Where Are The Contracts ? Another Suit On The Way ?

[Bob Hudson]

Walton again delays vote on property purchasing procedures

June 13, 2012 1:31 PM
LAUREN SAGE REINLIE / Daily News

SANTA ROSA BEACH — Walton County commissioners have again delayed deciding on how to implement procedures to buy property.

They have delayed the decision at least three times before.

As it stands, the county has no procedures to follow to buy land, something that came to light late last year amid controversy over its purchase of property off Chat Holley Road from developer Lloyd Blue in 2010.

County Attorney Toni Craig said at the commission’s meeting Tuesday that the decision was delayed in response to a request from Commissioner Larry Jones that purchases come before commissioners for review four or five times rather than the three Craig originally proposed.

Some questions were also raised over unused or vacant properties.

Implementing procedures was recommended in a report released last October from Carr Allison, a firm tasked with reviewing the Chat Holley purchase. No one with the county reviewed the closing package for the purchase before commission Chairman Scott Brannon signed off on the $354,000 sale in October 2010, according to the report.

The report also found that it was unclear whether the county actually needed to purchase the land.

At the time of the report, then County Administrator Greg Kisela said he believed that if commissioners had been able to review the closing documents they wouldn’t have approved the purchase.

The procedures could have helped if they had been in place when the Chat Holley property was purchased, Craig said after Tuesday’s meeting.

“It would have given clearer guidance,” she said.

The county has purchased at least one other piece of property in the last five years.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the county had not provided the Daily News the number of properties purchased or contracts for the purchases in response to a public records request filed June 1.

Cindy Price, with the county administrator’s office, said Wednesday she had been able to track down a few contracts, but not all of them.

[ricky bobby]

It really is astounding that we the voters keep the same people in office and those who aren't running for re-election may be replaced with people equally as inept. But that's usually the problem anywhere there's a one party system. It's too bad we can't get over the reality that even Republicans can be corrupt.