DC Blox, the Atlanta-based data company working with Palm Coast to open a data center there, is about to face stiff resistance from some Flagler Beach City Commissioners as it seeks a permanent easement through Veterans Park, one of the city’s iconic treasures. Officials are not happy with the choice they’re being given at Veterans Park, the paltry, one-time compensation the city is being offered–$100,000 per cable landing–or the way DC Blox has attempted to keep negotiations out of the public eye, especially about money.
rick belhumeur
Deborah Phillips, Flagler Beach City Commission Candidate: The Live Interview
Deborah Phillips is one of five candidates for two seats on the Flagler Beach City Commission in the non-partisan municipal election that will be decided on March 7.
Scott Spradley, Flagler Beach City Commission Candidate: The Live Interview
Scott Spradley is one of five candidates for two seats on the Flagler Beach City Commission in the non-partisan municipal election that will be decided on March 7.
Bob Cunningham, Flagler Beach City Commission Candidate: The Live Interview
Bob Cunningham is one of five candidates for two seats on the Flagler Beach City Commission in the non-partisan municipal election that will be decided on March 7.
Doug Bruno O’Connor, Flagler Beach City Commission Candidate: The Live Interview
Doug Bruno O’Connor is one of five candidates for two seats on the Flagler Beach City Commission in the non-partisan municipal election that will be decided on March 7.
Rick Belhumeur, Flagler Beach City Commission Candidate: The Live Interview
Rick Belhumeur is one of five candidates for two seats on the Flagler Beach City Commission in the non-partisan municipal election will be decided on March 7.
Paul Harrington, A Flagler Beach Commission Candidate in March, Dies at 66 After Weeks of Struggles
Paul Harrington, who died this morning at 66, had been in the thick of Flagler Beach City Commission issues going back five years. He attended almost every meeting and twice ran for a commission seat. He’d been hospitalized in late February for the removal of brain tumors just before the last election.
In Flagler Beach, A Pitched Battle Over Taxes Is Dividing Commissioners as Administration Draws Fire
The Flagler Beach City Commission appeared ready to prevent a tax increase of any kind this year until a surprising call for another budget meeting had two commissioners questioning the administration’s motives, and those of fellow-commissioners.
Chastened Over Outbursts, Flagler Beach Manager Newsom Apologizes But Also Draws Warm Support
City Manager Larry Newsom survived a humiliating and one-sided dressing down by rookie Commissioner Deborah Phillips as other commissioners and the mayor rallied around him and he apologized repeatedly for a recent outburst at a public meeting.
‘Little Old Flagler Beach’ No More as City Commission Plans on Stricter Public Meeting Rules
Though most lapses in civility have involved commissioners or staffers over the years, new rules proposed by new Commissioner Ken Bryan would significantly corral interactions between the public and commissioners and create a public no-go zone at commission meetings.
Flagler Beach’s Plan to Buy $571,000 Fire Truck Draws Opposition Over Timing and Recent History
The Flagler Beach Fire Department’s proposal to buy a $571,000 fire truck is triggering the sort of opposition mobilized against the 2015 purchase of a $600,000 “quint” fire truck, an odyssey that took 18 months. That truck was eventually delivered.
Flagler Beach and County Commissioners Call Out Joe Mullins Over a Baseless, Inflammatory Claim
Flagler County Commissioner Joe Mullins over the weekend made unsubstantiated accusations that unnamed Flagler Beach officials are hurting business and tourism in the city with their “stay on your side of the bridge mentality.” City commissioners corrected him.
Flagler Beach City Manager Larry Newsom, On Sick Leave, Defends Responding to Rude Constituents Rudely
Flagler Beach City Manager Larry Newsom has been sick for over two weeks–it’s not Covid-19–and Fire Chief Bobby Pace is the interim manager for the next two to four weeks, but Newsom’s erratic interactions have caused issues with constituents and concern among officials.
Flagler Beach Kills Paid Parking Proposal for the City: ‘We Don’t Have a Parking Problem’
The paid-parking proposal in Flagler Beach, the latest of many, would have generated money but not for the city: it would have paid for a company to run a complicated system.
In Flagler Beach, Four Candidates for City Commission Reveal Sharp Differences Despite Surface Agreement
Incumbents Jane Mealy and Rick Belhumeur appeared with challengers Paul Eik and Deborah Phillips at a Woman’s Club forum that showed their paper similarities and vast personality differences.
Two Incumbents and Two Challengers Running in Flagler Beach’s March Election
The Flagler Beach March 5 election has drawn two incumbents, Jane Mealy and Rick Belhumeur, second-time challenger Paul Eik, and newcomer Deborah Phillips, a business owner in town.
$22.4 Million A1A Rebuilding and Sea Wall Construction in Flagler Beach Starts in January
The Florida Department of Transportation just awarded a $22.4 million contract to a Jacksonville contractor to start construction, sea wall and dune repairs on three segments of A1A in Flagler Beach.
For Flagler Beach’s 400 Homes Flooded By Irma, Millions in New Repair and Rebuild Grants Bus In
The federal government is making $616 million available to moderate and low-income property owners and landlords for Hurricane Irma-related repairs across Florida. Flagler Beach is on the priority list.
Déjà Vu All Over Again at Flagler Beach Golf Course as City Grants Yet Another Probation
Even though the city commission found a golf management company in default of its lease, the commission offered yet another conditional set of terms to make the nine-hole golf course work.
It Is Done: Sklar And Flagler Beach Sign Settlement Over Marina, Ending Decade Battle
A legal battle that immobilized the Flagler Beach marina since 2010 ended when owner Howard Sklar signed a settlement agreement Monday, and the mayor signed it today.
Duel Over Sklar’s Marina Continues Even as Divided Flagler Beach Commission Approves Latest Agreement
The Flagler Beach City Commission voted 3-2 to approve a settlement in the nearly 8-year-old dispute, but not before making still more changes to an agreement that now Howard Sklar may either approve or reject.
Divided Flagler Beach Commission Agrees To 15% Tax Increase, 2 New Cops, 1 Fire Captain
Residents in Flagler Beach will see their second big tax increase in a row, along with a 35 percent water and sewer rate hike, a 10 percent garbage hike and a 30 percent stormwater hike.
Flagler Beach Offers City Manager Newsom 30% Raise, to $120,000; He’d Asked for 7%
City Manager Larry Newsom would get a $28,500 raise–assuming he can make the numbers work in a budget that also calls for a 4 percent across the board raise for employees and other wishes.
Flagler Beach Marina Settlement With City Collapses, But This Time It’s a Sklar Thing
Flagler Beach and Marina owner Howard Sklar return to court in late September as their settlement talks over the Flagler Beach Marina collapsed when Sklar reversed course on a building requirement.
In Flagler Beach, Tax Collector’s Roadside Sign Catches Commissioners’ Wrong Eye
Tax Collector Suzanne Johnston wanted to alert people of the new location for concealed weapon permits, but the sign ran afoul of Flagler Beach commissioners’ sights.
Flagler Beach Delays Medical Pot Ban Vote For 2 Weeks, But Hazy Evidence Unchanged
The absence of one of the five commissioners led to the delay on the vote on a controversial measure that would ban the operation of medical pot dispensaries anywhere in Flagler Beach.
Countering 70% of Its Own Voters, Flagler Beach Prepares to Ban Medical Pot Dispensaries Outright
The City Commission this evening takes up an ordinance that would ban medical marijuana dispensaries anywhere in the city. The city fears not doing so would turn it into a pot hub.
Flagler Beach Again Offers Free Parking And Shuttles On and Off Island All Day July 4
Flagler Beach made arrangements to provide free parking at the Food Lion on SR100 and free shuttle service in and out of the city from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. on July 4, with additional free parking at Santa Maria del Mar Church.
637-Ft. Flagler Beach Pier Re-Opens Saturday, 8 Months After Hurricane Matthew Lobotomy
The Flagler Beach Pier will reopen Saturday as emergency repairs end, to the joys of a city that’s lived without its iconic amenity since Hurricane Matthew sheared 163 feet from its end and made it unstable.
Flagler Beach, a.k.a. Ocean City, Gets 9 New Lifeguard Towers, All On Strength of Volunteers
The nine lifeguard towers, on a design from towers in Ocean City, Md., are expected to more than double the life of the structures. Commissioner Rick Belhumeur led the all-volunteer effort.
Badcock Furniture Will Fill Old Food Lion Space in Flagler Beach, Ending 8-Year Drought
Badcock Furniture will open in mid-summer in Flagler Square, as will a sweet shop, completing a remarkable revival of that commercial strip eight years after it had become a gaping hole for business.
Revealing Look at How Flagler Beach Commission, in Closed-Door Meeting, Settled Wrongful Arrest Claim
Vassili Mironov had sued the Flagler Beach Police Department for $89,000 after his arrest at Finns for a fight he says he did not start. He got $6,000 in a settlement that revealed how divided city commissioners arrived at their 3-2 vote.
Contractor Gunning to Reopen A1A 30 Days Ahead of Schedule. The Reason: $1 Million Bonus
Halifax Paving is set to reopen State Road A1A in Flagler Beach next week, some 30 days ahead of schedule, earning itself a $1 million bonus on top of the original $4 million emergency contract. Businesses and others are cheering.
Damaged State Road A1A in Flagler Beach Will Re-Open as 2-Lane Road in 3 to 4 Months
The two-lane road will be an emergency fix, with narrower lanes, a barrier wall on the ocean side, and a speed limit lowered to 25 mph, but it will be a boon to businesses that continue to be ravaged by its current closure.
FEMA Finally Broadens Emergency Declaration to Include Homeowners; Flagler Beach Re-Opens Beaches Wednesday
FEMA’s declaration will let homeowners claim up to $33,000 in repair or recovery expenses attributed to Hurricane Matthew. The beaches in Flagler Beach will reopen from North 4th Street to South 8th Street on Wednesday, and go further after the weekend.
Citing Disrespect, Flagler Beach Emphatically Tells A1A Group To Stick Its Signs Elsewhere
The city commission, following up on overwhelming public opposition to the signs, voted 5-0 to refuse all Scenic A1A signs in the city after the scenic group neither involved the city nor respected its wishes to limit the signs to four.
Controversy Long Over, Flagler Beach Finally Gets Its $568,000 “Quint” Fire Truck
The truck purchase inflamed many a confrontation among Flagler Beach city commissioners and embroiled the city’s fire department in a nearly year-long battle to secure it.
Flagler Beach Shock: Settle Opts Out of Commission, So Mealy and Belhumeur Are Elected
In a minor shock in Flagler Beach, Commissioner Steve Settle opted not to file for re-election, automatically resulting in the election of Rick Belhumeur and the re-election of Jane Mealy at 5 p.m. Friday.
Flagler Beach’s $600,000 Fire Truck Runs Into Opposition Petition, Prompting Another Pitch
Commissioner Steve Settle called yet another town hall meeting Monday evening again to make the case for a $6090,000 “quint” fire truck as opposition gels around a petition that organizers say has more than 450 names, or close to 10 percent of the city’s population.
Flagler Beach Commissioner Settle “Goes Off” On Resident as Confrontations Rattle Meeting
In two confrontations that upset fellow-commissioners, Flagler Beach City Commissioner Steve Settle questioned resident Rick Belhumeur on what “allowed” him to address issues relating to the city’s fire department and called his public comments “inappropriate” by falsely claiming that Belhumeur was running for office. After the meeting, the two men got in a shouting match.
Don’t Buy The Flagler Beach Fire Department’s Deceptions: City Doesn’t Need New Aerial Fire Truck
The Flagler Beach Fire Department is veiling its unwise request for a new $600,000 fire truck under the guise of “fire safety equipment,” a deception–and a purchase, with money the city cannot afford–residents should reject, argues Rick Blehumeur.
As Flagler Beach Residents Bear Biggest Burdens of Changes, Commissioners Duck
More visitors and more businesses have vastly increased costs on Flagler Beach residents, but when the county stepped up with proposals to reduce those costs through some fire-house consolidation, City Commission Chairman Steve Settle said no thanks–before the commission had even considered the proposals. It’s an example of a commission that doesn’t have city residents’ best interests at heart, argues Rick Belhumeur.
Flagler Beach’s Opposition to Fire Department Consolidation Costing Taxpayers $200K a Year
Consolidating the Flagler Beach Fire Department with the county’s would save $200,000 and vastly improve fire and rescue services in the city, argues Rick Belhumeur, yet the Flagler Beach City Commission has consistently scuttled debate on the issue while pretending to invite residents to offer cost-saving ideas.
