Monday Briefing: Considering a New HQ For Sheriff, Carver Gym Auction, Church on the Rock In Court

The Flagler County Sheriff's Office's first annual Safety Expo unfolded at European Village in palm Coast Saturday. (© FlaglerLive) — The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office’s first annual Safety Expo unfolded at European Village in palm Coast Saturday. (© FlaglerLive)

Weekend: Sunny. Highs in the upper 70s. Northwest winds 5 to 10 mph. Tonight: Clear. Lows in the mid 50s. North winds 5 to 10 mph.
Today’s document from the National Archives and the Astronomy Picture of the Day.
Today’s tides: at the beaches, at the Intracoastal Waterway.
Drought Index: 185
Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day: cubit.
The Live Community Calendar
Today’s jail bookings.

Today’s Briefing: Quick Links

First Light
In Flagler and Palm Coast
Flagler Jail Bookings and Last 24 Hours of Incident Reports
Flagler Beach A1A Construction Updates
US 1-Old Dixie Highway Roundabout Construction Updates
Announcements
In State Government
In Coming Days in Flagler, Palm Coast and Beyond
Fact-Checking the Knaves
Palm Coast Construction and Development
Cultural Coda

“To examine how carelessly we’re thinking about privacy as we head into this digital future is to be confronted with a stark truth: We are building a surveillance state no less totalitarian than the one the Chinese are rigging up. But what China is doing through government, we are doing through corporations and consumer products, in the absence of any real regulation that recognizes the stakes at hand.”

–Farhad Manjoo, from “It’s Time to Panic About Who’s Watching Us,” in The New York Times, April 14, 2019.

In Flagler and Palm Coast:

Note: all government meetings noticed below are free and open to the public unless otherwise indicated. Many can be heard or seen live through each agency’s website.

The Sheriff’s daily incident reports and jail bookings are posted here.

In Court: A civil jury trial is scheduled in the case of Thomas Petruzzella v. Church on the Rock in Bunnell, the consequence of a fall Petruzzella, a volunteer drummer, suffered off the church’s stage in 2011. He was 53 at the time. His long rehabilitation and medical costs reached about $80,000. He’s seeking damages. Absent a last-minute settlement, the jury trial begins with jury selection before Circuit Judge Terence Perkins in Courtroom 401 at the Flagler County courthouse at 9 a.m. See the original complaint here.

The online auction to raise money for the G.W. Carver Foundation, the funding mechanism for Carver Gym in Bunnell, is live until April 24. Click here to participate.

The Flagler County Commission meets at 5 p.m. at Government Services Building, Bunnell. The commission, in a much-anticipated discussion will consider a selection for the future Sheriff’s Operations Center, possibly sealing the condemnation of the current, evacuated operations center in Bunnell. Three possibilities have emerged: one near the GSB and the Emergency Operations Center in Bunnell, one near the public library in Palm Coast, and one in Town Center. See details here. The commission will consider confirming the appointment of Amy Lukasik as the Interim Tourism Development Director following the suspension of Matt Dun, who is under criminal investigation. The commission will also consider re-appointing Mark Weinberg, Brenda Mintell, Ivan Cosimi and Jenny Stumbras to the Public Safety Coordinating Council.

Bunnell Elementary PTO meeting, 5 p.m. in the school cafeteria.

Blood Donations: The Big Red Bus will be at the following locations this week (schedule your donation by going to the website and entering a Palm Coast zip code, then locating one of the venues below):

Tuesday: AdventtHealth Palm Coast, 60 Memorial Medical Parkway, Palm Coast, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Jail Bookings and Last 24 Hours' Incidents in Flagler, Palm Coast, Flagler Beach, Bunnell


Jail Bookings, June 19-22 Sheriff's night shift incident reports, June 21 Sheriff's day shift incident reports, June 21 Flagler Beach's night shift incident reports, June 21 Flagler Beach's day shift incident reports, June 21 Bunnell police's night shift incident reports, June 21 Bunnell police's day shift incident reports, June 21
Previous and archived reports

Sources: Flagler County Sheriff's Office, Flagler Beach Police Department, Bunnell Police Department. This is Flagler County's only comprehensive, one-stop compilation of all local law enforcement's daily day and night shift commanders' reports.

Flagler Beach Is Open For Business: A1A Construction Update:

FlaglerLive is providing weekly updates to year-long construction on and near State Road A1A in Flagler Beach as the Florida Department of Transportation rebuilds a 1.5-mile segment from South 9th Street to South 22nd Street, and builds a sea wall at the north end of town. These updates are provided through DOT or local officials. If you have any relevant information or images, you’re welcome to email them to the editor here.

Last Updated: April 1

Segment 2 (South 22nd Street to South 9th Street):

The contractor continues installing a new water main along the west side of S.R. A1A. The contractor is moving north through the project clearing the area and removing existing sidewalk in preparation for the pipe installation. In the coming week, the contractor also will begin taking up the existing roadway to begin installation of the French drains.

Pedestrians are asked to stay within the temporary pedestrian walkways for safety. Residents and visitors also are reminded that all of the dune walkovers are closed, and removing any signage or barricades to access a walkover is unsafe and unlawful.

Segment 3 (North 18th Street to Osprey Drive) Project Update:

The contractor has completed more than 200 of the approximately 1,800 piles that need to be drilled to create the secant wall.

Construction activities will continue during daylight hours Monday through Saturday. The contractor is requesting that spectators stay off the shoulders and out of the work zone for safety. Drivers need to obey the 25-mph speed limit and remember that parking is not allowed on the shoulder.

Recently, DOT received a few questions from residents that DOT wants to answer:

1. Why do some properties have the black silt fencing and others do not?

The silt fencing is an erosion control requirement to prevent dirt and debris from leaving our work area and being deposited into waterways or onto private property. In some areas, the property to the west of our work area slopes up away from the work area, so erosion control is not required.

2. Will the contractor repair areas on my side of the sidewalk that have been disturbed?

Residents and property owners can get a general idea of where the department’s right of way ends by looking at the placement of the power poles, as well as stakes that have been placed along the project. In some areas, the back edge of the new sidewalk will be slightly farther to the west. For the most part, the back of the new sidewalk will be very close to, or right at, the right of way line.

This project calls for all of the work to be performed within the Florida Department of Transportation right of way. If, however, the work disturbs or damages private property outside of the right of way, the contractor is responsible to make repairs once the work is finished.

Please note that all restoration of conditions within the department’s right of way, including landscaping, hardscaping and driveways, is dictated by the construction plans and existing permits.

3. When will the sidewalk be replaced?

The contractor has begun installing the new sidewalk to the south of 19th Street. As the new water main is installed, there are several types of testing that need to be performed on the new line, and the work needs to be accepted by the City of Flagler Beach before the new sidewalk can be placed. The water main installation is expected to continue for the next several months.

Caution! Flagler Beach police and and Sherriff’s deputies are actively monitoring speed and writing tickets. “I got a warning on north section of A1A before construction actually began so I keep to the 25 limit, but still getting tailgated by cars wanting to go faster,” a reader tells us.

See Also:

The proposed roundabout at the intersection of Old Dixie Highway and U.S. 1 is intended to drastically reduce the number of severe crashes at one of the county's most dangerous intersections. Two other such roundabouts are proposed for other dangerous intersections in Flagler. Click on the image for larger view. (DOT) — The proposed roundabout at the intersection of Old Dixie Highway and U.S. 1 is intended to drastically reduce the number of severe crashes at one of the county’s most dangerous intersections. Two other such roundabouts are proposed for other dangerous intersections in Flagler. Click on the image for larger view.
(DOT)

U.S. 1 and Old Dixie Highway Roundabout Construction Updates:

FlaglerLive is providing weekly updates to the planned 15-month, $4.1 million construction of a roundabout at U.S. 1 and Old Dixie Highway. The project started in late January and is scheduled for completion by spring 2020.

The Florida Department of Transportation will be closing Old Dixie Highway and C.R. 325 at U.S. 1 on Monday night, March 4, from about 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. The closure is needed to allow the contractor to make improvements to the crossover at the temporary intersection. U.S. 1 will remain open in both directions.

More details here.

See Also:

I-95 Construction, Repaving: Monday – Friday, 7 a.m. – 9 p.m., single lane closures on NB I-95 from north of Palm Coast Parkway to the St. Johns County line. Monday – Friday, 9 p.m. – 7 a.m., double lane closures on NB I-95 from north of Palm Coast Parkway to the St. Johns County line.

See this week’s full Interstate Construction Report for Flagler, Volusia and St. Johns here.

Announcements/Press Releases:

None.

In Florida and in State Government:

Note: Some proceedings below can be followed live on the Florida Channel. Most legislative proceedings can be followed through the Senate or House websites.

MINIMUM WAGE HIKE ANALYZED: The Financial Impact Estimating Conference will hold a workshop about a proposed constitutional amendment that would raise the minimum wage in the state. The proposal, which could go on the November 2020 ballot, would raise the minimum wage to $10 an hour on Sept. 30, 2021 and increase by $1 each year until it hits $15 an hour on Sept. 30, 2026. The state’s minimum wage this year is $8.46 an hour. (Monday, 8:30 a.m., 117 Knott Building, the Capitol.)

CONGRESSWOMAN DISCUSSES HEALTH CARE: U.S. Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, D-Fla., will visit Baptist Hospital Homestead and hold a roundtable discussion later in the morning about expanding access to health care. (Monday, 10 a.m., Baptist Hospital Homestead, 975 Baptist Way, Homestead. Also, roundtable at 11:30 a.m., Sanitas Medical Center-Kendall, 7135 S.W. 117th Ave., Miami.)

CRIMINAL JUSTICE ISSUES ON TABLE: The Criminal Justice Estimating Conference will hold what is known as an “impact” conference, which typically involves estimating potential costs of legislation. (Monday, noon, 117 Knott Building, the Capitol.)

—-Compiled by the News Service of Florida and FlaglerLive

In Coming Days in Palm Coast, Flagler and the Occasional Beyond:

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A Twitter List by PierreTristam

Keep Up with Donald Trump’s attacks on the press through the ACLU’s running tab here.

Keep Up with mass shootings in a running database here.

Palm Coast Construction and Development Progress Reports

Here’s a summary of the latest city developments as of March 29, 2019, with a link to the full week in review here.

Cultural Coda

Wynton Marsalis: Jazz in Marciac 2009