Okaloosa County Commissioners unanimously approved an interlocal agreement with the Town of Shalimar on Tuesday that lays out the framework for acquiring, designing, building and operating a new waterfront park at the northeast corner of the Shalimar Bridge.

• The agreement is the next step in a process that began on March 3, when the board approved a $3 million purchase and sale agreement for the 1.7-acre property at 901 Eglin Parkway North, owned by John R. Dowd Jr. 

The property is slated to become “Dowd Park,” named for longtime county attorney John R. Dowd Sr., and would carry a 40-year deed restriction requiring public park use.

The interlocal agreement, which the Shalimar Town Commission approved at its April 14 meeting, formalizes the funding split for the estimated $6.5 million project. The state legislature would contribute $1.5 million through an appropriation currently being pursued during the 2026 session, the Town of Shalimar would contribute up to $1.5 million using its allocated tourism development tax dollars, and the county would cover the remainder at an estimated $3.5 million.

Under the agreement, the town’s contribution would come from its existing TDD reserves — currently estimated at roughly $258,000 — plus its annual TDD allocation of approximately $75,000 per year until it reaches $1.5 million or the allocation expires. 

• The county agreed to front-load the town’s share, a departure from recent interlocal agreements that Deputy County Administrator Craig Coffey said the town requested because the total contribution approaches the size of Shalimar’s entire general fund budget.

The county would retain ownership of the property and handle park maintenance and operations, with the Shalimar Police Department assisting with security, including locking the park and monitoring cameras. The park would operate from one hour before sunrise to one hour after sunset.

Coffey presented commissioners with a preliminary conceptual sketch of the park layout. The sketch shows a trail system winding through the property’s mature live oaks, multiple pavilions, a stormwater retention pond in the low area where a house once stood, a small playground, parking, restrooms, a waterfront observation platform, a shallow wading area with a floating barrier, and a residential buffer along the southern boundary near adjacent townhomes.

Coffey said the park at the Dowd property would be designed as a passive, family-oriented space, while the existing county-owned parcel on the southeast corner of the bridge would focus more on fishing and boating access. He said the county plans to make them visually complementary with similar features, colors and materials.

Shalimar Special Projects Commissioner Brian Taylor and Planning and Zoning Board Member Scott Eastwold both spoke in support of the agreement. Taylor thanked Coffey and county Facilities and Parks Director Jeff Peters for working with the town’s commissioners and residents, including hosting a town hall meeting to address concerns.

• “Nothing short of spectacular,” Taylor said of the vision for parks on both sides of the bridge.

Eastwold said residents who live along streets near the park had raised valid concerns, but that Coffey’s presentation at the town hall addressed those issues and put people at ease. 

Commissioner Carolyn Ketchel, who made the motion to approve, called the project a legacy effort.

“This is a legacy project, which we will never forget that we did this,” Ketchel said.

She said the vision for parks on both corners of the Shalimar Bridge resonates beyond the immediate neighborhood.

• “Even if we don’t live on the water, we drive across there, all of us all the time, and we can look out and say what a beautiful place we live in,” Ketchel said. “This could have been condos, this could have been homes. Instead, we’re going to have a beautiful park there on both sides.”

Coffey said early due diligence on the property’s existing seawall has been promising. He told commissioners the seawall appears to be better constructed than initially expected, though he said the county has not yet completed the appraisal, survey or full site inspection. He said a more detailed briefing on those items would likely come in May.

Chairman Trey Goodwin said he would support the interlocal agreement but urged planners to integrate timed access, security cameras, fencing and lighting into the park design. He pointed to the county’s experience at Colonel Bud Day Park, where a gate arm with internet-controlled access and full fencing were installed.

• Goodwin also raised concerns about traffic flow, noting that the park’s access runs through Clifford Drive past adjacent townhomes and could generate complaints from nearby residents. He asked staff to explore whether an alternative access point from Eglin Parkway might be possible.

Coffey said those concerns had been discussed at the town hall meeting and that the county had conducted an informal traffic analysis comparing park use against potential residential development of the same site. He said park traffic would generate the lowest impact of any likely use, including single-family homes or townhomes.

The agreement also addresses the existing interlocal between the county and Shalimar for the park on the southeast corner of the bridge. Once the Dowd property closes, that earlier agreement would be repealed, and the county would take full ownership and control of both sites, scaling back some planned improvements on the south side and redistributing elements between the two parks.

The project remains contingent on the state legislative appropriation, the completion of due diligence items, and the board’s final approval of those items before closing, which is targeted for no later than Oct. 31. Coffey said the county would begin design work immediately after the state budget is approved by the governor.

According to the project budget attached to the interlocal agreement, the estimated $6.5 million breaks down to $3.05 million for acquisition and closing costs, $375,000 for design and permitting, $2.625 million for park development, and $450,000 in contingency funds.