- April 25, 2024
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Flagler County and city of Palm Coast leaders have asked the area's state legislators to push for state funding for local water and wastewater projects, a new public library branch and an additional judge, among other requests.
Residents' requests touched on issues as varied as dangerous dog laws, affordable housing and the St. Johns Water Management District's restoration plan for a local marsh.
"The overall theme on this is really focused on water quality, water availability issues," County Commissioners Donald O'Brien told state Sen. Travis Hutson and Rep. Paul Renner about the Flagler County government's requests when Hutson and Renner visited Flagler County as the county's legislative delegation the afternoon of Nov. 7. The county is seeking $8 million for wastewater system improvements on the northeastern coast, including switching septic tank areas over to sewer. It's also asking for support in making improvements to the utility at Plantation Bay.
O'Brien also emphasized the need to add an additional county judge, so that the county's sole county judge — Melissa Moore Stens‚ doesn't continue to carry the state's heaviest county court caseload.
"The need is well-documented," O'Brien said.
Renner said that the Florida Supreme County certifies the need to add additional judges, and that it had done so a couple years ago for Flagler, but not done so the following year.
"It’s a challenge; we don’t know what the Florida Supreme Court will do this year," he said. "But if they don’t certify a judge, it's very difficult for us to get that funding on a permanent basis."
The county also is asking the state for $500,000 in state library construction program funding to build a new Bunnell branch of the Flagler County Public Library, behind the Government Services Building on East Moody Boulevard.
The legislative delegation meeting is an opportunity for local officials and interested residents to tell legislators what they want to see happen during the upcoming legislative season. Government bodies each assemble lists of legislative priorities and have officials present those list to the legislators during the meeting's comment period. They have to keep their remarks succinct: Each speaker has up to three minutes. Renner and Hutson asked clarifying questions during the meeting, but didn't speak at length on any one topic. More than two dozen people addressed them.
Palm Coast Mayor Milissa Holland represented the city of Palm Coast during the meeting, seeking appropriations to extend Palm Coast's sewer force main to Marineland and to extend its fiber optic network to the University of Florida's Whitney Lab.
"We see this as a benefit not only to the resiliency of the septic, sewer drainage issue that’s going on the island, but it’s an extension to our forced main," she said.
She also voiced the city's support for the Flagler School District's Flagship Program local funding initiative and the Palm Coast Arts Foundation's requests for appropriations for its event center.
"That will allow us to have some cultural arts experiences in our downtown ... for our residents to enjoy for years to come," Holland said.
Other officials and residents addressed the following issues during the meeting:
