In a recent letter to the editor, Commissioner Cecilia Jones patted herself on the back over her accomplishments as chair of the Economic Development Alliance. The EDA is a one person operation run by former commissioner Bill Imfeld. Walton County contributes about 90% of the $156,000 budget; the rest comes from Paxton, DeFuniak Springs, and Freeport. Jones claimed that, with the help of the EDA, Freeport added 224 jobs and almost 40,000 sq. ft. of non-residential units. New businesses under development are a Waffle House, a Dairy Queen, and expansion of Waste Management. Proposed developments include a McDonald’s, an auto parts store, and a hardware store. These places have mostly minimum wage, part-time retail jobs, but it’s better than nothing. Jones also claimed “421 sq. ft. of residential units were added to the Freeport area." A 421 sq. ft. building — wow, 20’ x 21’; that’s a two car garage! She bragged about “seeking to diversify economic opportunities through improvements to workplace education and training, infrastructure, affordable quality housing, recreation, streamlined permitting . . .” Sounds like campaign promises, doesn’t it? Is Cecilia Jones promoting economic development or is she promoting Cecilia Jones? Art Miller
