The City of Milton sponsored its annual Martin Luther King Day Parade this morning, Monday, Jan. 16, honoring the civil rights leader on the national holiday celebrating his birthday.

Ginny Davis, who has been described as ‘the face of Emergency Management’ because of her efforts to educate residents about disaster preparedness at community events, is the Santa Rosa County Employee of the Quarter for the Fourth Quarter of 2022. Santa Rosa County Assistant Administrator Brad Baker holds a plaque he presented to Davis at the county commission’s meeting Thursday. Also pictured is Administrator DeVann Cook.

A City of Milton-Santa Rosa County property deal dominated the county commission’s committee meeting Monday, but the commission did forward some important items to Thursday’s regular meeting.

The Santa Rosa County Commission on Thursday will decide whether to approve transferring 100 acres to the City of Milton for its $70-million wastewater project. On Monday, it listened for almost three hours to speaker after speaker argue why it shouldn’t.

The Milton City Council again will vote on a resolution supporting existing plans to build a $70-million wastewater treatment plant – this time for real – when it meets at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 10, at City Hall, 6738 Dixon Street.

After more than a month off for the end-of-year holidays, Santa Rosa County Commissioners have a busy first meeting of 2023. A vote that could dramatically change the future of Milton’s $70-million wastewater treatment plant project highlights an agenda that includes plans for a major countywide septic-to-sewer conversion program, and the next step in the Navarre Community Access Road project. Public forum begins at 4:30 p.m. Monday at the County Administrative Complex, 6245 Caroline St. in Milton. The commission will begin consideration of the published agenda at 5:30 p.m.

’Tis the season…for looking to the year ahead. Sandpaper Publishing asked Santa Rosa County Public Information Officer Sarah Whitfield to help us preview the county’s 2023 to-do list. She consulted County Administrator DeVann Cook and Assistant County Administrator Brad Baker to provide the following issues to watch:

Santa Rosa County will host a drop-in open house from 5:30-7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 10, at the Santa Rosa County Extension Office, 6263 Dogwood Drive in Milton, to discuss broadband. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has rolled out a new national broadband map and Santa Rosa County residents are urged to validate the accuracy of the information on the map. Challenges to the FCC broadband map are due by Friday, Jan. 13. View the map at broadbandmap.fcc.gov/home.

Representatives from the Tobacco Free Santa Rosa Coalition, including members of Students Working Against Tobacco (SWAT) clubs from several county schools, pose with Milton City Council members Tuesday, Jan. 3, after presenting the case for banning tobacco products from city parks.