The Palm Coast City Council spent much of Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, in a wide-ranging workshop that covered a city pay-and-benefits study, arts grants for local nonprofits, and a proposed deal to build a YMCA in Town Center. The meeting began at about 9 a.m. in the John Netts Community Wing of City Hall. Mayor Norris, Vice Mayor Pontieri, Council Member Miller, and Council Member Sullivan were present. Council Member Gambaro was absent.
Because it was a workshop, the council did not take final votes. Several items are set to return for action at the Oct. 20 business meeting.
Public comment on flooding and stalled projects
Resident Jeremy Davis returned to press the city about flooding on Parati Lane after a May 12 incident. He asked for a written update on what the city has investigated, what corrective work was done, and proof that the work actually protects his home. “I’m tired of getting records… and repeatedly asking what happens next,” he said, asking the council to name a responsible person and a delivery date. Officials directed him to contact the city’s stormwater and engineering staff.
Resident Jeff Adams asked the city to study setting time limits on approved projects that sit for years without starting. He suggested a two or three-year window for “substantial progress.” Staff and City Attorney Marcus Duffy explained the city cannot simply cancel development rights over time, but can set start-date terms inside master planned developments, which act as contracts between the city and a developer. “We see a lot of these projects kind of last into perpetuity,” Duffy said.
Preliminary pay and benefits study
HR staff and consultant Mark Holcomb of Evergreen Solutions, LLC, presented early findings from a comprehensive compensation and benefits survey. Holcomb stressed the results are not final: “There’s no cost. There are no recommendations of… exactly what’s going to happen to everybody’s pay.”
Holcomb said the study looks at both “internal alignment” (how jobs compare to one another within the city) and “external alignment” (how city pay compares to other local governments). Evergreen surveyed peer organizations and adjusted the numbers for cost of living using data from the Council for Community and Economic Research.
Workers were positive about benefits, with about 58% satisfied or very satisfied, and praised the culture, coworkers, job stability, and flexibility. Their top concern was that pay “has not kept pace” with rising costs. Some also raised job-classification issues, limited advancement paths, heavy workloads tied to the city’s growth, and a wish for more meaningful performance reviews.
The city’s pay structure is consistent, with a uniform 71% “range spread” between the minimum and maximum of each grade. But about three-quarters of employees sit below the midpoint of their range, and about half earn less than $60,000 a year. Holcomb said only about 60 people, roughly 10% of the workforce, are in the top quartile.
The city’s pay ranges are competitive, slightly above the market at the midpoint and maximum. But employees’ actual take-home pay is about 5% below the market, likely because so many workers sit near the bottom of their ranges. Holcomb said 16 positions covering 50 employees are more than 5% below the market minimum. If the market rises an expected 3% next year and the city does not adjust, that could grow to about 30 positions and 80 employees. He also noted health insurance costs are rising, with PPO premiums increasing about 25%.
Evergreen plans to return in January 2027 with final recommendations aimed at the FY28 budget.
Council members asked Evergreen to study “fully burdened” pay, salary plus the full value of benefits, not just salaries. “Potentially you could be strong on one side and not strong on the other,” one member said. Vice Mayor Pontieri noted the city provides merit raises even in years without a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), gives bonuses for college degrees, and uses an “auto-promote” system tied to certifications. She questioned whether auto-promotion accounts for job performance or discipline: “A perpetual student isn’t necessarily the best worker.” She also urged the council to look at the backup data and how many employees fall in each pay grade, noting the lowest grade includes lifeguards and temporary workers.
Council members Sullivan and Pontieri both said they will leave the council before the study returns, and said decisions should wait until the future of Amendment 3, a state tax measure, is clearer. Mayor Norris used his military pay history to argue that inflation has reshaped what salaries mean, saying, “You have to pay a competitive salary to get quality employees.” He added that his concern is the gap between high and low earners, suggesting top earners may not need COLA increases.
During public comment, Jeannie Duarte asked for itemized reports on council and mayor pay and raised questions about charter changes. Tony Amaral asked whether comparison cities belong to the Florida Retirement System (FRS), which Palm Coast does not use. Chief Kyle Berryhill said the city’s retirement costs are far lower than FRS, roughly 6% more on a $100,000 salary, versus about 35% for a county firefighter in FRS.
Cultural arts grants
Julia Truillo, treasurer and grant administrator for the Flagler County Cultural Council (FC3), presented eight grant applications for fiscal year 2026-27, totaling about $83,000. She said FC3 is a private nonprofit that receives no city money to run the grants and covers nearly $7,000 of its own costs to do so. Grants are reimbursed only after events happen, with proof of spending required.
Applicants included the African American Cultural Society, City Lights Inc. (a new applicant), City Repertory Theatre, Community Chorus of Palm Coast, the Flagler Auditorium (The Fitz), the Flagler Education Foundation’s Josh Crews Writing Project, the Hispanic American Cultural Society, and the Palm Coast Songwriters Festival.
Vice Mayor Pontieri raised two concerns. She asked about language allowing for-profit businesses to take part if partnered with a nonprofit; Truillo said the nonprofit is always the applicant and confirmed all this year’s applicants are nonprofits. Pontieri also said some grants appear to fund many events across a year, which could edge toward “supporting an organization as a whole rather than… one specific identifiable event.” She said she would support the grants this year but urged more targeted awards in the future. Truillo said operational costs are never covered, only program costs.
Mayor Norris said Palm Coast appears to be the only local government funding the FC3 grant program and said that is “not a reasonable business practice,” noting the county collects a larger share of property taxes. “We can’t be the piggy bank for supporting nonprofits alone,” he said.
Fifth-grader Kyla Brew of Wadsworth Elementary, a Josh Crews Writing Project author, read her story “Elf Diaries” to the council. “Congratulations on being a published author,” the mayor said.
Proposed YMCA in Town Center
The council reviewed a proposed lease and funding agreement to build a YMCA on city land in Town Center. Chief Berryhill said the project fits the city’s strategic plan. YMCA regional board member John Walsh and Volusia Flagler YMCA CEO Chris Salkop presented the plan.
The roughly 46,300-square-foot wellness center would cost about $14 million. The YMCA would cover about $8 million (including a $3.25 million state allocation it is helping secure, plus a mortgage, a private donor gift, and community fundraising), the city would contribute about $3.25 million, and the Flagler school district about $3 million. The city would also lease the land for 35 years at $1 a year. Walsh said the plan calls for two pools, a 50-meter competitive pool and a shallower family pool, and set a groundbreaking in winter 2026 and completion by winter 2028.
Council members said the deal could save money. The city’s Frieda Zamba pool loses $500,000 to $600,000 a year and would cost an estimated $25 million to $30 million to rebuild, Council Member Miller said. “Just that investment of $3 million gets paid back in six years,” he said. Sullivan said he was satisfied the resolution protects the city, and noted the $1 land lease is “a pretty significant contribution.”
Vice Mayor Pontieri said she supports the project but raised several concerns about the contract. She questioned how the city would be protected if the YMCA ever defaulted on its mortgage, saying the agreement should let the city cure a default and take the building. She asked that the renderings, square footage, and pool details be added as exhibits so taxpayers know what they are paying for, and said her support is conditional on the school board approving its share. She also pushed for guaranteed pool time for local competitive swim clubs, suggesting a set percentage, and asked for insurance minimums and clear terms on shared parking with the Town Center stage.
Salkop and Walsh said the YMCA runs seven pools already and expects “plenty of water time to go around,” but was hesitant to lock in fixed percentages because club schedules are “fluid.” The YMCA offered to honor any existing city swim-club agreements, though the city currently has none. Staff said final construction plans require all three parties, city, school board, and YMCA, to sign, and the city manager must approve the plans.
During public comment, residents asked the city to protect taxpayers in writing. Davis questioned Section 11 of the draft, which discusses the city restoring a damaged facility, and asked who would pay for repairs and insurance. Miller and Duffy said that section refers only to the city’s role as landowner in a major disaster, not to repairing the full facility, which the YMCA would cover. The resolution is scheduled for the Oct. 20 business meeting.
Closing comments
The city manager said the city is screening applicants for its vacant economic development manager and community development director positions, with economic development work currently led by interim Director Nguyen.
Mayor Norris clarified an earlier comment on water reuse, saying the city’s ordinance bans direct potable reuse but that he did not want to permanently block indirect potable reuse in case future technology makes it safe. He and other members defended the council’s own spending, saying its budget came in under this year and that members have cut costs such as printed agenda packets.
Vice Mayor Pontieri praised the Tourist Development Office for a golf tournament at the Hammock that she said was televised to 140 countries and promoted the city’s name. She also shared findings from a review of the Flagler Humane Society’s finances, which she said she could only view in person after signing a nondisclosure agreement. She said the way the group records donated thrift-store goods makes about $272,000 in sales appear as zero profit on paper, and urged the council to keep that in mind when the Humane Society contract returns. She said she was not accusing the group of wrongdoing: “I don’t think… they’re doing anything illegal.”
Mayor Norris closed the meeting by sharing his condolences for Paul Crombie, whom he called his best friend in the city and who recently died of pancreatic cancer. Crombie was a Vietnam veteran who served as a Marine Corps air traffic controller, the mayor said.
