Three of the five members of the Bluewater Municipal Services Benefit Unit Board of Directors resigned in May, effective immediately, due to concerns about the conduct of a fellow board member.
“The remaining members are Joe Testa and Matt Higginbotham,” Okaloosa County Public Information Officer Nick Tomecek said. “They need three members to have the authority to meet or take action.”
Chairman Steve Boswell, Landscape Maintenance Chair Debbie Stretch and Finance Chair Pamela Ragnoli are the board members who resigned.
Boswell said in his resignation letter, “Over time, I have become increasingly concerned by repeated actions and communications that, in my view, have impeded the Board’s ability to function collaboratively, efficiently, and in accordance with the intent of the governing ordinance. In particular, ongoing disputes regarding board procedures, authority, and governance have created an environment that has become counterproductive to serving the best interests of our community.”
Boswell also references the other resignees in his letter, suggesting the decision was collaborative.
“I understand that two fellow board members, who are long time community and MSBU servants and that I respect immensely, have recently made the same difficult decision. While each member must speak for themselves, their departures underscore the seriousness of the challenges facing the Board.”
Ragnoli’s resignation letter provides more context on the “disputes.”
“… the conduct of the newest board member has created an environment that is no longer conducive to effective or healthy public service,” she said in her letter. “Since March 2025, his repeated interruptions, disregard for the published agenda, disrespectful behavior, and verbally abusive and condescending remarks toward multiple board members have been documented in the official record.”
The “newest board member” refers to Vice Chair Joseph Testa, who took office in 2024. He said the resignations show which board members act with the Bluewater Bay community in mind.
“Obviously, those three people do not really care about Bluewater Bay, or they wouldn’t resign simultaneously, because they basically shut the thing down,” Testa said. “Now, the county has to go do things, so they really just blew it up.”
Ragnoli’s resignation letter referenced the March 2025 and May 2026 meetings as examples of Testa’s disrespectful behavior.
According to the Chairman’s report from the March 2025 MSBU meeting, Testa sent emails prior to the meeting to board members demonstrating “arrogance” and overstepping his authority. He allegedly obtained information “under false pretenses” via email.
“As President of Bluewater United Foundation, you utilized your connection with Ms. Minks, webmaster for both BUF and MSBU to obtain information you had no right to access, and it should not have been given to you,” Boswell said in his report, speaking to Testa.
In Ragnoli’s resignation letter, she wrote, “The May 2026 minutes will further reflect his hostile and condescending behavior, including referring to board members as ‘imbeciles.’”
Though the published meeting minutes from May 2026 do not describe this interaction, it is referenced in Stretch’s resignation letter as well.
“Regrettably, I am no longer willing to serve in an environment in which personal attacks occur, including being referred to as an imbecile,” she said in her letter.
Testa told Mid Bay News this accusation is “absolutely false.”
“What I said was, ‘this board is incompetent,’ and I included myself in that,” Testa said. “Now, that got retaliated by one of them who said there’s no need to call names. I said, ‘I’m not calling anybody names. I’m part of the board. We’re not doing our job, so we are incompetent.’”
The MSBU did not meet in July and has not publicized any plans to replace the resigned board members, but Testa said he intends to continue serving on the MSBU.
“I’ve lived here 30 years, and Bluewater Bay has been in a slow decline for the last, I would say, 10 to 15 years, ever since the MSBU took over,” he said. “My job … was to help the MSBU get Bluewater Bay back to where it is.”
According to its website, “The next MSBU meeting date is To Be Determined pending updates from the county.”
