Commissioners Argue about Dogs, Insurance

In back-to-back meetings Tuesday morning, county commissioners argued and chastised people about insurance, wind zones and parks, but little was ultimately resolved.

Insurance
In an 8:30 a.m. meeting prior to the regular commission meeting, the board voted 4-1 (Commissioner Bill Williams dissenting) to decline the formal protest filed by the county's former insurance agent, Paul Dawson of Brown and Brown Insurance.

Dawson filed the protest after the county recently selected Doug Childers of Lassiter-Ware Insurance, to handle the county's insurance policies.

Both Dawson and Childers addressed the board, after which board members grilled Denise Manuel on the process used to select the agent.

Manual heads human resources and risk management for the county, and is a member of the insurance committee which chose Childers.

Commissioner Nathan Peters asked Manuel several pointed questions about the selection process and the candidates who answered the county's request for proposals to handle the county's insurance needs.

Dawson was the county's agent for the past 10 years.

Williams questioned the legitimacy of the request for proposals process and stated that, in his opinion, Childers was not qualified to handle the county's insurance business, that the process caused a breach of bid specifications, that the county had awarded the contract based on misleading circumstances, and moved to reject the bid, saying Manuel did not do what she was supposed to do.

Williams made a motion to reject the bid and to go out again for bids.

After Peters seconded the motion for discussion, Peters said that since a contract had been awarded with the new agent, the board was obligated by contract for one year and withdrew his second.

During questioning by Peters, Manuel, county administrator Don Butler, and deputy county administrator Lynn Lanier, all members of the insurance committee, said they stood by their recommendation to hire Childers as the county's agent.

Williams' motion died for lack of a second and the board voted 4-1 to decline the protest.
Regular Meeting

In the regular commission meeting that followed the board recognized Nilo Krock, a World War II veteran now living in Gulf County, who was presented with a "Thank You America" certificate and plaque from the French government for his service with the U.S. Army during the liberation of France in World War II.

During a standing ovation for Krock, James Kennedy, Gulf County's Veterans Services officer, listed Krock's contributions during his service and thanked Krock on behalf of all veterans and the nation.

Krock, now 92 years old and living in Port St. Joe, served with Company F, 142nd Infantry, fighting in campaigns in Rome, Arno, southern France, the Rhineland, and central Europe.

He was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge, Purple Heart, Good Conduct Medal, American Defense Service Medal, and the European African Middle Eastern Theater Campaign Ribbon with Bronze Service Arrowhead.

Krock's two daughters, Linda Somero and Joanne Gallagher, both from Gulf County, were with their father during the presentation.

In other business conducted at the meeting:
- Williams told the board that they "must stand firm" for the residents of Highland View who are being left out of the City of Port St. Joe's process to connect residents to the newly installed Highland View sewer system.

The ongoing battle between the county and city is over the number of Highland View residents impacted, the timeframe and deadlines by which the residents were to have signed up for connection to the new system, and the amount those residents in question must now pay are at issue.

If residents had signed up by the city's deadline, they would have paid $500. At current prices they must now pay $7,000.

"It's about show time," Williams told the board.
Commission chair Billy Traylor, Butler and McFarland agreed to meet with city attorney Russell Scholz on the issue.

- Williams asked the board to reconsider funding for Veteran's Memorial Park at Beacon Hill in light of the presentation to Krock. The issue was scheduled to be revisited at the next meeting.

- Animal control wagged its tail again at the meeting with Peters asking the Sheriff's Office to check into alleged film a north Gulf County woman claimed to have of illegal dog fighting in the north end of the county.

Traylor said, "We deal with one to two bites a week, pit bulls especially," stating that the current ordinance must be changed. "We have a real serious issue with violent dogs," he said.

Traylor sent a warning out, saying "You people on TV listening out there, take your dogs and chain them because we're coming after them."

- An extensive and heated debate then began over the ongoing issues of county wind zones and the use of OSB (oriented-strand board) in construction within the county.

Daniel Taunton, of Taunton Truss, asked for a definitive and detailed demarcation of the 130-140 mile-per-hour wind zone lines in the county and requested it be sent to the state for approval.

McFarland cautioned commissioners to remember that they were discussing two separate issues: the wind zone issue, which was a Department of Community Affairs issue, and the building materials used, which was a building code issue.

Two representatives from the wood industry, one of them a newly-elected member of the Florida Building Commission, addressed the board.

Dr. Jeffrey Stone is also the regional manager of the Southeast Regional Forestry and Paper Association.

His comments did little to clarify the board's questions about both issues, and provoked further heated argument among commissioners over the use of OSB.

Stone said that OSB was referred to as a "wood structural panel, just like plywood, in the state building codes" and that it was "treated equally."

"We're concerned you're going to take a product used nationwide and ban its use. That's discriminatory and more costly. We're here just to protest that," Stone told the board.

Commissioners argued back and forth, with Williams bringing up home rule and what he perceived as a conflict of interest by Stone.

"I'm a little concerned that we have a person from the Florida Building Committee who also works for the wood industry," Williams said. "He sells wood and it's a conflict of interest.

"I'm not questioning his abilities, but he needs to represent himself as a private enterprise or a state committee representative,"

Traylor apologized for Williams' remarks and told Stone he was "totally opposite of Williams," that it was "very refreshing to have someone here who knows what they're talking about."

A representative from an agency that certifies OSB also spoke, saying Stone had "recognized his personal conflict and invited" him to speak to the commission.

"I'm here to see OSM treated fairly in Gulf County," he said.

At the end, McFarland was instructed to get clarification from the Florida Building Commission on the 130-140 mile-per-hour wind zone line.

- Dr. Patricia Hardman, head of the impact committee, presented an application process form to the board for their approval.

Through the process, Hardman said, every resident could suggest projects on how the county should spend its impact fees through the Department of Parks and Recreation.

The committee would then vet, rank and bring the results back to the board, she told commissioners.
She reported that there was approximately $69,000 in the impact fee fund that could be used countywide. The recommendation was passed 4-0 (Peters had stepped out of the room).

- Veteran Tim Stein chastised the board for allowing Veteran's Memorial Park of Beacon Hill to deteriorate, noting that local veterans had "ponied up" their own money to help improve the park that carried their collective name.

Williams agreed, saying he had tried to get the board to help with the park, but it was being used as a "payback" for his not voting in favor of lowering the wind zone designation in the north end of the county at recent meetings.

The argument continued briefly between Williams and Traylor until Traylor adjourned the meeting.