PARKING

FPL looks to install electric vehicle fast-charging stations at Destin’s Marler Street Parking Lot

On December 12, 2022, Florida Power & Light gave a presentation at the Destin City Council meeting regarding a possible partnership between FPL and the City to install an Electric Vehicle Charging Station in the Marler Street parking lot.

• FPL Representative Charlie Driver started his presentation by saying that usage of electric vehicles (EV) is growing rapidly, with Florida being the number two state for adoption of EVs with a little over 150,000 cars.  

As part of the 10-year partnership, FPL is looking to install 4 (or more) electric vehicle fast-charging stations at the paid parking lot. Driver says this program would require no fees for equipment or installation from the city, as FPL would manage construction, operation and maintenance. He says it would also have no impact on the city’s electricity costs.

“It truly is no investment on the city’s behalf, other than the spaces,” said Driver. “What we’re looking for is the property to put the chargers on.”

As part of the install, FPL will bring the service to the location, which would include a pad mounted transformer, any power cabinet or equipment that is necessary, along with the charging stations themselves to the parking spaces. 

• From there, FPL would promote the parking lot as a charging station location via their FPL EVolution Charging App. The cost to use the charging station would be 30 cents per kilowatt hour, in addition to the already-in-place paid parking fee.

“The great thing about this app is it would put these charging stations on a map that would be easy for people to find,” he told the council. “If they’re coming in from out of town, they should have no issues finding a charging station.”

The Council recently set aside $50,000 in this year’s budget for EV charging stations at this very location. With this partnership with FPL, the city could potentially save those funds.

As far as a timeline, the city will bring back a potential agreement to the council at a future meeting. From there, Driver said it could take anywhere from 8-10 months to become a reality if the council approves the project.

FROM THE STATE

DeSantis signs bill to help stabilize Florida’s Property Insurance Market

Last Wednesday, the Florida Legislature passed three bills, one of which is aimed at stabilizing the property insurance market in Florida.

• Senate Bill 2A is designed to improve the property insurance marketplace for homeowners, according to State Representative Patt Maney, and is the most significant property insurance reform bill in recent history.

“Over the last 18 months, Florida has witnessed multiple insurance carriers fail or decide to stop doing business in our state,” wrote Maney in an email. “There are a multitude of reasons why, but three major reasons include the increase in Florida property values, litigation costs, and the cost of reinsurance for insurance companies.”

Maney says that because of the current demand for housing in Florida, prices are up, which inevitably leads to increased insurance rates.

“In recent years, Florida has accounted for over 75% of insurance litigation in the nation,” he added. “Florida sees around 100,000 of these lawsuits each year, compared to ~1,000 in every other state.”

• Reinsurance costs (insurance for the insurance companies) rose 28% in 2021 and 52% in 2022.

Maney says that these are three main drivers of rising property insurance costs, with the latter two having caused insurance companies in Florida to lose money to the tune of billions of dollars.

According to the Governor’s Office, SB 2A will strengthen Florida’s property insurance market by:

• Eliminating one-way attorney fees for property insurance claims, which will disincentivize frivolous lawsuits, and realigning Florida’s market to best practices that will promote more market competition in the private insurance industry.

• Reducing the burden of excessive and predatory litigation will help bring down costs for homeowners.

• Enhancing the Office of Insurance Regulation’s ability to complete market conduct examinations of property insurers following a hurricane to hold insurance companies accountable and prevent abuse of the property appraisal process. 

• Reducing timelines for insurers to get payments out the door and back into the hands of policyholders as they rebuild their lives. 

• Building on reforms passed earlier this year by committing additional funding to provide temporary reinsurance support to help stabilize our market. 

“Consumers need relief from the jumps in property insurance prices,” added Maney. “We also know there can be bad actors and some Floridians have seen their livelihoods hang in the balance because of those bad actors. Florida can’t have a property insurance market if there are no companies willing to insure our property.”

TRAFFIC

Okaloosa and Walton County Traffic Advisory

Drivers will encounter traffic disruptions on the following state roads in Okaloosa and Walton counties as crews perform construction and maintenance activities.

In preparation for the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, there will be no lane closures or other activities that impede traffic on major state roads beginning at 7 a.m. Friday, Dec. 23 and ending at 12 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 3, according to FDOT.

Okaloosa County:                                  

• State Road (S.R.) 20 (John Sims Parkway) Resurfacing Project – Drivers will encounter intermittent east and westbound lane closures on S.R. 20, from Edge Avenue to west of the Rocky Bayou Bridge, Sunday, Dec. 18 through Thursday, Dec. 22, between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. These closures are required for median milling, median widening, and sidewalk construction.

• S.R. 85 Resurfacing from U.S. 90 to Commerce Drive – Drivers may experience north and southbound intermittent lane closures on S.R. 85 between U.S. 90 and north of Commerce Drive, Sunday, Dec. 18 through Thursday, Dec. 22 from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. These closures are required as crews place thermoplastic striping and complete concrete work.  At least one travel lane will remain open in each direction at all times.

• S.R. 85 Resurfacing from John Sims Parkway to College Boulevard – Drivers may experience intermittent north and southbound outside lane closures on S.R. 85 between S.R. 20 (John Sims Parkway) and County Road (C.R.) 190 (College Boulevard), Sunday, Dec. 18 through Thursday, Dec. 22 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. These closures are required for sidewalk repair and construction.

• U.S. 98 Bridge Rehabilitation over East Pass Bridge – Drivers may encounter intermittent single-lane closures on the U.S. 98 over East Pass (Marler) Bridge, westbound structure (Destin to Fort Walton Beach), Sunday, Dec. 18. through Thursday, Dec. 22, between 9 p.m. and 5:30 a.m. The existing 35 mph speed limit will be maintained during construction. The closures will be in place until the project is completed fall 2023.

Walton County:

• U.S. 98 Resurfacing Project from Village Road to East of U.S. 331 – Drivers will encounter the following traffic impacts Sunday, Dec. 18 through Wednesday, Dec. 21:
  • Intermittent U.S. 98 east and westbound outside lane closures at the C.R. 393 intersection, between 7:30 p.m. and 6 a.m., to allow crews to install roadway lighting.
  • Intermittent U.S. 98 east and westbound single-lane closures, from Mack Bayou Road to Village Road, between 7:30 p.m. and 6 a.m., for milling and resurfacing activities.
  • Intermittent closures on the U.S. 98 east and westbound outside shoulders and turn lanes may be required as crews construct new sidewalks, widen existing turn lanes between Village Road and U.S. 331, and construct a new westbound right-turn lane to access Don Bishop Road.

• S.R. 20 Turn Lane Construction at J. W. Hollington Road – Drivers will encounter intermittent daytime lane closures Sunday, Dec. 18 through Thursday, Dec. 22 for paving operations.

SCHOOLS

New multi-purpose buildings being constructed across Okaloosa high schools

On Tuesday, December 13, 2022, Get The Coast toured the new multi-purpose building that’s being constructed at Fort Walton Beach High School with Superintendent Marcus Chambers and Principal John Spolski.

• These multi-purpose buildings are being constructed at high schools across the district, with 19 total projects happening across 15 schools throughout Okaloosa.

• Those projects include new cafetoriums, classroom additions, new air conditioning systems, and plumbing and sewer.

“All of this is a direct result of the half-cent sales tax that has blessed this county in an amazing way,” said Superintendent Marcus Chambers. “You’re now seeing the fruits of the half-cent sales tax that’s starting now over the next three years.”

For Fort Walton Beach High School, having a multi-purpose building is something that Principal Spolski has envisioned for about five years. 

• “Construction began this year,” he said. “They came in, did the lay down work, they poured the foundation and we waited on the metal to come in. When the building package came in, Lord and Son Construction just took off and ran with this thing, and we are so excited about where we are at!”

Spolski added that initially they were anticipating a 2024 completion. However, 2023 is shaping up to be the year it is complete. He says that once the building is complete, it will open up so many possibilities for the Vikings, and the entire community.

“For all of our standardized tests, we have to compartmentalize them in some spaces here at Fort Walton Beach High School, but also go out with other high schools to the Fairgrounds,” he said. “That’s been a little tricky over the last few years and we’re not really sure where that’s going to lead us down the road. We will be able to use this building for testing, not only for high stakes testing that comes from the Florida Department of Education, but also SAT/ACT testing on the weekends.”

• Additionally, it will be a great facility for athletics and other programs such as band. 

When it comes to transparency and making sure the school district is spending the half-cent sales tax dollars the correct way, Chambers points to the Oversight Committee that is comprised of local residents not associated with the schools. The Oversight Committee manages and looks at the way that the district spends these dollars. 

• Additionally, Chambers added that the district does not add-on to different projects outside of each school’s project list with the additional funds brought in by the surtax. The Oversight Committee makes sure that each of those schools projects are completed, but with the additional funds, they can complete them much faster. 

“When you look at Fort Walton Beach High School’s multi-purpose building, you can see this occurring,” said Chambers. “But many of the projects, such as plumbing, piping, and air conditioning systems, you don’t necessarily see them, but they’re being done. When we talk about the next generation of Okaloosa schools, our students and families will reap the benefits of all these different projects happening. I couldn’t be more thankful to the citizens of Okaloosa County for voting this half-cent sales tax in for our schools.”

GIVING BACK

Be the Magic Foundation brings Christmas Spirit to 14 local families in need

On Friday, December 16, 2022, the team at Bit-Wizards in Fort Walton Beach donated Christmas gifts to 14 local families, including 25 kids, that reside at Fresh Start for Children and Families.

• Several years ago, the team at Bit-Wizards decided that in lieu of client gifts and holiday cards, the company would donate Christmas gifts to families in need.

Fresh Start’s mission is to share love and compassion through a comprehensive educational, vocational, and economic housing program to help homeless families achieve self-sufficiency. Each child at Fresh Start was encouraged to write their “Wish List.”

“These marvelous Wizards and this company are what Christmas is all about,” Donna Tashik, Executive Director at Fresh Start. “We deal with children in trauma here at Fresh Start, often leaving all their personal belongings behind and not knowing if they will get to eat or sleep in a bed each day.”

Each year, Bit-Wizards takes the wish lists and fills them exactly as the children requested.

• “The joy, the hope, and the belief that things can get better; that is what this wonderful company brings to our kids,” she added. “My heart soars as they pull in each year. My only wish is that there were more Wizards in this world. THANK YOU.” 

Every item requested (and more!) was purchased and wrapped with holiday cheer by the staff at Bit-Wizards.

“For the third year in a row, we have had the privilege and honor to purchase the entire Christmas list for the kids of Fresh Start,” said Caroline McCoy, Be the Magic Foundation Board Member. “Each year, our excitement and passion grows to give back to the community.”

McCoy recalled that the first year they donated gifts, they had five people in Santa’s Workshop wrapping. This year, they had 19 people wrapping over 250 gifts that were purchased.

• “We know that the items on the lists are what the kids have asked for, and we are blessed to be in a place to make those dreams happen,” she added. “Our team derives happiness from what we give, not what we get.”