The City of Destin and the Okaloosa Board of County Commissioners reached a unanimous agreement last Wednesday morning on the months-long dispute over who should manage the state-acquired park property near Norriego Point, ending a meeting that at times grew tense before both sides found common ground.

• The deal, made during the second formal conflict resolution meeting, calls for the county to send a letter of support to the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund, with a carbon copy to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, backing the City of Destin as the leaseholder, manager, operator and developer of the roughly four-acre state park property on Holiday Isle.

In exchange, the Destin City Council voted 5-2 to provide free parking to all Okaloosa County residents at all city-owned parking lots and parks, including future developed parking, with no time limit. Councilman Kevin Schmidt and Councilwoman Sandy Trammell voted against the offer.

The Board of County Commissioners then voted 5-0 to accept the proposal and authorize the joint letter.

The path to agreement

The meeting, held at the county’s administrative complex in Shalimar and facilitated by mediator Steve Hall, brought together all five county commissioners and all seven Destin City Council members along with their respective managers and attorneys. It was the second meeting in the Chapter 164 process. The first meeting included City Manager Larry Jones, City Attorney Kim Kopp, County Administrator John Hofstad and County Attorney Lynn Hoshihara, and while it was open to the public, only the managers and attorneys participated directly.

Hall set the tone at the outset, reminding both boards the session was “not a political fight” but “a stewardship question” and that the purpose was “forward-looking.”

• “We’re not here to retry the history of the disagreement or determine who was right or wrong at earlier stages in this process,” Hall said.

Jones opened the city’s presentation by reading from an email written by Justin Wolfe, general counsel for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. In it, Wolfe acknowledged that the governor and cabinet, sitting as the Board of Trustees, had designated Okaloosa County as the manager of the property but added that “if the City of Destin and Okaloosa County come to an agreement concerning the management of the property, the department as staff to the board of trustees will review the proposal.”

Jones said that language was encouraging and asked the commission to accept the city’s existing offer: free parking for county residents at the city’s Gulf-front parks, including Norriego Point, in exchange for the county formally supporting the city as manager and communicating that support to the state. The Destin City Council had approved that offer at its July 6 meeting.

Three motions fail

Commissioner Drew Palmer, who was appointed in January as the county’s liaison on the property, said the city’s offer as presented was not enough.

“Anything that is short of free parking citywide for county residents, I’m going to vote against,” Palmer said.

Palmer said he also wanted assurances that the county would not be asked to make a capital investment in the property’s development and that a portion of revenue generated from the parcel would be set aside for long-term maintenance.

Commissioner Sherri Cox disagreed with Palmer’s request for citywide free parking, calling it overreach.

• “I feel it’s a little heavy-footed for – we as a county – to come in and say, ‘No, in order to participate in Norriego Point the way that we have carved it out, you must do it this way, and you must step away from those funds being collected, to run your city,'” Cox said.

Commissioner Carolyn Ketchel was more direct. 

“We’re fighting over four-and-a-half acres of land,” Ketchel said. She moved to notify DEP that the county was declining to lease or operate the property. The motion, seconded by Cox, failed 2-3, with Palmer, Chairman Trey Goodwin and Commissioner Paul Mixon voting against it.

Two more motions followed in quick succession. Cox moved for the county to formally recognize that Destin’s land development code applies to the state park property. That, too, failed 2-3. Goodwin explained his vote, saying the declaration would have no legal effect regardless of how the board voted.

Cox then moved to accept the city’s original proposal as presented. It also failed 2-3.

The city responds

With the commission’s math clear, the floor moved back to the Destin side.

Kim Kopp, the city attorney, told commissioners the reason an interlocal agreement had never been finalized was that Palmer, as the county’s designated negotiator, had refused to acknowledge the city’s land use authority over the property.

“What the city and the county would do differently based on that information is that the city would follow its comprehensive plan and its land use regulations,” Kopp said. “It would keep the property compatible with the adjacent area … and listen to the residents.”

Jones added that a draft development plan the city had previously shared with the commission showed “adding some parking, a couple of pavilions, some beach volleyball, some handicap facilities” and tying the property seamlessly into the existing 14-acre Norriego Point Park. He contrasted that with the county’s earlier proposals, which “showed a tremendous amount of development beyond that.”

Palmer pushed back on characterizations of the county’s plans.

“I would even say that it is very likely to look like, with the addition of an additional bathroom, it’s very likely to look like what the city has proposed if the county is to manage it,” Palmer said. He added that “this well has been poisoned” and said he did not want the county to manage the parcel, a position he said he has held since February, provided certain conditions were met.

The deal takes shape

Councilman Dewey Destin moved to clear one of the lingering sticking points, making a motion that the city would take no action to remove the marina on the property. The motion passed.

Destin then made the motion that would help get the two entities to the final agreement: the city would offer free parking at all city-owned lots and parks for all Okaloosa County residents, not just the Gulf-front parks, in exchange for the county’s support before the state.

“If we give the free parking to all the county residents, I’m not really opposed to that. I like the county residents. I represented all of them on the school board for eight years,” Destin said. “So it’s a matter of money. The estimates are it’s 10 to 14% that we would go into errors and not collect. The truth is that all of these funds are, at this time, being paid by our visitors, by the tourists. We control our ability to set that rate.”

• Destin added a pointed note to Palmer: “I want to make it abundantly clear that we’re willing to do it, and I expect him to keep his word.”

Councilman Chatham Morgan said he supported the motion despite some reservations. He noted the city had not charged for parking until nine years ago and said providing free parking to county residents could help improve public perception of Destin in the broader county. But Morgan also said practical math drove his support.

“I can do simple math, and without supporting parking for all residents in all of our lots … I can do the math,” Morgan said. “And to Commissioner Palmer’s point, saying there’s been a bunch of fear-mongering about this park, I’m not a fearful person. However, I have read the same public records requests all of you have read, and the county, there are members of the county who do intend or have been angling to subvert our land development code and our zoning laws.”

Morgan said he supported Destin’s motion and hoped the property would remain uncommercialized “for us, for my kids and their kids.”

Schmidt, who voted against the motion, questioned why the county was in a position to negotiate conditions on a property it does not own or manage.

• “Why do you think you have the ability to negotiate the property that you don’t even own?” Schmidt asked Palmer.

The council voted 5-2 to approve the motion, with Schmidt and Trammell voting no.

Unanimous on the Commission

Palmer then moved to send the city’s proposal to the Board of Trustees with the county’s support. Commissioner Mixon seconded.

What followed was an extended procedural discussion over whether the letter should be addressed to the Board of Trustees alone or also to DEP. Ketchel and Cox pressed for DEP to be included, given that the department had been the most directly engaged state agency on the issue. Palmer said he had no objection to copying DEP but maintained the Board of Trustees was where the decision would be made.

During the discussion, Ketchel asked about the status of the county’s lease with DEP. County Attorney Lynn Hoshihara confirmed that while county staff and DEP had exchanged draft revisions of a lease agreement, it had never been brought before the commission for action and remained unsigned.

Mixon ultimately withdrew his second after the discussion stalled on the question of whether DEP should be a co-addressee or a carbon copy. With the second gone, Palmer’s original motion died. Cox then made a new motion to send the letter to both the Board of Trustees and DEP. Ketchel seconded. But Goodwin said he could not support putting the agency on equal footing with the cabinet as an addressee.

Before calling the vote, Goodwin asked the city a series of clarifying questions. He asked Kopp whether there was a time limit on the free parking offer and whether it would apply to future parking the city might develop. Kopp confirmed there were no limitations of any kind.

Goodwin said those answers were important.

• “What we’re really doing is we’re talking about negotiating and gaining free parking in exchange for the county’s advocacy, not in exchange for the county granting a lease or giving the property,” Goodwin said. “And I can understand that.”

Goodwin said the city’s 5-2 vote was significant to him.

“If this had only passed by one vote at the city, I might have viewed this a little differently because I would be concerned about whether or not there would be other changes,” Goodwin said. “But it sounds to me like the city by a strong majority supported this concept.”

Goodwin said he would support a motion that addressed the letter to the Board of Trustees with DEP receiving a carbon copy, rather than as a co-addressee. Ketchel agreed to amend her second to match that framing.

Goodwin restated the motion for clarity: accept the city’s proposal as passed, and send it with a letter of support addressed to the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund, with a carbon copy to DEP.

The motion passed unanimously.

Public weighs in

13 members of the public addressed the room during a comment period. Nearly all were Destin or Holiday Isle residents, and support for city management of the property was overwhelming.

Speakers cited concerns about traffic and safety on Gulf Shore Drive, the character of the residential neighborhood surrounding the property, and the potential consequences of commercial development. Several expressed frustration with the county’s handling of the matter and directed pointed criticism toward individual commissioners. Hall intervened at several points to remind speakers of the ground rules prohibiting personal attacks.

The Destin Chamber of Commerce also weighed in, saying the chamber supported city management but did not support surrendering paid parking at all city lots.

What happens next

The agreement reached Wednesday is not the final step. The governor and cabinet, sitting as the Board of Trustees, originally designated Okaloosa County as the manager of the property. Changing that designation requires action by the state.

Jones noted that DEP’s general counsel had committed in writing to reviewing any agreement between the city and the county.

After the final vote, Mayor Bobby Wagner offered a parting comment about the procedural wrangling that preceded it.

• “What we just saw is the reason people hate government, so you guys need to get the hell out of this mental game and the definitions and trying to hide behind legalese,” Wagner said. “It’s absolutely appalling.”

Goodwin responded: “Don’t talk yourself out of a cooperative partner.”

Hall adjourned the meeting shortly after.

“Apparently we have an agreement between the city and the county,” Hall said. “Congratulations.”