Okaloosa County will install a donated set of stainless steel replicas of the Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution, Bill of Rights and Civil Rights Amendments at the Crestview courthouse, and county staff will work to secure a second set for Women’s Veterans Park on Okaloosa Island.

• The Board of County Commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday to accept the “Charters of Freedom” donation from Foundation Forward Inc., a North Carolina-based nonprofit that has gifted similar sets to communities in 17 states.

The package, which arrived at the county fairgrounds on April 27, includes seven laser-etched stainless steel plaques along with bronze medallions, title plates and construction plans.

Facilities and Parks Maintenance Director Jeff Peters presented the item and asked the board to weigh in on three questions: whether to accept the donation, how to fund the installation and where to place it.

“It is a phenomenal donation, one-of-a-kind,” Peters said.

According to a March 27 letter from Foundation Forward founder Vance Patterson, the nonprofit has gifted 75 Charters of Freedom settings over the past 12 years, including installations at the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, and the Jimmy Carter National Historic Site in Plains, Georgia. The organization’s goal is to place a setting in each of Florida’s 67 counties as part of the nation’s America 250 commemoration.

Commissioner Carolyn Ketchel was first to weigh in on a location, advocating for Women’s Veterans Park because of the steady stream of student visitors the park already draws. She read from a stack of 24 handwritten thank-you notes she received from Fort Walton Beach High School students who recently toured the park.

• “Where are the youth going to see them more?” Ketchel asked. “The youth have to understand what these civil rights documents mean, what the U.S. Constitution means, and what the Declaration of Independence means.”

Ketchel made a motion to accept the donation, fund the installation and place the monument at Women’s Veterans Park. The motion died for lack of a second.

Commissioner Paul Mixon then suggested splitting the decision into separate motions. His first motion, to accept the donation, passed without objection. A second motion to approve $40,000 to $60,000 for installation passed unanimously, with County Administrator John Hofstad directed to identify a funding source within the existing budget. Mixon specified the money should not come from ad valorem property tax dollars.

For the location, Mixon made a motion to install the monument at the Crestview courthouse, citing concerns about salt air and flooding at the coastal park.

“These items are made of stainless steel. We do understand that rust,” Mixon said. “We didn’t get to choose material on this. We didn’t get to design it. We didn’t even ask for it. It just showed up and we get to be the stewards of it.”

• Mixon noted that the courthouse area already serves as a gathering point for parades, field trips and community events, with the Okaloosa County Veterans’ Memorial nearby. He pointed out the placement would be in Commissioner Sherri Cox’s district, not his own, but said it was “the right decision for the county as a whole.”

Commissioner Drew Palmer, joining the meeting via Zoom, seconded Mixon’s motion. Palmer said he was “very torn” because of his support for Women’s Veterans Park — his wife is a veteran — but corrosion concerns won out.

“To have something like this tarnish and rust and not be well-preserved, I think would be a travesty,” Palmer said. He added that the activity in downtown Crestview would let people “happen upon this monument and be just really blessed by the fact that it’s there.”

Cox said she also supported the Crestview location, in part because of growth in north-end schools, which would make field trips to the courthouse more accessible for a growing student population.

• “I’m all about investing in our children and teaching them about how government works, and the Constitution doesn’t seem like a terrible idea of a place to start,” Cox said.

Ketchel said she would vote with the rest of the board to keep the decision unanimous.

Chairman Trey Goodwin then floated the idea that ultimately shaped the final motion: pursuing a second set so both locations could host a display.

“We’re a bifurcated county. It’s not like our county seat’s in the middle of our county,” Goodwin said. “Being able to serve both ends makes a lot of sense.”

Goodwin suggested staff first ask Foundation Forward whether a second set could be donated, and if not, return to the board with a cost estimate. He said he would be willing to spend additional funds to install a second monument and noted that donations could likely help offset the cost.

Mixon and Palmer accepted the addition as part of their motion. The board unanimously approved the amended version, which directs staff to: install the first set at the Crestview courthouse; pursue a second set for Women’s Veterans Park, free if possible; and return to the board with a cost figure if the second set must be purchased. Funding for installation would double if a second set is secured, with Mixon reiterating the money should not come from property tax dollars.

Foundation Forward was founded by Vance and Mary Jo Patterson after a 2011 visit to the National Archives in Washington, D.C.. The couple gifted the first Charters of Freedom setting outside Washington to Burke County, North Carolina, in 2014. The only existing Charters of Freedom installation in Florida is at the Riverfront Esplanade in Daytona Beach.