School district online to get 97 acres on Dumajack Road

CHIPLEY – Concerns over the need for property for future schools may be partially answered for Washington County. School Superintendent Calvin Stevenson and School Board Chairman Vann Brock will attend a public hearing in Havana on July 24 on transfer of 97 acres of property from Northwest Florida Water Management District.

The property is on Dumajack Road and transfer has been in the works for some time. The public hearing will precede any WMD action on the transfer. The transfer is part of a land trade agreement.

Joe Taylor of the School District Central Office said that the property would have a 25-year reversion clause if no construction is done in that timeframe. The WMD would manage the property for a fee until the Board begins development. Construction of a school would have to meet all WMD requirements, including stormwater permits. “Their main concern is water, water, water,” Taylor said.

Taylor said the Board should also get a parcel once development begins in Moody’s Pasture in south Washington County.

The Northwest Florida Water Management District stretches from the St. Marks River Basin in Jefferson County to the Perdido River in Escambia County. The District is one of five water management districts in Florida created by the Water Resources Act of 1972.  The District works to protect and manage water resources in a sustainable manner for the continued welfare of people and natural systems across its 16-county region.  It serves Bay, Calhoun, Escambia, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson, Leon, Liberty, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Wakulla, Walton, Washington and western Jefferson County.