Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Comments Services topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Residents raise Holt Water and Dorcas fire coverage issues; county agrees to follow up
Summary
Two public-comment speakers asked the commission to review a Holt Water District billing/extension dispute and long-term fire protection for Dorcas; county staff agreed to review paperwork and involve legal or operations staff and to bring follow-up to the board if needed.
During the Jan. 7 public-comment period, two residents asked Okaloosa County commissioners for help with local utility and fire-protection issues and county staff said they would follow up.
Kevin Bishop, a Holt resident, described a multi-year dispute with the Holt Water District over the location of his meter and whether the district would extend water mains to his property. Bishop said Holt Water staff told him a nearby property received a meter after a private payment to a district employee; he told the commissioners he had already contacted the Florida Public Service Commission, which told him Holt Water was not under PSC regulation and advised him to contact the county.
After Bishop spoke, commissioners asked county staff to review his paperwork and have the county attorney’s office examine the materials. The county clerk’s office accepted Bishop’s documents at the meeting; staff told Bishop the county would contact him directly.
Cedric Peterson, a resident who addressed a consent-agenda item involving fire coverage, asked about the county’s long-term objectives for fire protection in the Dorcas community after the county assumed responsibility for service. County staff said immediate coverage is being provided and that a future plan will come back to the commission; Peterson was invited to participate in the process.
County commissioners and staff did not take formal action on either matter at the meeting; both were handled as requests for staff follow-up.
