Numbers are thrown around
a lot in government. A million
here, a million there … $65,000
paid for this study or that
proposal.
We are desensitized to the big
numbers, like a kid playing too
many violent video games. We’ve
seen it before, we’ve heard it
before and it just doesn’t hurt as
much as it used to.
Perhaps that is the theory
behind the decision of our county
commissioners to not even
consider a million dollar’s worth
of free property in East Milton
for a judicial site/courthouse. It’s
not even on the list of proposed
sites.
It’s not very prestigious, you
know, building in East Milton. It
would present a better showing
to outsiders if they could buzz
down the interstate, make a
single turn and be there in a few
minutes.
Oh. Wait. That is true for
Highway 90 in East Milton and
Avalon Boulevard.
Though Avalon does present
a straight shot up from the south
end of the county, people who
choose to go that way are going
to be forced to pay a toll on the
Garcon Point Bridge.
People who take State Road
87 from Navarre also have a
straight shot up a northbound
corridor to the East Milton site,
but without a toll.
Avalon Boulevard traffi c is
already heavy. It took so many
years for the widening of that
road to begin, this county almost
outgrew it before construction
started. Adding courthouse
traffi c to that area will benefi t no
one. Because the primary paths
for travel to Pensacola from Pace
are Highway 90, westbound or
south on Avalon to the interstate,
those roads already see a lot of
traffi c. Adding a judicial center
— and the traffi c it will bring
— simply does not make sense.
By comparison, placing the
judicial center near the jail
in East Milton keeps traffi c
involving inmates from even
entering Milton or using
Highway 90 to pass through busy
areas between downtown and
Avalon Boulevard.
Inmates going from the
jail to a judicial center built
on Avalon could be taken onto
the interstate and then north
on Avalon, but again, that just
increases the traffi c load of
people heading into Milton or
Pace from Interstate 10 — and
for those who live there.
Two of the county
commissioners have a personal
interest in the development
of Avalon Boulevard and have
recused themselves from
discussion. That is all well and
good, but the truth is, a judicial
center/courthouse built at a
location along Avalon is likely to
increase property values.
It is really East Milton that
needs to see that happen. We
have romanced businesses to
come to our Industrial Park; our
county fair is there; and now a
new East Milton Agricultural
Center is having its grand
opening. It’s good enough for
all of that activity but not for a
courthouse?
This is free property valued
at a million dollars. It is located
at a site that has just as many
positives as an Avalon Boulevard
site.
It’s really a no-brainer.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Our View – Dec. 7, 2013: Courthouse belongs in East Milton