Here’s What Happened at Defuniak’s Latest Council Meeting

In Brief:

🏘️ Historic district design standards are causing a stir, with debates over enforcement versus property rights.
💰 Interim Finance Director Daniele McDaniel gets to stay until mid-2026 as the city continues its search for a permanent replacement.
🔍 The city is actively looking for a new finance director, but qualified applicants are proving hard to find.

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Despite months of back and forth and multiple iterations of documents, a resolution still has not arrived for DeFuniak’s historic district. The CRA Director’s update highlighted the gap between those who want to streamline and enforce design standards in the historic district and those who believe their property should be their sole domain, regardless of its location in the city

The DeFuniak Council voted unanimously to keep Interim Finance Director Daniele McDaniel on through the end of the second quarter of 2026 while the city looks for a permanent replacement for the position.

Row Continues Over Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) Guidelines

CRA Director Josh Ervin spoke to the latest iteration of the Historical Preservation Design Standards for the city’s three historic districts -. He told the council that the newest iteration of the design standards don’t add or remove any regulations to the CRAs buildings – they clearly delineate what those rules are in a single document.

A resident of the district, who did not give his name, spoke against the new standards book, arguing that he should not have to conform to standards placed on his private property. “I’m afraid you are not going to tell me what to do with my house,” the man said.

“Well, I can tell you that I agree with you,” Councilman Todd Bierbaum said to the resident, “ I have a building downtown, and I completely agree with the statement that, ‘It’s my building, and I’ll do what I want with it.’ I’m a big, big advocate of property rights, but I also understand that our downtown and our town have a historic charm that we need to encourage people [regarding historic preservation].

Mayor Bob Campbell added, “I believe this council and our code enforcement will be as gracious as possible. That doesn’t mean we won’t draw the line somewhere.

Council Votes to Retain Finance Director Through June 2026.

The DeFuniak Council voted unanimously to keep Interim Finance Director Daniele McDaniel on through the end of the second quarter of 2026 while the city looks for a permanent replacement for the position.

“She [Daniele McDaniel] is worth her weight in gold,” DeFuniak Councilman Danny Cosson said.

City Manager Koby Townsend told the council he has reached out to multiple executive search firms and has received responses from two. So far, though, the city has not received a qualified applicant for the position.

The city has posted the position of finance director with a maximum salary of $109,000.