Want To Serve on the GBNA Board?

It's that time again when we start filling the three vacant spots for our GBNA Board for 2010. These elected Board members will serve a two year term (2010 and 2011). The GBNA Board meets once a month on the second Thursday of the month. If you think you would be interested in running and could make it to our monthly meetings ...please email me your wish and a paragraph about yourself so that I can include you on the ballot that will be going out in early January 2010 with our Membership Application. The Official Election will take place on April 2nd at our Annual Meeting.

Our beloved Shirley Sahlie has decided that she wants to be an honorary member and will not run again for the Board this year. She has been on the Board since the very beginning. She has served as Treasurer and has devoted a lifetime of service to her beloved Grayton. She will still be involved with the Board.

So far we have three candiates that have expressed interest in running for our Board;

Billy Buzzett, Larry Jackson and myself, Ann Morrell.

If you are interested contact Ann at yzarctoo@aol.com

Sad News

BONNIE KATE(BLUE) COVELL 1930-2009

Bonnie Kate (Blue) Covell, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, aunt, cousin and friend, died peacefully at her home in Pensacola, FL on Wednesday, November 25, 2009, surrounded by her family.Bonnie was born August 2, 1930 in Fayetteville, NC to Neill Bonnie and Mary Eliza "Mayme" Blue and raised in Raeford, NC.
She attended Queens College in Charlotte, NC where she was student body president, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in 1952 in Biological Sciences. After graduation she taught high school biology.William Arnold "Arnie" Covell and she were married June 14, 1955, after which she worked in a research laboratory in Atlanta while Arnie completed his internship at Grady Memorial Hospital.
The family moved in quick succession to Highland Park, ILL, Winston-Salem, NC, Gainesville, FL, Panama City, FL before settling in Pensacola, FL in the summer of 1963.Bonnie was active in both real estate investment and community service. Some of her interests included Impact 100, Meals on Wheels and Grayton Beach preservation efforts. She was a Stephen Minister at Trinity Presbyterian Church and enjoyed working with her friends preparing the Trinity Tidings.
Bonnie was preceded in death by Arnie, her husband of 51 years; her parents, Bonnie and Mayme Blue; infant daughter Jan Claire; brother Neill James Blue and sister Patsy Jean (Blue) Hoffman.
She is survived by her four children; son William Reid "Bill" and wife Peggy of Bartlesville, OK; daughter Jean Blue (Covell) Silva and husband Joe of Panama City, son James Patrick and wife Michelle of Gulf Breeze and son Scott McNeill of Grayton Beach, FL; seven grandchildren, Joe, Katherine, Sam, Tristan, Bailey, Sarah and John; cousin Katherine Blue Fountain of Rocky Mount, NC; nephews Joe, Mike and niece Ann Hoffman; her nieces and nephews by marriage Jill Lancaster, Jan Jernigan, Jack Jernigan, Jenny Jernigan, George Jernigan and Tracy Bethea and lots of cousins.
A memorial service will be held 10:00am Tuesday, December 1, 2009 at Trinity Presbyterian Church, Pensacola, FL with Dr. Hugh Hamilton and Rev. Frank Beall officiating.
In lieu of flowers donations may be made to Trinity Presbyterian Church, 3400 Bayou Blvd. Pensacola, FL 32503 or Covenant Hospice, 5041 N. 12th Avenue, Pensacola, FL 32504.

HARPER-MORRIS MEMORIAL CHAPEL is in charge of arrangements.

December 8th Commissioner's Meeting

We should know the final decision of the Walton County Commissioners on the Driving on the Beach Issue on December 8th. There will be a meeting at the Walton County Courthouse Annex off 331 at 4 Pm. I will post a link to the agenda as soon as it is posted on the County web site. I will also be posting the results of the meeting later in the evening on the 8th.

Membership for 2010 Coming Soon

Around mid January you will be receiving our 2010 Membership Application packet. It will contain an application form for Membership, a Ballot for 2010 Board Members and a letter from your President Grant Blackwell. We will also include a stamped self addressed envelope for you to return both your membership application and your ballot along with your check to the association.

We are hoping that all of our Grayton Residents and Property Owners will join the Grayton Beach Neighborhood Association on our first mail out. As mailing and printing services are costly a good return of applications on the first mail out would really be appreciated.

We have already set the date for the Annual Meeting and party....April 3rd. This is Easter Week-end. So mark your calendars now. We are planning on a Bar-b-Que meal at Shirley's after the morning's meeting.

If you have recently changed your email please make corrections on the Membership Application as we will be using email mailings to update our membership along with this blog of Grayton News and happenings.

Update on Hotz

I contacted Mrs. Jones our County Commissioner to ask what the status was on the possible one way change on Hotz. There hadn't been any mention of this issue since the Driving on the Beach issue came up. She told me that the County will be taking up the Hotz matter again in January with hopes of coming up with a solution before Spring Break begins. Right now she explained her focus was to get a new Driving on the Beach Ordinance voted on before the year's end. Our next meeting to discuss the Beach Driving Ordinance is December 8th. It is my opinion that at this meeting a final vote will be taken by the Commissioners. I will be attending and will post a entry on the blog after the meeting.

It may be that I will have to ask our members again to express their opinions about Hotz to the Commissioners. At present, the Red Bar is renting evening parking space for its employees at Rivards. The Red Bar has also started closing on Mondays and Tuesday and will keep these hours until the season picks up.

Commissioner's Meeting Oct 27th Update

It was a very long meeting and our Beach Driving Discussion was the very last item on the Agenda. A new three page document was passed out by Mr. Burke, the County's Attorney with some suggested changes. It was broken down into three sections that I have included below. He also commented that both he and the Commissioners had received many emails, letters and calls from concerned citizens. There was no final decision made at this meeting and the hearing will continue on December 8th at the Courthouse Annex in Santa Rosa Beach.

(Wording in black comes directly from Mr. Burke's handout, those in red are my personal comments.)

"As we researched this issue it became clear that additional language was needed to limit the number of permits, but allow for the greatest use of the permits possible. Several residents have weighed in on this issue and their comments have been considered in this memo."
( I truly believe that all of the emails and letters that were written by our members expressing their opinions made a big difference. I really appreciate all of your letter writing.)

"The Tax Collector's Office informed us that over the past five years we have issued permits to 1,835 different people, an average of 1,038 permits per year. Of the total 1,835 permits, 1347 have been Walton County full time residents: thus, approximately 488 have been issued to non-full time residents. The suggestions listed below take these numbers into account."

(These number seems very high to me, and very confusing ...but what caught my attention were the words "TO DIFFERENT PEOPLE". This is not accurate, there are folks who own multiple permits ..some more than four per family. As I mentioned before at this time the County can not get an accurate number of multiple permits issued as there is no way to run a "sort", as parcel numbers are not entered into their system at this time. I was personally told by Ms. Skipper that the only way to check to see if a person had more than one permit was to run a single name at a time through the database, so I question these numbers. The numbers were also questioned by the Commissioners. Mr. Burke said he would go back and check the numbers with the source that shared them with him. He also agreed that looking at them there seemed to be problems with the math.)

For those that are not permanent residents and are only interested in non-permanent residents you might want to move down to item 2 and skip 1.


"1. "Walton County Property Owners, Residents, 1400 permits Total

Walton County real property owners, who are residents of Walton County, and immediate family members residing with the property owners in Walton County may obtain a permit for the use of properly registered and authorized vehicles along the designated limited access areas on the beaches of Walton County. Proof of real property ownership (such as deed or tax receipt) and proof of residency (such as voter's registration card, homestead exemption card, or driver's license) must be presented to the Tax Collector at the time of application to document the requirements of this section. For property titled in the name of a business or owned by multiple owners, the person applying for the permit shall show proof that they own a controlling interest in the property or that they are otherwise entitled to obtain a permit for the property. "Controlling interest in the property or that are otherwise entitled" means that the person applying for the permits own more than 50% ownership interest in the property or has a resolution signed by the other owners of the property that grants the person applying for the permit the authority to apply for the permit. A copy of this beach access permit and the application showing the name of the individual to whom it was issued must remain in the vehicle while being operated on the beach.
There shall be a limit of 1400 Walton County Property Owners/residents permits issued each year. Only two permits may be issued for each parcel of property. In the event that the number of qualified applicants exceeds 1400 permits then a lottery shall be instituted to determine which applicant receive permits."

The lottery idea was thrown out as soon as the rough draft was read to the Commissioners. No one liked the idea of trying to run a lottery. The number 1400 was thrown out and the number 1000 permits was suggested. Then the number was changed to 700 permits (only suggested not a firm number) Two permits per property was discussed with some suggesting that only one permit be issued, as the goal was to reduce the number of permits issued by the county. There was some discussion about allowing "immediate family members" to apply for a permit on their own. There was some discussion about having a home on the lot to qualify, as many permits had been issued to owners of vacant lots in the past. This "home suggestion" would also help to reduce permits issued. The previous requirement that the vehicle be registered in Walton County was also discussed and a change noted that the vehicle just needs to be properly registered and had to meet the 4 wheel drive requirement. No person shall receive a permit unless and until the ad-valorem taxes for the real property are current was discussed and pretty much agreed on. Again Nothing was FIRM as far as the final draft....just ideas thrown around by the board and discussed. The Commissioners agreed to send their final suggestions to Mr. Lyle Seigler, Interim County Administrator, within ten days so that he can meet with Mr. Burke and they can come up with a New plan. (His email is seilyle@co.walton.fl.us)


"2. Walton County Property Owners/ Non-Resident 435 Permits Total

Walton County real property owners may obtain a permit for the use of properly registered and authorized vehicles along the designated limited access areas of the beaches of Walton County. The vehicle being registered shall be owned by the Walton County real property owner and registered in Walton County in the name of the real property owner. For property titled in the name of a business or owned by multiple owners the person applying for the permit shall show proof that they own a controlling interest in the property or that they are otherwise entitled to obtain a permit for the property. "Controlling interest in the property or that they are otherwise entitled" means that the person applying for the permits owns more than 50% ownership interest in the property or has a resolution signed by the other owners of the property grants the person applying for the permit the authority to apply for the permit. A copy of the beach access permit and the application showing the name of the individual to whom it was issued must remain in the vehicle while being operated on the beach.
There shall be a limit of 435 Walton County Property Owner/Non resident permits issued each year. Only two permits may be issued for each parcel of property. In the event the number of qualified applications exceeds 435 permits, then a lottery shall be instituted to determine which applicants receive permits."

The lottery idea was dropped as soon as it was shared with the Commissioners as no one wanted to deal with a lottery. The number of 435 was suggested to be changed to 250 permits. There was discussion also to drop the requirement of the vehicle being registered in Walton County. It should be just properly registered and also be a 4 Wheel drive vehicle to qualify. There was some discussion that only one permit be issued per lot. There was also some discussion that a home be located on the lot. (The same as for permanent residents) The best part of Mr. Burke's draft was that at least now the county is not ruling out non resident home owners from applying for a driving on the beach permit ( we are now an item 2 in the suggested plan.) Our letter writing campaign seemed to have helped in this change for sure. Toward the end of the discussion, one of the Commissioners suggested that maybe all beach permits should be issued on a first come serve bases...so that if you wanted to be sure to get one of the "numbered ?? permits" that you need to do it as soon as they are opened up for renewal. (June 1st). Another Commissioner suggested that all those owners who already had a permit just be grand fathered in, but then that seemed to be "shot down" by the Commissioners as that would not reduce permits. It was clear and pretty definite that no person shall receive a permit unless the ad valorem taxes for the real property are current . It was a lively discussion. Again nothing said or discussed was a final decision. The Commissioners were directed to write up their thoughts on the issue and send it to Mr. Lyle Seigler, Interim County Administrator who will then get with Mr. Burke, the County Attorney and they will draw up a new draft. My Seigler's email is seilyle@co.walton.fl.us in case you have any thoughts you wish to share with him. You can find the Commissioners emails in a previous post.

"3. Walton County Charter Fishing Operations (20 Permits Total)

Walton County residents that are also licensed charter boat captains and operate charter fishing operations in Walton County ("Charter Operators") may obtain a permit for the use of properly registered and authorized vehicles along the designated limited access areas of the beaches of Walton county. The vehicle being registered shall be owned by the Charter Operator. Proof of residency (such as voter's registration card, homestead exemption card, or driver's license, proof of current captain's license and proof of current commercial fishing license must be presented to the Tax Collector at the time of application to document the requirements of this section. A copy of this beach access permit and the application showing the name of the individual to whom it was issued must remain in the vehicle while being operated on the beach. Charter Operators shall only be required to obtain one permit which shall permit the use of the vehicle and the trailer.
There shall be a limit of 20 Charter Operator permits issued each year. Only one permit shall be issued per Charter Operator. In the event that the number of the qualified applications exceeds 20 permits, then a lottery shall be instituted to determine which applicants receive permits."

Since I have no personal opinion other than to say when there are more than 10 charters out on the beach at one time their trucks and trailers do take up a lot of space...I think that it is a good thing that the County is putting them in their own category.

Hopefully this update has been helpful.

A Beach Meeting That I Wasn't Aware Of

Just found this article on the web. I must have missed this meeting. I have asked Ms. White to share more information with me. Will post her responce when I receive it.

OCT. 27th Update: This was about the County Commissioner's meeting on October 13th. She was in attendance and this was the article that she wrote about the meeting. I just didn't recognize her report for some reason. Her report wasn't how I saw the meeting that I attended so therefore I thought that there had been a meeting that I had missed.

Issue for Walton County Conservation Plan
October 25, 2009 2:49 PM
Kimberly White, Florida Freedom Newspapers

DeFUNIAK SPRINGS — Private vehicles’ access to Walton County beaches is among the sticking points in a draft of a Habitat Conservation Plan.

Fishermen, representatives of the Walton County Coastal Recreation Association and Turtle Watch volunteers voiced their concerns about the draft during a meeting last week. Most of the debate centered on proposed restrictions on vehicles on beaches, particularly on about 1,000 feet of sand in Grayton Beach.

“There’s a lot of anxiety in the community any time there are any changes,” Robert Ernest, president of consulting firm Ecological Associates Inc., said after the meeting. “People get anxious about how it’s going to affect them, and I think it’s pretty evident that the relatively few folks that drive on the beach to launch boats are very concerned about the limitations that the plan might impose on them. They showed up in force and that was good. We got some good input from them.”

The Habitat Conservation Plan is a federal requirement designed to mitigate damage caused by sea walls built after Hurricane Dennis in 2005.The plan aims to protect five federally listed species — three species of sea turtles, the Choctawhatchee beach mouse and the piping plover — while still allowing the public access to beaches.

Among the recommendations in the draft is that burn barrels and bonfires be prohibited during the turtle-nesting period from May 31 to Oct. 31, which coincides with the peak tourist season. Also, beach vendors would not be able to set up in the mornings until hatching and monitoring activities have been completed.

But what upset people the most was planned restrictions on driving on the beach. Private vehicles are allowed on parts of Grayton Beach, Inlet Beach, Seagrove Beach and Walton Park. Billy McKee, the county’s environmental planning manager, said existing regulations allow vehicles on the beach from sunrise until 10 p.m., although anyone who is launching a boat or picking one up is exempt from those hours.

“The (Beach Activities Ordinance) does not address nesting seasons or time of year or any of that, and that’s one of the things that would need to be done for sure,” McKee said.
Under the Habitat Conservation Plan’s draft, driving on the beach generally would be restricted to between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m., or whenever turtle nesting has begun and ended. McKee was optimistic that a compromise could be reached when stakeholders have an opportunity to talk to Sharon Maxwell, the Turtle Watch president.

“People are assuming it’s an us-against-them thing, and I don’t think that’s the case at all,” he said. Johndra Culp, a Turtle Watch volunteer who spoke at the meeting, said later that some residents agreed to come to future Turtle Watch meetings. She said she thought a solution could be reached relatively easily, especially because some people were interested in being trained to monitor turtle nesting. “I think we can reach a win-win situation to where we can both do our jobs and we can help them and they can help us,” she added.