Palm Coast and Flagler County officials on Wednesday reviewed the city’s animal control operations, discussed whether the city should extend services countywide and considered options for a second animal shelter.

City code enforcement manager Barbara Grossman presented the animal control program, describing daily duties, recent caseloads and startup and operating costs. She said crews handle everything from trap-neuter-return for community cats to large hoarding cases and emergency medical transports.

The presentation came as commissioners and council members pressed for a plan to expand shelter capacity. Officials and volunteers said the county’s sole provider, the Flagler Humane Society, is at capacity and that a second facility or an interlocal partnership will be needed to meet demand.

Grossman described the animal control workload and equipment and cited several recent incidents to illustrate strain on the system. "We just recently had a woman that was in her eighties and her dog collapsed on her and it was an 80 pound dog and she couldn't get it to the veterinarian. So in that case, we assisted to get the animal to the veterinarian as fast as we could," Grossman said. She also said officers respond to hoarding incidents and large seizures; one recent case involved about 96 animals.

City staff gave several data points about caseload and licensing. From October through the time of the presentation the city recorded 1,293 action orders and 2,454 calls and cases; the city reports about 5,665 licensed dogs and 367 licensed cats within Palm Coast. Grossman said the pilot backyard-chicken permitting program has produced 18 permits so far. She said the city has loaner traps for its TNR work and rotates intake and veterinary care among local clinics.

Commissioners queried staffing and costs. Grossman presented a startup estimate that modeled hiring two fully burdened animal control officers plus one administrative technician; later in the meeting she said the county could start with one new officer and the related vehicle and overhead, and scale up if needed. "All it would be doing is fully burden 1 animal control officer, which is a 75,333 as a startup," Grossman said when discussing a one-officer scenario.

Deputy and elected officials discussed how to allocate costs and whether to formalize a county–city interlocal agreement to define scope, cost sharing and legal representation for county-related enforcement. Commissioner Kim Carney said Palm Coast accounts for most of the shelter intakes and argued one additional officer might be sufficient to begin: "It looks like Palm Coast is about 86% (of intakes) and Flagler County is about 14%. So when I then convert that to the need, it doesn't seem that 2 new animal control officers are needed based on this. I can see definitely 1 more," Carney said.

Several public commenters and nonprofit leaders urged quicker action to expand shelter capacity. Nick DeSantis, a volunteer who identified himself as a longtime local animal responder, encouraged increased public notice about licensing and emergency veterinary access: "Maybe put [licensing information] up there, put a sign up, or put advertise it somewhere because every person that I talk to doesn't even know that they need to be licensed," he said. Volunteer and rescue leaders including Wendy Tramarcie and Cathy Sarris said local nonprofits and volunteers could support a new shelter if land and a plan were identified.

County and city staff agreed to continue work on options, including an interlocal agreement for animal control staffing and a joint working group or task force to explore shelter sites, funding and phasing. The boards asked staff to return with more detailed cost and scope options and to present a recommended path forward at a future joint session. County staff noted budget and timing constraints and said capital planning (land, building) and recurring staffing costs would need separate analyses. The county’s first public budget hearing is scheduled for Sept. 11, which officials said will be part of the timeline for decisions on staffing and funding.

What’s next: city and county senior staff will meet to refine the interlocal cost-share options and to develop a task-force structure and timeline. Officials said they will return to a joint meeting with more detailed cost estimates, site options and a recommended staged approach before committing to capital expenditures.