Flagler Beach funding request for beach restoration delayed

Jun 21, 2012

The following article was published in the Daytona Beach News Journal on June 21, 2012:

Flagler Beach funding request for beach restoration delayed

By Aaron London

www.news-journalonline.com


Flagler Beach officials will have to wait to get an answer regarding their request for money to help fund a proposed beach restoration project.

Expecting to make a presentation Wednesday morning before the Flagler County Tourist Development Council, city officials instead have more work to do.

In a two-page letter to City Manager Bruce Campbell, county financial services director Kristi Moss outlined 13 issues Flagler Beach needs to address before the grant application can be considered.

The $50,000 request is to fund an analysis by Holmberg Technologies to begin a beach restoration project in Flagler Beach.

Among the issues raised by county officials is the need for a copy of the city’s contract with Holmberg; a certificate of professional liability insurance for the project; a detailed explanation of the scope of the work to be performed with the grant money; and details of the city’s process for selecting a company for the project.

City Commissioner Marshall Shupe went to the TDC meeting expecting to support the city’s application. Instead, he left feeling frustrated.

“I’m disappointed that we didn’t know prior to the meeting,” he said of the agenda change.

County officials notified city officials late Tuesday that the item was being pulled from Wednesday’s meeting agenda.

City Commissioner Steve Settle, who also represents the city on the tourist council, brought up the issue during the meeting.

“A lot of people in Flagler Beach are going to be a little upset,” he said. “We have no hidden agenda here. The city of Flagler Beach is simply trying to save our beach.”

TDC Chairwoman Milissa Holland said there was no ulterior motive in pulling the item off the agenda.

“I think that the council and the Board of County Commissioners have been supportive of beach restoration efforts,” she said.

Holland said concerns over procedures and information contained in the application prompted the action, not a desire to deny the city a hearing. She said the county was looking for “more clarification and answers to questions in regard to our requirements,” calling the county’s caution in moving forward with the grant request “bureaucracy we’re all engaged in.”

Holland said county commissioners are planning to hold a workshop with Flagler Beach officials and the Tourist Development Council regarding the proposed beach restoration project.

Flagler Beach City Manager Bill Campbell said he was disappointed that he couldn’t make the presentation, but wasn’t overly concerned.

“I look at it as it’s just a minor delay,” he said. “We’ll be back. At worst case, in my mind, we’re delaying it a month.”

View the original article here:  http://www.news-journalonline.com/news/local/flagler/2012/06/21/flagler-beach-funding-request-for-beach-restoration-delayed.html