THE HAMMOCK
Observer YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
VOLUME 1, NO. 15
MATANZAS WINS LATE PAGE 6B
FREE ON NEWSSTANDS | THURSDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2025
‘It’s just a speculation project’ New analysis supports market for sports complex, but some county commissioners express caution. PAGE 3A
County deputy County to maintain Ocean Hammock’s dunes administrator killed in crash Officials mourn Jorge Salinas and wife Nancy after crash. PAGE 3A INSIDE LEGAL CHALLENGE Flagler Homebuilders Association files lawsuit against Palm Coast over impact fee increase. PAGE 3A
AWARD WINNING
Hammock Beach Golf Resort & Spa earns 2025 silver for “Best Golf Resort” in Stella Awards. PAGE 6A
INDEX
Business..................... PAGE 3B Calendar..................... PAGE 2B Cops Corner................PAGE 2A Crossword.................. PAGE 8B Letters........................ PAGE 9A Public Notices.............PAGE 5A Sports......................... PAGE 6B Tributes ...................... PAGE 3C Real Estate................. PAGE 4B
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Ocean Hammock will pay Flagler County $175,000 annually for dune maintenance on its privately owned shoreline. SIERRA WILLIAMS STAFF WRITER
The Flagler County Commission has approved another dune maintenance agreement with a privately owned development in The Hammock. The Ocean Hammock Property Owners Association owns shoreline property between 16th Road and Jungle Hut Road in The Hammock. With the agreement, Ocean Hammock agrees to pay Flagler County $175,000 annually, which will be exclusively used by the county for beach maintenance on Ocean Hammock’s property. The agreement is similar to one the county approved in August with the Hammock Dunes Owners Association. The HDOA owns 2.3 miles of shoreline and will pay Flagler $570,000 annually for beach maintenance. County Engineer Hamid Tabassian said the Ocean Hammock, Hammock Beach resort and the Hammock Dunes beach areas are not currently eligible for Federal Emergency Maintenance Agency’s Category G funding. “This agreement would make these areas eligible for Cat-G with future [storm] events,” Tabassian said. Commissioner Kim Carney said the $175,000 didn’t sound like it would pay for much sand placement. Tabassian said the amount is based on trucking in six cubic yards of sand for that length of the beach. The payment agreement will continue until Flagler County finds another source of funding for maintaining the property. But the funds in these agreements can only be used for the stretches of shoreline property that is owned by these private entities. Flagler County is still trying to iron out methods of paying for regular
Ocean Hammock in The Hammock. Photo by Sierra Williams
beach maintenance. In December 2024, Flagler County instituted a special taxing district called an MSBU for The Hammock area. Though nothing was levied this year, the county will likely levy a tax through the MSBU for the 2026-2027 fiscal year budget. Flagler County is also considering a half-cent sales tax to use for maintenance funding. But the issue has divided the board, with Commission Chair Andy Dance and Commissioner Greg Hansen
supporting the initiative and Vice Chair Leann Pennington and Commissioners Pam Richardson and Kim Carney against it. The county is instead considering sending the half-cent sales tax to a referendum. If implemented, not all the funding from the halfcent would go to beach funding. Some would be kept by the cities to dedicate to other projects like infrastructure. The Category G funding is part of FEMA’s Public Assistance program, which provides financial and direct
federal assistance to states and territories. Category G is the section that specifically refers to parks, recreational and other facilities. Tabassian said the county is currently in negotiations with the Hammock Beach resort for a similar agreement. The commission approved the Ocean Hammock dune maintenance agreement 5-0 at its Oct. 6 meeting. Send news tips to Sierra@ observerlocalnews.com.