ON THE AGENDA: Flagler County Commission to declare state of local emergency due to COVID-19

ALSO: Palm Coast City Council and School Board meetings initially scheduled for March 17 have been cancelled/postponed.

By Jonathan Simmons
| 10:00 a.m. March 16, 2020

Palm Coast Observer
News

Palm Coast City Council and Flagler County School Board meetings that were scheduled for March 17 have been cancelled or postponed as of March 16. The city announced on its website that its meeting has been cancelled, while the school district website states that a School Board workshop and meeting initially scheduled for March 17 have been rescheduled to March 31.

The Flagler County Commission is still holding its regular County Commission meeting the evening of Monday, March 16.

However, the county government stated in a news release about COVID-19 preparations that residents are encouraged to watch its commission meeting online (go to https://bit.ly/2PAjnAj).

County facilities generally open to the public will have a sign posted indicating that the following individuals should not enter: Older adults/seniors; anyone who is sick with symptoms of a fever, cough, or shortness of breath; anyone with serious chronic medical conditions like heart disease, diabetes, lung disease; anyone who has travelled to high risk countries within the last 14 days (even if they do not show symptoms); and anyone who has been advised to quarantine or self-isolate, according to the news release

Here's what's on the County Commission's agenda.

County Commission meeting: 5 p.m. Monday, March 16

Location: Government Services Building 2, 1769 E. Moody Blvd., Bunnell.
Full agenda/backup: Go to https://bit.ly/2waoikF.
Livestream: Go to https://bit.ly/2PAjnAj.

Notable agenda items:

Notable consent agenda items

As part of the meeting's consent agenda, the County Commission will consider the following, among other items:

Beach sand agreement: An agreement between the county government and several federal agencies or departments — the Bureau of Energy Management, Department of the Interior and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers — establishing the sand to be used for the beach renourishment project in Flagler Beach, and the offshore borrow site from which it will be sourced, 10.25 miles off the coast.

Helicopter maintenance: A budget transfer from the general fund reserve to Flight Operations to cover an "overhaul exchange" for the transmission of its emergency services helicopter, FireFlight. In the exchange, the county sent its own transmission for repair — which can make several months — while the company doing the work sent the county a working loaner transmission to use during the interim period, for $49,512.

Public records process: The county will consider repealing its existing policy on records requests, created in 2006, in order to update it to reflect the county's current protocols/procedures and state law.

Resolution for dunes maintenance: A resolution pledging that programs for maintaining and renourishing beach dunes will continue until the county terminates them and fails to find a successor agency to continue the programs, in which case the county would also terminate the easements it obtained from private property owners for the project.

Emergency declaration: The Flagler County Commission is expected to declare a state of local emergency for COVID-19, according to a county government news release. Declaring a state of emergency allows local governments to qualify for certain forms of emergency-related aid and assistance from other government bodies, should they become necessary.

“We are taking action to ensure we keep our citizens safe,” Flagler County Emergency Management Director Jonathan Lord said in the news release. “It’s prudent to be cautious right now. A little inconvenience is worth it to limit the number of cases we see.”

Emergency Management Update: The board will hear a presentation from the county's Emergency Management staff.

Vacant former hotel building: A former Holiday Travel Park hotel building at 2251 South Old Dixie Highway, near the main entrance to Plantation Bay, has long elicited complaints from Plantation Bay residents who say it attracts criminals, homeless people and drug abusers. It's also attracted consistent attention from law enforcement officers: Flagler County Sheriff's Office deputies have conducted 40 security checks and responses to calls about criminal mischief or suspicious persons at the building since the start of 2020, according to FCSO records. The Sheriff's Office has appealed to the county government to take action. At a County Commission meeting March 16, Flagler County Administrator Jerry Cameron will present the commission with potential solutions.

Final plat for Plantation Bay Section 2A-F, Unit 8: The County Commission considered a proposed final plat for a new section of Plantation Bay at a meeting on March 2, but decided to delay until a meeting when the full board would be there — two commissioners, Joe Mullins and Greg Hansen — were absent from the March 2 meeting. The proposal is for a final plat and acceptance of performance bonds and a maintenance bond for 97 residential lots on a 55-acre portion of Plantation Bay known as Section 2A-F, Unit 8, on the western side of the community.

Equal Pay Day: The commission will read a proclamation marking March 31, 2020 as Equal Pay Day, at the request of the American Association of University Women.