The overthrow of local authority to limit fracking, the controversial method of drilling for oil and natural gas after injecting chemicals underground to fracture rock formations, is being supported by Northwest Florida legislators.

At the Santa Rosa Board of County Commissioners’ meeting on Jan. 14, the discussion with pier operator Coastal Concessions continued regarding making amendments to the pier management contract currently in place with the county.  Coastal Concessions has been under the microscope recently because of overdue payment of pier admission fees to the county.  Coastal Concessions has contended since August that the financial struggle to pay the fees was precipitated by the maintenance costs associated with the upkeep of the pier.  According to the contract in place, Coastal is responsible for all expenses to maintain the pier while all of the revenue or gate fees revert back to the county.

The Dec. 16 announcement by Santa Rosa County that recycling services would no longer be available led to a community outcry for the county to find a resolution.  The past agreement was for waste service providers to pick up customers’ recycling at curbside and transport it to Central Landfill for pick-up by Emerald Coast Utilities Authority to transport it to a recycle processing center.  ECUA did not charge the county for transportation of the recyclables and the county did not receive any proceeds from the recyclables given to ECUA. 

The Santa Rosa County School Board will conduct  a workshop with the county commissioners at the Russell Center on the Locklin Technical Center campus Thursday, Jan. 21 at noon in order to discuss growth-management strategies for the Santa Rosa County School District. Last year in April, in order to solve problems caused by overcrowding within the school systems of Santa Rosa County, School Board Superintendent Tim Wyrosdick put forth a rezoning proposal for nine Pace area schools. However, in a narrow 3-2 vote, the school board rejected this proposal.

The local hospitality industry’s quest to delay the Navarre Beach restoration project may get inadvertent support from Sheila Fitzgerald, director of Santa Rosa County special projects and grants.

The owners of condominium units at the Sugar Dunes complex in Navarre Beach have hired an attorney to investigate why the lease fees they have been paying for years aren’t being been received by Santa Rosa County officials.

The Navarre Beach pier operator has averted a debt default and takeover of its operations by Santa Rosa County, but Coastal Concessions nevertheless says sharing business responsibilities could help avoid a future financial crisis.

Financial woes enveloping the Navarre Beach Pier manager, Coastal Concessions, are prompting Santa Rosa County officials to demand two months of past-due admission fees by Dec. 11 amid questions about whether the company’s previous payments were properly used.

Six years in the making with input from dozens of Santa Rosa County residents, emergency officials and engineers, the new Local Mitigation Strategy poses 45 ways to reduce the impact of flooding: from landscaping low areas for better drainage to requiring that new construction be elevated.