Palm Coast Mayor Netts To Be Recognized For “2,459 Years” Of Service Thursday at City Hall

The send-off reception originally scheduled in mid-October for Palm Coast Mayor Jon Netts has been rescheduled for Thursday at 4 p.m. in the Community Wing at Palm Coast City Hall. The reception, in City Manager Jim Landon’s words, is “to recognize the 2,459 years that Mayor Netts has put in.” The number of years may not have been entirely coincidental: that makes the beginning of Netts’s political career contemporary with that of Pericles, the original statesman.

Netts will be ceding his throne to Mayor-Elect and long-time protegee Milissa Holland on Nov. 15, when the new city council is sworn in. That council will be made up of three new members, one of whom–Bob Cuff–has already been seated. Netts would not have left had it not been for term limits. He’s been mayor for two terms, going back to 2007, with an extra year thrown in thanks to an amended election cycle that for one time only netted three council members an extra year on their four-year term.

Netts, 74, has been serving in one capacity or another for 16 years in Palm Coast–as a Code Enforcement Board member from 2000-2001, a City Council member from 2001-2007 (he was first elected by defeating Jerry Full), and as Mayor since 2007. His term will wrap up Nov. 15, when Mayor-Elect Milissa Holland will be sworn in. Netts is among the many applicants to the Flagler County Commission seat left vacant after the death of Frank Meeker in July–the seat Holland herself had held for six years before Meeker.

He is presiding over his last full council meeting tonight.

It is likely, if not essential, that Netts himself will also speak: at a level of government where public speaking is generally more painful than elevating to hear, Netts has managed over the years to be an exception: he can turn a phrase and, at times, an entire speech.

“We Honor Your Honor,” as the reception is termed, will be attended by Netts and his wife, Priscilla, along with members of the City Council and Palm Coast employees, and any visitors who wish to participate. Fire Chief Mike Beadle–an old partner of Netts’s at special occasions: see the video below–will emcee the event. Council Member Jason DeLorenzo, who’s also sitting through his last council meeting tonight, will be the main speaker. DeLorenzo chose not to contest his seat again, but rather to contest that of Charlie Ericksen on the county commission.

Several surprises are planned during the reception, and light refreshments will be served, but alas, not Netts’s favorite (whiskey).

Jon and Priscilla Netts moved to Palm Coast in 1992 from New Jersey, where Jon had also served in local government office. Netts was a professional educator, retiring as director of the Northern New Jersey Provisional Teacher Training Consortium for the New Jersey State Department of Education. He was also a licensed real estate broker and taught courses in real estate law and investment.

A boater who often speaks to the rhythm the readiest alliteration, Netts often tells audiences that he loves Palm Coast because it’s “clean, green, serene and marine.” He is active in many community, regional and statewide organizations, including as a member of the Northeast Florida Regional Council and the Florida Inland Navigation District. He has received numerous awards, including the 2015 Regional Leadership Award from the Northeast Florida Regional Council, a network of local governance serving seven counties and their 27 municipalities.

In the current issue of the City’s Palm Coaster newsletter, the Mayor shares some words of wisdom from his career, including these two all-time favorites: “If you don’t care where you’re going, it doesn’t matter which path you take,” and “Even if you’re on the right path, you’ll get run over if you don’t keep moving.”

He may have that in mind when he performed a hula dance at a fund-raising event for the Flagler Auditorium a few years ago, with sidekick Beadle, a video that had its premier at the time, but that must run again: