The Palm Coast City Council held its morning business meeting on January 21st, 2025 at 9 am. Both council members Stevens and Miller were absent from the meeting, with Pontieri, Norris, and Gambaro being the only members in attendance. Public comment revolved around the dire need for a municipal animal shelter, the city-owned golf course financials, and the Airbnb’s who are owner-operated and live on-premise. Following public comment, Pontieri asked for consensus on the dias to allow Mr. Orr and his group to present their well-researched data on the Humane Society, and the need for a municipal shelter in a workshop meeting later this month.
Council then heard ordinances of the first read, including the Fair Housing Act ordinance, which Pontieri stated she was not ready to vote on, and requested that the item be tabled until a later meeting.
The Seminole Palms Development final plat approval was next on the agenda as a quasi-judicial hearing. This development is dated between Seminole Woods Parkway and Belle Terre Boulevard near Citation. This development is zoned SFR1 (Single-family residence), sits on roughly 70 acres, and will include 182 lots. The developer is preserving 13.75 acres of wetlands within the development. Infrastructure for the development was said to be well underway and according to City Staff will be fully funded by the developer with bonds, equaling a little over 2.3 million dollars, enough to cover 120% of the project cost. Maintenance of the infrastructure according to staff would be the responsibility of the CDD. All three council members voted to pass the final plat.
During the final discussion on the dias, council member Gambaro discussed his time in DC last week, where he was able to talk about Palm Coast’s Stormwater issues with Senator Scott’s aide. He was informed about several grants that are available federally for projects like this. He continued his discussion by bringing up the binder of applicants for the new city manager of Palm Coast. He explained that he is looking for an outsider for this position, preferably one with CEO experience, or someone with executive experience in the private corporate world or in government.
Pontieri echoed similar sentiment regarding the binder of applicants and continued the discussion by explaining her criteria for a new city manager isn’t whether they have held a city manager position but is more interested in the size of the company they have managed, and the size of the budget they have been in charge of. She expressed concern about the backgrounds of many of the applicants in the binder, even saying that she is “less than impressed” by the applicants in the binder. Pontieri brought up the fact that Palm Coast piggybacked off the New Symrna contract and many of the same applicants that New Symrna declined are in the applicant pool presented to the City of Palm Coast. She encouraged fellow council members to dig deeper into each applicant and look at their backgrounds, as she stated she had found several applicants with less than stellar backgrounds. She continued with her discussion, stating her passion for ensuring that Palm Coast housing remains affordable for the working class, and would like to meet with Vice Chair Valerie Clymer from the Affordable Housing Advisory Council. Pontieri also asked for consensus to have an airport presentation not by the airport but by legal, regarding the numerous noise complaints by residents who live near the airport. Pontieri ended her discussion by stating she had been advised that Sarah Ulis from the Palm Coast yacht club had resigned her position as Chair of the boat parade citing difficulty working with the city as one of the reasons.
Acting City Manager Lauren Johnson explained that she had met with the Palm Coast Yacht Club and was informed that the club no longer wished to host the event and wanted the city to take it over. Johnson explained that Ms Ulis would be working with the city, if the council decided to take over the boat parade, to help with ensuring former charm and using her connections to ensure its success.
Mayor Norris echoed similar sentiments of both Pontieri and Gambaro on how the City of Palm Coast should be run, and what to look for in a new city manager.
