Three new members will join the Palm Coast City Council following November’s general election — including one to the board’s District 2 seat.
Antonio “Tony” Amaral Jr., Jeani Duarte and Jimmy Hengy are the three candidates in the District 2 race, vying to replace Vice Mayor Theresa Pontieri, who was elected in 2022 and is now running for a seat on Flagler’s Board of County Commissioners.
Ray Stevens is running unopposed in District 3, currently held by outgoing Councilman David Sullivan.
Four other candidates are running for the District 4 seat, currently held by Councilman Charles Gambaro, who is running for Florida’s 6th Congressional District race.
During recent interviews with The News-Journal, the three candidates vying for District 2 shared their views on growth and development; infrastructure; the westward expansion; property taxes; amenities; and more.
Here is what they had to say.
Who is Palm Coast City Council candidate Antonio ‘Tony’ Amaral Jr.?
Amaral is a longtime resident of Palm Coast.
He moved to the city with his family in 1983 and has spent more than four decades watching the city evolve from a small community into the most populous city in the Volusia-Flagler area (around 118,000 residents, according to the latest estimates from city officials).
Amaral is also a decades-long builder in the city, owner of Amaral Homes & Pools LLC.
He said his professional experience, coupled with his participation in city advisory groups and planning discussions over the past few years, would make him “a good fit to help steer” Palm Coast during a pivotal time for the city.
“Palm Coast is getting to a point where the next couple of years are going to determine probably the next 25 years,” Amaral said.
Who is Palm Coast City Council candidate Jeani Duarte?
Duarte is a retired business owner who moved permanently to Palm Coast in 2018.
A California native, she said she has lived in Florida on and off for several years. Duarte ran a bakery business for several years in other states, and she has also owned short- and long-term rental properties.
Duarte has been a vocal critic of Palm Coast’s city government over the past few years, attending multiple City Council meetings where she often voices concerns about what she sees as a lack of transparency, responsibility and accountability from officials.
She is running on preserving city charter safeguards, slowing down development to address infrastructure capacity issues, adopting a different approach to utility policies, scrutinizing unnecessary budget spending and more.
Who is Palm Coast City Council candidate Jimmy Hengy?
A longtime Floridian, Hengy is relatively new resident of Palm Coast.
He and his wife moved to the city a year ago from Fort Lauderdale, where he owned manufacturing companies and retail operations in different areas, including fishing rods – his last one before retiring.
Hengy said that while he was drawn by the “well-maintained” and neighborhoods and the city’s greenery, he also expressed concerns about what he described as “rampant overdevelopment” he is seeing in Palm Coast.
“I just think the city is on the wrong track,” he said, adding that he has grown more involved in discussion with his neighbors about issues in the city.
He is calling for “smarter” growth strategies, better infrastructure and more.
What do Palm Coast candidates think about growth and development?
Regarding Palm Coast’s growth, Amaral said he doesn’t it as a problem.
“Growth is not bad,” he said. “It just has to be done correctly. Growth can be bad if we don’t take care of it early and negotiate to the benefit of the people, the residents here. And that’s the residents of today and the residents of tomorrow.”
The key, he argued, is for the city to adopt better planning strategies.
“We need to plan better. We need to plan, and it’s not just planning for where the growth is coming because we kind of know, the big developments, where they’re going to be.”
Duarte questioned the city’s capacity to accommodate the current growth rate in Palm Coast, saying infrastructure needs to be the priority before more development gets approved.
“We need to diversify, not just the types of businesses that we have in this area,” she said. “We need to diversify with the location.
She criticized the plans for the Walmart Supercenter store coming to State Road 100, which, like other similar projects, she argued, have contributed to increased traffic in the city.
“If they were smart, they would have it probably on the (east) side of Interstate 95, directing some of the traffic that way,” she said.
Hengy also sees the city on an “overdevelopment” path that needs to be addressed with better planning and ensuring infrastructure is ready to accommodate the growth rate.
“Smart growth would be something that wouldn’t put a burden on our infrastructure, that would grow with the pace of the city, and not rampant overdevelopment,” he said.
He believes in addressing “the infrastructure first.”
“That’s the main thing … then start talking about more development.”
What do Palm Coast candidates think about the city’s infrastructure?
Amaral said that roads, utilities and stormwater management are “backbone” of the city’s infrastructure.
While he praised some recent road improvements, including work along Belle Terre Parkway, he also spoke of issues needing attention.
For example, he voiced concern about the city’s backlog of road resurfacing needs, pointing to deteriorating pavement markings and streets he said are reaching the point where resurfacing may no longer be enough. He suggested creating a dedicated annual funding commitment specifically for road maintenance.
“I need two other council members to agree, but maybe we need to set aside … an X amount of millions of dollars a year just for our roads.”
Duarte also said infrastructure must be kept up to speed.
“Our infrastructure is very, very important, and we can’t sustain it,” she said.
She cited roads, water management and utility systems as examples of areas that should have been addressed by officials over the past few years.
She also criticized the increased utility fees, as well as the city’s adoption of a $330-million utility revenue bond, whose long-term cost could fall on residents’ shoulders, she said.
In addition, rather than increasing fees and utility charges on residents, she believes the city should first examine internal spending and management decisions.
Hengy believes Palm Coast’s current systems cannot support approved development, and he is particularly concerned about water capacity and future utility costs.
He also voiced concerns about the city taking on more debt to invest in utility improvements and the utility rate increases over the next few years.
“That bond that we took out is not even going to cover those homes that are approved,” he said, emphasizing the need for better planning as the city considers approval of more projects.
What do Palm Coast candidates think about the city’s westward expansion?
Prioritizing the industrial part of the westward expansion DRI will be an important step to better prepare the city for the incoming growth (approximately 22,000 housing units), Amaral said, as it could simultaneously help diversify the city’s tax revenue base (currently 92% reliant on residential property taxes).
“In the grand scheme of things, 25, 50 years from now, it will be a good thing for Palm Coast,” he said, pointing to the potential addition of more jobs and the project’s phased planning.
Duarte, on the other hand, argued the project is “designed all wrong.”
She argued that the project’s proposed loop road raises concerns because it would pass through wetlands and potentially require public funding that she believes could be better spent elsewhere.
Duarte also said that the additional houses don’t make sense if there aren’t enough new jobs for existing and future residents.
Hengy also voiced concerns about the westward expansion, questioning the need for the additional homes.
He worries taxpayers will ultimately be left paying for supporting infrastructure as the project grows.
He said a better alternative would be “if they were to come with a proposal that is more spacious, not high-density.”
He also agreed with Duarte that the city must offer more job opportunities before thousands of new residents come to Palm Coast.
What do Palm Coast City Council candidates think about property taxes?
On the proposed amendment to the homestead exemption, Amaral said he doesn’t think the bill, as it stands, looks good for Palm Coast.
He argued that state leaders have not adequately explained how municipalities will replace lost revenue and believes service reductions could eventually follow.
“I would personally gain from it, don’t get me wrong, because my taxes would go down. But am I going to end up paying more in the long run? Definitely,” Amaral said, emphasizing that every municipality has its own different needs.
“If you say it fast, yeah, sounds great. I’m going to pay less taxes. Let’s get this done. But when you need the details and there doesn’t seem to be very clear answers, that concerns me,” he added.
Duarte said that if the exemption passes and the city sees a reduction in property tax revenue, she says her salary of city councilmember will be the first expense on her list of cuts.
“I’m a grown up. I’m retired. I should be coming in with something to offer, not going in expecting something to take,” she said.
She also said there would be the need to scrutinize spending on administrative positions, consultant contracts, compensation expenses and more.
With rising living costs, Duarte says the city should be more worried about spending public money more “responsibly” and “transparently.”
Hengy said he is in favor of the proposed amendment, saying Palm Coast and other local governments have engaged in “rampant overspending.”
He said any revenue reductions would be “a double-edged sword” and require local officials to “tighten the belt.” He said the city should review payroll and administrative costs before considering cuts to core public services.
The amendment, he argued, would provide greater protections for homeowners.
“It takes your home off the table as far as a lien being put on or your deed being sold because of unpaid property taxes.”
For information about the candidates, visit flaglerelections.gov.
— Brenno Carillo is a local government reporter covering Flagler County, including Palm Coast and Flagler Beach, for The Daytona Beach News-Journal.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Palm Coast City Council candidates talk growth, infrastructure, more
Reporting by Brenno Carillo, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
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By Brenno Carillo, Daytona Beach News-Journal | USA TODAY Network
