- November 7, 2024
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Flagler County is closing its Assistance Center located at the Palm Coast Branch Library and opening a virtual center that can be accessed from any computer, according to a Flagler County government news release.
The virtual center is located at www.flaglerassist.com. That site is immediately available.
Links are available to various agencies on the site to ease the process for residents.
Though a federal declaration has yet to be made to qualify Flagler County for Individual Assistance, residents can pre-register at www.disasterassistance.gov. This site is among those directly linked from the site.
Filling out the “address look-up” currently provides the message: “No disasters declared for Individual Assistance were found for this address.” Despite that message, residents can still apply for assistance: “The system will let you proceed if early registration is open for your state or county. Your application will proceed if your county is added to an active declaration.”
There is also a FEMA Helpline that is available from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., seven days a week. The number is 800-621-3362, TTY is 800-462-7585.
Flagler County’s Social Services phone lines took a hit during Hurricane Matthew and were still inoperable as of Monday, Oct. 17, according to a Flagler County government news release.
Those wishing to contact the department about Human Services, Senior Services or Adult Day Care should call either 386-437-7228 or 386-586-5183.
“We know this is an inconvenience, and we appreciate your patience,” Social Services Director Joe Mayer said in the news release. “Hopefully it won’t be too long until our regular service is restored.
The Social Services Department is located at 1000 Belle Terre Blvd., Palm Coast. Its regular hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Debris removal in the city of Palm Coast is continuing seven days a week, with good progress, but the process is expected to take several more weeks for completion, according to a city of Palm Coast government news release.
The city is asking for residents’ assistance in making the cleanup go smoothly, and also for patience as this big job continues.
The pickup is being handled by a city contractor, CrowderGulf, which is picking up loose piles of vegetative debris such as tree branches and loose piles of construction and demolition materials such as roof shingles and fence sections; by Palm Coast’s regular trash hauler, Waste Pro, which is collecting yard debris that has been bagged; and by city of Palm Coast Public Works crews.
As of Sunday, Oct. 16, 526 truckloads of loose vegetative debris and construction/demolition materials had been removed from alongside public streets, and Waste Pro had collected bagged debris from all but two neighborhoods in Palm Coast. Those two neighborhoods will be the next priority for bagged debris pickup.
Still, with the volume generated by Hurricane Matthew, there are more piles and bags of debris to be collected. The City will be picking up any and all debris brought to the curb along public streets.
To expedite debris removal from residences and businesses, the city asks residents to help by separating everything at the curb into the following categories:
The city is tracking the debris removal process to ensure no public streets are missed in the debris collection process. If you live on a private street within a gated community, contact your homeowners association to determine its plans for removing the debris out of the private neighborhood.
Cleanup of trails, parks, streets
City crews have worked hard to clean up all city property, including streets, trails, sidewalks and recreational facilities, so that it is safe for use by the public. That work is continuing. All parks and trails are now open with the exception of Graham Swamp Trail and Palm Harbor Golf Club course, both of which had a large number of fallen trees. In the meantime, the driving range, practice areas, clubhouse and Canfield’s Restaurant are open at Palm Harbor Golf.
Hazardous trees
There are numerous damaged trees in our community that are still standing. Some were/are leaning toward a home or other structures. City crews are removing these trees that are located on city property as quickly as possible when they are brought to our attention. The city is working with a tree removal contractor to remove hazardous trees on private property, with the property owner billed for that cost.
To report a hazardous tree issue, call Palm Coast Customer Service at 386-986-2360.
Flagler County is asking residents in unincorporated areas storm-generated debris to the roadway as quickly as possible, according to a Flagler County government news release.
“Debris should be placed where you normally put your garbage for collection,” Flagler County Administrator Craig Coffey said. “We have been working diligently to have the debris picked up as quickly as possible.”
Several gated communities with private roadways have given Flagler County authorization to pick up debris for their residents. Those homeowners associations include the following: Beach Haven, Bulow Plantation, Dixie Commons, Eagle Rock Ranch, Flagler Beach Polo Club, Flagler Beach Polo Club West, Island Estates, Plantation Bay, Sea Colony, Shelter Cove, Sunset Inlet, Surfside Estates and West Lake at Plantation Bay.
Representatives from other private communities are encouraged to call the Flagler County Administrative Offices at 386-313-4093 for an authorization agreement.
“We want to help all of our residents, so we continue to work on these agreements,” Coffey said. “The goal is to pick up debris in those areas by the time we complete our first sweep.”
Keep vegetative debris (woody burnable debris such as limbs and shrubbery) separated from construction and demolition debris, as they will be collected separately. Bagged debris should not be placed in the right-of-way; only loose debris will be collected.
Hazardous waste should be brought to Flagler County’s household hazardous waste collection center and recycle drop-off center is operated at the closed C & D Facility, located at 1700 South Old Kings Road. Hours of operation are Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. This service is provided free of charge to Flagler County residents
Hazardous waste accepted at the landfill includes used motor oil, antifreeze, lead-acid and rechargeable batteries, paints, thinners and solvents, pool chemicals, fluorescent light bulbs and gasoline.
Do not place debris near water meter vaults, fire hydrants or any other above ground utility.
Starting at 7:45 a.m. Sunday. Oct. 16 and ending just before 11:00 a.m., volunteers and city of Flagler Beach staff started an initial beach cleanup of debris left on Flagler Beach beaches from Hurricane Matthew, according to a city of Flagler Beach government news release.
The city’s scenic beaches were scattered with miscellaneous debris, including: treated and untreated wood, nails, shards of glass, broken tree branches and various shapes and forms of metal.
“Our community has come together in an effort to restore our city to what it looked like before Hurricane Matthew,” Flagler Beach City Manager Larry Newsom said in the news release. “Watching the overwhelming number of volunteers working together with city staff today to help clean our beaches was inspiring and absolutely amazing.”
Flagler Beach residents should keep in mind the following tips to ensure the safe and efficient clean-up of their homes, according to the news release:
The beaches in Flagler Beach closed remained closed as of Oct. 16. This city has been working diligently to ensure that the beaches are safe for the public, according to the news release, and will issue a public service announcement once they’re deemed safe.
