On Monday (Jan. 31), a contractor will begin milling and repaving the segment of Belle Terre Parkway between Royal Palms Parkway and State Road 100 as part of the city’s annual repaving program. The segment is among the most heavily traveled in the city. The project will take four to six weeks.
Palm Coast City Council
Palm Coast Clears Way for 2nd Self-Storage Facility in 24 Hours on Old Kings Road, Near Toscana
The Palm Coast Planning Board Wednesday approved a 155,000 square-foot self-storage facility on Old Kings Road, a short distance north of a facility the Palm Coast City Council approved on Tuesday. The two would be the 10th and 11th self-storage facilities in the city.
City Approves Self-Storage Facility on Old Kings Road, Near Hidden Lakes, Against Public Opposition
The rezoning for a 23-acre site for a future self-storage facility–another one–between I-95 and Old Kings Road, and not far from the Hidden Lakes and Toscana subdivisions, drew some pointed opposition from nearby residents and people with family at a neighboring assisted living facility. The self-storage grounds would also accommodate RV’s and boats, neither of which may be parked in Palm Coast driveways.
Simultaneous Fireworks in Palm Coast and Flagler Beach? ‘Unworkable, Unsafe and Unsound’
Scott Spradley, chairman of the committee the Flagler Beach City Commission appointed to study how best to continue Independence Day events in the city, was sharply opposed to holding fireworks the same day as Palm Coast, as Palm Coast officials have suggested. Spradley took his stand as he delivered the final report of the committee’s work, which had not addressed the Palm Coast issue.
Slow Way in Seminole Woods Will Not Close After All as Palm Coast Council Ends Long and Winding Slog
After voting to close Slow Way last year, the Palm Coast City Council has reversed course for good, opting to keep the tiny street open now that no-truck signs appear to have reduced traffic woes and a backlash from residents made council members reluctant to close the street.
‘You Had Me at 8-Inch Shells’: Palm Coast Would Shift Fireworks to Airport, But on July 4, Clashing With Flagler Beach
While the Palm Coast City Council is fine with moving Independence Day fireworks to the county airport, three council members want to see fireworks only on July 4, which would clash with Flagler Beach’s iconic show and create coordination problems that the city and the Sheriff’s Office may not have the resources to provide simultaneously.
Palm Coast Government Will Propose Shifting July 3 Fireworks Event to Flagler County Airport
Palm Coast is considering shifting its July 3 fireworks show away from Town Center’s Central Park and to the nearby Flagler County airport’s grounds–to accommodate more people, easier parking, smoother traffic, and bigger fireworks.
Registration Ongoing for Palm Coast Mayor’s 30/30 Fitness Challenge
Palm Coast residents wishing to participate in the Mayor’s 30/30 Fitness Challenge can still register by visiting palmcoast.gov/mayors-challenge using their city of Palm Coast account login information. Residents without an account can easily create one at the sign-in screen.
Palm Coast’s R-Section Getting 1st Large-Scale Apartment Complex, a 216-Unit Plan Near Rymfire Elementary
The Palm Coast Planning Board recommended approval of a development plan for a 216-unit apartment complex at the southwest end of the R Section. It is to be called Red Mill Pointe, and would become the first large-scale apartment complex of the R-Section. The second tract zoned for it, in the central-west portion of the R Section, is yet undeveloped.
Arsenic Laces Up Concerns at 200-Home Lakeview Estate Development on Ex-Matanzas Golf Course, But Board Clears Project
Relying on state regulations that require the land to be cleaned up of arsenic and any other contaminants before development can go forward, the Palm Coast Planning Board this evening voted unanimously–6-0–to approve the latest step, with more to go, in a large-scale residential home development in the L-Section that will over the next few years replace much of what used to be the Matanzas Woods Golf Course over time.
Palm Coast, Gig City: MetroNet Will Wire All Residential Neighborhoods With Fiber Optic By 2023, Rocketing Speeds
To much fanfare, Indiana-based MetroNet and Palm Coast government jointly announced today a plan to have the city’s entire 550 miles of residential streets wired with high-speed fiber optic within two years. The plan is entirely financed by the company. Neither the city nor taxpayers are on the hook for anything–other than monthly fees once the service is available.
Risks of Development At Palm Harbor Golf Course Vanish for Good as Builder Jim Jacoby Donates Driving Range
Two years ago Palm Coast was in negotiations with Jim Jacoby to build 120 apartments on the Palm Harbor Golf Club property. Fierce resistance stopped the project, and now Jacoby is donating to Palm Coast the last remaining land of the golf course not yet in the city’s ownership.
Reflecting Dismal Results of Its Own Search, Palm Coast Council Renews Quest for Manager with Independent Firm
Following Nick Klufas’s lead, the Palm Coast City Council on Tuesday opted to hire a search firm to conduct a new search for city manager. It will interview candidates resulting from that search in addition to the three remaining on the short-list from its own search, among them former Sheriff Jim Manfre.
Palm Coast Was Set to Recommend New Garbage Hauler. Waste Pro Protested. City Will Re-Start Entire Bid Process.
Palm Coast government issued a “Notice of Intent” to award the city’s next five-year garbage contract to Texas-based FCC Environmental, ending Palm Coast’s 15-year relationship with Waste Pro. Waste Pro filed a bid protest. The city will now re-start the process and hope to have a hauler in place by the time Waste Pro’s contract expires on May 31–whether Waste Pro or another company.
Ex-Sheriff Jim Manfre Gets Most Votes in Short-Listing of 6 Candidates for Palm Coast City Manager
In a stunner, former two-time Sheriff Jim Manfre was the top vote-getter in the short-listing of possible candidates for Palm Coast City Manager as the council this evening picked six candidates to back-ground check and possibly interview in January.
Fire Chief Jerry Forte Recognized with Tony Gasparino ‘Lest We Forget Award’
The Knights of Columbus Corpus Christi Assembly 2810 and Santa Maria Del Mar Catholic Church recognized Palm Coast Fire Chief Jerry Forte with the Tony Gasparino “Lest We Forget Award.” Attending with Forte was his wife, Lisa, and his mother, Theresa.
‘Do We Settle?’ Palm Coast Mayor’s Question Reflects Disappointment in 90 Manager Applicants, Suggesting Do-Over
Mayor David Alfin and other Palm Coast council members are disappointed in the quality of candidates who have applied for city manager, opening the possibility that the process may be set aside and re-started, with a search firm this time–if the mayor gets his way.
50th Palm Coast Citizens Academy Graduates 13
Thirteen Palm Coast residents graduated from the 50th session of the Palm Coast Citizens Academy on Tuesday, October 19th, at the City Council meeting.
91 Apply for Palm Coast Manager But Number Deceives: Interim Denise Bevan and Other Qualified Candidates Shun Turmoil
The lack of more numerous quality applicants or internal applicants seems to reflect leeriness about the toxic atmosphere in and around the council. Only 20 applicants have served as either city or county managers, only six of those are currently employed, all in much smaller governments. Many applicants are not qualified, having applied apparently by mistake due to an error in the original posting of the job, which was listed as “manager,” rather than “city manager.”
1st Single-Family Home Subdivision in Town Center Will Bring 208 Homes Near Imagine School, Along Royal Palms
The city council cleared The Gables at Town Center, a 208-home subdivision on 125 acres that stretch from Imagine School at Town center west and north, along Royal Palmas Parkway. Construction has begun. It will eventually look like any typical subdivision in the city.
Palm Coast Council Member Eddie Branquinho Says He Won’t Run in 2022–Unless ‘Crazies’ Are Running
Palm Coast City Council member Eddie Branquinho’s decision not to run means that with Victor Barbosa and Nick Klufas both opting for a run for County Commission, the council is assured of a new majority. Branquinho says he is leaving the door open for a re-election run in case his seat attracts “extremists.”
Garbage Rates Will Go Up at Least 30% If Current Service Is Maintained as Palm Coast Draws Only 2 Bids from Haulers
Both bids for Palm Coast’s next garbage-hauling contract would result in a significant price increase if current twice-a-week service were maintained: a 30 percent increase if Waste Pro wins the contract for another five years, and a 66 percent increase if the city council were to find reason to opt for the bidder challenging Waste Pro: FCC Environmental Services.
Third Major Development Slated for Roberts Road Near Sea Ray Would Add 217 Single-Family Homes
The 217 houses of Grand Reserve East would go up on a 142-acre tract paralleling Lambert Avenue to the east, adding to developments bringing 240 apartments and 112 single-family homes a bit further south. The property owner is going through rezoning steps.
On Little More Than Junky Evidence, Palm Coast Councilman Wants $1,000 Fine for Littering and Cops Turned Trash Patrol
Palm Coast Council member Ed Danko wants to see Sheriff’s deputies paying more attention to litterers, and he wants to increase littering fines from $150 to $1,000, though neither he nor the city administration could provide a way of measuring whether there is an unusual littering problem in the city, or how anything more than an awareness campaign could improve matters.
Expect Delays and Detours Over Next 10 Nights as Paving Coats Widened Old Kings Road at Palm Coast Parkway
Traffic frustrations around the construction zone at Old Kings Road and Palm Coast Parkway are about to ramp up for a few nights before they get better as the widening project, already weeks past its completion date, enters its final, paving phase. The $6.5 million project was due to be substantially completed by Sept. 22. The completion date is now Oct. 22.
In Swap Deal With Developer of 450 Homes, Citation Boulevard Will Extend to Seminole Woods, Saving Cost of New Firehouse
Plans are being laid out to stretch Citation Boulevard from Belle Terre Boulevard all the way to Seminole Woods Boulevard, creating one of those rare east-west thru-ways in Palm Coast, and possibly saving the city the need to build a firehouse, at least in the longer run.
Ed Danko Is Cautioned of Being Removed from Dais for Violating Council’s Rules in Repeated Outbursts
Ed Danko, a Palm Coast City Council member for less than a year, was admonished and cautioned about being removed from the dais after repeated angry outbursts interrupting a public speaker at the beginning Tuesday’s council meeting. Never in the 21-year history of the Palm Coast City Council had a council member come close to eliciting so much as the suggestion of being asked to leave the dais.
Royal Palms Parkway Reopens as Palm Coast City Crew Labors 12 Hours a Day to Complete Storm Pipe Repairs
Royal Palms Parkway, one of Palm Coast’s few east-west thruways, is again open to traffic after a two-week closure from Belle Terre Parkway to Rickebracker Drive when a storm pipe collapse that made the road unsafe to drive. The road reopened well ahead of expectations: A crew leader had projected a reopening by the end of next week. But the in-house city crew got the work done in less than five days, for about $56,000.
The Story Behind the Pipe Failure on Royal Palms Pkwy: What Went Wrong, How It’ll be Fixed, What to Expect
The pipe failure beneath Royal Palms Parkway that closed the busy east-west road on Sept. 16 and will keep it closed until near mid-October is an example of Palm Coast’s aging infrastructure, which sometimes outruns the city’s ongoing $75 million plan to reinforce, repair or replace it.
Between Bouts of Rudeness, Palm Coast Votes Against Removing Ban on Commercial Vehicles in Residential Driveways
The Palm Coast City Council this morning voted 3-2 against changing its ordinance banning the parking of commercial vehicles in residential driveways, unless the vehicles are on a work call. An attempt to consider a referendum on the issue, assuming the question can be appended to the 2022 ballot at no additional cost, was set aside.
End the Offensive Discrimination Against Workers: Yes to Commercial Vehicles in Palm Coast Driveways
Palm Coast’s prohibition against small, van-size commercial vehicles in residential driveways is outdated and discriminatory, especially targeting blue-collar workers while refusing to recognize the vastly changing geography of work. This isn’t a majority vote issue. It’s a workers’ rights issue.
Palm Coast Approves a Manager Search Vulnerable to Councilmen’s Free-Wheeling Outside Formal Process
What screening of applicants for Palm Coast City Manager will take place in the formal process may be undermined by individual council members’ decisions to circumvent it to champion their own choices regardless, whether those candidates match minimum requirements or not.
Final $128,000 Cost of Palm Coast Special Election for Mayor Was $60,000 Less Than Initial Estimate
The actual cost to the city–and to taxpayers–of the July 27 special election that brought Mayor David Alfin to power cost $127,983.15, compared to an initial estimate of $187,764. A low turnout of 26 percent, compared to the 79 percent that voted in last November’s election, drove the cost down.
Fractured as Ever, Palm Coast Council Will Vote Tuesday on Keeping or Ending Commercial Vehicle Ban in Driveways
A divided Palm Coast City Council will vote on Sept. 21 on whether to keep its current regulations banning commercial vehicles in residential driveways, or relaxing the regulation. The vote may hinge on Mayor David Alfin, who has strongly hinted so far that he’s not big on changing the ordinance. Ed Danko and Victor Barbosa want the ordinance relaxed. Eddie Branquinho and Nick Klufas do not.
A Survivor Tree Grows in Palm Coast: 9/11 Ceremony at Heroes Park Dedicates Sapling From Ground Zero
Saturday evening in Palm Coast, in a 9/11 memorial ceremony organized by Patrick Juliano and the Palm Coast Fire Department, a sapling from the Survivor Tree was dedicated at Heroes Park.
Palm Coast Policing Budget Will Jump 42% with 10 New Deputies, Tax Rate Will Dip a Smidge, but at Reserves’ Expense
The Palm Coast City Council Thursday evening ended weeks of wrangling over its budget and tax rate and voted 3-2 to approve awarding the sheriff all 10 requested additional deputies and reduce the tax rate enough to save the average homesteaded homeowner about $11, while using $530,000 from city reserves to make the numbers work.
Rezoning Near Integra Woods and U.S. 1 Clears the Way for Up to 650-Unit Apartment Complex, or ‘Attached’ Homes
The Palm Coast City Council approved the rezoning of 72 acres between U.S. 1 and Seminole Woods Boulevard, clearing the way for a multi-phased development of up to 650 apartments, what the developer’s attorney describes as “attached single-family home-like” apartments rather than traditional, multi-story apartment buildings.
Palm Coast Council All in for 10 More Cops, But the Votes for a Budget and Tax Rate Aren’t Lining Up, Setting Up Showdown
The Palm Coast City Council in a disorderly special workshop meeting this evening agreed to fully fund the Flagler County Sheriff’s request for 10 additional deputies for city policing, four more than it had originally budgeted. But that’s as far as it got in agreeing to a new budget. The rest remains a churn of conflicts, setting up a potential showdown between council members at a public hearing on Thursday.
41 Errors and $10,000 Fine in the Bag, Reilly Opelka Still Cruises Into 1st-Ever 4th Round of U.S. Open
Palm Coast’s Reilly Opelka overcame 41 unforced errors in an uneven match to still win his third-round U.S. Open match in straight sets against Nikoloz Basilashvili under the lights Saturday night, while making light of a $10,000 fine for carrying a pink tote bag with a non-regulation logo.
Just Call Him David: Palm Coast Mayor Alfin Settles In With Exuberant Focus on Growth, Town Center and the Next Manager
In a wide-ranging interview in his new office at City Hall, Palm Coast Mayor David Alfin talked about getting a budget done, getting a permanent city manager hired, and fostering the reemergence of Town Center as an economic, educational, cultural and health care hub.
Palm Coast Council Has Votes to Increase Deputies By More than 6 and Lower Tax Rate Symbolically
The Palm Coast City Council is in a 3-2 split that would approve lowering the property tax rate symbolically and increase the number of deputies the sheriff is requesting to police the city by more than the six the administration had been prepared to award.
Florida Ethics Commission Advocate Recommends $1,000 Fine For Milissa Holland’s Email Lapse
The Florida Commission on Ethics’ advocate and former Mayor Milissa Holland have agreed to a $1,000 fine Holland would pay over the commission’s finding that she violated the state’s ethics rules when she sent three private-business solicitation emails from her public, mayoral email account in 2018.
Palm Coast Council Appoints 5-Member Redistricting Commission, With 120-Day Deadline
Palm Coast’s process, guided by charter, requires the appointment of a citizens’ redistricting commission, which then crunches the new population numbers, draws the new boundaries and submits its results to the council. The council then approves the end result. The commission has 120 days to do its work.
Palm Coast Increases Fees at Parks, Community Center, Pool, Palm Harbor Golf Course and Tennis Center
The City of Palm Coast is raising its fees for Parks and Recreation services and rentals across the city following City Council approval on Aug. 17, after the proposal was presented to the council at a workshop. The new fees are now in effect.
Why We Must Fund Public Safety: The Sheriff’s Office’s Response
Flagler County Sheriff Chief of Staff Mark Strobridge responds to Thursday’s “Overfunding Police” column, citing misinterpretations of a UNF study on which the sheriff is basing a request for 25 additional deputies from Palm Coast and Flagler County.
Palm Coast and Flagler at Risk of Overfunding Police
Policing in Flagler has never been at risk of “defunding,” nor have relations between police and the community lacked for cohesion and respect. But Sheriff Staly’s request for 25 additional deputies from Palm Coast and the county overplay a hand, while both governments are teetering on going along with what would be overfunding police, at the expense of other needs.
In a Boost for Its Palm Coast Hub, UNF President David Szymanski Stepping Down to Become CEO of MedNexus
Szymanski’s decision signals the breadth and weigh of UNF’s investment in MedNexus and now places the person most responsible for it behind its development, in Jacksonville and in Palm Coast, where it came about through the lobbying of former Mayor Milissa Holland.
Palm Coast Council Clears Way for a 240-Apartment Complex Just North of RaceTrac on Old Kings Road
The developer of Tuscan Reserve apartments in Palm Coast is proposing to develop a 240-unit apartment complex on Old Kings Road, just north of State Road 100, called the Tribute. The Palm Coast City Council on Tuesday approved the rezoning that clears the way for the development.
In Mayoral Election Audit, Lowe Partisans’ Hunt for Perfidy Disappoints as Results Are, As Expected, Confirmed
The audit of the July 27 special election for Palm Coast mayor showed 100 percent accuracy, though partisans of Alan Lowe, one of the losing candidates, have continued to make baseless allegations of irregularities.
Back from Boys’ Camp, Palm Coast Council Adopts Tentative Tax Rate, But Policing Budget Is Contested
The Palm Coast City Council on Tuesday broke its impasse over a tentative tax rate, approving what for now is the same rate that’s been in effect since 2019, with council members’ pledge to look for ways to reduce it. But that may be difficult with a slew of competing demands in services, including additional sheriff’s deputies, street paving, and other administrative requests.