Another 228 homes approved for Crawfordville

By WILLIAM SNOWDEN Editor

Commissioners approved a zoning change for the property from C-2 commercial and R-3 residential to Planned Unit Development.

The project is being developed by D.R. Horton and includes 150 townhomes and 78 single-family homes.

The vote was 5-0 to approve at the meeting on Monday, Aug. 15.

County Commissioner Chuck Hess commented that the project is in the Urban Core – “This is where we want growth,” he said.

The property is on the east side of Crawfordville Highway, north of Council Moore Road.

Access to the property could be Crawfordville Highway and Council Moore. D.R. Horton also has property zoned for development of single-family homes just south of this property that would use Tafflinger Road to access the development.

Hess asked the developer to consider linking that development to the PUD to limit traffic flow to Tafflinger, which Hess said is already at its capacity.

Sean Marston, agent for the development, said it would be looked at. While the county has a 45-day moratorium on new sewer connections, the D.R. Horton project would not be affected since they will be connecting to the force main.

(Problems with some of the primary lift stations have engineers working on rerouting flows and adding valves to lines to improve the system.) In another planning matter, commissioners unanimously approved a rezoning from C-2 commercial to high-intensity commercial on Crawfordville Highway at Dogwood Drive that is reported to be a location for a new Dairy Queen.

In other matters:

• The golf course improvements are being formalized and the project is expected to bid out in mid-September, County Administrator David Edwards reported.

• “Extreme competition” for firefighters led Wakulla Fire Chief Louis Lamarche to ask commissioners to consider an additional 3% increase to attract and retain local firefighters.

It was noted that, for example, Suwannee County has 16% higher starting pay for Emergency Medical Technicians and paramedics than Wakulla.

Wakulla Fire-Rescue has also lost firefighters to Tallahassee Fire Department and it was noted that while Wakulla’s benefits package compares favorably to that offered in the capital city, TFD works solely as firefighters – meaning they don’t also have to EMT or paramedic training like in Wakulla.

The proposed increase would bring starting pay for EMTs to $42,500 and paramedics to $49,000 and firefighter-paramedics to around $51,000.

• Clerk of Courts Greg James, who also serves as the county’s financial officer, gave a report on the county’s debt.

With the county bringing in tens of millions of dollars in grant money for septic-to-sewering of the Wakulla Gardens area and expansion of the county’s wastewater treatment plant at Otter Creek, James alerted commissioners that the county is likely to need to seek bank loans to cover the projects.

While the county has grants to pay for the projects – recently being awarded another $28 million for sewering from the state – those funds are paid as reimbursements when work is done. The county has to do the work and then apply for reimbursement.