CRESTVIEW — Crestview City Manager Jessica Leavins says a proposed bond financing plan is less about new development and more about addressing long-standing facility problems that city staff can no longer “patch or repair,” as the city prepares for continued growth.
In an interview with Mid Bay News, Leavins said the authorization to borrow up to $30 million would allow Crestview to secure lower-interest financing for multiple capital projects, including renovations to Fire Station No. 3, construction of a new public works complex and the purchase of an indoor recreation facility known as the ROC.
“The reason cities go the bond route is to get more favorable financing options, lower interest rates,” Leavins said. “This is about using that tool to address several critical needs at once.”
Leavins described the bond plan as part of a broader, roughly 10-year facilities strategy that grew out of a multi-year assessment of city buildings, many of which she said are outdated, undersized or structurally vulnerable.
Leavins said city leaders began confronting the scope of Crestview’s facility problems after a comprehensive evaluation conducted several years ago revealed critical deficiencies across multiple departments.
Among the findings, she said, were structural concerns at the police department that would leave the building poorly rated for hurricane-force winds, major mechanical failures at Fire Station No. 3 and a public works operation that has outgrown its current site along U.S. Highway 85.
“We realized we were maximizing every square inch of space and still didn’t have enough room,” Leavins said of public works. “At some point, you can’t keep repairing anymore. You have to look at building something that will last.”
She said the new public works complex, planned near the city’s wastewater treatment plant, would be a complete operational campus, not just an office building. The site would include fleet maintenance, storage for heavy equipment, fuel infrastructure and space to accommodate future growth.
“It’s not just a building,” she said. “It’s an entire facility designed to carry us through the next 40 years.”
Leavins said renovations to Fire Station No. 3 began as an emergency after mold was discovered, but evolved into a broader effort to improve firefighter safety and quality of life.
Firefighters often live at the station for days at a time, she said, and many of the station’s residential-grade fixtures and appliances were not holding up under constant use.
“We’re not just talking about comfort,” Leavins said. “We’re talking about retention, safety and health.”
She said the city has increasingly focused on reducing long-term health risks for firefighters, including cancer exposure, by improving station layouts, cleanliness standards and equipment storage.
“These are highly skilled professionals,” she said. “We invest in them, we train them, and we want them to stay.”
A third component of the bond plan involves the city’s purchase of the Recreational Outreach Center, commonly called the ROC, an indoor gym and pool facility that Leavins said filled an immediate need for air-conditioned recreation space.
Leavins said the city had long struggled with limited indoor capacity, particularly during youth basketball season, and engineers had determined that adding air conditioning to the Twin Hills gym was not feasible.
“We knew we could not build a new gym for that amount,” she said. “And we certainly couldn’t build one with a pool.”
She said the city moved quickly to begin using the facility for youth programs, even before a formal ribbon-cutting, due to high demand. The pool, she added, serves local school swim teams and will continue to do so under city ownership.
Leavins also addressed public concerns about a potential conflict of interest tied to the ROC’s former ownership by Central Baptist Church, noting that Okaloosa County Commissioner Paul Mixon is the church’s lead pastor.
“Mixon did not own the facility,” Leavins said. “The church has a governing board, just like the city has a council. There was no direct personal benefit.”
Leavins emphasized that the bond authorization does not fund traditional infrastructure projects like roads or underground utilities, but instead supports the workforce that maintains those systems.
“This bond doesn’t put pipes in the ground,” she said. “It supports the people who make sure those pipes work.”
She also stressed that the bonds would be repaid using non-ad valorem revenues, meaning they are not tied to property taxes and cannot directly raise tax rates.
“If this were property-tax-based financing, it would have to go back to the voters,” Leavins said. “That’s not what this is.”
The Crestview City Council voted Jan. 12 to authorize up to $30 million in bond financing through the Florida Municipal Loan Council, approving Resolution 2026-09 on a 3-0 vote, with two members absent.
Leavins said the amount is a “not to exceed” cap and does not obligate the city to borrow the full sum. The resolution allows the city to pursue financing as projects move forward.
City leaders have described the vote as the first step in a more extended sequence of facility upgrades, with additional planning underway for a joint police and fire station and expanded recreation facilities.
“We do have a plan,” Leavins said. “It’s a long-term plan, and it’s about making sure our city can function as we grow.”
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