The result of wall cuts and analysis below floor tiles pointed to extensive water intrusion and the discovery of black mold in two locations, among other problems, and no indication that the building may be re-occupied any time soon.
Flagler
Hurried Mess: Why The Latest County Meetings on Captain’s BBQ at Bing’s Were Canceled, and What’s Next
A combination of questionable timing, lack of sufficient notice, lack of preparation and the absence of some commissioners led to the cancellation of a pair of much-anticipated county commission meetings on Captain’s BBQ and Bing’s Landing this week.
State Audit Finds Slew of Irregularities and Procedural Disarray at Flagler’s Mosquito Control District, But No Fraud
A state audit of Flagler County’s mosquito control agency found a budgeting and procedural process in disarray but did not see fraud in the seeming disappearance of $1.1 million, which had more to do with overspending.
DeSantis Suspends Ex-Dr. Fruehan From Flagler Mosquito Board Over Felony Charges
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed an executive order suspending Florence Fruehan from the East Flagler Mosquito Control District board pending the resolution of two felony counts against him.
Flagler Commission Signs Contract Worth $237,000 With Interim Administrator Cameron
The $237,000 compensation package for Jerry Cameron includes a salary of $160,000, a $1,000-a-month car allowance, $14,155 in personal days and $7,100 in deferred compensation, though Cameron is already drawing state retirement benefits.
Sheriff Fires Armor, Jail Health Provider at Center of Anthony Fennick’s Death, and Institutes Immediate Changes
Sheriff Rick Staly is firing Armor Correctional Health and instituting a series of measures at the jail making family-inmate contact easier in critical times, and information more readily accessible.
Employees Will Sue Sheriff Over Sick Operations Center, and the Sheriff Is All For It
The law firm representing 27 Flagler sheriff’s employees served the sheriff notice of a lawsuit for negligence over the Operations Center, a move Sheriff Rick Staly is supporting.
An Angry Tom Bexley Freezes County’s Attempt To Cede 1st Floor of Courthouse to Sheriff
Clerk of Court Tom Bexley was angered by a sheriff’s proposal, which the county would have had to approve, to use the first floor of the courthouse for the foreseeable future as the sheriff’s exile from the Operations Center continues.
County Will Consider Importing Water From Palm Coast For Troubled Plantation Bay, Halting $6 Million Plan
Flagler County was ready to award a $6.1 million contract to build a new water plant at Plantation Bay when Commissioner Dave Sullivan pushed to halt the process and consider other options Monday.
Flagler Commission Picks Jerry Cameron, Retired from St. Johns Government After Eclectic Career, Its Interim
Cameron replaces Craig Coffey, whom the commission forced to resign last month, and is expected to restore some semblance of leadership in an administration adrift for weeks.
In Post-Jones Era, Friends of the Library Revive With Nomination of Carl Laundrie as President
The Friends of the Library, an independent, non-profit support group for the Flagler County Library, nearly met an untimely end with the death of Terry Jones, its long-time president.
Flagler Supervisor of Elections Wants To Know Why You Love Voting: Take the Survey
Flagler County Elections Supervisor Kaiti Lenhart is asking registered voters to take a five-question online survey about why and where they like to vote, grist for further voter outreach in the future.
Second Valentine’s Day Mass Wedding at Flagler Courthouse Features Vows and Surprises
Eleven couples married and five renewed their vows in the Flagler Clerk of Court’s second anual mass wedding on the steps of the county courthouse at noon today.
Flagler’s Addiction Crisis Has a Treatment Problem: There’s Barely Any. Council Talks, With Little Action.
In the opioid crisis, first responders are doing their part, only to see the same individuals adrift the moment they’re out of first responders’ hands: The front lines are meeting the challenge. The rear isn’t.
Flagler Commissioners Will Hold Open 1-on-1 Interviews With Administrator Candidates
The county attorney advised Flagler county commissioners that erring on the side of openness was best in deciding whether to individually interview candidates in closed or open sessions.
Flagler’s AAUW Branch Marks 35 Years of Advancing ‘Equity for Women and Girls’
What began with an organizational meeting of the Flagler Beach of the American Association of University Women is now an organization 50-member strong.
Anthony Fennick Will Die Saturday Morning, Days After Degrading at Flagler Jail. Family Awaits Answers.
The family of Anthony Fennick, 23, will gather around him Saturday morning, when his breathing machine will be disconnected. He was brain dead after suffering days of high fevers at the Flagler jail, where his care was neglected, his family says.
Jim Cigler Is an Unlicensed Contractor. Repeat Judgments Against Him Don’t Stop Him
From Working.
Flagler County just won a judgment against Jim Cigler, an unlicensed contractor known as “The Gutter Guy,” but Cigler faced several judgments before and kept on falsely advertising his services as licensed and insured.
Costs and Concerns Muck Up Plantation Bay Utility as County Begs for $10 Million
The Flagler County Commission is asking for a state appropriation of $10 million to fix the Plantation Bay sewer plant partly from fears that a sewer tank may burst, but the decision was hasty and lacked ready analysis.
Flagler Pays $16,000 to Settle Website Access Suit, and Much More to Become ADA Compliant
As one commissioner calls it “a scam,” county government will settle a lawsuit and prepare to hire more staff to address Americans With Disability compliance with county websites.
Flagler Commission Narrows Interim Choices to 4, But Questions Remain About Interviews
Three of the four candidates are former city or county administrators. The exception is one internal county candidate. They’ll be interviewed Feb. 18, when the commission may choose among them.
Gargantuan Egos Gone, 3 Cities’ Managers And County Get Down to Unusual Business
Flagler County’s three city managers and its commission chairman led a Common Ground panel presentation reflecting the vast change-overs at the top of local government and anticipating a new way of doing business ahead.
It’s On Again: Get Married on the Flagler County Courthouse Steps on Valentine’s Day
The mass wedding ceremony, a new tradition, drew 21 couples last year, five of them renewing their vows, with live music, cheer and Clerk of Court Tom Bexley presiding.
$2 Million Repaving and Widening of Old Dixie Highway from US 1 to I-95 Starts
The widening and repaving of a 2.3-mile stretch of Old Dixie Highway, from I-95 to U.S. 1, begins Monday (Jan. 28) and will be completed in a week.
16 Apply for Flagler Interim Administrator As County Hurriedly Hires HR Director
With a few days to go for applicants, the interim Flagler County administrator opening drew two county government applicants and three more from Palm Coast.
Sheriff’s Sick Building: How To Hire A Savior
To break out of its leadership lethargy on the future of the Sheriff’s Operations Center, Flagler County government should find an obsessively independent project manager untainted by local politics or current administrations.
Sharon Diane “Dee” Likins, 1943-2019
Sharon Diane “Dee” Likins, age 75, passed to her Lord’s hands peacefully surrounded by family on Thursday, January 10th, 2019 at The Stuart F Meyer Hospice House in Palm Coast, Florida.
County Commission Steps Back From Creating Sheriff’s Building ‘Task Force,’ Opting
For More Workshops
The Flagler County Commission today took no more decisive action on the Sheriff’s Operations Center than to hold more workshop sometime in the future, though none was scheduled.
Help Wanted: Flagler County Seeking Interim Manager and Hoping to Stave Off Exodus
Deputy County Administrator Sally Sherman will lead the county’s administration for the next two weeks as the commission searches for an interim, before launching into a search for a permanent replacement for Craig Coffey.
On Captain’s BBQ at Bing’s, Commissioner Hansen Says Compromise Is On the Table
Allaying fears that his mind is made up, County Commissioner Greg Hansen said he’s willing to go for a compromise that would locate Captain’s BBQ away from the center of Bing’s Landing.
Beyond Coffey: Alternate Locations Emerge for Sheriff’s Operations Center as Calls to Abandon Troubled Building Mount
A 20,000 square-foot building built to attract new business and industry is one of the options for the sheriff’s operations center as the sheriff, employees and at least two county commissioners don’t see a path back into the troubled Operations Center anymore.
Resignations of Key Loyalists Give Administrator Coffey ‘Pause’ About His Plan to Resign
County Administrator Craig Coffey’s announcement that he was resigning was followed by that of Sally Sherman, his deputy, and Joe Mayer, HR director, and changed Coffey’s own course.
Flagler Administrator Craig Coffey Offers to Resign; Special Meeting Set for Wednesday
County Administrator Craig Coffee is seeking to resign in exchange for severance and six months’ health benefits. The commission will decide whether to accept at a 5:30 p.m. meeting Wednesday.
Changing Position, Key Commissioner Says Sheriff’s Building is Not Repairable and Calls For New HQ Elsewhere
Flagler County Commissioner Dave Sullivan says he won’t spend another nickel on the sick Sheriff’s Operations Center and calls for building a new structure somewhere else.
At Bing’s Landing, an Alternate, Compromise Location Emerges For Captain’s BBQ
The County Commission today heard new options on the expansion of Captain’s BBQ at Bing’s Landing in the Hammock, a plan that drew some support from the public, though rancor and controversy still simmers.
Cuts Into Sheriff Building’s Structure Point to Alarming Issues, Including Bat Droppings and “Substantial Moisture”
Two days of testing and cuts into walls and floors at the troubled Sheriff’s Operations Center are adding to a tally of concerns, with revelations of old wood and insulation, bat droppings and widespread floor moisture.
Mark Carman, Affable Face of Policing in Palm Coast For 20 Years, Is Leaving To Be Crescent City Chief
Mark Carman, 57, spent 31 years at the Flagler Sheriff’s Office and 20 heading the Palm Coast precinct and as liaison. He’ll be taking the Crescent City Police Chief’s job come February.
Flagler Firefighters’ Union Members Vote For Firing Their Boss, Administrator Craig Coffey
The firefighters’ union’s vote was expected but significant in that its membership’s contract is dependent on negotiations with Coffey’s management team, and vulnerable to retaliation.
Let Craig Coffey Resign. With Severance.
Craig Coffey’s loss of credibility has been painful. It doesn’t need to be cruel. Rather than a public flogging on Jan. 14, he should be allowed to resign with a measure of dignity–and severance.
Before Barbecue: How Flagler County Saved Bing’s From Development
Bing’s Landing before the current controversy over Captain’s BBQ’s proposed expansion could have been sold off to developers. It wasn’t, thanks to one woman’s vision. Her daughter tells the story.
Teacher, Police and Fire Unions Join Call to Fire Craig Coffey, With Help From Milissa Holland
The county’s public sector unions in a powerful joint approach aided by Palm Coast Mayor Milissa Holland have joined calls to fire County Administrator Craig Coffey.
Like Palm Coast, County Government Plans To Send Small Drone Fleet Airborne
County government plans to spend $20,000 to acquire several drones and use them for public safety, land and infrastructure surveys and incident management, but the county has yet to develop rules and policies.
With Judge’s Help, Sheriff’s Insurance Carrier Corners Employees Over Workers’ Comp Claims as Fate of Building Looms
Some 30 Flagler County Sheriff’s employees have been in a dispiriting battle with their own agency’s insurance carrier and the judge ruling on their workers’ compensation claims, portending little hope that they may prevail.
Ethics Commission Finds Probable Cause School Board’s Janet McDonald and Husband Dennis Violated Law on Disclosures
A state ethics investigation found that both Dennis and Janet McDonald inaccurately reported assets on disclosure forms ahead of election runs. The late Frank Meeker, a county commissioner, filed the ethics complaints shortly before his death in 2016.
Disputed Wetlands Restoration In Flagler Beach Will Proceed as St. Johns River Board Unanimously Approves $500,000 Project
The St. Johns River Water Management Board unanimously approved the 100-acre, $500,000 wetlands restoration project on the Intracoastal Waterway near Gamble Rogers Recreation Area in Flagler Beach.
Kimberle Weeks Pleads to Another Felony Count and, Months Late, Files Appeal
Kimberle Weeks, the former Flagler County elections supervisor, pleaded to the eighth and final felony count against her the day her attorney filed an appeal with the Fifth District Court of Appeal.
Flagler’s Beach ‘Renourishment’ Is Exorbitant Futility
Whether it’s the Corps of Engineers’ plan for 2.6 miles of Flagler Beach sands or Flagler County’s ongoing dune-rebuilding over 12 miles, there’s no money to sustain either, yet officials are mortgaging the county’s future on a blank check.
Flagler Will Try a Different, Riskier Strategy to Protect Its Short-Term Rental Regulations
Flagler County government may lobby lawmakers less intensely than they have over the past three years on vacation-rental regulations, hoping instead that the county is carved out of a potential statewide retreat on such regulations.
Judge Orders Sheriff’s Operations Center Tested for Toxins Again, On Behalf of Employees
Sheriff’s employees have been seeking for months to have an independent round of testing for toxins inside the troubled, evacuated Sheriff’s Operations Center. That will take place on Dec. 13.
Many Questions Remain as County and City Approve $100 Million, 50-Year Beach-Protection Plan in Flagler Beach
Flagler County will be on the hook for nearly half the almost $100-million cost of the project over its 50-year span, with the federal government responsible for the rest.