“I’ve been on this board a long time. And we’ve had some real losers on this board over the years,” Bunnell Mayor Catherine Robinson said with remarkable candor Monday evening, speaking from a dais at the Government Services Building that has known its share of losers, not just from Bunnell government: the County Commission and the School Board also hold their meetings there.
“There’s been decisiveness, there’s been heartbreak, there’s been animosity,” Robinson continued, speaking at the end of a City Commission meeting that had featured her annual State of the City address. “But we have leveled out and we have an excellent board doing a great job for the work of the citizens of the city of Bunnell. Again, we’re the faces up here but the staff is the faces out there.”
Robinson knows: she’s the doyenne of elected officials in Flagler County, having now served either as a commissioner or mayor for all but two of the last 30 years, usually winning elections without opposition. She knows the county better than most, but knows her city best, and Monday she was in a celebratory mood, her words less forced than they might have been from time to time, when the odd loser flanked her.
She recalled a recent occurrence at the scene of a road fatality where a Bunnell police officers stopped motorists who were speeding by. A resident noticed the way the officer handled the stops and complimented the city, by way of Robinson. “He said that he did it courteously, he was helpful, pleasant, and educational and that is music to my ears as community policing,” Robinson said.
“That you would take a situation that could have been nasty, raw and rude, and you turned it in to a customer service educational event. And chief,” she said, referring to Dave Brannon, the police chief for the last two years whose temperament and professionalism has had a disproportionate effect on lifting the city’s image, especially from its police department, “you’re to be commended for that because again, that starts at the top and goes down.”
Earlier in the meeting she’d devoted 46 minutes to the address, which she credited to city staff for putting it together, delving immediately into the contrast between today and the nearly 30 years she’s known on the commission, the years when Bunnell was a “pretty sleepy little town” rather thana churn of projects that have busied the city under City Manager Alvin Jackson, whose style was evident throughout the address: It was as much Robinson as it was Jackson: “So we’re moving forward, stepping forth into growth, and our theme tonight is step by step,” Robinson said. “Excellence is never an accident. It is always a result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent execution.”
But Robinson knew to warm the jargon with a wealth of personal memories and experiences, as she always does, whether through remembering something her father would say or teach or recalling experiences with residents. Monday she was especially proud of the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency, which had been in the equivalent of bankruptcy two decades ago–$36 million in the hole. It’s now in the black again. “We actually have $31,250 it’s not a lot but it’s the beginning,” she said. She ran through the city’s finances, using the occasion to explain how the city’s funds are organized and from what sources they’re funded.
She mentioned growth about a dozen times–81 new residential permits for single-family homes in 2023. “I know in Flagler County and in Palm Coast those are very small numbers compared to what you do but for us, it’s a big deal,” she said. “We had three new commercial buildings and five certificates of occupancy.” Grand Reserve, the enormous subdivision that will nearly double the city’s size, is continuing toward its goal of 850 single family homes. The growth is reflected in the amount of utility customers, who have increased by 500 between 2018 and 2023.
The city’s sewer plant is in the midst of a $33 million reconstruction project, drawing down state money. It’s spent just $1.1 million so far, with completion expected in July 2026. Of course she again referred to “the longest project in the city’s history,” the construction of the 1.7-mile Commerce Parkway that began just this spring, after a 20-year wait. “So we’re looking at July of 2025 and I’ll extend the invitation to all of you to walk that 1.7 miles with me when it’s done, so we can see the beauty of that road as it runs through. So y’all keep that in mind,” she said. She was equally pleased to talk about the rehabilitation of the old coquina-built City Hall, which may be competed this summer. ” So many events have happened in this coquina City Hall and we wanted it open again for our public,” she said.
And on she went, listing other city works and more internal and community accomplishments (including the destruction of 38 cubic yards of city records, in accordance, she noted, with state guidelines), and department-by-department summaries.
Robinson ended on another personal note. “I would be remise if I didn’t point out the love and care our community showed a family in need recently through the Flagler County Youth Fair,” she said, her voice breaking. “Our local community came together to support a family who’s child was seriously hurt
through the bidding of the hog he raised. $50,000 was raised in less than 15 minutes and I was moved to tears. I can’t describe to you the joy and gratitude
of living in a place that cares so much about their own. Small town USA is alive and well in the heart of our people.”
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