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Flagler

Flagler Schools Losing $10.8 Million to Pay for 1,250 Students to Attend Private, Religious or Home School

July 31, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 49 Comments

As it has almost every year for the past 30 years, the state, which sets the local school tax rate, has reduced that tax rate, limiting the local district's ability to compete for students. In addition, the state is now subsidizing private school education, in essence opening a two-front war on local districts: limited dollars, and more competition. (© FlaglerLive)

Three take-aways largely explain how the state is gradually emaciating traditional public education’s budget by lowering the tax rate, as it has almost every year since 1995, by diverting millions of dollars to subsidize families’ private, religious and homeschool education bills, and by causing an inevitable exodus of students from public school to privately subsidized education, but at public expense. 

Sea Turtles Are Crawling Out of New Dunes in Flagler Beach and Wandering on A1A

July 30, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 3 Comments

Digging for treasures on the new dunes is not a good idea. (© FlaglerLive)

Flagler County government has received reports that some wayward sea turtles have been able to crawl up onto the top of the new dunes in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers construction project area in Flagler Beach and there is worry that they may wander onto State Road A1A. Efforts are under way to provide a solution.

Flagler County Escalates Disclosure Pressure as Old Dixie Motel Owners Brazenly Defy Court Order to Pay Bond

July 30, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 12 Comments

Still derelict after all these years: the old Country earth Inn Motel on Old Dixie Highway. (© FlaglerLive)

As the old Country Hearth Inn on Old Dixie Highway continues to rot amid neighbors’ ire, the owners of the property are now in brazen defiance of a court order to put up a $250,000 bond in compliance with their contract with the county. County government has filed two motions that turn up the pressure for financial disclosures and accountability on the owners, even though it does not expect them to comply anymore than they have complied with all other contractual or court-ordered obligations so far. 

Alarms Raised Over Beach Dredging Feared Close to Live Fishery Grounds, Endangering Soft Corals and Sea Life

July 26, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 32 Comments

Bathers in proximity of the pipe bringing dredged sand from a borrow ground 10 miles offshore to the ongoing beach-reconstruction project in Flagler Beach. The dredging is raising concerns about live fishing grounds getting impacted. (© FlaglerLive)

Backed by GPS data, photographs, and eyewitness accounts from the ground and from a fishing vessel, four people–two of them key advocates of the beach renourishment project ongoing in Flagler Beach, two of them fishing-vessel owners–are warning in dire terms that the dredging of over 1 million cubic yards of sand from the sea bottom several miles offshore is raking up live sea life and getting dangerously close to damaging or destroying a unique fishing ground.

Flagler Beach Gets $745,000 TDC Grant for Boardwalk Rebuild That May Never Happen, Besting County and Palm Coast

July 25, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

It's not Atlantic City, but Flagler Beach's boardwalk is among the more popular gathering spots in the city. (© FlaglerLive)

After three bracing presentations by three local governments but tortuous debate by Flagler County’s Tourist Development Council members, the council on Wednesday approved a $745,000 grant for Flagler Beach to rebuild its boardwalk near the pier even though the city has none of the remaining $3 million to build it. Palm Coast and Flagler County were at the losing end of the three-way pitch for the sizeable grant, which the tourism board offers only every two years.

Council Votes 7-2 to Deplete Tourism Fund’s $11 Million Reserves and Build Flagler Visitor Center on SR 100

July 24, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 43 Comments

The Flagler County Visitor and Eco Discovery Center as rendered in a video for the county and shown to the Tourist Development Council this morning. (© FlaglerLive via Palm Coast and the Flagler Beaches)

It was as audacious a plan as any that Flagler County Tourism Director Amy Lukasik presented to the Tourist Development Council this morning: take out $10.3 million out of two tourism funds’ reserves, reducing those reserves to $1.2 million, and appropriate the money for construction of the Flagler County Visitor and Eco Discovery Center on State Road 100, near the metallurgic foot bridge. The council went for it, voting 7-2 to recommend moving forward with Lukasik’s plan.

Sawmill Branch Will Add 425 Single Family Homes in West Palm Coast as Planning Board Approves Latest Phase

July 23, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

Sawmill Branch, with U.S. 1 to the left, as an earlier phase was cleared two years ago

The Palm Coast Planning Board cleared the way for 425 single family homes in the Sawmill Branch development’s latest phase on U.S. 1, a month after approving 320 town houses for a separate phase. The single-family home phase is on 213 acres west of U.S. 1, about half a mile south of Old Kings Road North. The town houses are on 65 acres, with lot size of 2,000 square feet.

Pam Richardson, Flagler County Commission District 5 Candidate: The Live Interview

July 19, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 8 Comments

Pam Richardson. (© FlaglerLive)

Pam Richardson is one of two Republican candidates for Flagler County Commission, District 5, in the Aug. 20 primary. It’s an open seat as Commissioner Donald O’Brien has elected not to run for a third term. Richardson faces Ed Danko, currently serving as a Palm Coast City Council member. Only registered Republicans may cast a ballot in the election.

Ed Danko, Flagler County Commission Candidate District 5: The Live Interview

July 19, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

ed danko live interview

Ed Danko is one of two Republican candidates for Flagler County Commission, District 5, in the Aug. 20 primary. It’s an open seat as Commissioner Donald O’Brien has elected not to run for a third term. Danko, a one-term Palm Coast City Council member, faces Pam Richardson.

Bill Clark, Flagler County Commission Candidate District 3: The Live Interview

July 18, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 4 Comments

Bill Clark.

Bill Clark is a Republican candidate for Flagler County Commission, District 3, in an open-seat election, as Dave Sullivan has opted not to run again. Clark faces Republicans Kim Carney and Nick Klufas in the Aug. 20 primary.

Flagler County Library’s $14 Million South Branch ‘Nexus Center’ Breaks Ground in August, Ending 10-Year Wait

July 17, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 12 Comments

A rendering of the future south branch of the Flagler County Public Library on Commerce Parkway, breaking ground in August and opening in late October 2025.

Almost a decade after Holly Albanese and the Library Board of Trustees first conceived it, the south branch of the Flagler County Library–to be called the Nexus Center–will break ground on Aug. 5 on the 7-acre parcel opposite the Flagler County Sheriff’s Operations Center, a short walk down from the future Bunnell City Hall now under construction. The 23,000-square-foot, one-floor library, combined with the county’s social services offices, will open at the end of October 2025.

Kim Carney, Flagler County Commission Candidate District 3: The Live Interview

July 17, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 3 Comments

Kim Carney. (© FlaglerLive)

Kim Carney is a Republican candidate for Flagler County Commission, District 3, in an open-seat election, as Dave Sullivan has opted not to run again. Carney faces Republicans Bill Clark and Nick Klufas in the Aug. 20 primary.

Nick Klufas, Flagler County Commission District 3 Candidate: The Live Interview

July 16, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 24 Comments

Nick Klufas. (© FlaglerLive)

Nick Klufas is a Republican candidate for Flagler County Commission, District 3. The two-term Palm Coast City Council member, who is term-limited, faces Kim Carney and Bill Clark, both Republicans, in the Aug. 20 primary. Because a write-in candidate has filed expressly to close the election to non-Republicans, only registered Republicans may cast a ballot in this race.

Reviled Daytona North Special Tax Will End as County Adopts Proposed 2025 Budget with Modest Tax Increase

July 15, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 6 Comments

Flagler County Commissioner Leann Pennington has reason to smile as the Daytona North special assessment is no more. (© FlaglerLive)

The Flagler County Commission this afternoon adopted a proposed tax rate for next year that, absent further decreases before two September hearings, will be a hair lower than the existing rate. County Administrator Heidi Petito, in a shift from last year, is proposing suspending the increasingly reviled special tax in Daytona North (or the Mondex), eliminating $260,000 in revenue to the general fund that will be more than made up by tax collections.

Judge France Rejects Latest Attempt by Old Dixie Motel Owners to Renege on $250,000 They Owe, Now Past Due

July 11, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 18 Comments

Circuit Judge Chris France

Circuit Judge Chris France this morning denied the latest attempt by the owners of the derelict Old Dixie Motel not to post a $250,000 bond with the county, as they have been contractually obliged to do for three years. They may face contempt proceedings next. The judge reminded the owners’ attorney that the money owed is past due, and the clock continues to tick.

Friday Food-A-Thon Aims for $200,000 for Flagler Food Bank, Underscoring Need Approaching 6,000 Families

July 11, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 10 Comments

On the air all day Friday. (WNZF for FlaglerLive)

Close to 6,000 families have registered with Flagler County’s Grace Community Food Pantry, 2,000 more than last year, as WNZF and Flagler Broadcasting launch the third annual Food-a-Thon in hopes of raising $200,000, money that can be leveraged into $1 million worth of food. The drive is aiming for a bounty of small donations this year.

Fernando Melendez, Flagler County Commission Candidate District 1: The Live Interview

July 11, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 17 Comments

Fernando Melendez. (© FlaglerLive)

Fernando Melendez is a Republican candidate for Flagler County Commission, District 1. He is challenging incumbent Andy Dance in the Aug. 20 primary. Since no non-Republicans filed to run, it will be an open primary: all registered Flagler County voters from all parties or no-party affiliation may cast a ballot in this race, which will be decided on Aug. 20.

Flagler School District Will Negotiate Lease of Old Courthouse With the County, Eying Room for Historical Society

July 10, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

The old county courthouse may soon get its third tenant in its century history. (© FlaglerLive)

The Flagler County school district’s plan to lease the old courthouse in Bunnell to shift half a dozen programs there would cost $632,000 in up-front renovations and $202,000 a year in rent and utilities. The Flagler County Historical Society had plans of its own for the old courthouse. The district will negotiate with both the county and the historical society in hopes of reaching mutually agreeable accommodations.

Andy Dance, Flagler County Commission Candidate, District 1: The Live Interview

July 10, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 8 Comments

County Commissioner Andy Dance. (© FlaglerLive)

Andy Dance is the incumbent candidate for Flagler County Commission, District 1. Fernando Melendez is challenging him in the Aug. 20 primary. Both candidates are Republicans. Since no non-Republicans filed to run, it will be an open primary: all registered Flagler County voters from all parties or no-party affiliation may cast a ballot in this race, which will be decided on Aug. 20. There is no run-off.

July 4 Celebration from Flagler Beach Parade to Palm Coast Fireworks at County Airport

July 3, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

july 4 palm coast 2024

Flagler County Government and the Cities of Palm Coast, Flagler Beach, and Bunnell invite all Flagler County residents and visitors to the United Flagler 4th Community Celebration on Thursday, July 4, starting with the Independence Day Parade in Flagler Beah and culminating with a 15-16 minute firework show featuring 3,300 shells at the county airport. All events are free.

10 Years and 520 Shows Later, Toby Tobin and WNZF Cross a Milestone of Real Estate Matters in Flagler

July 2, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 2 Comments

Annamaria Long, executive officer of the Flagler Home Builders Association, today taped her first show as co-host of Real Estate Matters, the show that marked its 10-year anniversary today, with Toby Tobin as its permanent host since its inception. (© FlaglerLive)

WNZF and Don Tobin, better known to Flagler County and the world as Toby Tobin, today marked the 10th anniversary and the 520th show of Tobin’s Real Estate Matters, on the air weekly since 2014. The occasion was marked with a cake, vodka, a mini-reunion of past co-hosts and the introduction of Tobin’s latest co-host, Annamaria Long, executive officer of the Flagler Home Builders Association.

DeSantis Veto of Vacation-Rental Bill Opens the Way for Palm Coast Regulations with Flagler’s as Model

June 28, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 16 Comments

Some of Airbnb's current listings in Palm Coast, from an online screenshot.

Facing pressure, Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed the measure a bill that deregulated local control of vacation rentals, saying the proposal would create “bureaucratic red tape” for local officials. Now, Palm Coast has another chance to write its own vacation-rental ordinance, or at least craft some city-specific regulations. City Council member Theresa Pontieri said this morning she intends to open the way for just such a proposal, with caution, as residents increasingly complain of rentals.

Tiger Bay Straw Poll: Richardson Trounces Danko; Derek Barrs and Lauren Ramirez Take Schools, Alfin Hangs On

June 28, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 6 Comments

Thursday's Flagler Tioger Bay Meet and Greet at the Palm Coast Community Center drew some 300 people and almost every candidate on the local Aug. 20 primary ballot. (© FlaglerLive)

Thursday’s Flagler Tiger Bay Meet and Greet at the Palm Coast Community Center drew some 300 people and almost every local election candidate on the Aug. 20 primary ballot. A straw poll consisting of some 225 votes yielded a few arresting results, such as County Commission candidate Pam Richardson’s trouncing of an absent Ed Danko, and a not-too surprising tight race for mayor in Palm Coast.

In Latest Delay, Old Dixie Motel Owners Want a Stay on Judge’s Order to Pay $250,000 Security

June 27, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 5 Comments

old dixie motel

The owners of the Old Dixe Motel appear still unwilling to pay a $250,000 deposit they’ve owed the county for three years and that Circuit Judge Chris France ordered them to pay last week. They have filed a motion through their attorney to stay the order, pending a July 11 hearing before France.

Flagler Tiger Bay Prepares for Largest Candidate Meet-and-Greet of Primary, Waving Off Fret Over Straw Poll

June 26, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 14 Comments

Flagler Tiger Bay's meet-and-greet featuring almost all the local candidates in the August primary election follows in the tradition of similar events, like the former Chamber of Commerce's hob knob of 2018, above, at the Palm Coast Community Center. (© FlaglerLive)

As of Monday some 40 local and state candidates had confirmed attendance at Thursday’s Tiger Bay Meet and Greet, what is expected to be the largest election gathering of the sort for Flagler County and Palm Coast politics ahead of the Aug. 20 primary. The three-hour free event starting at 5 p.m. Thursday at the Palm Coast Community Center will include a voter-registration drive organized by the Supervisor of Elections’ office, and a straw poll, which one candidate is criticizing as a “sham.” He appears isolated.

Some Hammock Residents Tell Flagler County: Tax Us for Beach Protection, and a Commissioner Sees Opportunity

June 24, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 35 Comments

Even though it struck Flagler County only as a tropical storm, Hurricane Matthew in 2016 left a trail of damaged homes hanging on cliffs at the edge of severely eroded dunes in the unincorporated north part of the county. Those property owners remember well, and some are now urging the county to move forward with a special taxing district, even if they are singled out. (© FlaglerLive)

Even as cities’ unhappy reactions have forced Flagler County quickly to retreat from a proposal to create a new tax for almost all residents and businesses in the county, Flagler County Commissioner Donald O’Brien is encouraging his colleagues on the commission to consider a special taxing district that would target just the northern 10 miles of the barrier island in the unincorporated part of the county.

The Write-In Fraud

June 23, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 53 Comments

"What District am I running for?" Jose Fabiani asked as he was filling paperwork to run as a write-in in a County Commission race on June 13, with his handler, Dennis McDonald, standing by to the right, and Supervisor of Elections Kaiti Lenhart looking on. Fabiani had to redo the paperwork. (© FlaglerLive)

Two people who have zero intention to run campaigns have filed to run as write-ins, closing two Flagler County Commission races to 51 percent of the electorate in cynical maneuvers to benefit Ed Danko and Kim Carney in their respective races, against Pam Richardson in one and Nick Klufas and Bill Clark in the other. The write-in fraud takes advantage of a loophole in the law that enables anyone, without paying a dime or showing any intention to campaign, to be a write-in, thus closing otherwise open primaries.

Celebrated Ex-County Engineer Faith al-Khatib Sues Over Termination, Citing Racism and Illegalities

June 21, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 55 Comments

Then-County Engineer Faith al-Khatib during one of her last public appearances for Flagler County, at a meeting on the beach renourishment project in Flagler Beach. She had worked for the county for 18 years. (© FlaglerLive)

Faith al-Khatib, for 18 years the Flagler County engineer and public works director repeatedly praised for securing millions in state and federal dollars for county projects, is suing the county for wrongful termination and retaliation, citing favoritism, illegal acts she refused to perform for the administration, and racism. Al-Khatib is of Palestinian extraction. It is the second lawsuit filed against the county by a former employee alleging discrimination in the past year.

Flagler County’s Unemployment Rate Declines to 3.6%, But Growth in Working-Age Labor Force Stalls

June 21, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 5 Comments

flagler florida unemployment may 2024

Flagler County’s May unemployment rate was 3.6 percent, down from 3.9 percent in April, as the rate continues to oscillate within the same narrow band it has for a year and a half. Previously steady growth in the labor force, however, has stalled. After rising earlier this year, it declined for the second month in a row, to 51,383, almost exactly where it stood a year ago. The labor force reflects working-age adults with families as opposed to children or retirees, who account for 60 percent of the county’s population.

Court Rules Old Dixe Motel Owners Have 10 Days to Provide County $250,000 Deposit Owed Since 2021

June 19, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 16 Comments

old dixie motel

The owners of the derelict Old Dixie motel have 10 days to provide the Flagler County Clerk of Court a $250,000 deposit they have owed county government for three years as part of an agreement on the rehabilitation of the motel, Circuit Judge Chris France ruled in an order issued today.

For 17th Straight Year, Flagler Schools’ Enrollment Fails To Grow Despite Continuing Population Surge

June 19, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 32 Comments

Flagler County's nine traditional public schools' enrollment ended the year pretty much where they started. (© FlaglerLive)

In spite of growth that added 16,000 new residents to the county in three years, in spite of Palm Coast, the county and Flagler Beach issuing certificates of occupancy for some 3,200 housing units in 2023 alone, and in spite of similar growth trends in 2024, Flagler County schools are simply not attracting enough students to reflect that growth. 

At ‘Monumental Groundbreaking’ for Beach-Rebuilding, Shovels of Praise, But Not a Word About Climate Change

June 17, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 23 Comments

Shovels against nature: the site of this morning's ceremonial groundbreaking. (© FlaglerLive)

Federal, state and local officials gathered at veterans Park in Flagler Beach under a broiling sun this morning for the groundbreaking of the $27 million beach-rebuilding project by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, a project 20 years in the making. Officials exchanged heaps of praise, but a principal reason behind the project–climate change–was left unspoken in a state where the words are now banned.

Historic Sweep: Flagler’s 5 Constitutionals Elected Without Opposition as Shelly Edmonson Wins Tax Collector’s Seat

June 14, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 7 Comments

flagler constitutionals reelected

Clerk of Court Tom Bexley, Tax Collector-Elect Edmonson, Property Appraiser Jay Gardner, Supervisor of Elections Kaiti Lenhart and Sheriff Rick Staly were elected without opposition today, the first time an entire slate of constitutionals managed the feat in memory. Edmonson will take over for Suzanne Johnston, who decided to retire after 20 years as the tax collector.

Amendment 5: I’m Homesteaded. I Don’t Need Another Perk To Deepen Inequalities and Hurt Local Governments.

June 13, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 27 Comments

amendment 5 homestead inflation florida

A yes vote on Florida’s Amendment 5 on this November’s ballot means that every year, the second of two $25,000 exemptions will increase according to the previous year’s inflation rate. The indexing is not only unnecessary–the Save Our Homes cap on taxes already does that–but it’s another pander that will deepen disparities at the expense of local governments, businesses, renters and agricultural properties, all of whom will have to make up for lost revenue. 

Humbling Flagler, DeSantis Vetoes Almost a Third of Local Projects, Including YMCA, Tourist Center, and All Bunnell’s Asks

June 12, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 31 Comments

Gov. Ron DeSantis with local county and city officials during a visit to Flagler Beach in late 2022, along with Reps. Paul Renner and Tom Leek. DeSantis vetoed almost a third of the appropriations Renner and Sen. Travis Hutson had secured for the county and its cities. (© FlaglerLive)

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday signed a $116.5 billion budget for the upcoming fiscal year, after vetoing close to $950 million in spending approved by lawmakers in March. The vetoes include $46.52 million from what had been a record $151 million in appropriations for Flagler County, Palm Coast, Bunnell and Flagler Beach, a heavy loss that dampens earlier hopes for a big haul.

Beach Dredging and Rebuilding Project Will Take 4 Months, Not 9, and Flagler Beach Will Be Spared Detours

June 12, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 11 Comments

Get used to the sight, the noise, the vibrations and the disturbances as the Army Corps of Engineering contractor begins work on rebuilding 3.4 miles of beach in Flagler Beach. But the result will be an unrecognizably expanded beach. (Army Corps of Engineers)

In a boon for a city besieged by construction, the contractor starting work on Flagler County’s first-ever beach-renourishment project within days informed Flagler Beach officials that the dredging will start at the south end of town and move north, will not use Veterans Park as an equipment staging area, and will not require traffic detours downtown, as had been previously planned. 

In Sharp Retreat, Flagler Rejects Countywide Beach Tax to Focus on Barrier Island Only, and on Informing Public

June 10, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 28 Comments

Shortly after sunrise today, the contractor for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer's barges were getting in position ahead of starting to dredge sand from offshore and rebuild the beach in the city, a project more than 20 years in the making. Flagler Beach City Commissioner Rick Belhumeur was on the shore, taking in the sight, and the picture above.

A week after approving a plan in principle that would have imposed a new tax on almost all residents countywide to raise $7 million a year for beach protection, the Flagler County Commission today stepped back sharply from that plan, acknowledging that it had not done the necessary “outreach” to the public or to other local governments to ensure its success.

Sheriff: Increase School Board’s Cost Share of Campus Deputies to 60%, Lower County’s Share to 40%

June 10, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 7 Comments

Sheriff Rick Staly with Superintendent LaShakia Moore last month during a press conference about recurring threats to schools. (© FlaglerLive)

The Flagler County Sheriff is recommending to the County Commission that the 50-50 cost share for school resource deputies, or SRDs, between the School Board and the County Commission be changed. Staly is recommending that the School Board shoulder 60 percent of the cost, adding $300,000 to the district’s budget, while lowering the county’s responsibility an equal amount. 

Flagler County’s Beach Protection Tax: Right Idea. Wrong Execution.

June 7, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 42 Comments

beach protection tax

The county has the right idea: we need a new tax to pay for expensive beach protection, or we’ll lose the beach. But the county’s execution is hurried, the plan is poorly thought-out, it is riddled with holes and inconsistencies, and it has included zero public participation and zero preparatory discussions with other governments. That’s a recipe for failure, deservedly so: the county is taking the public and its sister governments for granted, if not punting to the cities to do the heavy lifting.

FPC’s David Halliday, a Finalist for National Coach of the Year in Track and Field, Reflects on 30 Years’ Inspiration

June 7, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 2 Comments

The Halliday Way: Flagler Palm Coast High School's Coach Dave Halliday. (Flagler Schools)

David Halliday, one of Flagler Palm Coast High School’s most successful, if not its most successful, coach over the past 20 years, is one of eight finalists for the Coach of the Year in Track and Field award by the National High School Athletic Coaches Association. The Florida native reflects on a 30-year career that and a coaching philosophy summed up by the sort of humanism and commitment he tries to impart on his students and athletes.

‘It Can Happen Here’: Emergency Management Director Warns Against Hurricane Complacency in Flagler Ahead of Busy Season

June 7, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 14 Comments

Flagler County Emergency Management Director Jonathan Lord always projects a sunny disposition, as he did this morning on Free For All Fridays, but his forecast and warnings are a different story. (© FlaglerLive)

There’s a dangerous myth in Flagler County, and the longer people have lived here, the more they start believing the myth, and spreading it: that Flagler County is immune to hurricanes. Jonathan Lord, Flagler County’s emergency management director, says ahead of what has been predicted to be the busiest hurricane season in memory that Flagler County is at risk of getting a direct hurricane hit, even a Category 5 hurricane, as any other coastal community in the state.

Sprawling Vacation Rentals Becoming a Nuisance to Palm Coast Residents. City’s Answer: ‘Our Hands Are Tied.’

June 6, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 49 Comments

A property on Fircrest Lane in Palm COast advertised as a short-term rental that can sleep 12 people. (Google)

As resident after resident complained about short-term renters next door–the noise, the partying, the traffic, the garbage, the unexpected–the Palm Coast City Council chambers Tuesday evening sounded more like a scene transplanted from the County Commission a decade ago, or legislative committees in Tallahassee every year since. But the legislature just passed a new law that forbids cities like Palm Coast from imposing stricter regulations on vacation rentals than they would on permanent residents.

In Blow to Flagler, Special Magistrate Rejects Demolition of Old Dixie Motel Even as He Finds It ‘Dangerous’

June 5, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 8 Comments

Sean McDermott, a special magistrate, at the beginning of this afternoon's hearing on the Old Dixie motel property. (© FlaglerLive)

The special magistrate the county newly hired to conduct its code enforcement hearings agreed with a county finding that the decrepit motel on Old Dixie Highway is “unsafe,” “dangerous” and not habitable. The magistrate nevertheless sided with the hotel owners, rebuffing a county move to demolish the building.

Countywide Burn Ban Issued as Drought Index Climbs and Firefighters See Uptick in Wildfires

June 5, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 11 Comments

The smoke isn;t that thick yet, but the drought index is worrying local fire authorities. (© FlaglerLive)

Flagler County enacted a burn ban effective 5 p.m. today (June 5) and declared a state of local emergency to do so. The ban remains in effect for seven days, and applies countywide, including in Palm Coast, Bunnell and Flagler Beach. 

Flagler Seeks New Countywide Tax of Homes and Businesses for Beach Protection, But Cities’ Support Is Key

June 4, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 53 Comments

flagler beach management plan

In a “dramatic change for the county,” the County Commission on Monday agreed unanimously to seek a new levy on residents and businesses to pay for $7 million in annual beach reconstruction and protection–for ever. It is the county’s surrender to an unavoidable reality: to preserve the beaches, considered to be Flagler County’s greatest asset, residents across the county will have to shoulder a share of the cost in the same way that they pay for garbage services and stormwater protection.

For Flagler County, New Tax to Raise $7 Million a Year to Preserve Beaches Concedes Realities of Climate Change

June 4, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

flagler beach management plan

Monday’s milestone by the Flagler County Commission–seeking a new funding mechanism to rebuild and maintain the county’s 18 miles of beaches–was the culmination of a four-year process. It would put in place a method to pay for expected beach maintenance for decades as the county faces a new reality of rising seas and relentless erosion. Here’s how consultants arrived at the proposal, and what it would pay for.

Nearly $1 Billion in New Construction Raises Flagler County Taxable Values 12% Over Last Year, a Salve to Budgets

May 30, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 1 Comment

The percentage for 2024 is still a working number, which may increase or decrease slightly. It reflects values that apply to county government's calculations. Values in the cities and for the school board may be different. (© FlaglerLive)

“Humming along” is how Flagler County Property Appraiser Jay Gardner describes the year’s property values: powered by nearly $1 billion in new construction alone, $631 million of it in Palm Coast, taxable property values in Flagler County rose around 12 percent this year, and 13 percent in Palm Coast, about the same as last year. The estimates being finalized this week play a central role in local governments’ budgeting and taxing decisions.

Developer of Proposed 204-Boat Storage Facility in Hammock on Collision Course with County and Residents

May 30, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 21 Comments

A mediation session between the developer of a proposed 204-boat storage facility called Hammock Harbour, on State Road A1A, county officials and representatives of the Hammock Community Association lasted over three hours today. It was not fruitful, except to harden the likelihood of litigation ahead. (© FlaglerLive)

Flagler County government, the Hammock Community Association and Hammock Barbour, the proposed development of a 204-boat storage facility and restaurant on A1A in the Hammock, are heading for another likely collision in court. A nearly four-hour mediation session that started this morning and stretched into afternoon, involving the three parties, failed.

Old Dixie Motel Owners Tell Skeptical Judge They Have No Intention of Abiding by Repair Contract with County

May 29, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 16 Comments

That vacant feeling: the old motel on Old Dixie Highway, still disused. (© FlaglerLive)

Flagler County government and the attorney representing the always-mysterious owners of the derelict Old Dixie Motel argued in front of Circuit Judge Chris France today about a three-year-old contract requiring safety and construction benchmarks. The county considers the contract valid. The owners do not. The county considers the contract valid. The owners do not. The judge will issue a ruling in the near future, though if his questions were any indication today, France is skeptical of the motel owners’ position.

Increasing Sales Tax Divides Palm Coast and Flagler County As Both Scrounge for New Revenue for Cops and Other Needs

May 28, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 27 Comments

Elected officials are all for more of them. But not necessarily if they have to pay for them. (© FlaglerLive)

Discussion of a possible increase in the local sales surtax sharpy divided opinions between the Flagler County Commission and the Palm Coast City Council, who were meeting jointly today to discuss funding for the sheriff’s office. The discussion divided the two bodies even within their own memberships, suggesting that any possibility of an increase is remote best this year, if that.

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