By Rob Johnson on October 19, 2017
bank loans, Brian Kelly, City of Gulf Breeze, debt, East Bay, effluent disposal, Eglin Air Force Base, Fairpoint Regional Utility System, Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Gulf Breeze, Gulf Breeze Mayor Matt Dannheisser, Holley, Holley-Navarre Water System, James Calkins, Navarre, Paul Gardner, Ricki DeSantis, South Santa Rosa County, south santa rosa utility system, treated wastewater, Troy Bossier, Water utility
Local
Failing to set aside funds for emergencies has previously meant a financing scramble for the utility collective that provides water to south Santa Rosa, and now officials think they see a solution: take on about $4 million in long-term debt. Though perhaps unlikely at first glance, the strategy of Holley Navarre Water System and the […]
By Rob Johnson on October 18, 2017
Attorney Greg Marcille, Attorney Roy Andrews, Barbara Petersen, bed tax collections, Commissioner Bob Cole, Commissioner Rob Williamson, First Amendment Foundation, Florida, Florida's Sunshine Law, Jack Sanborn, Julie Morgan, Kyle Holley, Santa Rosa County, Sunshine law, Tourist Development Council
Headlines
Even the most seemingly innocent phone call between two members of a volunteer group such as the Tourist Development Council can cause suspicion and trigger legal questions that last for months. Such a phone call in August from council member Jack Sanborn to panel colleague Kyle Holley apparently prompted a complaint from an undisclosed source […]
By Rob Johnson on October 12, 2017
BP oil spill funds, Department of Interior, Gulf Breeze High School, Gulf Islands National Seashore, Gulf Islands Superintendent Dan Brown, National park, National Park Service, Naval Live Oaks Preserve, Research and Education Center, Santa Rosa Sound, Susan Teel, University of West Florida
Local
The planned 26,000-square-foot teaching lab at Gulf Islands National Seashore, announced with great fanfare in 2014, has stalled. “I don’t say it’s dead. It’s still out there,” National Seashore Superintendent Dan Brown said in a recent interview. The envisioned Research and Education Center was to be a joint endeavor of the National Park Service and […]
By Rob Johnson on October 12, 2017
Attorney Benjamin Zimmern, Attorney Michael Stebbins, Beverly Zimmern, Catawaba Street, Catawaba Street land grab, City of Gulf Breeze, Gulf Breeze, gulf breeze city council, Gulf Breeze City Hall, Gulf Breeze Mayor Matt Dannheisser, Gulf Breeze taxpayers, John Reese, Judge John Simon, Legal battle, Legal fees, Messer Caparello, Pete Peters, Renee Bookout, Samantha Abell, Santa Rosa County Circuit Court, Terry Mead, Tom Naile
Local
If William Shakespeare wrote today about the City of Gulf Breeze’s long-running legal fight in the so-called Catawba Street “Land Grab” case, he might well tweak his famous line in Henry VI thusly: “Let’s pay all the lawyers.” In fact, before anything else gets decided in a 30-year-old case that won’t die, opposing attorneys are […]
By Rob Johnson on October 11, 2017
Democrats, don gaetz, Donald Trump, Florida, Florida Gov. Rick Scott, Hillary Clinton, presidential election, republicans, Santa Rosa County, Santa Rosa County voter roll, Tampa Bay Times, Tappie Villane, Vote, voters, voting
Headlines
Although Republican voters hold a 3-1 edge over Democrats in Santa Rosa, they lost some of that lead this year. In the biennial updating that state law requires county Elections Supervisor Tappie Villane to do in every odd-numbered year, her staff has moved 4,874 Republicans to “inactive” status, compared with 2,066 Democrats. The trend […]
By Rob Johnson on October 6, 2017
Bankruptcy, Economic health, economic recovery, Great Recession, Jayne Bell, property taxes, Rick Harper, Santa Rosa County, University of West Florida
Local
In yet another sign of the area’s economic recovery, the number of Santa Rosa property tax delinquencies continues to fall. County records show that the percentage of property taxes collected after the annual March 31 delinquency deadline—when the levy for 2016 was due–fell to 5 percent this year. Read the full article in the Oct. […]
By Rob Johnson on October 5, 2017
Beckie Cato, Fulton County Supreme Court, James Freeman, Jubilee, Jubilee Investment Holdings LLC, Milton, Residential community, Rick Novak, Ronald Reeser, Santa Rosa County, Santa Rosa County Property Appraiser, Shawn Ward, single family homes
Local
The Atlanta developer who last year stopped his partners’ proposed donation to Santa Rosa County of the 2,718-acre property known as Jubilee is still working behind the scenes to create a huge residential community there. Ronald Reeser met with several county officials in July, according to Shawn Ward, Santa Rosa’s interim planning and zoning director, […]
By Rob Johnson on October 5, 2017
Assistant County Administrator Dan Schebler, Commissioner Rob Williamson, don gaetz, Economic consulting, economic development, Economic Development Strategy, Garner Economics LLC, Jay Garner, Matrix Design Group, Matt Schwalb, Michael Beedie, Milton, Navarre, Pace, Quint Studer, Santa Rosa County, Santa Rosa Economic Development, Shannon Ogletree
Local
Jay Garner didn’t know when he was awarded a $120,000 contract earlier this month for economic consulting with Santa Rosa that on the same day another company won a separate county contract to plan for the Navarre area’s future. But having learned about Niceville-based Matrix Design Group’s assignment, and its contract for up to $150,000 […]
By Rob Johnson on October 5, 2017
Banyan Investment Group, City of Gulf Breeze, Commerical development, Dairy Queen, Daniel Drive, Downtown Gulf Breeze, Dunkin' Donuts, GB Hotel LLC, Gulf Breeze, Gulf Breeze Development Review Board, Gulf Breeze Parkway, hotel, Marble Slab Creamery, Medical marijuana dispensaries, Publix Shopping Center, SAG 1 LLC, Sea Shell Collections shopping center, traffic congestion
Local
The commercial building boomlet underway in the City of Gulf Breeze is speeding up with plans being revealed for a fourth hotel and a third ice cream shop. No biggie by the standards of larger cities maybe, but the two proposed projects represent welcome growth and a tax base boost in this city of 5,800 […]
By Rob Johnson on September 28, 2017
Attorney Michael Stebbins, Eufaula Street, Gulf Breeze, gulf breeze city council, Gulf Breeze Mayor Matt Dannheisser, John Reese, Legal fees, Pete Peters, Renee Bookout, Santa Rosa Sound, Terry Mead
Local
When an attorney starts worrying publicly about the looming legal fees of a case, you know it’s getting expensive. Renee Bookout, a City of Gulf Breeze council member and a lawyer, is pressing for better tracking of the expenses that are piling up in her municipality’s 20-year court fight to gain control of a 50-foot-wide […]
By Rob Johnson on September 21, 2017
April Martin, boy scouts, Collier County, Collier County School District, don gaetz, education, Educators, Escambia School Superintendent Malcolm Thomas, Florida Legislature, George W. Bush, girl scouts, Greg Turchetta, House Bill 95, No Child Left Behind Act, northwest florida, Patriotic Societies Bill, Rep. Randy Fine, Santa Rosa County School District, Santa Rosa Superintendent Tim Wyrosdick, Scouts Access proposal
Education, Florida, Politics
At first glance the “Patriotic Societies” bill that’s working its way through the Florida Legislature may seem wrapped in the American flag and no more contentious than Mom or apple pie. But House Bill 95, also known as the “Scouts Access” proposal, would mandate the right of paid Scout leaders—for both boys and girls—to make […]
By Rob Johnson on September 20, 2017
Avalon Boulevard, Commissioner Bob Cole, Commissioner Sam Parker, County Administrator Tony Gomillion, County Engineer Roger Blaylock, HOK, Jerry Long, Milton, Milton Courthouse, sales tax, Santa Rosa County, Santa Rosa County Board of County Commissioners, Santa Rosa County courthouse, Santa Rosa County Judicial Center, Santa Rosa County residents
Headlines
Going back to the drawing board can be expensive. Now Santa Rosa officials are wondering if engineering plans for the proposed county courthouse on the newly purchased Avalon Boulevard site will cost anything like the roughly $475,000 already spent on such research for previously proposed locations that’s now at least partly obsolete. Read the full […]
By Rob Johnson on September 6, 2017
Adventures Unlimited, Bagdad Mills Site Park, Benny Russell Park, Commissioner Rob Williamson, Commissioner Sam Parker, Genesis Engineering LLC, Jack Sanborn, Navarre, Navarre Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, Navarre Beach bridge, Navarre Chamber, Navarre Park, Navarre Park visitor center, Panhandle Butterfly House, Santa Rosa County, Santa Rosa County Board of County Commissioners, Santa Rosa Sound, South Santa Rosa, Tamara Fountain, tourism bed taxes, Tourist Development Council
Headlines
Lee Majors, television’s “Six Million Dollar Man,” now has something of a financial kinship with Rob Williamson, the Santa Rosa County commissioner with a $6 million plan. Williamson intends to unveil the seven-figure fiscal details about the proposed overhaul of Navarre Park to his commission colleagues in their Sept. 14 meeting. The District 4 commissioner […]
By Rob Johnson on September 6, 2017
Adventures Unlimited, Attorney Greg Marcille, Attorney Roy Andrews, County Administrator Tony Gomillion, Escambia County State Attorney's Office, Florida Legislature, Florida Sunshine Law, Fred Piccolo, hotel bed taxes, Jack Sanborn, Julie Morgan, Liz Horton, Richard Corcoran, Santa Rosa County, Santa Rosa County Tourist Development Office, taxpayer funds, Tourism marketing, Tourist Development Council, Visit Florida
Headlines
Santa Rosa officials bristled at the recent scolding they received from House Speaker Richard Corcoran about the financial practices of the county’s Tourist Development Office. But they rejected a first impulse to fire off a terse letter to Corcoran—deciding instead to invite him here to prove the transparency with which the county handles its annual […]
By Rob Johnson on September 6, 2017
City of Gulf Breeze, Gulf Breeze, Gulf Breeze Area Chamber of Commerce, Gulf Breeze Chamber, gulf breeze city council, kristen loera, Santa Rosa County, Santa Rosa County School Board, Santa Rosa County School District, Walmart Neighborhood Market
Headlines
Long a symbol of business growth on Highway 98 in the City of Gulf Breeze across from the Walmart Neighborhood Market, the Gulf Breeze Area Chamber of Commerce must start looking for a different location to make room for a new tenant. The chamber will become a real estate refugee partly because of its own […]
By Rob Johnson on August 30, 2017
Adventures Unlimited, Attorney Greg Marcille, Attorney Roy Andrews, Brandi Whitehurst, Commissioner Rob Williamson, Florida Legislature, Florida's Sunshine Law, Fred Piccolo, Jack Sanborn, Julie Morgan, Kyle Holley, Laurie Gallup, Navarre Beach, Richard Corcoran, Santa Rosa County, Santa Rosa County Commissioners, Santa Rosa County Tourist Development Office, taxpayer funds, Tough Mudder Inc., Tourist bed taxes, Tourist Development Council, Visit Florida
Headlines
Santa Rosa officials have sidestepped the volunteer Tourist Development Council to revoke the county’s longtime membership in the state’s leisure industry marketing agency–Visit Florida–prompting a warning from state House Speaker Richard Corcoran. Corcoran described the move led by County Tourism Director Julie Morgan as a “futile attempt to shield financial information from public scrutiny” in […]
By Rob Johnson on August 30, 2017
City of Gulf Breeze, Daniel Drive, David Landfair, Dunkin' Donuts, Fairpoint Drive, florida department of transportation, Gulf Breeze, Gulf Breeze High School, Gulf Breeze Mayor Matt Dannheisser, Gulf Breeze Police Chief Rick Hawthorne, motorists, Nathan Ford, National Association of City Transportation, Northcliff Drive, Pensacola Bay Bridge, Sacred Heart Health System, Saint Ann's Catholic Church, Sir Isaac Newton, Thomas Lambert, Tom Naile, Traffic, Traffic accidents, Traffic tickets, U.S.Highway 98, Walmart Neighborhood Market
Headlines
Sir Isaac Newton could have told you so: There would be consequences to tinkering with the timing of traffic lights in the City of Gulf Breeze in an effort to smooth vehicular flow on Highway 98. The 17th Century physicist unintentionally forecast the city’s newest challenge for motorists when he wrote his celebrated Third Law […]
By Rob Johnson on August 30, 2017
BP oil spill, City of Pensacola, Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, grant, Karen Smith, Santa Rosa County, Santa Rosa County Commissioners, Santa Rosa County Economic Development Office, Shannon Ogletree, Sheila Fitzgerald, walton county
Headlines
Every year Santa Rosa officials apply for and win grants for hundreds of thousands of dollars from the state and federal governments, and they’re currently focused on gaining millions more as the county’s share of the BP oil spill settlement. So with a blizzard of grants available annually from various agencies, it probably isn’t surprising […]
By Rob Johnson on August 24, 2017
ad valorem taxes, Buz Eddy, City of Gulf Breeze, effluent, Gulf Breeze, Gulf Breeze Mayor Matt Dannheisser, Judge John Simon, Karl Sandell, Legal fees, Michael Stebbins, Santa Rosa Circuit Court, Santa Rosa County, Santa Rosa County Property Appraiser Greg Brown, South Santa Rosa Utility, tiger point golf club, Treated wastewater effluent
Local
The money-pit image of Tiger Point Golf Club is well known among taxpayers and officials in the City of Gulf Breeze, which owns the 375-acre property. But new details about the true depth of the financial hole dug at Tiger Point Golf have emerged in a Santa Rosa Circuit Court document filed earlier this month. […]
By Rob Johnson on August 22, 2017
Amendment 2, City of Gulf Breeze, dispensaries, gulf breeze city council, Gulf Breeze Mayor Matt Dannheisser, medical marijuana
Headlines
Any potential controversy about the new City of Gulf Breeze ordinance that prohibits medical marijuana sales outlets within the municipality’s borders ended with no one speaking up in a public hearing on the matter Monday night. Without opposition from residents, the City Council voted 5-0 for the ban to start immediately. “The City Council finds […]
By Rob Johnson on August 10, 2017
Carol Boston, Santa Rosa County School, Santa Rosa County Superintendent Tim Wyrosdick, teachers union, Wyrosdick
Education, Local
Santa Rosa public school teachers will receive about half of the $3.3 million annual pay raise they have sought per a 5-0 vote by the school board that limited their increase Thursday night. School Superintendent Tim Wyrosdick, who had a victory statement prepared in advance, seemed to anticipate the board vote that supported his position […]
By Rob Johnson on August 10, 2017
Business, economic development, Growth Fund, industrial parks, Santa Rosa County, Shannon Ogletree
Headlines
From a 500-employee gun manufacturing plant to a 300-worker distribution center, Santa Rosa County is seeking to attract a diverse list of potential employers to its three industrial parks or other locations. But Economic Development Director Shannon Ogletree said on Thursday that his efforts are hampered by a lack of financial incentives, starting at the […]
By Rob Johnson on August 2, 2017
BP oil spill, Chabin Concepts, Commissioner Sam Parker, Greater Pensacola Chamber of Commerce, Gulf Breeze Chamber, Gulf Power, John Hutchinson, kristen loera, Local-Option Sales Tax, Michelle Bauer, national retailers, RESTORE Act, Rick Byars, Sandy Sansing, Santa Rosa County, Santa Rosa County Commissioners, Santa Rosa County Economic Development Office, Santa Rosa County Economic Development Plan, Shannon Ogletree, Tamara Fountain, Vision 15 plan
Headlines
The County Commission’s recent proposal to pay up to $120,000 for an economic development strategy devised by a private consultant seems to ignore that it paid $25,000 for such a plan in 2013. In fact, three current commissioners and Santa Rosa Economic Development Director Shannon Ogletree are listed in the report by California-based Chabin Concepts […]
By Rob Johnson on July 30, 2017
ban, City of Gulf Breeze, City of Milton, Governor Rick Scott, gulf breeze city council, Gulf Breeze Mayor Matt Dannheisser, marijuana, medical marijuana, Medical Marijuana Treatment Center
Headlines
The impending City of Gulf Breeze ordinance that prohibits medical marijuana sales outlets within the municipality’s borders leaves no room for misinterpretation—starting with its first words: “Ban imposed.” Written by the city’s paid staff at the direction of the elected City Council, the new law is tentatively slated to go into effect in mid-to-late August […]
By Rob Johnson on July 27, 2017
Avalon Boulevard, Board of County Commissioners, courthouse, courthouse site, Jayer Williamson, Jerry Long, Milton, Mulat Road, Santa Rosa County, Tony Gomillion
Headlines
Pensacola businessman Jerry Long didn’t waste time in accepting Santa Rosa’s $850,000 offer for his 19 acres on Avalon Boulevard as the prospective site of the new county courthouse. Long accepted the offer within days after the commission voted to make it last week, according to County Administrator Tony Gomillion. If the 75-day due diligence […]
By Rob Johnson on July 27, 2017
City of Gulf Breeze, Emergency vehicle, Fairpoint Drive, Fire Chief Shane Carmichael, Firetruck, GovDeals, Gulf Breeze, Gulf Breeze Assistant City Manager Nathan Ford, Gulf Breeze Fire Station, Pierce Lance pumper
Local
The bright red paint still shines, and the siren can scream as loudly as ever, but the hulking firetruck that started a proud career in 1986 in the City of Gulf Breeze is now relegated to the auction block. Finding a new home for the 20-ton Pierce Lance pumper isn’t easy. Since posting a national […]
By Rob Johnson on July 27, 2017
City of Gulf Breeze, crestview, David Landfair, Florida, Florida Gov. Rick Scott, Fort Walton Beach, Gulf Breeze, gulf breeze city council, Gulf Breeze City Manager Samantha Abell, Gulf Breeze Mayor Matt Dannheisser, Marijuana medical dispensaries, Medical cannabis law, medical marijuana, Michelle Beasley, Milton, Niceville, Randy Hebert, Renee Bookout, Terry Mead, Vikash Singh
Local
The message from Gulf Breeze City Council to medical marijuana dispensaries: This town isn’t big enough for both of us. Despite the 70 percent statewide voter approval of the expanded sale of a non-euphoric form of the drug in November, the five-member Gulf Breeze panel is balking at allowing sales in this beachy community of […]
By Rob Johnson on July 26, 2017
Baskerville-Donovan Inc., Commissioner Rob Williamson, Commissioner Sam Parker, County Administrator Tony Gomillion, County Engineer Roger Blaylock, Flood Control, flood mitigation, half-cent sales tax, Holley by the Sea, Navarre, Pace, Pea Ridge, Retention ponds, Santa Rosa County, Santa Rosa County Commission Meeting, Sheila Harris, stormwater containment, Yvonne Harper
Local
County officials revealed this week that they have moved the start of five flood control projects in the Pace/Pea Ridge area ahead of stormwater containment in Navarre. The roughly $10 million in retention ponds, drainage and other infrastructure for which the county is seeking federal funds in the Pace/Pea Ridge area contrast sharply with those […]
By Rob Johnson on July 14, 2017
Alan Lowery, county commissioners, courthouse, half-cent local option sales tax, Santa Rosa County, Travis Peterson
Headlines
When the proposed location for a new county courthouse was rejected by voters last year, it failed despite a core of support from downtown Milton and unanimity among the Santa Rosa commissioners who proposed it. The latest prospective site has neither. “I’m disappointed,” Milton City Council Member Alan Lowery told this newspaper Thursday after a […]
By Rob Johnson on July 13, 2017
Chris Thomas, Coastal Concessions LLC, Gulf Breeze, Judge John Simon, Lagerhead's restaurant, Lagerheads Cafe, Lagerheads on the Gulf, lawsuit, Legal battle, Liv Beach Shop, Navarre, Navarre Beach, Navarre Beach Fishing Pier, Navarre Pier, Navarre pier restaurant, Santa Rosa County, Scott Rayner, Stephanie Maddox
Local
Before the partners in Coastal Concessions LLC began a legal war with each other in February, their lease from the county to run the Navarre Beach Pier seemed like a license to mint money. But the dueling lawsuits between Stephanie Maddox and Scott Rayner have now been settled and the roughly $2 million-a-year business that […]
