Carmelo Morales, a rank-and-file city engineer, charged city council members with “micromanaging” an $8.2 million stormwater contract with the same firm building the Belle Terre Parkway/Buddy Taylor walkway and storm pipe, and risking leaving the city begging for contractors. But in the end, the council approved the contract and conceded Morales’s point, with caveats.
Palm Coast
In Palm Coast Sheep, Not Chicken, May Safely Graze
The Palm Coast City Council’s rejection of a pilot program that would have allowed chickens in a handful of backyards is disappointing. But the council since its earliest days has tended to run the city more as a homeowners association bound to conformity and the somnolence of residents out to pasture rather than as a vibrant city welcoming of differences, innovation, young and working people.
Palm Coast’s Saltwater Canals in Better Shape Than Feared, Narrowing Debate to ‘Spot Dredging’ and Cost
A long-anticipated analysis of Palm Coast’s 26 miles of saltwater canals, the second since 2005 in the canals’ half-century history, revealed to some surprise that the canals are in better shape than expected. While that diminishes the urgency, breadth and cost of necessary dredging, dredging would still be necessary and expensive regardless.
Palm Coast Disarms ‘Forensic Audit’ Talk as Council’s Klufas Asks ‘Where’s the Fire?’ and Cautions Against Pandering
Led by Council member Nick Klufas, the Palm Coast City Council on Tuesday decidedly stepped back from its posture a week earlier, when it appeared ready to call for what would have been a very expensive and accusatory “forensic audit” of city finances, seemingly at the behest of one, significantly misinformed resident.
Cascades Development, Revived from 2005, Calls for Up to 850 Homes on 375 Acres in Seminole Woods
After a nearly two-decade hiatus, the massive Cascades development planned for Seminole Woods is back, and is more than double its original size: up to 850 single-family homes and apartments on 375 acres. If built out to that cap, the Cascades would be, along with Coquina Shores on Old Kings Road–a 750-home development just rezoned for the purpose–one of the largest developments in the city.
Palm Coast Council Chickens Out of Modest Pilot Program for Backyard Hens, But May Survey Residents
The Palm Coast City Council today shot down a two-year pilot program that would have permitted up to 25 properties to have backyard chickens in answer to a growing movement across the country toward more self-sufficiency and more natural foods. The most the city will do for now is possibly survey residents on their opinions about backyard chickens.
Impacting Services, Palm Coast Cuts $2.7 Million from Initial 2024 Budget to Comply with Council’s Lower Tax Rate
While these are budget cuts only in relation to the initially planned budget for next year, they nevertheless will have the effects of actual budget cuts in many regards, because they go against the grain of growth in the budget intended to maintain services and what City Manager Denise Bevan referred to as the city’s customary forward-looking approach.
Candidates Lining Up to Run for Dave Sullivan’s County Commission Seat, Including Kim Carney and Nick Klufas
Former Flagler Beach City Commissioner Kim Carney joins a growing field for the District 3 seat Dave Sullivan will be relinquishing. The field so far includes two other Flagler Beach residents, Bill Clark and Tom Hutson, and does not yet formally include the race’s heavy-hitter: Nick Klufas, the two-term Palm Coast City Council member, who will soon announce.
16 Year Old Palm Coast Boy Faces Felony Charges in Stabbing of Two 13 Year Olds in the Woodlands
Brandon Gray Jr., a 16-year-old resident of Fort Caroline Lane in Palm Coast, faces three juvenile felony charges following the July 30 stabbing with a pocketknife of two boys, both 13, along a trail linking Blairsville Drive in the Woodlands to Palm Coast Parkway. Cell phone video of the stabbing circulated on social media and helped detectives’ investigation.
Without Evidence of Wrongdoing, Palm Coast Council Orders Expensive, Unprecedented Forensic Audit
The Palm Coast City Council Tuesday evening agreed to an unprecedented and very expensive forensic audit of city finances, the sort of audit usually predicated on suspicions of wrongdoing, despite a lack of evidence of any wrongdoing and routine, annual audits and a finance department that just as routinely wins annual awards for transparency. The council was responding to public demands driven more by ideology and general dissatisfaction than facts.
Teron, in 2nd Trial, Is Guilty on All Charges of Raping 7-Year-Old Niece; Will Be Sentenced to Life in Prison
In Monserrate Teron’s second trial in six weeks, a jury of four men and two women today found the former Army nurse guilty of raping and molesting his 7-year-old niece at his Palm Coast home in November 2019. The jury deliberated three hours, its decision finally, clearly clinched by the testimony of the child, now 11, whom Teron had victimized for years.
Flagler County Uses False Information as It Asks Cities to Support Increase in Sales Tax
Flagler County government is disseminating false information about the proportion of the local sales tax paid by visitors as it seeks letters of support from Palm Coast, Flagler Beach, Bunnell and Beverly Beach to increase the county’s sales tax by half a percent.
AdventHealth Prepares to Open Palm Coast Parkway Hospital, Doubling ER and Patient Capacity
The 158,000-sqaure-foot facility, which cost $167 million, includes 100 inpatient beds, which will double the inpatient capacity for Flagler County when added to AdventHealth Palm Coast, the hospital that recently marked its 20th anniversary at its campus on S.R. 100 just west of I-95.
Palm Coast Franchise Fee Killed Again as FPL Balks at Referendum; City Must Cut Budget $2.8 Million
The Palm Coast City Council is set to abandon the unpopular franchise fee it proposed adding to electric bills only last week. City Council member Theresa Pontieri said today she will withdraw the motion that she’d made on July 18. The reason, according to the city manager: Florida Power and Light won’t accept the city’s terms.
Waste Pro and Palm Coast Drop All Claims Against Each Other in Bingate Settlement
Waste Pro and Palm Coast signed an agreement that will have Palm Coast release $153,150 owed Waste Pro. The city will also void the $66,350 fines the company had accrued. Neither side admits wrong-doing. Neither side will sue.
Palm Coast Planning Board Approves 275 Town Homes Off Citation Boulevard Near Belle Terre Blvd.
The Palm Coast Planning Board Wednesday evening recommended approval of the development of 275 upscale town-home apartments in a gated community on 40 acres at the southeast corner of Citation Boulevard and Belle Terre Boulevard. One of the developer’s representatives described the project as “an upscale community without being unaffordable,” which may have broken new ground in real estate doublespeak.
“Summer of 1969” Exhibit at AACS Launches Series of Events Celebrating Florida’s Black Culture and Music
The African American Cultural Society is launching “The Summer of 1969,” a student-produced, intergenerational exhibition created by AACS college intern Savannah Aziza Ryan. It is the first of numerous, wide-ranging cultural events at AACS throughout this summer and fall.
Palm Coast Rezones Coquina Shores for 750 Homes as Details of Development North of SR100 Emerge
Coquina Shores, the 750-home development planned as a 505-acre gated community in a north-south rectangle north of State road 100 and east of Old Kings Road in Palm Coast, will be built with $65 million in infrastructure and run as its own community development district, or CDD, like Grand Haven and Hammock Dunes.
Tone-Deaf Flagler County Wants Palm Coast and Other Cities to Support Sales Tax Increase
The Flagler County Commission will seek letters of support from Palm Coast, Flagler Beach and Bunnell to raise the county’s sales surtax to 7.5 percent and generate an additional $10 million that would be shared between the four governments and used at their discretion. Palm Coast’s answer may well be: Read the room.
Palm Coast in Ugly Meeting Votes to Lower Tax Rate Substantially and Add New, Modest Fee for Now
In another unseemly, disconcerting meeting that included coarse language and flaring tempers from the dais and rowdy and name-calling behavior from a floor thronged with residents, the Palm Coast City Council today substantially lowered the property tax rate in one vote and with another approved new fee or tax–a very modest one for now–on power bills.
Ed Danko Makes Inaccurate Claims in Campaign Ad Ahead of Council Vote on New Electric Fee (or Tax)
On Tuesday morning, the Palm Coast City Council will consider adopting a utility franchise fee that could add up to 6 percent to the cost of residents’ electric utility bills and significantly add to the city’s tax-revenue structure. In his opposition to the proposal, Palm Coast City Council member Ed Danko circulated a campaign email that made inaccurate and misleading statements.
Yes, There Is a Free Lunch
Step back a moment and take stock of the paradox. On one hand a community can and should take pride in its willingness to rally for those in need. On the other hand, there should not be such things as food drives–not in a country that presumes itself wealthy and civilized. There should not be food insecurity, period. Basic nutrition is a human right, as ought to be universal food assistance where necessary and free school meals whether necessary or not.
Mayor David Alfin and Dr. Steven Bickel’s Arm-Wrestling Match Will Launch $1 Million Food-A-Thon
Dr. Stephen Bickel, the medical director at the Flagler Health Department and the county’s leading philanthropist, will arm-wrestle in a best-of-three match with Palm Coast Mayor David Alfin to launch this year’s $1 million Food-a-Thon, an effort to raise $200,000 that will e leveraged into $1 million worth of food for needy families, through Grace Tabernacle Food Pantry.
Palm Coast Explores 6% Tax on All Electric Bills Through ‘Franchise Fee’ Repeatedly Opposed in Past
For the third time in 11 years, the Palm Coast City Council is exploring the imposition of a new, 6 percent tax on all electricity bills by way of a so-called “franchise fee” that would be levied on Florida Power and Light and passed down to customers.
Cancer Will Have New Foe in Town as AdventHealth Palm Coast Announces $30 Million Center on SR 100
AdventHealth Palm Coast officials and benefactors unveiled the latest expansion of the State Road 100 campus: the Freytag Health Plaza, a $30 million, 30,000 square foot, two-level cancer and rehab center that will open with the newest technology at the beginning of 2025.
Complex 4-Week Trial Over Splash Pad Set for Late 2024 as Parties Duel and Pad Remains Barren
The length of the civil trial is a reflection of the immense technical and legal complexities of the case and the number of parties involved. Each named party has responded to the suit, rejecting the city’s allegations and pointing fingers either back at the city or at other contractors.
Water Main Break on Palm Coast Parkway
The City of Palm Coast Utility Department responded to a water main break on Wednesday morning on Palm Coast Parkway near the Hammock Dunes toll plaza. The water main break is currently affecting homes and businesses on Palm Coast Parkway and east of I-95, but fewer than originally feared.
Palm Coast Man, 70, Pulls a Gun on Neighbors Shooting Off Fireworks
Christopher Todd Lemke, 70, was charged with two felony counts of aggravated assault after allegedly pointing his gun at neighbors and threatening to shoot them if they continued setting off fireworks the night of July 4. A pregnant woman and children were among the neighbors watching the fireworks.
Daylong July 4 Celebration in Flagler Beach, Then Fireworks at County Airport
Independence Day celebrations on July 4 will be a cross-county affair, stretching from Flagler Beach with the parade and daylong events there, then shifting to the county airport for evening ceremonies and the fireworks over the runways. Parking options are detailed.
Flagler and Palm Coast July 4 Holiday Schedules, Travel and Safety Advisories
Independence Day this year falls on a Tuesday, slicing through the earlier part of the week and creating a checkerboard of work schedules and closed offices. The one constant are safety and travel advisories. Here’s a run-down.
Matanzas Woods Pkwy Will Close from Lakeview to Londonderry Drive for 10 Days
Matanzas Woods Pkwy from Lakeview Boulevard to Londonderry Drive will be closed to traffic from July 5 to July 15 as crews repair and repave that segment, one of Palm Coast’s major arteries.
Dangerous Dog Designation Upheld for R-Section Dog Who Mauled Girl, 13, in ‘Gruesome’ Attack
In a rare appeal, a special magistrate this morning affirmed Palm Coast Animal Control’s decision to designate Ghost, a large pit bull mix, a dangerous dog following the dog’s attack on the 13-year-old girl who was walking him on an R-Section street on June 5.
Razing Fire Station 22 For a Parking Lot May Be a Ballot Question as City Council Bows to History
A majority of the Palm Coast City Council doesn’t want to see Fire Station 22 leveled to make room for a parking lot once the station shifts further east, though the Community center has a deficit of more than 100 parking spaces. The city administration says it’ll cost at least $1.1 million, possibly more, to refurbish the building.
Palm Coast Wants More Action on ‘Bad Drivers,’ Litterers and Priorities as Sheriff Submits Budget
Submitting his annual budget to the Palm Coast City Council this morning, Staly heard requests for more help with “bad drivers” and litterers to maintain quality of life, and answered an extended series of questions from a council member on the paradox between a sharply falling crime rate and a still-rising jail population.
On EVs, Palm Coast and Flagler County Choose Backwardness
Flagler County, this self-deluded mecca of economic development, is not only an electric vehicle charging station desert. It is actually hostile to electric vehicles. It is sending a loud and shrill message to tourists and forward-looking businesses and the residents they’d bring along: we like to fossilize. Progress is elsewhere.
Strip Mall Will End Matanzas Shores’ Shop-Free Days, and There’s Nothing Residents Can Do About It
Matanzas Shores will soon lose its distinction as an upscale community free of shops, restaurants and the traffic that goes with it all as a developer is about to build a strip mall on 2.25 acres at the southwest corner of State Road A1A and San Carlos Drive.
Flagler Beach Achieves One Goal in Meeting With Other Governments: Agreement that the City Needs Help
Flagler Beach convinced other cities and the county in a joint meeting this evening that it cannot contend with the ongoing onslaught of visitors alone, and only in Flagler Beach, when the county has plenty of unused beaches and cities can contribute other strategies.
At Tiger Bay, a Triumphal Paul Renner Reaps Adulation and Delivers a Few Inaccurate Jabs
House Speaker Paul Renner today exulted in considerable adoration and a standing ovation at Flagler Tiger Bay like no bringer of bacon before him, tempered though both Renner and the audience were by the club’s disfavor with uncivil partisanship.
Council Approves 1st Leg of Beltway from Matanzas Woods to Palm Coast Parkway, Opening West
The Palm Coast City Council approved an engineering contract for the first phase of what will be a three-phase, 7-mile beltway connecting Matanzas Woods Parkway and Palm Coast Parkway west of U.S. 1. The ambitious road incursion through 12,000 acres of empty wilds would open that part of the city to development.
In Palm Coast, a Pitbull Attack, a Dead Dog, and Disputed Accusations of City ‘Gestapo’ Tactics
Palm Coast City Council member Ed Danko compared employees to “Gestapo agents” in reference to an animal control case involving a pit bull attack and a dog’s death earlier this month. Danko later walked back the statement, but remained “infuriated’ with the way an animal control officer had allegedly handled the case.
$5 Million for Fire Station 22 Vetoed, But Palm Coast Still Nets Historic $55 Million Haul from Legislature
Palm Coast is focusing on the positive: scoring $54.6 million out of $59.6 million in legislative requests, not including more than $1 million to be earmarked for a new YMCA in the city.
Tampa Is Latest City to Unveil Climate Action Plan, Tapping Tax Credits
Tampa’s plan comes just days after two federal agencies released guidance that will for the first time allow local and state governments and nonprofit organizations to access clean energy tax credits that come from 2022’s Inflation Reduction Act, which contained nearly $370 billion in climate provisions.
Crumbl Cookies Set to Open in Palm Coast With Its Giant Repertoire of Sweet-Spot Marketing
As Crumbl Cookies opens its first store in Palm Coast Friday, and the first in the Flagler-Putnam-St. Johns market, the marketing machine that has made the dessert chain the fastest-growing in the nation–800 stores and growing–will be on full display, along with its rotating cast of 250 cookie flavors.
So You Want to Recall a Council Member or Write an Ordinance? Palm Coast Codifies Process After 24 Years.
The Palm Coast City Council in its 24th year is codifying its own referendum and recall process–the method by which residents may pitch or force the reconsideration of an ordinance, amend the city charter, or initiate a recall of a sitting council member.
Palm Coast Encourages Involvement in Budget Process
The City of Palm Coast is excited to announce the release of an informative budget video designed to provide residents with a comprehensive understanding of the city’s annual financial plans.
Should Palm Coast Allow Backyard Chickens? Council Balks, But Limited Pilot Program Is Possible
The Palm Coast City Council is not excited about allowing chickens in city backyards. But it may enact a strictly limited pilot program involving a few households, or set aside some public land for a community garden where residents could tend their chickens. Backyard chickens could also be on the 2024 ballot as a referendum.
Ed Danko Announces Run for County Commission, Setting Up Primary Against George Hanns
His third year on the Palm Coast City Council not yet completed, the peripatetic and willfully controversial Ed Danko today announced a run for a County Commission seat in the 2024 election, setting up a primary contest against former Commissioner George Hanns.
Exuberant Pride Day Follows Drag Night as Palm Coast Goes United Colors of LGBTQ+ in Town Center
Bookended by an exuberant evening of drag the night before and Sunday evening’s more solemn vigil in memory of the Pulse massacre victims, Flagler Pride today celebrated the local and regional LGBTQ community with song, dance, causes and bounties of divergence in the fourth annual Pride Festival in Palm Coast’s Town Center, drawing some 750 people.
Palm Coast’s Ed Danko Publicly Undercuts City’s Legal Row With Waste Pro Over Recycling Bins
The Palm Coast City Council’s Ed Danko and a subsequent council discussion on Tuesday seemed to have briefly jackknifed its own administration’s and legal team’s negotiations in the ongoing dispute with Waste Pro, the garbage hauler.
Palm Coast and County Snub Role in EV Charging Stations In Shocking Rebuff to a Green Energy Grant
Partisanship, misinformation, false assumptions and free-market ideology all played a role in Palm Coast and county government rejecting a partnership in what would have been a potential $15 million federal grant to build electric vehicle charging stations at various public locations in cities and the county.