The Okaloosa County Board of County Commissioners on Tuesday directed Commissioner Drew Palmer, the board’s liaison on the Holiday Isle state park property, to travel to Tallahassee with a City of Destin representative to meet jointly with the state about the future management of the parcel.
- The 3-2 vote came after the City of Destin formally asked the county to support the city’s Resolution 26-05, which requests that the state authorize Destin as the lessee and managing entity for the approximately 4-acre waterfront property, with a financial commitment of up to $5 million.
Commissioners Palmer, Paul Mixon and Chairman Trey Goodwin voted in favor of the motion. Commissioners Sherri Cox and Carolyn Ketchel voted against it; both indicated they were prepared to support the city’s resolution directly.
The motion, made by Mixon, does not take a position on which entity should manage the park. It asks Palmer and the city’s representative — Councilman Dewey Destin — to meet with the state together and report back to their respective boards.
What the city asked for
City Attorney Kim Kopp opened the meeting by asking the county to support Resolution 26-05 and to jointly approach the state in favor of the city serving as the lessee and managing entity. She said the city had submitted a concept plan at the county’s request that provides for passive recreation, public use of the docks as first-come-first-served transient slips and a fishing pier, and over 100 parking spaces while maintaining approximately 3.5 of the four acres as unpaved conservation land.
Kopp said the city has changed course from its earlier request for an interlocal agreement to now formally requesting the lease and management responsibilities. She said the approach “aligns management responsibility with the city’s existing stewardship of the adjacent Norriego Point Park,” avoids duplication of administrative oversight and ensures passive recreation and conservation.
City Manager Larry Jones pointed to a countywide survey the city commissioned from Cherry Communications, saying nearly 90% of respondents indicated they wanted a low-impact, passive park.
Councilman Dewey Destin, who has been the city’s representative in negotiations with Palmer, told commissioners the city’s concept plan attempts to address concerns the county raised in those meetings — including parking for county residents and tourists, free parking for county residents and keeping the site low-key. He said the council passed a resolution granting free parking to county residents within the city parks of Destin and reworked the dock proposal to transient slips and a fishing pier.
- “We’re at the point that we need the county commission to take an action so that we can go together to the DEP and say, this is our joint plan for this area,” Destin said.
Palmer: Two conditions for supporting city management
Palmer, who has led negotiations with the city on behalf of the board, outlined two conditions under which he could support the city obtaining the lease and management responsibilities:
- No capital investment from the county.
- Free and sufficient parking for county residents at the park, along with free parking for county residents at all city-owned parking spaces within Destin’s municipal boundaries.
“The war on this property is already won,” Palmer said, referring to the state’s purchase preventing condominium development on the site. “Regardless of the cost … the fact that there is not going to be a condo there, I think is a win for the entire community.”
Palmer said he views the $5 million figure previously referenced in a county letter to the state as “real money” and that supporting the city’s management would “absolve” the county of that fiduciary responsibility. He also questioned whether the urgency existed to act immediately given that the state has not provided a proposed lease or management contract.
“I don’t know what the urgency is, other than to get this matter settled and off the table so that we can focus on the things that are higher priorities,” Palmer said, citing stormwater and infrastructure projects. He said he preferred to check with the state before the county took a formal position on the city’s resolution.
County Attorney Lynn Hoshihara confirmed that the board has not taken any official action on management of the property beyond designating Palmer as liaison, authorizing negotiations with the city and previously sending letters supporting the state’s purchase and offering to manage the park. No lease has been entered into with the state.
Cox, Ketchel urge direct support for city management
Commissioner Sherri Cox said she would be more likely to support a motion to back the city’s resolution and “ask the state if their suggestion is okay.” She cited fiscal concerns, including the looming state property tax discussion and the $5 million commitment, along with maintenance costs of a parcel between two city-jurisdiction properties.
- “I really feel like it’s in the best interest for us as a board to go forward with the city and ask the state if it’ll be okay for us to hand off jurisdiction to the city of Destin,” Cox said. She referenced the city’s survey as showing broad county support for maintaining the site in a natural state.
Commissioner Carolyn Ketchel said she had walked the parcel and had concerns about playground equipment near the channel. “I absolutely want to give it back to the City of Destin. I never wanted this thing,” Ketchel said, adding that she had spoken with state legislators who told her the state did not have a preference on the management arrangement.
Mixon: Go to the state together
Mixon, who made the motion that ultimately passed, framed the trip to Tallahassee as a joint fact-finding effort rather than a negotiation.
“I have no dogmatic stance on who manages in what direction, but I believe we will do so much more together,” Mixon said. “I don’t see any reason to consider this even a battle.”
Goodwin, in his closing remarks before the vote, said the motion “goes just far enough” and does not commit either side to a position.
- “It doesn’t dictate the script, it doesn’t presuppose anything,” Goodwin said. “It doesn’t refuse to do something or not do something, and it doesn’t commit either side to agree to something.”
Goodwin said the state, as the landowner, is the primary stakeholder and has not provided a concept plan, lease or request for proposals. “A lot of the discussion is probably ahead of the status,” he said.
The state closed on the approximately 4-acre waterfront parcel on Dec. 11, 2025, after Gov. Ron DeSantis and the state Cabinet approved the purchase in September 2025. The site, between the East Pass Towers condominiums and Destin’s Norriego Point Park, had been permitted for an 8-story, 79-unit residential condominium before the state acquisition.
Under the board’s direction Tuesday, Hoshihara will coordinate with Palmer on scheduling the joint trip to Tallahassee with the city’s representative.
