Paging Mr. Osborne, paging Mr. Alan Osborne

[idlewind]

I have a sick child I am dealing with tonight, but promise to answer Road runners questions in a timley manner. I also will be speaking at the ECAR event tuesday evening. Please attend if you are intrested in meeting the candidates face to face.
Alan Osborne

Short answer- Helen Mccall park is not up to standards IMHO. If elected it's one of the things I WILL improve in my district! An investment in our youth is a investment in our future!

Alan Osborne

Please don't forget to explain how you are going to pay for it without raising taxes.

 

[BeachSiO2]

The truth is that we are nowhere near 40 accesses, much less 50.

Actually, there are more than 40 developed beach accesses with at least a walkover and some with parking and restrooms. Some are only 5' wide easements with walkovers so there is no room for the parking and restrooms.

If you count developed bay accesses and undeveloped beach and bay accesses you are over 60. Here is the list.

http://www.protectwaltoncountybeaches.com/accesses.asp

 

[Jdarg]

I have a sick child I am dealing with tonight, but promise to answer Road runners questions in a timley manner. I also will be speaking at the ECAR event tuesday evening. Please attend if you are intrested in meeting the candidates face to face.
Alan Osborne

Short answer- Helen Mccall park is not up to standards IMHO. If elected it's one of the things I WILL improve in my district! An investment in our youth is a investment in our future!

Alan Osborne

Cindy Meadows got the ball rolling on the Helen McCall project. From everything I saw, after the financial limitation, we were limited by space as to how much can actually be crammed into the existing area. Once all the improvements are finished as planned, it will be the best it can be for that small amount of space. Do we need bigger and better at some point? Yeah. Along with the pool and tennis courts. Recreational facilities are vital for thriving communities.

Thanks for seeing the need Alan- I still think many are under the impression that SoWal is only full of second homeowners and vacationers, and not families with children and grandchildren.

Sometimes living here and wanting to be involved in local politics and issues is hard - in addition to wanting to make rules and improvements for our "normal" community lives, half the time and effort must be spent on things that affect our local economy the most- the tourists. I do not envy the BCC.

 

[Santiago]

Priorities must be taken care of, and the fact is that the 50th beach access has a positive impact on tourism, which is where most of us make our living. The truth is that we are nowhere near 40 accesses, much less 50. Helen McCall looks to me to be compatible to Freeport and Paxton. DeFuniak I understand plays youth sports in a 40+ year old complex, so they may be next in line anyway.
Where revenue comes from should have little to do with spending decisions. Demographics should be the deciding factor. Otherwise, you could have state of the art ballfields in an upscale area with few children and no fields in a lower income area running over with youth.

So "where you make your living" trumps basic services and quality of life for permenant residents. I also make my living from the tourist industry and have enough foresite to know that providing these services brings in educated, family oriented people that makes our industry thrive. Along with demographics, it absolutely should matter where the revenue comes from. I am not suggesting that our facilities should be bigger and better than the other's that we pay for, just equal. We may need more parking for beachgoers but we are further ahead in that category than in recreation areas for our youth. Thank you Alan for noticing this and I look forward to you doing something about it.

 

[idlewind]

So "where you make your living" trumps basic services and quality of life for permenant residents. I also make my living from the tourist industry and have enough foresite to know that providing these services brings in educated, family oriented people that makes our industry thrive. Along with demographics, it absolutely should matter where the revenue comes from. I am not suggesting that our facilities should be bigger and better than the other's that we pay for, just equal. We may need more parking for beachgoers but we are further ahead in that category than in recreation areas for our youth. Thank you Alan for noticing this and I look forward to you doing something about it.

I think this is addressed in Maslov's Hierarchy of Needs- providing food,shelter and clothing is the foundation, "quality of life" comes next. In fact, I support fully providing the recreational activities that we can possibly afford. However, considering the space limits at McCall, how do you propose to pay for the additions? My understanding is that the Freeport land was donated, so a starting point for additional facilities might be finding someone to donate a parcel or two.

 

[Santiago]

Or using the impact fees from development that are earmarked for recreation.

 

[full time]

Priorities must be taken care of, and the fact is that the 50th beach access has a positive impact on tourism, which is where most of us make our living. The truth is that we are nowhere near 40 accesses, much less 50. Helen McCall looks to me to be compatible to Freeport and Paxton. DeFuniak I understand plays youth sports in a 40+ year old complex, so they may be next in line anyway.
Where revenue comes from should have little to do with spending decisions. Demographics should be the deciding factor. Otherwise, you could have state of the art ballfields in an upscale area with few children and no fields in a lower income area running over with youth.

Santiago is wrong - South Walton's facilities should be the best. In the simplest terms, you pump money in where you will get the highest return on the investment. South Walton is the golden goose. Letting South Walton's facilities and services lag behind or be "compatible" with other areas of the county is a recipe for future problems for the entire county. Freeport, Defuniak, Paxton, etc. - God Bless em- are unlikely to flourish in the foreseeable future without a healthy (and wealthy) South Walton. Every commissioner in Walton County should start off a meeting with this question in his/her mind - what does South Walton need from its government to be the best place to live in the United States? The potential is there when leadership recognizes and nourishes it.

 

[Listener]

Osborne for Commissioner

It's hard to know all the candidates for anything. Alan Osborne, is well known. His miltary record is an open book, and he has created quite a name for himself as a champion of right in the Santa Rosa Beach community. From all I've seen and heard, I think Alan Osborne represents a refreshing change in Walton County politics. He certanly gets my support and my vote.

 

[Andy A]

I think this is addressed in Maslov's Hierarchy of Needs- providing food,shelter and clothing is the foundation, "quality of life" comes next. In fact, I support fully providing the recreational activities that we can possibly afford. However, considering the space limits at McCall, how do you propose to pay for the additions? My understanding is that the Freeport land was donated, so a starting point for additional facilities might be finding someone to donate a parcel or two.

I'm sure, being knowlegable in government financing, you realize there are a ton of financial grants available to local governments for a myriad of projects. If you have a good grant administrator who do their job and researches available funds, I'm sure your already paid "tax dollars" can be accessed to do the much needed improvements at Helen McCall park or even new facilities which might be built elsewhere. Our youth are our future and supervised sports is a valuable way to teach them many fine and worthwhile attributes.

 

[idlewind]

I'm sure, being knowlegable in government financing, you realize there are a ton of financial grants available to local governments for a myriad of projects. If you have a good grant administrator who do their job and researches available funds, I'm sure your already paid "tax dollars" can be accessed to do the much needed improvements at Helen McCall park or even new facilities which might be built elsewhere. Our youth are our future and supervised sports is a valuable way to teach them many fine and worthwhile attributes.

I'm not sure I am so "knowledgeable" about government anything but I am told that Walton County is very aggressive in seeking grant funding, especially for recreation facilities. I applaud those who volunteer to teach our youth and think we should have the best we can afford. We just have to be careful to make sure that we can pay for the facilities and afford to maintain them. I guess "planning" sums it all up.;-)