The county administration had proposed to privatize cleaning services for $500,000, allegedly saving $174,000 a year, but employees hired by the private company would have lost all benefits, and many would have lost their jobs outright.
Flagler County Commission
County Seals Final Approval for Sea Ray Parking Plan, This Time With a Caution
The County Commission gave final approval today for Sea Ray Boats’s planned 24-acre parking lot south of its plant off Colbert Lane, but not without words of caution from several commissioners.
County and Bunnell Join Schools and Palm Coast’s Higher Taxes, Flagler Beach Holds Line
The tax increases are generating almost no opposition, in large part because they are tied to benefits taxpayers can see: raises for teachers and cops, additions of firefighters (three this year at the county, three more next year), restoring reserves decimated during the recession, and so on.
One More Hurdle for Sea Ray as Planned Parking Lot Must First Pave Through Rezoning
Sea Ray Boats Tuesday evening again will appear before the Flagler planning board as the luxury boat manufacturer’s plan to expand its footprint south of its plant off Colbert Lane in Palm Coast seeks to advance.
John Ruffalo, a Reagan Assemblies Leader, Affronts County Commissioner at Courthouse
Two months after another Reagan Assemblies member had to resign for a public obscenity, a founding member of the group allegedly insulted the county commissioners names at the county courthouse after calling him dishonorable in an email.
2 More “Ridiculous” Ethics Complaints Against Commissioner Revels and Attorney Hadeed
The complaints, filed by Ronald Reagan Assemblies member John Ruffalo, allege conflicts of interest in the commissioner’s votes and target the attorney’s counsel to the commission.
Scott’s Veto Pen Hits Flagler’s Top Priority, Sinking $600,000 For Malacompra Drainage
The $600,000 appropriation for the Malacompra drainage project was among the 450 line-items and $461 million he vetoed as he approved a $78.2 billion budget.
Flagler Looking to Raise Tourism Tax For 2nd Time in Four Years Despite Surging Revenue
Flagler County wants to raise the local sales surtax on hotel and motel stays to 5%, from 4%, even though revenue has grown ten-fold over the past decade.
Palm Coast’s Jim Landon Retaliates Against County in Series of Accusations, Then Says Conflict Is All But Resolved
Landon put the city’s trust of the county in question, implied the county runs a less professional organization than the city, accused the county of deceiving a state agency, and accused the county manager of using bullying tactics before conceding that all is just about well between the two sides.
Flagler County’s Dust-Bowl Era Soil and Water Conservation Board Is Dissolved For Inaction
Florida’s Agriculture Commissioner ordered the 5-member elected board, established in 1937, dissolved for not complying with reporting requirements. It had not met in years.
Palm Coast Points Finger Back at County Over Airport Water Clash, But Agrees to Executive Summit
Firing back at county criticism, City Manager Jim Landon said the county has always known what to do to resolve a standoff over a water agreement for the airport. But the city and county manager are now likely to meet with the mayor and the county board chairman to resolve the issue.
County Rips Into Palm Coast Government Over Shackled Airport Water Deal
County frustration boiled into outright criticism of Palm Coast’s administration Monday as the city has yet to sign a deal both sides agreed to seven months ago, controlling water service at the county airport.
Flagler Government Embraces Socialized Medicine in Striking Drug Deal with Canadian Rx Company
The Flagler County Commission voted 4-0 Monday to contract with CanaRx to provide prescription drugs to county employees at 50 percent of their U.S. cost.
Mark Richter Files to Run for Ericksen’s County Commission Seat as DeLorenzo Mulls Move
Richter, an ex-felong with a history of obscene and threatening communications to local media, ran on a Ronald Reagan Republican Assembly platform in 2012. Palm Coast Council member Jason DeLorenzo is exploring a move away from the council.
Sheriff’s $2.5 Million Budget Request Increase Is Largest in 10 Years, With 5% Raise For Ranks
The increase reflects additional staffing at the new jail, money for 10 new patrol vehicles, a 5 percent across-the-board raise and state-required retirement contributions accounting for the bulk of the increase.
Taxable Values Rise Again–6% in Palm Coast, 7% in Flagler–But So Do Demands on Budgets
With more value comes more revenue for local governments, and more expectations from various agencies and the public–including a $2.4 million budget increase request from the sheriff’s office alone.
Flagler Firefighters Have Current Contract For 1st Time in 4 Years, With Some Pay Hikes
The firefighters’ union’s first contract since 2011 gives firefighters with more experience more money. For nine years, firefighters were hired at the same rate of pay as existing firefighters with many more years of service.
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.
Administrator Patrick Johnson Calls It Quits as Flagler Health Department Endures Big Changes
Flagler County Health Department Administrator Patrick Johnson is resigning at the end of the month to take a public health post in North Carolina as county departments in Florida see their roles shift and diminish.
Kimberle Weeks Secret Recordings Tapped Into Her Personal Life, Including a Funeral Director
FDLE investigation details revealed today show Weeks, the former Flagler elections supervisor, obsessively recording officials, at least one reporter, and others in her personal life, and editing the results.
At Matanzas Woods Parkway Interchange Groundbreaking, Praise For the Overdue
Most groundbreakings aren’t worth the PR, because that’s all they are: a chance for the shovel hogs to get their picture in the news, let their flesh be pressed and their egos stroked. But Flagler County and Palm Coast have earned this one. And when Flagler County Chairman Frank Meeker said of the Matanzas Woods […]
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.
Two Months Late, Salamander Makes $250,000 Payment That Induced Hammock Beach Hotel Agreement
The payment is part of the $500,000 Salamander agreed to pay for better public beach access in exchange for county approval of a 198-room beachfront hotel at Hammock Beach Resort.
Grand Jury Indicts Ex-Elections Supervisor Kimberle Weeks on 12 Felony Counts Over Secret Recordings
A grand jury that convened Tuesday indicted Kimberle Weeks, the former Flagler County Supervisor of Elections on 12 felony counts of illegal interception and disclosure of oral communication, following a six-month investigation into allegations by county officials that she secretly and illegally recorded their conversations.
Hurricane, Terrorism, Evacuations: In Flagler Emergencies, These Are The People Who Hold Your Fate In Their Hands
The Flagler County Executive Policy Group is the most powerful local government panel you’ve never heard of, and its members make all key decisions in natural or man-made emergencies. They practiced this morning.
Palm Coast Mayor Rips Waste of County’s EMS Service and Says Do It All Or Pay the City
Palm Coast Mayor Jon Netts doesn’t question the quality of emergency services but considers them wastefully duplicative, and wants to see the city’s and county’s approach change.
Specious and Speculative: State Elections Office Tosses Out Kim Weeks Cases Against 3 Flagler Commissioners
Though she resigned, Kimberle Weeks continues to pursue elections, ethics and Florida bar cases against county commissioners and the county attorney, though the cases are starting to get tossed out for being legally speculative and specious.
Crime Down 20% in Two Years, Jail Population Isn’t: Sheriff Strains to Explain Paradox
Sheriff Jim Manfre touted Flagler County as one of the safest places in Florida and said the fact should be marketed to prospective businesses, but was less clear about the relationship between falling crime and a still-high jail population, or the county’s need for nearly tripling its jail beds.
Bunnell Joins County in Big-Debt Refinancing Trend, Saving Large Amounts
By cutting its financing costs by almost half, Bunnell will save $600,000 on two loans dating back to the 1990s. County government similarly saved millions by refinancing loans for the courthouse and the Government Services Building.
Recovering From Major Cancer Surgery, County Chairman Meeker Addresses REC Expulsion
The Flagler County Republican Executive Committee’s expulsion of County Commission Chairman Frank Meeker may not be legal, and reflect the REC’s intention to put clubbish concerns ahead of county interests.
County Rejects Contractor’s Sharp Protest as It Approves $9 Million Matanzas Interchange Bid
Watson Civil Construction of Jacksonville, sharply protested the bid award, claiming that Hubbard’s bid was incomplete and that the county’s process in accepting the bid went grossly against the county’s own policy. The process the county allowed, Watson claimed, set a precedent that will allow future bidders to game the system to their advantage.
Palm Coast “Watchdogs” and Attorney Ordered to Pay County $3,100 Over Frivolous Suit
Eight weeks ago, Orfinger found in favor of Palm Coast government, ordering the same attorney–Josh Knight–and a different client–Dennis McDonald–to pay Palm Coast $15,900 as a result of a frivolous suit the city fought off.
Echoing Advocates, Flagler Commission Unanimously Approves Sea Ray’s Parking Lot Expansion
The vote was a victory for the Brunswick Corp.’s Sea Ray manufacturing plant, the unanimity of the vote was a victory for the county’s business establishment, though opponents had voiced concerns about the company’s existing pollutants and its future plans.
Sea Ray’s View: We Are Building a Safer Parking Lot, Not Expanding Production
Craig Wall, operations manager at Sea Ray’s Palm Coast plant, counters concerns about the company’s intentions by laying out precisely what the manufacturer intends to do–and not do.
We Don’t Oppose Sea Ray. We Oppose Pollutants and Debasing Flagler Beach’s Quality of Life.
Two Flagler Beach residents lay out the case against Sea Ray’s proposed land use change to accommodate a parking lot, a change opponents say paves the way for more pollution without compelling the company to take stronger toxic-emission control measures.
Vacation Rental Company Sues Flagler County Two Weeks After Regulations Are Approved
Steven Milo, head of Vacation Rental Pros, sued the Flagler County Commission, an eight-count action that alleges property, privacy and equal protection rights violations.
Buoyed by Turn-Around, County Approves $2.75 Million Loan To Buy 3 Buildings at Airport
Flagler County government is vastly expanding its role as a landlord as it approves buying three buildings totaling 58,000 square feet at the county airport in hopes of generating more cash for the airport operation.
Flagler Commission Signals More Culture Support Ahead as It Approves FBI Art Cop Grant For League
Flagler County government has never had a grants program for the arts, aside from its Tourist Development Council grants. Now, Administrator Craig Coffey is suggesting the county begin such a program.
Flagler Commissioner Ericksen Returns After Two Surgeries, Weeks Away and Bagel Therapy
Flagler County Commissioner Charlie Ericksen spent his 72nd birthday under a surgeon’s knife to relieve a brain bleed, and two days later was again on a surgeon’s table for a gallbladder removal.
Emergency Grants of Up to $600 Available to Flagler Seniors For Home Energy Assistance
Eligibility is determined by income (gross household income must be below 150 percent of the federal poverty guidelines), and at least one member of the household must be at least 60 years old.
County Attorney Al Hadeed Responds to “Extreme Allegations” in Ex-Supervisor Weeks’s Florida Bar Complaint
The Florida Bar complaint against Hadeed by Kimberle Weeks, never made public until the county administration released it Monday, was part of a series of similar maneuvers Weeks and an ally filed with the state ethics commission and the state elections commission.
Ending Long Fight, County Approves Short-Term Rental Regulations–With Grandfather Clause
New rules limit short-term rental homes to 10 overnight occupants, and require inspections and a certification process, ending a three-year effort by the county to change state law and enable the commission to regulate the industry.
Flagler Nears Solution For Marineland Acres Flood Woes, But at Steep New Tax For Residents There
To fix chronic flooding, residents of the Hammock’s Marineland Acres could see a new tax of up to $680 a year—more than five times the $11 monthly stormwater fee Palm Coast residents pay—added to their tax bills for the next 20 years.
Counties Withhold Payments to State as Dispute Over Juvenile Costs Flares Again
After the failure of a legislative compromise last year, some counties are withholding their share of the costs from the Department of Juvenile Justice.
Resurrection: In 3-1 Vote, County Approves Lease of Old Courthouse to Baptist School
The vote also represents an unexpected, 11th-hour turn-around for a building most people, including some commissioners (and Bunnell’s city government, which briefly took possession of it before rejecting it), had written off as unusable.
With Generous County Subsidy, Christian School May Be Next Tenant of Old Courthouse
County government will vote Tuesday on a proposal by First Baptist Christian Academy of Palm Coast to lease the old courthouse in Bunnell for $5,700 a month, and with an interest-free, 30-year tax-funded loan of $360,000.
County Approves Salamander’s Bid For 198-Room Hotel, With Conditions and Donations
The Flagler County Commission’s verdict, just before 2 a.m. Tuesday, includes some last-minute promises of land and dollars from Salamander, and a four-year deadline to build the $72 million project.
Testily, Commissioner George Hanns Brings Notice to His VFW Certificate of Appreciation
Commissioner George Hanns was not happy that what he referred to as a news release about his VFW plaque had not been run by local papers, though the papers may not have received the release to start with.
Flagler Commission Approves $18 Million Jail Expansion, Tripling Capacity to 404 Beds
The expansion of the jail will cost the sheriff and the county more to run. Those annual costs, drawn from property tax revenue, have not yet been provided.
Sheriff Manfre Will Ask For 5% Pay Raise For Ranks, First Substantial Increase in 6 Years
Flagler Sheriff’s deputies finally got a 1 percent raise promised them since October but embargoed for disputed reasons as Sheriff Jim Manfre on Thursday said he’d move forward with a request for the first substantial raises in six years come budget season.