Ray Stevens is one of three candidates in the Aug. 20 primary election for Palm Coast City Council, District 3. It’s an open seat, as Council member Nick Klufas is term-limited. He is running for a County Commission seat. The candidates who qualified are Dana Mark Stancel, Stevens and Andrew Warner.
This is a non-partisan, at-large election. That means all registered voters in Palm Coast–and only Palm Coast–regardless of party or non-party affiliation–Democrats, Republicans, independents and others–may cast a ballot for City Council. If a candidate wins more than 50 percent of the vote, that candidate is elected. If none of the candidates garner more than a 50 percent majority, the leading two vote-getters move on to a runoff to be decided in the Nov. 5 general election.
A city council member is paid $24,097 a year plus a $1,200 car allowance and a $910 communication allowance each year, plus full health care benefits.
FlaglerLive submitted identical questions to all candidates, with the understanding that additional questions might be tailored to candidates individually and some follow-up questions may be asked, with all exchanges conducted by email and on the record.
The Live Interview’s aim is to elicit as much candor and transparency as possible. We have asked candidates to refrain from making campaign speeches or make lists of accomplishments. We have also asked candidates to reasonably document their claims. It’s ultimately up to the reader to judge the quality and sincerity of a candidate’s answers.
The Questions in Summary: Quick Links
The Basics: Ray Stevens
Place and Date of Birth:
Current job: Retired Police Lieutenant from New York and a former Pinellas County Deputy Sheriff.
Party Affiliation: Republican.
Financial Disclosures:
Resume:
Flagler County School Board Flagler County Commission Palm Coast Mayor Palm Coast City Council |
1. How have you specifically prepared yourself to be ready to succeed from day one? If you’re an incumbent, what have you learned from your time on the council that has changed your governing method, and in what way? Tell us about the character flaws and unique perspectives you bring to the council. Who do you admire most in office today among elected officials in Flagler County—the person you’d consider a model of leadership? Who in the world at large (beyond Flagler), and among the living, do you consider a role model of political or intellectual leadership?
Having served as an Administrative Lieutenant in New York before my retirement uniquely qualifies me for the office of Palm Coast City Commissioner. After all the city commission is an administrative body empowered to oversee and provide direction as to how the city conducts the people’s business. As an Administrative Lieutenant, my responsibilities were, but not limited to, overseeing and directing the operations conducted by subordinate personnel. I also participated in the interview of prospective new employees and the vetting of candidates who were being considered for promotion.
I admire Suzanne Johnston who has held the position of Tax Collector for many years. Doing so in a professional manner avoiding any controversy. During her tenure, she has initiated innovative ideas to improve the service provided to the community. I feel compelled here to also mention Jay Gardner who has also served many years with distinction. Beyond Flagler, former President Trump.
Your retirement dates back 20 years, a long period that has seen significant changes in the workplace–public and private: how have you kept up with those changes, which may have a significant bearing on how you perceive administrative staff? In your preparation for City Council, have you attended meetings, met with directors of city departments, studied the budget and followed the council’s current issues to be prepared from day one?
People don’t change, nor do sound managerial practices. I don’t form preconceived notions about people, until I have had an opportunity to interact with them. I attended city council meetings. In fact I believe I saw you at one. If I don’t attend in person I watch them on CCTV. No one can be fully prepared from day one when assuming a new position, there is always a learning curve.
2. Give the council a letter grade on its performance in the last two years. Explain with specific examples where it has been lacking and where it has excelled, and what specific experience and qualities you will bring to improve its effectiveness.
A light “C”. There seems to be a great disconnect between the City Council and the people they are sworn to serve. Giving concerned citizens who attend a city council meeting three minutes at the podium, to express their concerns, make a suggestion, or voice a complaint is simply an inadequate means of allowing public expression and or input.
Currently, I am unable to express what areas the city council has excelled in.
Once elected I will conduct, from time to time, public input meetings focused on an area of public concern. In that, if a particular section or area is having trouble, flooding, speeding on residential streets, and noise complaints I would visit these locations to see first-hand what the concerns are and to gain input as to possible solutions. Residents will have more than three minutes to express themselves, there will be no three-minute timers or Buzzers.
Three minutes is standard across local governments; would an unlimited time allotment not lend itself to abuse and grandstanders, and make meetings even more painfully long than they already are? When you say you are unable to say where the council has excelled, is that because you do not know where they might have excelled, or because you do not think they have excelled in anything?
I don’t think three minutes is enough time for a citizen to make a complaint, suggest an improvement or offer a recommendation. But, I do understand the time constraints involved. I have been advocating, since October of 2023, when I first became involved in this effort the concept of Town Hall Meetings.
I believe their success has been marginal at best. I have knocked on several hundred doors in Palm Coast and the response is pretty much the same in referring to the present council, with one exception, “they gotta go”.
3. What are two goals where you are most aligned with the current council’s “Strategic Action Plan,” two with which you differ, and two you would seek to add, and explain how you intend to convince the council to follow your lead.
I wasn’t aware that they had a “Strategic Action Plan.” If one exists, I don’t see any evidence of it. I feel like many others that our current financially influenced uncoordinated development policy is putting a tremendous strain on our taxpayer funded infrastructure and our quality of life. I believe we need to take a step back and consider the ramifications of future major development projects and the impact they will have on our infrastructure before rushing headlong into approving them. I am not in favor of up-zoning that impacts existing neighborhoods. My first considerations to any new development is impact to storm drainage, water, sewer, density, traffic load and emergency services quick access. I believe that protecting and maintaining the quality of life of this special place that we all bought a piece of here in Palm Coast is paramount.
It shouldn’t take any convincing at all. Just take a look around the city. We are experiencing what is commonly referred to as “Urban Sprawl” with a bad case of gridlock. Palm Coast was set up by the original planners to be, primarily, a community for retirees. And as such it was planned and laid out accordingly. The road system as designed does not lend itself to the increased density which drives the increased volume of traffic we are experiencing. I believe we can do better, for starters we need a Traffic Engineer with a proven record. Just traveling from East to West on Palm Coast Parkway and Rt. 100 proves my case.
How can voters not be concerned about a candidate for Council who is unaware of the document that drives council policy? Does that not raise a legitimate question about how in tune you are with city issues and council process? What do you define as up-zoning, and can you cite a recent example? Palm Coast proper–the older part, not the western expansion segment–still has somewhere in the range of 9,000 unbuilt lots, platted by ITT as part of the original Palm Coast. Those lots are getting built up. There are no new roads planned in this part of the city. How, beyond a traffic engineer, do you see the city addressing congestion in a meaningful way, given the property rights of land owners to build on these lots?
Well, once elected I will enter this office with a blank slate and an open mind. I have been hear over twenty years and I have not seen a clear city policy, what is it, please enlighten me. Up-zoning is the process whereby one buys a a piece of property zoned low density Single Family residential and through certain connections gets it rezoned to high density Multi Family. Thereby, increasing their profit three fold. One has to keep in mind the original intent of the original builders of Palm Coast. It was marketed as a community intended primarily for retirees and so designed. One need not be a Traffic Engineer to see the road and highway system, as it is laid out, does not lend itself to high volume vehicular traffic. I would like to meet with the individual responsible for traffic light timing. It seems that trip and timed lights are operating simultaneously. Let’s address the challenges in the Eastern part of palm coast before we get bogged down in the so called “Western Expansion” where to my understanding most of the Recharge Fields for our water supply are located. Building on residential lots is not the problem as i see it.
4. Taxes and revenue: Where do you stand on property tax increases, including adopting tax rates that are not at rollback (which amounts to a tax increase under Florida law)? Where do you stand on supporting a countywide increase in the sales tax, on adopting a public service tax, or adopting a utility franchise fee? Short of new sources of revenue, and if you intend to stick to a rolled back tax rate, which nearly limits any growth in the budget, what city programs would you eliminate and what service levels would you reduce to achieve that?
I am categorically averse to tax increases regardless of how they are disguised. I believe that raising taxes to meet expenditures should be the last resort, not the first option. I believe until all other methods of reducing operating expenses have been fully explored, then and only then should an increase be considered. Expenditure wish lists would need to be proven, tested and gradually phased in. If the city is outsourcing work to subcontractors let us evaluate whether in house employees can be phased out through the process of attrition. Case in point would be Swale and Drainage Ditch maintenance.
The County Sales Tax increase needs to be shouldered by the county commission, that is why it’s called the County Sales Tax.
The Electric Franchise Tax Fee will never be an option if I am elected as I will never sign all residents up for a 20 year sentence of forced payment with the fixed income retirees being forced into a corner. The city vehicle and equipment procurement process needs a good hard look.
Your stance suggests that you are not entirely closed to potential tax increases, assuming all the other boxes have been checked. In other words, you are not outright pledging always to go to rollback, is that correct? If not, can you clarify? Palm Coast revenue from the county sales tax is greater than the county’s share, so is it not fair of the county to ask for the City Council’s support, if it were to adopt a higher sales tax?
I am always amicable to rollbacks , but not committed to them. This whole relationship between the county and the city is like the tail waking the dog. The vast majority of tax revenue is generated it the city of Palm Coast. I am not sure I fully understand the question, however, I will take a stab at it. As a city council member they would have to provide me with a strong justification to raise county taxes as my position is, and will continue to be, raising taxes to meet expenses should be the absolute last resort and not the first option.
5. Palm Coast’s population continues to grow rapidly, absorbing most of the net increase of 16,000 people between 2020 and 2022. Evaluate the quality and quantity of development in the last few years. What sort of land use or development would you oppose, if it were to come before the council for approval, and why? What percentage of our housing stock should be single-family houses on traditional lots as opposed to apartments or other multi-family complexes? Would you approve raising the density and height of multi-family, or apartment, structures in select areas of the city zoned for the purpose?
I would oppose any further low or middle-income rental housing located in the Town Center. The original marketing plan for the Town Center was for shops, stores, and restaurants. Single-family homes on traditional lots, in my opinion, have the least impact on the infrastructure. If an individual buys a piece of property to build a home on that is their right. The percentage would be based on demand and availability.
I would be steadfastly opposed to rezoning or up-zoning properties to benefit a certain special interest group. It is my feeling if one buys a piece of property zoned low-density single-family, they knew that when they purchased the property, that zoning designation should remain in place. And that should apply across the board. It is in my opinion, this rezoning and up-zoning has strayed so far from the original master plan ITT had approved by both state and federal agencies is what’s causing, to a greater or lesser degree, the infrastructure challenges we are facing today. If elected I would ask for an overlay of all of the approved not built, and existing development to be overlaid on the original ITT plan approved by the state decades ago. This comparison will show how far we have strayed from a plan based on a environmentally tenuous county consisting of many “swampy” areas. Doing so will help in determining our way back and help relieve the impacts of years of “favored development”.
Town Center was, in fact, planned in 2003 as Palm Coast’s first mixed-use development zone, with considerable acreage for apartments. If not in Town center, then where? What do you have against low-income or middle-income earners who need housing, but not necessarily a single-family home? Doesn’t that contradict your remark about palm Coast sprawl, above–what, other than single-family homes, is responsible for that sprawl? Your stance on zoning, if applied to the westward expansion, suggests that all that timberland should remain timberland–no up-zoning to residential or commercial or industrial. Does that mean you oppose any such expansion in the west?
Single family homes do not contribute to what is commonly referred to as “Urban Sprawl.” Major development projects and the traffic they create is, what I consider to be, “Urban Sprawl.” The majority of the timberland you speak of should remain as such. It is my understanding that most of the wells that account for the city’s water supply are located there. Building near or on the recharge fields will greatly decrease the replenishment of the Aquifer and could lead to contamination as well. As far as the Town Center is concerned I was here when it was predominately woods. It was marketed to the public as place where shops, restaurants boutiques, and promenades would be located. Twenty years later there isn’t a single restaurant or retail shop located there, why not? Federal money was used to fund the project because they claimed it was a “blighted area”. I fail to see how over one hundred wooded acres can be a blighted area.
6. The City Council created an arts district in Town center in 2020, but the district has been moribund, and more recently may be further elbowed by a planned YMCA on land previously dedicated for an arts center. What role should the city have in facilitating (not creating, to be sure) arts and culture? Is the city doing enough? Would you favor dedicating a permanent source of revenue from the Town Center CRA to the arts, as had been the original intention in 2020?
I feel the city should play a role in advancing the arts, however Flagler is still a relatively small county to be taking on a such large endeavor especially when we have had a successful arts program at the Flagler Auditorium. Why are we dividing resources by creating a “City Arts Program”? I believe we should build upon what we have especially when it benefits our students so well. The lack of a proper pool for a Florida County of over 125,000 people is a testament to municipal governments failure. A multi generational facility with a appropriate pool should have been in planning and started when the real estate recession ended in 2017.
7. The West Side, west of U.S. 1, is poised to potentially double Palm Coast’s size, or close to it, with the development of the acreage through which the city secured substantial funding for the connector road from Matanzas Parkway to Palm Coast Parkway. Is the city capable of handling that expansion even as its existing infrastructure—stormwater, roads (think congestion), parks—east of U.S. 1 experiences shortfalls and draws residents’ complaints? How would you balance that expansion with the needs in east Palm Coast—or change infrastructure management?
Let’s take care of the East Side of Palm Coast first. We have a population “explosion” here that needs to be reckoned with. If this push to develop the West side of Route 1 is to accommodate a developer let the developer pick up the tab.
8. Palm Coast’s saltwater canals may need dredging. It’s never been done in the 50-year existence of the city and its ITT antecedent. But the canals—like those recreational amenities mentioned above–are limited to a few neighborhoods. If and when it comes to that, who should pay for the dredging, and through what taxing mechanism?
I think before we talk about taxing and or methods of payment we need to determine the magnitude of the problem. My educated guess would be that the silting problem is confined to the smaller side canals because of the lack of boat travel and slow tidal flow. If I am correct in my assumption the cost would be greatly reduced. But we won’t know this until soundings are taken.
The city paid for an exhaustive evaluation of the canal matter, and its consultant determined the range and extent of dredging ahead. While the consultant found that the problem is not as acute as originally believed, what remains would still cost millions of dollars, requiring a new source of revenue–raising taxes, or establishing special taxing districts, since grants are, according to the consultant, unlikely to pick up the tab, and Flagler/Palm Coast have lost their legislative gravy trains. Given those realities, and the city having placed this on its list of priorities, who should pay, and through what mechanism?
The silting problem will continue to be a reoccurring problem. The small side canals will always silt over because the lack of sufficient tidal tidal flow and or current. If dredging is to be done it should be done on a periodic basis. I believe the people that own homes located on the canal should start an association, collect dues for canal maintenance. The city bears equal responsibility because the canals contribute to storm water drainage. The main canals will rarely need dredging, except periodically at the confluence of two canals.
9. Describe in one paragraph the principal qualities you will seek in the new city manager you will be responsible for hiring, and what expectations you will have from that manager from day one.
First and foremost, I would be looking for a city manager with prior management experience. In almost any organization the higher one advances up the corporate or organizational ladder the fewer technical skills are required and the ability to manage people becomes paramount in getting the job done. Secondly, I would seek a personable city manager because interaction with the public is an integral part of the job.
Would you accept a candidate who’s managed cities the size of Bunnell or Flagler Beach for many years, or a candidate who has no advanced degrees beyond a B.A., if that?
See my original answer, with the addition of a degree in Public Administration. The size of the city is somewhat irrelevant. Span of Control, the number of people one manager or supervisor can effectively supervise is generally five people.
10. Palm Coast relies on the sheriff for policing. Evaluate that relationship as it stands today. What is your analysis of the latest method of hiring what would amount to five additional deputies a year for the next three years, based primarily on call volume, and how would you pay for it? Do you favor an independent police department for the city, now or in the near future?
I think the Sheriff’s Office is doing a good job given the rapid increase in population. To my knowledge calls for service are not “stacked” and response time is good. I believe creating an independent Palm Coast Police Department is a decision for the people to make, visa-vie a referendum, and not a decision that should be left to the city council. Please note that the addition of a stand alone police force will ad many dollars to the city budget.
11. Have you ever been charged with a felony or a misdemeanor anywhere in Flagler, Florida or the United States (other than a speeding ticket), or faced a civil action other than a divorce, but including bankruptcies, or faced any investigative or disciplinary action through a professional board such as the bar or a medical board? Have you ever been demoted? If so, please explain, including cases where charges or claims did not lead to conviction or disciplinary action.
No.
Just to clarify: in all your years on the police force, you were never the subject of an internal affairs investigation?
I have Never been the subject of an internal affairs investigation.
