Walton County Commissioner Donna Johns wants a new office – and a taxpayer-funded trip to visit the Seminole tribe in South Florida. But not everyone was thrilled about the ideas, which led to a split vote at September’s second Walton County Commission Meeting.
The Walton County Board of County Commissioners (BCC) met on Tuesday at the South Annex with a variety of unique agenda items. The Chair, Donna Johns, began the meeting with a request for new office space within her current headquarters for District Four. As part of her request, she stated the need for the office relocation is primarily due to inadequate ‘conference room’ space in the 2200 square feet office. Tony Anderson (District 5) asked Johns about the ‘terms’ of the lease (remaining time of the lease contract), and he appeared to have some recollection of $40,000 being spent to remodel the Chairwoman’s current office two years ago. He said, “I am assuming we’re going to have to remodel this [the new] office, and there is no telling how long that would take.” He continued, “And don’t take this the wrong way [directed to Councilwoman Johns], ok please, I don’t mean it that way [causing offense],I mean it from a financial standpoint. You have got one year [remaining in the Commissioner’s term,] and I don’t know if you’re running [for re-election or not]…It is none of my business. I am not asking you that, but you could get beat…or choose not to run. And then we’ve got [spent] another $50,000 or so…I’m assuming it will take that for your new office [to be completed,] and you might not get into it until it is renovated or after the election…What if we have spent $100,000 on two offices we’re not using? That is my only concern about it.”
Johns responded, saying that her current office was “the cheapest thing she could find.” She added that it was the most affordable space, but it only offers a conference room that barely seats five people. She added that there is very little that would need to be done to the new space if she were to move.
Commissioner Danny Glidewell (District 2) expressed that he did not have a problem with the request made by Johns and added, “While you [Chairwoman Johns] have 2200 square feet [of office space] right now, I’ve got less than 1000 [square feet of space]. [In] our current one [office], we have to run a machine [dehumidifier] all the time, 24/7, to keep the mold out. So, while we are doing this, I would like permission to find me another place to go [so] that I don’t have to swim in.” [due to the humid conditions.]
A motion was made and seconded to proceed with the procurement of new office space for both commissioners. The vote was 4-1 in favor of the motion, with Commissioner Anderson casting the dissenting vote.
Commissioner Johns had a second consent agenda item that was moved to the regular agenda by the BCC. The item requested travel authorization for Johns to go to Miami, Florida, on November 13-15 to visit with leadership from the Miccosukee Tribe. The Native American tribe is located in Florida. Indianreservation.info describes the Miccosukee Indian Village as “a must-see attraction. It offers a glimpse of traditional Miccosukee life…The visit provides a window into the daily lives and traditions of the Miccosukee people.” Just one paragraph later, the website says, “The Miccosukee Resort & Gaming offers a range of amenities, including luxurious accommodations, fine dining, and a casino. It’s a great place to relax and enjoy the amenities while supporting the Miccosukee community.”
Other commissioners asked Johns several times about the intended purpose of the trip to the reservation. She stated that she was visited by two representatives from the Tribe, and following the visit she received an invitation to come to the Everglades to make an official visit [representing Walton County] “to meet the Tribal Council and facilitate a tour of their tribal business and government facilities and take “us” [it appeared that Johns intended to go with others from the County] on a boat ride and look at some of their ‘tribe activity’ – what the 1.2 million acres of what they actively conserve.
“I don’t know what they want to offer – what they want to do. But in order to find out, I would need to go down there and see what they want, and what they’ve got, and see how they are, and see what they do and how they conserve their land and things like that. It was an invitation from them,” Johns told her fellow commissioners.
Commissioner Dan Curry (District 1) shared that this would be a good opportunity for the Economic Development Alliance (EDA) to step in and connect with the Miccosukee representatives. He expressed that this might be a “prime example” of a project that the EDA could take on. He added that if it [conversations with the Miccosukee Tribe] might lead to economic growth, “we should throw the EDA this bone and let them run with it and then come back to us [the BCC].”
RELATED: Walton EDA Leader Under Fire From Elected Leaders
Commissioner Anderson then added, “I don’t know if this is true, but rumor has it that they [Miccosukee Tribe] are wanting to put a casino here…And if that is the case…If it [the interest in meeting with County officials] is about a casino, I am against it…I have talked to the mayor [DeFuniak Springs] and he said they [the Tribe] have tried it a couple of times before…I think if they want to talk to us, they should come here, and they should contact the EDA.”
The consensus seemed to be that the Miccosukee Tribe wants “to do” something in “the panhandle” of Florida. Two of the commissioners inferred that it is likely related to gaming and the potential to bring gambling to Walton County. Commissioner Glidewell added that he was “confident that they did not want to bring alligator wrestling here…If I were a ‘betting man’ (“irony intended’) I would say they want to put a casino here and I am dead [set] against that.”
Ms. Johns agreed to reach out to the Tribal Council and see if the Miccosukee would be willing to cover the expenses for her trip. If so, she will accept the invitation and travel to the Everglades as the representative for the County.
Money for tourism marketing also came off the consent agenda. The Tourism Development Council (TDC) has had a lot of conversations and struggles trying to finalize the fiscal year 2026 Event Grant Program. This program is designed to bring marketing support to events that are held in Walton County, and bring visitors to spend tourist dollars in our county. The name of the game is to bring people who will attend these events and stay in hotels or short-term rentals, eat at local restaurants, and buy gas and potentially vacation a little longer while in town for the events.
The TDC has overseen the Event Grant Program for years, but found the process of selecting “grant recipients” more difficult this year than in years past. A time-consuming effort of process improvement was taken on by the TDC to ensure that the Grant Event Program is serving the best interests of the County. It is worth mentioning that the Grant Program budget was decreased from $700,000 to $500,000 for fiscal year 2026.
Recipients for the Grant Program apply for the annual grant, and use the funds awarded by the TDC to ‘promote’ (advertise and market) events that will bring people into the County from out of state, out of county, or longer driving distances. When awarded $5,000, $10,000, or as much as $25,000 for advertising, the recipient must prove that they have complied with the requirements set forth by the county. Failure to do so results in the grant payment being denied.
The BCC was requested to approve three remaining applications that were originally denied a grant because the organizations applying are not located in Walton County. They are all based in Okaloosa County. The three organizations are: Sinfonia Gulf Coast, Mattie Kelly Arts Foundation, and Destin Charity Wine Auction – live auction event. Much discussion has taken place over months because these three applicants are not housed in Walton County. However, events that these three organizations promote and run do take place in Walton County.
But wait just a minute…
During the early part of the meeting, the BCC voted to approve the three grants for these three organizations because of the location where the events take place and the “bed tax” benefit to Walton County. However, during Public Comment at the very end of the BCC meeting, Suzanne Harris, resident and businesswoman in Walton County, stood to voice her concern regarding two of the three grants. She spoke directly to the BCC, saying, They [the BCC] need to know what they are doing when it comes to this funding. Harris said, “Before we just give away money to people, sometimes y’all [referring to the Commissioners] need to do a background [check] on what y’all are voting on to give away. Because when somebody [referring to the Director of the Sinfonia Gulf Coast] does not get their way and tries to have somebody on a board declared a non-resident [of Walton County], …I think that is pretty ridiculous. Harris indicated that the Director had taken a stance to challenge the residency of TDC “Council Members” and especially the TDC Treasurer.
This information was concerning to the BCC, and it was apparent that they wanted to immediately recall their earlier decision to provide TDC grant monies to Sinfonia Gulf Coast and Mattie Kelly Arts Foundation. The County Attorney, Clay Adkinson, confirmed that these concerns were made known to him and he said, “There were emails sent to members of the TDC questioning whether members of the TDC could vote on these items [referring to the TDC Grants Program] because they served as board members of not-for-profit [organizations.]
Due to that information being presented and with clarification that leadership from these organizations was one and the same, a motion was made to reconsider the earlier decision to extend grant funding to both the Mattie Kelly and Sinfonia Gulf Coast. Commissioner Glidewell made the motion to defund both organizations and return the allocated funds to the county reserves.
Destin Charity Wine Auction will continue to receive the grant funding. It was noted that the name of the event most likely will change to include “South Walton Beaches.”
Other items of interest for the BCC meeting included a report from lobbyists for Walton County regarding the State of Florida and the foreshadowing of what may be ahead during the next legislative session. Their presentations were quite favorable regarding the strength of the last legislative session and the Office of the Governor for the state. It was mentioned that President Donald Trump’s victory for the White House had an impact on Florida politics, with many of Florida’s politicians taking on new and different roles.
Lastly, Stephen Schoen, Planning Director for County Planning and Development Services, introduced and provided a brief overview of the Evaluation and Appraisal Report (EAR), which outlines a comprehensive plan for the county’s anticipated growth and development through 2040. The EAR is required by the state, and according to Mr. Schoen, the report must be completed every seven years, or notification must be given to the state that the county is not going to complete the report. The consulting firm formally creating the report is DPZ CoDesign, a planning, urban design, and architectural firm. The agenda stated, “The EAR Report provides for amendments to the majority of the Comp [Comprehensive] Plan Elements and recommends a number of new concepts that could have lasting positive impacts on the County’s growth and development. Planning and Development Services staff is requesting that the EAR Report be adopted by the County.”
Schoen reflected on the work of the consulting firm, saying, “They went through a robust visioning and outreach process and program that illuminated the issues of the county. They spoke with the general public, with you all [meaning the commissioners] and [had] countless other meetings throughout this process to establish some of those baselines and get a real idea of where the county wants to be…”
This is the first step in the submission process, with the BCC hearing the overall findings and recommendations for areas of strength and those areas that would benefit from the strategic plan set forth in the documentation. The BCC voted to receive the EAR, and its findings and preparation will be made to formally submit the EAR in March of 2026.
Pro Communi Bono
St. Francis De Sales, Ora Pro Nobis!
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