PALM COAST
Observer YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
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FREE • THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2019
VOLUME 10, NO. 37
New judge: Andrea Totten
FPC FALLS PAGE 11
Second golden age for Palm Coast Marina?
Appointed by DeSantis. JONATHAN SIMMONS NEWS EDITOR
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has appointed Andrea Totten, a resident of Bunnell, to the position of Flagler County judge. Alongside current County Judge Melissa Distler, Totten will oversee cases on the county court docket, including civil cases and misdemeanors. The Legislature had voted to create an additional judge seat in Flagler in order to relieve Distler’s docket. Totten was one of six finalists for the seat. Totten has served as assistant attorney general in criminal appeals since 2013, according to a news release from the governor’s office, and had previously been a Seventh Circuit judicial law clerk and assistant state attorney. She received her law degree from The University of Toledo College and her bachelor’s degree from Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania, according to the news release.
INSIDE
Photo by Brian McMillan
The Palm Coast Marina is located at 200 Clubhouse Drive. Years ago, there was a hotel and a popular restaurant on the property.
The city of Palm Coast currently has no public water access for boaters. That could change if a developer’s deal is approved.
NEW ZONES FOR SCHOOLS?
To plan for potential rezoning, Flagler Schools officials consider $23,900 study PAGE 7
JONATHAN SIMMONS NEWS EDITOR
L
ocal and visiting boaters may see upgraded facilities in coming years: The city of Palm Coast is proposing to take over the Palm Coast marina. As part of the same deal, the city would take ownership of the driving range at the Palm Harbor Golf Club, which it currently leases for a few dollars a year. The developer who currently owns those facilities would then build hundreds of condo units nearby. City Manger Matt Morton referred to the redevelopment of those two amenities as a “second golden age of Palm Coast.” “It’s had this promise of, ‘Come
down here and we’re going to have all these beautiful amenities,’” he said, “And I think over the years, one of them has been privatized — the marina — and then ... under the original [master plan development agreement], the developer had the ability to populate the driving range as condos.” After the entitlements on the parcels lapsed and the developer returned to the city to propose new residential construction, Morton said, “The mayor was very adamant that these have to be valueadds to the community.” Currently, the driving range and the marina are owned by the same developer: Jim Jacoby, with partner Sam Alley. Under the proposed plan, the
city would own and run the marina complex with city staff. Gaining ownership of the driving range, the city would also get an additional 90 parking spaces for the course. The developer would build condos adjacent to the driving range and the marina, though at a lower density and height than had once been proposed, and the provision of the driving range and marina to the city would be essentially free, Morton said. The marina complex would also potentially gain a hotel and two restaurants where boaters could tie up and stop in for a bite as they head up or down the Intracoastal. SEE CITY PAGE 4
SHOOTER STILL ON THE RUN
Shooting at Palm Coast Circle K leaves one dead, one injured. PAGE 9
ALZHEIMER’S AWARENESS
Walk to End Alzheimer’s in Palm Coast. PAGE 18
INSIDE
One door opens Jason Rodgers’ story of recovery and hope.
INDEX
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Holler-Ween
Briefs..................... PAGE 8 Business.............. PAGE 10 Calendar...............PAGE 16 High 5................... PAGE 11 Letters................... PAGE 6 Real Estate.......... PAGE 22 Your Town.............PAGE 18
Festival benefiting the Florida Agricultural Museum is a family affair. Holler-Ween Fest 2019 screams to life this weekend, in Flagler County Photo by Paola Rodriguez
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