bserver O PALM COAST
YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
THURSDAY, MAY 29, 2014
SPORTS
NEIGHBORHOOD
Jimmie Robinson and FPC topple Bartram Trail in spring game.
Graduates get a proper send-off at Baccalaureate ceremony. PAGE 17
PAGE 13
OUR TOWN
NEWS
FCAT’s bark worse than bite for Flagler County. Scores are up! PAGE 3
CITY OFFICES
hero’s homecoming By Jonathan Simmons | News Editor
Wounded veteran granted
Jonathan Simmons | News Editor
NEW PALM COAST HOME Photo by Jonathan Simmons
Councilman Jason DeLorenzo and Mayor Jon Netts discussed options for housing city offices.
In a bind, city considers leaving City Marketplace
Courtesy photo
Genetta Rodriquez
+ Palm Coast resident honored for five-year fight against cancer Palm Coast resident Genetta Rodriquez returned to Cancer Treatment Centers of America on May 16 to celebrate a milestone in her cancer journey: five years of survivorship. Rodriquez was honored at “Celebrate Life,” the annual CTCA event that commemorates the courage and tenacity of five-year cancer survivors and the examples of perseverance and hope these survivors serve as for those battling the disease. Alongside other cancer survivors, current patients and their loved ones, Rodriquez participated in a tree planting ceremony — in which one tree was planted for each five-year survivor — and a dove release, where patients released several doves into the morning sky as a symbol of renewal. Celebrants also gave lapel pins with the word “hope” to patients currently undergoing treatment at CTCA. “Those words, ‘You’re in remission,’ are the most joyous words to your ears,” Rodriquez said. “I was able to enjoy my family, my grandchildren, and do so many things I had on my bucket list.” “Celebrate Life is a wonderful time to honor and rejoice in the many personal milestones our patients have experienced during the last five years,” said John McNeil, president and CEO of CTCA in Philadelphia. “We are so proud of all of our celebrants, and honored to acknowledge and celebrate their journey and continued success.”
SEE OUR TOWN / PAGE 2
Palm Coast’s landlord wants to raise its rent.
Photos by Jonathan Simmons
Kate Denker swings her 4-year-old son, Freddy, on the new swing set in their new home, provided through Building Homes for Heroes.
Iraq War veteran Bryan Denker has been given a mortgagefree Palm Coast house through Building Homes for Heroes.
F
lagler County Iraq War veteran Bryan Denker, his wife, Kate, and their 4-year-old son, Freddy, set foot inside their new, mortgage-free home in Palm Coast May 22 in a ceremony attended by about 50 people. “It’s perfect. It’s absolutely perfect,” Bryan Denker said after exploring his new home. “It’s perfect for my dogs, it’s perfect for my son — this whole town, this whole area — it’s just perfect. … The town’s clean, and everybody’s friendly here.” The house, a neatly landscaped, cream-colored home in Palm Coast’s E-section with a backyard swing set and a pool, was provided through Building Homes for Heroes, a nonprofit formed in 2006 that gives homes to injured Afghanistan and Iraq War veterans. A “welcome home” banner flew above the house’s entrance as community figures including Mayor Jon Netts and
Mayor Jon Netts welcomes Air Force veteran Bryan Denker home. Sheriff James Manfre greeted the Denker family. “You’re going to start a new chapter in your life here,” Netts said. “May you thrive. May you have health and happiness here.” Bryan Denker, who left the Air Force as a staff sergeant in
December, was injured by an improvised explosive device in Iraq in 2010. He went through 12 surgeries on his leg and suffers from combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder, ac-
SEE HEROES / PAGE 4
The city of Palm Coast is running short on time to determine what its home address will be after its lease in City Marketplace ends in October. The complex’s landlord is demanding a rent increase which would leave the city paying about 57% more than it pays now, and the city’s planned City Hall is only about 60% into the design phase and won’t be open until fall 2015. “You’re talking about a $140,000 increase in rent in one year for us,” City Manager Jim Landon said during a City Council workshop May 27. “You can’t do that without having an increase in your millage rate. … That is a very large hit for the general fund.” The city’s annual rent at City Marketplace is about $20,000 per month, or $240,000 per year. The owner’s proposal — $17 per square foot — would bring the city’s rent to about $378,000 per year. “I’m not very comfortable with $17 a foot,” Palm Coast Mayor Jon Netts said. “I’m not comfortable with that number at all. That’s first-class, premier space.” At this point, Administration Coordinator Beau Falgout said, the city can either remain in City Marketplace, perhaps using less space there to reduce cost, or it can move elsewhere. The city’s City Marketplace home is 22,221 square feet at about $10.80 per square foot,
SEE CITY OFFICES / PAGE 5
INDEX Calendar............ 22 Class Notes........ 20
Cops Corner...........8 Crossword........... 26
Diversions.......... 27 LoMonaco.......... 13
McMillan...............6 Real Estate......... 24
Vol. 5, No. 13 One section