City reduces short-term-rental lien for Childress family to $35,000

The Destin City Council voted to reduce a city lien tied to short-term-rental registration violations against Ken and Beverly Childress to $35,000 after a public hearing in which neighbors and friends described the family’s medical and financial struggles. Johnny King, a former council member who spoke for the family, described years of health crises and alleged confusion about whether a lien had been recorded.

The action follows a 2018 code enforcement finding that a rental property was not registered and a daily $250 fine began accruing. That tally grew to more than half a million dollars by the council’s account. City staff said registration fees stopped accruing after the property’s management changed and registration payments were made.

The council heard multiple accounts from the Childress family and their supporters that they had been given inconsistent information by a rental management company and, at times, by city staff. Johnny King said the family relied on staff directions and that the family later hired a manager who paid most registration fees. Melissa Childress, who testified, said the family planned to return to Destin and needed the Lien reduction to make that possible.

Councilman Jimmy Bagby moved to reduce the lien to $35,000; the motion passed after discussion and substitute motions from other members that sought higher or lower reductions. Council members said they weighed the city’s interest in enforcing code and collecting fees against the family’s documented hardships and reported confusion about the process.

City staff said the remaining short-term-rental registration fees and related fines were largely paid as of March 2024, and that a small outstanding registration balance (reported by staff at hearing time) would be resolved as part of the council’s approved settlement. Staff also said the city’s decision to reduce the lien did not eliminate the family’s option to pursue contractual claims against third-party managers who handled rentals.

The council’s vote closes the matter as a city enforcement issue and preserves the family’s ability to pursue other remedies outside the city lien reduction. The Childresses said the reduction will help them secure one‑story housing suitable for their medical needs and keep a home in Destin.

The council did not adopt additional changes to the code in connection with the vote; the reduction applied only to this property’s accrued enforcement lien.