NAVARRE — Residents will soon have an opportunity to have their say in whether or not Navarre should have a new community center and what that facility would feature.
Santa Rosa County Commissioners finalized the sale of the old Navarre Community Center last month because the building no longer met the needs of the community. Commissioners have discussed building a new community center but first will conduct a survey to gauge the community’s interest.
An online survey will be posted on the county’s website, www.santarosa.fl.gov, this week. The survey asks residents if they think Navarre needs a community center, what type of facility they would like to see, what type of programming should be offered, where it should be built and how its construction should be funded.
“We’re encouraging all Navarre households to complete the survey,” said Joy Tsubooka, the county’s public information officer.
The survey will be online for 30 days. Commissioners are expected to discuss the findings of the survey sometime in September.
County Commissioner Jim Melvin, whose district covers Navarre, said he believes the poll will show the residents’ support for a new community center.
“It’s going to be a long planning process,” Melvin said. “We’re going to take our time and do it right.”
A public workshop to discuss a new community center was held last week and Melvin said additional workshops will be held as the planning for the project continues.
The Pace Community Center opened in August of last year and cost nearly $700,000 to build. Construction recently started on the $1.2 million Tiger Point Community Center, which is targeting a fall 2013 completion.
Melvin said he expects the Navarre Community Center to cost about $1.2 million to $1.3 million.
The county sold the old community center to the Navarre Area Board of Realtors for $215,000, and that money has been placed in escrow to use for the purchase or construction of a new facility. The survey will ask residents if they would support the approval of a Municipal Services Benefit Unit or Municipal Service Tax Unit to fund the balance.
Contact Daily News Business Editor Dusty Ricketts at 850-315-4448 or dricketts@nwfdailynews.com. Follow him on Twitter @DustyRnwfdn.