City of Palm Coast Week in Review - Issue 03 - Nov. 11 - 2019

FALL 2019 ISSUE 03
NOV. 11, 2019
CITY MANAGER’S
Week in Review

Introduction from
the City Manager
PHOTO: TOWN CENTER CELEBRATION BY VICKI PAYNE

PHOTO: OUR ICONIC PALM COAST WATER TOWER BY WILLIAM CLARK

ISSUE 03
Contents
6 - Around the City
10 - Local veterans reflect
12 - City Work
16 - Palm Coast Connect by the numbers
18 - City PermitS
20 - UNF MEDNEX in Palm Coast
CITY OF PALM COAST
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“IF YOUR WINDSHIELD WIPERS ARE ON,
THEN YOUR LIGHTS SHOULD BE TOO.”
- BEN CAOILI
CONGRATULATIONS TO RICKY VANDEROEF FOR ACHIEVING A
HOLE-IN-ONE AT THE FGVG MEMORIAL GOLF TOURNAMENT!

Around the City
STEPHANIE HAWKINS
Eight months on the job and Animal Control Officer Stephanie Hawkins is educating the public on animal care
and making a difference in the lives of animals that would otherwise go unheard. Her job entails enforcing state
laws and local ordinances to maintain public safety, investigating animal cruelty, impounding stray animals
and assisting in the capture and care of injured animals whether domestic or wild. When there is a missing pet,
for example, she sees the community come together to reunite them with their owners. She enjoys meeting
different people every day and making a difference in Palm Coast. Stephanie is a Certified Animal Control Officer
through the Florida Animal Control Association, has completed level one of Animal Cruelty Investigation and is
Euthanasia Certified.
Here are three fun facts about Stephanie!
• She can’t eat a sandwich without pickles.
• As a child, she competed in the Junior Miss America pageants.
• Her adolescence years revolved around gymnastics and ballet.
Dennis Redican
Twelve years ago Dennis Redican moved to Palm Coast to be part of something big - start fresh. That led to
an opportunity with the City of Palm Coast. He is the Supervisor of Athletics and Field Maintenance having
recently been promoted from Equipment Operator Lead in the Parks Maintenance Division where he managed
sports turf maintenance. Now, he oversees all athletic programming and field maintenance for a sports turf
fields throughout the City and staff involved in the maintenance. Since sports has always been a part of his
life, taking care of fields is another way for him to stay involved. Dennis earned his associate’s degree from
Daytona State College and is certified as a Pesticide Applicator in Turf & Ornamental and Aquatics as well as an
Aquatic Facilities Operator. He is currently attending Flagler College, expecting to graduate in the fall of 2020
with a bachelor’s degree in Public Administration.
Here are three fun facts about Dennis!
• He was a 3-sport letterman (soccer, basketball, baseball) in high school.
• He’s been a best man 5 times.
• His great-great grandfather came to the U.S. from Ireland to play professional baseball.
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Palm Harbor HOSTS ITS
LARGEST TOURNAMENT EVER
This past Saturday, Nov. 2, the Palm Harbor
Golf Club hosted the FGVG Memorial Golf
Tournament. This tournament raises funds
for the Freddy Gleissner Jr.-Vinnie Gough
Sr. Memorial Scholarship Foundation. These
scholarships honor the memory of two fallen
firefighters who lived here in Palm Coast.
Scholarship funds go towards students
attending Fire Science programs in Florida.
This was the largest tournament the Palm
Harbor Golf Club has ever hosted, with 144
people participating to raise funds!
An incredible moment occurred at the
tournament when Ricky Vanderoef
managed to achieve something all
golfers dream of—a hole-in-one! This is
incredibly difficult to achieve. The holein-one
occurred at hole #8 and was a total
distance of 130 yards. The average player
can expect to get a hole-in-one once every
12,000 rounds. To put that in perspective,
you would have to play golf at least once
every day for almost 34 years to play 12,000
rounds. Congratulations to Ricky!
What’s more, our local Ford dealership
partnered up with the tournament to donate
two cars. The dealership placed two cars on
two par-3 holes. Anyone who made a hole
in one at either of those par-3 holes would
win the car! Unfortunately, the only hole in
one made during the tournament was not
made at either of those holes. Overall, the
tournament was a huge success.

UPCOMING Events
Veterans Day Ceremony - Nov. 11
City Council - Nov. 12
Feet to Feast 5K - Nov. 28
Tree Lighting Ceremony - Nov. 30
Starlight Parade - Dec. 14
Click Here for Parks & Rec Fall Guide 2019
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NewsROOM
Historic Show of Support for UNF
MedNEX in Palm Coast
Local Veterans Reflect on Service
Ahead of Palm Coast Veteran’s Day
Celebration
City of Palm Coast Announces Eastern
Standard Time Watering Restrictions
Palm Coast Veterans Day Celebration
to be Held Nov. 11

LocaL Veterans Reflect
The time - World War II had just ended. Parts of
Europe were in ruins. The United States emerged
as a super power. There was still tension around
the world. That was some of the situation.
Here in the United States, a young, courageous
John Vidota joined the Army on his 17th birthday.
“I was very, very loyal to my country and I wanted
to do whatever I could for my country,” Vidota said.
If he could’ve joined sooner, Vidota would have.
He tried joining the U.S. Navy at 16, but he was too
young.
Former President Dwight D. Eisenhower was a
general at the time Vidota journeyed to Europe
for his assignment. As he headed to Germany, he
boarded a box car where he would sleep on a bale
of hay for three days until arriving at his job site.
He remembers it vividly because he said they were
the same kinds of cars that transferred prisoners
to concentration camps. He recalls one night at 2
a.m., someone announced ‘hot meal’ and he jumped
at the chance for it.
“After sleeping in that box car for a day and eating
K-rations, it was a luxury to get that hot meal,”
Vidota said.
wife. They were married 53 years.
After the military, Vidota went on to have a career
with a private company as a field engineer for three
decades. He lives in Palm Coast and is active in
the local VFW 8696 as a member and in the honor
guard.
Within the same veteran’s group, is Tom Piekarski.
Like Vidota, from a young age, the military seemed
like a calling. Their service careers would occur
during different decades.
By his 18th birthday in the late 1960s, Piekarski
registered for the draft. Vietnam was a hot subject.
Initially, he was turned down for medical reasons,
but after more testing, it was determined he was
in fact healthy and perfect for the U.S. Navy. So in
1969, he left New York for boot camp in Great Lakes,
Illinois and eventually ‘A School’ in Lakehurst,
New Jersey where he would learn about parachute
jumps and their importance. His first jump – a free
fall jump with no lines attached.
“Everything went well and I landed not too far
from the target, but the rest of the guys landed in
the trees and we had to help them out,” Piekarski
said. “What was going through my mind was, this
is fun we have to do it again.”
In the Army, Vidota worked in the Cignal Corp as
a chief mechanic fixing cars and handling relay
stations. He remained in the service until 1948.
At the same time, he took classes in Germany for
music. The teacher, Margot, would become his
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And he would, at least 44 more times throughout
his career - jumping from small single engines
planes, helicopters, and another twin engine plane
used by the U.S. Navy.

His first job sent him to Pensacola as an Air Crew
Survival Technician in Heletron-8, a helicopter
training squadron, working with parachutes
and other aircraft equipment for flight crews to
escape an emergency. His next stop - U.S. Naval Air
Station Cubi Point by Subic Bay in the Philippines,
a primary support base during the Vietnam War
that provided aircraft and ammunition support
along with the ability to fuel ships. He stayed there
until 1973 when ended his career in the Navy in July
of that year.
As the years went by, Piekarski met his wife Eileen,
put himself through college and together they had
three children. They moved around for job reasons
before finally settling in New York. There, he got a
job as a teacher at a Catholic school. But he always
had an inclination to serve his country once again.
So he joined the New York Air National Guard
stationed in Westhampton Beach, Long Island in
the 102nd rescue squadron.
“I got into a job where I could use my teaching
experience,” Piekarski said. As a Life Support
Technician, he set up programs teaching the
air crews jungle survival, desert survival, water
survival and chemical warfare survival. “I really
liked the mission that we had and the people we
worked with were great,” he said.
After 9/11, Piekarski found himself traveling
overseas again in places like Kuwait, Turkey, Africa
and Saudi Arabia. Like many who face deployment,
he missed a lot of important family events – part of
the sacrifice that comes with serving our country.
“My wife accepted it, she was really good and I give
her the credit for keeping the family together,”
Piekarski said. “She’s the real trooper, not me.”
In 2008, he retired from the Air Force National
Guard – serving more than 34 years in our military.
But whether its 30 years or a few years, this
Veteran’s Day is special in Palm Coast. The city is
hosting its first ever free barbecue for our local
heroes.
“I’ve always been incredibly appreciative of the
sacrifice our veterans have made to protect our
freedom,” said Mayor Milissa Holland. “I’m proud
that our City has been able to step up and provide
this extra thank you. If nothing else, I hope the
people of Palm Coast find their own ways to say
thank you to these veterans each and every day, all
year long.”
Both Piekarski and Vidota plan to attend the
barbecue. Piekarski is involved in several veteran’s
organizations including the VFW Post 8696,
Veteran’s Advisory Council, Disabled American
Veterans and the American Legion. He goes to
these kinds of events to spend time with his family
and other veterans – honoring their service, too.
If you go…
The Palm Coast Veteran’s Day Celebration on Nov.
11 from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. at Central Park in Town
Center, 975 Central Avenue.

Public Works in Action
12

UtilitY
in Action
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PAlm Coast Connect By
the Numbers - Nov. 11
Average Resolution Time
From Utility questions to swale maintenance, the
average time to resolve an issue is 2.8 days.
Open Cases by Type
No matter your question or concern,
Palm Coast Connect has you covered.
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Average Resolution Time by Channel
Palm Coast Connect streamlines the customer service
process, leading to better service and happier citizens.
Hurricane Dorian
Weekly Case Volume by Type & Owner
Palm Coast Connect allows your City to deploy resources
where needed—even during natural disasters.

City Permits
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT – Jason DeLorenzo, Chief Development Officer
50 Leanni Way Unit A3 & A4
160 Cypress Point Parkway
Unit A106
Development of Regional
Impact
Site Plan Modification
Commercial Permits Issued
Interior Renovations - Garrett Medical
Office
Interior Renovations - Clean Eats
Kitchen
Development Application
Palm Coast Park Master Plan
Development
Flagler Animal Hospital Expansion
Albano
Designs
Studios $15,000
Clean Eats
Kitchen
LLC $500
Michael Chiumento, III
Roger W. Sttcula
Site Plan Modification Coastal Rehab Anchor Real Estate
Holdings LLC
Variance - Sign
Coastal Rehab
Anchor Real Estate
Holdings LLC
Occupancy Permits Issued
15 Hargrove Lane 6A
No Mercy Motorsports - window
tinting/detailing
Travis Daniel
50 Leanni Way Unit D6
Germanikure Inc. -
manicure/pedicure tools
Vitaliy Rudskiy
250 Palm Coast Parkway NE
Unit 403
Community Cats of Palm Coast Thrift
Store
Jessica Meyers
19 Old Kings Road N Unit 104
- 107 Fitness and Rehab Facility Dave Challice
Construction value improvements from October 1, 2019 to date $51,710,190
Residential Single Family / Duplex Residences 15
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PALM COAST
COMMUNITY
DEVELOPMENT
Building Your Community
7
PROJECTS
development projects currently
under construction all throughout
the City of Palm Coast
PERMITS
2
commercial permits
issued
51,710,190
DOLLARS
dollars in construction value
improvements from Oct. 1 to present.
HOMES
15
residential single
family/duplex residences
under construction
Visit
palmcoastgov.com/government/community-development
to learn more!

Historic Show of Support for
UNF MedNEX in Palm Coast
Palm Coast City Council members, along with several
other local government organizations, are collectively
showing support to bring the University of North
Florida’s MedNEX to Palm Coast.
MedNEX would be the nation’s first comprehensive,
university-based medical nexus that would educate
and train nurses and other medical professionals
through an innovative partnership, bringing together
regional stakeholders like AdventHealth, Flagler
County Schools, Daytona State College, and more.
These healthcare professionals could then live and
work locally or regionally contributing to the future of
the community. The UNF facility would be located in
Town Center near Palm Coast City Hall.
At the city council meeting Tuesday, Nov. 5, council
members voted unanimously to adopt a resolution
supporting higher education in the City of Palm
Coast. The resolution outlines the benefits of a state
university system presence in Palm Coast such as
providing a mechanism for growth and high quality
of life along with educational opportunities for
citizens in high-demand fields. This also re-enforces
collaboration among public and private stakeholders.
The resolution also commends UNF for its desire to
serve as an educational partner and urges the Florida
State University System Board of Governors, Florida
Legislature and Governor Ron DeSantis to support the
establishment of such programs as may be necessary
to further such goals.
The governments of Flagler County, Flagler County
School District, Town of Beverly Beach, City of Bunnell,
City of Flagler Beach, Town of Marineland and the
City of Palm Coast have come together in recognition
that the UNF MedNex initiative elevates the entire
Northeast and Northcentral Florida Region. This is
significant because this marks the first initiative that
governments throughout Flagler County have come
together to actively support in bringing to the area to
benefit the local communities and citizens.
“It’s amazing to see our cities and county come
together on such a transformative project, laying the
foundation for a medical hub we’ve been working on
for two years” said Mayor Milissa Holland. “This will
shape our community now and into a better future we
can all be proud of.”
On Monday, Nov. 4, Flagler County Commissioners
unanimously approved a resolution in support of the
initiative. The county also plans to involve its lobbyists
to help with the project. That same day, Beverly
Beach Town Commission also unanimously passed
a resolution in support of Palm Coast’s efforts, in
support of better prospects for employment, diversity
and culture that such a partnership would entail. The
City of Bunnell will discuss it on Nov. 12.
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