- April 30, 2024
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UPDATE: This story was changed Oct. 10 to correct the name of the resident who spoke at the meeting (Ernie Tykarski was quoted, not Steve Carr).
Residents who live on or near Florida Park Drive are unhappy with drivers in the area, and they want officials to do something about it.
About 50 residents showed up to Tuesday’s town hall meeting at the Palm Coast Community Center, led by City Councilman Jason DeLorenzo. Sheriff Jim Manfre, County Commission Chairman Nate McLaughlin and School Board Chairman Andy Dance joined DeLorenzo for the question-and-answer meeting, which lasted about 90 minutes.
Much of the early part of the meeting was based on Florida Park Drive. Residents said drivers speed, vandalism occurs, and the area simply doesn’t feel safe.
“We can’t take it anymore,” Ernie Tykarski said Tuesday night.
Manfre attempted to address Tykarski's issues, but he wasn’t satisfied.
“Everything you just said was a bunch of crap,” he said. “We are sick of it. ... And the cops in this town don’t do anything.”
Some Florida Park Drive residents wanted the speed limit on the road lowered to 25 mph from 30.
But Cmdr. Mark Carman, of the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, said that’s likely not going to happen. Traffic studies show that wouldn’t make sense, he said.
Other residents said deputies aren’t patrolling the road for speedsters, and that the city or the Sheriff’s Office should look into cameras to monitor speeds.
“More than 65 citations have been issued on Florida Park Drive this year alone,” Carman said.
Residents also asked the officials on Tuesday to look into adding more lighting to Florida Park Drive and also about mailboxes getting knocked down.
Other topics at the meeting included the new jail expansion, which is moving along, according to McLaughlin.
The current plan is to build a new, 256-bed facility. The current jail has 132 beds, Manfre said.
School officials also addressed laptops and other school-related topics, such as Common Core, at Tuesday's meeting.
