Part 2 of Enterprise Flagler’s “economic development” tax plan, word for word: FAQ (Flagler’s New Game Plan)
Real Estate & Development
Enterprise Flagler’s Tax and Build Plan Revealed: How They’ll Seek Your Vote
The 4,200-word plan is presented here uncut, providing readers with a first, comprehensive look at how Enterprise Flagler will sell its tax plan to subsidize private industrial incentives at public expense.
Sneak Preview of Enterprise Flagler’s Economic Tax “Game Plan”: More Details, More Questions
Enterprise Flagler’s “new game plan” seeks to win over voters for a new property tax in exchange for the promise of new industry and more jobs. The plan is more projections than details.
Commission Money Race: Mori Hosseini and Other Developers Bankrolling Abbott’s Bid
Volusia, St. Johns and Jacksonville development firms account for all but about $1,000 of Bob Abbott’s campaign funds. Nate McLaughlin’s are more grass roots based.
More Beds, More Buildings, More Doctors: Hospital Campus Plans for Doubling Capacity
The 100-acre campus along SR100 will eventually have a new hospital tower to accommodate an extra 100 beds, several additional buildings and, soon, a trail system.
Experts: Argue All You Want, Mosque Project Is on Firm Legal Ground
Whatever its detractors say, the project to build a 15-story Islamic center, including a mosque, near Ground Zero has the law, including a particular GOP law, unquestionably on its side.
Outlining Achievements, Enterprise Flagler Tells Palm Coast City Council: We Matter
The economic development agency’s list included achievements that weren’t quite its own while Director Greg Rawls remained cagey regarding the new tax the agency is proposing.
Innovative Garden Hose Start-Up Swells Flagler Hopes for Economic Revival at the Airport
MH Operations proposes to manufacture an expanding and retracting hose few will resist, and do so from a county airport, where it would create 125 jobs.
Flagler Beach Developer John Boback Arrested on $410,000 Theft Charge
Boback took the money from a Marco Island investor to build what was going to be a professional complex on A1A. The complex never went up.
Water Wars Redux: Homeowners Sue
Palm Coast Over Annexation Bullying
Palm Coast is forcing Palm Coast Plantation property owners to sign annexation agreements in exchange for water and sewer services. The owners say Palm Coast is breaking the law.
Council Slams Enterprise Flagler’s Camouflage, Casting Doubt on “Development” Tax
The economic development agency that devours taxpayer dollars year after year hasn’t produced a report in years showing what it’s accomplished. Elected officials are tiring of the mystery.
Scammed Into a Lease and Facing Eviction While the Accused Realtor Lives Nearby
A renter faces her fourth foreclosure-driven eviction in a year as local Realtors are struck with what appears to be a rogue Realtor’s rental scam in Palm Coast’s R Section.
Bunnell City Administration Will Occupy County Offices Rent-Free Through 2012
Bunnell will continue occupying a suite of county offices valued at $3,000 a month even though the old city hall is livable.
Under Threat of Lawsuit from Universal®, City Walk in Palm Coast Will Change Its Name
City Walk, the beleaguered strip mall and home to Palm Coast city offices, will change its name to get away from Universal’s trademark strips in Orlando and Hollywood.
Palm Coast Arts Foundation’s Methods Assailed Again–Unjustly, Its President Says
“They didn’t come up with any substantial numbers, or at least verifiable numbers,” a tourist council member said of the Palm Coast Arts Foundation’s plans for a banquet center.
Take the Tour of Your Newest School: Buddy Taylor Middle Is Reborn Yet Again
The $13.2 million renovation is complete, and the county’s second-oldest school looks and feels new again. A photo gallery.
Photo Gallery: The Renovated Buddy Taylor Middle School
A photo gallery featuring some 30 images of the renovated school and its surrounding grounds.
Mandatory Mediation on Home Mortgage Foreclosures To Start in Flagler July 19
Mediation is designed to reduce the caseload on the court system and help people stay in their homes. Whether it actually works is open to question.
Classic Landon: County on Notice that Palm Coast Will Annex Airport. County Begs to Differ.
Palm Coast made it seem as if bringing the National Guard to Flagler was mostly its doing. That would be news to the county government. But more is at stake between the two.
National Guard Targets Flagler, But Reserve Center Depends on Congressional Funding
The $21 million, 80,000-square-foot facility near the county airport isn’t likely to be built until 2014. It’ll house 21 soldiers.
Conservation in Contempt: How Palm Coast Opened the Way to Urbanizing Bulow Creek
Under the guise of having to rezone land it recently annexed, the Palm Coast City Council enabled the highest-density zoning possible in the sensitive Bulow Creek watershed.
How Marineland Got Public Dollars To Build a (Mostly) Private Marina
Marineland will spend $500,000 in public dollars to build a marina that will mostly benefit a private developer, though it will also help redevelop the town.
Palm Coast’s Two Best Arguments
For a New City Hall: Take the Tour
This much isn’t too controversial about a new Palm Coast city hall: the current digs are ugly, cramped and unbecoming. And government spending is needed to create jobs.
Citing Contractual Failures and Unwarranted Favors, Flagler Kills Hunter’s Ridge Expansion
The 3-2 vote was an unusual split over the difference between growth management and helping a developer be as economically viable as possible.
How the Oil Slick Is Fouling Florida’s Government Budgets–And What To Do About It
The oil spill is Florida’s 9/11. People won’t die. A way of life will. The Florida Legislature should be in crisis mode, not in recess, anticipating what to do next.
Palm Coast Muscles Closer to $10 Million City Hall Through Financial Ploys
City administrator Jim Landon corralled the council to his vision of a new city hall, with a 2012 move-in date.
Commission Approves Chamber’s Tax Referendum for November Ballot
The Flagler County Commission voted unanimously to include the referendum on the November ballot after raising some questions and making slight amendments to the proposal.
How the Chamber’s Tax Proposal Undermines Schools, Cities and the County
Ignoring leery voters and a building bust, the Flagler chamber’s tax for commercial construction is jeopardizing local governments’ own urgent tax referendums in 2011 and 2012.
Palm Coast: Best Place to Retire Or
Real Estate Hell? Take Your Pick
One publication declares Palm Coast real estate gold for retirees, another declares Palm Coast a lost cause for home prices.
Taxable Property Values Plummet a Record 20%; Dire Numbers for Local Governments
The drop is the steepest of the last three years. Some $5 billion in taxable values have been wiped out since 2007.
Ego and Egoer
Two of Volusia’s giant egos, Daytona State’s Kent Sharples and ICI Homes’ Mori Hosseini, have turned the college board into their own little Khe Sanh. The NJ puts in some worthy war reporting.
Loner Palm Coast Drips Desal to Fraction of Original Plan; Water Costs Would Rise Sharply
The city is reducing its desal ambitions to a sixth the original size, but 1,000 gallons would cost five to six times more than current water.
Bunnell Approves Bypass Study as Part of Broader City Planning
Looking to capitalize on developers’ dollars funding the study, the Bunnell City Commission approved a broader look at the city’s road needs in the future.
Revenue Crunch Not Yet Sobering
Palm Coast City Council’s Ambitions
Palm Coast’s flush years are over, yet City Manager Jim Landon and the council are still high on a new city hall and a water desalination plant.
Bunnell Residents Demolish Bypass Proposal; Planning Board Recommends Broad Study
After a lengthy, at times contentious public meeting on the bypass, the Bunnell planing board recommended in favor of a study as long it takes in “the big picture.”
Weigh Station Loads Up Realtors’ Forum with Mayors
Questions were gentle, answers more so, revealing little new in a public forum with Flagler’s mayors on Wednesday morning.
White Elephants Grinding Down Flagler Airport
Commissioners on Monday learned of yet another county airport building for which taxpayers are left holding the bag.
Contrary to Fears, Bunnell Bypass Would Not Significantly Affect Traffic, Studies Show
Bunnell’s downtown won’t be lacking in traffic in the future. The real battle is over a mega-developer’s road-improvement funds.
Flagler Beach Dumps Desalination Group
The Flagler Beach City Commission cited costs and its own ready water supply as reasons to drop out of the Coquina desalination consortium.
Desalination’s Future Brackish as Costs Soar for Palm Coast
Hopes for a desalination plant are down to whether Palm Coast can bear the burden of mounting costs mostly by itself as other governments drop out of the colossally expensive consortium.
$75 Billion Mortgage Modification Program Is $74.76 Billion Behind
The Obama administration committed to spend up to $75 billion on its foreclosure-prevention program. More than a year later, only about $242 million had actually been paid out.
Hell Freezes Over: Flagler Chamber Wants To Hike Your Taxes
The Flagler Chamber of Commerce is pushing for a property tax increase to pay for business infrastructure and economic development.
DOT Bypass “A Stake Right Through Bunnell’s Heart”
The bypass would accommodate a traffic surge from a Palm Coast development but might also accelerate Bunnell’s decline.
Construction Update: What’s Going Up, Where, When
From the movie theater in Town Center to Wal Mart to Red Lobster, Olive Garden and ABC liquors, a summary of visible and planned construction around Palm Coast.
Wildfire Spares Homes on Esperanto Dr.; Expect More Smoke
A wildfire on Esperanto Drive in Palm Coast broke out at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, forcing the evacuation of eight homes. None were charred.
City Walk, Home of Palm Coast Government, in Foreclosure
City government officials have kept mum for a year since foreclosure proceedings began on much of the 167,000-square-foot development.
How Old Kings Road Was Re-Routed for Wal Mart
An aerial view of the old Old Kings Road and its new route nearer I-95, in preparation for Wal Mart construction.
Old Kings Road Reopens, Speeding Past History
Old Kings Road in Palm Coast reopens wider and newer, but also more distant from the history and intimacy that gave it its name.
Palm Coast Opens Fiber Optic Network To Local Companies
In a first for Florida, Palm Coast is opening its fiber optic network to business use beginning in hopes of spurring commerce.
Bunnell Bails from Billion-$ Desalination Band
Bunnell joins Flagler County, and possibly Flagler Beach soon, in dropping out of the $1 billion project.