- November 15, 2024
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The following is a news release from the Flagler County communications office:
Flagler County is participating in the second annual “HalloWeed” invasive species count, and is looking for volunteers who have their own canoes or kayaks to help.
HalloWeed is a two-week, statewide data collection event, that runs from October 24 through November 8. Flagler County is partnering with the St. Johns River Water Management District and the Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve to conduct the count locally.
Flagler County’s event will take place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Thursday, October 29, at the Princess Place Preserve.
“We will cover the shoreline east of Princess Place (lodge),” said Mike Lagasse, Flagler County Land Management Coordinator. “If we get enough paddlers, we will go up into Pellicer Creek.”
HalloWeed is designed to bring awareness to the efforts made to count and track invasive plants like Brazilian pepper. Volunteers can use a phone application – EDDMapS (Early Detection & Distribution Mapping System) – to upload pictures of the plants while on location. The program assigns the appropriate geographic information system (GIS) data to the photo.
“The goal is to collect more credible invasive plant observation data into EDDMapS,” said Deb Stone with the St. Johns River Water Management District.
Those who are interested in participating can watch a YouTube training video about the phone application at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2ju1bgOoG4&feature=youtu.be. Information is also available at http://www.eddmaps.org/.
To register, contact Stone at [email protected] or at 386-643-1921. Follow along at #fallweedcount.
There are a limited number of seats available to those who do not have their own kayaks. To reserve one of those slots, contact Lagasse at 386-313-4064.
The following is a news release from the city of Palm Coast communications office:
The new Palm Coast City Hall is open for business! City Hall is located at 160 Lake Ave., Palm Coast, in Town Center. Hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
The 41,309-square-foot facility includes a two-story office building connected to a one-story Community Wing, with entrances from both the road/parking lot and Central Park. It was designed with customer service in mind – with Customer Service for paying utility bills and managing utility service, permitting, zoning, code enforcement, business tax receipts and the Business Assistance Center all located on the first floor. In addition, residents will still have the option to pay their utility bills and manage their utility service at the Utility Department at 2 Utility Drive, Palm Coast.
City Hall was built to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards (certification pending), with energy-efficient features including LED lighting throughout, insulated and tinted windows, a highly efficient HVAC chiller system and preferred parking for energy-efficient vehicles. (More details below.)
Everyone is invited to a City Hall Grand Opening celebration on Tuesday, Nov. 3. Tours will be offered 4-8 p.m. A ribbon-cutting ceremony will begin at 5:15 p.m., and the Palm Coast City Council will meet at 6:30 p.m. in the Community Wing section of the new City Hall.
Here is an overview of the new facility:
Size: Two-story office building connected to one-story Community Wing. Total square footage for these first two phases is 41,309. The breakdown is: office building first floor is 16,693 SF; office building second floor is 16,638 SF; Community Wing is 7,978 SF.
Location: 160 Lake Ave., Palm Coast, FL 32164 – located in Palm Coast’s Town Center, our future downtown area; neighbors to Central Park, the City Centre office building, Epic Theater, and the newly completed Bulldog Drive roadway and landscaping improvements.
Architect: C.T. Hsu + Associates
Builder: construction manager is Gilbane Building Company based in Jacksonville
Local sub-contractors: 4C’s Trucking & Excavating; Austin Outdoors; Ocean Flooring; and Universal Engineering
Cost: $9.15 million, includes construction of both phases plus primary furniture, fixtures and equipment
Employees and Offices: 135 employees will work in the facility. The new Palm Coast City Hall will be a full-service facility for the public, with Customer Service for paying utility bills and managing utility service, permitting, zoning, code enforcement, business tax receipts and the Business Assistance Center all located on the first floor. City departments/divisions housed at City Hall include Finance, Administration, Community Development (Building, Code Enforcement, Planning, Construction Management & Engineering), Information Technology, Customer Service, and the BAC.
Features of the design: clock tower; small-town feel for the scale of the building; energy-efficient (see details in next bullet); customer-service-oriented; entrances from both the road/parking lot and the Central Park lake; many joint work spaces for collaboration between employees/teams; technology includes wifi throughout (including for public) and extensive use of tablets and cloud computing that allows flexibility for working throughout the facility and also emphasizes “paperless office.”
Energy-efficiency features: built to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards (certification pending); also seeking DEP Energy Star Label for Buildings; LED lighting throughout; insulated (air-filled with Solarban Low-E coating) and tinted windows; highly efficient HVAC chiller system; low-flow plumbing fixtures; highly reflective, white, single-ply TPO roofing to prevent solar heat gain on the roof; occupancy sensors will automatically control lighting to improve energy efficiency; and preferred parking for energy-efficient vehicles.
Colors: Exterior is terra cotta/tan/beige stucco finish; Interior has light turquoise, gold, gray and chocolate. Colors were selected to complement the Palm Coast brand.
Community Wing: The one-story Community Wing on the west side of the facility has one large community meeting room and two smaller community meeting rooms for events with community interaction such as public meetings, rentals and events. The wing also includes the Waterfront Room, a food service area that connects to Central Park. Palm Coast City Council meetings, as well as the meetings of various City advisory boards, will be held in the Community Wing.
Conference Rooms: The office building portion of the facility has 11 conference rooms named for Palm Coast’s original neighborhoods. The Community Wing has three community meeting rooms, plus the Waterfront Room that opens onto Central Park.
History: City Offices have previously been housed in five different locations: the Palm Coast Community Center, the former Flagler County Library when it was at the Palm Harbor Shopping Center, at One Corporate One (former ITT headquarters), the building on Commerce Boulevard now occupied by Palm Coast Data, and at City Marketplace Shopping Center on Cypress Point Parkway.
Future phases: Two additional future phases of City Hall are planned, dependent on future funding. One phase will be an expansion of Central Park to connect to the building to create a large plaza for outdoor events. The other phase is at the front of the building, to create a promenade leading to the main entrance with fountains, landscaping and a public plaza.
Room to Grow: There is space for short-term growth, and the site allows for additional wings to be added should they be needed in the future. Any additional wings would be added on the east side of the office building.
More Fun Facts:
The following is a news release from the city of Palm Coast communications office:
Palm Coast – The Palm Coast City Council Workshop scheduled for 9 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 27, will be held at the Palm Coast Community Center, 305 Palm Coast Pkwy. NE. The meeting is open to the public.
The City Offices located in the City Marketplace shopping center will close for good at 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23. The new Palm Coast City Hall will open to the public at 8 a.m. Monday, Oct. 26, and it will be open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. City Hall is located at 160 Lake Ave., Palm Coast, in Town Center (north end of Central Park).
Effective Monday, Nov. 2, the following City meetings will be held at the new Palm Coast City Hall:
City Council business meetings – first Tuesday of each month at 6:30 p.m. and third Tuesday of each month at 9 a.m.
City Council workshop meetings – second and last Tuesdays of each month at 9 a.m.
Planning & Land Development Regulation Board – third Wednesday of each month at 5:30 p.m.
Citizens’ Advisory Task Force – generally held before or after regularly scheduled Planning & Land Development Regulation Board meetings
Red Light hearings – third Thursday of each month at 9 a.m.
Animal Control hearings – first Tuesday of each month at 1 p.m.
Beautification and Environmental Advisory Committee – fourth Thursday of each month at 5 p.m.
Leisure Services Advisory Committee – second Wednesday of each month at 5:30 p.m.
Effective Dec. 2, the Code Enforcement Board will also meet at City Hall, on the first Wednesday of each month at 9 a.m. Code Enforcement Board will meet at the Community Center, 305 Palm Coast Pkwy. NE, for its meeting at 9 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 4.
For more information, contact Cindi Lane, Communications & Marketing Manager, at 386-986-3708.
The following is a news release from the city of Palm Coast communications office:
The intersection of Old Kings Road and Matanzas Woods Parkway will be closed for reconstruction beginning at 3:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30, and continuing through the weekend until 3 a.m. Monday morning, Nov. 2.
The intersection will be closed to traffic during that entire time. Variable message signs will be used to alert the traveling public of the closure.
For more information, contact Palm Coast Customer Service at 386-986-2360.
The following is a news release from the Flagler County communications office:
Flagler County’s Veterans Day ceremony at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, November 11 will feature Circuit Judge J. David Walsh as the guest speaker.
While many people in Flagler County are familiar with Walsh through his work presiding over the felony court division here for the Seventh Judicial Circuit, the judge served as a Captain with U.S. Navy Reserves until his retirement in 1995.
Walsh’s military career began after his graduation from the University of South Carolina when he was first assigned to the USS Douglas H. Fox (DD-779), Norfolk, Virginia, as Electrical Officer. He then transferred to NAS Pensacola for flight training.
Upon completion of his training, Walsh flew more than 150 combat and combat-support missions in Southeast Asia. He received three awards of the Distinguished Flying Cross, six Individual Action Air Medals, 15 Strike/Flight Air Medals, three Navy Commendation Medals with Combat V, the Presidential Unit Citation, as well as several unit and campaign citations.
Walsh was designated Naval Reserve Intelligence Officer in 1980 at NAS Jacksonville. He retired from the Naval Reserve in 1995.
Besides featuring Walsh as guest speaker, Flagler County’s Veteran of the Year will be announced. The winner of the Flagler Schools Veterans Day Essay Contest will also be honored. There will be a performance by an a cappella trio from Flagler Palm Coast High School.
Additionally, there will be booths set up outside from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. featuring displays of equipment, food vendors, the Army National Guard (units located at the Flagler County Airport are presently deployed to Afghanistan), the St. Augustine Naval Sea Cadet Battalion, the St. Augustine-Palm Coast Council of the Navy League, Flagler American Legion Post 115, American Gold Star Mothers, Haven Hospice, Gentiva Hospice and Ormond Strong.
The Veterans Day event is sponsored by the Flagler County Commission and the Flagler County Veterans Advisory Council. Veterans groups to participate include:
American Legion Post 115, Amvets Post 113, DAV Chapter 86, Italian American War
Veterans Post 7, Marine Corps League 876, Military Officers Association of America,
Military Order of the Purple Heart 808, Flagler County Veterans Service Office, VFW Post 8696, and the Knights of Columbus 2264 Color Corps.
The event will be held at the flagpole of the Government Services Building, 1769 E. Moody Blvd., Bunnell.
The following is a news release from the Flagler County communications office:
Consider using glow sticks or flameless candles to light up the faces of Halloween jack o’lanterns.
This is just one of the safety tips Flagler County Fire Rescue Chief Don Petito is offering to keep the community safe and fire free.
“The latest data from the U.S. Fire Administration is that there are more than 10,000 fires each year during the three-day period around Halloween,” Petito said. “We haven’t had any fires in Flagler County that were caused by costumes or decorations, and we’d like to keep it that way.”
Halloween-related fires typically cause 25 deaths, 125 injuries and $83 million in property loss, according to the U.S. Fire Administration.
Long, loose, trailing fabrics are both a fire hazard and a tripping hazard.
“Ill-fitting costumes or costumes with long tails can cause a child to stumble and fall,” Petito said. “This could be made worse if there are candles to lit jack o’lanterns in the area.”
Costumes should be made from materials that don’t catch fire easily should they come into brief contact with heat or flames. Similarly, keep candles, light bulbs and heaters away from flammable decorations and curtains.
“It’s also important to keep doorways and exits clear of decorations,” said Fire Marshal Joe King.
Finally, send trick-or-treaters out with flashlights and glow sticks so that motorists can see them.
“We want everyone to have a safe and fun Halloween,” County Administrator Craig Coffey said.
The following is a news release from the Flagler County communications office:
Consider using glow sticks or flameless candles to light up the faces of Halloween jack o’lanterns.
This is just one of the safety tips Flagler County Fire Rescue Chief Don Petito is offering to keep the community safe and fire free.
“The latest data from the U.S. Fire Administration is that there are more than 10,000 fires each year during the three-day period around Halloween,” Petito said. “We haven’t had any fires in Flagler County that were caused by costumes or decorations, and we’d like to keep it that way.”
Halloween-related fires typically cause 25 deaths, 125 injuries and $83 million in property loss, according to the U.S. Fire Administration.
Long, loose, trailing fabrics are both a fire hazard and a tripping hazard.
“Ill-fitting costumes or costumes with long tails can cause a child to stumble and fall,” Petito said. “This could be made worse if there are candles to lit jack o’lanterns in the area.”
Costumes should be made from materials that don’t catch fire easily should they come into brief contact with heat or flames. Similarly, keep candles, light bulbs and heaters away from flammable decorations and curtains.
“It’s also important to keep doorways and exits clear of decorations,” said Fire Marshal Joe King.
Finally, send trick-or-treaters out with flashlights and glow sticks so that motorists can see them.
“We want everyone to have a safe and fun Halloween,” County Administrator Craig Coffey said.
The following is a news release from the city of Palm Coast communications office:
The Palm Coast City Council has adopted a landscape irrigation policy for Eastern Standard Time, aligning with the restrictions issued by the St. Johns River Water Management District.
From Sunday, Nov. 1, 2015, through March 13, 2016, residential and non-residential (business) consumers may water lawns and shrubs according to the following provisions:
These restrictions apply to water withdrawn from ground or surface water, from a public or private well or pump or from a public or private water utility. They do not apply to irrigation using reclaimed water or stormwater. Restrictions and exceptions can be found on the City of Palm Coast website at palmcoastgov.com. Search for “watering restrictions.”
