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Tuesday Briefing: Flagler Centennial Designs, Palm Coast’s $25 Million Sewer Plant, Trump’s Twitter Insults

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flagler county centennial celebration logo
Do you like it? That’s the logo the Flagler County Centennial Committee has come up with (so far) for next year’s celebration.

Today: Breezy. Partly cloudy in the morning then clearing. Highs in the mid 50s. West winds 15 to 20 mph with gusts to 35 mph. Tonight: Mostly clear. Patchy frost after midnight. Lows in the mid 30s. West winds 10 to 15 mph. Lowest wind chill readings 23 to 28. Details here.
Today’s fire danger is moderate. Flagler County’s Drought Index is at 6.
Today’s tides: at the beaches, at the Intracoastal Waterway.
Today’s document from the National Archives.
The OED’s Word of the Day: monkey business, n..
The Live Community Calendar
Today’s jail bookings.

Today’s Briefing: Quick Links

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 Affordable Housing Advisory Committee meets at 8:30 a.m. Location and agenda unknown: neither was posted to the county’s website.

The Palm Coast City Council meets in workshop at 9 a.m. It will hear a presentation on fracking and offshore drilling. Last July, the council passed on supporting the county commission in an anti-fracking resolution. The council will also discuss approving a contract for the construction of a $25 million sewer plant (PC Construction is the low bidder).

The Flagler County Centennial Committee, preparing the celebration of the county’s 100th anniversary in 2017, meets at 1:30 p.m. in the first-floor conference room of the Government Services Building in Bunnell to discuss its budget and ideas for the celebration, currently scheduled for April 29, 2017. Among the ideas being discussed: a juried art show, a bike ride, paddling the county, a reenactment of the very first county commission meeting, a car show and a fireworks show. Plus discussion points with the county commission. The committee has been wporking ona logo. Se the image at the top of the Briefing.

Flagler County’s Planning and Land Development Board meets at 6 p.m. in board chambers at the Government Services Building, with just one routine item on the agenda.

The St. Johns River Water Management District Governing Board will meet at 11 a.m. or upon completion of earlier committee meetings, 120 Malabar Road, Palm Bay.

The Flagler County Education Foundation’s Mardi Gras, a fund-raiser, is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Halifax Plantation.

Local News Recap:

Updated jail bookings and day and night shift incident summary reports are available here.

Ex-Flagler Beach City Manager Applies for Unemployment, Though He Resigned (Twice): Bruce Campbell, the former city manager, applied for unemployment compensation even though he voluntarily resigned his job last year, which would make him ineligible for unemployment. Campbell himself said he “probably” would not qualify.

Florida’s Black Cowboys: An Exhibit Tours All Flagler Schools, Bucking Stereotypes The exhibit is arranged simply as six colorful panels. It launched at Matanzas High last week, and will then go on to every other school in the district for two-week stints, ending at Indian Trails Middle School in late May and early June.

Stand-Ins for Clinton and Sanders in a Presidents’ Day Forum at AACS Monday: The forum is not intended as a debate but as a chance for voters to hear each campaign’s positions on issues and to encourage voting-age residents either to register to vote or to switch from Independent (or Republican) to Democratic before the Feb. 16 deadline, so they can cast a ballot in the March 15 presidential preference primary.

landon manfre 800 mhz system radio flagler
Palm Coast City Manager Jim Landon, left, and Sheriff Jim Manfre, are at odds with County Manager Craig Coffey over when to modernize the county’s emergency communications infrastructure, a hugely expensive system the county pays for, but that all local governments, with the exception of the school board, depend on, especially cops, firefighters and public works and utility employees. (© FlaglerLive)
As Flagler’s Emergency Communications Briefly Falter, Palm Coast and Sheriff Assail County Over Long-Term Plans: Palm Coast City Manager Jim Landon and Flagler County Sheriff Jim Manfre are concerned that the county is not moving fast enough to replace the radio communication system on which almost all local government agencies rely, and which has an official end of life in 2017. The vendor, Communications International, has pledged to Flagler to provide support until 2020, “more if parts available,” according to a county presentation on the matter.

In State Government:

Note: Most proceedings below can be followed live on the Florida Channel.

Unemployment fraud: The House Transportation & Economic Development Appropriations Subcommittee will consider a proposal (HB 1017), filed by Rep. Mike La Rosa, R-St. Cloud, that seeks to crack down on fraud in the state’s unemployment system. The bill, at least in part, is aimed at preventing fraud based on identity theft. (9 a.m.)

“Pastor protection”: The Senate Community Affairs Committee will consider a proposal (SB 110), filed by Sen. Aaron Bean, R-Fernandina Beach, that would seek to prevent clergy members from being forced to perform marriage ceremonies contrary to their beliefs. The controversial proposal, known as the “Pastor Protection Act,” is an outgrowth of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling last year that same-sex couples have a fundamental right to marry. (10 a.m.)

Mail-order prescriptions: The Senate Governmental Oversight and Accountability Committee will take up a bill (SBÂ 780), filed by Sen. Rene Garcia, R-Hialeah, that would prevent insurers from requiring people with certain chronic conditions to use mail-order pharmacies. The chronic conditions would be HIV, epilepsy, hypertension or diabetes. (10 a.m.)

Domestic security dollars: The Senate Military and Veterans Affairs, Space and Domestic Security Committee will receive a presentation from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Florida Division of Emergency Management about domestic-security funding. (10 a.m.)

Abortion restrictions: The House Health & Human Services Committee will consider a wide-ranging bill (HB 1411), filed by Rep. Colleen Burton, R-Lakeland, that would place more regulations on abortion clinics and address issues such as the sale or donation of fetal tissue. (11:30 a.m.)

Student transfers: The House Education Committee will consider a proposal (HB 669), filed by Rep. Chris Sprowls, R-Palm Harbor, that would allow parents to transfer their children to any school in the state that is not over capacity. The legislation would also would allow parents to ask for their children to be transferred out of teachers’ classrooms. (12:30 p.m.)

Legacy Florida: The Senate Environmental Preservation and Conservation Committee and the House Appropriations Committee will take up bills (SB 1168 and HB 989), filed by Sen. Joe Negron, R-Stuart, Rep. Gayle Harrell, R-Stuart, and Rep. Matt Caldwell, R-North Fort Myers, that would direct money toward Everglades and Lake Okeechobee projects. The proposal is known as “Legacy Florida.” (1:30 p.m. and 3 p.m.)

The Florida Chamber Foundation will hold a media conference call to release an education report. (10:30 a.m. Call-in number: 1-888-510-1786. Code: 3884758.)

–Compiled by the News Service of Florida and FlaglerLive

In Coming Days in Palm Coast and Flagler:

Click on the links for more details:

PR Releases:

Click on the link for more details.

In the Press, In the News:


  Fact-Checking the Knaves:

Palm Coast Construction and Development Progress Reports

The following is an update of ongoing construction and development projects in Palm Coast, through Jan. 27:

Christ the King Evangelical Lutheran Church and School, 1 percent done: Located at 5625 North US Highway 1, the school received a Development Order for a new 13,794 sq. ft. early learning center to be located on the south side of their 8.6-acre site. The architecture of the new one-story building will be very similar to the existing church and school facilities that are located just north of the proposed new building.

Holland Park, 50 percent done: Grading and installation of sidewalks continues. Rough grading of Playground area. Restroom slab has been poured. Electrical conduit installation continues. Pavilion lighting being installed. Stormwater piping installation continues in Playground area.

County’s I-95 Interchange Matanzas Woods Reclaim Water, 76 percent done: Retention ponds are being excavated and fill continues for the ramps. (Not in the Dec. 15 update.)

Palm Harbor Parkway Roadway Extension, 47 percent done: January 25, 2016 the new 10″ water main and 6″ force main
on the east end between the Conservatory and Old Kings Road were tied into existing mains on Forest Grove.

Colechester Bridge, 94 percent done: Sea walls have been completed and forming of the western abutment almost complete.

Palm Harbor Extension, 45 percent done: Met on site with contractor to discuss water and sewer testing and construction meter placement.

North Old Kings Road Extension to Matanzas Woods Parkway, 19 percent done: Asphalt was installed on the new section of roadway adjacent to the old roadway at the intersection of Old Kings Road and Forest Grove. (Not in the Dec. 4 update.)

Old Kings Road Force Main 90 percent done:: The contractor has tied the 8″ force main to the 16″ force main in front of the new Master Pump Station on South Old Kings Road. On January 13, 2016 the contractor installed a 16″ X 8″ wye and an 8″ valve in front of the existing lift station on Old Kings Road South. An 8″ wye and an 8″ 45 elbow fitting was installed to complete the connection from the existing 8″ force main to the new 16″ future force main.

Island Walk Shopping Center Phase 2, 25 percent done: A substantial walk thru for punch list was done January 22,
2016. Chlorination of new section of water main in Phase 2 was completed January 27, 2016.

Road and Interstate Construction:

Forest Grove Drive connection to Palm Harbor Parkway to be closed starting Dec. 18: Effective Friday, Dec. 18, the City of Palm Coast will be closing the Forest Grove Drive connection to Palm Harbor Parkway. This road closure is required as part of construction operations for the Palm Harbor Parkway extension, which is currently under construction. Palm Harbor is being realigned and extended to connect directly with Matanzas Woods Parkway where it intersects with Old Kings Road. Message boards will be placed to advise motorists and other travelers of the upcoming change, and a public meeting has already been held for residents living in that area. Both the Palm Harbor extension and a separate extension of Old Kings Road are being built in preparation for the new Interstate 95 interchange to open next June at Matanzas Woods Parkway. As part of the projects, traffic patterns around Matanzas High School will be changing. One goal is to turn Forest Grove Drive back into a residential street as it was originally intended to be. The upcoming road closure of the Forest Grove Drive connection to Palm Harbor Parkway is part of that project. Forest Grove will be turned into a cul de sac on that end. Once the separate Old Kings Road extension is completed, in June 2016, the Forest Grove Drive access to the high school will be closed because it will no longer be needed. Instead, motorists and other travelers will get to Matanzas High School via the new signalized intersection at Matanzas Woods, Palm Harbor and Old Kings. For more information, please contact Palm Coast Communications Manager Cindi Lane at 386-986-3708 or [email protected].

Cultural Coda:

Roland Hanna at the Village Vanguard

See Also:

 

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