- December 17, 2025
It has taken more than two decades, but Flagler County has finally reached an agreement to purchase some of the billboards along State Road A1A and Interstate 95 in an effort to reduce the billboard density along county roads.
No billboards will come down for at least three years, however. To keep the cost of the billboards down, county staff will purchase the boards but allow their owner to continue leasing and maintaining them for three years. At that time, the boards — 10 of which are on State Road A1A and one on Interstate 95 — will be turned over to the county.
“This way, we pay a lot less for the billboards,” said Craig Coffey, county administrator, at a Monday workshop Monday of the Flagler County Board of County Commissioners. “We could pay more to get them now, but we figured we’ve been at this for 25 or 30 years, so a few more won’t hurt.”
Coffey proposed that the Interstate 95 billboard be used to promote Flagler County as a tourism effort. He proposed that the boards along State Road A1A be demolished, save for one or two, which would also be used only to advertise Flagler County services.
Commissioner George Hanns said it was unfortunate that local amenities aren’t advertised as well, comparing Flagler County with other places where signs along highways advertise tourist services. About an hour previously, during a regular commission meeting, a citizen had criticized how few residents of the county know about amenities like Princess Place Preserve.
“You come to Flagler County and you don’t see anything we have to offer,” Hanns said. “Even the Florida State Agricultural Museum — that’s unheard of that they don’t advertise in this county.”
That museum has two county-issued billboards that were originally intended for promotion of the facility, but instead are used to generate leasing revenue to sustain the museum’s operations.
The County Commission unanimously approved the purchase contract at a special meeting following its workshop.
The county will purchase four large billboards along the same road for $12,500 each and four small ones for $7,500 each. Two additional boards are included in the deal at no cost.
The price for the billboard on Interstate 95 will be $60,000 if the state gives Flagler County permission to use it for county purposes. If not, the billboard will cost $20,000, and the county will be responsible for its removal costs.
The purchase contract allows county staff to buy up to 14 billboards at a cost that will not exceed $140,000. The boards along State Road A1A will be paid from the county’s general fund; the one along the interstate will be paid for with Tourist Development Council funds.
Commissioners saw this as a step toward removing the “visual blight” of the billboards, but there will still be about a dozen more billboards along the Flagler County stretch of State Road A1A.
The county may look into acquiring the remaining billboards as well. A handful of residents spoke during public comment, commending the commission for its efforts to reduce advertising density along the roads.
“It’s exciting to make steps toward removing these billboards,” Hanns said. “They are unsightly, and, in some cases, when they’re far off the road and people start to read them, dangerous.”
