REMINDER

10,000 redfish to be released at Fred Gannon State Park in Niceville today

A quick reminder of what will take place today…and how you can participate!

Redfish populations along Northwest Florida have declined since 2010 due to overfishing and habitat degradation. Additionally, Florida has banned the commercial harvest of redfish because there simply aren’t enough.

• That’s where redfish restocking comes into play, and that’s exactly what will happen in the Choctawhatchee Bay today.

With the help of Okaloosa’s Coastal Resource Team, the redfish that will be released are 6-10 inches in length. These fish have been raised in outdoor ponds instead of a laboratory tank setting, and get water pumped into the pond from the Gulf of Mexico.

• That includes crabs and crustaceans.

This is the first-ever concerted effort to help restore redfish populations in the Panhandle.

The redfish restocking is planned for Tuesday, March 29th at noon at Fred Gannon State Park in Niceville. The event is free and the public is encouraged to participate.

Click here to learn more

NIGHTLIFE

Coasters makes changes to hours of operation following shooting

On Saturday, March 26, 2022, Fort Walton Beach Police Officers were dispatched to a call for shots fired at Coasters in downtown Fort Walton Beach.

According to the Fort Walton Beach Police Department, the alleged shooter was asked to leave the establishment by security and proceeded to get into argument with the victim outside of the bar.

The victim returned to play pool and the alleged shooter re-entered the business. He then got the attention of the victim and drew a firearm from his waist. 

• He discharged the firearm and one round penetrated the victim’s shoulder. 

“Security immediately disarmed the suspect and subdued him until officers arrived,” wrote the FWBPD. “He was charged with Attempted Felony Murder and Possession of a weapon by a convicted felon.”

Following the shooting, Coasters announced changes to their hours of operation. Coasters, and The Bevador room, will be closing nightly at 2am effective immediately. 

“The situation that transpired last night was an unfortunate and isolated incident,” wrote Coasters. “Fortunately, our staff rose to the occasion and quickly diffused the situation. Coasters and The Bevador Room will continue to be the place for great drinks, live music and good times. We will not let one bad bean ruin the batch. Thank you all and hope to see you soon.”

REAL ESTATE

Marina Bay Resort auctioned off for $11.2 million in Fort Walton Beach

Marina Bay Resort in downtown Fort Walton Beach has been auctioned off for $11.2 million. The 73 timeshare condominium units are being sold in bulk, not individually, as part of the sale.

Marina Bay Resort was originally built in 1962 on 3.92-acres, and was updated and added onto in 1974 when Sheraton Hotel began managing the property. 

• In 1982, the units were updated and converted to a timeshare. 
• In 1998, 13 boat slips and a fishing pier were added. 

The property also includes an outdoor pool, hot tub, game room, and two common rooms. The dock is a lease from the State of Florida to allow it to exist over the state-owned Santa Rosa Sound inland waterway.

On June 10, 2021, a special meeting required by the Declaration was held, according to Scott MacGregor, Lemonjuice Capital Solutions. This meeting allowed the owners to vote to either renew the timeshare usage plan or allow the timeshare usage plan to terminate as dictated by the Sunset date. 

“The way it works in Florida, and in many states, is there is this term limit built into the timeshare usage plan,” said MacGregor. “In Florida, it is presumed that the timeshare is going to end and the property gets sold and the money distributed, but it takes a vote of the owners to do that.”

According to MacGregor, the owners overwhelmingly voted to allow the termination to proceed as scheduled, in addition to selling the condominium units in bulk as a single asset. 

• Lemonjuice Solutions, a company that specializes in restructuring fractionally owned properties, was brought in as interim manager and investor to assist in completing the disposition of the Resort.

To more easily transfer ownership of the Resort to the buyer, the Declaration was amended on June 10, 2021, and recorded in October 2021 for the purposes of terminating the timeshare form of ownership – although the underlying condominium real estate ownership structure was preserved. 

On September 11, 2021, an annual meeting was held. At this meeting, owners submitted the remaining required consent forms to change the Declaration from being governed by the Statutes of Florida Section 718 to Section 721. 

• This change empowered the Board of Directors to sell the property as their fiduciary responsibility. 

The auction

The 48-hour auction was held through Ten-X, the world’s largest, online commercial real estate exchange. 

The auction started at $1.6 million with more 3,000 interested parties. According to MacGregor, they ended up with 29 qualified buyers. 

• Within the two-day period, the final price tag ended at $11.2 million.

“The property was sold on behalf of about 1,700 timeshare owners,” said MacGregor. “Those timeshare owners will all get a really nice piece of that $11.2 million.”

While MacGregor couldn’t speak on details of the buyer or what the future plans are for the property, he did say that it will be “a significant part of the story of the redevelopment of downtown Fort Walton Beach.”

SPRING BREAK

Sheriff addresses upcoming ‘Takeover Parties’ in Okaloosa & Walton County following recent PCB events

On Monday morning, the Walton County Sheriff’s Office, in conjunction with Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office, addressed concerns over promoted “Destin Takeover” events and incoming crowds during Atlanta’s Spring Break week. 

• This press conference was held at Pompano Joe’s.

Following the recent incidences in Panama City Beach over the weekend with similar “take over parties”, concerns arose in Okaloosa & Walton County as flyers for a Crab Island Takeover began circulating social media. The promoted parties list April 9 and April 22-24th as the current dates. 

According to Walton County Sheriff Michael Adkinson, Jr., both his department along with the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office are well aware of the planned “take over” events. 

• “We’re aware of it and we’re going to put pressure on those events,” he said. 

According to Sheriff Adkinson, law enforcement agencies have been reaching out to both the rental companies and the homeowners that are advertising these type of takeover events. 

“We have a couple of multi-million dollar houses that are being advertised as party houses,” he said. “Our deputies from the Sheriff’s Office are making contact with the owners and the rental agencies this morning and saying to them, ‘This is not what we’re about. We’re aware of how this is being marketed. We’re asking you as good stewards in the community to refund that money and cancel that reservation.’“

Sheriff Adkinson went on to say that he wants people to come to the area and enjoy themselves, but added that “this is our home.”

“These are adults and we expect you to act like that,” he said. “And if you can’t do that, we’ll do it for you.”

Adkinson went on to say that “at any moment, we’ll go across the line and help Okaloosa or we’ll go across to Bay (county).” 

• “We’re all prepared to take whatever action is necessary to keep this community safe and to protect our home,” he said. “We’re going to deal with this with a stern, strong hand. Take that any way you like. So the reality of this is, we are not going to sit by and allow these types of things to happen.”

Sheriff Adkinson addressed the recent incidences they’ve seen in Walton County, particularly at Seaside.

“The crowds we’ve dealt with in Walton county are children,” he said. “They may be loud. They may be big crowds. They may even be a little obnoxious, but at the end of the day, they are children and you deal with children a certain way.”

• “What we’re talking about here as adults, and with adults, we are going to take zero discretion in dealing with this. We are taking people to jail. If there’s a way to take them to jail, they will go to jail. So we want to say that up front,” he added.

He continued to emphasize that both the Walton and Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Offices will continue to monitor these planned takeover events.

“They’re not taking anything over. It’s not going to happen,” he said. “We’ve got plenty of opportunity in the Walton County Jail.”

Background: Panama City Beach law enforcement says 75 guns were seized and 161 people were arrested during a Spring Break weekend, according to WEAR TV.

CRAB ISLAND

Pontoon and jet-ski rental companies taking additional precautions ahead of ‘Destin Takeover’ parties

Following the announcement from the Sheriff, the Okaloosa County Watersport Operators Coalition has issued a statement regarding these planned “takeovers.”

“The coalition is well aware of these events, and all operators have been informed as well as USCG, FWC and OCSO,” said Greg Fisher, OCWOC. “Operators will be taking additional precautions to ensure the safety of our waterways including additional training to inexperienced boaters.”

• The Okaloosa County Watersport Operators Coalition was formed in January of 2021 by a group of concerned rental operators that want to see a safe and sustainable future for commercial boating activities in Okaloosa County.

According to Fisher, some pontoon and jet-ski rental companies have decided to completely cease operations on the day of the scheduled parties. 

“Our operators are going to do everything they can to not only keep people safe, but individual property safe as well,” explained Fisher. “We are advocating for safety and many operators are already planning to do extra training for inexperienced boaters, in addition to having more staff to monitor guests.”

At the press conference on Monday, Walton County Sheriff Michael Adkinson Jr. addressed these very concerns too.

“There are concerns about the activities at Crab Island, particularly with livery boats,” he said. “We’re going to do everything we can to bring that to heel.”