Santa Rosa considers work release center, Sunday alcohol sales permits


  • October 5, 2015
  • /   Louis Cooper
  • /   community-dashboard

handcuffs

The Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office wants to open a work release center where inmates would be allowed to leave confinement for employment and return at the end of the day.

The Sheriff’s Office has asked the County Commission for permission to use a county-owned building formerly used by the Department of Juvenile Justice as a work release center. The facility is just north of the county jail in East Milton.

Commissioners will discuss the proposal at their meeting this morning, which starts at 9 a.m. at the Santa Rosa County Administrative Office Complex, located at 6495 U.S. 90, Milton (behind McDonald's).

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The agenda for the meeting is available at http://www.santarosa.fl.gov/agendas/10-5-15back-up.PDF. The meeting is broadcast online at http://www.santarosa.fl.gov//bocc/BOCC_Calendar/.
Generally, the commission’s Monday meetings – called “committee meetings” – are used to discuss items and set the agenda for Thursday’s regular meetings where final decisions are usually made.

The crime rate is one of 16 metrics on the Studer Community Institute’s Dashboard. Those 16 metrics were developed with the University of West Florida to measure the economic, educational, social well-being and quality of life in the Pensacola metro area.

In Santa Rosa County, the crime rate is 1,296.7 per 100,000 residents. That’s below both the state average of 3,450.7 and Escambia’s 4,760.7, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

No details about the proposal were included with the County Commission’s agenda.

Also on Monday, commissioners will discuss an idea that would allow the county to issue special events permits to sell alcohol on Sundays in the north end of the county. Alcohol sales are generally permitted seven days a week in south end.

The discussion comes as the Tough Mudder event considers hosting a two-day event at Ates Ranch in East Milton next year. A Saturday-only event held there in March brought more than 14,000 out-of-market visitors to Santa Rosa County, generating more than 4,100 hotel room nights with a total economic impact of $6.1 million.

Normally, Tough Mudder events take place over two days, with alcohol available on both days.

“The intent of the special event permit is to provide for events that encourage overnight visitors to Santa Rosa County, impacting commercial lodging industry, hotels/motels, campgrounds, condominiums, as well as restaurants, retail establishments and other businesses,” according to the draft ordinance.

Tourism – as measured by the bed tax revenues – is also one of the metrics on the Studer Community Institute’s Dashboard.

Provisions in the draft include:
Events must have the potential to bring in out-of-town tourists who will use Santa Rosa lodging facilities.
Organizers must present a marketing plan to the county, as well as a post-event profit-and-loss report.
The permit would be required for any event expected to bring more than 1,000 people to a public or private property venue.
The permit would be required for any event on county property, including parks.
The permit would be issued by a vote of the County Commission following an advertised public hearing.
Commissioners are also set to discuss a capital needs program in case they decide to ask voters to approve a Local Option Sales tax next year.

In 2014, Santa Rosa voters rejected a 1 percent sales tax increase that would have helped fund a new judicial facility by a vote of 55.83 percent to 44.17 percent.

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