- November 16, 2024
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Helen Varn Holton and Marilyn Varn King — daughters of Varn Park namesake Claude Grady Varn, an early Flagler landowner, attorney and businessman — together held a pair of ceremonial gold scissors and cut the ribbon at a ceremony June 22 to celebrate Varn Park’s reopening after months of renovations.
The eight-acre park had officially reopened at the beginning of June after it closed in mid-December for $549,420 in renovations, including new beach shower facilities, an expansion of the parking lot, and a new, brightly-painted concrete restroom built in an abstract pattern designed to resemble a stingray.
“I can remember my wife dragging our kids over here all the time … and then wondering how far away from the one of the ramps you’ll have to go to park your car,” County Commissioner Frank Meeker said in a speech at the 1 p.m. ribbon cutting. That won’t be a problem now: The park’s lot has been expanded from 42 spaces to 106, including four ADA-compliant spaces. “We’ve done a lot of ADA compliance issues with the spaces,” Meeker continued. “We’ve rebuilt the restrooms, shower facilities, and added the second dune walkover,” which is also ADA-compliant.
The project’s funding came from a combination of federal grant dollars administered through the Florida Department of Transportation — covering 80% of the project cost — and local funds and services, which covered the other 20%.
Holton and King, along with their three siblings, had donated the land for the park to the county after the death of their father, its original owner, Holton said.
Officials from Flagler County, the city of Flagler Beach and the Friends of A1A Scenic and Historic Coastal Byway were among the roughly two dozen people who attended the event.
