Editor's Note: Santa Rosa Commissioner Sam Parker did not return multiple calls to participate in this feature. However, here are the rest of the commissioners' answers.
MILTON — Three Santa Rosa County commissioners shared their highlights from 2016 and their focus for 2017.
District 2 Commissioner Bob Cole
"My 2016 highlight is getting back to having a full board of commissioners and citizens feeling comfortable (enough with) the board and passing the half-cent sales tax,” Cole said. “I'm also glad folks supported my thoughts in not putting the courthouse downtown."
For 2017, Cole said he's looking forward to implementing the gas and new half-cent sales tax for infrastructure needs — "whether that be (for) roads, wetlands issues, whatever that happens to be."
Cole also said he is interested in finding land, low cost or free, for the long-sought new judicial center. He said, "I feel like we shouldn't wait two years for (the) next election. If we can show a good, detailed plan for voters … (we could) very possibly hold a special election for that. The (current) building will only get worse."
District 3 Commissioner Don Salter
Salter's highlight also was the sales tax. "By doing that, they have taken the pressure off the property tax, which I have been trying to convince people to do for a long time,” he said. “I think it will probably have the biggest impact on the county than anything in a long time."
For 2017, Salter said, "My focus is going to be to work and try to make sure Santa Rosa County gets its share of the BP oil spill money in the Triumph fund. That's $300 million that hopefully will be allocated to the eight most impacted counties of the BP oil spill. That money has been designated for economic development and infrastructure that supports economic development. So that's going to be my No. 1 goal, to make sure we receive our fair sure of the Triumph fund to create jobs in Santa Rosa County. It's going to be our legislature's jobs to be sure the state continues to honor the disbursement of those Triumph funds."
District 4 Commissioner Rob Williamson
"Coaching my 11-year-old daughter's middle school basketball team (for Community Life United Methodist Church) for the first time, although we did lose every game, was a definite highlight,” Williamson said. “It was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.”
Regarding county business, "I'm very proud of the money that we were able to bring back from Tallahassee to improve infrastructure for the I-10 industrial park and for the different drainage projects and road improvement projects. We have a long way to go but it was nice to see improvement in that area specifically.
"The goal for 2017 is pretty simple: be a better listener. It will translate to every part of my life, whether it be faith, family, business or the county."
District 5 Commissioner Lane Lynchard
"Looking back on 2016, the biggest event for the county as a whole was the approval of the (half-cent local option sales tax) by the voters,” Commissioner Lane Lynchard said. “I think that's going to have long-term benefits for the county, but to give a different take I'm excited about our economy in Santa Rosa County. If you look back on 2016, we had some expansion at the Industrial Park, in particular, expansion of Cape Horn, a long-standing company there. They broke ground on a significant expansion. I think that's a sign our economy is strong and we have a good environment to do business in.
"For 2017, I look forward to seeing the approval of the RESTORE Implementation Plan. I think 2017 is when we will see some of the projects we have been talking about and working on for several years break ground and move forward."
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Commissioners highlight sales tax, courthouse in year-end review