Tony Amaral, a candidate for Palm Coast City Council, sat down for a wide-ranging conversation covering some of the city’s most pressing challenges, from westward development and crumbling roads to the potential fallout of a statewide property tax ballot measure and a growing crisis of public confidence in local government. Amaral, a builder, a resident of 43 years, and four generations of family rooted in Palm Coast, says he is running not to relitigate past controversies but to move the city forward.
On the subject of westward expansion, Amaral said he does not believe large-scale wetlands destruction is likely given the high cost of mitigation, but he called for careful monitoring all the same. He explained that the expansion is a combination of two Development of Regional Impact approvals from around 2010, plus an additional roughly 7,000 acres, and noted that no detailed design plan yet exists, only broad concepts. His biggest concern is not the wetlands but the commercial and industrial land that was promised as part of the development. “That has to be done first,” Amaral said, calling for the commercial and industrial zones to be officially marked, zoned, and locked in before surrounding residential development fills in and makes industrial zoning politically impossible.
Turning to infrastructure, Amaral acknowledged the frustration residents are feeling with simultaneous road construction projects along Belle Terre Boulevard, White View Parkway, and Palm Coast Parkway. He said much of the parallel construction most likely came down to contractor logistics; doing all the work under one contract allowed crews to leapfrog between sections, keeping costs lower. He noted that Palm Coast Parkway work was shifted to nighttime hours because shutting down the city’s main east-west corridor during the day was not an option. While the disruptions are real, Amaral said the work is necessary and long overdue. “We’re behind on our roads,” he said. “If we don’t do it now, we’re never going to do it. There’s going to be no perfect time to do it.” He also pointed to the deteriorating condition of Old Kings Road and said the city needs a proactive system for identifying roads approaching failure and beginning repairs before they reach a critical state.
The proposed homestead exemption ballot measure, which would increase the exemption to $250,000 for homesteaded properties, drew some of Amaral’s most detailed concerns. He said Palm Coast could be looking at a $5 to $7 million loss in the first year alone, based on conversations with Flagler County Property Appraiser Jay Gardner, with losses deepening as the exemption phases up toward $250,000 over several years. He noted that fire, police, stormwater, and road maintenance all depend on ad valorem tax revenue and that simply protecting public safety services would consume most of what remains. “You can’t just say we’re only going to fund the fire department and the police department,” Amaral said. “You have to fund the roads. You have to fund all that.” He also raised concerns about whether costs would shift to residents through higher utility bills, park fees, or other charges to make up for lost revenue, and said many of the long-term financial details remain unclear. “There’s a lot of unknowns,” he said. “It sounds good up front. We’re just going to have a lot of issues with the details.”
On city utilities, Amaral said the $330 million bond covers expansion and some repair work but agreed that it does not address everything that needs to be done. He noted that nearly all of Palm Coast’s infrastructure was built at roughly the same time, meaning a large portion of it is reaching the end of its useful life simultaneously. He said utility funds are protected and cannot be redirected even if the city’s general budget takes a major hit, but cautioned that impact fees collected from new development are legally restricted to capacity expansion, not maintenance of existing systems.
Regarding the city’s new city manager, Amaral said the compensation package was within the publicly stated range from the beginning of the hiring process and that residents who were surprised had simply missed that announcement. He said the manager appears to have a clear direction but has only been on the job about seven months and should be evaluated annually like any employee. He also pushed back on the idea of cutting staff salaries across the board, saying the city needs to pay competitively to attract and retain quality department heads who could otherwise easily commute to St. Johns, Volusia, or Duval counties.
When asked about the erosion of public trust in city government, Amaral pointed to the East Hampton affordable housing vote as a recent example of how the process can go wrong. He said the project changed significantly between its first and second readings before the council, and that the mayor’s request to table the item for more review should have been taken up by other council members. “If it’s not crystal clear, it shouldn’t pass,” Amaral said. He added that restoring trust will require a consistent pattern of council members demanding clear answers and sufficient information before voting, and that over time residents will come to accept decisions they disagree with if they can see the reasoning behind them is sound.
Asked why residents should vote for him over his opponents, Amaral pointed to his construction background, his time serving on the city’s Residential Drainage Advisory Committee, and his daily experience dealing with the roads and infrastructure he would be helping to oversee. “I know the stormwater system. I know the road situation. I know contracts,” he said. He also cited his multi-generational stake in the community, his own generation, his parents, his children, and two young grandchildren all call Palm Coast home. “I’m not just here today. I’m not here to argue past grievances over and over again. I’m here to move forward, get things done, and actually get to the point where we need to move forward, or else we’re going to keep falling behind.”
This article is based on statements made by Tony Amaral in an interview. Claims about actions, budgets, and other legal requirements reflect his characterizations and have not been independently verified.
The post Palm Coast City Council Candidate Tony Amaral Talks Roads, Westward Expansion, Budget Fears, and the Fight to Rebuild Public Trust first appeared on Flagler County Buzz.
