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Backgrounders

$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.

Flagler Court’s Chris France and Melissa Distler Among Slew of Robes Retained Without Opposition

May 3, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 1 Comment

Circuit Judge Chris France. (© FlaglerLive)

Circuit Judge Chris France, who oversees civil and family court in Flagler County, and County Judge Melissa Distler, who was first elected in 2012, were both re-elected–or retained–without opposition.

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.

Florida’s 6-Week Abortion ban Goes in Effect Wednesday. Here’s What It Means for Patients and the South.

April 29, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 16 Comments

More than 25,000 women traveled to Florida for an abortion over the past five years, most from states like Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi with little or no access to abortion. Hundreds traveled from as far as Texas. Starting on May 1, Florida’s 6-week ban goes in effect. The ban could be short-lived if 60% of Florida voters in November approve a constitutional amendment adding the right to an abortion.

Chief Engert: How Flagler County Jail Stepped Up to Ensure Brendan Depa’s Continuing Education

April 29, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 7 Comments

Brendan Depa, in the orange shirt, arriving for a hearing in court last June, before his transfer to the Flagler County jail. (© FlaglerLive)

The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office and its jail were not responsible for the education of Brendan Depa, the former Matanzas High School student arrested over a year ago on a charge of aggravated battery of a school employee. Nevertheless, the jail, under the supervision of Chief Daniel Engert, has ensured that a team of volunteers and professionals have continued Depa’s education, with notable and continued successes.

Brendan Depa’s Sentence: Neither Vengeance Nor Mercy. Only Humane Justice.

April 26, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 41 Comments

Brendan Depa with his grandmother in 2020. (Depa family)

On May 1 Circuit Judge Terence Perkins will sentence Brendan Depa on a charge that carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison. The punishment will be nowhere near that: the sentencing guidelines don’t call for it, the incident doesn’t warrant it, and Perkins is not a hanging judge. The question is whether he will impose any prison time, and whether reason and justice, not mercy or vengeance, will prevail. 

Majority of Palm Coast Council Candidates Oppose Pre-Election City Manager Hire, Others Fence-Sit, with Nuances

April 25, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 10 Comments

There's a gap between the Palm Coast City Council and candidates for the council over whether the current council should hire a city manager before the election. There's no disagreement that Laurent Johnston is the right person for the interim job, underscoring the question half the candidates are asking: why the hurry to hire? (© FlaglerLive)

Six of the 11 non-incumbent candidates running for three Palm Coast City Council seats oppose the council’s decision to hire a new city manager before this year’s elections, which will turn over at least two of the council’s five seats, and possibly three, if Mayor David Alfin is not re-elected. Three candidates are on the fence about it, seeing strong arguments on both sides. Only one favors the hire outright.

Ethics Commission Dismisses Conflict of Interest Claims Against Palm Coast Council’s David Alfin and Ed Danko

April 25, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 11 Comments

Palm Coast Mayor David Alfin, right, and Vice Mayor Ed Danko. (© FlaglerLive)

The Florida Ethics Commission last Friday dismissed a pair of complaints claiming that Palm Coast Mayor David Alfin and City Council member Ed Danko, the vice mayor, voted on matters in which they had a conflict, and did not disclose it. The commission found the complaints legally insufficient.

For Palm Coast Council, ‘Utopian’ Goals on Roads, Parks, Arts and Jobs Clash with Fixation on Reducing Tax Rate

April 24, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

Management consultant Joe Saviak and the Palm Coast City Council at Tuesday's goal-setting session, which drew fewer than half a dozen people, other than city staff. (© FlaglerLive)

The Palm Coast City Council has narrowed its goals for the coming year to 12. It is an ambitious, immediately contradictory list that starts with limiting government revenue by way of a rolled back tax rate as a goal, then goes on to outline costly initiatives the administration has not been able to address in line with demand for lack of money: road repairs, swale repairs, more money for arts and culture, advancing the dredging of saltwater canals, implementing the parks master plan, and so on.

For Derrius Bauer, Co-Defendant in Circle K Murder, a Choice Between Risking Life in Prison and a Grim Deal

April 23, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 3 Comments

He was not on trial--not yet--but the picture of Derrius Bauer was repeatedly shown during the trial last week of Marcus Chamblin. (© FlaglerLive)

The guilty verdict and sentencing of Marcus Chamblin last week in the shooting death of Deon Jenkins did not end that case. Derrius Bauer, his co-defendant, is scheduled for trial in September. Bauer previously refused a plea deal or to be a witness for the state, against Chamblin. He is now paying the price of loyalty, having few options, none of them likely to foreclose on a fate similar to Chamblin’s.

The Dis-Education of Brendan Depa

April 19, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 41 Comments

Brendan Depa when he was at his ECHO group home. He wasbeen in detention at a juvenile jail starting in late February 2023, then at the Flagler County jail since turning 18 last August. He is to be sentenced on May 1. (© FlaglerLive)

Brendan Depa, the now 18-year-old former Matanzas High School student to be sentenced on May 1 on a first-degree felony count of assaulting a teacher’s aide, is alone being punished for what in fact amounts to a systematic and catastrophic failure, on the part of Matanzas High School and district officials, to follow Depa’s Individualized Education Program, which set out guidelines and requirements on how to contend with his mental health issues.

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.

Why Is Palm Coast Backroom-Dealing Tax Incentives with a Private Company?

April 18, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 35 Comments

Town Center Boulevard is to the left. The 37 acres DC Blox acquired to build a data center is to the right. (© FlaglerLive)

Palm Coast is in the middle of a secret deal with an Atlanta-based company called DC Blox, which bought 34 acres in Town Center for $3.3 million last fall. It plans to build a data center there to land several undersea internet-data cables, by way of Flagler Beach. The city and the county are cooking up some kind of tax incentive with the company. We don’t know how much. We don’t know for how long. Presumably, we’ll find out only when the deal is sealed. 

The Marcus Chamblin Trial in Pictures

April 15, 2024 | FlaglerLive | Leave a Comment

The prosecution asked for a guilty verdict. The jury took only 48 minutes to agree. (© FlaglerLive)

A pictorial documentation of the six-day trial of Marcus Chamblin on a first-degree murder charge in the death of Deon Jenkins, featuring all the main participants and some of the evidence, traces the trial’s development from jury selection to its conclusion today (April 15), when Jenkins was found guilty and sentenced to prison.

Rest Easy: Florida Law Erases and Bans All References to Climate Change

April 14, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 53 Comments

climate change sunsets in florida

You probably think Ron DeSantis and the yahoos, grifters, simps, dolts, and dunderheads who populate the Florida Legislature are collectively incapable of solving even one of the bazillion issues facing this state. But the Legislature has figured out how to fix climate change. Your bought-and-paid-for Legislature has delivered a bill that amends Florida statutes to delete all references to climate change. Thanks to them, climate change is gone. Erased. Kaputt. Ya no es. C’est fini.

Not All Tornado Warnings Are Treated Equal, But Parents and Faculty at Indian Trails Middle Weren’t Told

April 12, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

The zone in Flagler County covered by the noontime tornado warning, as issued by the National Weather Service. It included Bunnell, but not most areas of Palm Coast.

A tornado warning localized to a particular area of Flagler County on Thursday but broadcast countywide on cell phones left faculty members and volunteers at Indian Trails Middle School anxious and in the dark about the school’s lack of response as the storm raged outside, or any effort to voice explanations or reassurances over the PA system: what parents and other did learn from the district was not issued until two hours after the fact.

Should Palm Coast’s Saltwater Residents Pay Special Tax for Dredging? Survey Will Ask.

April 10, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 114 Comments

Palm Coast's saltwater canals may need dredging in places, but to what extent and at what cost is not yet clear. (Palm Coast)

The Palm Coast City Council has placed the city’s 26 miles of saltwater canals on its list of priorities for next year. But don’t confuse that just yet with dredging the canals. The city doesn’t yet know what must be dredged and at what cost except in the most general terms, and doesn’t know how to pay for it all. It will survey resiodents to get some clarity on how to proceed.

Eclipse Will Peak at 61% of Sun Cover Around 3 PM In Palm Coast, Flagler Beach and Bunnell

April 7, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 14 Comments

2017 eclipse

Locally not as dramatic as the eclipse of 2017, which obscured almost 90 percent of the sun in Flagler County and its cities, Monday’s solar eclipse will obscure 60 to 61 percent of it at peak, just past 3 p.m., in Palm Coast, Flagler Beach and Bunnell. The National Weather Service in Jacksonville predicts only partly sunny and somewhat windy conditions in the Flagler County area. Flagler County and its cities will see a partial eclipse for 2 hours 31 minutes.

Ending 16 Years With One Firm, Palm Coast City Council Begins Contract With Douglas Law of St. Augustine

April 3, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 3 Comments

The old days: Bill Reischmann, who counseled the Palm Coast City Council for most of his law firm's 16-year association with the city, in a portrait from 2015. (© FlaglerLive)

The Palm Coast City Council ended its 16-year relationship with one law firm Tuesday evening as it approved a contract with St. Augustine’s Douglas Law Firm in a replacement. The firm expects to do about $30,000 worth of work each month. That’s less than half the full legal bill in Palm Coast’s budget.

Jerry Cameron Again Rears Up as Possible Acting Manager in Palm Coast Days After Council Voted In Johnston

April 1, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 34 Comments

Jerry Cameron as he was lobbying for the interim city manager's job at the Flagler Beach City Commission last year. It did not go well. (© FlaglerLive)

Former County Administrator Jerry Cameron’s name is again lurking around Palm Coast City Hall as an interim possibility days after the council unanimously voted to install Assistant City Manager Lauren Johnston as its acting manager, the role required and so defined by the city charter in the absence of a permanent appointment. The possibility is bewildering staffers at City Hall, polarizing the council, and creating confusion about Johnston’s role ahead of Tuesday evening’s council meeting.

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.

The Economy Is Getting Better. Consumers Dont Feel That Way.

March 31, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 53 Comments

US economy recession

Americans are still worried about their financial stability even as their recession fears lessen. High prices at the grocery store and consumers’ memories of their pre-pandemic budgets may be playing a role. Here’s what financial and economic experts have to say about what this week’s economic indicators tell us about people’s perception of the economy.

Flagler Beach Has a New Mayor in King, a New Chair in Spradley, and One Temporarily Ruffled Feather

March 29, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 6 Comments

Sunset for Mayor Suzie Johnston: the one-term mayor received a bunch of roses from the city and a sunset from Scott Spradley, a photographer, who was elected chair of the commission Thursday evening in a rare change of tradition. (© FlaglerLive)

The Flagler Beach City Commission has a new mayor in Patti King following a non-election that saw her seated without opposition as her predecessor, Susie Johnston, chose not to run. And in a snub to tradition he prompted, though it wasn’t intended to be on his behalf, Scott Spradley was elected chair, leaving Commissioner Rick Belhumeur dejected over being passed over.

BJ’s Wholesale Club in Palm Coast Will Be Company’s 38th Store in Florida

March 27, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 36 Comments

BJ's Wholesale Club construction on State Road 100 in Palm Coast on Wednesday. (© FlaglerLive)

 BJ’s Wholesale Club, a leading operator of membership warehouse clubs, announced today the five newest clubs coming to its footprint, including the Palm Coast location on State Road 100. The local 103,000 square foot store will be part of a shopping center that will include other businesses, including a Miller’s Ale House and four other satellite businesses. 

Aborting Former Commitment, School Board Votes 3-2 To End Belle Terre Swim Club’s Public Memberships By July

March 27, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 32 Comments

belle terre swim and racquet

Three Flagler County School Board members–Christy Chong, Will Furry, Sally Hunt–voted Tuesday to close the Belle Terre Swim and Racquet Club to the public, 28 years after it was gifted to the district, which has run it with public access to a swimming pool, tennis courts and a fitness gym. The facility has been a financial puzzle for the district for 10 years as well as a cherished institution for a loyal if diminished corps of members. The closure to the public will not end the facility’s financial deficits. It will only reduce them.

Palm Coast Takes Stock of Its Capital Funds Ahead of Budgeting for Parks, Roads, Fire, Swales and Utilities

March 26, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 12 Comments

The Indian Trails Sports Complex will have more lit fields as part of the city's near-future improvements. (© FlaglerLive)

The Palm Coast City Council this morning got a glance at what the city’s own major capital or construction plans will look like over the next 10 years, where the money will come from, and what city projects may drive the spending. The review of the city’s Capital Improvement Plan, or CIP, combines the tedious with the essential, delineating the wishful from the possible.

The Austin Example: Is It Time to Drop Minimum Parking Rules to Make Housing More Affordable?

March 24, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 18 Comments

parking space regulations

Most cities require homes and businesses to have parking. Critics say they drive up housing costs, foster car dependency and raise carbon emissions. Austin last year became the largest city in the country to do away with its minimum parking requirements, following in the steps of other major cities like Portland, Minneapolis and San Jose. Nixing parking minimums is part of a slate of reforms in Austin to loosen city land-use regulations and allow more housing to be built amid the city’s severe housing affordability crisis.

Out of Her Control: Palm Coast Mayor David Alfin Explains Why He Fired City Manager Denise Bevan

March 20, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 67 Comments

david alfin denise bevan

In a 40-minute interview Tuesday afternoon, Alfin explained what led him to make his motion, threading a needle between lavish praise for Bevan in one sentence and sharp criticism of city management in the next, while explicitly conceding that Bevan may have been the victim of political circumstances. Bevan, in sum, paid a paid a price for election-year political currents she was not in control of.

Eric Cooley Wins 3rd Term on Flagler Beach Commission in Subdued Election as Trump Takes Presidential Primary

March 19, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 3 Comments

Flagler Beach Commissioner Eric Cooley and Mayor Suzie Johnston, who is stepping down, with their dog Wednesday--a celebrity in Flagler Beach--and with former Mayor Linda Provencher, late this afternoon near the polling station at City Hall. (© FlaglerLive)

Incumbent Flagler Beach City Commissioner Eric Cooley won his third three-year term today in a subdued municipal election framed by the Republican presidential primary, which former president Donald Trump–the only candidate not to have suspended his or her campaign–unsurprisingly won.

Cash Bail: Unfair, and a Violation of Due Process

March 16, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 8 Comments

cash bail due process injustice

When arrested on suspicion of committing a crime, everyone in the United States has the right to due process and to defend themselves in court. But in a cash bail system, when judges set bail amounts, those who cannot pay the full amount remain jailed indefinitely — a clear violation of their due process rights — while the rich can pay their way out of jail.

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.

Wrongfully Arrested Migrant To Be Freed on Immigration Bond as Civil Rights Suit Is Filed Against St. Johns Sheriff

March 13, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 19 Comments

A one-man protest of Virgilio Mendez's arrest and detention, outside the St. Johns County courthouse the morning of a hearing in Mendez's case last December. (© FlaglerLive)outside the Sty

Virgilio Aguilar Mendez, the Guatemalan migrant who had been wrongfully arrested outside his motel in St. Johns County last May and charged with manslaughter after the sudden death by heart attack of his arresting deputy, is to be released from federal custody on an immigration bond this week. On Tuesday, one of his attorneys filed an amended federal lawsuit accusing St. Johns County Sheriff Robert Hardwick of violating Mendez’s civil rights.

Imagine 2050: Residents Fear Small-Town Tranquility Is History as City Plans for Its Long-Term Future

March 12, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 14 Comments

The Palm Coast City Council this morning held a 90-minute session on its Comprehensive Plan, which is undergoing its first re-write since 2004, a process that started in October and won't end until next October. (© FlaglerLive)

Preserve the city’s greenery, temper growth, manage roads, bring in more businesses and arts and culture choices: those are some of the major themes gathered from thousands of interactions with Palm Coast residents and synthesized for the Palm Coast City Council today as it heard a mid-point update in its year-long rewrite of the city’s Comprehensive Plan, the long-term blueprint for growth and how the city imagines itself at half century.

‘Reading Is My Passion’ Sums Up Read Across Flagler Literacy Celebration Bookmarked by Media Specialists

March 8, 2024 | FlaglerLive | Leave a Comment

Author Amir Shah shows the crowd the title of the second of his planned trilogy of his "Play the Game Series," the first of which was published this week, at Thursday's Literacy Night at Town Center. Standing next to him is Lukas Notaras of Matanzas High School, who conducted an off-the-cuff interview with Shah in front of the audience. (© FlaglerLive)

Read Across Flagler Literacy Night at Palm Coast’s Town Center was as much a celebration of reading as it was of the school district’s media specialists who, pound for pound, have been the single-most besieged group of professionals in the district in the last couple of years of book bans, disrespect and ignorant rhetoric from the very school board members who should be championing them.

‘Long Road Ahead’ for Flagler Sheriff’s Deputy Benjamin Stamps After Severe Motorcycle Crash on I-95

March 7, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 26 Comments

Flaglerr County Sheriff's deputy Benjamin Stamps was on his motorcycle when the blue car swerved into the emergency lane Stamps was riding, provoking a collision that left the deputy with severe injuries. (FCSO)

For Flagler County Sheriff’s deputy Benjamin Stamps, it’s going to be “a fairly long road to recovery” after his motorcycle crash Tuesday morning on I-95, as Stamps was riding the emergency lane to investigate a possible incident ahead that had slowed traffic to a crawl, Sheriff Rick Staly said on Wednesday.

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.

Palm Coast’s Wishful 20-Field, $93 Million Sports Complex Rests on a Far Future of Dubiously Rosy Speculation

February 29, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 28 Comments

Palm Coast is imagining its next fields of dream, but the projected complex may be more dreamy than realistic. (© FlaglerLive)

The Palm Coast City Council is embarking on an ambitious plan to explore and perhaps develop and finance, in a private-public partnership, an enormous sports complex on the west side of the yet-undeveloped city. A consultant encouraging the project is projecting rosy figures that would not mortgage tax dollars yet yield ample profits while drawing up to 250,000 athletes and spectators a year. The figures are speculative and do not easily stand up to scrutiny.

Palm Coast Searches for Its New Attorney In the Open. School Board Chooses Secrecy.

February 27, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 18 Comments

The School Board met on Jan. 23 to discuss its potential choice for new attorney representation. The meeting was not streamed, as meetings usually are. IKt was open to the public, but all documents that were part of the discussion were kept secret. (© FlaglerLive)

The Palm Coast City Council and the Flagler County School Board are searching for new attorneys to represent them in two very different ways. The council is conducting its search entirely in the open, ensuring that all related documents are public, providing them on request, and interviewing the firms in open forum. The school board, in contrast with its own precedents and with all other local governments, possibly in violation of law, is not.

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.

7 Years in Prison for Unrepentant Man, 48, who Stalked and Solicited 14-Year-Old Girl, and Still Blames Her

February 23, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 10 Comments

Jerome Malerba, who turns 48 Saturday, after his sentencing today. (© FlaglerLive)

Palm Coast’s Jerome Byron Malerba, 47, was sentenced to seven years in prison, two years on probation and a lifetime as a sex offender for luring and soliciting a girl starting when she was 13–when he offered her pot–and going on for 18 months. The judge used unusually strong language to describe Malerba as “creepy” and as a man who still blames the victim and covers himself in self-pity.

Palm Coast’s $13.7 Million Southern Recreation Center: A Facility Designed for Way More than Pickleball and Tennis

February 23, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 42 Comments

Frank Lloyd Wright would have approved of the Southern Recreation Center's architectural functionality and cohesion with its natural surroundings. (© FlaglerLive)

Between its gathering and lounging areas, its food concessions, its trailhead, dog park, community garden and other amenities, the most important thing you should know about Palm Coast’s new Southern Recreation Center is that you don’t have to be a tennis player or a pickleball player to go there. That’s why the emphasis on that happily open-ended word: Recreation. You can fill in your own kind of fun. Here’s a tour.

DOA: Behind the County’s Clumsy Push to Defund School Deputies

February 22, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 22 Comments

school resource deputy funding

Whichever way you look at it, the Flagler County Commission’s and its administrator’s letter to the school district calling for a plan to defund the county’s portion of money for school deputies was clumsy, terribly timed, and an unnecessary invitation to political grandstanding in an election year. Deputies aren’t going anywhere, nor is the county’s funding. But nor should this be another invitation for the School Board to consider harebrained ideas like arming staffers.

Palm Coast Council Postpones Water Rate Increase in Face of Opposition, But Raises Utility Impact Fees on Builders

February 20, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

A twisty way ahead for Palm Coast's utility infrastructure. Above: pipes at one of the city's water plants. (© FlaglerLive)

There will be no water and sewer rate increase in Palm Coast for now: the Palm Coast City Council today voted 4-1 to postpone a rate increase, while significantly raising “capacity,” or utility impact fees, the one-time levy on builders of new homes and businesses. That revenue is used to defray the cost of growth on the city’s utility infrastructure.

Palm Coast P-Section’s Last 35 Acres of Trees Leveled to Make Room for 74-Home ‘Ponce Preserve’ Gated Community

February 19, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 43 Comments

ponce preserve development

The 74-home gated community of Ponce Preserve will be built by in a 35-acre expanse–the last undisturbed expanse in the P-Section–between Point Pleasant Drive, Ponce de Leon Drive, Pony Express Drive and Port Royal Drive. Because it’s under 100 homes, the development did not need to go before either the planning board or the City Council.

Palm Coast Has No Money to Pave Your Neighborhood Streets. It’ll Apply a Cheap Sealant and Hope for the Best.

February 16, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 61 Comments

Facing a $10 million deficit in road repairs and no new revenue identified, the Palm Coast City Council approved a diminutive $1 million plan to “microsurface” 29 neighborhood roads and $2.7 million to resurface a few arterial roads. Microsrufacing is not traditional paving. It’s more like a tooth sealant, but for roads: cavities aren’t fixed. They’re covered up. The tentative approach points to the consequences of a council deferring infrastructure needs while rolling back the tax rate.

Flagler Beach Steps Back from Pushing Changes to Mayor’s Powers, Opting for Charter Review Instead

February 16, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 7 Comments

Thursday's workshop was an occasion for a reunion of sorts, drawing in veterans of city government like Don Deal, right, a former chair of a Charter Review Commission and of the city's planning board, and John Fiend, a former city commissioner who served eight years (second from left). They spoke with Commissioners Jane Mealy and Eric Cooley after the meeting. Former Mayor Linda Provencher was also there. (© FlaglerLive)

With a majority of city commissioners and the public speaking their skepticism about changing the make-up of the Flagler Beach City Commission, giving the mayor more voting or veto power, or changing the lengths and limits of commissioners’ terms, a proposal to go down that road appears to be teetering on the edge of a failing vote, if it comes to that. But it won’t. 

MAGA Has Taylor Swift’s Number

February 11, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 15 Comments

Clearly, Taylor Swift hates America, practices mind control, is corrupting the NFL and is an emissary from the Deep State, but at least people like Stephen Miller, Matt Gaetz and Mike Crispi know the score, and are saving us from the cabal.

Flagler Beach Is Fiercely Opposed to Consolidating Library With County, But Cooperative Intrigues Even Jane Mealy

February 9, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 11 Comments

Flagler Beach's beloved library grew from a stack of books at the Flagler Woman's Club in the 1950s. (© FlaglerLive)

Flagler Beach on Thursday formally rejected an inquiry by Flagler County government about the possibility of merging the Flagler Beach Public Library with the county’s system. But that does not necessarily close the book on a collaborative partnership. City Commissioner Jane Mealy, the fiercest defender of the Flagler Beach library’s independence, is intrigued by the possibility of a cooperative that would preserve that independence but expand Flagler Beach residents’ access to county library resources, likely at no additional cost.

In Flagler Beach, A Lack of Consensus Even About the Discussion on Changing Mayor’s Role and Commission’s Make-Up

February 9, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 2 Comments

flagler beach city commission roles referendum mayor voting

The Flagler Beach City Commission is heading to a Feb. 15 workshop to discuss possibly placing on a referendum questions about changing the mayor’s role to a voting one, changing commissioners’ terms, and changing the role of the chair. But the commission is more divided than not both about the questions themselves and the purpose of the workshop. That does not bode well for its outcome–at least the outcome Commission Chair Eric Cooley wants, which is to put the questions to a referendum.

Heidi Petito Gets a Combined C+ from Commissioners’ Evaluation of Her 2nd Full Year as County Administrator

February 8, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 20 Comments

It was not the strongest evaluation year for Flagler County Administrator Heidi Petito, who scored a C-plus from the five combined reviews by her county commissioner bosses, despite perfect scores from two of the five. But the commissioners’ written comments to Petito generally painted a more complimentary picture than their numbers.

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