Palm Coast City Council held a business meeting on Tuesday October 3rd, at 6pm. During the meeting the council heard from the public, as well as voted on resolutions which included the Holland Park Splash Pad, the Long Creek Nature Preserve Phase 2 project, Stormwater quality monitoring program, a real time flood forecasting system, as well as changes to ordinance 2010-01 which involves special events in the City.
At the beginning of the meeting the floor was opened up for public comment. During public comment, one resident stood up in opposition of the Cascade project in Seminole Woods, especially regarding the change in zoning from single family to single and multi-family housing. The City Attorney spoke up after the residents comment to let the public know that the zoning changes are a quasi-judicial matter, which means they are held as public hearings. The matter will not come back before the council for the second vote until sometime in possibly November, as the city has to send those matters to the state for review and comments. The state has 30 days to review the potential changes and make their comments. The City Attorney also stated that because this meeting was not a public hearing for the rezoning, the comments would be considered ex parte communications and the council will have to state that the matter was discussed with them at the next public hearing for the rezoning of this project. Public comment then resumed and many stood up to continue stating their opposition of the development’s rezoning. Residents also spoke out against the commercial that the City had created and aired for a cost of $28,900. The commercial had been aired nationally on many different news stations, according to multiple residents. Other residents spoke out about their dissatisfaction regarding the tabling of backyard chickens, the many developments being approved, the lack of natural buffers in new developments, cell towers, potholes and road safety, displacing of wildlife, sidewalk connectivity and more.
Following public comment the council members were asked if they had comments. Pontieri stated that due to the backlash she received from some members of the council for her statements at the last business meeting, she wanted to bring up the actual number of dwelling units that have been approved by city council. She stated that initially she had said council had approved 14,000 dwelling units, and that the actual number is 13,361. She also wanted to point out that the average selling price of a home in Palm Coast is below asking price and in the range of $360,000, as well as the fact that our unemployment rate has risen for the fifth month in a row. Heighter echoed her agreement with those statements.
The Council made multiple proclamations during this meeting including Customer service week for the first full week of October; Fire and Police recognition Day on October 3rd, and Fire Prevention Week for the week of October 8th.
Following the proclamations, the council then moved on to recognize the six winners of the photography contest. The winners are as follows: Pets category – Lori Earley, Recreation Category – Lori Vetter Bowers, Residents category – Courtney MacDonald, Wildlife category – Amy Skursky, Landscape category – Stacey Schottey and Events category – Amy Gagliano.
The council then moved on to vote on the special events ordinance 2010-01 changes which include an added definition for community events, clarifying the special event process, expanding parade route options, add a farmers market chapter, expanding on site plan requirements, and adding event disclosures and exemptions. The council voted to pass the motion unanimously.
Council then heard a presentation regarding the splash pad. The resolution outlined the plan to move forward with the Holland Park Splash Pad repairs while the litigation continues. Klufas and Heighter had no questions regarding the presentation made. Danko voiced concerns on the matter because of the amount of entities that are involved in litigation. Danko also went on to state he was concerned about where the money was coming from and that the splash pad is not a need for our city, but that roads are. Danko stated, “we have a splash pad, it is called the Atlantic Ocean. Most people have pools and if you don’t, your neighbor does, make friends with them.” Pontieri asked if funding this would set any projects back, to which she was told no. She also asked about products to be used now vs what was used previously. She was assured that the process would be done correctly with the correct products with multiple inspections being done at every step of the project. Pontieri then stated she feels this project is a need for our community and that the community has spoken out about their desire to see it fixed. The contractor Saboungi Construction, stood up to assure the council that they would always honor their work and warranty. After that assurance was made Danko changed his standpoint from clear opposition to the project to being in support of it. The council voted to approve the motion 5-0, which allows the contractor to start the working on the project.
The council continued on hearing resolutions regarding phase two of the Long Creek Nature Preserve project which will add amenities like restrooms and other features like water access as well. The council voted to approve that project 5-0.
The council also heard a presentation on Real Time Flood Forecasting systems. The cost for such a system would be $322,000 for 3 years. The council decided to table the matter as they felt it was not a city matter but a county wide matter.
