Only 6 Apply to Serve on Palm Coast’s Charter Review Committee So Far, 2 Weeks Ahead of Deadline

Last Updated: 1:54 p.m. to include Steve Lunsford application.

Palm Coast government’s invitation to residents to be members of the city’s five-member Charter Review Committee has drawn only six applicants since the 30-day application window opened on May 19, four of them from the same district. The hesitancy mirrors the process that hampered the city’s search for a city manager since last year as continuing intramural conflict,  almost all of it fueled by the mayor, roiled the council. 

Unless extended, the application window closes at 5 p.m. June 18. The Palm Coast City Council will appoint the committee on July 15. Each council member and the mayor will appoint one member. The appointments don’t necessarily have to be from each council member’s district, though four of the five applicants are from District 2, represented by Council member Theresa Pontieri. (To apply, click here.) 

The city on Monday issued another release imploring qualified residents to apply for the one-year term to “play a key role in ensuring the Charter continues to reflect the needs, values, and priorities of the Palm Coast community.”

It will be the first review of the charter since 2017. The charter is the city’s constitution, setting out governing principles in broad outlines. It is required to be reviewed, but not necessarily amended, at least every 10 years. The review committee will hold public workshops and conclude its work with recommended amendments to the charter. The council will accept, reject or alter the proposed amendments. 

The council may introduce its own amendments as well. It did so ahead of l;ast November’s election, to eliminate a provision in the charter–unusual for most cities–that forbids Palm Coast government from borrowing more than $15 million or entering into long-term leases without a referendum. (The restriction does not apply to funds autonomous from the general fund, like the Utility Department, the garbage and stormwater funds.) 

The referendum failed decisively as the city was blamed for writing it deceptively. The referendum did not explicitly state that it was repealing the public’s right to a referendum on large-scale borrowing initiatives. The proposal is very likely to be back on the ballot in one form or another. 

The council is also interested in clarifying the language controlling council vacancies. The current language is poor and has demonstrably left the city vulnerable to litigation: its own mayor, Mike Norris, filed suit against his city, challenging the legitimacy of the appointment of Council member Charles Gambaro past last November’s election. The city considers Norris’s lawsuit “frivolous.”

The proposed amendments, if any, would be on the November 2026 ballot. 

Here are brief sketches of the five applicants so far:

Robert Boggess, 72, who’d applied to serve on the council last fall (for the seat that went to Charles Gambaro), retired as a support service manager in Volusia County government and has lived in Palm Coast 18 years. He’s familiar with government boards, having served on Flagler County’s EMS Advisory Board.  “Through education and experience, I have developed listening and analytical skills that enable me to examine issues and formulate questions to arrive at reasonable and fair conclusions,” he writes in his application. “Additionally, I recognize when I lack sufficient knowledge on a subject and ask more questions.

Rich Cooper, 51, an insurance executive who spent the first part of his career as a firefighter, has lived in Palm Coast a combined 33 years and currently serves on the city’s Citizens Advisory Committee for Yard Drainage, a position he’d have to resign if appointed to the charter panel. “Having grown up in Palm Coast, and subsequently raising 3 kids here, I have a unique interest in the future of this community. I would hope this is a place that my children will want to come back and raise a family,” he writes. For references, and eschewing the chance to name-drop suited and titled names, Cooper chose a neighbor, a long-time friend and a co-worker, perhaps a reflection of a more community-minded mindset.

Jeani Duarte, 58, a nutritionist, came to prominence in Palm Coast when she sued the city last year in a pair of filings that left Circuit Judge Chris France puzzling over her objective: the court pleadings, such as they were, were incoherent.  France immediately dismissed the suit as not only “legally insufficient” but “nonsensical and any attempt to answer the complaint would be futile.” Duarte filed an amended complaint that met the same fate. She filed a complaint with the Florida Ethics Commission against David Alfin that the commission tossed out. She occasionally addresses the council in the same style as her pleadings. She writes in her application that she has been “actively involved in protecting” the charter, principally from having its borrowing restriction removed. 

Steven Ludwig, 59, a Palm Coast resident for just under two years, describes his current occupation as “Speaking, Training, Professional [Development],” after a career as a general services superintendent in municipal government in Illinois. “My current consulting business manages several week long conference programs for the American Public Works Association and the Michigan Association of Municipal Clerks,” he writes. “I also provide training, coaching, and mentoring for individual governmental agencies, as well as am a regular conference speaker/trainer.”

Michael Martin, 75, a retired commercial printer, is recognizable by his booming voice and assertive presence, which has radiated across the county since his election and re-election to the East Flagler Mosquito Control District. A resident of Palm Coast, he’s also chaired the county’s redistricting commission and served briefly on the county’s canvassing board. He revealed in his application that then-Mayor David Alfin requested he complete a “charter revision report” in 2022. “I am always interested in improving governance,” he writes. Running meetings appears to be second nature to him. “I am intelligent, careful, knowledgeable and have years of experience in board meetings,” he writes. “I know how to properly accomplish group success and how to work with people.” 

Sheri Montgomery, 67, a former program director and professor at Rocky Mountain University in Utah, has been a business owner, researcher and member of professional boards and associations, and has a doctorate in leadership and research. “My experiences bring a diverse perspective to governance, and I believe my knowledge of research will  support the process of review,” she writes. She, too, drew on neighbors as references. 

Palm Coast Charter Review 2025

Applicant	District	Occupation	Highest degree	Years in Palm Coast	Age	Party
Robert Boggess	4	Retired from Volusia County government	M.B.A.	18	72	Democratic
Rich Cooper	2	Insurance executive	A.A.	33	51	Republican
Jeani Duarte	2	Retired nutritionist	Certificates	7	58	NPA
Steven Ludwig	1	Speaker, retired from government services	High School	2	59	Republican
Michael Martin	2	Retired printer	B.S.	9	75	Republican
Sheri Montgomery	2	Program director/professor	Doctorate	12	67	Republican