CRESTVIEW — North Okaloosa County will be the focus of several public improvements in coming months and years, according to Commissioner Nathan Boyles.
Issues he discussed during the Crestview Area Chamber of Commerce’s Sept. 14 Government Issues Committee meeting include:
BUDGET AND TAXES
County commissioners kept the county’s ad valorem tax rate unchanged at 3.4308 mills, Boyles said.
“We are at the very bottom, or near the bottom, in millage rates across the state,” he said. “We generally function very efficiently. We are far and away the lowest aggregate millage rate in the state.”
Just one citizen attended a budget hearing “and he was at the wrong meeting,” Boyles said. “It was a change in pace. My second year in office we had people picketing the meeting.”
CRESTVIEW COURTHOUSE
The 1955 courthouse is now vacant and its asbestos abatement contract has been awarded. Asbestos must be removed before demolition can begin.
County Public Works Director Jason Autrey said asbestos mitigation should begin by October. Immediately afterward, court security Capt. Jay Jones hopes to hold an active-shooter drill in the building before its demolition.
Boyles said demolition could begin by the end of October. Once the building begins coming down, “I think we'll see things moving really quickly,” he said. “There won't be any pause.”
TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS
“There's a lot happening right now behind the scenes on the notion of a western bypass around Crestview,” Boyles said. “We're actively in the design phase and we're actively in the property acquisition phase from (State Road) 85 to I-10.”
Boyles said a study is underway for placing an I-10 interchange at the Antioch Road overpass or in the vicinity, and “There seems to be some growing interest in moving northward, more rapidly than I expected.”
A “loop up above (U.S. Highway) 90 from P.J. Adams to somewhere north of the city” in the Old Bethel Road area to connect to S.R. 85 is also under discussion.
“There's potentially some exciting stuff happening,” Boyles said.
At S.R. 85 South, “the Rasberry Road-Arena Road (connector) discussion is ongoing with the county and state,” he said.
“This is one of those things where there's a lot happening but nobody sees it because there's no asphalt going down yet,” Boyles said.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: ‘Life is good’