- April 18, 2024
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Bings Landing advocates who've encouraged the county not to allow the expansion and relocation of Captain's BBQ at Bings showed up to a Flagler County Commission meeting June 17, as they have multiple times in the past. But this time they'd arrived to express their appreciation of the county, not to criticize it.
"I wanted to come and say some thank yous," said Lynne Rosewater. She added that she wanted to begin with Commissioner Dave Sullivan, who'd brought up his reservations about a lease that the commission — himself included — had approved with the restaurant during a previous meeting. "I think it took a lot of courage to come back ... and share your doubts," she said.
At the June 17 meeting, County Administrator Jerry Cameron explained that the county — after commissioners during a prior meeting decided to see if it would be feasible to fix rather than replace the county building that houses Captain's BBQ at Bings Landing park — had discovered that not only was the damage repairable, it was repairable for only $60,000.
The revelation followed half a year of wrangling, numerous protests, and a lawsuit over what to do about the building, all based on the previous county administration's assertion that the building's condition was bad enough that it warranted replacement rather than fixing.
Cameron explained how the previous administration's error occurred.
"The assumption that we had operated under previously was that the building had uniformly deteriorated throughout the structure," and that the kind of mold and fungus-based deterioration seen on the interior walls would also be present on exterior ones. But it wasn't, the county found after assigning its own staff members to conduct more invasive testing over the past two weeks. "The building official came back with a report to me that not only were the exterior walls in much better shape than the interior structure, but in some places they were pristine and like-new condition," Cameron said. (View Chief Building Official Mark Boice's full report HERE, and a summary HERE.)
The previous administration had proposed the construction of a new building at the restaurant's expense elsewhere in the park. That plan would have let the restaurant operate without the interruption that would have accompanied rebuilding it in place, but it prompted outcry from residents concerned that the relocation would change the character of the popular park on the Intracoastal Waterway.
The county approved a new lease with the restaurant in November that would have allowed the relocation and an expansion to 150 seats, but two weeks later, after incoming County Commissioner Joe Mullins was seated, it changed plans, voting to reconsider the lease it had already signed. Then, on June 3, it decided to have the building reinspected to see if it could be fixed. And if it couldn't, commissioners decided, they'd have a modestly sized replacement constructed at the county's expense.
Meanwhile, on June 7, Captain's sued the county, alleging that the county has breached the contract it entered into with Captain's in November when it agreed to allow a larger, replacement building.
When the County Commission opted to have the building reinspected by its own staff, it also hired an appraiser to appraise the building. That appraisal gave the structure a value of $175,000. The value is relevant because county officials under the administration of former County Administrator Craig Coffey had, last year, expressed concern that an attempt to repair the building in place may involve costs exceeding 50% of its value, the threshold that would require the old building to be brought up to new building codes, at potentially significant expense. The new $60,000 estimate is well below that threshold.
Boice inspected the roofing, walls, electrical, HVAC, plumbing, and flooring. There were "prominent deficiencies" with the flooring and sub-flooring, with soft spots in the dining area, kitchen and bathrooms, according to his report.
However, the report states, "the overall integrity of the building was good with the only noted deficiencies being the floor system along with minor electrical and exterior siding corrections being needed."
Still, Cameron said in a county government news release June 14, “We must be careful not to guarantee that the building will meet expectations. Although the areas we inspected are very encouraging, there may be issues in other areas not uncovered.”
At this point, the county estimates that 970 feet of flooring and sub flooring need replacement or repair, along with the restaurant's restrooms, at a cost of $46,000. In addition, 1,200 square feet of OSB siding needs replacement, at a cost of $4,800. Some electrical issues also need fixing, for about $200.
The business would need to shut down for about four weeks for repairs to be completed, according to the report.
