The Flagler County Board of County Commissioners spent much of its Monday, Nov. 2, 2026, regular meeting trying to settle a tense standoff over its animal control contract, weighing the future of a west-side fire station, and honoring local veterans. The meeting began at 9 a.m. with all five commissioners present.
Before starting, the board made a few agenda changes. It amended a NEOGOV software contract on the consent agenda, added “Amendment No. 3” to the animal control item, and pulled a public hearing on a proposed small county surtax, which will instead be discussed at a future workshop.
Veterans honored
Jeff Kingdon, chairman of the Flagler County Veterans Advisory Council, and Larry Reckart, commander of the Disabled American Veterans Jim Bowie Chapter 86, recognized the commissioners for marking military and veteran observances. Kingdon gave each commissioner a handmade plaque reading “thank you for honoring our veterans.” Reckart presented Commissioner Greg Hansen, a retired U.S. Navy captain and DAV member, with a framed memento quoting Abraham Lincoln’s call “to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow and his orphan.”
Animal control: out of contract
The longest discussion centered on the county’s animal control agreement with the Flagler Humane Society, which lapsed on Oct. 20. County staff presented a pared-down proposed contract for 2026-27 that would limit the county-funded services to three areas: dangerous dogs, “custodial care” of animals left behind when owners are arrested, and cases of neglect and cruelty. Staff said the goal was to add certainty to costs the county cannot currently control.
Staff explained the money problem in detail. Animal control itself runs about $18,000 a month, but sheltering costs swing widely. The county pays the Humane Society $156 per animal for a five-day stay, while the Humane Society says its real cost is closer to $500. A single day on Sept. 23 produced a $15,000 bill, staff said, noting that one cat with nine or 10 kittens can cost $1,500 for a five-day stay.
Humane Society Executive Director Amy Carotenuto pushed back, saying the proposed limits created too much “gray area.” She said most cruelty cases do not start as cruelty complaints, and that having animal control and the shelter “under one roof” lets staff help families keep their pets. “We’re not out trying to bring more animals into the shelter. We really aren’t,” she said. She agreed kittens are costly — “There’s nothing more expensive that comes into the shelter than a kitten” — and said the group has never turned away an animal from Flagler Beach, Bunnell, Palm Coast, or the unincorporated county. She said the shelter still responds when the Sheriff’s Office calls: “If they ask for help, we’re going to respond.” She also clarified that the county is billed only for unowned, stray animals, not for owned pets surrendered by their owners.
Commissioners pressed on several points. Commissioner Andy Dance asked why the group would stop responding to stray calls if that remains its mission. Commissioner Kim Carney read contract language showing the county would still reimburse eligible emergency sheltering costs during disasters. Commissioner Greg Hansen said the two sides were “at an impasse” and urged keeping the current terms until a deal is reached, adding he prefers a fixed annual donation over the per-animal billing model used now. One commissioner urged everyone to lower the temperature, objecting to the word “haters” and asking people to “behave like adults instead of acting like animals.”
In the end, the board could not reach a new deal because Carotenuto said she could not commit her board of directors to the terms. Commissioners ultimately approved only a $20,963 budget transfer to close out the previous fiscal year’s obligation. Services from Oct. 1-20 will be billed at the old rates, but the Humane Society will not be paid for the period after Oct. 21 unless a future contract covers it retroactively. “I don’t know how we got here. This is crazy,” Dance said before voting yes. Animal control is set for a Nov. 9 workshop, where the Humane Society and the Sheriff’s Office are expected to present, with a new contract targeted for the second December meeting.
Staff said longer-term options are still in play, including the county or the city of Palm Coast running their own animal control officers while the Humane Society continues sheltering, or building a separate shelter. A $250,000 state appropriation and matching money are available but could have to be returned if not committed to a project by about the middle of next year.
Fire Station 51 and the Bikemen
The board also discussed the future of Fire Station 51 at 3055 County Road 13 in Bunnell, which the county plans to vacate by Feb. 1, 2027, once a new station on County Road 305 opens. The talk was prompted by the Bikemen of Flagler County, a nonprofit that repairs and donates bicycles, wheelchairs, walkers, and rollators and is losing its space. Group founder Joseph Golan told the board his is the only organization providing those services in the county, making it “unique.” Resident Janice Cotugio urged the board to help, saying Golan “does wonderful things for all the children in our community.”
Staff described the property as a small, non-conforming lot with an assessed value of about $118,000, which rules out some no-bid options. County Attorney Michael Rodriguez explained that under Florida Statute 125.38, the county can sometimes convey property directly to a nonprofit, but only if the group’s sole purpose is “promoting community interest and welfare,” which must be shown in its articles of incorporation. He advised the board not to declare the station surplus yet, and instead let the Bikemen — or any interested group — submit an application by letter. The board reached consensus to seek an appraisal and bring back lease and sale options. Fire Chief Michael Tucker also clarified that long-rumored vandalism at the station was never verified during his five years with the county.
Consent agenda and housing
The board approved its consent agenda after a discussion of several items. Commissioner Carney thanked staff and Attorney Moylan for an “excellent job” rewriting the fixed-asset and surplus policy and raised questions about the discipline steps in a procurement manual. On the SHIP affordable-housing plan, Health and Human Services Director Joe Hegedus explained that the Palm Coast City Council had declined an amendment to fund affordable rental development, preferring the program focus on homeownership. Commissioners agreed to approve the current revisions and revisit the rental piece later, possibly at a joint meeting with the city. Hegedus noted the county used that rental option just once in three years, to help fund the Phoenix Crossings project for aging-out foster youth, and said local dollars can unlock millions in state and federal tax credits.
EMS ordinance updated
The board unanimously approved an amendment to its emergency medical services ordinance. Fire Chief Tucker said the change updates the rules for issuing a certificate of public convenience and necessity (COPCN) to private ambulance companies that handle transports between hospitals and nursing homes. A 2021 requirement that applicants produce a study had become impossible to meet because the consultants who did that work are no longer in business. Tucker said the county now has enough performance data to make those decisions and wants to keep enough providers without flooding the market.
Reports and commissioner updates
County Attorney Rodriguez said the county was served Friday with a federal lawsuit from Gulfstream Towers challenging the commission’s denial of a cell tower, known as the “Mondex” tower. The suit seeks declaratory and injunctive relief, and he said his office will try to keep the matter in-house. He also discussed the recent City of Bunnell decision against a west-side landfill, which followed an 11-hour meeting. Chair Leanne Pennington praised Rodriguez’s comments to Bunnell, summarizing them as “You cannot buy your way out of a comp plan violation” and “the cover-up was worse than the crime.” Rodriguez said the county would not be a party if the landfill applicant appeals, but may need to remind Bunnell to coordinate with the county on siting any waste facility.
Commissioner Pam Richardson asked the board to consider relaxing Sunday “blue laws” on alcohol sales. Current county rules bar sales and consumption from 2 a.m. to noon on Sundays, later than the 7 a.m. cutoff on other days. The board gave consensus for staff to draft an ordinance making the hours consistent all seven days in the unincorporated county, to be reviewed in December. Richardson also urged residents to vote, noting the county ranks second in the state for early voting.
Commissioner Hansen praised a new children’s dental facility that opened in a rebuilt former restaurant, funded by Bo and Lydia Ancrum, which he said will offer free care to children four Saturdays a year.
Commissioner Carney gave a detailed update on recent meetings, including Reach 2 beach easements, the closed landfill and a planned January amnesty day, an airport master-plan working group, and a drug court graduation of four people. She also raised a resident’s request, from Stephanie Henry-Ritchie, to create a public domestic-violence offender registry modeled on one recently adopted in Volusia County; the board gave consensus to study it. Carney further asked staff to review the little-used Parks and Recreation Advisory Board and to master-plan the fairgrounds and recreation center, citing ongoing complaints about ball fields. Staff noted the new parks manager, who has a golf-course and turf-grass background, started that day.
Commissioner Dance reported progress on the Bing’s Landing master plan, support from St. Johns and Nassau counties for a beach-easement policy among the county’s legislative proposals, and thanked the Bunnell Commission for its vote resulting in “no landfill on the west side.” He also noted the ribbon-cutting for a large new gazebo at Palm Coast’s Waterfront Park.
Resident David Eckert asked the board to cover beach-shoreline topics at the Nov. 9 workshop, including state statute 161.25, the conditions of Reaches 1, 2, and 3, and how special assessment districts (MSBUs) might be reorganized. He thanked Hansen for nine years of work on the shoreline. The county administrator said the Nov. 9 workshop will cover the Reach 3 update, animal control, and legislative priorities, and the board set a review of Attorney Rodriguez’s performance and salary for its Nov. 16 meeting. The meeting then adjourned.
Note: Several names are spelled phonetically from the meeting audio including Chair Leanne Pennington, Interim County Administrator Adam Mingle, Humane Society Director Amy Carotenuto, and residents Joseph Golan, Janice Cotugio, and David Eckert.
