Chamber urges continued support for 'Around the Mound' design work; residents press city to mark 250th anniversary

Representatives of the Greater Fort Walton Beach Chamber of Commerce briefed the council on upcoming events and supported the city’s push to keep momentum on the large 'Around the Mound' transportation project.

Gordon King, the chamber’s 2025 chair and CEO of Okaloosa Gas, told council the chamber acts as the city’s visitor center and fields more than 10,000 annual visitor inquiries. King said the chamber will work with city staff and FDOT District 3 to promote the project and requested a city representative attend an end‑of‑September FDOT meeting in Chipley. He told the council the city has committed roughly $2.7 million to complete the remaining PD&E (planning, design and environment) work and that the overall 'Around the Mound' project is estimated to be more than $300 million; the PD&E phase will last about 30 months before the project can compete for construction funding.

In public comments, Mity Henley (Daughters of the American Revolution) and Deborah Franklin (Children of the American Revolution) urged the council to prepare proclamations and community celebrations for the nation’s 250th anniversary on July 4, 2026. Henley said local schools and colleges are planning programs and asked the city to help lead year‑long commemorations.

Council members thanked the chamber for outreach and discussed preparing a short list of legislative appropriation requests for the Oct. 1 committee timeline, with multiple members advocating the city press for funding matches that build on existing county and city contributions.

Next steps: Staff to coordinate attendance at the FDOT meeting, continue intergovernmental outreach for PD&E funding, and return to council with legislative appropriation language if members request formal action.