- April 24, 2024
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Flagler County appointed six people to a committee Monday to help decide the fate of the county’s historic courthouse, now sitting empty after Bunnell — which had long wanted it for a city hall — accepted it and then decided renovating it would be too expensive, and gave it back to the county.
The committee will have until Oct. 16 to make its recommendation to the commission.
The six members, selected from 11 applicants in a vote by commissioners at the County Commission’s regular Monday meeting, are: architect and M&M Development President Mark Langello, Watson Realty Corp. Realtor David Alfin, Flagler County Historical Society President Mary Ann Clark, Interstate Acquisition Services Sr. Negotiator John Leinmiller, Pap’s Specialty Wood Products owner Joseph Marotti and former ITT Community Development Corp. vice president Charles Warren.
Commissioner Barbara Revels, a general contractor, came up with the idea to form the committee. Other commissioners selected her during a previous meeting to head it. Commissioner Nate McLaughlin represents the district that includes the courthouse.
The commission originally planned to select members in individual categories based on expertise, advertising for an architect, a general contractor, a commercial real estate professional, a mechanical contractor, a non-Realtor with experience in space procurement and a “citizen at large” with other relevant expertise. But it instead decided to vote on the potential members without categories, because no one had applied to fill the mechanical contractor slot and several members had experience that fit multiple categories.
Clark and Langello both served on a previous committee that evaluated the courthouse.
Clark wrote in her application that the Historical Society would like to see the original part of the building preserved, and that grants may be available.
“I believe that this building can again become useful to the community, and I hope to be of some use making it happen,” she wrote.
Warren also wrote that “the historical value is significant” and that he felt it should be preserved. But, he wrote, “I believe this facility needs to be self-supporting — at best to be able to generate income so it can provide income to the county instead of just more taxes.”
Also Monday, in a workshop held before the regular commission meeting, the commission heard a budget presentation by County Administrator Craig Coffey, who proposed lowering the county’s millage rate from its current $7.99 per $1,000 in taxable value to $7.975. Property values are increasing, but current projections don’t separate out the value of current properties from that added by new construction, county spokesman Carl Laundrie said. Those numbers will be clearer when the county has the rollback rate, which will subtract that new construction out. The commission will have that information when it holds its next budget hearing on July 7.
This story has been corrected to reflect that the courthouse is within the district represented by Commissioner Nate McLaughlin.
