The Watcher
Beach Fanatic
Just a little background..........
Sheriff?s projects: the permitted and the unpermitted
By BRUCE COLLIER
The Walton County Board of County Commissioners (BCC) held a public hearing at its Nov. 27 regular meeting to consider using $650,056 solid waste landfill fund reserve funds to pay remaining amounts for renovation of the Walton County Courthouse and to assist the Walton County Sheriff?s Office (WCSO), including additional parking, an impound yard, and a helipad in the vicinity of the sheriff?s administrative facility north of DeFuniak Springs. Use of the reserve funds was approved unanimously at the Nov. 27 meeting.
Sheriff Ralph Johnson had made a personal presentation at the BCC?s Nov. 13 meeting, requesting a total of $491,000 worth of improvements. Some of the commissioners balked at the cost and the lateness of the request. The commissioners ended up agreeing to a helipad, parking lot and impound yard as being most immediately needed. The cost of those approved items was determined at that meeting to be $161,636.
This project is the most recent construction project undertaken by Johnson this year. Earlier in 2007, Johnson had cleared land near the jail/administration building for the purpose of building a ?driving range,? a training area for law enforcement vehicles. Land was cleared, Gum Creek Farms was reportedly the contractor on the project, but the work was stopped. Gum Creek could not be reached for confirmation.
Unclear is the amount of funding needed for the driving range project, and whether the project went through a formal bidding process. According to Walton County Finance Director William Imfeld, the county budgets for 2006 and 2007 contain no funding for such a project, nor was any bidding process held in either year. Any construction project on county-owned property that is estimated to cost more than $200,000 must undergo a bidding process, said Imfeld. The project must also be approved by the BCC.
BCC Chairman Kenneth Pridgen agreed that no funds had been set aside for a driving range. ?I think [Sheriff Johnson] did this on his own.? Pridgen said funding for such a project is not likely to be forthcoming. ?We?re looking at more cuts next year.? Pridgen questioned the need for a driving range at this point. ?How do we know it?s a needed project? Are there any specifics that show it?s justifiable??
However, the BCC has now earmarked $650,056 in solid landfill waste reserve funds for both the courthouse and the sheriff?s needs, although the sheriff has not yet made a specific presentation to the BCC on the driving range project.
The Herald was informed that Preble-Rish, Inc. consulting engineers is in the process of preliminary work on the driving range, including securing necessary permits. Preble-Rish engineer Cliff Knauer confirmed this. ?We have designed the test track and grading plan, and have submitted plans to Northwest Florida Water Management District for stormwater permits.? Knauer said that he expects to hear from the district in about 30 days. Preble-Rish is not performing the actual construction work. ?I think a contractor?s been selected, but don?t know who it is,? said Knauer.
Oh, I see... perhaps there is a slight problem with the creation of this "necessary" development after all... Permits? Violations? ;-)