30-a beach looks like tent city

[WCTA]

I'm not saying the costs are reasonable.

What no one is thinking about it is the fact that the bike path has to be maintained.

The bike path is used extensively by tourists and is a heck of a drawing card for the area.

It would be foolish (and expensive) not to maintain the trail.

$35.00 per hour ? Where did this come from - not in contract

No scope of services to be provided

Was not advertised or competitively bid

Is open ended

 

[scooterbug44]

I'm not saying the costs are reasonable.

What no one is thinking about it is the fact that the bike path has to be maintained.

The bike path is used extensively by tourists and is a heck of a drawing card for the area.

It would be foolish (and expensive) not to maintain the trail.

Yes, we need to maintain the trail, but IMO there is very little "sudden" need for maintenance (except after a storm) - thus regular bike riders or passersby could report any issues to them just as easily. Myself and many other Sowallers use the bike path regularly and while the seasons and visitors change, the patches of sand, gravel, foliage, and sprinkler locations are constant.

 

[beachmouse]

You can source your volleyball sand court on posts for pro matches and donate the money to the County.

Don't laugh.

There is actually a pretty big regional beach volleyball tournament on Okaloosa Island every May that helps draw visitors in during what's usually a lull between the seasons.

 

[enfuego]

I thought we already paid dearly for a maintenance contract with a private company that could report problems. We could set up a reporting hotline for problems, like we did at the WCTA for tax issues, it is not expensive at all. TDC maintenance, county road workers, all of these persons could report problems. I think everyone knows it has to be maintained, I believe the thought is that there has to be a better way of letting the county know when there is a problem. Roads have to be maintained, but we do not pay anyone to ride the roads and tell us where they need to be fixed beyond the persons we already have hired.

Isn't the Citizen's Services person supposed to be our advocate and go to person for all things county related??? We dont need mulitple contacts, just one and they can route the calls/issues.

 

[Smiling JOe]

From the invoice in post 189, I see Bay Loop being noted as a billing, yet Bay Loop Road is located on the outskirts of Freeport, and the invoice is titled "30A Bike Path Monitoring." Also, Old 98 is a line item. Is this really a County path monitoring or "30A," as noted? Also, I'd like to bid the job at $30/hour. To whom do I submit the bill?

Yes, the multi-use path is in desparate need of attention in my opinion. There are many intersections which are blind for drivers entering 30A. There are drainage issues in Seagrove, forcing bikers onto the road, without warning. There are sprinkers spraying into the path of riders, pushing them into the road. Accidents waiting to happen.

I wonder if this hoopla about cost is merely a distraction. $650/ week ($31,200/ year) is nothing to sneeze at, but with the County being behind for more than $7 million, surely there are bigger fish to fry.

 

[scooterbug44]

There are certainly bigger fish to fry, but all those little fish do add up. A slab of fish is nice, but you can also fill up quite nicely if you get enough popcorn shrimp.

Mind all the pennies and the dollars take care of themselves. Just this month, we've discussed hundreds of thousands of dollars we could be saving - Commissioner health insurance benefits for families, 12k new ATV for someone to use as we pay them $50k to be a beach ambassador, bike path monitors, etc.

All the regular bikers (and drivers) can tell you about the Seagrove puddles/washouts and the danger spots ................ because they don't change, so what is this person reporting on or why are we paying someone to report on what they don't fix?

 

[Smiling JOe]

Yes, the little make up the big, but just remember not to get so focused on one minnow, when there may be an entire school of Tuna swimming about.

I believe the person billing the County for consulting is one of the two who have been trying to get the corrections made to problems on the path, for several years. I may be wrong, but I think not. If that is the case, it seems to me he has made many lists of problem spots, and the money he is charging, would be better spent on making the actual repairs.

Now, back to the original intent of this thread: crap on the beach.

 

[wrobert]

From the invoice in post 189, I see Bay Loop being noted as a billing, yet Bay Loop Road is located on the outskirts of Freeport, and the invoice is titled "30A Bike Path Monitoring." Also, Old 98 is a line item. Is this really a County path monitoring or "30A," as noted? Also, I'd like to bid the job at $30/hour. To whom do I submit the bill?

Yes, the multi-use path is in desparate need of attention in my opinion. There are many intersections which are blind for drivers entering 30A. There are drainage issues in Seagrove, forcing bikers onto the road, without warning. There are sprinkers spraying into the path of riders, pushing them into the road. Accidents waiting to happen.

I wonder if this hoopla about cost is merely a distraction. $650/ week ($31,200/ year) is nothing to sneeze at, but with the County being behind for more than $7 million, surely there are bigger fish to fry.

Questions to ask your commissioners when they ask for your vote.

 

[SHELLY]

Yes, we need to maintain the trail, but IMO there is very little "sudden" need for maintenance (except after a storm) - thus regular bike riders or passersby could report any issues to them just as easily. Myself and many other Sowallers use the bike path regularly and while the seasons and visitors change, the patches of sand, gravel, foliage, and sprinkler locations are constant.

I've got an idea...why don't some paid-for-already Public Works Official pry their lazy arse out of their office chair once a week and bike the path themselves? Problem solved, money saved....next.

.

 

[Here4Good]

Questions to ask your commissioners when they ask for your vote.

Is that the only time we get to ask our commissioners a question? If we didn't vote for them, and do not plan to next time, is there a special star by our name that prevents them from listening to us between elections?

We only get to vote every four years, and the last two times, at least down here in Zone 5, the candidates were not commissioners when they were running. We had no voting record to ask them about.

I think the correct answer is, "Questions to ask your commissioner when you call them".