Builders in February opposed new regulations raising new homes higher than current flood-plain heights. Builders are now objecting to a compromise, forcing the city to revisit its regulations yet again.
Flagler and Florida Beaches
Privatize the Flagler Beach Pier? Commission Says Yes to 6 Events Per Year, to Make Money
The Flagler Beach pier already generates well over $300,000 a year for the city, and rising, but commissioners want more: they’d close off the pier to private parties six times a year, for $155 an hour plus additional fees.
County Government Will Take Over Flagler Tourism Office From Chamber in Latest Expansion
The tourism office’s four employees have been under contract through the Flagler chamber of commerce. By next fall, they’ll be county employees, but their budget will still be underwritten by the 4 percent surtax on short-term rentals.
Sea Ray Issues Open Letter to Flagler Beach Ahead of Thursday’s Special Meeting
The Flagler Beach City Commission meets in special session Thursday to consider taking its opposition to a Sea Ray plan for a parking lot to the state. Sea Ray offers its side.
Judge Rules Mostly in Favor of Flagler County Authority to Regulate Vacation Rentals
Judge Orfinger denied an attempt by short-term vacation-rental owners and managers to stop county regulations from taking effect, though on one count he ruled that the ordinance may not apply to contracts signed before mid-February, when the ordinance was passed.
Flagler Beach Doesn’t Have a Parking Problem. It Has a Big Government Problem.
If Flagler Beach adopts paid parking, it’ll invite a problem as onerous as Palm Coast’s red-light cameras, damaging its reputation, needlessly hurting its businesses and alienating its closest and most loyal visitors.
Island Grille Restaurant Opens in Flagler Beach, Resurrecting Blue in Silver Mist
The Island Grille opened May 27 where Blue Restaurant used to be, with chef Gary Maresca back in the kitchen and a team of four co-owners promising gastronomy and success.
On Parking Mire, Flagler Beach Commission Piles Confusion On Top of Indecision
After a proposal to put the question of paid parking to a referendum failed, the Flagler Beach City Commission had trouble giving its administration direction on what to do next.
Flagler Commissioners Formalize Opposition to Fracking and Seismic Testing for Oil and Gas
A pair of resolutions put Flagler government on record opposing the Obama administration’s allowance for seismic testing for oil and gas offshore, and opposing hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, in Florida.
662 Spaces Would Convert to Paid Parking in Flagler Beach in Panel’s Vast, Costly Proposal
Flagler Beach’s Ad Hoc Parking Committee, at work two years, will submit its recommendations Thursday to a special meeting of the city commission, with a focus on two options that call for paid parking either in city lots or throughout premium areas of the city, including A1A.
As Showdown Looms Over Salamander’s Hammock Beach Hotel, County Asks For Delay
A hearing before the Flagler County Commission Monday evening was to decide the fate of a proposed 198-room hotel at Hammock Beach Resort. The county administration is asking for a delay until February.
For Oceanside Grill in Flagler Beach, a Parking Lot Becomes Epic Battleground Over City Rules
The city told Oceanside Grill that it had inadequate parking, and when the restaurant bought a lot to comply, the city told it it could not use it for parking. The contradictions came to a head at a planning board meeting Tuesday, but a compromise is in the works.
Despite Big Economic Impact, Flagler Beach Mostly Snubs Groundbreaking to Double Gamble Rogers Park’s Camping Sites
There were more top state and county officials than Flagler Beach officials at today’s groudbreaking at Gamble Rogers State Park, an echo of the city’s failed attempt to change the name of the recreation area back to Flagler Beach last month.
Flagler Beach Retreats From Clumsy Attempt To Regulate Farmers’ Market, But It Isn’t Over
Flagler Beach Farmers’ Market owner Zoee Forehand was stunned by an imprecise city proposal to impose new regulations on the market. Thursday, the city commission agreed to step back and let the owners, their attorney and the city attorney draft a proposal together.
Gamble Rogers Rec Area Will Keep Its Name as Flagler Beach Concedes: “Not Worth the Fight”
The Flagler Beach City Commission and the County Commission both retreated from a push to remove Gamble Rogers’s name from the Flagler Beach recreation area following a series of setbacks and a public backlash against the idea.
Fuego Del Mar Restaurant Owner Again Draws Commissioner McGrew’s Wrath in Battle Over Entertainment Permits
For the second time in 15 months, McGrew publicly let loose a torrent of venom against Nick Kimball, questioning his word, his neighborliness, his business habits, even his “good faith” in a 90-minute hearing where one of Kimball’s permit requests was approved, another denied.
Gamble Rogers State Recreation Area at Flagler Beach: The Lure of the Modest
Gamble Rogers State Park is a 145 acre expanse on the barrier island between the Atlantic Ocean and the Intracoastal in Flagler Beach, named for the Florida folk singer who drowned there in 1991 while trying to save another swimmer in distress.
Flagler Emergency Official Cautions of Heat Indices Reaching 108 Through Friday
Today through Friday the heat index is hitting unusually high levels and will range from 102 to 108 in Flagler County, especially inland, prompting weather and emergency officials to caution residents and vacationers to stay out of the heat if possible, or take safety measures when in the heat.
Misleading TV Report Raises Overblown Fears About “Flesh-Eating” Bacteria on Beaches
Flagler County Health Department Director Patrick Johnson and his staff have been fielding calls from tourists worried about reports of “flesh-eating” bacteria on local beaches. And they’ve been telling them to relax: the reports are misleading and outright false.
Get Ready For Moonlight Fishing On the Flagler Beach Pier, Starting in September
The Flagler Beach pier’s balance sheet is struggling this year, with a $23,000 deficit the city government–which administers the pier–is trying to close before the end of the year. One idea: starting the first Saturday in September (Sept. 6), the pier will be open to fishing through the night, but for a $6 charge–the same rate fishermen must pay during the day.
Rescued from Surf in Flagler Beach and Revived, Sylvio Thibodeau, 88, Dies at Hospital
Sylvio Thibodeau, for two decades a resident of Palm Coast, was an avid swimmer and biker. On June 5 he was at the beach with his daughter when he swam too far and disappeared from view, was brought back to shore by a lifeguard and given CPR, but died later at Florida Hospital Flagler.
Florida Hospital Flagler Donates First Aid Supplies to Flagler Beach Lifeguards
Florida Hospital Flagler has donated an array of medical supplies to the City of Flagler Beach’s Ocean Rescue Services. Items donated include gloves, face masks, ammonia, alcohol pads, gauze, biohazard containment materials, and more.
Divisions Over Roving Vendors Again Place Flagler Beach’s Business Friendliness on Trial
How the Flagler Beach City Commission finally got to a restrictive ordinance on mobile vendors divided the commission and the town’s business community and again put a spotlight, fairly or not, on the commission’s attitude toward small business. The controversy illustrates an underlying strain between city and business that has not been resolved, and that goes beyond the roving vendor issue.
Record-Breaking Skateboard Mile Among 3 Saturday Races in Flagler Beach and Palm Coast
The International Distance Skateboard Association is hosting a one-mile skateboard race down A1A for the Guiness record, along with a longboard half-marathon starting at Wadsworth Park and a kids and beginners challenge, all Saturday morning, Jan. 4.
56-Year-Old Man Accused of Cigarette-Burning a 9-Year-Old Girl in Inappropriate Beach Encounter
Thomas Checchio, a 56-year-old resident of 612 John Anderson Highway in Flagler Beach, faces a charge of felony child abuse after he reportedly “flirted” with a 9-year-old girl at the beach before he claims to have tripped her, causing her to burn herself on his cigarette.
Two Years In, Tourism Director Georgia Turner Is Leaving Flagler For Native Alabama
Georgia Turner, the county’s radiant tourism director who oversaw Flagler’s and Palm Coast’s realignment as niche sports destinations, a steady rise in tourism-tax revenue and a first-ever working coalition of local arts groups, is leaving after just two years on the job. Personal, not political, reasons led her to the decision.
Reviving Sore Issue, Flagler Beach Readies to Ban Ice Cream Trucks Outright
The Flagler Beach City Commission Thursday will take up a proposed ordinance that prohibits mobile vendors, including ice cream trucks, outright, reviving an issue the commission has attempted to deal with twice in the last 19 months, only to shrink in the face of substantial opposition.
“That’s Crap,” McGrew Tells Fuego Del Mar Owner After Accusation of Business Unfriendliness in Flagler Beach
When Fuego Del Mar Restaurant owner Nicolas Kimball accused the city of wanting businesses to be successful only up to a point, Flagler Beach Commissioner Joy McGrew shot back, sharply and unapologetically, setting down a marker against repeated accusations of business unfriendliness.
Flagler’s Tourism Industry Takes Its Pulse, Declares Itself Healthy, and Cheers Its “Heroes”
In Flagler County, 2,600 people work in tourist businesses, which have weathered the recession and are seeing strong, sustained activity. Flagler County’s annual Hospitality Employees Recognition of Excellent Service (or H.E.R.O.E.S.) awards lunch at the Hammock Beach Resort Thursday was an occasion for the county’s tourism industry to cheer its own.
U.S. Corps’ Cost to Rebuild 2.5 Miles of Beach: $39 Million and Up, Storms Not Included
The Corps of Engineers is favoring “renourishing” a 2.5-mile segment of beach from South 7th Street to South 28th Street in Flagler Beach five times through 2060 by rebuilding dunes and dumping 320,000 cubic yards of sand five times over, for $39 million. Adding another segment could add $30 million.
Between Flagler Beach and the County, a Clash of Visions Over Protecting an Eroding Shore
Flagler Beach and Flagler County may be heading toward a showdown over the fate of the eroding beach they have in common. Between now and then, the Flagler Beach City Commission itself may fracture on either side of an unresolved conflict between those opposed to protecting the beach by way of dredging up and dumping sand on it, and those willing to give that approach a shot despite its costs and uncertainties.
An Insulted Flagler Beach Commission Rebuffs Holmberg’s Plan and Wants Its Money Back
The Flagler Beach City Commission Thursday was offended by the shoddiness and ill-mannered presentation of Dick Holmberg, who’d received $50,000 for an analysis of the shore’s erosion problem, and as a first step to a $10 million solution he was proposing. The city decided to cut its losses instead.
Cut-and-Paste: Holmberg Beach Study Falls Short of City Commissioners’ Expectations
A 42-page report by Dick Holmberg analyzing the Flagler Beach shoreline for potential installation of his “undercurrent stabilizers” to rebuild the beach’s sands drew severe criticism from city commissioners, who called it lacking, and not reflective of a $50,000 job, which the city was to pay for with county dollars.
As Flagler Beach Sees a Fortune From Parking Fees, Locals See Only Alienated Tourists
Flagler Beach government could make up to $3 million over 5 years by turning its streets into revenue-generating parking slots, but the city manager’s proposal faces stiff-but not unanimous–opposition from local residents and businesses, who fear jeopardizing the city’s charms and its appeal to tourists.
Palm Coast Cited Among Florida Cities Most Vulnerable to Climate Change in Latest Review
The federal National Climate Assessment just released names Palm Coast among four Florida cities vulnerable to sea level rises and other vulnerabilities to climate change. Flagler County has no comprehensive initiative locally to frame long-term climate-change policy collectively.
As Flagler Beach Asks for Hand-Outs, A Commissioner Asks for Employee Raises
Flagler Beach City Commissioner Marshall Shupe proposed a mid-year raise or a $500 bonus for employees. Three commissioners rejected the idea, citing process and timing, including the recent lay-off of some employees. They could have also cited Flagler Beach’s hat-in-hand requests for money from the county'[s tourism council and from Palm Coast.
Hurricane Sandy: Flagler May Get Lashed By Winds and Rip Currents But Little More
Hurricane Sandy became the 10th hurricane of the season Wednesday as it approached Jamaica and Cuba, but Flagler will only feel side effects from its tropical-storm winds, at most 25 to 35 mph, this weekend.
Capsized Speedboat, High on Marijuana Bricks, Washes up on Flagler Shore
The 25-foot speedboat bearing a stash of marijuana, which washed up on shore Sunday and Monday, was beached near the Flagler By the Sea campsite in Beverly Beach. Such speedboats have become a means of choice for smugglers of drugs or human traffickers in recent years.
Flagler Beach’s Haley Watson and Eric Worley Win 2012 Easterns Surfing Championships
Flagler Beach’s Haley Watson and Eric Worley took first place in both their divisions at the 2012 Easterns Surfing Championships in Nags Head, on North carolina’s Outer Banks, on Tuesday.
Mulligan: County Re-Enacts Beach Dredging Meeting It Had Closed to the Public in July
A citizen had complained in July to the Flagler County Commission about a closed-door meeting on beach dredging proposals between the county administration and the U.S. Corps of Engineers that had nevertheless included three elected members of the Flagler Beach City Commission. Monday’s meeting was a redo for the public’s benefit.
Flagler County’s Holmberg Problem: Beach Erosion Guru Dredges Up Skepticism
Dick Holmberg of Holmberg Technologies spoke of his beach erosion option to three local government panels meeting jointly today, but left most skeptical about the reliability and extent of the information he is willing to provide before landing a $50,000 contract for a project analysis.
Florida Tourism Lull Predicted, Slowing Local Growth, as Euro Zone Economies Suffer
Economic woes in Europe will trickle across the Atlantic over the next few years as potential international guests stay home or see their native currency buy less once they arrive, a panel of economists estimates.
Memories of July 4 From Lake Sebasticook to Flagler Beach
July 4 festivities have turned into a 24-hour rolling event in Flagler County, beginning with fireworks at Town Center on Tuesday evening and finishing with fireworks at the Flagler Beach Pier tonight. What takes place in between is a parade of memories.
At the Flagler Beach Pier, A Window Into a Private Romance for the Ages
From his window onto the boardwalk at the Flagler Beach pier, the author has been witnessing the intimate ritual of an ancient couple’s love for years, and understands exactly why they come to their their oceanfront table.
In a Brazen Reversal, Flagler Beach Commission Kills Beach-Bonfire Referendum
Just six weeks ago the Flagler Beach City Commission, fractured and indecisive on the matter, voted 4-1 to place a referendum question on beach bonfires on a coming ballot. But two weeks later, the commission voted to ban bonfires during turtle nesting season anyway.
Understated Slivers: The Unique Fragility and Vitality of Barrier Islands
Barrier islands such as the one that hosts Flagler Beach are fragile, diverse and play a vital, understated but often unappreciated role in coastal ecology and protection. Frank Gromling provides a tour.
Attorney General OK’s Flagler Beach’s Plan to Spend Sales Tax Money on Erosion Projects
In an Attorney General’s opinion, Pam Bondi wrote that Flagler Beach’s plan to spend sales tax revenue on beach erosion projects is authorized by law, but that the ballot language authorizing that sales tax may have to specify erosion projects, not just general infrastructure.
Florida Audubon Asks for Beachgoers’ Help This Memorial Day Weekend
This Memorial Day Weekend, Audubon is reminding Floridians to take care with Florida’s original “beach babies,” rare and declining species of waterbirds that nest on Florida’s beaches and mangrove islands.
A Smoldering Flagler Beach Commission Punts To Voters on Bonfires After a Flagrant Debate
The Flagler Beach City Commission voted 4-1 to let voters decide whether bonfires should be allowed on the city’s beaches after a meeting that featured embarrassing attacks, declaration and fracture.