- May 23, 2025
As Flagler County prepares to tackle the next phase in reconstructing the Flagler County coastline, the debate on how to fund the maintenance of the shoreline continues.
The county has the funding and is set to begin construction on a section of the shoreline called Reach II, stretching from the Flagler Beach pier to Varn Park. The $36 million project is anticipated to go out for bid in June.
The Flagler County Commission also approved a services agreement with Moffatt & Nichol, Inc. at the April 21 meeting, which will allow for a firm to begin the ecological testing needed before construction. But while the County Commission seems to be on board with repairing the shoreline, the debate continues on how to fund ongoing maintenance.
Commissioners Kim Carney and Pam Richardson said they did not think the half-cent sales tax is the way forward. Richardson said she’s heard too many times from residents on how this would hurt them.
In contrast, Commissioner Greg Hansen called the idea an “elegant” solution that avoided raising ad valorem taxes.
“You always have the argument that the nonresidents in Flagler County are going to pay as much as 30% of the half cent sales tax,” Hansen said. “So to me, it's an elegant solution without raising [ad valorem] taxes.”
Vice Chair Leann Pennington said it was frustrating and difficult to sell residents on the west side of the county on the idea when they’re told there isn’t even funding to get potholes filled or street signs replaced.
“It is so hard to pass a half cent sales tax and ask for more money when you can't dedicate the money that you have now to the basic needs of the community,” Pennington said.
The county is set to meet with Flagler County’s municipalities about the beach management plan and half-cent sales tax in May, where interlocal agreements would be ironed out detailing how much of each municipalities’ portion of the sales tax each would commit to beach management.
Over the next month, the Flagler County Commission has several meetings planned with the Tourism Development Council and as a board to further discuss the funding
In the meantime, the county is going ahead with the planned constructions of the shoreline, including several emergency sand placement projects to protect against the upcoming hurricane season. The first emergency sand project in late May will be between Varn Park and Jungle Hut Road Park and place around 100,000 cubic yards of sand on the beach.
“We hope to have done with these projects before we get a storm,” Coastal Engineering Administrator Ainsley Wren-key said.
