OKALOOSA ISLAND — The embroglio around a controversial land deal that the State of Florida made with a Felon from Louisiana, who was 2024’s top donor in local elections, continued at The Destin-Fort Walton Beach Convention Center on Tuesday.
For nearly two hours on Tuesday, speakers gathered at a town hall meeting with Okaloosa County Commissioner Drew Palmer, and other county staff, warning that the county’s draft concepts, tied to the State of Florida’s $83 million purchase of the property, could overwhelm a dead-end residential street with traffic, boats and tourists while changing the character of the park many believed they were getting.
“This is 100 percent a quality-of-life issue,” one speaker told county officials.
Palmer, whose district includes the site, opened the meeting by thanking residents for showing up.
Related: Okaloosa political super donor opens marina on Okaloosa Island.
“I deeply, deeply appreciate you showing up and talking to us about some of your thoughts and feelings about this park and what you want to see — dreams, aspirations, that kind of stuff,” Palmer said. “That’s what we’re here for.”
He emphasized that nothing presented on Tuesday was final.
“This is the first of many,” he said. “This is not the only chance that you guys will have.”
Still, many residents said they felt decisions were already being made without them.
Palmer walked through a timeline, he said, that the general public had widely misunderstood:
Palmer acknowledged public frustration over the price, roughly $83 million for four acres, compared to what the previous owner paid about a decade ago. But he said the state, not the county, set the figure.
“There were two state-certified appraisals that were independent of each other and came within a couple of hundred thousand dollars of each other,” Palmer said. “When you’re talking $84 million, that’s pretty close.”
Despite the sticker shock, Palmer said he’s “thankful that the state, our governor and the Cabinet and Legislature saw fit to spend that money in our county, versus somewhere else, buying some swamp lot that none of us would ever visit.”
Outside the town hall, the transaction has drawn statewide attention.
The Okaloosa County Property Appraiser values the site at about $10.5 million, meaning the state’s negotiated price is roughly eight times higher.
Developer Bobby Guidry controls the land through Pointe Mezzanine LLC. Guidry, previously convicted in a 1990s bribery scheme involving former Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards, could realize a gain of more than $70 million if the deal holds.
State Sen. Don Gaetz (R–Crestview) told Mid Bay News earlier this year that he supports acquiring public parkland but questioned whether taxpayers are getting a fair price.
“I don’t know that that was the right price,” Gaetz said. “I only know that it was a very big price.”
Records also show that companies linked to Guidry contributed $8,000 to Okaloosa County Commissioner Paul Mixon and $6,000 to Palmer during their 2024 campaigns — a fact that has fueled skepticism among some residents. Neither official has been accused of wrongdoing.
One of the first speakers after Palmer was Public Safety Director Patrick Maddox, who addressed concerns about emergency access on Holiday Isle.
“It doesn’t matter if there are four lanes or two,” Maddox said. “As the vehicles pull off to the side, we go right up the middle. It happens all the time, right now, all day, every day.”
Maddox said responders rely on side-by-side vehicles, ATVs, boats and helicopters staged near the Coast Guard, and that local response times remain below national standards.
“The roadway is not going to change our response in any way,” he said.
Deputy County Administrator Craig Coffey laid out the county’s working concept.
The property includes a 53-slip paid marina with utilities, lighting and fire suppression, but no parking or support buildings, because the original condo project is gone.
“The state purchased it with a lot of money,” Coffey said. “Their intent is not going to be to plow under that marina … They’re going to try and use that somehow for public recreation. And that’s what we’ve been tasked to do.”
Coffey said the county is required to develop a park on the upland portion and cannot simply leave the site untouched. Staff is currently estimating around 100 parking spaces, pending design.
He said shoreline-nesting birds will require seasonal protections but won’t halt the project, and he pushed back on the idea that “conservation” means no facilities at all.
“Conservation lands under [state] definition are outdoor resource-based recreation,” he said.
Coffey said he is not proposing an amphitheater or fueling, and that any building would likely be modest, with restrooms, a small office or concession area, and a viewing deck.
Destin City Attorney Kimberly Kopp reminded county leaders that the land sits inside city limits.
“At this point, the county essentially is stepping into the shoes as a developer and must comply with local regulations,” she said.
Kopp said the property’s current High Density Residential designation and development orders prohibit commercial activity, and that any such uses would require formal amendments and multiple public hearings.
City Manager Larry Jones added that Florida law gives Destin authority over land-development regulations on the site and suggested that a conservation designation may be more appropriate.
Several Destin council members openly challenged the county’s approach.
Councilmember Tory Geile warned that the harbor is already over capacity and cited federal findings that “death or serious injury is imminent” if boat traffic continues to grow.
He questioned why a meeting of this magnitude was held at 3 p.m. during the holiday week and asked “where the deceit lies,” in earlier public comments praising the purchase, or in the plan shown Tuesday.
Mayor Bobby Wagner called Norriego Point a “crown jewel of Destin” and cautioned that once views are lost, “that would just be a catastrophe.”
Residents echoed similar themes: traffic gridlock, trespassing, trash, and fear that the neighborhood is becoming collateral damage.
“This is not an emotional argument,” one speaker said. “It is a land-use and safety issue.”
Others said they support a park — but a simpler one.
“Leave it undisturbed and allow the residents and visitors to enjoy watching the boats in the pass and the beautiful sunsets,” resident Rob Valentin said.
The property currently generates about $130,000 in local taxes per year. If privately owned at the state’s estimated value, tax revenues could exceed $1.1 million annually, money that will disappear once the state owns the property outright.
Gaetz framed the trade-off simply:
“If you use land for private development, you get taxes,” he said. “But the public will never have access to it again.”
For many in the room, the goal is not to block public access, but to ensure the park promised by the state doesn’t overwhelm the neighborhood surrounding it.
Palmer closed by repeating his opening message.
“Nothing that we say tonight is going to be the final word,” he said. “It’s the start of the conversation.”
Pro Communi Bono
St. Francis De Sales, Ora Pro Nobis!
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