Another Day, Another BOCC Meeting: Development Dreams, Shelter Neglect, and Grant-Fueled Delusions

Well, folks, it’s time to dust off your pitchforks and prep your eye rolls—our beloved Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) is back with their March 17, 2025, Agenda (peek at it in all its glory if you’ve got the stomach). Spoiler alert: it’s a 193-page parade of homeowner association handouts to tick off the locals, a neglected animal shelter they’re slapping a Band-Aid on with proclamations, and a grant obsession that forgets whose money they’re spending—ours, with matching tax dollar shenanigans to boot. Let’s dive into this taxpayer-funded circus.

Development: Because We Need Some More 319 Drama?

Kicking things off on Item 10—“Application for Change of Zoning R24-14 (Pafford Properties & Construction, LLC)”—the BOCC is drooling over yet another rezoning scheme to turn our county into a subdivision smorgasbord. Citizens, you know the drill: you’ll groan about traffic snarls, vanishing green space, and the inevitable flood of “Coming Soon: DR Horton Homes!” signs, but the board will nod like they’re curing cancer, mumble “growth,” and rubber-stamp it. Growth for whom? Not the wildlife or the folks dodging construction cones on their commute.

Animal Shelter: A Pathetic Pat on the Back

Flip to Item 4—“Request Board Approval of a Proclamation Declaring March 29, 2025 as Adopt A Shelter Pet Day”—and behold the BOCC’s grand gesture for our animal shelter, which has been a crumbling dump since the 1980s. A proclamation? That’s it? They’re tossing a feel-good title at a facility they’ve ignored for decades—no repairs, no upgrades, just a pat on the head while the kennels leak and the cats plot their escape. Maybe if we rezone it for single family homes(see Item 10), they’d care. Until then, it’s a sad “Adopt a Pet” photo op while the shelter stays a time capsule of neglect.

Grants: Taxpayer Money with Extra Steps

Don’t sleep on Item 6—“Request Board Approval of a Resolution Authorizing the Submission of a Grant Application to the Florida Division of Emergency Management…”—where the BOCC’s doing cartwheels over “free money” for demolishing the Big Bend Maritime Center. Here’s the snarky truth they hope you’ll miss: grants are our tax dollars, just funneled through a state middleman. Oh, and that “matching funds” catch? Yep, they’re dipping into our local taxes to make it happen—like pawning your TV to buy it back at full price, then bragging about the deal. Page 5 deserves a warning label: “Caution: Taxpayer Shafting Ahead.” Did the county know the building wasn't repairable when they bought it?

The Citizens’ Lament

The real kicker? The BOCC acts like we’re not onto them. We’re fed up with sprawl choking our roads (Item 10). We want an animal shelter that isn’t a crumbling joke they “honor” with empty words (Item 4). And we’re tired of “grant” being waved around like it’s magic instead of our own cash (Item 6). Newsflash, commissioners: your 193-page agenda doesn’t impress us when it sidesteps what’s rotting right under your noses.

Obvious Reminders

• Source: The money starts with us—state and federal taxes we’ve already paid—then gets funneled back with strings attached.

• Matching Funds: Wakulla County has to kick in local tax dollars to “earn” these grants, so we’re double-dipping into our own wallets.

• Smoke and Mirrors: The BOCC loves to tout “grant funding” like it’s a windfall, but it’s not free—it’s our cash, rerouted through bureaucracy, with added costs for the privilege.

Mark March 17th at 5:00 P.M. and remind them we’re watching. Is attending in person, bring a dog treat for morale, a calculator to tally the real cost of their “free” money, and a megaphone to yell, “LET OUR INFRASTRUCTURE CATCH UP!” Even if we do, they’ll keep bulldozing ahead, one smug agenda item at a time.