Flagler County leaders state cases for funding in 2025 Florida budget

Governmental, school and community organizations made their case for funding of a multitude of projects and causes in Flagler County at a legislative delegation meeting before state Sen. Tom Leek (R-District 7) and state Rep. Sam Greco (R-District 19) held Wednesday in Bunnell.

Denyse Bales-Chubb, president and CEO of AdventHealth Palm Coast, addresses state Sen. Tom Leek and state Rep. Sam Greco at a meeting on legislative priorities Wednesday, Jan. 8 in Bunnell.

Many of those requests focused around infrastructure upgrades to support the rapid growth of Flagler County, such as water treatment facilities, sewer systems and traffic improvements, especially widening Old Kings Road to serve as a parallel corridor to Interstate 95.

Other requests ranged from establishing a YMCA location in Palm Coast to help meet the recreational needs of residents, as well as modernization of the Palm Coast Aquatics Center including the Frieda Zamba pool, and a renewed funding stream for arts and culture projects to boost community engagement and tourism.

Both Leek and Greco are starting first terms in their respective political roles, though Leek previously served for eight years in the Florida House. From that perspective, Leek cautioned that money is tighter to come by these days following the pandemic when appropriations had very specific criteria and timelines.

A legislative delegation meeting was held in Volusia County on Tuesday.

Florida state Sen. Tom Leek (left) and state Rep. Sam Greco (right) heard legislative funding requests at a meeting Wednesday at the Flagler County Government Services Building in Bunnell.

“So you should expect somewhere between $500 to $750 million for the state in that pot, for all members,” Leek said. “What that means is probably a pretty serious reduction in funding of member projects, so be prepared for that.”

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Palm Coast makes case for upgraded infrastructure

In her time before Leek and Greco, Lauren Johnston, acting city manager for Palm Coast, advocated for the city’s need for improved utility infrastructure, such as converting Wastewater Treatment Facility 1 into an advanced water treatment facility — what Johnston identified as the city’s greatest priority. She continued to ask for improved brackish water treatment capabilities to Water Treatment Facility 3 and construction of an equalization tank to manage high rainfall periods and reduce stress on the wastewater system.

Palm Coast officials also emphasized the importance of reducing flood risks through proactive stormwater management, including lowering a weir in Seminole Woods Dry Lake to draw down high-water levels.

“And we saw that firsthand with Hurricane Milton this last year,” Johnston added.

Johnston also spoke about funding needs for a new maintenance operations complex serving the public works department in Palm Coast. So far, the city has committed more than $20 million to the project.

Flagler County emphasizes beach renourishment, trails center

Flagler County Commission Chair Andy Dance presented the county’s push for beach renourishment programs to restore and stabilize the coastline and funding priorities for drainage projects, a sheriff’s substation and completion of a new trailhead and conservation center that’s part of the Florida Greenways and Trails System and near the Bulow Creek corridor.

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Flagler Beach City Commissioner Jane Mealy implored lawmakers for a “critical” water main extension as a public health and safety issue at Lambert Avenue that she said was overlooked last year in funding priorities. The city said it has a 50% match to the $2 million funding request.

Schools superintendent seeks more in per student funding

Flagler County School District Superintendent made a case for how the district’s state school grades had increased to “As” and “Bs” in the past couple of years and asked for more per student funding in the state formula and reimbursement of transportation allocation costs.

In the end, Leek said even while budgeting discussions were always tough at the state level, “We will fight like hell to make sure Flagler gets its piece of the pie and to make sure that we’re doing the right things with that money in the county of Flagler.”

The legislative session begins March 4.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Governmental, school and community reps seek Florida legislative funding

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