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.
Palm Coast City Council
Ethics Commission Dismisses Conflict of Interest Claims Against Palm Coast Council’s David Alfin and Ed Danko
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
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.
With One Exception, Palm Coast Council is Not As Eager for Repeat of Rolled Back Tax Rate This Year
Palm Coast City Council member Ed Danko is pushing for rolling back the city’s tax rate for the second year in a row, but other council members, especially Theresa Pontieri, is resisting, citing increasing demands from residents for such services as road repairs and the sheriff’s request for nine additional deputies, costs that would be harder to meet if the rate was rolled back.
Why Is Palm Coast Backroom-Dealing Tax Incentives with a Private Company?
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.
Palm Coast Approves Final Regulatory Step in 4 Developments Totaling 533 Single-Family Homes
The Palm Coast City Council in rapid-fire succession Tuesday approved the final step clearing the way for four developments totaling 533 single-family homes, the final-plat approval that essentially means lots will be sold and homes built on infrastructure and according to plans that won regulatory approval several years ago. Some of the developments were more dormant than others.
After Trickle of Interest, All 5 Applicants Are Appointed to Palm Coast’s ‘Drainage Advisory Committee’
Only six people applied to be members of the Palm Coast Citizens Drainage Committee, few of them part of the vocal throngs, and one withdrew before the council had a chance to make its choices. The advisory committee required a minimum of five members and at least one alternate, and could have had as many as nine members and two alternates. Given the dearth, the council had no choice but to appoint all five members when it made that decision on Tuesday.
No July 4 Fireworks in Flagler Beach Until 2027, But City Intends to Reconquer the Day, and the Skies, That Year
Flagler Beach hasn’t had July 4 fireworks since 2019. It will not have them again until 2027, by which time the pier, the boardwalk and the beach will have been rebuilt, assuming hurricanes, which have a malicious mind of their own, don’t interfere. But the city is intent on staking its place as the home of July 4 fireworks in that future when it is able to host the blasts again, restoring that old tradition.
Arrogance and Contempt in Palm Coast Council’s Election-Year Dash for New City Manager
The Palm Coast City Council’s rush to hire a new city manager mere months from an election that will turn over two, possibly three seats, shows mistrust of the acting manager, contempt for voters and the new council they’ll choose, and pathological arrogance on the part of current council members. The mayor knows better.
Excavation Underway in L Section as Part of $9.2 Million London Waterway Project
The City of Palm Coast Stormwater and Engineering department began major excavation efforts as part of the $9.2 million London Waterway Expansion project, which will increase stormwater storage capacity and provide water quality benefits in the city’s London, Jefferson and Belleaire waterways, located in the city’s L and B sections.