- May 5, 2024
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Funding for a new library branch in Bunnell topped Flagler County's list of requests to its legislators this year, followed by a request for more money for the county's bus transportation program and internet access for rural areas.
The county library project ranked first in the state's library construction grant program five years in a row — only to be cut out of the state budget each time — in prior years. The county is asking the state for $500,000, and has already begun road construction for the library site.
Holly Albanese, the county's library director and legislative liaison, told county commissioners at a commission meeting Aug. 16 that she expects the library project to rank top in the state again this year.
The second priority on the county's list would add more money for the county to provide bus services for people who can't drive. The service isn't a regular bus line; trips must be reserved ahead. But people who have disabilities or are elderly use it to go to the doctors' offices and other essential appointments.
The service provided approximately 100,000 trips last year, and could have as many as 115,000 this year if current trends hold, Albanese said. If that happens without more funding, it would likely be unable to respond to an estimated 1,000 trip requests.
The third item on the county's list is additional state support for efforts to bring internet service to rural areas like Flagler County's west side.
Other priorities include state funding for projects to repair county road infrastructure and septic-to-sewer conversion projects, increasing state 911-service fees levied on mobile devices from the current 40 cents per month per device to $1 per month per device, maintaining the current state policy on vacation rental, and supporting home rule.
The city also has two separate "funding priorities": A request for $5 million for the extension of Commerce Parkway, and backing the Agricultural Museum's request for $3.5 million to add a welcome center, early pioneer village, communal green space and Timucuan Indian village.
