- April 24, 2024
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The library got county approval on March 18 to buy 24 security cameras and establish a “green zone” of good behavior, as the presence of the homeless continue to loiter and make some staff and residents feel unsafe.
The cameras, which will be funded by revenue from profits earned by the Flagler County Public Library’s passport services, are part of the county’s effort to “do what we can to make sure our library stays viable,” Flagler County Commissioner Dave Sullivan said.
The green zone comprises the library, its parking lot and the immediate tree line. When the library is closed, no one is allowed in the green zone, according to the revisions to the Code of Conduct. It does not forbid people from staying in the woods behind the library, according to Library Director Holly Albanese.
The County Commission voted 5-0 to approve both measures.
Also at the March 18 meeting, Interim County Administrator Jerry Cameron reported that he toured the facility on a recent Thursday and felt that the security situation “couldn’t be ignored.”
After County Commissioner Joe Mullins made a personal donation to hire a guard for a weekend, Cameron approved using county funds to pay for guards to continue.
“I want to make sure that our people are safe, and the residents are safe,” Mullins said.
As of now, Cameron has the authority to use county funds to pay for a guard; if the costs rise, he will seek County Commission approval.
As a result of the guards, Cameron told the County Commission on March 18, “the situation has improved.”
But Benjamin Belhumeur (son of Flagler Beach City Commissioner Rick Belhumeur), who moved to Palm Coast so recently that he admitted he doesn’t know where the library is, said he will wait and see if the code of conduct is enforced before he takes his six children to check out books.
Also at the meeting, Jim Ulsamer, chairman of the library’s Board of Trustees, asked the county to make a new, southern branch of the library a higher priority so that state grant opportunities are not squandered.
The commission also selected Bernard Barczak to replace longtime advocate and former County Commissioner and Palm Coast City Councilman Alan Peterson on the library's Board of Trustees.
