- May 4, 2024
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Standing in a room they have all seen before, five former City Council members and one former mayor stood at the dais during public comment Tuesday night and, one-by-one, explained why they are in support of Palm Coast building or buying a City Hall. The times of renting should be over, they said.
“We are six citizens who share a concern that the issue of building or buying a real City Hall rather than continually paying rent for a storefront needs to be addressed,” said Jim Canfield, who was Palm Coast’s mayor from 1999 to 2007.
Canfield was joined by Mary DiStefano (City Council, 2003-2011), Alan Peterson (City Council, 2005-2008), Bill Venne (City Council, 1999-2007) and Holsey Moorman (City Council 2007-2011). Tom Lawrence (City Council, 2002-2003) was scheduled to be in attendance but missed the meeting for personal reasons.
“We are former elected members of the City Council with a collective total of 34 years experience,” Canfield continued.
Building or buying a City Hall has been a topic of discussion several times over the last eight years.
In 2005, the residents made their voices heard at the ballot box, when they voted down a City Hall proposal by a wide margin, when 82% said no to issuing bonds for construction of a new City Hall.
In 2010, City Manager Jim Landon did a series of Town Hall meetings to propose a new plan to build a City Hall in Town Center. The new building would cost about $10 million. The money would come from a variety of funding sources.
At a City Council workshop in June 2010, city stuff presented a plan to the council that highlighted its long-term plan of building a City Hall.
The breakdown of the money, according to city documents, was as follows: $5.8 million from the State Road 100 Community Redevelopment Area, $1.2 million from the utility fund, $1 million from the building department, and $2 million from the capital projects fund (or $3 million from the sale of the Commerce Boulevard building).
The proposal in 2010 was much different than what the City Council put up to the voters in 2005. The 2010 proposal called for a 40,000 square feet, compared to 75,000. It would have cost $12 million less than the 2005 proposal. And, unlike the 2005 proposal, it wouldn’t require an additional tax levy to the residents.
The tentative plan had the design phase beginning in the fourth quarter of 2010. If it happened as planned, the city would be housed in its new City Hall now.
But the plans fell through, and the city continues to rent at City Marketplace. In May 2012, the City Council signed a new lease at City Marketplace. This year, the city is paying $228,000 in rent ($19,000 per month).
DiStefano said she was involved in two different City Hall discussions during her time on the City Council.
“The current City Hall, in my mind, is a disgrace,” she said. “We are not treating our employees the way any private company would treat their employees. The building has many issues.”
Peterson, who spoke more to the financial aspects, said a new City Hall should reappear on the city’s five-year plan. Regardless of the location, the new building should be expandable, he said.
The city’s lease at City Marketplace will expire in September 2019.
“Let’s get serious about looking at where we’re at as a city,” City Councilman Bill Lewis said. “Let’s be positive. Let’s work together.”
City Councilman Bill McGuire said this will be a hot topic going forward.
“If you think the red light cameras are a volatile issue with the public, the City Hall will make people’s blood boil like you can’t believe,” he said.
The City Council will consider creating a committee to explore more details of a new City Hall at its July 8 workshop. The meting begins at 9 a.m.
