‘Today is a good day for Washington County’, exclaimed Washington County Board of County Commissioners Chairman Tray Hawkins on Tuesday, February 6, 2018, in Jacksonville, Florida.
Hawkins made these remarks in response to an announcement during a meeting with Florida Governor Rick Scott that Washington County, Holmes County and Bonifay collectively would receive $1.8 million towards the construction of water and sewer placement on Hwy. 79, from Douglas Ferry Road to I-10, commonly called the ’79 Corridor Project’.
Accompanied by Economic Development’s Jim Town, Marianna’s Richard Williams, Holmes County Board of County Commissioners Chairman Danny Powell and Ted Everett, Hawkins has been instrumental in forging new ground for economic development for Washington County since elected in 2016.
‘No man can do this alone and I am appreciative of all the hours spent by our Washington County Board of County Commissioners in making changes happen in our County’, said Hawkins on Tuesday.
‘We also need to acknowledge the Holmes County Commission and the City of Bonifay, as this is a partnership requiring all three entities’, finished Hawkins.
The 79 Corridor Project is an interlocal agreement between Holmes County, Washington County, and the city of Bonifay, with a goal of bringing development to Highway 79 area from I-10 to Douglas Ferry Road in Washington County.
Gas stations, hotels and motels, strip malls and other businesses are being sought for the new development, and the hope is to have some new businesses in the area by 2019.
Florida Panhandle Technical College in Chipley, Florida recently produced photographic and video representations of the project area, saving the project thousands of dollars and allowing potential developers and entrepreneurs a birds-eye view of the project area, while providing a real-world exercise for the college’s Drone Program.
‘We are proud to have been a part of this project’, said FPTC Director Martha Compton, ‘and we anticipate that we will be working closely with the project going forward’.
‘Our future is bright’, said Hawkins, ‘all it takes is hard work- and the harder you work, the luckier you get’.
