There are three open seats on the Okaloosa Board of County Commissioners. We reached out to all of them and will update this story as more responses come in. Interviews may be condensed and edited.
District 1
Candidates:
De'Carlo Garcia
decarlogarcia.com
Paul Mixon (incumbent)
votepaulmixon.com/
De'Carlo Garcia
How can the county commission best support, protect, expand and leverage our military missions?
Garcia: Encourage and sustain a mutual relationship by proactively engaging in beneficial interests. Maintain constant communication to ensure our contracts are in order and functioning for the best interests of the community while still offering solutions for service members' families, such as child care and access to healthcare.
Our coastal communities are on the frontlines of the climate crisis – with our area expected to realize real impacts from sea level rise and more frequent and intense natural disasters within our lifetimes. What do you feel the county should be doing to confront these realities?
Garcia: Okaloosa County is a model for emergency management relief and services. Our Public Safety Director Patrick Maddox has an outstanding team and a state-of-the-art Emergency Operations Center that is organized to handle any disaster. The 911 operators to our first responders all give 100% which makes morale high. As far as addressing the sea level rising, I will maintain an open relationship with the Coastal Resource Coordinator Mike Norberg for continued support of the living shoreline project to address coastal erosion issues as this will provide benefits to the ecosystem.
Affordable housing is one of the top concerns locally and nationally. What actions can the county take to help mitigate this problem?
Garcia: One way that has already started is the coordination of enhanced use land and the approval of Eglin Orphan Parcels to help mitigate the workforce/affordable housing issues that have come with such drastic growth over the last few years. Okaloosa County offers affordable housing programs through various grant programs and I plan to work very closely with the Affordable Housing Advisory Committee over the next few years. Strategic planning is key. Growth will happen but we want it to happen responsibly and not in a way that encroaches on the character of the North and South areas of our home, but rather enhances it.
If you could accomplish one, catalytic “Big Idea” you feel could take this county to the next level of success, what would it be?
Garcia: BUC-CEES! (drops mic) But seriously, 1-10 is a major artery through the southern U.S. and I believe that shopping businesses will be more attracted to exits and areas of interest that have one within driving distance to multipurpose convenience stores now. They pay their employees well and it would provide jobs for locals so it would be a win-win.
District 3
Candidates:
Sherri Cox
electsherricox.com/
Wade Merritt
vote4wademerritt.com
Keri Pitzer
keriforcommissioner.com/
Andrew Rencich
vote4rencich.com/
Heath Rominger
heathfordistrict3.com/
Wade Merritt
How can the county commission best support, protect, expand and leverage our military missions?
Merritt: Give support by being attentive and aware of the importance of the mission. Protect the mission by keeping nonmilitary properties low-density so not to affect the mission’s ability to be effective. Expanding the mission can best be accomplished by working together with our state and federal government to keep us at the tip of the spear as the mission is continually changing. In order for the county to help keep leverage we most keep good relations with our military leaders and congressional leaders and not encroach on the bases.
Our coastal communities are on the frontlines of the climate crisis – with our area expected to realize real impacts from sea level rise and more frequent and intense natural disasters within our lifetimes. What do you feel the county should be doing to confront these realities?
Merritt: I feel this is what the county should be doing. Education and awareness would be the first step. Limiting buildings and growth along the coast would also be helpful. Removing solar panels from the area could help restore balance.
Affordable housing is one of the top concerns locally and nationally. What actions can the county take to help mitigate this problem?
Merritt: It’s not possible while we as a nation are in such an economic crisis. With the cost of materials to build elevated, no one could build and then rent or sell a unit and make a profitable return while offering it as affordable. As to the county mitigating it, the county would have to be jointly invested in efforts with state and federal agencies to help with affordable housing. No builder should have to take a loss to build affordable housing, maybe subsidize the builder so he can build affordable housing. Putting our military on base in the correct base housing could help. That would also remove the BAH from the equation in return lower the rent in older homes that not to long ago were affordable.
If you could accomplish one, catalytic “Big Idea” you feel could take this county to the next level of success, what would it be?
Merritt: Remove special interest from our county government, let the citizens of Okaloosa County be heard. An informed citizenry is a powerless citizenry. Invest in our citizens, they have great talent.
District 5
Candidates:
Drew Palmer
electdrewpalmer.com
Mary Anne Windes
votewindes.com/
Drew Palmer
How can the county commission best support, protect, expand and leverage our military missions?
Palmer: There are several, sometimes competing, factors when it comes to providing for the county's needs and supporting and protecting the military missions. One of the main things that will endanger the bases and the mission is traffic. If the base personnel cannot get to base in a timely manner the military may reassess their ability to meet the needs of the mission. The county commission must work with all level of government including city, state, and federal levels to ensure that our infrastructure can meet the traffic demands that are impacted by the growth of the mission.
We must also ensure that there is adequate housing, whether on base or off. Pursuing orphaned land parcels is one aspect that will allow for increasing housing inventory and we should also work with the bases to try to increase some on-base housing which would not only reduce the local housing deficit but will also ease some of the strain on traffic by keeping some base personnel on base.
The county also needs to support economic development and encourage military and defense companies to have operations near our bases so that they are located near their customer, can contribute meaningfully to the mission and positively impact our local economy. This can be done by streamlining permitting processes and possibly offering other considerations to companies that intend to add jobs and operations to our county.
Our coastal communities are on the frontlines of the climate crisis- with our area expected to realize real impacts from sea level rise and more frequent and intense natural disasters within our lifetimes, what do you feel the county should be doing to confront these realities?
Palmer: With the increase in the frequency and intensity of storms we need to make sure that our emergency operations center is updated and adequate to meet the needs of a natural disaster. We also need to ensure that our first responders are well-prepared and well-equipped to respond appropriately to any emergencies. As someone who has done a lot of volunteer work with hurricane recovery organizations, I have seen first-hand how proper planning and equipping can go a long way in recovery from natural disasters.
Educating the community and ensuring that we are good stewards of our natural resources is very important. We need to make sure that we have a plan and programs in place to keep our dunes healthy and be ready for beach replenishment when necessary. This is going to require putting a plan together, estimating costs, and providing for funding. Speed matters in recovery and we need to be well-positioned to act quickly.
Affordable housing is one of the top concerns locally and nationally. What actions can the county take to help mitigate the problem?
Palmer: The county can do very little to impact the cost of materials and labor but we can do things to reduce holding costs for developers by ensuring that our county permitting processes are streamlined and efficient. The permitting and approval timeline is a common complaint among developers and builders and the rising costs associated with extended timelines are passed directly along to the consumer in higher prices. Efficient government is a major goal, as someone who is Lean/Six Sigma certified I have a lot of experience evaluating processes and improving efficiency.
The county can also engage and advocate for our local community to bring more state and federal funding for workforce and attainable housing. We can leverage state programs such as the Live Local Act and Hometown Heroes to ensure that we encourage local developers to take advantage of that available funding and ensure that a portion of the housing that is developed meet the requirements of attainable workforce housing.
If you could accomplish one, catalytic “Big Idea” you feel could take the county to the next level of success, what would it be?
Palmer: We need to diversify our local economy. With nearly 70% of our local economy military/defense-related and nearly 30% dependent on tourism, our economic stool only has two legs. We need to work to expand that by adding manufacturing and high-technology jobs. Okaloosa County is well positioned with many of the building blocks in place in a great school system, highly rated nearby universities, a talented and educated local workforce with many highly skilled military veterans and we have available industrial land at Shoal River Ranch and several technology incubator organizations.
The defense sector does a lot of work in research and development and sometimes that creates opportunities with technologies that are developed that, while not useful for defense, might be candidates to be spun off, incubated, and produced for the commercial sector. If we could be prepared and positioned to capture some of that technology, incubate it locally, and produce it at Shoal River Ranch or other local areas that would be an enormous win for our local economy.
If we can expand and enhance our economic base we will be able to provide a brighter future for Okaloosa County.
Mary Anne Windes
How can the county commission best support, protect, expand, and leverage our military missions?
Windes: Our three major hurdles are traffic, workforce housing, and childcare. While these things are hugely problematic for hardworking families, they are mission-critical for the military. One of the commanders reported the other day at the Greater FWB Chamber of Commerce that if their people can’t come to work or aren’t at work due to any of these factors when something big happens, they will have to report the problem as a mission failure. Mission failures are unacceptable to the chain of command, and if necessary, they will look for somewhere else to station where these needs have already been addressed. Seeing this, knowing this, is HUGE! We can wait no longer. We MUST address and fix these problems sooner rather than later.
Our coastal communities are on the frontlines of the climate crisis – with our area expected to realize real impacts from sea level rise and more frequent and intense natural disasters within our lifetimes. What do you feel the county should be doing to confront these realities?
Windes: My business office of 30-plus years is on the Destin Harbor at the Destin Fishing Fleet Marina. We just rebuilt the two giant T-docks a few years ago, and we had to make both docks up to 3” higher to accommodate the step off the boat because of the increase in the water height over the last 20 years. Commissioners can direct that all new infrastructure be built at a higher elevation, be built to withstand flooding and have flood control measures such as deeper stormwater retention to reduce flooding. We can also create zoning regulations that limit development in vulnerable areas and work with neighboring counties to make sure they are doing the same. We also need to ensure that emergency management is prepared for the worst. Because of “round swirly things” (I don’t like to use the H word), our area is more prepared than most already, but we should be ever vigilant looking forward to prepare for and address these situations in advance.
Affordable housing is one of the top concerns locally and nationally. What actions can the county take to help mitigate this problem?
Windes: The county is already negotiating with Eglin to utilize some of their “orphan” parcels for workforce housing development. We can use the Live Local Act to ensure the zoning and the Hometown Heroes Loan Program for the eligibility. We must ensure that any workforce housing development is 1) sustainable so that it doesn’t go away with the first applicant by creating a Community Land Trust with specific rules on transfers, 2) aesthetically pleasing in keeping with the surrounding area, and 3) in the south end yet close to the military base where the workers are needed, which will also reduce traffic on 85 in and out of Crestview.
If you could accomplish one, catalytic “Big Idea” you feel could take this county to the next level of success, what would it be?
Windes: In my first question, I related the three biggest problems affecting our area but especially our military: traffic, workforce housing, and childcare. Traffic is already being addressed SLOWLY, and I’d like to get appointed to the TPO to emphasize that this is a mission-critical priority, and we need all hands on deck at the state level to make this happen quickly. Workforce housing can be partially addressed with the orphan parcels, and we’ve already been working with a workforce coalition to move forward with planning for even more additional housing. Finally, the childcare crisis can be addressed by ensuring funding to the Early Learning Coalition, and that money gets doubled with grant funds. The ELC assists with teacher certifications to add additional teachers and provides funds to open additional classrooms for those teachers, which is exactly what we need. They also provide free VPK which ensures Kindergarten readiness for our students. It’s a great program.
But, my big idea isn’t my own; it’s where I see the biggest need, and it is probably going to be one of our toughest goals as this problem hasn’t gone away in at least 12 years. Our Correctional Facility is way overcrowded due to a slow court system (think seven men to a cell rather than two), and the building is settling into the wetlands. Most of those incarcerated in the facility have not been to trial, and 85% of them do not go on to prison. They are merely awaiting trial while kept in intolerable conditions. We need a new jail because allowing this to continue could cost the county a lot of money in sanctions. I will advocate to find a way to fund this facility without raising tax dollars.