CRESTVIEW — Like rush-hour State Road 85 traffic, receiving the final approval for a proposed connector road at the Crestview Corners shopping center has become a sit-and-wait situation.
PROJECT'S BACKGROUND
At an Aug. 11, 2014, City Council meeting, then-city planner Eric Davis introduced the proposal to use the existing north-south lane through the shopping center’s parking lot to bypass congestion on S.R. 85. The mall’s businesses include Big Lots, Bealls Outlet and Bamboo Sushi.
The proposed two-lane, low-speed connector would link Hospital Drive and Redstone Avenue East, removing some local traffic from S.R. 85.
The road — which would have regulation striping and parking islands to help define its parameters, and “stop” signs at the east-west parking lanes — would begin behind Advance Auto Parts and Payless Shoe Source, linking behind Taco Bell with the current driving lane and running behind Krystal and Regions Bank before connecting to Redstone Avenue.
Traffic impact fees, collected before the city placed a moratorium on such collections, would finance the project.
North Okaloosa Medical Center, along with Krystal, suggested the project. Today, all affected businesses, except NOMC, have approved the cut-through plans and required easements, Public Works Director Wayne Steele said.
CURRENT STATUS
So, what's with the holdup?
“It’s not the local board, but the board of directors for all the hospitals owned by that company,” Steele said, during a Feb. 22 city council meeting, referring to Community Health Systems, NOMC’s parent company.
Members rotate on and off CHS’s board of directors, so the board’s composition is different now than when the proposal was first raised, Steele said. New members must re-evaluate the project.
“It’s a little bit complicated,” Steele said, adding he had a meeting Feb. 22 with local hospital officials. The city has been waiting for the hospital’s approval since October, but following the recent meeting, he believes it is coming soon.
“We want to help facilitate the city’s proposed easement,” hospital CEO Ronnie Daves said. “However, we …cannot grant access without fully understanding the legal rights of other property owners. We are working with them to see if an agreement can be reached so necessary approvals can be obtained for the city to move forward with development.”
But, Steele said, “They were very optimistic and felt they would achieve getting the easement signed once the board of the directors were able to get the doctors that are now currently owners in that partnership to sign the documents,” Steele said.
“They didn’t give us a timeline but they felt very optimistic, so we’re glad of that."
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview connector road awaits hospital's final approval