On June 3, Palm Coast Mayor Mike Norris participated in the rededication of City Hall’s council chamber as the Jon Netts Community Wing. Netts had served as a council member and mayor for 11 years before his death in 2021, a tenure marked by an august dignity for the office and arms-length reverence for city staff.
On June 10, in an unprecedented inquisition into the city’s top staff by its own mayor, Norris filed a public record request, seeking to know every communication–email, text, phone message–Acting Palm Coast City Manager Lauren Johnston has had with Chief of Staff Jason DeLorenzo, local developers, county and sheriff’s officials, local media and others, from the day of his election–Nov. 6–to the present.
Anyone may file a public record request on any public official, most of whose records, including phone and written communications, are open for inspection. It is unusual–and in Flagler County governments, all but unheard of, if not inappropriate–that an elected official would seek with such sweep what amounts to an interrogative of his own city manager’s administrative paper trail, especially in light of his recent censure for administrative interference and other misconduct.
Norris attempted to fire Johnston and DeLorenzo in a private meeting earlier this year, a violation of the city charter that resulted in an independent investigation and the City Council’s censure of the mayor: he is barred from interfering with the management of the city beyond contact with the city manager. The censure does not appear to have altered his tactics. It has only redirected them.
Norris refuses to have all but the most cursory contact with Johnston. Though his request was drafted to Johnston, he emailed it to Kaley Cook, the city clerk.
Norris, who has repeatedly called the censure and other criticism of his mayorship a “witch hunt,” requested Johnston’s communications and related documents with DeLorenzo, Rayonier Real Estate Development Director Paul Rice, Douglas Properties’ Jeff Douglas and Walker Douglas, County Tourim Director Amy Lukasik, Palm Coast land use attorney Michael Chiumento, Flagler County Sheriff’s Chief Mark Strobridge—now the interim assistant city manager–Sheriff Rick Staly, the Sheriff’s Office’s Brian Finn, who is the city’s liaison with the agency, FlaglerLive Editor Pierre Tristam, the Palm Coast Historical Society Director Reasa Pabst, and Danielle Anderson, who is a member of the Flagler County Cultural Council and runs Flagler Newsweekly, among other responsibilities.
Several of the names on his list are among those the independent investigator interviewed. Aside from media contacts who are caught in Norris’s conspiratorial web of allegations, it is unclear why other names are on the list, including sheriff’s personnel, though the request was placed a week after Norris learned that Johnston was bringing Strobridge on to be her assistant manager for a few months. Norris had been on vacation for a long stretch and was not consulted on the matter, though he has declined consultations with Johnston for months regardless.
“I remain at the pleasure of council and accessible to information including the mayor,” Johnston said in a text today. “I have offered to meet with the mayor and assist with any questions he may have but he has not responded.”
Norris’s was a huge request. Cook on June 16 informed him that she’d identified 2,949 records and that it would take about 41 hours to review them all to ensure no information exempt from the state’s public record law was included. The review would be conducted at the hourly rate of $41.96, resulting in a cost estimate of $1,720. (Though allowed to charge the lowest-necessary hourly rate to review records, it isn’t uncommon for local governments to inflate the cost of inordinate requests, both to be on the safe side of an estimate, but also–and not uncommonly–out of irritation or pushback.)
“Please provide me a cost estimate for just text messages from her city and personal phone(s),” Norris wrote back three minutes later.
There were some 400 messages that–somewhat improbably: text messages average the length of little more than badly written haikus–would take 6.5 hours to review, at a cost of $273. There were no further exchanges about the cost, and in fact the city confirmed that no records have been pulled since Norris did not follow up.
In the interim, he learned last Friday that FlaglerLive had requested his requests–we cc’d him, both because he is the primary custodian his own record and as a heads up that we were making the inquiry. FlaglerLive’s record request was limited to Norris’s requests and his exchanges about them only, not whatever records he may have received, though anything he would have paid for would subsequently be available to anyone at no cost, since the city is not allowed to double-charge for a service already accomplished.
Fernando Melendez says
What a joke he continues to be, please free our city from further embarrassment and resign. Enough is Enough. Mike must GO!!!
Nephew Of Uncle Sam says
Captain Queeg roams the Council Chamber…
“Queeg thinks something similar happened with the strawberries, and asks Maryk to order every member of the crew to hand in a written report presenting at least two alibis for the hours between one and three. That day the Caine leaves Ulithi to escort the damaged carriers to Guam. The next morning, Queeg tells Keefer that he knows who the villain is. He asks Keefer to tell the crew that Queeg has identified the criminal, who should turn himself in. No one turns himself in. Queeg calls for all keys aboard the ship to be tried in the freezer lock, and if none work, the entire ship will be searched until the key is found.”
PeachesMcGee says
STOP BUFFOONERY!
GKH says
I would really like to see Mayor Norris close out the bribery/quid pro quo issue that needed immediate attention at that time. It seems he just digs himself a deeper hole as time goes on.
This dude is for real? says
Mayor Mike, frankly your making an ass of yourself, you sorely lack any character or skills required to be an executive officer of Palm Coast. Time to resign before you completely destroy any semblance that you have of a functioning adult. Good day Sir.
bill says
been here 21years and he has nothing but been a circus. The biggest show was with Melissa Holland what a pathetic little no nothing bunch of people working for the day I worked there 15 years and everyone is trying to oppress the other one with their certificate in college degrees and their accreditation placed on their little desk. They are all legends in their own minds.
Ed Danko, former Vice-Mayor of PC says
I believe the citizens of Palm Coast have had enough of this paranoid, insecure, poor excuse for a mayor. His own party, my Republican party, has lost complete confidence in him. It is time for Mike Norris to have the courage to step down and resign before the council sends a formal letter to the governor requesting his removal from office.
D W Ferguson says
I thought Ms. Pontieri was the de facto Mayor for some time.
Dennis C Rathsam says
KEEP BUSTING THIER BALLS MIKE!!!!THESE USELESS, OVER PAYED COUNCILMEN HAVE TO GO! THEY,VE MADE A MESS OF P/C!
Grey Man says
I see Ed Danko left a comment above. I find it interesting that Ed Danko attempted to lead a boycott of Flagler Live, yet obviously reads Flagler Live. That sounds like a perfect case of do as I say, not as I do.
Critical Eye says
🤣😂🤣😂Love the name Captain Queeg. Perfect name for Mousey Mike fits him to a T! Such a JOKE he be.
There has never been a bigger Dunce in Palm Coast history. Hey Captain Queeg pull your head out if your B Hole!!! 🤣😂🤣😂
Notthatsherry says
How dare the Mayor do what he promised to do! He is exposing what has been going on in Palm Coast for years.
At his first council meeting, back in December, he brought up the question of whether the council and city violated the city charter by circumventing an election when they held a vacant council seat open until after the next election.
The charter clearly states that a vacant seat SHALL be open and an election will be held for that seat. The word SHALL means ‘must’.
This is how all of it got started. The previous council wanted to control who was placed in that seat. That council was so motivated, in my opinion, that they violated the charter in order to get what they wanted. THE QUESTION IS WHY?
FOLLOW THE MONEY!
Me says
Unrest in Palm Coast City Hall. How can taxpayers feel confident that city officials are doing the best for the city when none of them seem to be able to work together as a team.
Larry says
This is the typical weekly chaos/problems coming from Mayor Norris. Last week it was something else just as crazy and next week there will be another shake-your-head moment associated with Mayor Norris.
He’s ruining the city’s reputation. No decent large corporation will attempt to move to the city and add jobs as long as he’s mayor, IMO. Too much drama.
Steve says
both sides of this pissing contest are idiots!