The Flagler County Commission had a full agenda at its meeting Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2026, including a contentious speech from the county clerk to a possible challenge to a new Bunnell landfill. The meeting was called by Vice Chair Kim Carney, who signed for absent Chair Leanne Pennington.
Proclamations and announcements
Carney let the audience know that the commission will be interviewing county administrator candidates on Sept. 3, has its first budget public hearing at 5:01 p.m. on Sept. 3, and will meet on Sept. 4 to fill the position. She also mentioned the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks and the 9/11 Memorial Tribute Climb on Friday, Sept. 11.
The board declared September as Preparedness Month. The emergency management department explained that hurricane season is at its peak in September and that the tropics have been active, but they expected neither Dolly nor Edward to have serious impacts on the county. The department is down to five employees but has about 32 active volunteers, they announced a new event for homeschool kids, and AdventHealth spoke about the new Expo Center potentially having a temporary certificate of occupancy issued to it within days with a ribbon cutting later this month.
The board declared October Breast Cancer Awareness Month in recognition of AdventHealth’s Pink Army. AdventHealth leadership spoke about how death rates from breast cancer have dropped 44% since 1989 and that money raised locally stays in Flagler County to help breast cancer patients. Breast navigator Rosa Somsky spoke about supplies that she had provided for patients, admitting that she wore one of the gowns herself during her breast cancer treatment.
Clerk’s controversial speech
Clerk of Court and Comptroller Tom Bexley used his budget stage to defend his office and respond to commissioners. He stated that his office is an independent constitutional office and not a county department. “County commissioners are not my bosses,” Bexley stated, explaining that some of his recent statements were “factually untrue.”
He went on to state that his budget is under 3% of the general fund, his office has returned more than $2.1 million in excess fees to the county over 10 years, and has taken in more than 20 million in investment interest over the past five years. He criticized the county for long, drawn-out meetings, once calling the board “decision constipation,” and asked the board to restore the approximately $70,000 that had been cut from his budget while he was away. “I’m not going anywhere,” Bexley stated.
SMA healthcare and recovery
Representatives from SMA Healthcare updated the board on new programs, including a pharmacy with free delivery, a primary care clinic that has grown from 36 patients to 586 patients, and a central receiving facility that will open in November. Staff stated that they secured $750,000 in state funding and are seeking $4.2 million in recurring funding. They also stated that the county’s Asset Center has had 2,100 free screenings and that the crisis transport unit has had more than 1,500 Baker Act and Marchman Act transports, saving deputies hours of travel time each time.
Letitia Tennant, assistant program director and graduate of SMA’s Project WARM, spoke about her own recovery. She stated that the program has helped 511 babies be born drug-free and that no WARM graduates in the past three years have been booked into the county jail. “I can’t, we can,” Tennant stated.
The completion of the A1A seawall
County Engineer Hamid Tabassian and a state video briefed the board on the completion of the State Road A1A buried seawall project. More than 5,100 piles were driven to construct more than 2.5 miles of buried seawall, nearly 238,000 tons of sand was placed for dunes plantings, more than 200,000 native plants were planted, 28 beach walkovers were replaced, and 83 sea turtle nests were protected. The project was the state’s first non-emergency design-build project of its kind. Commissioners noted that the repaving of A1A in Flagler Beach will have to wait while this project and the pier are completed.
Public comment
Melanie Thompson, resident, objected to the closure of the hazardous waste site on Old Kings Road and Bunnell’s approval of a 600-acre landfill on State Road 100. Officials stated that the Old Kings site will remain open until the 18th and that the county will be holding free “amnesty days” a few times a year, possibly at rotating locations.
David Eckert, resident, advocated that the county employ artificial intelligence and open data from its constitutional offices to expedient analysis. Darlene Shelley, resident, raised concerns about overdevelopment, deteriorating roads, and filling in wetlands. The county stated that it has no control over city decisions and that local ordinances to prevent wetland filling are often overruled by the state.
Reports: a possible challenge
Michael Rodriguez, county attorney, spoke to the board about Bunnell’s approval of what its application classified as a Class 1 landfill. The county will not have standing to challenge the city’s interpretation of zoning, he stated, but could take action if the project violates the county’s comprehensive plan or shared agreement, and noted that county residents were not notified. The board approved unanimously that his office pursue potential courses of action and report back. Rodriguez also stated that the county’s insurance carrier will be carrying its defense in a state sex-offender registry lawsuit.
Consensus by Commissioner Andy Dance to forward five legislative initiatives to the Florida Association of Counties, including “Ava and Karma’s Law” to ban the housing of animals in self-storage units, verification of sex-offender addresses, expanding the tourism tax penny to more counties, and beach and shoreline initiatives.
A meeting with the Hammock Community Association went well, stated Commissioner Greg Hansen. “Nobody threw rocks at us.” The board went over the August election certification, explaining that a state software issue briefly misallocated votes in a congressional primary before it was fixed. “There were no shenanigans,” a commissioner stated. “It was just a software glitch at the state.”
Animal control concerns
Animal control and the Flagler Humane Society were serious issues raised by Carney, who stated that the task force considering the issue is missing direction and the county has received disturbing reports, including from a veterinarian. She suggested the issue should involve the sheriff, code enforcement, and the county’s legal staff. The county stated that it pays for shelter employees who are Humane Society employees and do not report to the county, and that Palm Coast has suggested that the county take over animal control. The issue will be addressed at the Sept. 14 workshop, along with the Humane Society contract.
The board discussed reversing the cut to the clerk’s budget, which was made by consensus and not through a vote, and would have to be addressed at the Sept. 3 budget hearing. The board was split, with some stating the county cannot continue to increase its budget and others objecting to the manner in which the cut was made.
The interim administrator stated that the county will be closed for Labor Day and that a Sept. 14 workshop will address several items, including a conservation easement, IFAS oversight, and household hazardous waste.
The post Flagler County Meeting: A Clerk’s Rebuke, a Landfill Fight, and a Finished Seawall first appeared on Flagler County Buzz.
