Freeport Council Sets Budget Workshops, Advances Data Center Ban and Engineering Contracts
The Freeport City Council convened June 25 for a wide-ranging regular meeting, setting two summer budget workshops, advancing the first reading of an ordinance banning data centers, and approving three engineering services agreements tied to upcoming infrastructure projects.
The evening opened not with routine business but with the mayor’s 2025 State of the City address, an expansive retrospective covering the adoption of a $95.4 million budget, a 4.7302 millage rate, and the November grand opening of a roughly $3 million community center. The mayor noted that the city had increased hourly wages by $4 for every city employee, completed phase one of a government complex lighting project at Casey Park and the Veterans Memorial, and brought a new traffic signal at Highway 20 and County Road 83A online on May 27. Population now stands at approximately 15,000 within city limits, with another 12,000 served in the utility area, the mayor said, calling Freeport “one of the fastest growing communities in the state.”
The mayor also highlighted the dedication of the William May pavilion on August 20, honoring the fallen Walton County deputy, and the Rotary Club of Freeport’s successful push to install rescue tubes at Mars Landing and Four Mile Creek. Employee of the Year Jean Martin and Supervisor of the Year Larry Todd were recognized, along with Miss Freeport Ray Smith, who went on to earn the title of National Peanut Queen.
With the State of the City concluded, the mayor called the regular meeting to order, followed by an invocation and the Pledge of Allegiance. The consent agenda encompassed six items: city bills, two budget amendments, fiscal year financial reports, and revenue and expenditure reports through April and May 2026. The council approved the consent agenda unanimously, with Councilwoman Elizabeth Hamner, Councilwoman Heather Hurst, Councilman Ferris, and Councilman Tracy Dicki all voting in favor. Staff requested that Warren A be moved to the next meeting because an internal audit review was not yet complete; the council agreed and approved the amended agenda.
Finance staff then brought forward item seven, the long-pending State Revolving Fund loan agreement covering North Bay wastewater work. The loan had been extended and additional funds granted, and the reimbursement was now finalized. Staff sought approval to sign the loan agreements and begin repayment totaling $54,060. The motion passed unanimously. Item eight followed as a budget amendment for an $8,117 insurance premium adjustment on the new community center, which went into service in November, after the start of the insurance period. That too passed without dissent, as did item nine, a routine approval to sign Florida Municipal Insurance Trust forms required for fiscal year closeout.
The conversation turned to the budget calendar, where staff recommended July 30 for the first workshop. Councilwoman Hamner pushed back, noting that in non-election years the council had historically held its first workshop in mid-July rather than late July to avoid cramming the schedule. After discussion, the council settled on July 14 at 5 p.m. for the first workshop and August 3 at 5 p.m. for the second, with the option to add a third if needed. Dicki flagged a scheduling concern with the originally proposed second date, prompting the move to early August. The motion carried.
The first reading of an ordinance banning data centers drew a brief but pointed exchange. Councilwoman Hurst asked whether the ordinance’s language covering “large load customers” could be circumvented by a developer who simply declined to call a facility a data center while still drawing heavy water and power. Staff clarified that the ordinance defines large loads as anything exceeding 50 megawatts and separately captures all data centers as defined in state statute, closing the loophole Hurst identified. The ordinance will come back for adoption at the council’s first meeting in July, timed to follow the July 1 effective date of Senate Bill 484, which the governor has already signed into law to address data center siting statewide.
Parks staff presented three fee waiver requests, the first batch under a new policy requiring all nonprofit requests to be submitted together for council consideration. The Walton County Council on Aging received a waiver to use the Blount House Monday through Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.; the Town Planner Society was approved for the first Tuesday of each month at the same facility; and the Freeport Little League Athletic Association secured use of fields one, two, three, and five at the sports complex. All three passed in a single vote. Staff noted that a soccer group that had previously inquired did not submit a request. The parks update closed with a reminder that the July 4 parade begins at 6 p.m., followed by a 6:30 performance by the band Typos.
City Engineer Glenn then brought three engineering general services agreements to the council, each resulting from a request for qualifications for infrastructure projects. The first, for geotechnical, environmental, and geotechnical specialist services, passed unanimously. The second, with Florida Professional Services, and the third, with an additional firm, followed the same path, each approved on a separate motion with no public comment.
The final substantive item was a revision request for the Aloqua Preserve Planned Development Project. The developer sought four changes bundled into a single resolution: renaming the project from Aloqua Preserve to The Reserve at Hammock Bay to better align with the existing development, removing a previously granted variance for overhead power lines in favor of underground construction, reverting from a Northwest Florida Water Management rural subdivision standard to the city’s standard impervious surface ratio, and increasing the unit count from 42 to 44. Staff noted the project remains well under the density cap on its 700 acres. The council approved the resolution unanimously.
Before adjourning, staff offered a brief update that all fees from Walmart have been received and a pre-construction meeting has been scheduled, a signal that the long-anticipated project is moving toward groundbreaking. With no further public comment, the meeting concluded.
