Your City’s Christmas Lists For The State Government Are Out Now – Here’s What They Asked For – And If We’re On The Naughty or Nice List.

In Brief:

•🧑‍💼 Who: Local officials, nonprofits, and business leaders from Okaloosa County.

•📝 What: Requested funding from the Florida legislative delegation for various projects.

•📅 When: Legislative delegation meeting held this week.

•📍 Where: Crestview, Florida.

•❓ Why: To address critical infrastructure, public safety, and community development needs.

The annual legislative delegation meeting, where local elected officials, business leaders, and nonprofit executives get together and ask about Okaloosa County’s representation in the Florida State House and Senate, seems like an episode of the TV show Shark Tank.

So when Destin Mayor Bobby Wagner started his pitch to two sitting senators and house reps with “you guys are going to help me fulfill one of my personal dreams, and that is to be on Shark Tank,” and ended his requests for millions of dollars for local infrastructure with “So with that, we are asking for a 10% stake in a $10 that’s already underway, thanks to several investors,” it brought the only genuine gut-busting laughter of the night.

But sources with knowledge of this year’s budget process say that the chances of Okaloosa County or local cities, educational institutions, or nonprofits receiving much are slim. “After three hurricanes hit central Florida this year, I wouldn’t put much faith on getting anything from the state this year,” said one well-connected source with the Governor’s Office. The Florida Governor, Ron DeSantis, has line-item veto power over the budget, which means he can strike individual projects from the budget as he sees fit. “We all know that money is going to be a little tighter this year,” Crestview City Manager Tim Bolduc told the legislative delegation at the meeting.

In addition to Mayor Wagner’s requests for money to finish the Destin Cross Town Connector, Incoming State Senator Don Gaetz (R | Niceville), State Senator Jay Trumbull (R | Panama City), Representative Patt Maney (R | Shalimar) and Outgoing Representative Dr. Joel Rudman (R | Navarre) heard from the following groups for requests:

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Okaloosa County ($40.1 Million)

Chair of the Okaloosa County Board of County Commissioners Paul Mixon came to the podium to ask the legislative delegation for the most enormous ask of the night, $34 Million, toward widening State Route 85. Mixon noted that the County would match the money from the state with $10 Million of county taxpayer dollars. Mixon would ask for another $5.5 Million to improve Mill Side Road – what he termed a “public safety corridor” for residents to reach Walton County. Crestview City Manager seconded the need for 85’s expansion, citing the traffic jam most of the delegation had to endure on the way up to Crestview for the 5:45 meeting, “We ask that you please fight for those infrastructure projects.”

Mixon also asked the state government to help continue to fund a signature project of Okaloosa County Commissioner Carolyn Ketchel, the County’s Mental Health Diversion Program. The project, which State Representative Patt Maney has championed in Tallahassee since his first election, works to move people with addiction or mental health issues out of the jail pipeline for petty offenses and into in-patient rehabilitation facilities. The program, one of three of its kind in Florida, has served 179 people, according to newly-reelected Okaloosa County Board Chairman Paul Mixon since it opened in 2020—total amount requested from the state: $325,000.

Mixon also asked for money for a study of the Gap Creek section of the Fort Walton Beach area ($250,000).

Niceville ($2.35 Million)

Niceville City Manager David Deitch spoke on behalf of the city. He requested money to replace a water well near Eglin Air Force Base. Deitch requested help with the project to build the new well and close down the old one, which sits closer to the salty water of Choctawhatchee Bay. Deitch said that the current well experiences saltwater intrusion and that the city’s water needs will increase by around 25% between 2024 and 2045. Deitch asked the assembled legislators for $2 Million (50% of the total cost) to make this happen.

Deitch also asked for another $350,000 to design a two-lane alternative transportation corridor along John Sims Parkway between Rocky Bayou Drive and Palm Boulevard. “Approximately two million cars drive down that road per month through the city,” Deitch said, noting that all local schools are just off the road.

Valparaiso ($0)

No one from the City of Valparaiso appeared to speak for any requests on behalf of the city.

Crestview ($0)

Crestview Mayor JB Whitten spoke second and announced that he wouldn’t ask for a dime from the legislative delegation, which was met with several smiles. Instead, he asked them to enact legislation that “ensures all vehicles, regardless of fuel types, contribute fairly to the funding of Florida transportation infrastructure, allowing cities to maintain safe and reliable roads for all residents.”

Whitten also asked the delegation to preserve and protect sovereign immunity liability caps.

Sovereign immunity is the jurisprudence that makes it very difficult for regular citizens to sue the government for wrongdoing. Those liability caps ensure that even if you can sue the city for wrongdoing, the most they have to pay out if you win is $200,000.

Fort Walton Beach ($2 Million)

Florida Police Chief Robert Bage represented The Camelia City at the legislative delegation, as the other Fort Walton Beach elected officials had to be present for their city council meeting Tuesday night. He had two projects to ask about.

First, Chief Bage advocated for a $500,000 state match from the state legislature for a project on Anchor Street. The road project would help connect some of the other streets in the area.

The chief then asked for $1.5 Million to bring Hollywood Boulevard in alignment with Florida’s Strategic Highway Safety Plan by adding capacity on the road for alternative forms of transportation like low-speed vehicles and golf carts.

The city said they would match the requests and invest half of the money to make the projects happen.

Northwest Florida State College (Unknown)

Former State Representative Mel Ponder earned his place as the President of Northwest Florida State College with a vote of the Board of Trustees earlier this year and will start the gig officially in January. That didn’t stop him from doing early OT and speaking to the delegation about upcoming requests for the 2025 session. While he did not get into specifics about the projects, he mentioned they would be in line with Governor Ron DeSantis’ workforce and innovation priorities for the year.

University of West Florida ($4 Million)

Dr. Martha Saunders, the President of the University of West Florida, told the delegation that she would ask for the delegation’s help to expand the civil engineering program to their Fort Walton Beach campus – and continue to fund the civil engineering program overall at the campus in Pensacola.

One Hopeful Place ($400,000)

Ted Corcoran, the President of the Greater Fort Walton Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, stood on behalf of the One Hopeful Place homeless shelter to ask for state for almost half a million dollars to expand the shelter so that other organizations could provide services to get homeless people back on their feet. “Imagine one location where everyone in the county knows to send those who are down on their luck and don’t know where to go,” Corcoran said to the delegation.