Walton County Commission Returns to Freeport for Oct. 27 Meeting
The Walton County Board of County Commissioners meets in Freeport on Tuesday, October 27 — the board’s first session in the city since August, convening at 1 p.m. in the Freeport BCC Boardroom at 842 State Highway 20 East, Suite 118.
The return marks the commission’s first visit to its Freeport meeting room since its August 11 session, when the same agenda cover listed the same Suite 118 boardroom at the Freeport Commons complex. Since then the board has gathered in DeFuniak Springs, including its September budget hearing and an October special session on Hurricane Isaias. The Freeport room carries a heavy share of the county’s official calendar on its own this month: the Technical Review Committee, a special magistrate session, the Zoning Board of Adjustments, and a code compliance and short-term rental hearing have all convened there in the past week, per the county’s calendar.
Hurricane Isaias follow-through dominates Tuesday’s agenda. Commissioners are set to ratify the county’s successive states of local emergency — declared October 7 as Tropical Storm Isaias approached, then October 13 and October 19 as the hurricane struck and recovery took hold, with a new resolution dated October 26 — along with Emergency Management Director Jeff Goldberg’s letter to the Federal Emergency Management Agency signaling the county’s intent to conduct debris removal from private property. An amendment to the county’s disaster response contract with DRC Emergency Services LLC is up for ratification as well, and the board will hear an update on the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s emergency authorization issued for the storm.
The rest of the agenda runs the county’s usual breadth: a $69,587.50 state grant agreement for mosquito control services, a $241,300 package of opioid settlement memoranda spreading Fiscal Year 2027 funding across five organizations — BeGenerous, North Walton Doctors Hospital, the Florida Department of Health in Walton County, Freedom Life Compass and Lakeview Center — and a change order adding 18 days to the CR 395 North reconstruction and multi-use path contract. District 1 Commissioner Dan Curry brings a recognition item for Poppy Blue, who earned the national title of Miss Ultimate USA Preteen, while District 4 Commissioner Donna Johns carries a discussion block that includes a business tax item and a proposed referendum on single-member district voting for commission elections.
Tuesday’s session is also a closing note for the board’s current lineup. The District 2 and District 4 seats were settled in August’s Republican primary — Warren Whitaker unseated Danny Glidewell in the District 2 race with 60.487% of the vote, and Jim Bagby topped a three-way District 4 field that included incumbent Donna Johns — and the county has scheduled a swearing-in ceremony for its newly elected officials later this fall, which the site covered earlier this month. Glidewell and Johns now face their final scheduled regular meeting as commissioners.
Residents who want to weigh in can attend in person — public comments are limited to three minutes on agenda items — or follow along through the full agenda packet on the county’s CivicWeb portal.
Originally reported by the Walton County CivicWeb Portal. Image: Generated meeting graphic based on Walton County CivicWeb agenda data.
