By DOTTY NIST
Rosemary Beach – About 150 people were in attendance at Rosemary Beach Town Hall on Aug. 23 for an update on efforts by the volunteer group A Better South Walton (ABSW) toward providing residents south of the bay with an option for a city government.
Several members of the volunteer group addressed attendees, took input and answered questions.
ABSW President David Pleat encouraged citizens to sign petitions in favor of residents having a vote on the creation of a new municipality in the area south of the bay.
Pleat discussed a charter summary recently completed through the group’s efforts. The document details the structure and other aspects of the government of the incorporated area. As part of the charter summary, a name for the municipality has been selected, the Town of South Walton, Florida.
Pleat revealed that, per the charter summary, the town government would be in the council-manager form with seven council member seats filled by people residing south of the bay. A mayor would be elected at large as the Seat 1 council member.
Three additional council seats would be elected at large, and three would be elected from within the town’s three districts. Districts would include Miramar Beach and Santa Rosa Beach, with the third district being a combination of Point Washington and Rosemary Beach minus Bunker Island.
Pleat encouraged attendees to view the charter summary on the organization’s website.
“We are not policy makers…we are simply here to facilitate the process,” Pleat said.
He outlined the timeline for the process, which sets November 2016 as the date for a local bill accompanied by the finalized town charter to be presented to the area’s state legislative delegation. Then, according to the timeline, in March 2016 a local bill providing for a local referendum on the creation of the municipality would go to the Florida Legislature and subsequently to the governor for consideration upon passage. Summer 2017 would be the time for community discussion and debate on the pros and cons of incorporation, with the referendum to take place in July 2017.
With a vote by south-of-the-bay residents in favor of incorporation, council elections would be held in September 2017 and the first council meetings would be held.
ABWS’s first charter workshop has been scheduled for 10 a.m. on Sept. 2 at the Bayou Arts Center in Santa Rosa Beach. Working from the charter summary, input is to be taken from community members in the creation of the charter that is to accompany the local bill going to the Legislature.
A wealth of information on the organization and its efforts is available on its web site, www.abettersouthwalton.org. Information is also available by calling (850) 588-1877.