Don Tobin, better known as Toby, is the most recognizable name among those declaring interest in a position four Palm Coast City Council members will fill by their appointment come November. Tobin’s focus is real estate, economic development and city-county relations.
Development
Palm Coast development, construction, sprawl and other real estate-related issues.
In a Stunning Reversal, Palm Coast Council Bows to Acid Opposition and Kills Utility Tax
The campaign to force the council to reverse course was brutally effective against a council that appeared willing to ignore its own history and a year and a half of its administration’s work on the matter.
Hearing Echo of Broken Promise, Palm Coast Council Girds For Opposition to New Utility Fee
Vince Liguori, a member of the local tea party’s executive committee and an influential behind-the-scenes broker on local issues, is mountain an offensive against the city council’s utility-fee proposal that will culminate Tuesday evening.
To Little Opposition, Palm Coast Approves New Levy for Stormwater Fixes, Delays Another
To little opposition, the council voted unanimously to add a 6 percent tax on electric utility bills, adding, on average, $6.27 a month to monthly residential utility bills. The council defeated a proposal to add a second tax that would have raised an equal amount.
There’s Only So Much Palm Coast Government Can Do About Eyesores and Vacant Lands
From the Palm Coast Players Club to the Sheraton/Palm Coast Resort or Sesame Island, the city has very limited legal or financial means, absent much higher taxes, to take over such properties and convert them to something residents would prefer, argues city council member Frank Meeker.
Matanzas Woods Battleground: Flagler and Palm Coast Clash Over I-95 Interchange Dollars
Palm Coast and Flagler County are battling over $4.2 million the city says it’s owed, and that the county has already mostly spent toward a new I-95 interchange at Matanzas Woods. It’s the latest in a series of city-county conflicts.
Signing For 3 More Years at City Market Place, Palm Coast Explores New City Hall Options
Palm Coast city government’s new lease at City Market Place is considerably cheaper than the $20,000 a month it’s been paying since 2008, but council members are now talking about a lease-purchase deal for a new city hall at Town Center.
ICI Homes Gets Its Way, Mostly, in Cypress Knoll Development as Palm Coast Settles Suit
Mori Hosseini’s ICI Homes has been battling Palm Coast since 2004 over a zoning designation in the E Section that ICI claims denied it its development rights. The deal means 58 homes on lots smaller than the norm in Cypress Knoll can now be built there.
Too Many Streetlights? Palm Coast Readies to Remove 41 Redundant Ones For Future Savings
The city will remove 41 lights–out of 2,876 in the city–at a cost of $15,444, money the city says it will make back in just over three years as savings from monthly bills it won’t be paying for those lights. Meanwhile, new light strings must wait for lack of money.
Ear, Nose, Throat, Hard Hat:
Florida Hospital Flagler Shows Off Its New Digs
Florida Hospital Flagler’s new Parkway Medical Plaza, opening in July between Walmart and Golden Corral, is a $15 million expansion–and a signal of intensifying head-to-head competition in such fields as imaging and lab work.
Palm Coast Council Rejects Latest Cypress Knoll Development Proposal
The proposal, rejected 4-2 by the Planning Board, is part of a settlement of a long-running dispute between developer ICI and Palm Coast, would have allowed up to 60 homes west of East Hampton and south of Eric Drive.
Good News for Flagler Property Owners: Most Home Values Will Barely Fall; Some Will Rise
Flagler County Property Appraiser’s preliminary estimate sees a property value drop in “the low single-digits” at most, with taxable values rising in Grand Haven and Flagler Beach, among other spots, as the five-year collapse in values appears to draw to an end.