Proposed countywide beach tax; speaker attended the prior day's county meeting and opposed assessing non-barrier-island residents, suggesting instead raising the Tourist Development bed tax on tourists and placing more financial responsibility on Barrier Island property owners.
Also raised traffic signal timing concerns on Palm Coast Parkway.
Comments on Ralph Carter Park discussion from the prior week's meeting; argued that the situation reflects a broader need for additional lighted sports fields and a community pool rather than a YMCA-type recreation center; questioned the difference in treatment between Ralph Carter Park and Jim Holland Park.
Palm Coast Flagler Regional Chamber concerns about infrastructure funding, specifically approximately $50 million in road projects and $135 million in water and wastewater projects; urged council not to go to rollback again given these needs.
Staff and financial advisor Joel Tindle of Hilltop Securities presented an overview of TRIM, revenue restrictions, and capital financing options.
Discussion ranged from the city's fourth-lowest millage rate among similarly-sized Florida cities, to restricted revenues like the local option fuel tax and impact fees, to a detailed review of the city's charter provision requiring referendum approval for multi-year contracts over 36 months or $15 million.
A notable side discussion arose about a pending resolution to require a ballot referendum before any future FPL franchise fee could be implemented; Vice Mayor Danko pressed for a timeline, and council reached consensus to review the relevant meeting minutes and address it at the following week's regular meeting.
Council also requested a future workshop on capital project financing tools and public-private partnerships.
Consultant Manny Rodriguez of Kimley-Horn presented findings from a citywide residential speed study covering 48 speed zones and 109 data collection locations.
Results showed that only 8 of 42 residential collector roads met the threshold for a 25 mph reduction, while most local roads already see low speeds.
Detailed analysis of Florida Park Drive (85th percentile speed of 37 mph, roughly 9 crashes per year) and Simeron Drive was presented, with recommendations including speed humps, lane width reductions when roads are resurfaced, and dynamic display signs rather than expensive median islands.
Fire Chief Barriel noted that traffic calming also slows emergency response.
Council reached general consensus to pursue a citywide traffic calming plan as a capital budget item and to evaluate a pilot program, while declining to support the $500,000 median island design or a citywide $1.6 million speed limit sign replacement.
Deputy Director of Community Development Ray Tiner, consultant Kathy Ebal, and Flagler Schools representative Mr.
Whitman presented Comprehensive Plan Workshop #1, covering the updated 2050 vision statement and draft goals, objectives, and policies for three elements: property rights (Chapter 10), intergovernmental coordination (Chapter 7), and public school facilities (Chapter 9).
Council approved the revised vision statement, provided extensive feedback on strengthening resident property rights protections, adding impact fee and funding source evaluation to intergovernmental coordination objectives, improving city council visibility into school capacity planning, and lowering school concurrency acceptance thresholds.
Council Member Pontieri called for a Redline version of documents for future workshops and requested a shorter internal review cycle than the state-mandated seven-year EAR.
Next steps include PLDRB review on June 26 and a council workshop on housing, infrastructure, conservation, and parks on July 9.
Zoning Supervisor Tracy Doe, Code Enforcement Manager Barbara Gorman, and Landscape Architect Rick Piccataggi presented the history and current status of the city's exterior color regulations, which use a Light Reflectance Value (LRV) scale to define allowable Earth Tones (LRV 25–80) and pastels/white (LRV 80+).
Five active code enforcement cases involve non-compliant blue homes.
Council directed staff to return with a presentation proposing an expanded color palette using comparables from neighboring cities and HOAs, and to include driveway color regulation for the first time.
The active code violation cases will have their deadlines extended pending the new presentation.
Requested more granular data from the speed study on Florida Park Drive, specifically the percentage of drivers exceeding 40 mph and how many days had no speeding; also noted that traffic calming measures can reduce through-traffic volume as a secondary benefit.
Disputed the staff characterization that residents drive slowly on local roads, citing personal experience on Palm Coast Parkway, Clubhouse Drive, and Florida Park Drive; expressed lack of confidence in the study findings and supported traffic calming measures on the roads she uses.
Asked whether speed humps create a greater reduction in fire department response time compared to lowering the speed limit to 25 mph, and raised the connection between response times and ISO fire rating.
Identified a specific traffic calming device vendor, Traffic Logics, whose rubber products range from $750 to $1,200 per unit and are designed to allow emergency vehicles to pass over at 35 mph; argued $7,500 per speed hump estimates are excessive and offered to share vendor contact information with the city clerk.
Resident whose home is subject to an active code enforcement case for painting it blue; argued blue is an Earth Tone, cited Zillow and homes.com studies showing bold-colored homes sell for more, presented photographs of approximately 32 other non-compliant homes in Palm Coast that have not received violations, and argued the city is engaged in selective enforcement; stated the home is an investment property they renovated from foreclosure.