CRESTVIEW — City Council President J.B. Whitten said during the July 10 city council meeting that 10 proposed projects have been approved to receive money from the Triumph Gulf Coast fund.
The fund — which distributes money owed following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill — has allocated $300 million to the state of Florida, $15 million of which is going to Okaloosa County.
A significant portion of the projects, he said, “had to do with enhancing the marina on Okaloosa Island.”
On July 29, 2016, development officials and city council members from several municipalities met in Fort Walton Beach to discuss allocation of the Triumph Gulf Coast fund.
Whitten said, “The consensus around the room was why don’t you get together and link it together to make it the regional project they were looking for.”
Another topic on the evening's agenda was the outcome of a recent Okaloosa-Walton Transportation Planning Organization meeting. The city council has asked the TPO to place a high priority on widening State Road 85 from 123 coming into Crestview to I-10. The next OWTPO meeting is July 20 in Niceville.
Also, in the second reading, the council voted to extend the moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries for six months. The moratorium includes any person or entity who is not approved except where inconsistent with Florida law.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview Council gives updates on BP settlement funds, 85 widening