Oil, roads concern Santa Rosa County

Santa Rosa County gave its two cents' worth to Tallahassee.

Senators and representatives heard concerns from citizens and Commissioner Gordon Goodin over oil and agriculture at the 2010 legislative hearings in the county commission meeting room .

Topics brought to the front burner at the meeting included oil drilling, the widening of Avalon Boulevard, and the Florida Forever Program, which purchases environmentally fragile land and protects it through conservation. 

Newly appointed County Commission Chairman Goodin spoke on behalf of the county on talks of finishing the Avalon Boulevard construction site, and extending the road to connect with I-10.

“We’ve waited for decades to see this project come underway,” Goodin said. 

According to the commissioner, there were portions near the I-10 intersection that were not funded, and he wanted to see the road widened from I-10 to Highway 90.

“There are two segments near I-10 that are not funded, and we’re asking for funding for all of Avalon from I-10 to US 90,” Goodin said. 

Among his other requests, Goodin asked the representatives to consider the oil drilling off the Florida coast, and the Florida Forever Program.

“We’ve been able to buy up environmentally sensitive land and land around military bases,” Goodin said. 

Commissioner Goodin noted that purchasing the land would not only save portions of Northwest Florida, but would help save air space and land for the local military bases.

“This would help save our bases from closure,” Goodin said. 

Much like his predecessor Don Salter, Goodin backed up the oil drilling as long as it did not effect the military bases or air space. 

“We’re constantly looking for any source of energy here in Florida as long as it does not effect the military mission here in Northwest Florida,” Goodin said. 

Goodin urged the state representatives to call on the Santa Rosa County commissioners and the citizens to help aid progress towards oil drilling on the Gulf.

“We as commissioners can help you with that project, so please call on us to do that,” Goodin said.

Sam Mullins, a geologist from Milton agreeing with Goodin, said the matter of oil drilling had to be approached cautiously. 

“We need to take a better approach to offshore drilling,” said Mullins.

That approach according to Mullins would include looking at Alaska and Alabama’s oil practices in order to preserve the coast and using safe methods in order to protect the West Florida region.

Jerry Davis of the Santa Rosa Farm Bureau spoke during the meeting asking the state representatives to help build a Natural Resource Center for Excellence, which he said would help boost eco tourism in the area.

“Eco tourism is an emerging industry for both the public and privately owned land,” Davis said. 

County fair activist, Kyle Holley agreed with Davis about the facility at the hearing.

“There are $68 million worth of cotton pants sold a year from the crops in the county,” Holley said. “We see agriculture as a critical function in Santa Rosa County.”

State representative Clay Ford agreed with Holley and Davis on the issue and on the importance of the agriculture within the Santa Rosa County region.

“I don’t think you understand how important the resources in Santa Rosa County are to the area,” Ford said.