PALM COAST
Observer YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
VOLUME 12, NO. 16
PHOTO EXHIBIT PAGE 12 THURSDAY, MAY 20, 2021
Mayor Milissa Holland resigns Citing her daughter’s failing health, Holland steps down. Special election to be held July 27. BRIAN MCMILLAN EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Mayor Milissa Holland has resigned. Her adult daughter, Tori, has been in dire health for years, and Holland needs to perform her most important role first, she said. “I’m incredibly proud of being a mom,” Holland said in a May 18 phone call with the Palm Coast Observer. “Your kids come before anything else.” Her last words in her last City Council meeting, on the morning of May 18, just hours before she resigned, also showed her focus on her role as mother: She told the council that she missed a recent event so that she could spend time with her son, who was visiting for the first time in years, from Germany. The City Council, led by nowMayor Eddie Branquinho, met at 9 a.m. Wednesday, May 19, in a special meeting to authorize Elections Supervisor Kaiti Lenhart to begin the process of an election, which will be July 27. That will allow a new mayor to be in place before the City Council begins budget discussions, according to City Manager Matt Morton. Morton, who has been in his position for two years, said Holland should be remembered for her “steadfast willingness to always put the city ahead of
“Thank you for the honor of serving you, the citizens of Palm Coast. I am appreciative of your support and friendship. It has been both an honor and a pleasure.”
Photo by Brian McMillan
SEE MAYOR PAGE 3
INSIDE GROWTH IN K
Multifamily-withcommercial plan shifts to 450 single-family homes in K-section. PAGE 5
VACCINE UPDATE ‘If you’re not vaccinated, you’re at risk,’ says Flagler’s Dr. Bickel. PAGE 2
Milissa Holland was mayor from 2016 to 2021. She was the first woman county commissioner, serving 2006-2012.
INSIDE
Splash time! Palm Coast officially opens Holland Park splash pad PAGE 3
Remembering John Fischer
INDEX
Briefs................. PAGE 8, 9 Business...............PAGE 18 Real Estate..........PAGE 20
PAGE 4 Reef Montgomery, 4
Photo by Jake Montgomery