- April 18, 2024
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Captain's BBQ will remain in its current building at Bings Landing — unless further inspection shows that the repairs required to make it useable until the restaurant's lease ends in 2026 would exceed 50% of its value. If that's the case, the county, at its own expense, will build a new building for Captain's BBQ, the County Commission decided June 3. The commissioners did not specify the size, location, or capacity of the potential new building.
The unanimous decision was a rejection of Captain's' proposal to build a new, larger replacement building in another location within the park and to abandon the current one, which has structural problems. The resolution was more in line with a proposal by the Hammock Community Association, which has vocally opposed the relocation plan and said that it endangered the character of the county park.
"I would support us taking back control of the whole situation," Commission Chairman Donald O'Brien said at the meeting, suggesting that the county, if possible, keep Captain's where it is. "This is a public amenity, and I don’t want to lose sight of that."
Commissioner Joe Mullins said he believes in public-private partnerships, "but they have to be smart, and they have to work well together." He proposed having the county construct a new building for Captain's.
Commissioner David Sullivan modified Mullins' proposal, suggesting the county first see if it can keep Captain's in its current location, then, if necessary, construct a new building for it. Mullins and other commissioners agreed.
The commission's decision followed comments by more than two dozen people who attended the June 3 meeting to speak about the issue.
Joy Ellis, president of the Hammock Community Association, told the commission she represented more than 2,200 people who'd signed a petition opposing Captain's BBQ's proposal to build a replacement, 4,500-foot restaurant building on a patch of reclaimed land in the southern end of the park. She urged the county to seek more information on whether the patch of reclaimed land that would contain the proposed structure is actually stable enough to build on.
"There is widespread opposition to Captain's building a new building in Bings Landing park," she said. "I know we are tired of working on this issue … but that doesn't mean that we can be relieved, or you can be relieved, of the responsibility to make a good decision. Don’t rush now because you’re tired of it."
Several opponents of the plan, including resident Dennis Clark, said that Captain's' proposal to pay for a new building and then turn it over to the county would not be a good deal for the county, because the building would be so old by the time the restaurant moved on, and Captain's would be paying below-market rent in the meantime.
And, Clark said, Capain's' proposal of the new building's size — 5,200 square feet — "allows for an NBA-sized basketball court inside," and could potentially let the restaurant increase seating from 98 to 150 and apply for a liquor license in the future.
"Pleased do not violate the public trust and the intent of a small carry-out restaurant by allowing this in the county park," Clark said.
Other residents spoke in favor of the proposed expansion.
David Still, a Palm Coast resident, said he is a public engineer who's dealt with public lands.
"The ones that worked out better than any were the public-private partnerships," Still said. "There has been a silent majority out here that believe that Captain's is a good thing. .. And after managing public lands for my whole career, I just think that having some private-public partnership is the way to go, and I think you have the ideal partners in Captain's BBQ."
Another local, Matt Hathaway, said online reviews show that Captain's has a great track record as a successful small business. "Captain's is successful," he said. "Let the market, let creative enterprise, tell you if it wasn’t. … Their reputation speaks for itself."
The restaurant, which has operated in a building within the county-owned park since 2012, has been a source of local controversy ever since the previous county government administration, under then-County Administrator Craig Coffey, placed a proposal for its relocation within the park on a County Commission meeting consent agenda.
That's the portion of the agenda that commissioners generally vote on as a package, without considering each individual item, because they're generally routine and uncontroversial.
But this one was controversial, all the more so because Captain's BBQ owners Mike Goodman and Chris Herrera had donated to the campaigns of County Commissioner Greg Hansen and then-Commissioner Nate McLaughlin.
The issue prompted a Nov. 19, 2018, FlaglerLive.com story with the headline "How Flagler County Is Readying to Upend Bing’s Landing Park to Benefit Private Restaurant–and Political Donors," followed by additional local press coverage and a series of protests by locals who opposed the changes.
The county administration, laying out the reasons for the relocation, had stated that the building in which Captain's operates is falling apart and can't easily be repaired; it would need to be replaced. But Captain's has a lease with the county, and shutting down the restaurant for months' worth of reconstruction would have breached the lease and opened the county up to a lawsuit, in the county's interpretation. Plus, if the county rebuilt more than 50% of the structure, it would be required under the law to bring it up to new wind-loading requirements. So, the county and the restaurant came to an agreement that the restaurant would build a new, larger building elsewhere in the park at the restaurant's expense, while continuing to operate out of the current building during the construction process. The county would add additional parking spaces. (Click HERE to see a letter from Captain's BBQ's owners explaining their reasons for seeking a new building.)
The County Commission voted 3-2 in favor of the proposed changes at Bings on McLaughlin's very last meeting as a commissioner, and over the objections of incoming Commissioner Mullins, who had won McLaughlin's seat and had urged the commission to wait before making a decision. Commissioners O'Brien and Charlie Ericksen were the two who voted against the proposed relocation.
The terms of the new lease approved by the commission let the restaurant expand from 4,157 square feet to 5,200, and from up to 100 seats to a maximum of 150 — the number required to ease the process of applying for a liquor license. (See more details of the deal HERE.)
Two weeks later, with Mullins seated on the commission, the board backtracked, voting 4-0 to reconsider its previous approval.
For a while, it looked like the county may have a couple of options to resolve the problem: Option 1: The restaurant offered to build, at its own expense, a new building on a patch of reclaimed land that currently contains a pavilion. The building would be turned over to the county, but would be large enough to allow for an expansion to 150 seats. Option 2: The county would build a new building for Captain's, without an expansion to 150 seats, on the same patch of reclaimed land.
The county administration placed the matter on an agenda for the County Commission's May 6 meeting, but withdrew it when both proposals fell apart: Captain's told the county it would not agree to pay for sewer and water connections if it has to construct a new building, and it threatened to sue for loss of future business if the county displaces it.
Meanwhile, the Hammock Community Association, which had opposed the expansion but had been willing to consider Option 2, raised concerns about that site as a feasible relocation spot, in part because the Option 2 site contains a popular pavilion.
At the time of the June 3 meeting, Captain's was proposing to build a building that would be about the same size as its current one, but on the reclaimed land in the south of the park.
That would mean eliminating a pavilion onsite. Captain's had offered to pay for construction, and said it would agree not to expand to 150 seats or to seek a liquor license. It also rescinded its request to have the county build four dock spaces for the restaurant, Captain's attorney Jay Livingston said at the meeting.
The Hammock Community Association had proposed that the county repair the existing building, if possible. If the building could be made safe, the HCA proposed, the county should do that, and keep Captain's there through the end of its lease in 2026.
If the building is not reparable, the HCA proposed, the county should build a new, unobtrusive 2,500 square foot building for the restaurant in the location of the current South Pavilion, on reclaimed land, and build a new pavilion closer to the water. The HCA has suggested that any new building constructed for Captain's be transformed into a community center after the restaurant's lease ends in 2026.
Over the next two weeks, the county will have the building inspected to see if it will be possible to repair the building and keep Captain's there through 2026.
The results of that inspection will be presented to the County Commission at the commission's next meeting, at 5 p.m. June 17.
