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Flagler commissioners signal support for SB 636, ask staff to prepare resolution and coordinate funding talks
Summary
After public comment pressing urgent beach-management needs, the Flagler County Board of County Commissioners agreed to pursue consensus support for Senate Bill 636, ask staff and counsel to prepare a draft resolution for Dec. 15, and to press partners — including Flagler Beach, FDOT and the Army Corps — on funding and survey steps.
The Flagler County Board of County Commissioners agreed Dec. 1 to move forward with formal support for Senate Bill 636 and to ask staff to prepare a resolution and background analysis for the board’s Dec. 15 meeting.
The action followed public comment urging urgency on beach management and sand replenishment. David Eckert, a local resident, urged the board to “support senate bill 636 doing this publicly and in direct communication to senator Leake's office and representative Greco,” and said the bill widens options for critically eroded beach designation and funding. Commissioners said they want to get ahead of a January legislative session and involve county lobbyists.
Why it matters: residents and the county face narrow deadlines tied to Army Corps invitations for sand surveys and continuing erosion that could require coordinated, funded action across local and state agencies. Commissioners discussed tools that would make applications stronger — an 18‑mile LIDAR sand survey, interlocal agreements and potential funding lines — and debated whether to memorialize support by consensus or by formal resolution.
What the board asked staff to do: County Administrator Shelley Petito said staff has a draft letter for Flagler Beach about participating in a Corps bathymetric survey and confirmed the Corps’ estimated cost for the survey is “about $25,000.” Petito said the county will provide internal LIDAR data at no additional cost but that the Corps’ survey and local participation would accelerate review. Commissioners directed staff to circulate the lobbyist’s legislative summary in advance of the Dec. 15 meeting and asked legal and administration to prepare a resolution and an analysis of SB 636 before the next vote.
Funding context and next steps: speakers urged the county to explore multiple funding sources — FDOT, Army Corps, FEMA, local MSBUs or general‑fund match — and to press Flagler Beach for any formal commitments the city may be willing to make. Commissioner discussion emphasized giving staff time to draft a targeted resolution that specifies what the board would support, including any limits or caveats, rather than adopting a broad, unspecified statement.
The board did not take a formal roll‑call vote on the resolution at the Dec. 1 meeting; commissioners directed staff to return a draft resolution and supporting analysis at the Dec. 15 meeting, and to loop in the county’s lobbyists and local legislators ahead of January committee action.
