Minds can be changed – thank you commissioner
Last week, we editorialized about the commissioners having a builder-heavy citizen’s task force. Smith said he understood how it looked and wanted to get back to the simplicity of what they talked about in the workshop. Commissioners Bobby Burkett and Ray Eddington agreed with Smith.
Smith proposed each commissioner receive two picks, a layman and a professional stakeholder. But Commissioner Colten Wright had difficulty processing the decision. “It’s frustrating,” Wright said. “The board at that time (of the workshop) could have pumped the brakes a little. We are caving and changing our minds on things.”
We do not see this as caving to any political or media pressure. We see this as a governing body hearing and listening to their constituents. This is what you are elected to do – and you did it. Thank you!
What most people missed in the workshop meeting Jan. 28 was Wright laying out the plan for the Land Development Code Task Force and putting forth his vision for the group and then even putting forth the names of the people who wanted to see on the committee. He cast the vision of a task force, citizen led, mentioned a few names, every board member rejoiced – we did, too. Until…the builders became front and center. We are not bashing builders, we need them. But having a majority on the task force to solve LDC problems is like inviting a bunch of deer to a meeting to set the rules on hunting. But if you want to have a successful task force, make it diversified and representative of your community.
It took courage for Smith to say we need to start over on the task force and get back to the simplicity of it. He said we need to be careful with the optics of it all to the citizens. He wants to build trust with the community. He wants to be transparent.
How can anyone argue with that? Wright found a way. He wanted to know what constitutes a professional and a lay person? It was like a child not getting their way. He was concerned about a utility representative – don’t they benefit from the LDC and homes being built? Or a Realtor? It was very out of touch. If you go by that rule, home furnishing stores benefit, decorators benefit, landscapers benefit and the list goes on. We ask you commissioner to please use common sense and ditch the opposition to the commissioners that are trying to do right by the people.
Good things happened today, and we are proud of the board. We are hoping for more good news.
In the discussion about the Navarre Beach Bridge toll, Commissioner Ray Eddington said we need to toll the bridge now to save money to build it. We are looking at a $36 million bill to build a new bridge. As reported today, we have only about a quarter of the funding. We do have $1.5 million for the Planning, Design and Engineering study. That is the first step in securing a plan.
It is our opinion that we need to get the PD&E study rolling. It is funded, let’s go. But Eddington wants to spend the $1.5 million we have to fund the study and put in a toll by plate system, collect tolls now and then pay for the PD&E. Why? Now we are putting ourselves further down the road.
The PD&E study should come first. Then put a toll on the bridge. There are other capital funds that can be used to put in the toll by plate system. And once the tolls begin rolling in, those funds should be placed in a protected fund and used only for the matching funds needed for FDOT for building the bridge.
There was a lot of talk in the room today about using the toll funds for future maintenance needs. Commissioners, why would you use tolls to pay for maintenance when every single other bridge’s maintenance comes out of county funds. Why are we different? This is definitely unequitable to Navarre. The only reason why the repair funds were so high this year for the Navarre bridge is because it was completely neglected for many years. And now here we are. The one thing Eddington got right today was saying, “We waited too long.” He was talking about the repairs to the current bridge. And the millions we have spent on repairs this year and last would go a long way toward a new bridge.
The Navarre Beach Causeway bridge is the gateway to a lot of dollars which get deposited into the general fund. Perhaps some of that needs to come back to the bridge which helped generate those funds. If you shift some maintenance dollars over to toll the bridge, we will have a PD&E study and money coming in for matching FDOT funds.
This can be done – we are tired of trying to find the pea under the cup.