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Flagler

Spectrum Launches Long-Awaited High-Speed Fiber Option for Western Flagler County

May 28, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 5 Comments

Flagler County's agricultural community, along with homes and businesses on the west side, can finally be connected to high-speed internet. (© FlaglerLive)

Charter Communications’ Spectrum, the internet, phone, cable television and wireless service company, last week launched high-speed internet and other services to more than 900 homes and small businesses in rural, western Flagler County. The fiber-optic network is now available in Andalusia, Bimini and Daytona North, also known as the Mondex, reaching into areas of the county that had been chronically underserved but for satellite connections.

What Should Bing’s Landing Look Like When Captain’s BBQ Expands? Public Invited to Weigh In Tuesday.

May 27, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 4 Comments

Biongs Landing on the Intracoastal, one of the Flagler County parks that could see more activity with the county's decision to reopen parks and trails in its jurisdiction, but not within cities. The decision is not welcomed by the cities. (© FlaglerLive)

Flagler County government hosts a 6 p.m. meeting Tuesday at the Hammock Community Center, 79 Mala Compra Rd, Palm Coast, to get input on how Bings Landing should look with the upcoming relocation and expansion of Captain’s BBQ, following the county’s settlement of a breach-of-contract lawsuit Captains filed.

Development Is Devouring the Tree Canopy. Palm Coast and Flagler Officials Say They’re Trying to Catch Up With Protection.

May 23, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 53 Comments

Trees and vegetation burned today on parts of the nearly 200 acres cleared of trees to make room for a 333-home subdivision called Sabel Preserve along Royal Palms Parkway in Palm Coast. (© FlaglerLive)

There was a bit of a disconnect today in a panel discussion by Flagler County’s five mayors and County Commission chair about how attractive Flagler County is to its residents and those who keep pouring in, and how quickly developments are razing swaths of tree canopy. They spoke of the importance of preserving the region’s quality of life, but also how the torrid growth rate is inevitably bringing congestion, and numerous developments, some of them–as with a 6,000-home plan in Bunnell–colossal.

Palm Coast Mayor Alfin Hints Against Rolled Back Tax Rate This Year, But Says ‘New Sources of Revenue’ Ahead

May 23, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 11 Comments

Palm Coast Mayor David Alfin at today's "Meet the Mayors" forum at the Flagler County Association of Realtors. He was flanked by Bunnell Mayor Catherine Robinson and Sheriff's Chief Mark Strobridge. (© FlaglerLive)

Palm Coast Mayor David Alfin today hinted that he may not be supportive of going back to the rolled back property tax rate this year as he was last year. He said there may be also be new, alternative revenue sources that don’t rely on the property tax. But he did not say what those would be except in the most cryptic terms: “Eco Dev.,” he wrote in a text, abbreviating the words for “economic development.” “I will share as soon as I can,” he added.

Flagler School Board Supportive of Leasing Old Courthouse in Bunnell as Christian School Exits

May 22, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 8 Comments

The old courthouse is a cherished landmark in Bunnell and the county. (© FlaglerLive)

The Flagler County school district is likely to take over the lease of the old Flagler County courthouse in Bunnell, which since August 2015 has been the home of First Baptist Academy, a Christian school. The school is leaving in August. The county has been looking for a new tenant. The school district has been looking to consolidate a half dozen programs under one roof. It would do so at the courthouse t a cost of at least $212,000 a year, not including the cost of reconstructing the building according to district needs.

Daytona North/Mondex Residents Have Been Paying a Special Tax Since the 1980s. Is It Fair, ‘Wise’ and Worth It?

May 21, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 6 Comments

A fine community, but whose responsibility? (© FlaglerLive)

Flagler County Commissioner Leann Pennington is hoping county government will rethink the special tax Daytona North–also known as the Mondex–residents have been paying since the 1980s for road maintenance, either to scrap it altogether or to better define its purpose, and lay out specifically what benefits residents get out of it.

Sustained ‘Grit and Determination’ Essential to Saving Flagler’s Beaches, Al Hadeed Tells Decision-Makers at Tiger Bay

May 20, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 6 Comments

County Attorney Al Hadeed was the keynote speaker at Tiger Bay last week. (© FlaglerLive)

In a talk at Flagler Tiger Bay, County Attorney Al Hadeed, who for almost a decade has led the administrative charge to rebuild and protect the county’s beaches, told a sold-out audience at Flagler Tiger Bay that feelings of futility in the face of constant erosion must be countered with “grit and determination” to protect the county’s seaside heritage.

Affordable Housing in Palm Coast-Flagler: Plenty of Ideas, Not Enough Political Follow-Through

May 17, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 18 Comments

Annamaria Long, executive officer of the Flagler Home Builders Association, speaking at the forum today at the Palm Coast Community Center. Other panelists included, from left, Maeven Rogers, Palm Coast administration coordinator, Bill Lazar, executive director of the St. Johns Housing Partnership, a non-profit, and Scott Culp, a principal at Atlantic Housing partnership, builder of affordable apartment complexes in 10 states. Ali Ankudowich, a technical advisor with the Florida Housing Coalition, joined the forum by zoom. The forum was hosted by Valerie Clymer, a mortgage loan officer who also sits on the joint Flagler-Palm Coast Affordable Housing Advisory Committee. (© FlaglerLive)

The Palm Coast Community Center was not the place to be this afternoon if you wanted to hear cheery answers and simple solutions to increasing the dismal stock of affordable housing in the city and the county. But it was the only place and one of the rare times in recent years where local governments–the county and Palm Coast–devoted a serious forum to explore difficult questions and realistic possibilities to bring more affordable housing to the region.

After Some Tactical Chest-Beating, Flagler County and Ormond Beach Swoon to Resolution of Lawsuit Over Road

May 17, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 3 Comments

The lawyers did it: Assistant Flagler County Attorney Sean Moylan, left, immediately after a productive joint meeting of the Flagler County Commission and the Ormond Beach City Commission to resolve issues at the heart of a lawsuit the city filed against the county last October. Moylan worked with Ormond Beach attorney Cliff Shephard, center, to resolve the dispute, leaving it to the two governments to ratify the work. (© FlaglerLive)

Flagler County’s and Ormond Beach’s attorneys started off an unprecedented meeting of the two government boards Thursday evening at Ormond Beach City Hall with a good deal of “chest-beating” in the legal dispute about a county easement over a dirt road that crosses into Ormond Beach. The language was sharp, accusatory, and legally threatening on both sides. Yet by the end of the meeting, the two sides were lobbing gallantry at each other, with all issues resolved and the lawsuit set to be dismissed.

Emergency Order Will Criminalize Walking on Dunes in Flagler County; Flagler Beach’s Experience: Education Works

May 16, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 16 Comments

Flagler Beach has done a good job of keeping people off its dunes, Flagler County Attorney Al Hadeed says, but the northern part of the county needs more enforcement. (© FlaglerLive)

The Flagler County Commission on Monday is expected to approve an emergency order that criminalizes walking on dunes anywhere along the county’s 18 miles of shoreline. The penalty may be a $500 fine and 60 days in jail. The order reflects several pulses of urgency as dunes are being rebuilt with fragile vegetation taking root, and as erosion continues its relentless work. Flagler Beach criminalized walking on dunes years ago, but has never arrested anyone for it: education is key, its police chief says.

A $257 Million Re-Construction of the I-95-U.S.1 Interchange Into a ‘Diverging Diamond’ Is Planned for 2027

May 15, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 20 Comments

US 1 rendering

It’s one of the largest and costliest planned infrastructure projects in the region, using a relatively new concept in interchange engineering: a $257 million reconstruction of the I-95 interchange at U.S. 1, a few miles south of the Flagler-Volusia county line, into a “diverging diamond” intended to reduce crash-prone conflict points and increase roadway capacity, with additional lanes on U.S. 1 and shared-use paths for walkers and bikers.

Flagler Pride Fest Cancelled Amid Turmoil as Organization’s Founder Resigns, Board Frays and Wagons Circle

May 15, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 8 Comments

The heart has gone out of Flagler Pride for now, the five-year-old LGBTQ non-profit that had brought the annual Flagler Pride Fest to Palm Coast's Central Park. (© FlaglerLive)

To the dismay of a following that had grown substantially over the years, what was to be the fifth annual Flagler Pride Fest at Palm Coast’s Central Park in a month was abruptly cancelled last week through a cryptic, short-lived Facebook post that was scarcely cleared up when what remained of the organization’s officials posted a not-entirely accurate statement attempting to explain the decision on Tuesday, and betraying infighting.

‘Housing Policy Forum’ on May 17 and ‘Housing Fair’ on May 18

May 14, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 1 Comment

housing forums

Housing officials from Flagler County and the City of Palm Coast are hosting two separate events on consecutive days – Friday, May 17, and Saturday, May 18 – to address different needs of the community.

At Law Enforcement Memorial, Solace in the Language of a Flag and the Bond of Shared Loss

May 9, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 5 Comments

Bunnell Police Chief Dave Branon, sitting with the family of the late Sgt. Dominic Guida, who died in 2021, comforts David Alfin, Palm Coast's mayor and the father of Alfin, an FBI agent killed with his partner while serving a warrant in South Florida the same year. In front of Alfin is Carlo Celico, whose son FRank, a sheriff's deputy, died in 2011. (© FlaglerLive)

Some 150 people and law enforcement officers from different agencies turned out for the annual Law Enforcement Memorial Service hosted by Sheriff Rick Staly in Bunnell Wednesday evening. Earlier in the day the sheriff had unveiled a memorial plaque to Perry Hall, for whom the county jail is named, and who was the county’s first fallen officer, on Aug. 21, 2027.

No, Feeding Wildlife Isn’t Kind. It’s Potentially Dangerous, and Illegal.

May 8, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 7 Comments

alligators feeding

The temptation to engage with wildlife by feeding them is real – especially for children – but the consequences for the animals, and the public, can be dire. Flagler County officials remind you: don’t do it.

County Judge Andrea Totten Is Considering Applying for a Circuit Judge Appointment as Perkins Retirement Looms

May 7, 2024 | FlaglerLive | Leave a Comment

Judge Andrea Totten with Clerk of Court Tom Bexley in their joint appearance on Free For All Friday last week. (WNZF)

With Circuit Judge Terence Perkins retiring in September, and opening a spot among the Seventh Judicial Circuit’s 27 circuit judgeships for appointment, Flagler County Judge Totten is considering applying, she said in a radio appearance on Friday.

Judge Perkins Appears Before Flagler Commission in Recognition of Drug Court Support from County

May 6, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 4 Comments

Circuit Judge Terence Perkins collecting himself after what had been an emotional segment of a Drug Court graduation ceremony in April 2019 at the Flagler County courthouse. The judge appeared before the County Commission this morning, with many of the personnel who make up the Drug Court administration, to accept a proclamation and introduce the participants. (© FlaglerLive)

Circuit Judge Terence Perkins made a rare appearance before the Flagler County Commission this morning to accept a proclamation marking Drug Court and “Problem-Solving Court Month,” introduce many of the administrative participants of drug court to commissioners, and, as long as he was at it, invite Commission Chairman Andy Dance to be the next Drug Court graduation speaker.

$27 Million Contract Awarded as 9-Month Dredging to Rebuild Beach North and South of Pier Starts in Weeks

May 6, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 32 Comments

A recently completed beach-rebuilding project in St. Johns County, conducted by Weeks Marine, the contractor that just won a $27 million bid to rebuild 3 miles of Beach north and south of the Flagler Beach pier. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers last week awarded a $27 million contract to a New Jersey company with extensive beach-rebuilding experience in Florida to rebuild 3.5 miles of severely eroded beach north and south of the Flagler Beach pier. The reconstruction starts in June. By the time the nine-month beach-reconstruction is done in March 2025, the beach will have grown in width by 140 to 180 feet with1.3 million cubic yards of sand. The work will be done 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Rev. Daisy Henry, ‘Matriarch of Bunnell’ and Determined Advocate for Carver Gym, Dies at 77

May 6, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 13 Comments

Daisy Henry was "the matriarch of Bunnell." (© FlaglerLive)

The Rev. Daisy Henry, a pastor, the former Bunnell City Commissioner and long-time advocate for South Bunnell and the Carver Center, died on Friday in Bunnell. Community members have been paying tribute to her tenacity and forthrightness through the years. She was 77.

Flagler County and Ormond Beach Will Hold Extraordinary Meeting in Hopes of Resolving Dispute Over 1,750 Feet

May 1, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 6 Comments

40 Grade, the dirt road that crosses into Ormond Beach from the Flagler County side, and that is at the center of a dispute between the city and the county. The image was included by the county in a court document.

The Flagler County and Ormond Beach city commissions will meet on May 16 in hopes of resolving a lawsuit Ormond Beach filed against the county, disputing Flagler’s use of a 1,750-foot stretch of dirt road on Ormond Beach’s side of the county line, through conservation land the county manages.

Flagler County’s Tourism Revenue Dips 6.4% in Last 6 Months as Covid-Era Surge of Visitors Dissipates

April 24, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 16 Comments

dog-kissing booth

Tourism tax revenue in Flagler County is down 6.4 percent in the first six months of the fiscal year–October through March–as vacation rentals and leisure-room occupancy in local hotels has fallen after what Tourism Director Amy Lukasik describes as the “record-breaking years of Covid, when Florida remained an open destination as other states and countries took safer and saner protections for their residents.

Flagler Beach Will Declare April Sisco Deen Month in Perpetuity as Scholarship Takes Historian’s Name

April 22, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 3 Comments

Sisco Deen, left, with Dan Warren, at a 2010 event organized by the Flagler County Historical Society. Warren, who died in 2011, was the State Attorney for the Seventh Judicial Circuit, which includes St. Johns, Flagler, Putnam and Volusia County, starting in 1962, when he took on the KKK and the John Birch Society in St. Augustine, and ended the stranglehold both organizations had on the city, thus bringing about integration. (© FlaglerLive)

The Flagler Beach City Commission on Thursday is set to be the first city to declare April “Sisco Deen Month” in perpetuity, in honor of the archivist and long-time member of the Flagler County Historical Society, who died last August at 83. Deen was a Flagler Beach resident.

Flagler Unemployment Holds at 4.1% as Local Home Sales Near 4-Year Low and Time to Contract Hits 8-Year High

April 19, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 18 Comments

florida flagler county unemployment march 2024

Flagler County’s March unemployment rate held at 4.1 percent for the third straight month, remaining above 4 percent for six of the last eight months even as county residents netted 134 new jobs and the number of the unemployed remained flat. The slowing pace of new workforce residents is reflected in the slowing pace of home sales, which are near a four-year low. That is one of several local economic indicators that, should they persist, may be of concern to those in the housing industry.

Construction of Roundabout at Cody’s Corner, One of Flagler’s Deadliest Intersections, Begins Monday

April 18, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 62 Comments

What Cody's Corner will look like, at the intersection of State Road 11 and County Road 304. (FDOT)

Finally, construction of the roundabout first planned in 2018 at Cody’s Corner–the intersection of State Road 11 and County Road 304, one of the deadliest in the county–begins Monday. The roundabout is the result of two studies that confirmed what local residents have always known: the intersection is a magnet for crashes, with six deaths there since 2014–two in 2022 alone–and 15 injuries.

County Government Cedes 13,000 Square Feet of Land to Hamock Dunes CDD for Road Improvements

April 16, 2024 | FlaglerLive | Leave a Comment

The two strips of land to be conveyed to the Hammock Dunes Community Development District.

The Flagler County Commission approved ceding 13,000 square feet of land in two strips along Hammock Dunes Parkway and Camino Del Mar Parkway, at the foot of the Hammock Dunes Bridge, to the Hammock Dunes Community Development District for $50,000 in impact fee credits.

No July 4 Fireworks in Flagler Beach Until 2027, But City Intends to Reconquer the Day, and the Skies, That Year

April 16, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 13 Comments

Flagler Beach is overrun with visitors and revelers on July 4. The city is not willing to jeopardize safety by having July 4 fireworks that other public safety agency could not help with anyway. (© FlaglerLive)

Flagler Beach hasn’t had July 4 fireworks since 2019. It will not have them again until 2027, by which time the pier, the boardwalk and the beach will have been rebuilt, assuming hurricanes, which have a malicious mind of their own, don’t interfere. But the city is intent on staking its place as the home of July 4 fireworks in that future when it is able to host the blasts again, restoring that old tradition.

Local Governments Ask Court to Dismiss Suit by ‘Disgruntled Citizen’ Challenging Carver Center Agreement

April 11, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 4 Comments

South Bunnell's community strongly identifies with the Carver Center. (© FlaglerLive)

The three local governments and one agency that each have a role in funding or running the Carver Center in South Bunnell have filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit against them filed by what they call a “disgruntled citizen” who doesn’t like the Flagler County Sheriff’s Police Athletic League’s involvement at the center, and who they say has no standing to sue.

Company Planning Huge Data Center in Palm Coast for Undersea Internet Cables, But Flagler Beach Trips Over Easements

April 5, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 59 Comments

The city-owned parking lot on South 6th Street in Flagler Beach, at beachside, would become the first landing zone for undersea communications cables before the cables fan back out to a data center in Palm Coast. But the city is not willing to provide an easement that would foreclose on the lot's development potential in the future. (Google)

Palm Coast and the county are keeping confidential a planned large data center by an Atlanta-based company, DC Blox, that would be a cable landing station for undersea internet communications cable carrying massive amounts of data. But the company needs easements in two locations in Flagler Beach to make it work, and the Flagler Beach City Commission is not ready to grant one of the two, because it would foreclose development on one of the city’s most valuable properties, and the company is only offering $100,000 per cable per easement.

Local Firebrand Sues Sheriff, County, Bunnell and School Board Over ‘Illicit’ Carver Center Agreement

April 5, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 4 Comments

carver gym

Eric Josey, a retired New York cop with a brief, checkered history at the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office and an often controversial local firebrand in the name of African-American causes, is suing the Sheriff’s Office, the County Commission, the School Board and the city of Bunnell over the four agence’s recent joint agreement in running the Carver Center, also known as Carver Gym, in Bunnell.

The Day Bunnell Shook with Groundbreakings: New City Hall, New Road, New Urban Horizon

April 1, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 1 Comment

bunnell groundbreaking

Bunnell and Flagler County government held a pair of groundbreakings today to mark the construction of a new Bunnell City Hall and the digging through of the future 1.7-mile Commerce Parkway from State Road 100 to U.S. 1. The opening of Commerce Parkway may re-balance the city geographically and economically, adding a commercial and industrial component to go with the heavy residential development of Grand Reserve to the north.

Flagler County Acquires Last 25 Acres of Privately Held Land Along Princess Place Road for $700,000

March 29, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 32 Comments

Part of the acreage just acquired in the Pellicer Creek area, which the county identifies as Hominy Branch. (Flagler County)

Following the County Commission’s approval last November, Flagler County government this week closed on a $700,000 acquisition of the last 25 acres that were in private hands at Princess Place Preserve. The just market value listed by the Flagler County Property Appraiser is $198,000. The land last sold in 1994 for $45,000. The purchase was based on two appraisals the county conducted, and negotiations with the sellers.

Old Kings Road at U.S. 1 Closes for Months for Roundabout Construction

March 22, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 11 Comments

The intersection of Old Kings Road with U.S. 1, characterized by the familiar white fence of the Florida Agriculture Museum. Old Kings will be closed several months to accommodate construction of a roundabout. (Google)

Flagler County officials are alerting residents that Old Kings Road will be closed at U.S. 1 by the Florida Agricultural Museum beginning Monday for several months to accommodate road construction there. There is a marked detour at Matanzas Woods Parkway that motorists are instructed to use.

Flagler County’s Unemployment Rate Holds at 4.1%, Florida’s Holds at 3.1%

March 22, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 1 Comment

unemployment february Flagler florida 2024

In Flagler County, the unemployment rate held at 4.1 percent, same as in January, with very modest growth in the labor force and the number of people employed–just under 50,000–and no change in the number of those collecting unemployment–2,121.

60-Day Rabies Alert Issued for Parts of Palm Coast After Cat Tests Positive

March 21, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 1 Comment

cats rabies palm coast

The Florida Department of Health in Flagler County is issuing a rabies alert for parts of the county. This is in response to a cat that tested positive on March 15. So far this year, as of Wednesday, the Department of Health lists 1,565 cases of possible rabies exposure in Florida, including 136 cases in Broward County, 125 in Miami Dade and three in Flagler. Twenty-three people have died of rabies in the country since 2009.

Sally Hunt Is Right: Security Isn’t What It Should Be in Flagler’s Biggest Public Building

March 21, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 4 Comments

public meetings security

Flagler County School Board member Sally Hunt is right when she deems certain public meetings less than secure. The county and the school board need to to take their own and the public’s safety more seriously in the Government Services Building–the county seat–not with harebrained ideas like locking public meetings’ doors, but with reasonable, inexpensive and unintrusive measures such as metal detectors that are becoming standard in public buildings.

Sheriff, Palm Coast and County Examine How to Share Burden of Adding 3 Dozen Deputies Over Next 3 Years

March 20, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 44 Comments

Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly addressing a joint meeting of the Palm Coast City Council and the County Commission this morning, with Palm Coast Acting City Manager Lauren Johnston and Sheriff's Chief of Staff Mark Strobridge. (© FlaglerLive via Flagler TV)

The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office has a current deficit of 37 road deputies, according to an analysis produced for the Sheriff’s Office, Palm Coast and the county. The analysis is intended to yield an objective, permanent method of paying for law enforcement based on calls for service. The analysis was the centerpiece of a joint meeting today of the two governments and the Sheriff’s Office as they devise ways to share the burden of law enforcement funding.

Paul Renner Vaunts His Tenure as Speaker and the Millions He Steered to Flagler, But Evades Saying What’s Next

March 15, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 12 Comments

House Speaker Paul Renner, who has represented Flagler County for the past eeight years but is term-limited this year, at a Humane Society fund-raising event in Flagler in October 2022. (© FlaglerLive)

House Speaker Paul Renner, the Republican who has represented Palm Coast at the Legislature for the last eight years, spoke for the first time at length about the record $150 million in appropriations he helped steer toward Flagler County while boasting of a successful session that increased money “across the board” for roads, schools, health care and green spaces. But he remained mum about his future as his term-limited tenure ends this year.

Census Bureau: Flagler County’s Population Was 131,500 Last July, an Increase of 16,000 in Three Years

March 14, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 10 Comments

Clearing the way for more housing in Palm Coast's P Section. (© FlaglerLive)

Flagler County is again among the faster-growing counties in the nation, but not among the fastest. The county added 16,000 residents between 2020 and 2023, a 14 percent increase beginning to resemble the population surge of the early 2000s that was halted by the housing crash. Put another way: the county has grown by a population equivalent to more than three times the size of Flagler Beach in that brief span. Just since 2010, the county has grown by 40,000 people.

State Road 100 Repaving from Bunnell to Old Kings Road Begins April 1

March 12, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

Flagler County officials advise residents that the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) road resurfacing project for State Road 100 – East Moody Boulevard – will begin April 1. The project area runs from North Palmetto Street in Bunnell to Old Kings Road in Palm Coast.

Flagler County and Cities Net Record $151 Million of Half Billion Requested as Budget Heads to DeSantis

March 8, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 10 Comments

Gov. Ron DeSantis, Senate President Kathleen Passidomo and House Speaker Paul Renner discussed the 2024 legislative session Friday. (Mike Exline/NSF)

The budget includes $151 million in appropriations for Flagler County, Palm Coast, Flagler Beach and Bunnell, a record besting last year’s haul by about $45 million. Palm Coast’s future, western expansion drew $80 million for the loop road the city is planning, but existing residents’ needs for a better Old Kings Road were stiffed. Flagler County is facing a funding cliff next year as Paul Renner and Travis Hutson will be gone.

Renner Power: Lawmakers Curb Local Regulations of Vacation Rentals, But Protect Flagler’s Ordinance With Carve-Out

March 7, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 12 Comments

His legacy outlasts lawmakers' attempt to abrogate it: Flagler County Attorney Al Hadeed, seen here in front of a wall of historic displays at the Government Services Building, authored the county's 2015 regulations of vacation rentals, and spent the last decade, with the County Commission, fighting against its repeal. Today lawmakers repealed local vacation-rental regulations--except for the Flagler County and Broward County ordinances. Broward County's was modeled after Hadeed's. (© FlaglerLive)

The bill would preempt regulation of vacation rentals to the state while allowing local governments to have short-term rental registration programs that meet certain parameters. The bill would “grandfather” in regulations adopted by counties before 2016. During floor debate Thursday, Senate sponsor Nick DiCeglie, R-Indian Rocks Beach, said the exception applies to Flagler County — home to House Speaker Paul Renner, R-Palm Coast — and Broward County.

A1A May Lose Its Name, at $1,800 a Sign, as It’ll Become Jimmy Buffett Memorial Highway By August

March 5, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 46 Comments

The A1A signs have something of an iconic look in Flagler Beach. (© FlaglerLive)

Lawmakers approved legislation (HB 91) to rechristen all 340 miles of State Road A1A as “Jimmy Buffett Highway” from its tip in Ferdinand Beach to Mile Marker 0 in Key West. The change affects signs in 13 counties, including Flagler County. It won’t be chap: a legislative analysis puts the cost to the Department of Transportation at $1,800 for each pair of signs at any given location ($900 for each sign in each direction).

Seniority Pork: Hutson Filed Staggering $475 Million in Requests for Flagler, Including $309 Million for Palm Coast

March 5, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 12 Comments

travis hutson paul renner

Outdoing last year’s requests by far, Hutson filed 34 special funding requests on behalf of Flagler County governments and agencies, totaling a staggering $475.8 million–or 0.4 percent of the size of the current state budget. Seven of the requests are for Flagler County government, totaling $92.5 million. Fourteen requests were for Palm Coast, totaling a third of a billion dollars.

County Issues Demolition Order for Old Dixie Motel as Attorney Describes ‘Dilatory Tactics in Bad Faith’

March 4, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 19 Comments

The Old Dixie Motel during debris removal two years ago. (© FlaglerLive)

The Flagler County chief building official has issued a demolition order for the long disused Old Dixie Highway motel that, through a succession of opaque owners who promised the moon but delivered only low-orbit cosmetics, has gone from an eyesore to a hazard to a haze of hope and back to an infuriating thorn in the side of Flagler County government. 

SR100 Pedestrian ‘Faith’ Bridge Gets Somewhere After All: To an Award, But Ex-County Engineer Is Snubbed

February 27, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 27 Comments

The bridge over State Road 100. (© FlaglerLive)

The Flagler Greenways Pedestrian Bridge over State Road 100 earned the “National Recognition Award” from American Council of Engineering Companies in the 2024 Engineering Excellence Awards. The award will go to Kisinger Campo and Associates, the engineering company that designed the bridge for the county. At the county, the bridge was overseen by engineer Faith al-Khatib, whom the county unceremoniously pushed out last year.

Andy Dance Responds: ‘School Resource Deputies Are Not Leaving School Campuses.’

February 26, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 15 Comments

County Commission Chair Andy Dance. (© FlaglerLive)

In a detailed response to FlaglerLive reporting and an opinion piece on the county’s plan to “defund” its portion of school sheriff’s deputies, County Commission Chair Andy Dance refutes the claim as inflammatory and out of context, and lays out a history of county attempts going back to 2022 to initiate a conversation about school and county funding for school deputies, in hopes of realigning those responsibilities. If that proves unfeasible, Dance pledges, than the shared responsibility will continue.

St. Mary Catholic Church in Korona, a Legacy of Immigrants, Is Listed on the National Register of Historic Places

February 24, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 6 Comments

The church's interior. (Randy Jaye)

The community of Korona’s St. Mary Catholic Church (also known as the St. Mary Mother Church) at 89 St. Mary’s Place in Bunnell was listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) on Jan. 25. The structure meets several NRHP requirements for historic significance including: architecture, ethnic heritage (European, Polish), and exploration/settlement. The very unique Shrine of Saint Christopher, a short distance north of the church, was also listed as a contributing resource.

Vacation Rental Bill Scaling Back Local Control, Opposed by Flagler County Government, Heads to House Floor

February 22, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 8 Comments

Philip Griffits Jr., the Panama City Republican, is the bill sponsor. (Florida Channel)

The House Commerce Committee today approved a bill on a 10-4 vote pre-empting most vacation-rental authorities to the state. The bill heads to the House floor for a vote and reconciliation with the Senate’s version. It is the closest a pre-emption proposal has come to enactment in the dozen years that the vacation rental industry has pushed them.

School Board and Parents Grapple with County’s ‘Blindsiding’ Call To Defund Its Portion of School Deputies

February 21, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 16 Comments

A Flagler County Sheriff's deputy at a recent School Board meeting. (© FlaglerLive)

Flagler County School Board members and parents spoke of surprise, concern and “blindsiding,” in the words of the board’s chair, in reaction to a Feb. 13 letter from County Administrator Heidi Petito to the superintendent saying the county had reached “an important decision” to “gradually transfer the financial responsibility” for $1.4 million in “these legacy expenditures to the school district,” including the county’s more than $1 million commitment to school resource deputies.

Feral Hogs Are Trampling Residents’ Properties, But County’s Containment Capabilities Are Limited

February 20, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 25 Comments

Hogs trapped in a net-based county trap, last July. (Flagler County)

As feral hogs continue to trample all over private property in what residents say are increasing numbers spurred by development and a diminishing habitat, the Flagler County Commission is proposing to increase traps, encourage more volunteer to join a corps of hog-hunters, repair fencing along county roads, and work with homeowner associations on their own hog-management plans. But a solution remains elusive.

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