Walton County approves $368,214 design task order for MacBayou–Sandestin connector road

Walton County commissioners on March 25 approved a task order, ENG2503, authorizing up to $368,214.17 for Hanson Professional Services Inc. to design a connector road between MacBayou and Sandestin Lane. The design and permitting would cover wetlands mitigation, stormwater, and coordination with utilities, county staff said.

Supporters and county staff told commissioners the connector is intended to redistribute traffic away from MacBayou Road and reduce motorists’ tendency to cut through the hospital parking area. Chance Powell, county engineer, said the hospital agreed to donate a roughly 100-foot-wide strip of land south of the FPL right-of-way if the county builds a road on it. “The hospital is just fed up with the amount of cross traffic coming through there,” Powell said, and the donated land would allow a new east–west connection to Grand Boulevard retail and Publix.

Commissioners and residents pressed staff on several points. Commissioner Alan Osborne and others said parts of the corridor overlap or affect the Sandestin DRI (development of regional impact) and warned that ongoing litigation and past DRI findings could alter the county’s legal obligations. Powell and the county attorney said current approvals and design work can proceed but that any formal change to the DRI traffic plan would be addressed later in the permitting process. Powell explained that a final determination about DRI notice and whether a substantial deviation is required depends on the detailed final design.

Nearby property owners and facility managers told the commission they had not all been contacted. Steve Reynolds, administrator of Grand Boulevard Health and Rehab, said he learned of the design the previous day and raised concerns about additional stormwater runoff, safety for nursing-home residents and ambulance access, and potential noise and congestion adjacent to the facility. Powell said the design phase would include stakeholder meetings as a first task so the hospital, the nursing facility, property owners and utility owners can weigh in.

The board debated whether the county should start detailed design while litigation and DRI questions remain. The county attorney advised that design and permitting do not necessarily require DRI notice unless the final design causes changes to properties included in the DRI; that determination typically occurs later in the process.

After discussion, a motion to approve the task order passed. Commissioners said Hanson’s first work would include stakeholder outreach, survey and coordination with FPL and South Walton Utilities. Staff noted that FPL has not committed to permitting use of its right-of-way until the county produces construction plans, so the design is needed before utility agreements can be finalized.

The approval authorizes design and permitting only; any construction would require later county approval and separate funding decisions.