NEED TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE ISSUE? - Gaylan's Corner! - Opinions, comments and Notes from the field - by Gaylan King - BED TAX/CONFERENCE CENTER HISTORY OF EVENTS - The Freedom Committee's goal is to repeal county ordinance 89-23 that has spawned the Tourist Development Counsel (TDC) and bed tax (increase), and is also designed to fund the proposed conference center.  The TDC was created with this ordinance and therefore, by law, will be disbanded with OR 89-23's repeal. In order to do this, a referendum must come to a vote before the people. There are four major areas on this website that are designed to do four things: 1. Present the FACTS supporting our case that the Conference Center will be a financial burden to the taxpayers of Okaloosa County. 2. Provide a HISTORY of the entire Bed Tax increase/Conference Center and give an historical scope to the issue. 3. To present OUR POINT OF VIEW as an opponent of the Bed Tax Increase/Conference Center and it's supporters. 4. To provide a FORUM in which others can share their point of view.

I witnessed a terrible car accident on Okaloosa Island last Thursday...

I'd been driving in the right-hand lane for 10 minutes in bumper-to-bumper traffic, returning to Destin. A driver in a car six or seven ahead of me, in the left lane, jammed on his breaks to make a LEFT turn and pure chaos followed. The first three cars behind slammed into him and each other. A brand new VW sedan was so squashed so that you couldn't tell the front from the rear. Several people must have been hurt; the newspaper, thankfully, reported no deaths.

There are very few, if any, left-hand turn lanes on Okaloosa Island. Traffic is never really safe out there and yet a Conference Center is approved there against the wishes of a majority of the county citizens.

That structure would only worsen an already dangerous traffic situation on Okaloosa Island.

We must wonder at what point this madness will cease. Even public safety seems to take a backseat to the never-ending chant to grow and profit.

On another, but related subject, the TDC has done little or nothing for the few public beach accesses in Destin. It is, apparently, a different story for the "public" beach access to the west of Silver Shells Condominium in Destin. Within a week-and-a-half of the opening of one building to a trickle of condo owners,  the TDC has started a garbage service there, with poles, bags and signs on the beach in front of Silver Shells.

(CLICK ON IMAGE TO LEFT OR HERE TO SEE A BLOWUP OF THE TDC SIGN)

They also CUT a large dune so those condo owners could walk through the dune, not over it. The photo clearly shows the layering and roots that were destroyed by the cut in a DUNE RESTORATION AREA! The dune also obscured the first floor condo owners view, which probably also influenced the decision to cut the dune.

Whatever happened to walkovers? The first hurricane tidal surge will run through, and widen that cut like hot water cuts through snow.

I'm researching the Florida Statutes that I believe prohibit any altering of dunes and will post my results ASAP.

Can you guess where the next $292,100 parking lot/shower facility TDC beach access project will be located?  Surprise! It will be located at the Silver Shells Condominiums in Destin.

After their last $292,100 triumph on Okaloosa Island few weeks ago, I looked at the picture on the NWFDN front page and saw a very fancy, landscaped parking lot. It looked as if there was a lot of wasted space. The very next day, a man called me, who lives nearby, with some interesting comments. He said that when it was just a coquina parking lot, you could park 50 cars there. After the $292,000 expenditure, he estimated that approximately ONE-HALF (25) of that number could park there, or less. If that wasn't such a sad situation, I'd laugh out loud.

We could all use a good laugh when it comes to politics and bureaucracy in Okaloosa County!  They've done little for the public...

Cheers!
Gaylan

 

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