Another week, another couple of Board of County Commissioners meetings! The next meeting, On September 22, has a few notable highlights, including the board addressing next year’s capital improvement projects, a changed plan for the Navarre Beach Boardwalk, and the public hearing for the amendment of boat fees in the county.

The Santa Rosa Beekeepers’ Association has been in operation for over 10 years. According to association president Melissa Kalis, who took over the position a little over eight months ago, the organization was born out of the need for less travel to access beekeeping clubs. Several families, she said, were traveling 40-mile roundtrips to attend the meetings of other bee clubs in different counties in Florida. And thus, the Santa Rosa County Beekeeper’s Association was born.

At around 8:30 a.m. CST on September 12, Santa Rosa County put out a press release warning residents of a scam targeting residents in the Allentown Fire District. 

When clicking some items on the Santa Rosa County website, you’ll find that instead of just taking you to your requested page, a pop-up appears. It looks inconspicuous—a simple white box with black text, two options pictured at the bottom: DO NOT SHOW AGAIN or CLOSE.

Another month, another series of meetings! Here’s a couple of things to look out for on the Board of County Commissioners meeting agenda, from firework bans to $2 million grants. The meeting will take place August 11, 2025 at 8:30 a.m. in the County Administration Offices at 6495 Caroline Street in Milton. 

Santa Rosa County dropped all charges against Victoria Elsenpeter, who was previously charged with grand theft after roughly $3,800 went missing from the Clerk of Courts and Comptroller.

Within the first half hour of the Santa Rosa County Board of Commissioners meeting, Chairman Kerry Smith made clear he wanted to remove a member of the zoning board. The member in question is Commissioner Ray Eddington’s District 4 representative, Gene Sullivan. Smith accused Sullivan of getting into a verbal altercation with a zoning applicant following the special zoning meeting of May 22.

The Florida Department of Transportation expects eventually to buy and tear down the Whittle Building to make room to expand U.S. Highway 90 through Milton, Santa Rosa County Commissioner Dave Piech reaffirmed Monday. In the meantime, the county is preparing to lease the vacant, dilapidated former automobile dealership and records warehouse.