Crystal Lake boat ramp slated to reopen by May

CHIPLEY – Washington County Board of County Commissioners voted in regular session Thursday, March 18, to keep the Crystal Lake public boat ramp closed for a little while longer.

The board states the intersection of Amethyst Drive and Crystal Lake Drive needs to be widened before the ramp can reopen. The amount of traffic coming to and from the boat ramp is hindering the work to widen the intersection, commissioners said.

County Administrator Jeff Massey projects the intersection to reopen by the end of April.

“Our goal is to get the work done on the intersection and reopen the boat ramp by the end of April, just in time for the season to begin,” said Massey.

In other business, three public hearings were held regarding land use changes, all of which were subsequently approved later in the meeting. The first land use change was for a property located at Chapel Branch Drive to be changed from agriculture/silviculture to low density residential. The purpose for the change is to allow for the construction of a residential dwelling. The second was for a piece of property on Highway 77 to be changed from low density residential to general commercial to allow for commercial development of 4.19 acres. The final change was for another property located on Highway 77 to be changed from agriculture/silviculture to general commercial for commercial development of 2.5 acres.

Commissioners also approved a request to purchase new appliances for the jail in the amount of $15,336.20. Items including a food slicer, convection oven, refrigerator and meal trays will be purchased with funds left over from Hurricane Michael funding.

Massey updated the board on the sale of county-owned properties, most of which are located in the Sunny Hills community. Since November 2020, nearly 90 parcels have been purchased which Massey says is a plus for the county.

“With the sale of these parcels, our hope is that people will build homes which will in turn place them back on the tax rolls and bring much needed funds back to our county,” he said.

The board approved vouchers for the clerk’s office totaling $3,086,971.06 for the month of February.

Washington County Board of County Commissioners will meet again in regular session at 9 a.m., Thursday, April 15.

This article originally appeared on Washington County News: Crystal Lake boat ramp slated to reopen by May