City Council to appoint new member

Palm Coast Observer
News

The Palm Coast City Council on Tuesday will select a new member to fill the seat vacated by Frank Meeker, who gave up his seat on the City Council to run for the District 2 seat on the Flagler County Board of County Commissioners, a position he won in Tuesday’s General Election.

Of the 16 applicants for the position, the council selected the top four — Robert Uhl, Lynnette Callender, David Ferguson and Norman Mugford — to be interviewed Nov. 13. Following the interviews, the council will appoint Meeker’s replacement at an 11 a.m. special meeting.

Here are the four remaining applicants:

Robert Uhl
Uhl said he applied for the position because he has a thorough understanding of Palm Coast and its needs.

He worked as the vice president of manufacturing for the Wittemann Company for 25 years, and after that, he spent eight years as the owner of Apple Tree Educational Center LLC, a small business based in Holly Hill that furnished educational material for Florida schools, including some in Flagler County.

He’s also served on the board of directors of several condominium complexes.

“Palm Coast is a growing and developing city,” Uhl said. “It has some work to do on infrastructure, it has some work to do on broadening the tax base by bringing in industry, and of course we want to preserve the environment and keep it a green city as much as possible.”

Lynnette Callender
Callender, a Palm Coast resident of 21 years, is an attorney with a background in arbitration and mediation. She served on the Board of Trustees for what then was Daytona Beach Community College from 1999 to 2006, and on Flagler County’s Economic Development Commission in 2007

Callender said her priorities for the city are development, making community resources accessible to residents and upholding high quality of life in Palm Coast.

If she were appointed to City Council, she said she’d see herself as a citizen legislator and would strive to be accessible to her constituents so she could act as a mediator between residents’ needs and concerns and the governing board. Her background in mediation would help, she said.

“Really, our citizens are the ones who see what’s happening on a day-to-day basis, and they’re the ones who let us know what needs to be done,” Callender said.

David Ferguson
Ferguson said his background in business would make him a strong member of City Council because a large focus for the city right now is fostering economic growth.

Ferguson bought a condominium in Palm Coast in 2003 and became a full-time resident of the city in June. He’s worked in senior management at a company he and several other professionals eventually purchased and resold for 10 times their purchase price, he said, and he’s worked in angel investing in Jacksonville. Ferguson currently works in consulting.

“I’d like the city to be able to attract clean industry,” Ferguson said, adding that manufacturing and high-tech service industries would be ideal because they bring money to the local economy. “Secondly, I think that the education is something that needs to be addressed as well.”

Norman Mugford
Mugford, who has lived in Palm Coast for 24 years, is the president and CEO of Alarmpro Inc., in Palm Coast, and the current chairman of the code enforcement board in Palm Coast.

He has also sat on the Palm Coast Construction Board of Adjustment and Appeals and served six years on the Florida Department of Business and Profession Regulation’s Electrical Contractors Licensing Board.

Mugford said he hopes to bring his business experience, as well as the understanding he’s gained from working and living in within the city for so long, to City Council.

“Because of the customer base we have (at Alarmpro), and because I deal with customers on a regular basis, I can appreciate what people are asking for and what some of the needs are of the people of Palm Coast,” he said.