Franklin County’s legislative delegation was in Apalachicola Tuesday night to hear from local leaders and residents.
The purpose of the hearing was to let residents speak up about local issues in the hopes the legislature will address them when it convenes in March.
State representative Jason Shoaf and state senator Loranne Ausley heard from residents on a number of issues including the fact that the state owns too much property in the county which is really hurting the tax base.
Property Appraiser Rhonda Skipper pointed out that the state ow
456ns 285 thousand acres in the county out of a total of 348 thousand acres.
She said that leaves only 41 thousand parcels, and some of that is also not taxable because it is owned by local government or schools.
Franklin County Commission chairman Ricky Jones agreed adding that the county would like the state to free up about a thousand acres on Highway 65 that the county could use for an industrial park to bring in more jobs.
Jones also said Franklin County needs help in diversifying its economy especially since the bay has been closed to oyster harvesting.
That means Franklin County is primarily a tourist based economy and that can end quickly.
Jones pointed out that Franklin County is only 50 miles from where Hurricane Michael made landfall and that had disastrous impacts on Mexico Beach and Panama City.
Apalachicola Mayor Kevin Begos addressed the delegation on stormwater issues and said the city is seeking nearly 20 million dollars in grants to repair its system, so any assistance the legislators can offer on those grants would be greatly appreciated.
Carrabelle Mayor Brenda La Paz said her city needs assistance expanding its airport as the airport is already at capacity and there are 12 people on the waiting list for new hangars which cannot be added until the infrastructure is in place.
She also asked the legislators to make sure the state’s derelict vessel program is funded because derelict boats are a continuous problem in the Carrabelle River and she is aware of at least 6 derelict vessels ready for removal.
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