Two years after Flagler County’s Bull Creek Fish Camp was torn down following severe damage from Hurricane Nicole, a nearly 5,000-square-foot building is rising in its place and will be leased to a west Flagler family that will run a restaurant there again.
The Flagler County Commission on Monday tentatively agreed to leasing the property–which has yet to be built up–to Jessica Norton-Henry and the mother-son team of Pamela White and Joshua White.
The lease has an initial term of five years, with an option for two additional five-year terms. Rent will be $500 a month, with an annual inflation adjustment, plus $100 a month for common-area maintenance, plus utilities. The rent is set low because of the history of the property. It’s remote. Its business is seasonal. The Whites will have to reestablish a customer base, and the county is interested in helping them succeed.
“The leaseholder will face substantial start-up expenses, including costs for insurance, furnishings, and marketing,” Commissioner Leann Pennington, who represents the west side, said. She had led the charge for a replacement after the fish camp was lost. “The location is quite remote and has traditionally seen limited visitation outside of fishing season, so we want to help them be successful as they start out, that’s the board’s reasoning for the initial rent.”
The Whites were grateful. “We were very excited about the low rent, because it makes us feel more secure, like we are not going to fail,” Pamela White said. “I feel like you’re setting us up for success with the lower rent, and we appreciate that.”
The building will be 4,896 square feet with a screened-in porch. The concrete pad will be completed this month. The pre-fabricated building will be delivered in September and raised in October. The county is aiming for a March 2026 opening date. Once the building is ready, the leaseholders have 30 days to occupy it and open the business.
“The use of the building would be for a restaurant,” Deputy County Administrator Jorge Salinas said. “They will also have camping supplies, ice, and propane-tank exchange for the patrons.”
The business will operate no earlier than 5 a.m. or later than 11 p.m. It will have to operate six days a week, a minimum of six hours a day between Oct. 15 and March 16, and five days a week and a minimum of four hours a day the rest of the year. It may close on certain holidays and have one week off. The county will provide maintenance. “If there’s any damage done by them or the patrons, they’ll have to fix,” Salinas said.
The building is part of a $1.5 million project. Of that, $1.2 million was paid through a hurricane-recovery grant, $200,000 came from the county’s general fund, and $70,000 through park impact fees. About 10 percent of the money will go toward expanding the old McCraney property nearby as part of the Bull Creek Campground.
The county bought the 27.5-acre McCraney property last December for $1.145 million, using money from the voter-approved Environmentally Sensitive Lands fund. The RV sites, which are coordinated online, will not be managed by the restaurant leaseholder. The county will continue that, but may have a host at the location.
The county held two rounds of bidding as it sought a new leaseholder. One previous proposal had been incomplete and fell through.
Beyond the rent, the commission was interested in taking a cut of the business’ alcohol sales, assuming it gets a liquor license (it is hoping to). Flagler Beach has such an arrangement with the Funky Pelican, but not just for alcohol sales. The Funky Pelican is required to pay Flagler Beach 3 percent of all gross sales exceeding $1 million in a calendar year. The city earned $121,482 through that arrangement in the 12 months ending last June. The revenue at Bull Creek is not expected to be nearly as high as to generate that sort of windfall.
“I don’t think we should go after, you know, 1% if 1% of not a whole lot, is worth it,” Commissioner Kim Carney said. She had just been elected to the Flagler Beach City Commission in March 2011 when, three months later, and after protracted negotiations dating back to 2010, the Flagler Beach City Commission signed the lease with Dave Barshay, who runs the Funky Pelican.
Commission Chair Andy Dance was curious about lessons learned from previous leases that singed the county. He was alluding to the amended lease with Captain’s BBQ at Bings Landing, a process sprung on a previous commission by a previous county administrator that triggered a long controversy, zigzagging votes and a lawsuit the county lost.
“This has public support,” Deputy County Attorney Sean Moylan said. “We’re not tearing down trees in a popular park or anything. So this process itself is the airing, the transparency. I think that was a big lesson learned.”
“I thought this was one of the better leases I’ve ever seen,” Commissioner Leann Pennington said. “When the county lost a rurally located restaurant that had long served as a gathering place for ranchers and farmers—offering breakfast, lunch, and a space to connect and conduct business—many feared Bull Creek would never return. Its destruction during the hurricane was deeply felt. That’s why I’m especially proud that the county was able to secure state funding to bring this cherished establishment back. With the planned expansion of the adjacent RV park, we’re optimistic that this can grow into a successful economic driver for the county moving forward.”
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