CRESTVIEW — The new county courthouse's rotation westward raised concerns and condemnation at the City Council's Monday evening meeting.
By a 3-2 vote at its May 17 meeting, the Okaloosa County Board of Commissioners voted to accept the project developers' recommendation to align the new building parallel with Main Street rather than facing south as its two predecessors have done for nearly 100 years.
Critics of the decision—including city councilmen, Main Street Crestview Association and Crestview Historic Preservation Board members—say the public was not shown the new site plan before it was hastily adopted at the meeting in Shalimar. Commissioners Carolyn Ketchel and Kelly Windes cast the dissenting votes.
Both of North Okaloosa County's commissioners, Nathan Boyles and Wayne Harris, embraced the new plan.
In an interview with the News Bulletin, Boyles explained, “The site was very constrained, and there are utilities on the site that had to be taken into consideration.”
Crestview councilmen directed Mayor David Cadle to send a letter to the commissioners requesting an opportunity for residents to contribute to the debate at the commissioners' June 7 meeting, which will be in Crestview.
"There is concern by the citizens of Crestview and the City Council as to why this change occurred," Cadle said.
LAST-MINUTE CHANGE
Former councilwoman Linda Parker said despite the Historic Preservation Board working with commissioners for more than a year and half, board members only learned about the new courthouse orientation shortly before the Shalimar meeting.
"The site plan is very, very different from what was implied," Parker said. "The issue that the front of the building would be on the west side, this was never understood by anyone."
"It has always been situated so that if you come up Main Street from the south, you are looking at the front of the courthouse," Councilman Doug Faircloth said. "Now they want to change that so you're looking at the end of it."
Faircloth also had another concern.
"This also puts the (Okaloosa County) Veterans Memorial off to the side," Faircloth said. "It's not the main feature anymore as you approach the courthouse."
"I think our citizens are looking for a reason (for the reorientation) and it's incumbent on our county commissioners to be as transparent as possible," Councilman Shannon Hayes said.
"Since it seems to be an issue that has risen in our city—and the courthouse is in our city—I think we as citizens are owed an explanation."
"The commissioners came in front of us and made a very good presentation of what it was going to look like and had us all on board, but then made the change and never came back to us," Councilman JB Whitten said. "We never had that opportunity, no presentation."
RESIDENT INPUT
"I believe the citizens of this town have the responsibility, the opportunity and the obligation to let the county commission know what our desire is," Council President Joe Blocker said.
"This is our city….I want the architects and our county commission to know how the citizens of Crestview, Florida, feel about the location of this courthouse…. We didn't order a red one for them to give us a pink one. We're not going to buy this."
Parker said like the Historic Preservation Board, the Main Street Crestview Association and the City Council, the public was not apprised that the new courthouse would not face south.
"The public did not know. You can't complain about a problem if you don't know you have a problem," she said, encouraging residents to attend the June 7 meeting and let commissioners know their thoughts.
"If we don't pack this room here and we don't speak to this, they're not going to understand that we in Crestview see this as a problem. We need to be there and we need to have our neighbors there."
City leaders encourage residents to attend the Okaloosa County Board of County Commissioners' 8:15 a.m. June 7 meeting and voice their opinions on the proposed new courthouse's orientation. The meeting will be held at the Crestview City Hall council chamber.
WANT TO GO?
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview City Council blasts new courthouse orientation