City hopes to work with Flagler County to tackle homelessness

Palm Coast Observer
News

Palm Coast’s city government is preparing to redirect some city Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) money over to the Flagler County government administration to help the county — which, unlike the city, has social services staff — tackle local homelessness.

BUNNELL PLANS FINES FOR PANHANDLING

Speaking to real estate agents at the annual “Meet the Mayors” breakfast on July 25, Bunnell Mayor Catherine Robinson said Bunnell is seeking better ways to work with local homeless people.

After observing policies in Daytona Beach and St. Augustine, Bunnell adopted an anti- panhandling policy. For those caught, the first offense is a warning. The second offense is a $150 fine — a revelation that drew laughter from much of the audience.

“You’ve got to start somewhere,” Robinson said. “This is a very difficult issue. It is not easy. And there are a lot of facets that go with the homeless.

“There are some folks who want help and are getting help, and there are folks who don’t want help. It’s a fine balance between the citizens of Bunnell, the people who work in Bunnell and those who want to live in Bunnell and not be told what to do and told where they live. We at least have a policy.”

Robinson said there needs to be a “county-wide solution.”

— Ray Boone, Sports Editor

The idea came out of a recent Citizens Advisory Task Force meeting, City Planner Jose Papa told Palm Coast City Council members at a July 30 council workshop.

“The current idea is to ... really get the dollars out into the public and into the community as quickly as possible,” Papa said.

The city is expecting $487,895 in CDBG money this year. The money has historically been spent on projects like home repair aid for low-income homeowners.

In addition to partnering with the county, Papa said, the city is hoping to seek the services of a grant director to ensure it is doing all it can to secure grants.

CITY TO PLACE LIENS ON PROPERTIES

In other business at the workshop, the city is planning to place code enforcement liens on two vacant properties, at 79 Rolling Sands Drive and 20 Woodstone Lane.

“It’s a step that we rarely get to as a city,” City Attorney Bill Reischmann told the council. “It is never the city’s desire to place liens on property for code enforcement, but sometimes that has to happen. ... Code Enforcement is not about penalizing; penalizing is a tool that sometimes is necessary.”

LAND PURCHASE PROPOSED FOR SEWER PUMP STATION

The city is also proposing to buy a 3.87-acre parcel at 13 Commerce Blvd. to expand its wastewater treatment capabilities. The purchase would cost an estimated $265,500.

“We have a wastewater collection system improvement project that is going to increase our capacity,” Utility Director Richard Adams said. “It’s going to be diverting flow over to Wastewater Treatment Plant 2. . ... We’re in need of a site for a master pump station.”

The parcel, he said, is bordered on two sides by city stormwater ditches.