The Palm Coast City Council held an extensive workshop meeting on September 23, 2025, covering multiple significant issues, including citywide risk management, proposed changes to vehicle parking regulations, and the ongoing search for a new city manager.
Citizens Raise Multiple Concerns During Public Input
The meeting began with public participation, where several residents voiced concerns about various city matters. Shantel requested updates on a forensic audit and potential water consumption for a Google data center, while also sharing an alarming traffic incident involving a cyclist. Shantel described a situation where a bicycle rider wearing camouflaged clothing was nearly involved in an accident on Old Kings Road, highlighting safety concerns about cyclist visibility.
“I could not pass him because he was wearing some clothes that would match and blend in with the environment,” Shantel explained. “When she used her horn, it scared the guy, and she said all the water on his bike fell.”
Adam Luca questioned the city’s role in Community Development District (CDD) matters, particularly regarding speed limit changes within residential communities. City officials clarified that CDDs typically control their own speed limits and road maintenance as separate governing bodies.
Jeanie Duarte raised multiple concerns about the proposed data center’s impact on infrastructure and public health, irrigation meter fees for unused services, and what she called violations of the Florida Sunshine Law regarding charter review meeting notices. She claimed residents were denied fair participation opportunities due to improper public notification.
Mark Webb thanked Councilman Gambaro for holding an open public meeting, though he noted poor attendance. Webb also reported on the charter review committee meeting, stating that only alternates initially attended, although city staff later clarified that regular members were also present. Webb announced he recorded the three-hour meeting and would make it available on YouTube to inform citizens about the charter review process.
Plante Moran Presents Comprehensive Risk Assessment
The major presentation of the day came from Plante Moran consultants Matt Bowden and Brianna Solorio, who delivered findings from the city’s entity-wide risk assessment approved by the council in June. The assessment identified and prioritized critical operational, financial, compliance, and strategic risks facing the city.
The consultants explained that their methodology involved departmental interviews, risk workshops with city directors, and development of rating criteria to assess both inherent risk levels and the strength of existing controls. “We wanted to perform the risk assessment to identify the city’s highest priority strategic, operational, financial, and compliance risks,” Solorio said.
The assessment revealed several overarching themes about the city’s risk profile. Strengths included a collaborative organizational culture with strong interdepartmental communication and a proactive approach to improving processes. However, challenges emerged around technology limitations requiring manual workarounds, difficulties recruiting specialized talent like engineers and utility technicians, and infrastructure strain from rapid development.
The top five risks identified were political climate changes affecting strategic initiatives, asset management of aging infrastructure, public services meeting citizen expectations, information technology security and infrastructure vulnerabilities, and reputation management in today’s fast-moving information environment.
Councilman Miller questioned whether there was any return on investment analysis for recommended mitigation actions. “My thoughts are to start with the stuff that brings us the most return on investment,” Miller said. The consultants acknowledged they had not provided specific ROI statistics but offered to work with the city on further evaluation.
Vice Mayor Pontieri observed that most identified risks appeared typical of municipalities generally. “What I’m ascertaining from this presentation is that we have essentially the same pain points that every other municipality is faced with,” she said. She cautioned against “searching for a fire when it doesn’t really appear, there’s much smoke.”
The consultants recommended implementing various improvements, including internal roundtable discussions between council and staff, developing asset management plans for water and wastewater infrastructure, evaluating compensation practices, optimizing the MUNIS ERP system, and establishing an internal audit function.
Council members expressed mixed reactions to the annual refresh recommendation. Councilman Sullivan suggested the city’s electoral cycle meant changes occurred every two to four years rather than annually. “I think our cycle is not an every-year thing for a lot of the things that we’re talking about here,” Sullivan said.
The council directed the city manager to include risk management updates in quarterly reports to the council, but did not commit to annual assessment updates.
Economic Development Vision Plan Process Outlined
Monica Dominguez from the Northeast Florida Regional Council presented the process for developing a community-driven economic development vision plan. The initiative will involve multiple public engagement meetings starting October 2nd, with sessions designed to gather community input through both in-person meetings and online surveys.
The process includes general community meetings, pop-up events, and targeted stakeholder outreach. Dominguez explained they would use interactive technology called “Mentimeter” to gather real-time preferences from participants during presentations, while also providing paper surveys for those without smartphones.
Councilman Miller expressed concerns about participation levels, noting poor attendance at Transportation Planning Organization meetings despite their relevance to residents. “When the TPO does it, there’s me and a city planner and maybe one resident at the community center,” Miller said.
Councilman Sullivan acknowledged the participation challenge, referencing a recent large political event to illustrate the scale difference. “In Palm Coast, we have now about 117,000 people. So if you looked at that event, there probably were two rows in the main stadium event. And that’s kind of the number of people who actually show up here in Palm Coast to talk about their problems,” Sullivan observed.
Vice Mayor Pontieri suggested tracking whether survey participants had previously participated in city surveys to identify if outreach efforts were reaching new residents or the same engaged population repeatedly.
The process will conclude with a final vision plan delivered to the council by June 2026, following multiple rounds of community input and staff review.
Code Enforcement Processes Explained in Detail
Code Enforcement Manager Barbara Grossman and her team provided a comprehensive overview of the city’s code enforcement procedures, covering everything from initial complaint investigation to appeals processes.
The presentation revealed that vehicles parked in violation and overgrowth/landscape maintenance topped the list of most common violations. The team explained the three-step enforcement approach: initial education and courtesy contact, formal notice of violation if needed, and finally code enforcement board hearings for non-compliance.
“The idea is we want to educate you. We’re not here to take punitive damage,” said Louis Mendes, the city’s code compliance supervisor. “It’s almost three strikes and you’re out.”
The city uses both a volunteer code enforcement board and a contracted hearing officer for different types of cases. The analysis showed significant cost savings using the volunteer board versus expanding hearing officer services. For fiscal year 2025, the hearing officer heard 59 cases for $22,880, while the volunteer code board heard 403 cases with attorney costs of approximately $13,500.
City Attorney Marcus Duffy explained the legal framework and due process requirements, including mandatory 30-day notice periods before hearings and constitutional considerations around First Amendment issues.
Several council members asked detailed questions about enforcement procedures, technology tools, and proactive monitoring efforts. Grossman confirmed that code officers must cover every street twice monthly and use GPS tracking to ensure comprehensive coverage.
Commercial Vehicle Parking Rules Face Major Revision
The council reviewed proposed changes to commercial vehicle parking regulations that would significantly relax current restrictions. The most substantial change would eliminate the current three-square-foot limit on advertising signage, allowing vehicles with any amount of commercial advertising to park in residential driveways.
Additional proposed exceptions would permit vehicles with ladders and other work attachments up to two feet higher or longer than the base vehicle, provided they remain neat, clean, and well-maintained. Only one commercial vehicle would be allowed per driveway under the proposal.
The changes generated extensive discussion among council members about balancing support for working-class residents with maintaining neighborhood aesthetics. Councilman Miller defended the proposal as helping tradespeople who currently spend significant time daily covering vehicles or removing equipment to comply with existing rules.
“You’re spending an hour doing all this stuff to make your vehicle compliant,” Miller explained. “So I think that’s where we got to the point where we’re trying to find a way to still have the ladders and things like that on there so they’re not spending an hour unloading a vehicle rack.”
However, Vice Mayor Pontieri expressed concerns about the “other attachments” language potentially leading to unsafe configurations. “My concern is what I oftentimes voice, and that the pendulum always swings to the other side,” she said, worrying about setting precedents for future councils.
Councilman Gambaro questioned the long-term impact on the city’s appearance. “How does this change the complexity or the look of the city of Palm Coast? It’s not what happens here in the next year or two, but what happens, how does the city of Palm Coast look 20 years from now?”
Councilman Sullivan indicated he would not support any changes to current regulations. “I think it’s going to be too hard. You’re going to create a new code that will force just as many problems into the future because people will be pushing the limits of whatever code we come up with,” Sullivan said.
During public comment, Dana Fulwood advocated for the changes, describing the financial burden of paying $150 monthly for trailer storage while living on Social Security disability. “These are workers who’re working for a living. They’re not the business owners. They’re not reaping all the rewards. This is what they’re doing to feed their family,” Fulwood said.
The council directed City Attorney Marcus Duffy to refine the language around attachments to focus on permanently designed storage rather than temporary additions, while adding safety requirements to the neat and clean standards.
Waterway Anchoring Restrictions Proposed
The council reviewed a proposed ordinance prohibiting live-aboard vessels from anchoring in city waterways. The measure responds to complaints about people living on boats in the city’s canal system without permanent residential addresses.
Code Enforcement Manager Barbara Grossman explained the ordinance would define live-aboard vessels as those “used solely as a residence and not for navigation” while exempting commercial fishing boats. The prohibition would apply to all city waterways, including freshwater and saltwater canals.
“We have a vessel right now that is anchored out in the second cut, and they are living aboard. They’re living on the boat,” Grossman said. “These people have two children and two adults, and they’re living on the vessel in our canal.”
Mayor Norris characterized the situation as “squatters in the water,” while Councilman Miller noted that the city’s private canals were designed for navigation between canal homes and the Intracoastal Waterway rather than permanent anchorage.
Councilman Sullivan asked about emergency exceptions, and City Attorney Duffy confirmed that temporary shelter during emergencies would not violate the ordinance since it wouldn’t constitute using the vessel “solely as a resident.”
During public comment, Shantel questioned what would happen to people living on boats due to financial necessity. “What if those people are living in the boat because that’s all they can afford? Would you rather have them in a street?” she asked.
Council members noted that proper anchorage areas exist elsewhere, such as at Matanzas Inlet and in St. Augustine, providing alternatives for those needing temporary or permanent boat-based housing.
City Manager Search Moves Forward
Human Resources Director Reina Fuller reported on the city manager selection process, noting that of 12 applicants, only six submitted required video responses by the deadline, with one additional late submission. Three candidates had withdrawn, and two did not respond.
The council decided to eliminate the late submitter, Howard Brown, due to missed deadlines and a lack of response to follow-up contacts. “We’re hiring an executive. If they can’t meet a deadline, to me, that’s a problem,” said Councilman Gambaro.
Councilman Gambaro recommended narrowing the field to four candidates: Norm West, Anthony Shamry, Michael McLaughlin, and David Frasier. He particularly praised West as “a proven executive” who has lived in Palm Coast for 20 years, eliminating relocation costs.
However, Vice Mayor Pontieri preferred keeping all six remaining candidates, noting she “didn’t see any red flags” and wanted more information from each candidate before elimination.
The council compromised on keeping all six candidates while requiring additional vetting, including background checks, social media reviews, court record searches, and a two-page white paper from each candidate describing their vision for the first year as city manager.
Fuller scheduled the next review for the October 14th workshop, with final interviews planned for a special session around November 13th.
Additional Public Comments Address Local Media and Contracting Issues
During final public participation, resident Andrew raised concerns about city advertising spending with local blogger Pierre Tristam’s Flagler Live, particularly criticizing an article about the recent Charlie Kirk assassination. Andrew called the rhetoric “extreme and divisive” and asked his District 3 representative to discontinue city advertising with the platform.
This sparked discussion among council members about balancing free speech principles with taxpayer spending decisions. Vice Mayor Pontieri cautioned against pulling advertising based on content disagreement, noting the platform’s reach and warning about precedent-setting. “The pendulum always swings to the other side,” she said.
Mayor Norris criticized Flagler Live as “not a publication” but rather “a blogger” with no editorial oversight, while acknowledging First Amendment protections.
Councilman Miller argued for continued advertising despite disagreements, referencing recent events and stating that “someone has a disagreement with you that’s so incompatible that there’s no conversation to be had, then ignore them and move on.”
Neftalil DeJesus, representing the Homebuilders Association, addressed unlicensed contracting enforcement. Despite city efforts, he explained that enforcement officials have “absolutely zero enforcement power” beyond making recommendations to the county, which can only impose minimal fines.
“I have been beaten out just in the last two months on 16 jobs by unlicensed contractors because my price is more expensive because I do things the right way,” DeJesus said, noting that unlicensed contracting constitutes a felony in Florida but lacks effective enforcement mechanisms.
Council Member Updates and Future Priorities
In closing comments, Councilman Gambaro reported on his meeting with Ralph Carter Park residents regarding sports field lighting concerns. Despite previous council decisions to maintain current usage, Gambaro requested a consensus to explore alternatives, including potentially unused school district fields.
“We stood on the corner of Richardson, and the foliage really hasn’t even started to fall. It’s not okay,” Gambaro said about the lighting impact on nearby residents.
Vice Mayor Pontieri and Councilman Sullivan indicated they preferred maintaining the current decision, though Councilman Miller supported exploring alternatives if viable options emerged.
Councilman Miller reported on the Transportation Planning Organization’s adoption of the long-range transportation plan, noting several priority projects for Palm Coast, including trails and major roadway improvements.
Vice Mayor Pontieri concluded by recognizing multiple life-saving awards for fire department personnel, emphasizing the importance of rescue vehicles in the department’s fleet despite not providing transport services.
