The county organized a town hall for Tuesday, August 31, 2021 and invited the community to attend and engage in conversations with Chairman Ketchel and the Okaloosa County Public Works Team. Nearly 100 citizens attended by zoom and in-person, allowing for the opportunity to view, ask questions and share feedback. This marks the third town hall gathering of the topic.According to Chairman Ketchel, “After almost two years of reviews by year-round residents we are pleased with the overwhelming support of the proposed Okaloosa Island improvements for Santa Rosa Boulevard.”
The audience applauded in favor of stormwater improvements and infrastructure improvements, including a multimodal path and bicycle lanes for enhanced safety of motorists and pedestrians. The county also considered input from Eglin Airforce Base in the concepts, by implementing a gradual decrease of lanes at the West end of Santa Rosa Boulevard instead of the abrupt 4-lane stop at the Eglin gate. While the majority of the audience was in favor of the improvements proposed, a few expressed resistance to changes.
The Board of County Commissioners will consider the concepts for approval at a later date. Visit https://bit.ly/3BpTSY3 to view the improvement concepts. Watch the entire town hall meeting at https://youtu.be/b1sF_A5Fz5M or a quick clip of Coffee with Carolyn at https://fb.watch/7LAHSxE5wZ/
