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Backgrounders

13 Applicants, Including Several Familiar Names, Apply to Fill Palm Coast Council Seat Vacated by Stevens

March 19, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 14 Comments

The empty seat they seek to fill. (© FlaglerLive)

Thirteen candidates have filed for the District 3 seat on the Palm Coast City Council that Ray Stevens resigned at the end of February. The list includes several familiar names, among them Dave Ferguson, a former appointee to the council, Dave Sullivan, who just ended two terms on the County Commission, Cornelia Manfre, who has had three unsuccessful runs for a council seat or the mayorship, Mark Stancel, who lost a primary vote to Stevens by two votes, and Andrew Werner, who lost to Stevens.

10 Years on, Palm Coast Finally Breaks Ground on Nerve-Center Maintenance Facility’s $12 Million 1st Phase

March 19, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 4 Comments

The sun rises on Palm Coast's future maintenance facility off U.S. 1. (© FlaglerLive)

Palm Coast hosted a groundbreaking for what will eventually be a nearly 100-acre maintenance facility gathering public works, stormwater and utility departments in one location off U.S. 1, to the northwest of the city. The $12 million phase is the first of three. The City Council in 2016 set the project in motion, but funding has been a challenge, as has the criticism of the project.

Five Apply for Ray Stevens’s Palm Coast Council Seat Amid Mounting Turmoil; Window Closes March 19

March 14, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 5 Comments

The empty seat they seek to fill. (© FlaglerLive)

Just five candidates have applied for the District 3 seat on the Palm Coast City Council that Ray Stevens resigned at the end of February, including Mark Stancel, who lost a primary vote to Stevens by two votes. Whoever the council appoints will be joining a county and a city in turmoil. The council will make its choice in early to mid-April. 

Jane Mealy Exits Flagler Beach Dais After 19 Years, Cunningham Is Sworn-In and Sherman Named Chair

March 14, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 10 Comments

Changes in Flagler Beach: James Sherman, left, was sworn-in to his second term and appointed chair of the commission, Jane Mealy exited after 19 years, and John Cunningham was sworn-in for his first term. (© FlaglerLive)

Jane Mealy for 19 years had been the Flagler Beach City Commission’s unrivaled workhorse and its sharpest study long before successive commissioners mostly modeled themselves after her, whether they knew it or not. Thursday evening, Mealy cast her final vote and exited after her defeat by John Cunningham, and the re-election of James Sherman, who was elected chair. Rick Belhumeur was elected vice-chair, to his recurring chagrin.

City Council Cuts City Manager Candidates to 5, But with Sharp Disparities Regarding Most

March 12, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 1 Comment

All the news not fit for a screen: a television display at City Hall. (© FlaglerLive)

Shortly before giving applicants yet more reasons to think twice about working here, the Palm Coast City Council Tuesday shortened its list of city manager candidates to five, with one clear front-runner–William Smith, a former county and city manager in Georgia and North Carolina, with vast experience in the field, and the first candidate to get across-the-board top scores from all four council members so far.

12-Year-Old Testifies of Years of Sexual Abuse at Grandfather ‘Mike’ Jennelle’s Hands; He’ll Take Stand in His Own Defense

March 11, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 2 Comments

Michael Jennelle arriving for court today. He's been held at the Flagler County jail on $100,000 bond since June 2023. (© FlaglerLive)

When Michael Jennelle takes the stand Wednesday, as he said he would, in his defense against charges that he raped and molested his pre-teen granddaughter for years, he will have to overcome the nearly flawless, withering day Assistant State Attorney Melissa Clark marshaled against him today, leaving the defense flailing. It will take a lot more than “I didn’t do it” for Jennelle (as he told the judge in December) to convince the jury of his innocence.

Arrest of Alleged Campaign Worker for Theft in Palm Coast Complicates Uphill Congressional Race for Josh Weil

March 10, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 25 Comments

Arlecia Darnae Brown.

Arlecia Darnae Brown, a 25-year-old resident of Orlando who claimed to be a campaign worker in a special election locally, was arrested on six felonies, including a life felony charge of traveling to commit a burglary, after allegedly stealing a bike in an L-Section neighborhood in Palm Coast last week.

Read Across Flagler Event at Central Park Brings Out the District’s Own Student Novelists

March 10, 2025 | FlaglerLive | Leave a Comment

Their first novels already published, they're working on their second. From left, Caleb Hathaway and MacKenzie Wheat of Flagler Palm Coast High School, and Abbigail of Matanzas High School. They were featured authors at last Thursday's Read Across Flagler event at Palm Coast's Central Park. (© FlaglerLive)

The second annual Read Across Flagler at Palm Coast’s Central Park, an event organized by the school district’s media specialists, focused on the district’s own authors , including three high school students who have already published their first novel and are working on their second. There was a petting zoo, a balloon art station and two tables-full of books being given away, but the focus was on the writers.

Republicans Are Slashing Health Insurance for the Poor to Extent Trump’s Tax Cut for the Rich

March 8, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 14 Comments

The cost of access. (© FlaglerLive)

The House last week approved a Republican budget plan that could shrink Medicaid spending by $880 billion over 10 years, only partially paying for an extension of expiring tax cuts from President Donald Trump’s first term, plus some new ones he has promised, totaling as much as $4.5 trillion. Providers, patient advocates, disabled people, and family members are furious.

Palm Coast Council Approves 36% Water and Sewer Rate Increase by 2027 to Finance $455 Million Infrastructure Loan

March 5, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 34 Comments

Palm Coast's Wastewater Treatment Plant 1 is ground zero of the city's infrastructure needs. (© FlaglerLive)

The Palm Coast City Council Tuesday approved a controversial plan to raise water and sewer rates 36 percent by October 2027 and borrow $455 million to expand the city’s sewer and freshwater capacity, comply with a state consent order forcing the city’s hand on capital improvements, and assure bond-holders that the city can soundly make good on its financial obligations. Combining water and sewer costs, a household using 4,000 gallons of water per month would see its water and sewer bill go from $90.73 today to $123.46 in October 2027, a difference of $32.73, or $393 per year.

Egmont Key, Ground Zero for Sea Level Rise in Florida, Is a Preview for Coastal Communities

March 1, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 2 Comments

Sabal palms on the western edge of Egmont Key have succumbed to saltwater intrusion. (Ben Montgomery)

Egmont Key is a bellwether, an observable Ground Zero for local sea level rise, our canary in the climate-change coal mine. The island you see today from the top of the Sunshine Skyway bridge is smaller than the island you saw last year. The island you see today is 300 acres smaller than it was in 1898. This may be the future of barrier island communities like Flagler Beach.

After Qualms from Palm Coast and Bunnell, County’s Beach-Saving Plan Gets a Much Warmer Reception from Flagler Beach

February 28, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 8 Comments

Local officials getting ready to break ground on the beach-renourishment project in Flagler Beach last June. Next time the beach is to be renourished, the county or Flagler Beach must have at least $13.5 million in hand. Only a beach-management plan can get them there. (© FlaglerLive)

After a punting response from Palm Coast government and a muted one from Bunnell, Flagler County Administrator Heidi Petito’s ambitious plan to save the county’s beaches and permanently ensure their maintenance got a warmer response from the Flagler Beach City Commission Thursday evening, with one commissioner hoping the city will not only back the plan but be its champion.

County’s Heidi Petito Scores 84% in Latest Evaluations, With Sharp Criticism from One Commissioner

February 27, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 25 Comments

County Administrator Heidi Petito presenting the beach-management funding plan to the Marineland Town Commission last week. Petito, in her evaluations by county commissioners, was commended for fostering good relations with other governments. (© FlaglerLive)

Flagler County Administrator Heidi Petito scored 82 percent on her latest evaluation, an improvement over the previous year’s 78 percent, if with some caveats. Among them: sharp, almost lawyerly criticism from Commissioner leann Pennington on one hand and unrealistic perfect-score evaluations on the other.

On Second Thought, Palm Coast Council Expands City Manager Shortlist to 11, With Gimlet Eyes on Kandahar

February 25, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 4 Comments

An American patroil in Kandahar, the Afghan province, during America's ill-fated war there. The seven months a candidate for Palm Coast city manager spent in Kandahar caught the eye of a City Council member, vaulting the candidate into the short list.

After getting a small and unimpressive batch of candidates from a four-week job posting in December, the Palm Coast City Council’s head-hunter for a new city manager did a desperate thing, marking the want ad as “open until filled.” That drew nine more candidates, and two who re-applied from the first batch. This time, there were two stand-outs, perhaps three, in the council’s view.

Flagler County’s $114 Million Beach Management Plan Depends on Raising Sales Tax and Winning Cities’ Buy-In

February 24, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 25 Comments

Flagler County government is looking for buy-in from cities to extend beach protection across all 18 miles of Flagler's shoreline. But it'll be costly. (© FlaglerLive)

Flagler County government’s proposed $114 million plan to rebuild, maintain and protect 18 miles of shoreline over the next six years depends on raising the local sales tax by half a penny, imposing a $160-a-year tax on each barrier island property, including Flagler Beach, doubling spending on the beach from the county’s tourism-tax revenue, and temporarily using some general fund revenue toward the effort.

Who Do You Think You Are? Here’s Why You Should See ‘The Niceties’ at CRT

February 20, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 6 Comments

Julia Davidson Truilo as Janine and Phillipa Rose as Zoe in City Repertory Theatre’s production of “The Niceties.” (Mike Kitaif) tristam

“The Niceties,” which opens tonight at City Repertory Theatre, is familiar to our ideologically poisoned times, raising questions about whether there is such a thing as objective truth. It subverts assumptions about American and Black history, generational divides, and power. It will make you angry only if you’re not honest with yourself as it also subverts your own assumptions about who you think you are. 

What Is an ‘Erosion Control Line’ and Why Is the State About to Set a New One on Flagler County’s Beaches?

February 19, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 8 Comments

The state established an Erosion Control Line, delineating seaward state property from upland private property, along the more than 3 miles of beaches in Flagler Beach that were rebuilt (or renourished) last year by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. That line is permanent, and will define where the beach must be rebuilt, every time it is eroded. A similar line is about to be set north of the Flagler Beach pier. (© FlaglerLive)

Flagler County and state environmental officials are hosting a workshop and hearing Thursday evening in Bunnell that will set a new and perpetual boundary between private properties and state property along the county’s beaches, what is officially referred to as an Erosion Control Line. The new ECL is slated for what’s called Reach Two on the county’s beaches, from North 7th Street in Flagler Beach to the northern limits of Varn Park. Here’s an explanation about what this means.

Flagler County Seeks to Protect Old Brick Road, a Historic Treasure, from Logging Trucks and Palm Coast Development

February 13, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 14 Comments

Old Brick Road in west Palm Coast's undeveloped scrub. There's no other road like it in Florida, its rust-colored bricks cutting a path through land slated for development, and now given over to logging--and logging trucks. (Flagler County)

Flagler County is exploring ways to protect the eight miles of historic Old Brick Road in the soon-to-be-developed portion of west Palm Coast. The more than 100-year-old road, built of bricks, is used by logging trucks and will be rimmed by housing developments. The county sees the best course of action as working with Palm Coast and Rayonier, the logging company, to craft protections.

Palm Coast Plans to Sharply Raise Water-Sewer Rates and Borrow $456 Million to Finance Needs, Dwarfing Previous Debt

February 12, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 38 Comments

A chlorination tank at Palm Coast's Waste Water Treatment 1 in the Woodlands. (© FlaglerLive)

The Palm Coast City Council is moving toward a plan to raise water and sewer rates 28 percent over the next four years and borrow $456 million over the next two to finance some of the $700 million in water and sewer infrastructure under strain from too much growth. The bond issues would dwarf all previous city bond issues and its existing total debt, which stands at $134 million. The rate increases would, for a household using 4,000 gallons of water a month, result in bill increases of $40 a month by October 1, 2028, or an annual increase of nearly $500–more for households consuming more water.

Florida Lawmakers May Ban Hotels, Golf Courses and Pickle Ball Courts in State Parks

February 12, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 3 Comments

Florida lawmakers put any thoughts of hotels and golf courses in state parks in the dog house. (© FlaglerLive)

After a bipartisan uproar last year about a proposal dubbed the “Great Outdoors Initiative,” the Florida Senate on Tuesday began moving forward with a bill that would prevent building such things as golf courses, pickleball courts and hotel-style lodges in state parks. The Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee unanimously approved the bill (SB 80), sponsored by Sen. Gayle Harrell, R-Stuart.

County Crafting New Airport Rules Regulating Surrounding Land, But Noise and Touch-and-Go Foes Shouldn’t Get Excited

February 11, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 32 Comments

A jet on a runway at Flagler County airport. The county is crafting a new ordinance regulating airport overlays. (© FlaglerLive)

The Flagler County Commission is moving toward adopting a long-required ordinance regulating the county airport’s flight-zones approaches. The ordinance applies to land use around the airport, restricting or prohibiting certain structures or vegetation, to minimize risks to and enhance the safe operation of planes. Some residents surrounding the airport who have been objecting to the seemingly perpetual touch-and-go flights of a flight school at the airport, and complaining about the noise, will be disappointed. The ordinance does nothing to address flights or airport use.

Federal Office on Violence Against Women Removes Grant Opportunities from Website

February 9, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 3 Comments

A mirror at the Family Life Center's offices. The center runs the county's only shelter for abused people. (© FlaglerLive)

The Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) has removed from its website all information on current funding opportunities and directs visitors not to finalize any applications. This adds to the fear of nonprofits that work to help victims of gender-based violence [like Flagler County’s Family Life Center] that a major funding source may dry up.

A History of Birthright Citizenship at the Supreme Court

February 9, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 8 Comments

Birthright citizenship, a constitutional guarantee, is flickering. (© FlaglerLive)

Birthright citizenship was explicitly added to the Constitution in 1868 when the 14th Amendment was adopted following the Civil War. The United States is one of roughly 30 countries, including neighboring Canada and Mexico, that offer automatic citizenship to everyone born there. There is a “strong likelihood” that the challengers of a presidential executive order ending birthright citizenship “will succeed on the merits of their claims that the Executive Order violates the Fourteenth Amendment” to the Constitution.

Proposal Would Raise Palm Coast Water Rates 36% and Sewer Rates 30.5% Over Span of 30 Months

February 7, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 53 Comments

Shitty costs ahead: Palm Coast's aging Waste Water Treatment Plant 1, above, is under a consent order, with plans to upgrade and expand it, but at a cost of $240 million. Rate-payers will have to shoulder a share of the cost. (© FlaglerLive)

A consultant is recommending that Palm Coast government raise water rates 36 percent and sewer rates 30.5 percent over a mere 30 months–from April this year to Oct. 1, 2027–if the city’s utility infrastructure is to keep up with demand, expand and upgrade existing facilities, and keep up with debt obligations. If enacted, it would be the steepest rate increase in the shortest time span in the city’s history, a reflection of the strains Palm Coast’s water and sewer infrastructure is operating under.

Eroding Management Plan, Cities Bluntly Tell Flagler County: Not One Extra Dime for Beach Protection

February 6, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 35 Comments

The joint meeting. (© FlaglerLive)

Palm Coast, Beverly Beach and Bunnell officials told Flagler County in blunt, at times almost belligerent terms Wednesday evening that their constituents will not accept any new tax or fee to pay for beach management, whether it’s renourishing beaches or maintaining them. The tone of the discussion during a joint meeting of local governments Wednesday left county officials reeling.

Sen. Rick Scott Aide Tours Palm Coast’s Troubled Wastewater Plant, Raising Hopes for Help with $240 Million Upgrade

February 5, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 19 Comments

Danny Ashburn, Palm Coast's utility manager for the wastewater division, describes to Barry Cotton, Sen. Rick Scott’s Central Florida District Director, and City Council member Charles Gambaro, where Wastewater Treatment Plant 1's expansion would be built. To the right are Interim City Manager Lauren Johnston and Chief of Staff Jason DeLorenzo. (© FlaglerLive)

The first-ever visit by an aide to Sen. Rick Scott–or by any senator or his aides–to Palm Coast’s troubled Waste Water Treatment Plant #1 today left City Council member Charles Gambaro, who arranged the visit, thinking “it’s a 50-50 chance” that the city may get financial help to lessen a projected $240 million bill to upgrade and expand the sewer plant.

Flagler County Historical Society Prepares Inaugural Bunnell History Day as Accelerant for City’s Renaissance

January 30, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 7 Comments

View showing the Pure Oil Co. gas station on US 1 at Moody Drive in Bunnell, Florida.

With a $5,000 state grant and local sponsorships, the Flagler County Historical Society is organizing Bunnell History Day, with the inaugural all-day event scheduled for June 7. Society members outlined the plan to the Bunnell City Commission as an effort to use history to focus attention on the city’s identity and enduring impact on the county.

How Judge Nichols Talked 2 Defendants Off Ledge of Risking Life in Prison at Trial and Accepting Plea Deals Instead

January 29, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 3 Comments

Circuit Judge Dawn Nichols two weeks ago, reading the verdict form from a jury that had just convicted a man on all charges, resulting in his mandatory life in prison sentence. "I don't think any judge enjoys sentencing a 22 year old to life in prison," Nichols told a defendant today, trying to convince him to take a plea and not risk life in prison. (© FlaglerLive)

Stephanie Raimundo, 48, and Jeba Johnson, 22, were both facing life in prison on stacks of charges if convicted at the trials they wanted: Raimundo for trafficking drugs and for manslaughter in the death by overdose of 22-year-old Calvin Stull, Johnson for armed burglary and other acts of violence. In a remarkable 75-minute hearing for both before Circuit Judge Dawn Nichols this afternoon at the Flagler County courthouse, the judge talked both of them out of going to trial and accepting plea deals that will result in less than 13 years for Raimundo, once gain time is counted, and 25 years for Johnson.

Selling Palm Harbor Golf Course Draws Strong Opposition as Council Meanders Over Purpose of City ‘Amenities’

January 28, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 27 Comments

For nearly a decade Palm Coast government has considered its Palm Harbor golf course as a city amenity that does not necessarily have to make money. Several council members now disagree. (© FlaglerLive)

The Palm Coast City Council found little support for any suggestion of selling the city-owned Palm Harbor golf course even as council members agreed it could not keep bleeding losses. At the same time, council members differed over the meaning of city amenities like parks and the golf course, which a different council agreed several years ago are not intended to, or expected to, make money. Council member Charles Gambaro wants a fuller analysis of all amenities profit and loss statements, raising questions about the meaning and purpose of city functions.

Unhappy with Choices, Palm Coast Reopens City Manager Search for ‘Unicorn’ Even as It Culls Second-Best Shortlist

January 28, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 6 Comments

A detail from "The Unicorn in Captivity," a wool, silk, silver and gilded-silver wrapped thread from the south Netherland area, around 1495 to 1505, on display at the Cloisters in New York. Palm Coast is looking for its unicorn. (© FlaglerLive)

It’s not exactly what the short-listed candidates want to hear: you’re OK, but we’d rather not settle for you. We’re still looking. That was, putting it kindly, the message the Palm Coast City Council sent the six candidates it short-listed, out of a shallow pool of 37, as it seeks to hire a permanent city manager. The more precise message is that a majority of council members aren’t happy with the candidate pool it got, and that it’s re-opening the search for at least a month. 

Palm Harbor Golf Course Lost $3.4 Million in Operating Costs Alone, Far More in Capital Since Palm Coast Took Ownership

January 27, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 41 Comments

The Palm Harbor golf course has been in the bunker since its earliest days. (© FlaglerLive)

Since it opened in 2009 as a city-owned facility, and with one meager exception in 2022, Palm Coast’s Palm Harbor golf course has been a drain on city coffers. The course has run combined losses of $3.44 million in the last 16 years, or an average of $215,000 a year. The figure increases sharply when depreciation and capital losses are included. Taxpayers have been subsidizing the golf course all those years. Palm Coast City Council members are tiring of the losses.

Flagler Beach Pier Construction Delayed to Spring as City Commission Approves $14.1 Million Construction Contract

January 24, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 3 Comments

The Flagler Beach Pier in 1929, when it was a year old and 600 feet long. (Florida Memory)

After a relatively brief discussion that belies nearly nine years of anguish, delays, debates, financing and design of a new pier, the Flagler Beach City Commission Thursday evening unanimously approved a $14.1 million contract with Beckley, W.Va.-based Vecellio and Grogan to build a 714-ft. concrete pier in place of the existing, 97-year-old wooden relic, which has been closed to public or any use since the fall of 2022. Construction was previously set to start last December. It may not start until late spring, and it’ll be a challenge to complete it by July 4, 2026.

Behind Daniel Fish Losing Head Football Coach Job at FPC: Major Fumbles in Classroom, and 2nd Reprimand in 14 Months

January 23, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 14 Comments

coach Daniel Fish fired

Following an internal investigation that ended in December, Daniel Fish, who was fired last week as head football coach at Flagler Palm Coast High School, was the subject of a letter of reprimand for a series of grave failures in his teaching and administrative duties. It was the second disciplinary write-up for Fish in 14 months. He had been the subject of a “letter of caution” in October 2023 following a violent incident that had started among student-athletes in the football team’s unsupervised locker room. He retains his teaching job.

Vincent’s Clubhouse Spurs Opportunities for People with Disabilities, Bridging Needs Beyond School District

January 22, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 8 Comments

Vincent Cona, for whom Vincent's Clubhouse is named, embracing his mother and Vincent's Founder Erica Flores, with her husband, Hector Flores, left, at Tuesday's ribbon-cutting. (© FlaglerLive)

Vincent’s Clubhouse Enrichment Center at Palm Coast’s European Village is an evidence-based program focused on vocational and life skills training, personal development, hygiene, financial skills, marketplace skills, and literacy for adults and younger people. But it was not until late last year, after years of evolution and growth, that Vincent’s Clubhouse’s nomadic years ended with the opening of its permanent home, a 1,600-square-foot facility–what would otherwise be a shopfront–at European Village, with a faculty of five and 20 adult “members” enrolled.

“We Cannot Walk Alone… We Cannot Turn Back”

January 20, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 58 Comments

Martin Luther King at the March on Washington, 1963. (National Archives)

A brief history of the origins and battles of the Martin Luther King federal holiday, and of the MLK monument at the Washington Mall, with full text and video of Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream Speech.”

Despite Extension, City Manager Opening Draws Just 38 Applicants; Only 1 Managed a City of Palm Coast’s Size

January 16, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 25 Comments

The Palm Coast city manager's chair has been more musical than it appears here. (© FlaglerLive)

Only 38 candidates have applied to be Palm Coast’s next city manager. The general quality of applicants is not stellar: top-flight candidates are not beating down the city’s door. Less than half the applicants (17) have previous city manager experience. Only a handful of those have managed a city with more than 50,000 people. Among the three, only one has managed a city with a population close to Palm Coast’s 107,000 (the current city manager of Edison, N.J.)

It’s Not Your Imagination: Palm Coast Homes Used as Vacation Rentals Increase by 70% in 2 Years, to Over 500

January 15, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 20 Comments

Many single-family homes in Palm Coast are being built expressly to capitalize on the short-term vacation rental market. (© FlaglerLive)

It’s not your imagination. The number of single-family homes used as short-term vacation rentals has increased by 60 percent in two years across Flagler County, while the number of vacation rentals in Palm Coast alone, where most of the growth is concentrated, has surged by 70 percent, with the overwhelming share of those in single-family homes, condos or town houses.

Bunnell Board Tells City Commission: Shrink Haw Creek Reserve Mega Development By 2,500 Homes

January 10, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 10 Comments

The Reserve at Haw Creek, seen here on screens before Bunnell city commissioners last month, would dwarf Bunnell's existing urban core and more than quintuple its population. The city's planning board is recommending a reduction of total homes from 8,000 to 5,500. (© FlaglerLive)

On its third try since November, the Bunnell Planning and Zoning Board recommended approval of the rezoning and development agreement controlling the Reserve at Haw Creek–the largest single development proposal in Flagler County since Palm Coast was conceived in the 1960s–but not before issuing nearly a dozen proposed conditions to the Bunnell City Commission, which takes on the proposal next. Among those conditions: Lower the planned 8,000 home total to 5,500.

Fired Palm Coast Utility Director’s ‘Whistleblower’ Action Details Grave Issues and Conflicts But No Smoking Gun

January 8, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 19 Comments

Amanda Rees in a City Council meeting last October, presenting next to Car Cote, the city's director of stormwater and engineering. (© FlaglerLive via YouTube)

Former Palm Coast Utility Director Amanda Rees in a nine-page “whistleblower” letter to the City Council detailed dysfunction, personality clashes, discordant expectations, leadership issues and poor diplomacy, along with fearful or preemptive politicking among an administrative leadership clearly jarred by what had been an unpredictable and at times rash City Council. But anyone looking for corruption, malice, or a smoking gun in the letter would not find it. The city rejected its whistleblower claim.

Flagler’s New Legislative Delegation, Meager in Money and Seniority, Tells Locals: Don’t Expect Much

January 8, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 7 Comments

The much-diminished Flagler County Legislative Delegation took its seats for the first time this afternoon in Bunnell, cautioning of a new, poorer day in Tallahassee: Sen. Tom Leek, left, and Rep. Sam Greco. Both are Republicans, each in his first term, though Leek brings eight years of service in the House, where he rose to the appropriations committee chairmanship before he was term-limited. (© FlaglerLive)

The much-diminished Flagler County Legislative Delegation took its seats this afternoon in Bunnell, cautioning local government and organization representatives seeking state aid for numerous projects that it’s a new, poorer day in Tallahassee, where federal Covid aid and legislative seniority are gone. Sen. Tom Leek and Rep. Sam Greco are each in his first term, though Leek brings eight years of service in the House, where he rose to the appropriations committee chairmanship before he was term-limited.

Bunnell’s 8,000-Home Development Plan Nears Approval. Residents Raise Questions. Officials Don’t.

January 3, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 25 Comments

reserve at haw creek

Members of the public had many questions, at least to the extent that they were allowed to speak their mind. Members of the Bunnell City Commission and its planning board barely had any as the two panels met in a joint workshop Thursday evening to examine the development agreement for the 8,000-home Reserve at Haw Creek project that will transform the city.

‘Smart Cities’ Are Also Surveillance Cities: Privacy-Busting Cameras Are Everywhere

January 2, 2025 | FlaglerLive | 19 Comments

surveillance classrooms

People on the roads are likely used to red light and security cameras at intersections, but advancements in cloud technology and artificial intelligence allow transit agencies and cities to collect far more data than ever before, and to use that data in more strategic ways. But with increased monitoring, data collection and analysis comes ethical and privacy concerns.

Remembrance of Reads Past: Flagler County Leaders and Thinkers’ Favorite Books of 2024

December 31, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

J. Seward Johnson's "Out to Lunch" sculpture in the Country Club Plaza district of Kansas City. (© FlaglerLive)

What started last year as FlaglerLive’s end-of-year gift to our readers is back this year with 18 community leaders and thinkers sharing with us their favorite book of the year. Each was a surprise, a discovery, a challenge in the most rewarding sense. Your to-read pile is sure to grow. Happy New Reads in what we hope will be a page-turning 2025.

From Facebook Ban to Building Regulations, These Nine New Florida Laws Go in Effect on Tuesday

December 31, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 3 Comments

nine new laws florida government

From banning minors from social media to imposing harsher penalties for getting too close to first responders, these nine laws go into effect on New Year’s Day.

Flagler County Raised Concerns Well Before Developer Sought to Reduce Open Space at 8,000-Home ‘Reserve’ in Bunnell

December 23, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 17 Comments

State Road 11 looking south, just outside Bunnell, with acreage to the right that would be part of The Reserve at Haw Creek, a proposed 6,000 to 8,000 home development.

As the developer of the proposed 6,000-t-8,000-home Reserve at Haw Creek in Bunnell, the single-largest development in the county since Palm Coast’s origins, seeks to lower the proportion of open space there, Flagler County months ago issued a detailed letter to the city raising concerns with the plan, especially as it relates to the number of homes, flooding and open space. And that was before the developer increased the proposed density and sought to lower the amount of open space.

21% Surge in Immigration Drives Nation’s Population Increase, Offsetting Decline in US Birth Rate

December 21, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 42 Comments

immigration demographics population in crease florida

With Texas and Florida making up nearly a third of the nation’s population increase, a recent immigration surge brought newcomers to every state this year, helping to offset a continued drop in U.S. births while contributing to a national upswing of about 3.3 million new residents, according to new U.S. Census Bureau estimates.

Ragga Surf Eviction Stands as Marineland and Flagler County Snipe at Each Other and State Snubs Them All

December 20, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 29 Comments

Dozens of people crowded the Marineland Town Commission meeting room and spilled out into an adjacent room at the offices of the GTMNERR in Marineland Thursday evening, as the fate of the Ragga Surf Cafe, as well as that of the River to Sea Preserve, continued to hang in the balance. (© FlaglerLive)

If the 50-some of supporters of Ragga Surf Café who turned out for a Marineland Town Commission meeting Thursday evening to hear some hope, any hope, that the café can stave off eviction from its temporary home at the River to Sea Preserve on Dec. 31, they were disappointed. The eviction stands. The earliest Ragga may have a chance to reclaim its spot, if at all, may be March, judging from what County Administrator Heidi Petito estimated, though it would likely be longer.

November House Sales in Flagler County At Lowest Level in Almost 7 Years, Job-Holder Total at 2-Year Low

December 20, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 14 Comments

flagler florida unemployment november graph chart 2024

Flagler County’s unemployment was 4.4 percent in November, up a decimal point from a revised 4.3 percent the previous month, a statistically insignificant change, even as the number of unemployed residents declined slightly. More alarmingly: housing sales hit a seven-year low, while the number of Flagler residents holding jobs continued to decline significantly.

Colossal 6,000-Home Plan in Bunnell is Now 8,000 Homes, and Developer Wants to Cut Open Space by 10%

December 19, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 19 Comments

A map in Flagler County offices where someone drew the outline of what would become The Preserve at Haw Creek, a massive development that would dwarf the city of Bunnelll, of which it would be a part. (© FlaglerLive)

The developer of the proposed Preserve at Haw Creek, a 2,800-acre development west of Bunnell that would dwarf the city in size and population, has raised the number of dwellings from 5,000-to 6,000 in a May presentation to 6,000 to 8,000 now, and is asking the city to lower the minimum required open space from 60 percent to 50 percent. The city’s planning board unanimously rejected the request. The Bunnell City Commission hears the appeal on Monday.

State Raises Objections to Flagler Beach’s ‘Black Hole’ of Data About Veranda Bay as County Repeats Concerns

December 19, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 8 Comments

Construction at Veranda Bay, which has vested approval for 451 homes. (© FlaglerLive)

Flagler Beach’s proposed annexation of Veranda Bay, the planned 2,400-home development along John Anderson Highway, is facing yet more obstacles in addition to an opposition group’s threat to sue. State agencies tasked by law with reviewing the city’s planned amendment to its land-use rules to accommodate the development have raised objections, citing a lack of data.

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