At their recent regular meeting, the Walton County Board of County Commissioners approved funding for a parking garage in south Walton. Chief Financial Officer Melissa Thomason asked that the board approve two funding agreements – one for the proposed Grayton Beach Parking Facility in the amount of $4,996,200 and the other for the proposed 393 Municipal Parking Facility in the amount of $2,077,700. That brings the total amount to $7,073,900, which will be added into this year’s budget. Walton County Tourism Beach Operations Director Brian Kellenberger explained the project, which is designed to help reduce the growing parking problems for residents and visitors. “These are our two parking projects we’ve been working on for a couple of years now for design and permit,” he said. “One is at Hwy. 282 and the other is at Hwy. 393.” When Commissioner Donna Johns asked how many new parking spots each facility would provide, Director Kellenberger noted that the Grayton project would offer 168 parking spots and the Hwy. 393 facility would yield 88 new spots. “I, for one, am really happy to see some parking (relief projects) going on, so I thank you for that,” said Commissioner Johns. “I appreciate it. I think it’s time.” When the vote was taken, the funding was approved unanimously.
