- April 25, 2024
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After two decades of territorial battles between Flagler County and Palm Coast over who would provide water and sewer services to Old Kings Road South, the city of Palm Coast appears poised to enter into an agreement with the Florida Governmental Utility Authority, with environmental benefits to Bulow Creek.
“It puts our future and our destiny in our own hands,” City Council member Nick Klufas said.
Since the battles of the early 2000s, Flagler County has sold its utility to FGUA, and Palm Coast city staff propose agreeing to provide bulk water and sewer services to FGUA customers south of State Road 100, mostly along South Old Kings Road.
The new agreement also would grant the city service rights for territories annexed after what has become known as the 2007 Settlement Agreement.
As a result of the new agreement, which was presented to the City Council for review on Aug. 9, the city would also acquire the current property which FGUA utilizes for the treatment facility. The city would fund $8,268,000 in improvements in the city limits, and the FGUA would be responsible for $5,576,000 improvements in its own service area. The city’s costs have been incorporated into the city’s five-year Utility Capital plan, according to Utility Director Steve Flanagan.
Flanagan also reported that the net result of this transaction would “reduce wastewater effluent discharges into the outstanding waters of the Bulow Creek.” City Council member Nick Klufas praised the deal especially for the environmental benefits.
Moreover, the city would acquire a 20-acre property for future wastewater treatment plant 3 and would enable future wastewater service in the southeastern portion of the city.
City Council member John Fanelli appreciated the fact that this was forward-thinking project, enabling the city to stay ahead of population growth.
In other city news:
What is now known as Dry Lake could soon become a 35-acre lake with two small islands, after a land swap and developer-funded excavation, giving the city “significant flood storage capacity,” according to a presentation at the Aug. 9 City Council workshop.
In the deal, the city will provide 3.5 acres in a narrow strip of the Seminole Trail development, at the corner of Citation Parkway and Seminole Woods Boulevard. In exchange, the city will receive two parcels of land, one that is .75 acres from Palm Coast Land Opportunities Inc., and the other being .96 acres from SG Flagler Holdings. The developer will also exchange parcels that are needed to make the connection between Dry Lake and the Seven Oaks Waterway.
If Dry Lake is to become wet, Mayor David Alfin joked, perhaps it should be given a more appropriate name.
The developers of Grand Landings have applied to create a community development district for its fourth phase. The CDD would have authority to tax its residents to build roads or create other amenities, all of which would need to be open to the public, according to state law. The developer has not yet decided what it would do with the new low-cost financing power, but it wants the option, city staff told the City Council on Aug. 9.
If approved, the CDD would become the third in the city, part of a growing trend as developers look for ways to provide infrastructure and other amenities to residents, according to Deputy Chief Development Officer Ray Tyner.
Grand Landings was annexed into Palm Coast in March 2007. The CDD would not apply to the existing homes in Grand Landings, but only to the next phase of up to 399 homes. The city would not be a party to the financing and would not incur any debt; the city would also not accept any maintenance responsibility on new roads built in Grand Landings.
The first official reading of the proposal will be at the Aug. 16 City Council meeting.
