By DOTTY NIST
Among action at the Dec. 22 Walton County Board of County Commissioners (BCC) meeting were measures to improve safety at the CR-83/U.S. 98 intersection. The meeting took place at the Walton County Courthouse in DeFuniak Springs. All commissioners were present with the exception of District 5 Commissioner Cindy Meadows.
CR-83/U.S. 98 intersection
The intersection has been under stress since fall, when part of CR-30A was closed east of Draper Lake in connection with the construction of a new bridge on the county road over the lake. The project is scheduled for completion by March 1 or earlier.
Since the road closure, there have been numerous accidents at the intersection, including one resulting in the tragic death of Freeport resident and motorcyclist David Beard in early December.
Electronic signs advising of the road closure have been up since mid-September, and in mid-October the county added off-duty deputies stationed at the intersection with flashing lights in an effort to slow down traffic.
In early September prior to the road closure, the county commission directed staff to contact the state Department of Transportation (DOT) to request a traffic light at the CR-83/U.S. 98 intersection, which had experienced accidents even prior to the start of bridge project. The effort toward that traffic light had been unsuccessful up until mid-December.
At the Dec, 17 BCC meeting, Walton County District 1 Commissioner Bill Chapman updated his fellow commissioners and attendees about his Dec. 14 meeting with DOT District 3 Secretary Tommy Barfield.
Chapman noted that the meeting had been at his request and that he had found Barfield willing to listen and work with Walton County. He said he, Chapman, had stressed the importance of trying to make the intersection as safe as possible and the concern existing on the part of the commission and the public.
Chapman reported that Barfield had agreed to the placement of the temporary traffic light and also to allow the county to leave the temporary light up upon completion of the Draper Lake Bridge project, with the light to be switched to flashing at that time. With a bridge project planned on CR-30A across Big Redfish Lake, the county would then be able to switch the light back to green-yellow-red once that project started and a portion of CR-30A was closed again.
Chapman estimated the cost of the light, which would be funded by the county, at approximately $104,000 to $106,000 with the $88,000 cost of construction plus permitting cost. He noted that not having to take down and put back up the light should save the county the $25,000 additional cost to do so.
Chapman emphasized that the temporary traffic light at the intersection “is not a permanent solution.” A warrant analysis would have to be conducted in order for a permanent traffic light to be approved there by DOT, he told the gathering. The analysis would have to be conducted at a time when there were no obstructions to the intersection, Chapman explained, meaning that the study would need to take place while the temporary light was in blinking mode.
On Dec. 17, DOT announced that crews would place temporary curbing with reflective delineator posts in the median of the CR-83/U.S. 98 intersection in preparation for Walton County personnel to install a temporary traffic signal at the intersection. It was also announced that during median restriction accompanying the traffic signal installation, there would be a prohibition on left turns onto U.S. 98 from C.R. 83. The temporary curbing and posts were put in place soon after the announcement.
The BCC voted 4-0 to move $106,000 in proportionate fair share funds forward to pay for the temporary traffic light. With all aye votes, they also approved an $88,985 contract with Griffin Traffic Signals for construction of the traffic light.
Planning Commission appointment
Also on the meeting agenda was an appointment by District 2 Commissioner Cecilia Jones to the Walton County Planning Commission. At the Dec. 8 BCC meeting, Jones had selected Rick Wilson as her appointee to the planning commission. Wilson is Walton County special projects coordinator.
After that appointment it had been determined by county legal staff that a county staff member was not permitted to serve on the planning commission and that Jones would need to make another selection.
Her nominee at the Dec. 22 meeting was John W. Roberts. In response to a question, Jones said she had also nominated Roberts as an alternate to the Walton County Code Enforcement Board. He had been approved to that position on Dec. 8.
A motion by Jones to appoint Roberts to the planning commission seat carried in a 4-0 vote.
TDC Executive Director Selection Committee
Also on the agenda was the selection of members for a committee to assist with the selection of a person to fill the vacant Walton County Tourist Development Council (TDC) executive director position. The committee is to vet candidate applications, check for minimum qualifications, interview some candidates and do a recommended ranking of candidates.
It had been determined that the committee would be composed of two TDC members, two from the bed tax collector community, and that three members would be appointed by the BCC.
County commissioners made their individual selections on ballots, choosing from bed tax collector volunteers and those from the TDC. Ballots were tabulated to arrive at the top choices, which were Jim Richard and Pam Avera of the TDC and bed tax collectors Gus Andrews and Richard Veldman. These people were approved by the BCC to serve on the committee.
For the three additional committee members selected by the BCC, county staff members were chosen. These included Walton County Finance Manager Melissa Thompson, Human Resources Director Ella Mae Walters, and Walton County Deputy Administrator/Interim TDC Director Stan Sunday.
Former Regional Utilities building
The commissioners were presented with an offer for county purchase of the former Regional Utilities, Inc., (RUI) office building, which the water/sewer utility company still owns and leases to the county at a rate of $2,000 a month. The 9,000+-square-foot building is on Logan Lane in Grayton Beach and houses the Walton County District 5 office.
County Administrator Larry Jones reported that RUI desires to sell the building and would not extend the county’s lease past November 2016 when it expires. The company has offered to sell the building to the county at the price of the lower of two appraisals, $1 million.
The commissioners discussed the relationship of RUI with the county. While held separately from the county while company debt exists, RUI serves as agent for Walton County. Jones was asked to look at potential uses for the building in addition to its use as a district office if acquired by the county. He was also asked to work toward a better purchase price, given the utility company’s relationship with the county.
In response to a question, L. Jones said that his investigation of possible county acquisition of the Walton Area Chamber of Commerce building in south Walton County had been sidetracked when he learned of RUI’s plans not to extend the county’s lease on the Logan Lane building.
DeFuniak Springs road and bridge funds
Staff updated commissioners on road and bridge funds, which the current BCC apparently learned just recently had been disbursed yearly by the Walton County Tax Collector to the city from a portion of the county’s ad valorem tax revenues. This had occurred for approximately 100 years. These were funds purposed for use on county roads within the city limits. No road and bridge funds have currently been conveyed to the city for the new fiscal year.
Walton County Finance Manager Melissa Thomason said county staff had met with city staff for discussion on the matter. She and other county staff stated that some 30 county roads had been determined to be within city limits
Thomason said that a five-year history of expenditures by the city showed that the county had spent $44,945 annually on these roads. The city, she explained, had done smaller-scale work on the roads, mostly routine maintenance, and city expenditures had not been tracked, although they would be in the future.
Staff was directed to continue to work with the city and do more research on the matter, at least until the Jan. 26 BCC meeting.
Sara Bowers, DeFuniak Springs city manager, commented that citizens benefit when the city and county work together. Many times it is more efficient for the city to do work on a road than to request that the county do so, she said.
Proposed parking ordinance
Wayne Dyess, Walton County planning and development services director, brought up the draft county parking ordinance and suggested that it be brought before the BCC at its Jan. 12 for additional review and possibly for setting of public hearings on the ordinance. This is a pared-down version of the ordinance that the county began looking at approximately two years ago and currently encompasses three issues, parking associated with residential lots less than one-half acre in size, parking associated with restaurants’ outdoor seating, and joint parking agreements approved by the county.
On a motion by C. Jones, the BCC voted 4-0 to instead first have the ordinance undergo review by a consultant to be enlisted by the county for analysis and recommendations for revisions to the Walton County Land Development Code and Comprehensive Plan. A request for qualifications (RFQ) for the consultant was also approved at the Dec. 22 meeting.