January 2021

Hello everyone,

It is my pleasure to unveil the City of Destin’s first monthly e-newsletter! We are excited to provide a more user-friendly version to share City updates and keep our community informed on issues of interest. It will include information on City sponsored events, partnerships, Council actions, and status reports on high priority projects. To sign up, please visit www.cityofdestin.com and click on the Notify Me tab.

Sincerely,
Lance A. Johnson
City Manager

new sidewalk for the Zerbe Calhoun Pedestrian Improvements Phase I

City Project Update:

Zerbe - Calhoun Pedestrian Phase I Improvements

The Public Works Department is working on a 0.25-mi sidewalk project which will take pedestrians from the intersection of Zerbe Street and Sibert Avenue all the way to Clement Taylor Park on Calhoun Avenue. Improvements will include wider sidewalks, new signage and pavement markings, three sets of rectangular rapid flashing beacons to alert drivers of pedestrians crossing the street, and a section of boardwalk in front of Clement Taylor Park. This project is slated to kick-off on February 1^st!

Parks and Recreation Department

The City of Destin, Parks and Recreation Department continues to offer and monitor its programs including special events for the community by limiting the capacity of patrons and providing sanitizing stations available throughout its facilities. We want to offer an enjoyable experience for all while keeping everyone safe.

Personal prevention practices to remember are handwashing, stay home when feeling sick, and maintaining 6ft apart from others. Masks are highly encouraged throughout our facilities; City of Destin employees are required to wear a mask.

For information on programs and events at the the Destin Community Center and Morgan Sports Center please visit: www.cityofdestin.com/parksandrec.

Park Update: Cement has been installed for the new batting cages at Dalton Threadgill Park.

Spring Craft Show February 26th

The City of Destin’s 15^th Annual Spring Craft Show will be held at the Community Center on Friday, February 26^th from 9:30am–4pm and Saturday, February 27^th from 9am–3pm. There will be over 40 vendors showing handcrafted jewelry, woodcarvings, paintings, food items and much more! Admission is free to the public. Please call the Destin Community Center at 850-654-5184 for more information.

Picture of the new Destin Library book drop

New Drive-Up Book Drop at Destin City Hall

To assist our patrons on the east side of Destin, the Destin Library now has a drive-up book drop at City Hall, located at 4200 Indian Bayou Trail. Courtesy of the Destin Library Friends Guild, the new book drop is accessible from your car and items returned to this location will have all fines forgiven.

News at the Destin Library

To help lessen the concerns of the COVID pandemic, the Library has expanded our services to include contactless options:

Curbside service. Patrons can call from the parking lot, and we will bring their requested materials to their car.
Virtual programs for all ages are accessible from the Library’s website.
Librarian curated grab bags. Let us browse the shelves and choose a good book or movie for you to read. Patrons fill out a form on our website to request a grab bag.

Coming Soon: The Library is undergoing some changes. With grant money awarded from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, we are installing a self-checkout station, a kiosk to dispense Samsung tablets, and a few other things that will be added during this year. We have started receiving equipment and will begin the first stage of the process at the end of January. Patrons will notice staff working in the stacks tagging all the materials, but service will not be interrupted.

City to Launch Compass

The Information Technology, Community Development, and Code Compliance departments have been hard at work to implement COMPASS (COMmunity Permitting And Support System). This EnerGov system is on target to go live in early 2021 and will provide operational transparency to customers and the public. Customers can access a self-service portal to submit applications online and view the status of applications as well as the results of building inspections. It will allow customers to submit digital applications online for all application types, eliminating the need for customers to submit paper applications and plan sets.

Need to Speak to a City Code Compliance Officer?

City of Destin Code Compliance Officers protect the public’s well-being and enhance the quality of life by enforcing the city’s health, safety, zoning and sanitation codes. Code Officers are available seven days a week to address code compliance concerns and ensure that our city remains a beautiful place to live, work and play. Citizens may report concerns by calling (850) 654-1119 (Monday – Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.). If calling after hours, please call 850- 279-6658.

Code Officers are available after hours Monday thru Thursday from 5 p.m. to 12 a.m. and Friday thru Sunday from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m.

Concerns may also be reported to code@cityofdestin.com , but please note that Florida state law considers emails to and from public employees are subject to public records request.

Employee Spotlight

Each year, a City employee is nominated and selected by co-workers to celebrate the qualities that inspire us to achieve the City’s mission: “We are an organization that strives to provide a healthy, safe quality of life, balancing the needs of our residents with the expectations of our visitors, and providing open, clear, accurate communication.” Destin City Manager, Lance Johnson stated, “It is a pleasure to honor Lidieth Quintana of the Public Works department as the 2020 Employee of the Year.”

Ms. Quintana began her career with the City in January of 2015, as a custodial technician with the Destin Library. She was responsible for the cleanliness of the entire facility. Within months of being on the job she quickly demonstrated her value which was recognized by fellow co-workers and patrons alike, of being highly productive and displaying very high standards in all her tasks. Upon adoption of the FY18 budget, she moved to the Public Works department and was promoted to a full-time position to serve the needs of the entire organization. City co-workers wrote the following things about Ms. Quintana:

Attention to detail is unwavering, high standards.
No matter the task she takes it seriously.
Doesn’t cut any corners, done right the first time.
She is a team player, self-starter, extremely punctual.
She can foresee problems and plan ahead.
Takes pride in everything she does.

The recipient of the Employee of the Year award receives a cash certificate, an etched plaque and a reserved parking space for the year ahead. Our elected officials and staff greatly appreciate all that Ms. Quintanta does for our City. Congratulations Lidieth!

*Ms. Quintana is pictured with Public Works Director Michael Burgess, City Manager Lance Johnson and the Public Works team.

Public Works Director Michael Burgess, Employee of the Year Lidieth Quintana and City Manager Lance Johnson

Employee of the Year Lidieth Quintana pictured with Public Works Director Michael Burgess

Families enjoying the sand and water in the Crystal Beach area

2021 City of Destin Annual Passes

Full-time residents (within the incorporated city limits) are encouraged to submit their request for a 2021 Annual Pass via the city website at www.cityofdestin.com/annualpass. For those who do not have internet access beach parking passes are only available at City Hall. Henderson Beach State Park and Joes Bayou Boat Ramp passes are available at both City Hall and the Destin Community Center. For questions, please contact Destin City Hall, 4200 Indian Bayou Trail or call 850-837-4242.

Farewell to HR Manager Karen Jankowski

After nearly 20 years of dedicated service, Karen Jankowski will be retiring from the City of Destin. During her farewell, Ms. Jankowski stated, "I cant be more proud of my fellow staff. I've helped hire over 400 employees for the City, rehired some, unfortunately a few passed away as well in my tenure, which has been very tough. I do want to thank present council and former council. I wish you great luck and I'm excited to see what this new council has for the City and what this new council can do to support my family."

We wish her a wonderful retirement and happy adventures in every journey ahead. Congratulations!

Next month we will introduce our new Human Resources Manager, Nichole DeVito.

Council Updates

All City Council meetings may be viewed at www.youtube.com/CityofDestin.

January 4^th Council Meeting Recap

City Manager Report:
Livery Vessel Workshop Update: 5-2, motion passed to simplify the permit application process for livery operators who have previously applied for and received permit approval from the City; to institute a simplified affidavit system in the renewal application process to ensure compliance, with the simplification in the affidavit system to be in effect next year; and to extend the application deadline to May 2021.

Harbor Capacity Study Steering Committee:
The following individuals were appointed/re-appointed to the Harbor Capacity Study Steering Committee (Nominating Council member in parenthesis).
Eddie Morgan (Hebert)
John Stephens (Destin)
Ian Blaise (Schmidt)
Patrick Wilson (King)

January 19th Council Meeting Recap

Special Presentation:
Mayor Gary Jarvis read a proclamation recognizing January 24th-30th, 2021, as Destin School Choice Week.

City Manager Report:
Livery Update: 7-0, motion passed to allow the Harbor CRA Advisory Committee to meet with representatives of pontoon rental business to discuss how to make things better for everybody and bring recommendations back to council. The following requests were also made by council:
*Determine requirements for boat cleaning and maintenance while on property
*How to work back-up vessels into the system to be used in the event of an equipment breakdown
*Issuing stickers for back-up vessels.
*Boat storage (timeframe, cleaning and maintenance)

6-1, motion passed to amend the LDC allowing tandem parking for livery businesses with a City approved site plan.

Traffic Safety Measures on Calhoun Avenue: 7-0, motion passed to direct the City Manager to instruct City staff to look at the engineering criteria for putting in speed bumps or 4-way stop sign at the Zerbe/Calhoun intersection; installing a 3-way stop sign on Sibert/Forest intersection; bring back a recommendation on whether a speed bump or 4-way stop sign is more feasible for Zerbe/Calhoun intersection and ability to implement quickly.