An Okaloosa County Commissioner recused himself from a procedural vote that saw the county donate a piece of heavy machinery to a charity he helps lead.
But Okaloosa County Commissioner Paul Mixon says his recusal, recommended by staff, was unnecessary.
Commissioners would vote unanimously 4-0 to give the 2002 Caterpillar Dozer to Triple R Ministries. The Charity, for which Commissioner Mixon is listed as a director, says on its website that its mission is to “A faith-based non-profit organization, existing to provide at-risk, in-need, and abandoned children from ages 6-18, a structured and secure place of refuge.”
Deputy County Administrator Jason Autrey told the commission that county employees jumped through all of the hoops to ensure this transfer was above board. “This dozer has a blown engine, it has no value to the county,” Autrey explained, “This is one of those things that we notify our nonprofit agencies that this is an available resource. They have reached out to the county. They were the only one to reach out to the county for this, and it did follow our process 100%.” Autrey continued that the donation would be similar if another agency like the Florida Sheriff’s Boy’s Ranch were to ask for a piece of equipment.
“We’ve had this policy in place for a number of years,” added County Administrator John Hofstad, “It’s no different than what we’ve done with donating vehicles to Almarante Fire District, to Bridgeway, One Hopeful Place, The [Okaloosa], health department, a host of others. We’ve done that consistently over the years. What we did do last year was when the board made the budgetary decision not to fund nonprofits, the comment was made in the board meeting, well, we have surplus equipment that can help out a lot of nonprofits. Let’s make sure we do a better job of pushing that out there and getting that message out to these nonprofit agencies to see if there’s any type of residual value in this equipment which would be beneficial to them.”
The balance of the commission came to the aid of Mixon, who did not speak during the discussion of the item. Commissioners Ketchel, Palmer, Cox and Chairman Trey Goodwin spoke briefly in support of the transaction.
The Okaloosa County Board of County Commissioners voted Tuesday to move the county’s transit division under the management of the Airports Department, a structural change county leaders say is aimed at tightening financial oversight and better aligning federal grant management.
The reorganization, recommended by County Administrator John Hofstad, follows months of scrutiny of the transit system after an Inspector General audit and other operational concerns.
Airport leadership will now oversee both airport operations and the county’s transit services, including interacting with state and federal transportation agencies and handling related grant compliance.
Hofstad told commissioners that placing transit under Airports makes sense because the airports team already manages large volumes of transportation‑related federal and state grant dollars and has deep experience with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) processes.
“There’s been considerable discussion over the last couple months as it relates to transit,” Hofstad said, “Where could we place transit where it was the best fit, where we had strong financial oversight, if you will, because it is so driven by federal grants and DOT grants.
Under the change, the transit operation becomes another division within the Airports Department, similar to how the county’s general aviation airports are organized.
Commissioner Paul Mixon supported the move but raised questions about how the reorganization is framed. He suggested using broader “transportation” terminology to future‑proof the structure in case the county later needs a more standalone transit or transportation department.
“The only suggestion I have is that we don’t make it necessarily under the airports division, but we utilize different terminology and let it be a transportation division or department,” Mixon said.
He cautioned that as transit grows, and as airports like Bob Sikes continue to expand, the county may eventually want separate managers focused on airports and transit:
Hofstad replied that the intent is not to rename the Airports Department, but simply to add transit as another division under its umbrella, comparable to how Public Works oversees multiple divisions. He added that more detailed organizational changes, including who manages what, will likely be finalized during the upcoming budget process, after Airports Director Tracy and his team have had time to fully assess the transit operation.
Commissioner Carolyn Ketchel reiterated her view that it is the administrator’s job to manage departmental organization, and that Airports is the right home for transit, given its grant experience.
“I’m very pleased that this is going with the Airports Department,” Ketchel said, adding that she expects future recommendations as the new model unfolds.
The board then voted unanimously to approve the realignment.
Pro Communi Bono
St. Francis De Sales, Ora Pro Nobis!
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