Today’s Palm Coast City Council meeting started with public comment. Ken McDonald, a resident of Palm Coast, spoke about the need for free swimming classes for young children. He cited the case of the four-year-old child who drowned in Ormond Beach as a large reason why this is needed. Residents also spoke to concerns with development, infrastructure, and many other issues.
Following the public comment section, it was time to certify the election results. Councilmember Pontieri pointed out that there was a discrepancy in the report from the Supervisor of Elections office, which noted that the total number of voters was 190,000, which is roughly 50,000 more voters than are registered in Flagler County. Pontieri asked if the City Clerk would be able to verify the information with the Supervisor of Elections office. Danko took this time to comment on shady election practices around the country and voiced his concern over the legality of certifying the results with that possible error in the report. The City Attorney said on record that as it stands now, there should be no legal issues, as Councilmember Gambaro and Councilmember Pontieri could recertify the election results once the information was verified with the Supervisor of Elections. The election results were then unanimously certified by the previous council, with Mike Norris, Ray Stevens, and Ty Miller then being sworn in.
Immediately following public comment, the council moved on to the appointments of the Vice-Mayor and different Council Liaisons. Councilmember Ray Stevens made a motion to appoint Pontieri as Vice-Mayor, with Pontieri seconding the motion. The public made their comments of support, hoping the council would vote unanimously to appoint Ponteiri as Vice-Mayor. Gambaro and Miller both voted no to Ponteiri being Vice-Mayor, with Norris, Stevens, and Pontieri voting yes. Pontieri is the Vice Mayor, with a 3-2 vote. Following the appointment of the Vice-Mayor, it was time to appoint liaison positions for different committees. Norris requested that council members volunteer for the committees.
