Three local municipalities have been honored with Community of Excellence awards from the Northwest Florida League of Cities.
Fort Walton Beach, Niceville and Freeport were recognized last week at the organization’s annual banquet. The cities were se-lected from the 17-county area served by the Northwest Florida League of Cities.
The cities were honored for their economic development efforts, community partnerships or other projects designed to enhance residents’ quality of life.
Fort Walton Beach was selected from among cities with a population of 20,000 or more. It was recognized for a new waterfront park on Brooks Street, a new Brooks Street parking lot and an incentive program for nuisance abatement and facade improvement grants.
“We were pleasantly surprised,” Fort Walton Beach City Manager Michael Beedie said. “It goes to show the rejuvenation of our downtown.”
Beedie said all three projects have improved access to downtown and have encouraged residents to spend time at parks and in stores.
He added that the city is “getting applications for the grant program about daily.”
Niceville won from among cities with populations of 10,000 to 20,000. Its project spotlighted the progress of its town center, known as the Niceville Civic Complex.
The complex has been in the works since 2000 when the library was built, and now includes the city administration, community center, emergency management, finance, building inspections and a children’s park.
The town center also is connected to outer reaches by bike paths.
Freeport was chosen from cities with populations of 10,000 or less. It won for its $1.8 million North Bay water line expansion project.
“I am proud of our city and proud of our people,” Freeport Mayor Mickey Marse said. “It was just a project to help the community and provide good drinking water to everybody.”
Marse said the project, which was finished in late 2012, improved water flow and water pressure in the North Bay area.
“If they were running the washing machine, they didn’t have enough water to take a shower at the same time,” he said. “We have actually run lines from that system back to Freeport, and we can push water pack to Choctaw Beach if a well ever goes down.”
Contact Daily News Staff Writer Kari C. Barlow at 850-315-4438 or kbarlow@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @KariBnwfdn.