Here's why Palm Coast has replaced some old neighborhood signs and not others

Palm Coast Observer
Opinion

The views, thoughts and opinions expressed in this article are solely that of the author in his personal capacity and do not necessarily represent the opinions or the views of the City of Palm Coast or the Palm Coast City Council.

Question from Segundo Gudino: When Holland Park was rebuilt, the four racquetball courts were destroyed. Today we have a couple of dozen players trying to play the game and there is no place to play. Flagler Beach is 30 miles away round trip for the people of Palm Coast. The two courts next to Frieda Zamba are not well kept, and at least one is used to practice baseball, tennis and other sports including soccer, smacking the walls with heavy balls, and destroying the walls while a dozen players wait for a game to finish on the other court to participate. In the new Sports Complex on Belle Terre, there are no plans to build racquetball courts. Why? ... Is that good planning? Ignoring a very popular sport?

I do appreciate your question, Segundo. Unfortunately, racquetball courts are not part of our new Southern Recreation Center Phase 1 Sports Complex construction. Our Belle Terre Park courts, adjacent to our Aquatic Center, are on the Recreation 5-year Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) – Fiscal Year 2025 and 2026. This CIP includes resurfacing the tennis courts and repairs to the racquetball courts.

Your feedback is very important to us, and it’s especially good to know that racquetball remains popular in Palm Coast. Our Parks and Recreation Department is presently in the final stages of work on our Parks Master Plan. Staff will be presenting findings and recommendations to City Council on Dec. 5, 6 p.m., at City Hall for adoption of the plan. Public comment is always welcome and gratefully appreciated.

Additionally, the city is looking for resident feedback for our Imagine 2050 project. We want to know what is important to you (racquetball, other sports?) for the future growth and well-being of Palm Coast. Our city website, palmcoastgov.com, has all the information you’ll need to participate. We hope you’ll do so!

Question from Kevin Pessina: As Palm Coast residents, the question we have and have been wondering for quite some time is: Some, if not most of the signs entering the different sections/neighborhoods received new updated signs, but ... not all have been completed. We live in the Z Section and notice the Quail Hollow signs have not been replaced. Will all the neighborhood signs be updated, and is there an ETA on when?

Our signature signs across our neighborhoods certainly give Palm Coast character and identity. We do have a sign master plan, Kevin, that includes every neighborhood sign. However, this program is currently not funded in the City’s 5-Year Capital Improvement Plan in order to provide additional funding for our street pavement management program. This change was necessary due to the expiration of the revenue source that previously paid for street resurfacing. Repaving our roadways is a very high priority for City Council.

The city does, however, replace signs as part of individual road or path projects. When we are doing roadway improvements or new paths where there are neighborhood signs within the project limits, we replace the older signature sign with the newer ones.

I hope this answers your question, and I hope you will continue to communicate with the city with your concerns.