By DOTTY NIST
A variety of updates and important items were on the agenda for the Oct. 13 Walton County Board of County Commissioners (BCC) meeting at the South Walton Annex.
South Walton Sports Complex
Rick Wilson, Walton County special projects coordinator, provided an update on the South Walton Sports Complex, which is to be built on the north side of U.S. 98 about two miles east of Emerald Coast Middle School.
Wilson told the commissioners that the project is coming along nicely and that consultants are about 1 1/2 months from having construction documents ready so that the county can go out to bid for a contractor. He anticipated local youth playing on ball fields at the complex in late spring or early summer 2017.
Lose & Associates is planning consulting firm for the project.
The preliminary master plan for the complex includes a three-field baseball complex with batting cages and a restroom/concession building, three multi-use fields for football, soccer and lacrosse, space for festivals and concerts with a concrete area for a portable stage, parking areas, a perimeter walking trail, and passive areas for picnicking and relaxation. Other features, including a basketball court, outdoor sand volleyball court, four tennis courts, a pickleball court, and a playground, possibly with a shallow-water play area, are also in the plan and may be added later.
The ball fields are being prioritized due to high demand, along with infrastructure, but Wilson said the items planned for phase 1 of the project are being pared down. This is due to project cost being coming in at $7.2 million and the budget for the project being $6.2 million.
“We’re very happy with the design,” Wilson said, displaying architectural drawings by Lose & Associates. He was hopeful that the public would be also, adding that the community would be involved in the choice of colors and the final project design, which would go before the BCC for approval at a future meeting.
Broadband Initiative
In other business at the meeting, the commissioners took action on another project that Wilson has been working on as part of a Broadband Initiative partnership effort involving the county, the Walton County School District, the Walton County Sheriff’s Office, the Walton County Clerk of Courts, the municipalities, and citizens.
Spearheaded by Walton County District 4 Commissioner Sara Comander, the collaboration was started with the aim of finding a way to improve internet connectivity in Walton County, which was problematic and even nonexistent in many areas. This has had a negative impact on government operation and services, public safety, business, and citizens.
The solution arrived at is a public-private partnership in cooperation with the WCSD, which is having Southern Light run fiber optic cable in Walton County in order to provide students with online textbooks and testing. Aiding with costs is the fact that Southern Light is running cable throughout Florida for the Department of Defense and Verizon.
The project scope will include over 50 buildings throughout the county, including county government , fire and EMS stations, and libraries. Comander clarified that cable will not be run to private homes and businesses as part of the project but said that the project should help make internet service available to them in the future in areas where it is now lacking.
Through the use of E-rate funding through the Federal Government, a $1.5 million cost to the county for the project was arrived at. Wilson explained that the cost would be divided over the next two years at $750,000 per year, with all infrastructure to be in place within eight to 12 months.
“All elected officials work together in this county,” Comander was proud to say.
“I can’t tell you how excited I am about this project,” she added.
A motion by Comander for approval of the project carried unanimously.