Local RESTORE Council could see membership trimmed to 7

Franklin County is discussing cutting the membership of its RESTORE Council down to 7 people.

The RESTORE council is a 13 member board created by the county commission to consider projects proposed for funding through any money Franklin County receives from fines levied on BP because of the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

On Tuesday, Franklin County’s RESTORE coordinator Alan Pierce recommended that the RESTORE council be whittled down to 7 members to meet Federal treasury department guidelines.

He added that other counties have already done the same thing.

The smaller council would include representatives from different community sectors including tourism, fisheries, economic development, environmental issues and infrastructure.

County commissioners could name 5 of the members, 2 would be appointed by the Cities of Apalachicola and Carrabelle.

The County has not yet agreed to the change but will discuss the issue further at their next meeting after looking at how other counties have set up their RESTORE councils..

Alan Pierce said he hopes the board will be ready to begin naming members soon so the council can begin meeting as soon as possible.

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