Editorial, Opinion
Our hopes for 2019
We hope Holley Navarre Water System will get their act together and behave like a professional board that controls one of the largest budgets in the county. We wish successful business owners, or at least people with board experience, would seek to become part of the board for no other reason than to serve their community and make Holley Navarre Water System the best water provider in the area. They have top-notch employees who deserve top-notch leadership. Up to now, they have only known leadership that is an embarrassment to the community by people who make money off the system.
- We hope the Panhandle Butterfly House will come out of its cocoon and become the organization it was meant to be. We hope early in 2019 they will take the message to heart and begin fundraising for a new home. We are not talking about $5 or $10 here and there – we are talking about amazing fundraisers to get the money they need to operate independently. Do you know how many cool fundraisers you could do with butterfly themes? To date they have only wanted and waited for full support from the county – and they aren’t going to get it. We also wish they would swallow their ugly words against the Wildlife Refuge and take some notes on how they are raising money to build their future home.
- We hope the U.S. Highway 98 flyover being talked about by the Florida Department of Transportation will get nixed. We have many businesses that will be negatively impacted by an elevated roadway where cars pass right by their shops without being able to stop and shop. We know it is meant for thru traffic, however, other places where this type of roadway has been implemented has killed small businesses. We need our shops and boutiques. They are the backbone of Navarre.
- We hope the plan for the $7 million park gets revisited. We hope a more sensible approach is used to do small renovations and update playground equipment with enough money left over to completely redo all the NYSA athletic fields. There needs to also be a plan in place to maintain those fields our children need so much. Sports is one of the largest activities our children participate in – wouldn’t we want to encourage that? New fields are a good place to start.
- We hope all pet parents and pet sitters will be more responsible for their pets and keep them safe from running away. Fix those fences, check the gates, be watchful at the front door when going in or out and have them leashed whenever they are outside of a fenced area (it is a county ordinance). Don’t have a pet if you cannot take care of it. We have many wonderful rescues in our area that need your help to do the work they do. We hope you will contribute to them because they work tirelessly day and night to save animals off the street and out of the shelter to help lower euthanization rates.
- Last but not least – we hope residents of Navarre will enjoy prosperity in the new year. We hope Navarre’s economy will be good to you, grow your business and in turn grow Navarre. And we hope all growth is sensible and supportable.