After months of being put off by the Okaloosa Board of County Commissioners, the city of Destin voted July 20 to move forward and initiate a “conflict resolution” process concerning the state acquired land on Holiday Isle.
“This is not an adversarial process,” said Destin City Attorney Kimberly Kopp.
“There’s no winner or loser. It is a negotiation in public, and that’s what this resolution does. It also puts a timeline on it,” Kopp said.
How did we get here?
The state purchased the 3.9-acre parcel on Holiday Isle at the end of last year for nearly $84 million.
When the state bought the property in December of 2025, the intention was for it to be used as a public park and to be operated by the county in collaboration with the city.
In a town hall-type meeting in December, the county showed a proposal for how it would like to develop the property and 53-slip marina. The county showed a slide presentation that talked of possibly making it a public recreational marina for short-term stays, more parking and adding other amenities, as previously reported in The Log.
Residents at the town hall spoke against any commercialization in the area and expressed concerns about safety and increased traffic.
In March, Destin passed Resolution 26-05, which was basically a request that the state of Florida authorize the city of Destin to serve as the lessee and local managing entity for the newly acquired state park located within Holiday Isle.
It also stated that the city would commit city funding in an amount not to exceed $5 million to maintain the state park as valuable conservation land, as previously reported in The Log.
In April, after nearly a dozen people spoke at a county commission meeting on Destin being the manager of the 4-acre parcel, the county voted 3-2 to take it to the state and let it decide.
Commissioner Paul Mixon made the motion to send Commissioner Drew Palmer along with whomever the city of Destin so choses to Tallahassee “seeking the state’s desire for this moving forward,” Mixon said.
As of July, nothing has moved forward.
However, there has been talk of the county wanting free parking for all county residents in the city of Destin. Destin has said it would give free parking in the beach areas, if in return they could manage the park. But nothing has been put on the county’s agenda.
What is the process of a conflict resolution?
Notices will be sent to the county and state, Kopp explained. The county would be the necessary party, and the state could opt in or out.
Within 30 days, the city and county would meet in what is called the “conflict assessment meeting,” Kopp said. This would be a public meeting. At this first meeting, Florida statute only requires the administrators of the city and county to attend.
“If the situation is not resolved at that first public meeting, there would be a second public meeting,” Kopp said.
Within 50 days, there would be a joint public meeting between the city council and the board of county commissioners.
“After that, if things are not resolved, there is mediation,” Kopp said.
“Again, this is not an adversarial process,” Kopp said. Rather, it’s a negotiation.
Council members’ thoughts
Council member Chatham Morgan wanted to see if the county would put the matter on the Aug. 4 agenda before proceeding to conflict resolution.
“If we want this park, we’re probably going to have to give up something … it will probably be parking, and it could come out in conflict resolution,” Morgan said, or possibly at the Aug. 4 commission meeting.
Council member Rodney Braden and others said they are tired of waiting.
“We’ve tried and tried,” Braden said.
“I just feel like we’ve spent months trying to make this work,” said council member Teresa Hebert, noting they have been to numerous commission meetings and been ignored by some of the board.
“We want our Norriego Point to be the full area. We want our families that live on Holiday Isle to get the best … and this is no commercialization,” she said.
Hebert didn’t want to wait around for the Aug. 4 meeting to see if they got on the agenda.
“I just feel like his (Commissioner Drew Palmer) heart is not in it for us,” she said.
Council member Sandy Trammell liked the idea of the conflict resolution.
“Maybe we do need to talk to the commission as a whole … and see where we are,” Trammell said concerning the parking situation.
She said she’s not sure all the county commissioners agree with asking the city to give up all parking spaces.
Motion made
Braden made the motion to initiate the conflict resolution; Hebert seconded.
“This just helps you get everybody in the room together. It is not adversarial. It is to facilitate discussion,” attorney Kopp reiterated.
The motion passed 5-1 with Morgan casting the dissenting vote. Council member Kevin Schmidt was absent.
This article originally appeared on The Destin Log: Destin adopts conflict resolution over Holiday Isle park
Reporting by Tina Harbuck, The Destin Log / The Destin Log
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Tina Harbuck, The Destin Log | USA TODAY Network
