- March 3, 2025
Nestled between College Waterway and Long Creek, in Palm Coast, is a little slice of history. And soon, it will be accessible to the public in a big way.
The Palm Coast City Council on Tuesday appeared set to approve spending $1.5 million to begin Phase 1 of the Long Creek Nature Preserve park. There was no vote taken because it was a workshop, but the City Council will formally vote on the contract at its Oct. 1 regular meeting.
Long Creek will be accessible through Palm Harbor Parkway and, once developed, will provide direct access to the Intracoastal Waterway. When complete, the park will include multipurpose trails, classroom facilities, a canoe and kayak launch and picnic tables.
Earlier this year, the city applied for and was awarded a $167,843 grant from Florida Inland Navigation District for construction of Phase 1.
The construction budget for the project is $1.215 million, but the low bid was about $1.458 million, according to city documents. City staff worked with the contractor, Saboungi Construction Inc., to lower costs by about $70,000. However, the city had a shortfall of about $173,000.
The cover the shortfall, the city will dip into its park impact fees fund. The total cost of the first phase of the project is about $1.508 million, which includes a $50,000 contingency for flexibility during the construction process.
City to spend $360,376 on new fire truck
The City Council also appeared to be in consensus to spend $360,376 on a new Rosenbauer Commander pumper truck.
The new truck will take about six months to a year before it’s on city roads, according to Palm Coast Fire Chief Mike Beadle.
The Rosenbauer actually came in as the second-lowest bid out of second total applicants in the city’s request for proposal. The lowest proposal, a Pierce for $357,340, didn’t meet all of the city’s requirements, Beadle said.
The Rosenbauer also comes with a two-year warranty, which is “unheard of in the industry,” Beadle said.
