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.
Flagler County Commission
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.
State Ethics Panel Ratifies $2,500 Fine on Flagler Commissioner Revels Over 2 Violations
The Florida Commission on Ethics Friday unanimously approved a $2,500 fine on Flagler County Commissioner Barbara Revels over two violations of the state ethics law, stemming from Revels’s role in the county’s purchase of the old Memorial hospital in Bunnell.
Flagler Commissioner Revels Faces $2,500 Fine Over Ethics Violations as Investigation Points To Discrepancies
Though she was the swing vote, County Commissioner Barbara Revels now concedes that she should have abstained from voting to buy the old Memorial hospital in Bunnell in 2013, and that she should have filed a conflict-of-interest form.
Flagler County Government’s Citizens Academy Taking Applications Before Jan. 30 Start
Seats are still available for Flagler County’s popular Citizens Academy program, a free nine week course designed to introduce participants to the day-to-day operations of Flagler County government.
Attorney At Center of Suits Against Palm Coast and County, Is Arrested on Battery Charge
Joshua Knight, the Palm Coast attorney hired by two Ronald Reagan Assemblies members to litigate actions against Palm Coast and the county that were found frivolous, was arrested on domestic battery and false imprisonment charges Monday afternoon.
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.
Craig Coffey’s $15,000 Raise Request: An Insult to Public Employees at Taxpayers’ Expense
The insult wasn’t just Flagler County Administrator Craig Coffey’s Christmas tithing to himself. It was the way he and his administration went about it, and the way three county commissioners played along.
White Elephant No More: County Approves 5-Year Lease of Costly Ginn Hangar in Deal With New Company
Delta Engineering of New Catle, Del., expanding in Flagler with 10 to 30 high-paying jobs, will fill the old Ginn building that had left the county with a $2 million liability when Ginn went bankrupt.
In Unusual Vote, Flagler Commission Acknowledges Ethics and Elections Complaints Against All Its Members
County and Canvassing Board Attorney Al Hadeed, who was also served with complaints, asked for the vote to assert three points that framed the complaints within the official duties commissioners were performing at the time the issues arose.
Divided Flagler Commission Awards Administrator Coffey 5% Raise This Year, With More All But Promised
The Flagler County Commission didn’t go for the 10 percent raise Coffey (or, it is claimed, his staff) was asking for, but he still got a nearly $6,000 raise in a 3-2 vote by the commission Monday evening.
Supervisor of Elections Weeks and Ex-Candidate File Load of Ethics and Elections Complaints on 4 Commissioners
Calling it a “witch hunt,” the four commissioners say the complaints rehash minor issues that were almost all resolved during the election season, and that the ploy mostly is an attempt to tarnish.
County Administrator Craig Coffey Seeking 10% Raise, to $161,000, Amid Other Personnel Costs
The county administrator’s salary would increase from $146,383 and would add an automatic 3 percent merit pay increase a year absent an affirmative decision by the county commission.
Salamander Losing Streak Continues as Planning Board Rejects 198-Room Hammock Hotel, 3-2
The vote, coming at the end of a nearly four and a half hour hearing, is the latest in a series of defeats for the developer, though the binding decision does not take place until the Flagler County Commission hears the proposal.
Flagler Opens 1st Secure Site For Supervised Children’s Visits in Sally’s Safe Haven
It took three years and $400,000 from a federal grant, but on Monday county officials dedicated the safe haven in the old Bunnell Post office location, ensuring that parents don’t have to travel to Volusia or St. Johns to execute court-ordered, supervised children’s visitations.
Varn Park Will Close Until April 15 For $476,000 Renovations Thanks to Scenic A1A Grant
The federal National Scenic Byways grant was the largest of just three such awards in Florida, and will have a $140,000 match from Flagler County.
Economic Development Director Helga van Eckert Is CareerSource’s Excellence Award Recipient
Flagler County’s Department of Economic Development Executive Director Helga van Eckert was awarded the “Partners in Workforce Excellence Award” by CareerSource Flagler Volusia at the Annual Board of Directors meeting on Nov. 21.
New Sheriff’s HQ Square Footage Grows By a Third Even as Construction Cost Falls to $4.2 Million
Instead of a $6.2 million demolition and construction project, the lowest bid for the sheriff’s HQ came in at $4.2 million, with the sheriff gaining 9,000 more square feet in the bargain, for a total of 35,000 square feet.
Feed Flagler’s 364-Day Blinders: Why Isn’t a Portion of Old Courthouse Considered as Homeless Shelter?
It must be Thanksgiving because as with the first Thanksgiving, the pilgrims seem more interested in clobbering the poor than feeding them.
Election Supervisor Kimberle Weeks Caps Final Canvassing Session With Hit List Frown Song
Kimberle Weeks once again indicted a slew of local officials on evidence largely fictional while portraying herself as voters’ last great hope as she responded to the county’s latest request for an state intervention.
Even As Lawsuit Gets in the Way, Sheriff and Union Agree that “Substantial” Raises Are Due
Sheriff’s deputies and other employees have been without a serious raise in five years and the sheriff and union are at a negotiating impasse, but both sides are attempting to reach agreement on a small prize: a 1 percent raise the county commission pledged employees this year.
Growing Concern at Supervisor of Elections Offices Across Florida: Aging Equipment
Secretary of State Ken Detzner said he will meet next month with local supervisors of election in Orlando to determine which counties are most in need of new equipment before the 2016 elections. Flagler is likely to be among those.
New, Younger Faces Sworn In at Palm Coast Council, Same Old at County Commission
The swearing-in ceremonies were a study in contrast, if not a reflection of the election’s paradoxes as Palm Coast showed its desire for change and the county commission stayed the same.
Some Skepticism Aside, County Broadens Old Courthouse Panel’s Mission: Find Tenants
The county commission Monday evening voted 4-1 to give the courthouse committee until the end of March to find tenants who can pay their way and end the county’s $6,000-a-month subsidy of the building.
Renovate and Lease Old Courthouse But Don’t Sell or Demolish, Committee Recommends
An advisory committee’s much-awaited findings recommend that county government continue to carry the maintenance costs of the old courthouse until it is able to renovate and rent it to non-profits or office-type concerns.
Flagler Briefly Pauses On 100th Anniversary Year of the War that Led to Veterans Day
The commemoration of Veterans Day this morning in Bunnell featured a Florida Army National Guard commander who traced the conflict-ridden history of the day since its inception at the end of World War I.