on a more local level.
There is, has and always will be a N and S Walton divide on things.
I'm willing to let the N end handle their own, we'd like a chance to handle ours.
The question is WHO will lead this new city, right now I'm not so convinced we have the right people or plan.
I still think having specific representation from ones district, NOT County wide elections, is the way to go.
People who live in that specific district vote for their one Commissioner. They then hold them accountable, not the way it is now.
Let's compile a list of everything the government is good at...
Making South Walton mirror Destin does not seem like a good idea to me. Just sayin'.
Making South Walton mirror Destin does not seem like a good idea to me. Just sayin'.
Could South Walton become its own municipality?
A Better South Walton is taking its case for incorporation to the people.
Armed with a 23-page feasibility study and a summary of what a municipal charter might look like, the advocacy group embarks this week on a mission to sell cityhood to Walton County residents living between Choctawhatchee Bay and the Gulf of Mexico.
“I believe so intensely, in my soul, that this is right. I’m willing to talk to anyone for as long as it takes,” said Dave Rauschkolb, vice president of the eight-member committee spearheading the drive to incorporate.
A Better South Walton has scheduled public hearings for 5:30 p.m., Tuesday at the Rosemary Beach Town Hall and 5:30 p.m., Thursday at 560 Grand Boulevard, Suite 101, in Miramar Beach.
Speakers will have some intriguing highlights to hit.
One of the biggest, Rauschkolb said, is a Florida League of Cities opinion that a city of South Walton would be, on the day of its birth, the most fiscally sound municipality in the state.
Another is that city planners believe the new government can get by, at least in the short term, without assessing new property taxes.
A city between waterways
The city, town or village envisioned by A Better South Walton would be sandwiched between Choctawhatchee Bay and the Gulf of Mexico and extend from the Okaloosa County line east to the Bay County line.
It would be home to approximately 24,000 residents and stomping grounds for the vast majority of the 3.2 million visitors the Walton County Tourist Development Council says drop in each year.
The numbers, charted in the A Better South Walton feasibility study, are only going up, said organization President David Pleat.
“We’re looking at a 50 percent population increase in the next five years in South Walton and at another one million visitors,” he said.
As presently envisioned the city would be organized into three districts with similar characteristics.
Miramar Beach, home to the sprawling Sandestin development, would make up one district, the Santa Rosa Beach area another and Inlet Beach the third.
One of seven municipal governing board members would be elected from each district, and four more board members, including a mayor, would compete citywide for council seats.
The mayor would be given a vote in all council decisions.
Plans call for the new municipality to retain the services of the Walton County Sheriff’s Office, the South Walton Fire District, whose jurisdiction mirrors the footprint of the proposed community, and the South Walton Mosquito Control District.
The services A Better South Walton most wants under municipal control are planning and zoning and code enforcement, Pleat and Rauschkolb said.
Why incorporate?
There are, at present, three incorporated cities in Walton County.
DeFuniak Springs, Paxton and Freeport are all north of Choctawhatchee Bay, all primarily rural in makeup and combined are home to less than 10,000 of Walton County’s roughly 60,000 residents.
The entirety of South Walton is governed by the county’s five-member board of commissioners, and only a single commission district is drawn to represent an entirely South Walton constituency.
Walton County government operates today in much the same fashion it did “1820ish” when the county was founded, Raushkolb said.
“Walton County operates a reactive type of government, not a proactive government,” he said.
David Bailey, an urban planner by trade who also sits on the A Better South Walton committee, said South Walton has developed as an urban community, and should be governed as such.
“Cities are created to run an urbanized area. We have urban problems like traffic and drainage issues,” he said.
In truth, Bailey said, the differences between North and South Walton are vast when it comes to things like development and infrastructure. The north county has huge tracts of open space, agriculture and room to develop. The south has crowded beaches, soaring condominiums and parking problems.
“As far as infrastructure and opportunities, North Walton and South Walton are very different,” said Pleat. “We’re not saying one is better than the other, we’re just saying different.”
A Better South Walton’s representatives insist incorporating South Walton “is not a north county versus south county thing.”
“All it really is that we’re working on is creating the fourth city of Walton County,” Bailey said. “We would operate the way DeFuniak Springs, Paxton and Freeport do, and foster a good relationship with the county.”
A South Walton governed by a city council could be “laser focused” on issues close to home, Rauschkolb said, and make decisions that will better the area in both the short term and the long term.
“We want to develop a comprehensive plan. There are so many complex issues,” he said. “Our group is not against development. We’re for planning. We’re for development, smart development, that results from planning and consideration of existing infrastructure.”
....
A Better South Walton is taking its case for incorporation to the people.
Armed with a 23-page feasibility study and a summary of what a municipal charter might look like, the advocacy group embarks this week on a mission to sell cityhood to Walton County residents living between Choctawhatchee Bay and the Gulf of Mexico.
“I believe so intensely, in my soul, that this is right. I’m willing to talk to anyone for as long as it takes,” said Dave Rauschkolb, vice president of the eight-member committee spearheading the drive to incorporate.
A Better South Walton has scheduled public hearings for 5:30 p.m., Tuesday at the Rosemary Beach Town Hall and 5:30 p.m., Thursday at 560 Grand Boulevard, Suite 101, in Miramar Beach.
Speakers will have some intriguing highlights to hit.
One of the biggest, Rauschkolb said, is a Florida League of Cities opinion that a city of South Walton would be, on the day of its birth, the most fiscally sound municipality in the state.
Another is that city planners believe the new government can get by, at least in the short term, without assessing new property taxes.
A city between waterways
The city, town or village envisioned by A Better South Walton would be sandwiched between Choctawhatchee Bay and the Gulf of Mexico and extend from the Okaloosa County line east to the Bay County line.
It would be home to approximately 24,000 residents and stomping grounds for the vast majority of the 3.2 million visitors the Walton County Tourist Development Council says drop in each year.
The numbers, charted in the A Better South Walton feasibility study, are only going up, said organization President David Pleat.
“We’re looking at a 50 percent population increase in the next five years in South Walton and at another one million visitors,” he said.
As presently envisioned the city would be organized into three districts with similar characteristics.
Miramar Beach, home to the sprawling Sandestin development, would make up one district, the Santa Rosa Beach area another and Inlet Beach the third.
One of seven municipal governing board members would be elected from each district, and four more board members, including a mayor, would compete citywide for council seats.
The mayor would be given a vote in all council decisions.
Plans call for the new municipality to retain the services of the Walton County Sheriff’s Office, the South Walton Fire District, whose jurisdiction mirrors the footprint of the proposed community, and the South Walton Mosquito Control District.
The services A Better South Walton most wants under municipal control are planning and zoning and code enforcement, Pleat and Rauschkolb said.
Why incorporate?
There are, at present, three incorporated cities in Walton County.
DeFuniak Springs, Paxton and Freeport are all north of Choctawhatchee Bay, all primarily rural in makeup and combined are home to less than 10,000 of Walton County’s roughly 60,000 residents.
The entirety of South Walton is governed by the county’s five-member board of commissioners, and only a single commission district is drawn to represent an entirely South Walton constituency.
Walton County government operates today in much the same fashion it did “1820ish” when the county was founded, Raushkolb said.
“Walton County operates a reactive type of government, not a proactive government,” he said.
David Bailey, an urban planner by trade who also sits on the A Better South Walton committee, said South Walton has developed as an urban community, and should be governed as such.
“Cities are created to run an urbanized area. We have urban problems like traffic and drainage issues,” he said.
In truth, Bailey said, the differences between North and South Walton are vast when it comes to things like development and infrastructure. The north county has huge tracts of open space, agriculture and room to develop. The south has crowded beaches, soaring condominiums and parking problems.
“As far as infrastructure and opportunities, North Walton and South Walton are very different,” said Pleat. “We’re not saying one is better than the other, we’re just saying different.”
A Better South Walton’s representatives insist incorporating South Walton “is not a north county versus south county thing.”
“All it really is that we’re working on is creating the fourth city of Walton County,” Bailey said. “We would operate the way DeFuniak Springs, Paxton and Freeport do, and foster a good relationship with the county.”
A South Walton governed by a city council could be “laser focused” on issues close to home, Rauschkolb said, and make decisions that will better the area in both the short term and the long term.
“We want to develop a comprehensive plan. There are so many complex issues,” he said. “Our group is not against development. We’re for planning. We’re for development, smart development, that results from planning and consideration of existing infrastructure.”
....