The Flagler Beach City Commission this evening approved a a $35,000 New Year’s Eve plan to launch midnight fireworks from the pier, ending a four and a half year fireworks drought in the city. The vote, and the enthusiasm, was unanimous.
Flagler Beach City Commission
Flagler Beach Planning New Year’s Fireworks and ‘Surf Board Drop’ in What Could Be Launch of New Tradition
The Flagler Beach City Commission at a special meeting Tuesday will consider approving a $33,600 plan for a New Year’s fireworks celebration triggered by the commemorative drop of a lighted surf board likely blazing with 2024. The 12-minute fireworks show would be produced by My Three Sons, the company that produced last July 4’s countywide show at Flagler Executive Airport, and would be launched at midnight from the stable portion of the pier–immediately after the surf board drop at Veterans Park.
Flagler Beach Government Will Subsidize Local Businesses at First Friday in Latest Effort to Localize the Event
The Flagler Beach City Commission is again directing a First Friday make-over: more focus on live music, no more food trucks, subsidies to encourage local businesses to attend, and continuing fees for non-locals setting up tents. The approach is a reflection of an ongoing challenge: First Friday is not serving enough as a pipeline of business to local merchants, as the city commission intends it to be.
Flagler Beach Increases Water, Sewer, Garbage and Stormwater Fees 8%, Swelling Monthly Bills By $8.15
After an 8.5 percent increase last year, the Flagler Beach City Commission Thursday unanimously approved an 8 percent increase in water, sewer, garbage-collection and stormwater rates starting on Halloween–an apparently unintentional spook–with a smaller, 3.5 percent increase next year.
The city is estimating the the average water bill for residents will increase by $8.15 a month, to $110, or by $102 for the year.
‘No Smoke and Mirrors’: New Baler Helps Flagler Beach Recycle 4 Tons of Cardboard a Week
Flagler Beach’s Sanitation Department acquired a $6,000 carboard baler and since mid-August has been baling some 4 tons of carboard a week. The city was previously trucking the loose cardboard to ELS Environmental in Bunnell, and losing on the revenue.
Malacompra Beach Annexation Into Palm Coast Draws Frosty but Not Fatal Response from Joint Committee
The joint local government committee of county and city representatives that met for the second time approached at arm’s length Palm Coast City Council member Theresa Pontieri’s proposal that Palm Coast annex into the city the county beach and access at Malacompra Road.
Flagler Beach Will Consider New Impact Fees for Fire, Police, Parks, and Library, and Higher Fees for Water and Sewer
The Flagler Beach City Commission Thursday will vote on what could be the single-largest tax increase on development in the city’s history. The city is considering adopting higher impact fees on water and sewer connection, and imposing new impact fees for police, fire, parks and recreation services, which it has not had until now.
Deep Disagreements Remain Between School District and Cities and Builders Over Enrollment and Impact Fee Dues
Are Flagler County’s public schools adding students? Will the district need to build new schools? Should it be drawing money from developers today even though it has no certain plans to build schools yet? Those questions were asked and answered with varying degrees of certainty and a lot more disagreements on Thursday in the latest meeting of a joint committee of local government representatives in charge of reviewing how much money developers are required to pay to defray the cost of new school construction.
From Pier to Walkovers to Sea Walls to Paving and Dunes, an Update on A1A’s Numerous Projects Ahead
As the Florida Department of Transportation, Volusia County, Flagler County and the City of Flagler Beach continue to move forward with several projects along State Road A1A, the transportation department today issued the following update on the numerous projects ahead, with relevant links to each project details.
Army Corps Issues Permit Notice for New, 828-ft Flagler Beach Pier, Detailing Construction and Seeking Public Input
In what one of the designers of Flagler Beach’s new pier described as “a big milestone in the federal regulatory process,” the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has issued notice that it is reviewing the permit application for the new pier, and soliciting public comment about detailed construction plans that had not been disclosed until now.
Flagler Beach’s Margaritaville Hotel Begins 18-Month Construction in September
Some 80 people turned up, including most of the city commission and its new manager, Dale Martin, to hear the developer and contractor of the coming Margaritaville Hotel describe how construction will mesh with downtown over the next 18 months.
Flagler Beach Bids Worshipful Farewell to One Manager and Welcomes the Next, with $165,000 Contract
The Flagler Beach City Commission bid a worshipful farewell to Mike Abels, the city’s interim manager and fixer extraordinaire for the past six months, and voted to approve the three-year contract of the city’s new manager, Dale Martin, who takes over on Monday.
Flagler County Uses False Information as It Asks Cities to Support Increase in Sales Tax
Flagler County government is disseminating false information about the proportion of the local sales tax paid by visitors as it seeks letters of support from Palm Coast, Flagler Beach, Bunnell and Beverly Beach to increase the county’s sales tax by half a percent.
Flagler Beach Offers City Manager’s Job, By Acclamation, to Dale Martin of Fernandina Beach
The Flagler Beach City Commission today voted to hire Dale Martin, the city manager in Fernandina Beach for seven years until last March, as its next city manager. If each commissioner could vote twice for him, that’s what would have happened: he was that acclaimed.
Flagler Beach in 4-1 Vote Approves a 39-Unit Apartment Complex Off Leslie Street, Near SR100
The Flagler Beach City Commission Wednesday evening cleared the way for a 39-unit, two-building apartment complex on 3.2 acres between Leslie and Joyce streets, off of John Anderson Highway and just south of State Road 100. The 4-1 vote followed insistance from commissioners that the development’s recreational amenities be more enhanced as such.
Daylong July 4 Celebration in Flagler Beach, Then Fireworks at County Airport
Independence Day celebrations on July 4 will be a cross-county affair, stretching from Flagler Beach with the parade and daylong events there, then shifting to the county airport for evening ceremonies and the fireworks over the runways. Parking options are detailed.
Flagler Beach Selects Five Finalists for City Manager, Some With More Baggage Than Others
The Flagler Beach City Commission in a 20-minute special meeting Tuesday evening narrowed its list of city manager candidates to five finalists. They will be invited to interview with commissioners and meet the public on July 13 and 14. The finalists are Dale Martin, Todd Michaels, David Williams, James Gleason and Howard Brown, whose backgrounds are detailed.
Flagler Beach City Manager Opening Draws 37 Applicants, Most from Out of State
The opening for a Flagler Beach city manager has drawn 37 applicants, a relatively low number–the city drew 58 applicants in its last search in 2020–with just 10 of them from Florida, and 11 of them not currently employed. The list as a whole does not quite flirt with the extraordinary, though a few names have solid experience in small towns and varied profiles.
Settling Lawsuit with Flagler Beach, Ocean Palms Golf Company Has 9 Months to Find A Buyer
The Flagler Beach City Commission this evening voted 4-1 to approve a settlement with Flagler Golf Management, the company that took over management of the nine-hole Ocean Palms golf club at the south end of town in 2015 after years of disuse. The city filed suit to evict the company last year, and the company also sued the city.
Flagler Beach Achieves One Goal in Meeting With Other Governments: Agreement that the City Needs Help
Flagler Beach convinced other cities and the county in a joint meeting this evening that it cannot contend with the ongoing onslaught of visitors alone, and only in Flagler Beach, when the county has plenty of unused beaches and cities can contribute other strategies.
No, Flagler Beach Isn’t Asking for Money. It’s Asking for Cooperation from County and Cities.
Flagler Beach is quickly becoming “maxed out” with visitors, Flagler Beach City Commission Chairman Eric Cooley says, and is looking for help from the county and its other cities to devise a balancing strategy and spread out tourists and day-trippers more manageably. He refutes the claim that the city is looking for more money.
County All But Derides Flagler Beach’s Plea for Financial Aid to Manage Visitors’ Impact
Flagler Beach government has invited the county and cities to a joint meeting on June 21 where Flagler Beach will make a plea for more money to manage visitors’ impacts on its beaches and infrastructure. But the city’s invitation got a cold and at times nearly derisive reception from the County Commission.
In Flagler Beach, Jane Mealy Warns Eric Cooley of ‘Consequences’ Over Conduct. He Doubles Down.
Flagler Beach City Commissioner Jane Mealy warned Commission Chairman Eric Cooley of unspecified “consequences” if he were to ever treat her the way he did at a special meeting last week. Cooley conceded that he had been “spitting fire,” doubled down, dismissing Mealy’s criticism as “armchair quarterbacking” and accusing her of not behaving like an adult.
Hang 8 Dog Surfing Contest Returns to Flagler Beach in All Its Ridiculous and Timely Exuberance
This time the Hang 8 Surfing Contest’s organizers are better prepared than they were last year, when they expected 50 people, maybe 100 at most, and got overrun with about 500. Hang 8 since its first edition last year has caught waves of attention, and gives Flagler Beach a break from seriousness, polarization and mountains of challenges.
Flagler Beach’s Next City Manager Salary May Go Up to $165,000 as Commission Pitches for Candidates
The next Flagler Beach city manager will have a salary of between $125,000 to $165,000, an upper range that would have been unthinkable only a few years ago for the small city of 5,000 people. The city commission in an often-snippy special meeting Thursday also rewrote the profile that accompanies the job announcement for a new manager, which will be issued this weekend.
YMCA, 3 Fire Stations, Road Projects: Palm Coast and Flagler Stand to Gain Nearly $100 Million From State
Flagler, Palm Coast, Flagler Beach and Bunnell may be at the receiving end of the largest appropriations of state dollars for local special projects, by far, in the county’s history–nearly $100 million for roads, fire stations, pier reconstruction, water projects, a substance abuse facility and other, smaller projects, according to the $116 billion budget the Florida House and Senate published Tuesday.
Written Out of Public Eye, Profile Framing Flagler Beach Search for Next City Manager Falters on Some Facts
A nine-page brochure framing Flagler Beach’s search for its next city manager does not appear to have been fact-checked or written with much depth beyond Trip-Advisor-type web scans and perhaps outdated news articles. It was written without public input. The city commission discusses the brochure on Wednesday, and will adopt it on Thursday.
Flagler Beach, With Unusually Limited Transparency, Is on a Schedule to Hire Next City Manager By Mid-July
The Flagler Beach City Commission is on course to hire its next city manager by mid-July, but through an accelerated timeline that involves the least public input or transparency of any recent executive searches for local governments. That’s unusual in Flagler Beach, whose commission over the past decade and a half–regardless of make-up–has prized transparency and deliberation, at times to painful extremes. It’s also about to change, the commission chairman says.
With a $400,000 Loss in 5 Years, Flagler Beach Pier’s Bait Shop Will Close Permanently as a City Business
The bait shop that for decades burnished the Flagler Beach pier’s quaintness and served as gatekeeper to pier fishers and visitors, will close permanently as a city-run business on June 1. The city may consider leasing the small space to a private company, whether as a shop or as a different kind of business, but it won’t decide that until May.
Much-Touted App Swiped Off as Flagler Beach Re-Focuses on Clunky Website to Communicate
Flagler Beach’s year-long attempt to launch an app that would improve engagement and communication with residents is flickering out. The City Commission Thursday evening voted unanimously to end development of the app and shift money allocated for it back to improving the city’s website. There was little indication that the city was interested in further app development, though that door remains ajar.
Head-On Crash at Flagler Beach Pier Narrowly Misses Mayor, Her Child, Former Mayor and Commissioner
A speeding car was in a head-on crash in front of the Flagler Beach pier this morning, just as a beach clean-up involving children and other volunteers was starting. The collision took place within a few feet of the city’s mayor, her child, a former mayor, a city commissioner and the city’s parks and recreation director.
Scott Spradley Wins Big in Flagler Beach, Belhumeur Is ‘Re-Commissioned,’ Defeating Incumbent Phillips
Attorney Scott Spradley won election to the Flagler Beach City Commission by a large margin Tuesday, an unsurprising result from an electorate looking for the analytical cool-headed approach Spradley represents, after a turbulent year in the city and the recent firing of a city manager.
In Flagler Beach, 5 Commission Candidates Play Forum Softball Ahead of March 7 Election
There were no surprises at the only forum for Flagler Beach City Commission Candidates. The questions–at least the nine that were asked–were generally un-challenging, unspecific and at times corny. The candidates are Rick Belhumeur, Bob Cunningham, Doug Bruno O’Connor, Deborah Phillips and Scott Spradley.
For 4th Year in a Row, Flagler Beach Will Have No July 4 Fireworks
Flagler Beach ruled out an Independence Day fireworks show again this year, opting to partner with the county and Palm Coast instead, but there will be better-funded entertainment downtown to keep the celebration from being just “a drunk day at the beach.”
Former DeLand City Manager Mike Abels Will Lead Flagler Beach as Interim for Up to 6 Months
Two weeks after firing City Manager William Whitson, the Flagler Beach City Commission this evening hired Mike Abels, the city manager of DeLand for a decade until 2008, as its interim manager for the next few months. The commission had no choice. But based on his broad experience, it also could scarcely have secured a better interim manager.
Flagler Beach Commission Narrows Interim Choices to 3, Eliminating Cameron
The Flagler Beach City Commission this evening opted to narrow down a list of five candidates to three and pause before making a decision on hiring an interim manager to fill the seat of William Whitson, whom the commission fired last week.
Ex-County Administrator Cameron Has Been Lobbying for Flagler Beach Job Since Before Whitson’s Firing
Former Flagler County Administrator Jerry Cameron had conversations or meetings with four of the five Flagler Beach City Commission members about stepping into a job at the city well before City Manager William Whitson was fired last Thursday.
Deborah Phillips, Flagler Beach City Commission Candidate: The Live Interview
Deborah Phillips is one of five candidates for two seats on the Flagler Beach City Commission in the non-partisan municipal election that will be decided on March 7.
Scott Spradley, Flagler Beach City Commission Candidate: The Live Interview
Scott Spradley is one of five candidates for two seats on the Flagler Beach City Commission in the non-partisan municipal election that will be decided on March 7.
Bob Cunningham, Flagler Beach City Commission Candidate: The Live Interview
Bob Cunningham is one of five candidates for two seats on the Flagler Beach City Commission in the non-partisan municipal election that will be decided on March 7.
Doug Bruno O’Connor, Flagler Beach City Commission Candidate: The Live Interview
Doug Bruno O’Connor is one of five candidates for two seats on the Flagler Beach City Commission in the non-partisan municipal election that will be decided on March 7.
Rick Belhumeur, Flagler Beach City Commission Candidate: The Live Interview
Rick Belhumeur is one of five candidates for two seats on the Flagler Beach City Commission in the non-partisan municipal election will be decided on March 7.
Flagler Beach Commission Fires City Manager William Whitson After Withering Criticism
The Flagler Beach City Commission this evening fired City Manager William Whitson in a 4-1 vote, capping a rocky year and a withering night for the manager. The commission will choose an interim manager on Monday.
In Major Shift, Flagler Beach Residents Appear to Favor Sea Walls, But Misconceptions Abound
A majority of Flagler Beach residents now appear to favor so-called secant sea walls, according to 58 responses gathered by FDOT and obtained by FlaglerLive. But that support rests on a fundamental misconception–that sea walls would not only protect State Road A1A behind them, but the beaches in front of them as well.
‘We Have a Deal’: Dune Hold-Out in Flagler Beach Concedes, Clearing Path to Renourishment
A property owner’s three-year stand-off with Flagler County that has delayed a long-promised beach renourishment in Flagler Beach is over. Cynthia d’Angiolini through her lawyer today agreed to sign a pair of easements, clearing the way for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ dune-rebuilding project–and ensuring that the south side of the city will finally get a major new protective buffer against rising seas.
Flagler Beach’s New Concrete Pier Will Be 10 Feet Higher to Account for Sea Rise and Violent Storms
Flagler Beach’s new, bigger, higher pier could be completed by the end of 2025 and will be designed to withstand the realities of more violent storms and rising seas, its designer told a large crowd at the Wickline Center Tuesday evening.
Sea Walls, Granite, Dunes: FDOT Options to Strengthen A1A Are Nothing Flagler Hasn’t Seen Before
Some 150 people, including numerous Flagler Beach and county officials, turned out to see the state Department of Transportation’s four options to more permanently strengthen State Road A1A, with sea walls taking precedence over dune rebuilding. But a combination of the four options is likely ahead.
Divided Flagler Beach Commission Will Require Inspections of Street Golf Carts Every 2 Years
A divided Flagler Beach City Commission agreed Thursday evening to change the frequency of required inspections of golf carts used as street vehicles from every year to every two years. Some commissioners and the mayor wanted only one inspection, and none after that. The city has a few hundred residents using golf carts as street vehicles.
Army Corps Must Redesign Entire Flagler Beach Dunes Project, ‘Substantially’ Delaying It Again
Because of years of delays and further erosion, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers must redesign the entire project to rebuild 2.6 miles of dunes on the critically eroded shoreline south of the Flagler Beach pier, now that the current design is out of date. That will further delay for at least a year or more a project 20 years in the works. Meanwhile, the coast continues to erode, threatening or damaging A1A.
One Term In, Flagler Beach Commissioner Ken Bryan Decides to Pull Out of Re-Election Run After All
Ken Bryan, a one term Flagler Beach city commissioner and currently the chairman of the panel, has decided not to seek re-election after all. His decision still leaves five candidates, including incumbent Deborah Phillips, running for the two seats in the March 7 election.