Signals from Thursday’s closed-door meeting of the Palm Coast City Council suggest that the city appears not ready to settle the lawsuit over the ballot referendum on a charter amendment that would allow the city more freely to borrow money and enter into lease agreements. If the referendum fails, the case would be moot. If it succeeds, it won’t be the end of litigation: at least twice before courts have invalidated such referendums in Florida well after the vote was certified, and those challenging the measure intend to keep challenging it even if it succeeds at the polls on Nov. 5.
Palm Coast
Palm Coast Council Wants Another Re-Write of Vacation-Rental Ordinance, Pushing Approval to Next Year
Four months after it directed its attorney to draft it, the Palm Coast City Council again delayed approving the city’s first-ever vacation-rental ordinance as numerous issues and new proposals arose after the latest draft, which was due for a first read on on Tuesday. Instead, the council agreed to table it and schedule another workshop in December or January, when three new members will be on the council. That means the council will barely have time to approve the ordinance before the state Legislature again tries to pass a law that invalidates local ordinances.
Palm Coast Renews Contract with Southern Group Lobbying Firm, But With a Probationary Caveat
Last June the Palm Coast City Council called on the carpet its lobbying firm in Tallahassee after voicing some dissatisfaction over the city’s record haul in state appropriations. On Tuesday, the council renewed its contract with the firm, but only for one year, not three, as the administration had proposed. The city will pay the firm $72,000 for the year, up from $60,000 in the last contract year, and leave the option open for four renewals.
Palm Coast Approves 1st Steps Toward $240 Million Sewer Expansion, With Higher Utility Rates Coming in Spring
Addressing one of the most critical issues hampering the city’s infrastructure–and facing an order from the state to expand sewer capacity–the Palm Coast City Council on Tuesday took a pair of momentous steps that by next spring will result in higher water and sewer rates to help pay for a nearly quarter-billion dollar expansion of one of the city’s two sewer plants. Only a portion of the construction can legally be covered by development impact fees. Absent grants or unexpected new revenue, the rest has to be paid through water and sewer rates, which are currently too low to shoulder that burden.
How Residential Growth, a State Order and Intense Rains Are Forcing Palm Coast’s Hand on Sewer Expansion
A combination of sharp growth that’s not paying for itself, a consent decree–or mandatory order–by the state and increasingly intense rain events have combined to force Palm Coast to rapidly expand its two sewer plants, resulting in significant capacity by 2028 but at significant cost: one of the two plant expansions will cost $245 million, between design and construction costs, and likely more by the time it’s done around 2028. The city has no choice in that timeline because of the consent decree, just as the Palm Coast City Council will have no choice but to raise utility rates next year.
Settlement Offer Gives Palm Coast Council Chance to Pull Embattled Debt Referendum from the Ballot
The Palm Coast City Council is holding a closed-door meeting at 3 p.m. on Thursday at City Hall to consider a settlement offer in the lawsuit challenging the veracity of the city’s debt referendum on the Nov. 5 ballot. The offer proposes that opposing sides agree to end the lawsuit and not count the results of the referendum, which will still appear on the ballot. The city would not owe the opposition attorneys’ fees.
Total Hurricane Milton Damage to Private Property in Flagler and Cities: $18.8 million, Government Costs Yet to Be Tallied
Flagler County suffered an estimated $18.8 million in private property damages countywide from Hurricane Milton, and an additional $14 million in damages to just under 11 miles of beachfront, with additional estimates yet to be calculated such as costs to government infrastructure and services, and losses to the federal portion of the beach in Flagler Beach–the 2.6 miles the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers just renourished.
Anger, Praise and Rudeness for Palm Coast’s Storm Response; Another Failed Attempt at Building Moratorium
A blustery, angry morning segment of a day-long meeting of the Palm Coast City Council today felt like aftershocks of Hurricane Milton as numerous residents assailed what they saw–against evidence–as the city’s failed response during the storm while some residents praised the same response for weathering a historic rainfall with very limited damage: just five homes had any kind of flooding, the city confirmed this afternoon. An attempt by City Council member Theresa Pontieri to call for a year-long moratorium on residential construction failed.
School Board Rejects Developer Interested in Building ‘Specialty Retail Center’ on Palm Coast Parkway Property
The Flagler County School Board this evening will again formally reject a developer’s interest in buying the district’s old 7.2-acre Corporate One property at the southeast corner of Palm Coast Parkway and Corporate Drive, a 7-acre site that used to be one of ITT’s headquarters, in the early years of developing Palm Coast, before the board bought it for $3.5 million. It was not one of the board’s wisest decisions.Tailwinds Development, a company that specializes in building retail commercial shopping centers, was interested in the acreage.
Hurricane Milton’s Flagler Path in Pictures: Flooding, Beach Erosion, Damaged Roads and Roofs, but Nothing Disastrous
Hurricane Milton barreled through the midsection of the Florida Peninsula Thursday morning, lashing Flagler County with tropical-storm-force winds (and a few hurricane-force gusts) and up top 19 inches of rain in parts of the county. But damage overall was mostly minor despite floodwaters. Here’s an album in pictures and video.