- September 11, 2024
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The Flagler Beach City Commission is hoping to host a joint meeting with the governments in Flagler County to discuss issues facing the city and county.
The City Commission decided at a May 11 meeting to send letters requesting the meeting to representatives from each government: Flagler County, Flagler Beach, Bunnell, Palm Coast and Beverly Beach.
Flagler Beach interim City Manager Mike Abels said the meeting would be focus on quality of life in the county. If the other governing bodies agree to meet, two representatives from each would sit at the meeting and bring a single issue to the table for discussion, he said.
Abels said he tentatively reached out to the other city managers and the county administrator to see if there was any interest in a meeting. They encouraged him to move forward, he said.
At this point … we have a receptive audience on all the governmental institutions in Flagler County. — Mike Abels, Flagler Beach interim City Manager
“At this point … we have a receptive audience on all the governmental institutions in Flagler County,” Abels said.
A date for the meeting will be set after the city sends out the official letters and hears back from the other governments, Abels said. At that time, the Flagler Beach City Commission will also pick its representatives.
Flagler Beach is looking for discussion on cooperation between the municipalities about the potential negative impact of tourism in the city. The idea came was raised at a previous City Commission budget meeting.
Because two elected officials from each governing body would be present, the meeting would be subject to Florida’s Sunshine Law, Flagler Beach City Attorney Drew Smith said.
Commissioner Scott Spradley said that everyone who moves to Flagler County wants to go to the beach at some point.
This meeting, he said, will let the city address concerns about shared funding to support the continued increase in traffic.
“We all know how much growth has happened and we suspect will happen,” Spradley said. “So, this is a good opportunity to lay our concerns out before the other bodies.”
Commission Chair Eric Cooley said the city’s concern is about infrastructure as well as funding. Adding 10,000-15,000 people every year, while having one main “choke point” into a city of 5,000 is not sustainable, he said — especially since most people come to Flagler County for the beach, he said.
“There has to be an alternative to the pinch point of just [State Road] 100,” Cooley said. “We need to be able to get county citizens to the beach.”
There has to be an alternate to the pinch point of just [State Road] 100. ... We need to be able to get county citizens to the beach. — Eric Cooley, Flagler Beach City Commission Chair
County Administrator Heidi Petito brought up the city’s request to county commissioners during a May 15 Flagler County Commission meeting before receiving the official meeting request.
Petito said an initial email about the meeting offered some potential dates for the meetingand requested a response by May 23.
The date that works best with the county’s schedule would be June 21, she said.
County Commissioners David Sullivan — who represents the Flagler Beach area — and Leann Pennington volunteered as representatives for the county.
The county commissioner added the topic to their June 5 workshop to brainstorm potential ideas to bring to the meeting.
