- April 25, 2024
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The county's proposed visitor center is still in the works and, now, has $500,000 more earmarked for the project.
The County Commission voted 5-0 to approve a request for the Tourism Development Council to apply for a grant to build a historical and ecological visitor’s center. The commission is also earmarking an extra $500,000 out of the Tourism Development Council’s reserves for the project.
The application is from the Federal Highway Administration's National Scenic Byways Program. The program should be open for applications soon, said Amy Lukasik, director of tourism development.
The TDC is working with the Friends of A1A and Heritage Crossroads to apply for the grant. The TDC applied last year, Lukasik said, but did not get the grant because of the tight deadline and the lack of identified property for the center.
Lukasik said the TDC has identified a plot of county land for the visitor center ahead of this year's application.
The land is located on the south side of State Road 100, near where the pedestrian path across S.R. 100 is being built. The parcel is a total of 23 acres, Lukasik said, but the visitor center would primarily be on the front three acres.
Lukasik said the site would hold a gift shop, rental space, offices for the tourism staff and more, including a potential lake overlook.
The extra $500,000 would bring the project’s earmarked total to $1.6 million, Lukasik said, which would then allow the TDC to potentially qualify for $6.4 million from the grant, instead of $5.5 million. The amount qualified is based in part on a 80% federal-20% local match.
Lukasik said that 20% match is coming from visitor tax funds, not the general fund.
"So, the [county's] visitors are paying the 20% local match," Lukasik said.
The money would not be needed immediately, Lukasik said, and would come out of the TDC’s reserve fund. The project is estimated to cost in total $8 million.
County set to begin next emergency sand beach renourishment
The dune renourishment project from MalaCompra Park to South Washington State Park has been completed and the county is now looking to begin its next steps.
The Flagler County Commission unanimously approved to amend the county’s construction agreements with Eastman Aggregate Enterprises and Eisman and Russo to place emergency sand on another section of Flagler County’s coastline.
The amendments are for the second emergency sand restoration project at Varn Park, which is expected to be closed for around three months, County Engineer Faith Alkhatib said.
“We are doing everything we can do to expedite this project,” she said.
This second emergency sand project will cover two sections of the coastline. One section will be in Painters Hill and Beverly Beach and the second will be through Varn Park and go north into the Hammock Dunes property.
Both projects are funded out of a $5 million grant agreement with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Alkhatib said.
Alkhatib also asked the commission and residents to be mindful of the dunes that have been placed. Right now, she said, there is no beach in these areas during high tide and people have been using the dunes instead.
“People need to understand that the dunes are not there for them to go out there,” she said. “It’s not a beach, it’s a dune.”
Chair Greg Hansen said he has seen people going over the dunes and wants to remind residents and visitors that money to fix these dunes to protect the community is scarce. There is not enough to replace the beaches right now, he said.
“We get enough money to put sand out there," he said, "we don’t have any extra money to do anything else.”
The work on the Varn Park area is expected to being Monday, March 27.
