- November 1, 2024
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Pickleball courts, fitness equipment and handball courts are being cut from the second and final phase of Holland Park construction — but most Palm Coast City Council members favor moving forward with the $2 million worth of splash pads planned at the park.
Improvements to James F. Holland Memorial Park, on Florida Park Drive, began with a master plan in 2004. After a hiatus because of the recession, phase 1 was completed in June 2017, and phase 2 is now projected to begin in May and be completed in June 2020, for a cost of $5.6 million (down from a projected $7 million).
Even with the reduced scope of phase 2, Councilman Eddie Branquinho did not support spending so much on “amenities and comforts” such as splash pads and shade. He felt the City Council is opening itself to criticism, considering council members were hesitant earlier in the March 26 workshop to commit to Public Works improvements on U.S. 1. (The council directed staff to continue to explore less expensive options.)
“We have to balance this,” Branquinho said.
Holland Park will remain open throughout phase 2 construction, which is being funded through sales tax dollars.
Rather than putting pickleball courts at Holland Park, staff proposed spending about $600,000 to build six courts at Ralph Carter Park instead. Mayor Milissa Holland said she’d like to explore a partnership with Flagler County, to use tourism funds for a central pickleball location. Currently, the county is planning to build up to nine new courts in The Hammock.
The plan for Holland Park and Ralph Carter Park improvements is scheduled to be voted on at the April 2 City Council meeting.
The city of Palm Coast should be more aggressive in using and marketing FiberNet, according to Councilman Nick Klufas. He wants the city to hire two people to lead those efforts, and when Interim City Manager Beau Falgout suggested adding it to the budget for next year, Klufas was not satisfied.
“I can’t wait another year,” he said. “I don’t have time for that.”
Klufas and Mayor Milissa Holland told Falgout they’d like to see options to amend the budget to make room for more staff.
A new portal for citizen engagement is being developed for the city — for free — by Coastal Cloud, the company that also employs Mayor Milissa Holland. The new portal, Holland said, should allow residents to have real-time communication on neighborhood projects, such as stormwater improvements. More details should be revealed April 5, at the State of the City address.
