Santa Rosa grows tourism district, narrows administrator list to three


  • October 23, 2015
  • /   Louis Cooper
  • /   community-dashboard

Santa Rosa is growing the area where alcohol can be sold on Sunday, the search for the new county administrator is down to three candidates and several other top-level county jobs are up for grabs.

Sunday alcohol sales expand

The South Santa Rosa County Tourism District is about to grow larger.

On Thursday, the Santa Rosa County Commission approved extending the district north of the East River to the Yellow River. Until now, the district had included all of the Gulf Breeze/Navarre peninsula south of the East River.

{{business_name}}SR Tourism District
 

The ordinance was submitted to the state the day commission approved it, but could take up to 10 days to be recorded and enacted into law. Once the ordinance is properly recorded, the county will announce the change as being effective.

The primary change this expansion will create is allowing alcohol sales from 7 a.m. to 2:30 a.m. each day of the week. Until now, alcohol sales in the area to be added were governed by the law that prohibits such sales on Sunday in the rest of the county.

The area to be added to the tourism district is sparsely developed, much of which is part of the Eglin Air Force Base Reservation. Santa Rosa Public Information Officer Joy Tsubooka said the county did not count how many business would be impacted by the new alcohol rules. However, any bar, restaurant or convenience store in the added area now may offer alcohol seven days a week.

Tourism — as measured by bed tax collection — is one of the 16 metrics measured by 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.

 

Three finalists for administrator chosen

The Santa Rosa County Commission voted on Thursday to invite three candidates to interview for the job of county administrator.

Current administrator, Hunter Walker, announced earlier this year that he would retire in December after 20 years on the job.

The three finalists are:

— Randall Dowling, of Hoschton, Ga. He was county administrator of Barrow County, Ga., until recently. He has also served as county administrator for Gordon, Lee and Berrian counties in Georgia, among other local government jobs, including some in Florida. He holds a master’s of public administration from the University of North Texas.

— Tony Gomillion, of Jay, who is the current public services director of Santa Rosa County. He was also the county’s former environmental control officer. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business from the University of West Florida.

—Ted Lakey, of Graceville, where he serves as the administrator of Jackson County. He is the former superintendent of the Escambia County public works department, and a former correction’s lieutenant in Birmingham, Ala. He holds a master’s of public administration from the University of West Florida. Commissioners will interview the finalists on Nov. 4, with a decision expected at their Nov. 12 meeting. Once the commissioners pick an applicant, it will be up to County Attorney Roy Andrews to negotiate a contract.

The county advertised an annual salary range of $115,000 to $145,000 for the job, based on the candidate’s qualifications and experience. Walker's current salary is $132,412.

Top-level staff changes come to Santa Rosa County

In addition to Walker leaving, this year is seeing a shake-up in senior staff in Santa Rosa County's government.

"Even though 2015 was a good year, it brought several changes to our staff," Santa Rosa County Commissioner Don Salter wrote in his October newsletter. "Wow, many great people’s shoes to fill. 2016 will be an exciting and challenging year."

Earlier this year, Public Works Director Avis Whitfield retired and was replaced by his deputy, Stephen Furman.

The county's human resources director, DeVann Cook, is set to retire in November. On Thursday, the commission voted to employ Landrum Staffing Services to handle the county's human resources services at least for the time being.

Also, the county's public information officer Joy Tsubooka has announced she will leave at the end of this month to head Escambia County's Community & Media Relations Division. She is being replaced on an interim basis by Sarah Whitfield.

Walker said he intends to leave the final decisions on the open positions to the new county administrator.

"The incoming administrator should have that opportunity," he said.

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