BEFORE YOU DIG

Grayton has lots of underground utilities including TV/internet cables, gas lines, phone lines, and electrical lines. Before you DIG please call 811 annd the companies will come out and mark where the lines are. There is no cost for this service.

Friday, April 27, 2012

Pompano Jim of Grayton

Protective paranoia, a Grayton Beach, and a quest for the stars

Chick Huettel
The Walton Sun
I have known “Pompano Jim“ (alias: Jim Thean) for many years now. Awhile back I wrote an article about him and his profound knowledge of the life cycle of pompano. The pompano is declared by many famous chefs as a prime aquatic swimmer in the Gulf. It’s not often found on the normal restaurant menu, but always on “finer” dining establishments. It’s expensive and hard to catch, but not for Jim. He has his own pompano fishing guide service in Grayton Beach.
Pompano Jim is also unique in that his IQ is over all standard boundaries, and he holds a full doctorate and is a retired college professor in bio-chemistry. I watched him one day give a lecture to my grandsons on the humble sand flea, and I was mesmerized at the simplicity in his explanation of how the shore flea is in harmony with the sea birds and fish.
While he has been living in Grayton Beach for what seems like forever, Pompano Jim has taken on the issue of Edison’s electric lamp.
“Each year there seems to be more and more people installing security lights, and that’s not counting the street lights,” he said. “Now the stars are becoming dim. Even the turtle nest count is down.”
He blames the light pollution on out-of-town owners and their constant dread of crime. And so he is charging forward to fight the lights.
“CHELCO has come out and seen the violations and there will be some changes or fines coming forward. Already we have seven violations and still counting just last week. The turtle protection enforcement statutes on lighting have been ignored. So I plan to return our original beach community to where we could see the constellations and not make the hamlet a city parking lot.”
“Our locals don’t go spilling into other communities with invasive attitudes, so why should people from other cities and states do this to us?“ he asked.
“I and a few others have managed to point some lights so they don’t face the beach and disrupt turtle migrations and their ageless nesting propagation,” he continues. “We plan to become more vigilant and simply ask home owners to enjoy the night sky and don’t bring their city fear to Grayton. The sea and sky is what we have — no mountains, no streams, no rocky shores, just the stars at night and rhythm of the waves. I recently asked some newcomers to please cut out their property lighting. They said for me to go away; it was their house and they will do as they please. The lady of the house was scared and so up come the lights. It’s disheartening.”
I went out walking with Jim as he pointed to various intruding hard lights. He was right. Some people seem to care more about monetary property and protective paranoia than what they originally came to Grayton for — peace and nature. They brought the big city phobia with them.
“It’s all about trying to educate the visitor and hopefully making them understand the life cycle of Grayton Beach. It is up to the homeowners association to rid the village of this invasion. Some vacation owners will always be selfish, that is their “nature,” but us locals promote God’s given nature. The stars and moon at night are enough light for us.”
Jim is my hero. To catch Pompano, call Jim’s fishing guide service at 850-231-1145.
Fair winds to ye matey.
Chick Huettel is a longtime Walton County resident, writer and artist.

Thursday, April 19, 2012

The Annual Meeting was called to order by Grant Blackwell, President, at Shirley Sahlie’s yard at 11:15 AM, April 7th, 2012.  About 80 members, guests and family members attended the Annual Meeting and Picnic.  Jean Silva was absent.  Special guests included artist Don Sawyer, Assistant Grayton Beach State Park Assistant Manager Mathew Allen, County Commissioner Cecilia Jones and County Sheriff Mike Adkinson. 
Grant expressed the Board and Membership’s appreciation to Shirley for her continued support of the Association and for her gracious hosting of the annual meeting.
Following the invocation and Pledge of Allegiance, Grant introduced the 2011-2012 Board Members and the new 2012-2013 Board as follows:


Board:
2011-2012:
Grant Blackwell, President
Scott Provow, Vice President
Ann Morrell, Treasurer
Larry Jackson, Secretary
Billy Buzzett
Andy Gray
Bill Wallace



2012-2013 Board:
Grant Blackwell, continuing for a 2011-2013 Term
Scott Provow, continuing for a 2011-2013 Term
Andy Gray, continuing for a 2011-2013 Term,
Kitty Taylor, elected for a 2012-2014 Term,
Bill Wallace, continuing for a 2011-2013 Term
Billy Buzzett, elected for a 2012-2014 Term
Jean Silva, elected for a 2012-2014 Term


The new Board will confirm officers at their next meeting.
Minutes:  March 9th minutes were approved by board member E-mails and posted to GBNA Blog.


Financial Report:  Ann Morrell presented an update of our Annual GBNA Finances as of April 7, 2012.
                              GBNA 2011- 2012 Annual Financial Report


Beginning Balances
Checking:
6,415.00 + 100.00 dues deposit
6,515.00
Savings:
10, 669.85 + 80.76 interest
10,750.76
Total Income :
17, 625.76




Annual Expenses:
2011 Annual Meeting/ Party
1,012.42
2011 State Filing Fee
61.25
2011-2012 Landscape Cost
 2,127.30
2012 PO Box Rental
 46.00
2012 Mailing/Stamps/ Postcards
 798.21
2011 Telephone Conference Call
3.94
2011-2012 Holiday Decorations
152.14
2012 Reorder Checks/ Deposit Slips
45.45
2012 Fence Start Up Cost
140.00
2012 Friends of Grayton Beach St Park Donation
100.00
Annual Expenses Total :
4,486.71

Special Project: Hotz Ave Beautification Expenses:

2012 Contractor Bill (See Transfer)
6,423.13
2012 Plants and Labor (See Transfer)
1,868.86
Total Expenses: Annual and Hotz Ave:
12,778.70


Hotz Project Transfer:  Transferred 8,300 from Savings Account to Checking


Checking Balance

Remaining
 2,026.30
2012 Dues Income
4,610.00
Ending Checking Balance Total
6,646.30
Savings Balance
10,750.61
Hotz Transfer
(8,300.00)
Ending Savings Balance Total
2,450.61
April 7, 2012 Total Ending  Balance Checking and Savings
9,096.91




Membership:  Dues were received for 180 memberships.
Guests:
County Commissioner Jones.  Cecilia Jones invited property owners to contact her or her assistant, Jason, any time for help at her Grayton Beach office, 70 Logan Lane, 850-231-2978.
County Sheriff Mike Adkinson.  Sheriff Adkinson addressed the issues of parking, noise complaints and crowd control during peak periods.  The Sheriff’s Office receives over 1000 calls for service a week.  He noted that the County Administrator was the only official who could declare no parking zones.  Sheriff Adkinson said that the Sheriff’s office is reviewing the new Parking Ordinance. 
Don Sawyer Art Project.  Ann Morrell introduced Don Sawyer.  Everyone thanked him for the contribution of his paintings displayed on the DeFuniak Street Lift Station.
Real Estate Update:  Scott Provow gave attendees the profile of recent home prices and sales in the 30A area and in Grayton Beach.  Sales are up 160% this year..   Sellers have seen bids generally below their asking price with sale prices 60% below the 2005 prices.  Over the last few years, Grayton Beach had an average of 18 homes for sale.  This year there are only 7 homes for sale.
Grayton Beach State Park:  Assistant State Park Manager Mathew Allen and District Biologist Tova Stector gave a presentation on management activities at the State Park.  The park consists of 200 acres of state park around Grayton Beach.  The presentation covered native plants common to the Park.  He discussed concerns for invasive plants in the neighboring communities that could affect the park.  A native plant guide, Friendly Plantings for Grayton Beach Area, was passed out to attendees.  It has been posted on the Grayton Beach Association BLOG at http://minutesonly.blogspot.com/2012/04/friendly-plantings-for-grayton-beach.html .  One member asked about the control of Phragmites reeds spreading around Western Lake, including the Banfill-Lydia Lake Access.  Mathew said they sought to control it and had access to an herbicide that was only approved for use by official agencies.  This herbicide might be something the TDC could use to control reeds at our lake access areas.  Another member asked about planting native lupine.  The presenters noted only nursery they knew that was successful growing lupine was the 10 Mile Creek Nursery in Hartford, AL.  The marking of bird nesting areas was also discussed. 
Past Year:  Grant covered association activities during the last year including the membership directory, DeFuniak Street shoulder improvements, the Sawyer Art project on the DeFuniak Street Lift Station and Hotz Avenue Beautification Project. Member Directory:  Attendees received a 2012 membership directory replacing the 2006 Membership Directory.
Shoulder Work:  The County added aggregate to the west shoulder on both sides of the DeFuniak. 
 
Hotz Avenue Beautification Project:  Grant covered the work completed on the project and the efforts to meet County approval.  This project was one of the capital improvement projects.  As the project neared completion, the board reviewed and approved a special request for funding.  Project Budget Target of $5,000 was approved at the September 23, 2011 Board Meeting. The Board, following the March 9, 2012 meeting, received an April 2nd request from Grant and Billy for an additional $3,300 to complete the major work on Hotz Avenue Beautification project by April 7, 2012.  Scott Provow made an April 2 motion to approve the additional $3,300 for the Hotz Avenue project to be included in the 2011-2012 financial statement for a total of $8,300. Grant, Billy, Scott, Andy, Bill and Larry voted yes, Ann Abstained.  The final cost was $8292
Background.  GBNA received County Commission approval for the project on March 13. GBNA’s request to the Commission sought to complete the project by April 7. Thomas Stein, a county-approved contractor, was hired to cut and remove pavements, install required Ribbon Curbs and fill with soil accordance with County specifications. GBNA paid Thomas Stein for his $6,423.18 invoice for the Ribbon Curb, removing the old pavement, and replacing the soil to the county specifications. The cost of the plants and labor to plant and do ground preparation was $1,886.68

January Sand Dump:  Grant covered the January Retreat Resorts Beach Restoration project that used the DeFuniak Street Beach Access to move large quantities of sand by truck over the beach from Grayton Beach past Gulf Trace to Blue Mountain.  The GBNA Blog has a detailed Walton Sun article at http://graytonbeachflorida.blogspot.com/2012/01/county-does-it-again-to-grayton.html
Member Comments/Questions: 
 Traffic and Safety:  Several attendees discussed effectiveness of the speed radar indicator on DeFuniak Street.  Other speed moderation approaches were covered including small traffic islands, flower planters and additional radar signs.  The Board is going to review need to push for re-installing speed bumps on DeFuniak and other streets.
Street Lighting:  Grant advised attendees that CHELCO was going to require utilities payments for street lights currently running in old Grayton.  Residents there should contact CHELCO if they want to pay a monthly fee for the light in their area. 
Rental Signs Initliative:
The annual meeting and the Board have has discussions over visual impact of signs over the last few years. u.e. the Davis IS Grayton for sale? Presentation at our 2008 Annual meeting. One companion cited was the restriction sign requirements for Gulf Trace property owners.

Richard Veldman, Rivard Realty, reported that his company has been changing out the hanging rental signs for property signs attached to the home. He recommended that Grayton property owners all start doing this.


Noise:  Billy and Grant have had discussions with Sheriff Adkinson about noise.  The current criteria is “Breech of the Peace”.  The Sheriff comment was they will respond to call and make a determination in accordance with current ordinance.
Adopt a Tree:  Grant discussed a proposed volunteer project to plant more trees as a part of a neighborhood beautification project.
 The meeting was adjourned at 11:30 AM. 
Member Communications:  Members were reminded of the two digital communications systems available - the Grayton Beach Neighborhood Association Blog at http://graytonbeachflorida.blogspot.com/  and the Facebook site at http://www.facebook.com/GraytonBeachNeighborhoodAssociation .
Submitted by Larry Jackson, Secretary Upon approval, these minutes are posted on Grayton Beach Neighborhood Association BLOG at http://graytonbeachflorida.blogspot.com/ ,
The Minutes are cataloged at http://minutesonly.blogspot.com/ 



Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Toll Booth for 331 Bridge Expansion? YEA or Nay

Apr 12th, 2012 | 0
BY DOTTY NIST
Whatever concerns citizens may have about the proposal to add a new two-lane span to the U.S. 331 bay bridge, having to stop to pay a toll should not be one of them, as all tolls would be collected electronically. Discounted tolls for local residents would also be possible.

Representatives of the state Department of Transportation (DOT) and of Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise were in DeFuniak Springs on April 3 at an informational special meeting of the Walton County Board of County Commissioners (BCC) at the Walton County Courthouse.

On May 8, Walton County citizens will vote on whether to fund through a sales tax the $75 million that would be required as matching funds to make the $177 million project a reality. If the vote on the proposed half-cent per dollar sales tax increase fails, commissioners will be faced with a decision whether or not to have the state impose a toll on the new bridge span in order to pay off a loan or bonds for the $75 million.

The purpose of the April 3 meeting was to receive public input and provide new information on the toll possibility. Slightly over two dozen people were in attendance.
“As you know, it is a very complicated issue,” Walton County Administrator Greg Kisela told attendees.

He called DOT’s recent proposal to widen all of U.S. 331 as far north as I-10 by 2017 “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.” Recently the agency made this commitment with the condition of Walton County participating in the funding of the bridge expansion by providing the $75 million in local matching funds.

Kisela noted that the total project would result in $1.5 to $2 million per week in DOT and county dollars being spent in Walton County. This would create a “real boom” for the local economy, he predicted.

Tommy Barfield, DOT secretary for District 3, agreed that the project was “a tremendous opportunity,” not just for Walton County but for his agency. Barfield said that he was very close to revealing other “good news” but was not able to do it just yet.

Barfield said DOT had recently made repairs to the causeway of the existing bridge that had smoothed out its surface, and that additional work on the causeway was planned.

The bridge span that would be added would run from shore to shore without causeways.
In response to a question, Barfield clarified that the new span would be built east of the existing bridge and would become the northbound span. If a toll is implemented, it would be applied to that new northbound span.

DOT officials had previously provided information different from this on the proposed new bridge span. Barfield indicated that plans had not changed but that this was a case of the officials having misspoken.

In response to another question, Barfield noted that DOT would strive to protect both the environment and recreational use of the causeway and its boat ramps. However, he said, it might be necessary to close the ramps temporarily at some time during construction.

DOT has estimated a $2 toll if a toll is implemented on the new span, and that the toll would need to remain in place for 30 years for the $75 million debt to be paid off. Once the debt was paid off, the toll would sunset, Barfield stated.

Asked how this would be guaranteed, Barfield assured residents that a binding legal agreement would be drawn up and signed to ensure that the toll would be discontinued at that time. Rather than coming under the authority of the Turnpike Enterprise, he detailed, the new bridge would be a facility subject to an agreement between Walton County and DOT, with the Turnpike Enterprise “helping at our request” with the collection of tolls….

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

PARTY PICTURES 2012

If you click on the first picture you can scroll through the pictures. These pictures were taken by Kitty Taylor.


























Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Hotz Project Update


Special Request: Hotz Avenue Beautification Project. Project Budget Target of $5,000 was approved at the September 23, 2011 Board Meeting. The Board, following the March 9, 2012 meeting, received an April 2nd request from Grant and Billy for an additional $3,300 to complete the major work on Hotz Avenue Beautification project by April 7, 2012.

GBNA received County Commission approval for the project on March 13. GBNA’s request to the Commission sought to complete the project by April 7. Thomas Stein, a county-approved contractor, was hired to cut and remove pavements, install required Ribbon Curbs and fill with soil accordance with County specifications. GBNA paid Thomas Stein for his $6,423.18 invoice for the Ribbon Curb, removing the old pavement, and replacing the soil to the county specifications. The cost of the plants and labor to plant and do ground preparation was approximately $2100. *
Scott Provow made an April 2 motion to approve the additional $3,300 for the Hotz Avenue project to be included in the 2011-2012 financial statement for a total of $8,300. Grant, Billy, Scott, Andy, Bill and Larry voted yes, Ann Abstained.
* Our Final cost was $8292.04

As soon as some of our Spring Break Guests depart will go down and update blog with new poctures.