School Board, County Commissioner contenders address affordable housing, sales tax at forum

FORT WALTON BEACH — Among other questions posed to them at Thursday’s Okaloosa County Election Candidate Forum, each of the three candidates seeking to win the next District 2 County Commission four-year term answered a query on whether he or she has any plans to help solve the area’s workforce/affordable housing shortage.

“There is no leadership from the commission on housing,” candidate CareySue Beasley told the audience of about 100 people at the Fort Walton Beach Auditorium.

Beasley, incumbent Commissioner Carolyn Ketchel and candidate Matt Turpin will square off in the Aug. 23 primary election in hopes of representing the district that includes Shalimar, Okaloosa Island, and parts of the Fort Walton Beach area.

Those three Republicans took their seats on the auditorium stage following the first part of the forum that featured contenders for three county School Board seats.

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While further addressing the workforce housing shortage, Beasley said law enforcement officers, teachers and hospitality industry workers cannot afford to live in the area.

“We have got to have some leadership on the housing,” she said.

Workforce housing is a “hot topic,” said Turpin, who then noted that the Crestview area has a lot of room to grow.

He said the county can manage growth while forming partnerships with businesses and other entities to help get affordable houses built for law enforcement officers and other first responders.

Ketchel, who now is in her second four-year term, said the current commission has worked hard to develop workforce housing and just appointed District 1 Commissioner Paul Mixon to oversee this initiative.

She said she has been looking at parcels throughout the county that might be suitable for “tiny homes for those who are aging out of foster care, for those who have restaurant and hotel jobs. I’m not too concerned about the deputies or the teachers at this point. I’m concerned about people who work in our restaurant and hotel industry and have to live in the north end and then pay the (Mid-Bay Bridge) tolls to come through” to the Destin area.

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Thursday’s forum was sponsored by the Greater Fort Walton Beach Chamber of Commerce, the Emerald Coast Association of Realtors and the Building Industry Association of Okaloosa and Walton Counties Inc. It was moderated by Vince Mayfield, CEO of Bit-Wizards Information Technology Solutions Inc. of Fort Walton Beach, and Joe Capelotti, director of property management for Fort Walton Beach-based Coastal Realty Services.

After giving their respective backgrounds, each commission candidate was asked to list his or her top three priorities as the prospective District 2 commissioner.

Beasley, a retired registered nurse who now owns three small businesses, said her top three are transparency, infrastructure and public safety.

Turpin, a certified public accountant who owns several businesses and chairs the county Infrastructure Surtax Advisory Committee, said infrastructure, having a cohesive relationship between the county and its municipalities, and managed growth are his top priorities.

Ketchel, who is a retired social worker, said her top three items are infrastructure, public safety, and the potential rolling back of the countywide millage rate.

During her closing statement, Ketchel said she has an extensive background in federal, state, and local governments and has lived in Okaloosa County for 35 years.

“You are my people,” she told the audience. “This is my community. I’m not trying to run for a higher office. I simply want to make a difference with the time that I have left.”

Turpin said he has a “relentless pursuit” to be a good husband and a great father, CPA and bank chief financial officer, and to be a county commissioner and “make sure that our freedoms are not jeopardized, that there’s not government mandates, that we don’t close businesses, that we don’t interfere with business operations.”

Beasley closed by saying she is not a career politician, is not interested in political endorsements or contributions and that her neighbors’ traffic, housing and safety issues are not currently being addressed.

“I want to help my neighbors,” she said. “I’m all about solutions, and that’s what small business owners do.”

Republican Trey Goodwin faces no opposition in the District 4 County Commission race and will secure a third term in office.

In the nonpartisan county School Board races that will be decided in the primary election, incumbent Lamar White will face Jerry Buckman for the District 1 seat; incumbent Linda Evanchyk will compete with Darrel Barnhill for the District 3 seat; and incumbent Diane Kelley will face Cara Marion for the District 5 seat.

Each of them was asked at Thursday’s forum to list his or her top three priorities.

White — who is a former teacher, coach, principal and college professor, and has served two four-year terms on the board —  listed school safety, student academic achievement and the completion of the School District’s half-cent sales tax-funded projects.

Buckman, a substitute teacher and retired Air Force veteran, said restoring order in the schools, seeking further investigation into child abuse cases that occurred when Mary Beth Jackson served as the district’s superintendent, and improving the physical condition of schools.

Student safety, improved conditions for teachers and a focus on youth mental health were the top issues for Kelley, who has 40 years' experience of working in education as a teacher and in other roles and is seeking her second term.

Marion, who is a retired Air Force veteran, said using taxpayers’ money wisely, providing transparency on district matters and making the School Board more accessible to the public.

Student and district employee safety, infrastructure upgrades and obtaining and retaining employees were the main issues for Evanchyk, who is a former teacher of 38 years and is seeking her second term.

Barnhill, who formerly served on the Walton County School Board, said school safety, the construction of new schools, and the extension of teacher contracts are his main issues.

Among other questions, each candidate was asked for his or her views on School District half-cent sales tax expenditures.

“The half-cent sales tax … is a patchwork of repairing sewers and repairing roofs and those kind of items that certainly need to be repaired,” but there apparently is no proposals to build new schools to address residential growth, Barnhill said.

“Most schools in our county are over 50 years old, and we need new schools,” he said.

Evanchyk said the cost of building new schools, however, “is way out of (the School Board’s) league. At some $40 million just for an elementary school, how are we going to decide … just because it’s the oldest school doesn’t mean that’s the one that’s not being used the most. Some of our younger schools are in worse shape.”

She said she wants the board to look more at new additions to schools while reducing the number of portable classrooms.

Instead of “putting lipstick on a pig,” Marion said the board needs to upgrade unsafe HVAC systems at various schools. She also said the board needs to use existing district-owned properties versus buying land for new schools.

Kelley said School Board members need to continue to rely on the board’s Sales Surtax Citizens’ Oversight Committee that helps guide half-cent sales tax projects and must ask school principals and staff about the needs of their respective schools.

Buckman said, “To me, it’s very shameful that with all of the growth going on in this county since the early '90s — since I was paying attention — we do not have a plan to replace our schools.”

He added that if he is elected, he would visit area schools to find out their needs.

White said he would like the oversight committee to look more at the construction of new schools.

“I will share with you that Superintendent (Marcus) Chambers has already spoken and talked about the new schools that are on the agenda: They are in the planning stages at this very moment,” White said.

This article originally appeared on Northwest Florida Daily News: Okaloosa County political contenders address housing, tax concerns