South End parks committee ready to work
BY SCOTT PAGE Gulf Breeze News Scott@gulfbreezenews.com

Scott Page/Gulf Breeze News Keith and Adria Sawyer enjoy the swings at Swenson Park. Changes to county parks may be on the way as the District Five Parks committee begins planning.

The foundation has been laid for work to begin on the District Five Parks and Recreation Master Plan to build new recreation facilities and improve the existing ones.

The District Five Recreation Plan Advisory Committee held its first meeting on Tuesday, April 8 at the South Santa Rosa Service Center at which the committee members introduced themselves, learned about the purpose and role of the committee and the background of the master plan and its focus points.

The four key priority areas of the plan are bike paths and sidewalks, playgrounds and picnic areas, ball fields and community center.

District Five Commissioner John Broxson said, "We have a great opportunity for South Santa Rosa County to set an example for the rest of the county."

The committee members are also displaying a gungho attitude.

"I am excited that Commissioner Broxson has created a committee of local residents whose sole purpose is to work directly with the county staff to improve the District 5 recreational facilities," said Mike Werner, committee member from the Tiger Point Sports Association.

Committee member Margaret Cunningham added this, "While we all have certain interests, we need to work together on all the needs of our area in the recreation realm. We can truly be a viable force that can help make things happen sooner by putting our heads together and coming up with solutions."

The committee, as of April 7, had an available budget of $901,011, but Werner and Cunningham both cited funding as the number one obstacle in accomplishing the tasks agreed upon.

"[The biggest obstacle is] prioritizing the extensive list of needs and achieving a balance between limited funding and quality improvements," Werner said.

"The biggest obstacle is of course finding funding or bringing in private entities to help us by sharing the load," said Cunningham. "This is where thinking out of the box will challenge us and hopefully we'll find answers."

The committee will meet again on Tuesday, May 13 at 3 p.m. All future meetings will be held at the South Santa Rosa Service Center on the second Tuesday of each month. One of the main objectives of next month's agenda will be the nomination and selection of the committee's two officers, chairman and vice chairman.