[0:00] Our city manager is out sick, so our prayers are with her. Um,

[0:03] but we do have assistant city manager Claire Whitley, assistant city manager Shawn Finley,

[0:09] uh, city attorney Randy Hayes, and to my far left and your far right, we have our great chiefs, uh,

[0:15] Jesse Godfrey, Fire Chief Howard Bailey, and I am Mayor Jason Leslie. Thank you all

[0:23] for being here tonight. At this time, I'd like to call up Pastor George Ward

[0:30] uh to come up for the uh invocation followed by the pledge of allegiance.

[0:41] Shall we pray? Our heavenly father and our God, we're both thankful and grateful for

[0:48] your benevolence, your love, your grace, your protection, and your provision for each of us.

[0:55] We stop to thank you for life, for family, for love, and for community. We thank you

[1:02] for the opportunities and the mandate that you've given our Ormond Beach city

[1:07] commissioners and how you have called them to build community of integrity, trust, and love.

[1:15] We ask your blessings on our city officials who have been called to lead the community in which we

[1:22] leave, live, and to interact, to work, to serve, and play. Thank you, God, for our honorable mayor,

[1:30] Jason Leslie. For our city commissioner, zone one, Lori Tolland, zone two, Travis Sargent,

[1:37] zone three, Kristin Deaton, and zone four, Harold Briley. Thank you for our city manager

[1:44] Joyce Shanahan and the assistant Shawn Finley and Claire Whitley. We bless our police chief Robert,

[1:53] affectionately called Jesse Godfrey and our city attorney Randy Hayes. We pray for each staff team

[2:01] member official department and the boards that serve our community. We ask for your wisdom, your

[2:08] direction, your guidance as they strategically labor to build a better, a greater, and a stronger

[2:15] Ormond Beach. We pray for understanding and clarity as resolutions and as proclamations

[2:23] are presented on tonight. Thank you, oh God, for this beautiful weather in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen.

[2:34] I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which

[2:40] it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you.

[2:48] You all be seated. Pastor George, thank you for coming out. It was good seeing you.

[3:05] Okay, we're going to move on to presentations and proclamation section of the agenda. Today

[3:10] we have one proclamation and I'd like to call up Sergeant Ray Llanes.

[3:27] Sergeant, it's good to see you, too. First, we thank you for being here. Thank you for everything

[3:33] you do. Before I present this proclamation, don't worry, I'm not contagious. Uh, if before

[3:37] I present this proclamation, is there anything you'd like to say? No, just thank you for the

[3:41] opportunity to attend this course. It's a it was a wonderful course and it just helped me, you know,

[3:47] understand how to do my job just a little bit better and serve this community. And thank you.

[3:52] Thank you. So, at this time, I'll have you hold up the the plaque here and I'll read

[3:58] the proclamation. Like I said, excuse me everyone for my voice tonight. Um, I'm not contagious, just

[4:04] something that the doctor couldn't figure out. Uh whereas Sergeant Ramon uh Llanes, I'm sorry, I'm

[4:16] trying to get my thing here, began his career with the Ormond Beach Police Department on May 1st,

[4:21] 2017. And whereas Sergeant uh Yiannis recently graduated from the University of Louisville

[4:28] Southern Police Institute's 102nd Command Officer Development Course held in Orlando, Florida.

[4:34] This five-month intensive program compromising of two weeks intervals focuses on the development of

[4:40] leadership and professional skills. And whereas Sergeant Llanes brings a wealth of experience from

[4:47] his 22-year tenure with the Miami-Dade Police Department, his background includes roles as

[4:54] police officer, crime suppression, auto theft task force, economic crimes, and special victims unit,

[5:02] corporal and sergeant. And whereas being the supervisor of the criminal investigations unit,

[5:08] Sergeant Llanes leads his team with pride and dedication, he also serves as the vice president

[5:14] for the police collective bargaining unit. And whereas Sergeant Llanes has demonstrated his

[5:21] dedication to the law enforcement profession, being away from home and family to enhance his

[5:26] knowledge, skills, and abilities, his exceptional work ethic and unwavering commitment to duty make

[5:32] him an accomplished and valuable member of the police department, city, and community.

[5:38] Now therefore, I, Jason Leslie, mayor of the city of Ormond Beach, Florida,

[5:42] do hereby proclaim February 3rd, 2026 as a day to recognize Sergeant Ramon Llanes. Congratulations.

[6:10] Uh, okay. Yep. Bring everybody up. Oh, who's that? Oh, wow. Hello, wife.

[6:32] Hold

[6:36] on.

[6:52] Come on.

[7:15] Thank you.

[7:31] Thank you.

[7:44] Okay, great. We're going to move on here as soon as uh Captain Roos is doing doing his job here.

[7:52] doing good. A damn good job of it. You're doing good. We love you, Captain. Okay. At this time,

[7:57] we'll hear from those of you who have signed a card to speak about any item which is not on the

[8:02] printed agenda for this meeting or any items on the consent agenda. Each person be given a total

[8:07] of three minutes. As a reminder, please be sure to state your name and address and speak clearly into

[8:11] the microphone as it helps us uh do any kind of follow-ups that we might have to do with you later

[8:16] on. So, at this point we have uh we have Patricia Franzem. Patricia. Oh, there you are, Patricia.

[8:40] I hope my voice doesn't go out. I'm having problems. Oh boy. Okay. Good evening. My name

[8:46] is Patricia Franzem and I am representing the Bear Creek Village community located in Ormond Beach.

[8:54] I am submitting for public record a petition that has been signed by 190 Bear Creek residents. This

[9:01] petition is in regards to the Riverbend Golf Course located on Airport Road. We would like

[9:07] this beautiful piece of property to become usable outdoor space. Please know I do not claim to be an

[9:15] architect or financial planner. I understand that's your job. But what I am is a person

[9:21] who loves and appreciates the outdoors. Ormond Beach has the amazing ocean for all to enjoy.

[9:29] We have parks and we have playgrounds. However, when we go to these places, we are just about

[9:35] always surrounded by the noise of traffic. We have plenty of stores, medical buildings,

[9:41] and apartment complexes. A great deal of time and money has been put into new roads and sidewalks

[9:47] along A1A. We live in a time where many talk about the importance of protecting the environment and

[9:54] concerns about children not spending enough time outdoors and away from screens and how

[10:00] many seniors become depressed by sitting indoors watching TV. You have an opportunity to turn

[10:07] Riverbend into a place where young and old alike can enjoy being outdoors. You have the opportunity

[10:15] to really help the people of Ormond Beach. Isn't that why you were elected to this commission to

[10:22] serve and help the residents of Ormond Beach? Take a look at the land and try to see walking trails,

[10:33] picnic areas, a small restaurant, maybe a 9-hole golf course. Riverbend is off of Airport Road, but

[10:42] the property is tucked away from the street noise. This area of Ormond Beach needs and wants outdoor

[10:50] recreational space. Why not take this opportunity and give the residents of Orman Beach something

[10:57] that would be used and greatly appreciated. Thank you very much for your time. Thank you, Patricia.

[11:08] Next up, we have Debbie Forrester. Debbie, there you are in that really cool looking uniform.

[11:19] Debbie Kruk Forrester, Ormond Beach, founder and commander of Ormond Strong, a nonprofit benefiting

[11:25] military veterans, first responders, many are both, and um their families and patriots within

[11:31] the community. Um you know our history. We started a vigil morning bridgewalk over the Grand Bridge

[11:36] in 2015 when my husband and 200 others from the first of 265th ADA deployed for a one-year mission

[11:43] to Afghanistan. March uh 2016 all returned home safe. We had over a thousand people at the Daytona

[11:50] Beach airport. Welcome them home. We continue to walk every day raising awareness and support

[11:55] for all who have served our great country and communities. With that said, and this being the

[12:00] semi quincentennial, a historic m milestone in our country, Ormond Strong Bridgewalks are celebrating

[12:08] our nation's 205th birthday, raising awareness and support for all who sacrificed their time. their

[12:14] strength, their ambition, their health, and their lives on this earth over the past 250 years so

[12:21] that we can enjoy the freedoms we have today. Why am I wearing the uniform, you ask? No, Long John

[12:26] Silvers is not my side hustle. I'm wearing it to honor a great patriot, uh, the only female patriot

[12:34] that served hands-on the Revolutionary War, Deborah Sampson. Um, she's from Massachusetts. She

[12:40] disguised herself as a um man by cutting her hair um bounding her bosoms. Can I say that here? Yeah,

[12:48] I guess so. And um she took she started in uh 1782. She uh as a war raged on, she disguised

[12:58] herself as Robert Shortlift and joined the fourth Massachusetts re regiment. Um, she then went on to

[13:06] serve in the Continental Army under uh, General George Washington. She took uh, two musket balls

[13:12] in the left thigh for America. Uh, she didn't want to have her gender um, they didn't she didn't want

[13:21] anybody to know she was a female. So, she took her pocket knife, took the uh, one musket ball out and

[13:27] sewed herself back up. But, um, after that, yes. And I'll do it any day for America. Uh yeah, but

[13:36] then uh when she was serving in Pennsylvania, a fever broke out and the gig was up. So that's why

[13:42] I'm wearing the uniform. But it was Paul Revere that got her her full uh honorable discharge and

[13:49] her pension. So um I'm here to let you know any stories like this you want to hear. Uh we have the

[13:56] veterans museum that our group Ormond Strong paid the first 20 years rent for the that it started

[14:02] over there that um be between those doors. I don't know if you know the history of it, the Veterans

[14:08] Museum, but it moved on to um Daytona Beach and um we make sure it continues. We ask you to come

[14:16] out and support the Veterans Museum dur during this historic time. Thank you. Ormond Strong Out.

[14:29] So, our mayor had to excuse himself for a moment. He asked me if I would

[14:33] continue with the cards. Is that okay? Okay. So, the next up is Derek Weider.

[14:47] May I have help here? Is that okay?

[14:52] Should we move on? You're the chair. It's up to you. I'm I'm sorry. You You're the chairperson,

[14:59] so it's up to That would be fine. I'll put you to the end of the pile and we'll

[15:03] we'll move on to the next person. Um next up is Suzanne Scheiber.

[15:19] Good evening, Commission. if you could just tell the mayor what I said later maybe in

[15:24] closing comments. Um Suzanne Scheiber dream green Volusia there's been discussion at the Volusia

[15:30] County Council meetings about Volusia forever specifically concerning perpetuity and why we

[15:35] have partners. In the year 2020 an impressive 75.6% of voters express strong support for the

[15:41] land conservation program, a percentage that exceeds the approval ratings of any current

[15:47] county council elected official and likely any of those in the past or in the future. In 2000,

[15:54] the initiative rate received 61.6% which is was still very high back then. With percentages this

[16:01] high, a reasonable assumption would be that many of the people in the chamber tonight voted to

[16:06] tax themselves in support of land conservation. The title Volusia forever suggests it represents

[16:12] forever or permanent. It is a good time to note that it is a willing seller program providing land

[16:18] owners with options. There is a 25-year precedent in Volusia County of never selling land acquired

[16:25] through the program, coupled with a proven track record of establishing strong partnerships, always

[16:31] with county attorneys participating in these discussions. The benefits of land conservation are

[16:38] many. Improved water quality, flood prevention, biodiversity, recreational opportunities, cultural

[16:44] preservation, agriculture, and even more. Volusia County has been a leader in land conservation, as

[16:51] I said, for 25 years. Tonight, we're requesting a consensus letter to be sent to the Volusia County

[16:59] Council supporting perpetuity and partnerships for the Volusia Forever program. The city has been a

[17:05] partner in this program, so it should be easy to reinstate your support. Thank you for your

[17:10] time. Thank you, Suzanne. Could I say something real quick? Deputy mayor, can I speak real quick?

[17:17] Sure. Do we want to speak about what she just um We can either do that now or we could wait till

[17:23] the end of the meeting. Um what would you like to do? I mean, if we're in consensus, I mean,

[17:28] I wouldn't mind giving a letter of support for volusia forever if anybody else is on board with

[17:32] that. Everybody else agreed that that's something you want to do. I'm good with that as well.

[17:44] My thing's not working. I agree as well. So, can we direct staff to write a letter

[17:50] um in support of Volusia Forever and Echo and its partners? Correct. And its partners. Yes. Yes. Um

[18:00] on behalf of the commission and would you like that to come back to you or we can just send you

[18:03] a copy? You can just send it then. Okay. Great. Oh, I should be able to direct that to you. Sorry.

[18:07] Is everybody okay with staff to just send it or do we need to see it? I'm fine with staff sending it.

[18:12] I don't need to see it. Great. Thank you. Thank you so much, Claire. appreciate that and thank you

[18:18] Suzanne for bringing that to our attention. All right, next up will be David Randall.

[18:33] Good evening. My name is David Randall. I live at 99 Chrysanthemum here in Ormond

[18:38] Beach. I'm also a captain with the Ormond Beach Fire Department and

[18:41] I'm president of the Ormond Beach Professionals Firefighters Union.

[18:45] This city is my life. The men and women I serve with and the community that I serve are my life.

[18:51] Um, I say this because I want you to understand how seriously I take my responsibilities as both

[18:57] union president and a captain with the Ormond beach fire department, which I know you all do.

[19:02] Um, I stand here tonight asking for your support in passing our collective bargaining agreement.

[19:08] The proposed contract before you represents many years of hard work, lots of hours in negotiations.

[19:15] Um, I'd like to thank Claire Whitley and Samantha Potts for all their uh, patience and hard work

[19:22] throughout the negotiation process. I'd also like to thank you, the commission, um, for working with

[19:28] us and willingness to meet and listen to what we have and what's important to our members. I ask

[19:34] that you pass the contract tonight as proposed and I hope you have a great night. Thank you.

[19:45] Thank you, Mr. Randall. And next up is Marsha Blew.

[19:58] You'll be happy to know I have a very short one. Just a couple of questions. Marsha Blew, Ormond

[20:03] Beach. Good evening, commissioners and mayor. The following is in reference to Ormond Beach

[20:09] Municipal Airport. Um, if the runway extension happens, will the airport design group runway

[20:18] remain a B2? Will the larger jets be flying in and out a QDO/OMN that are larger than a B2? Below is

[20:28] my email address for someone to please send me the answers. Thank you for your time and good night.

[20:37] Thank you very much. And we have one last card, one last card. It's Derek Weader. Are

[20:43] we moving on to that now or are we waiting for the mayor to return? Returning. Um,

[20:51] Madam Chair, so we allocate 30 minutes for audience remarks. Uh and then you proceed to

[20:58] um the items of business. So if meter Mr. Weader would like to speak now, that's fine. If not,

[21:04] then we just close it out and go to city business. All right. Mr. Weader, would you like to speak?

[21:26] Derek Weader, Ormond Beach. Good evening, Mr. Mayor, commissioners, and city manager.

[21:33] My name is Derek. I'm here tonight because I believe deeply in transparency, accountability,

[21:38] and the constitutional rights of every resident in the city. I'm speaking publicly because private

[21:43] avenues have failed and because recent actions by the mayor and individuals closely associated with

[21:48] him have crossed serious legal and ethical lines. I want to be very clear. I don't seek conflict. I

[21:54] seek accountability. Over the past several months, I've been subjected to repeated harassment,

[22:00] intimidation, and retaliation after exercising my First Amendment right to speak out on matters

[22:05] of public concern. That alone is troubling. What is more troubling is that these actions appear to

[22:10] involve misuse of authority and coordination with private individuals. Specifically,

[22:15] I'm putting the city on notice tonight of the following concerns. First, the unlawful

[22:21] disclosure of my private medical information to third parties. Medical information is protected.

[22:26] It is not political amu am ammunition. It is not gossip. The mayor disseminating it without consent

[22:32] is only not only unethical, but it constitutes violation of state and federal law. Second,

[22:38] the monitoring and recording of private phone calls without consent by the mayor and family

[22:44] members to be used to intimidate and threaten to use in family proceedings. Florida is a two-party

[22:52] consent state. Recording a call without all parties knowledge and agreement is illegal.

[22:57] No elected official and no family member of an elected official is above that law. Third,

[23:03] retaliation and harassment directed not just at me but at my family. after I exercise protected

[23:08] speech. That is unacceptable in a free society and it has a chilling effect on every resident who may

[23:14] want to speak out here tonight. Let me be clear. Public office does not grant immunity. Power does

[23:20] not excuse misconduct and criticis criticism of government is not harassment. It's democracy.

[23:27] I'm asking this commission to take these concerns seriously to ensure that no city resources,

[23:32] authority or influence are being used to intimidate citizens and to reaffirm that this city

[23:38] respects the constitution is sworn to uphold. I am documenting this record. I am preserving my rights

[23:43] and I'm asking for accountability, not special treatment. Thank you for your time. All right.

[23:53] All right. So that ends the comments and I don't have the agenda in front

[23:58] of me. I'll have to move to the middle seat.

[24:17] I have my agenda right here. Right here. Get in here, darling. There is an annotated agenda.

[24:35] All right, guys. You don't get me in the middle

[24:37] seat. Looks like our mayor's back for a couple of months.

[24:55] Where we at here?

[25:01] I'm sorry. Uh, where are we at? Where are we at? We just finished public comments. Okay. So,

[25:07] we're on the consent. We didn't We didn't vote on the consent yet. We're just at number six. Number

[25:12] six. Okay. Okay. So, the approval of the minutes. Okay. Give me a second here. Um, okay. The minutes

[25:21] for the January 20, 2026 city commission meeting have been sent to the commission for review and

[25:25] posted to the city's website. Does anyone have any corrections or changes at this time? Move

[25:29] approval. Second. Second. Second. Okay. Any other discussion? Seeing none, all those in

[25:34] favor by saying I. I. I. Okay. The eyes have it. Uh, minutes approved. I move on to consent. Um,

[25:42] items on the consent agenda are deemed routine and non-controversial. The action proposed is stated

[25:48] for each item. Unless the city commission removes an item from the consent agenda,

[25:52] no discussion on individual items will occur and a single motion will approve all items.

[25:56] Does any member of the commission wish to pull anything from the consent agenda at this time?

[26:01] I move to um move consent agenda item 7G as in go. Okay. So, is there any other ones?

[26:12] Move approval absent 7G. Second. Okay. Uh, any discussion? No. Seeing none. Okay. City clerk,

[26:19] please call the vote. Commissioner Tolland, yes. Commissioner. Sargent. Oh, it's minus G. May.

[26:26] Yes. Yes. Commissioner Deaton? Yes. Commissioner Briley? Yes. Mayor Leslie? Yes. Uh, city clerk,

[26:38] could you please read 7G? disposition item titled RFP employee benefits broker of record services.

[26:48] Okay. Is there a motion for approval? Move approval. Harold. Second. Okay.

[26:56] Discussion. So I removed um G because uh potentially could have a son that

[27:03] will be bidding on the RFPs being sent out. Okay. Uh, Commissioner Sargent,

[27:12] wait. And I and I I'm sorry. And I filed form FB 8B. Okay. With um our city clerk, Commissioner

[27:23] Sargent. Thank you. I work for uh an agency that could participate in the bid. Therefore,

[27:30] I will be removing myself from sending this out to bid and I have my form 8B to give to the city

[27:36] clerk. Thank you. Okay. Easy enough. Any other discussion from the commissioners? Seeing none,

[27:42] we have a motion and second on the floor. City clerk, please call the vote. Commissioner Sargent,

[27:49] abstain. Commissioner Deaton, yes. Commissioner Briley, yes. Commissioner Tolland, abstain. Mayor

[27:57] Leslie, yes. Do any of the commissioners wish to comment any of the consent agenda item items

[28:02] at this time? No. Okay, we're going to move on then. Okay. Uh, I will now open the public

[28:10] hearings. City clerk, please read the legal title 8A, Ordinance number 2026-01. Ordinance number

[28:17] 2026-01, an ordinance authorizing the execution and issuance of a development order for a planned

[28:24] business development to be located at 890 North US Highway 1 to be known as the Tomoka Commerce Park,

[28:32] authorizing the development of the property for a mixture of commercial, warehouse,

[28:37] and light industrial uses, establishing conditions and expirations of approval, and setting forth an

[28:42] effective date. This is the second reading of ordinance number 2026-01 read by title only.

[28:49] Move approval. Second. Okay. Um, do we need to Steven Spraker to come up and discuss about

[28:56] the item again? No. Okay. I do have two cards here for public comments. So, I will call out

[29:02] those speakers right now. Uh, we have uh Patrick Opalewski and on deck is Jim Cameron. Jim. Okay.

[29:11] Uh Patrick O Patrick Opalewski, 647 North Beach Street. Uh Mr. Mayor, city commissioners,

[29:19] I'm here to speak in support of the project. Um the small bay industrial product again is

[29:26] u you know is something that we need here. It's in demand. Uh not a lot of availability of it.

[29:32] Uh this is a great project and exciting from an economic development standpoint.

[29:36] um you know, entrepreneurs will start small businesses and and these kind of

[29:42] projects and they'll grow into um um employers right here in the city and

[29:49] um you provide opportunity for long-term jobs. Uh I speak in support of the project. I respectfully

[29:56] ask for your support of the project. Thank you very much. Thank you, Patrick. Jim Cameron.

[30:07] Good evening. I'm Jim Cameron, Jim Cameron Consulting, 39 Laurel Oak Circle here in

[30:13] Ormond. But uh pretty much to reiterate what I'd said at your previous commission meeting though

[30:19] about this project. It's going to be a quality project with quality type of businesses here,

[30:25] retail and professional though. And that said, it's it's something that I again I've worked

[30:34] quite a bit and I've seen their work at Parker Mynchenberg and Associates and they've gone over

[30:42] this area there quite a bit though and I think you're going to have like I say something that's

[30:46] a high and dry type of project but more so again uh been following Tallahassee and I talking with

[30:55] them today and those bills are moving up there as it relates to property tax relief

[31:02] for homesteads for homesteads. And that's going to affect y'all here at the city level because

[31:08] you take out that homestead property or if you lower it somehow, you're going to have that much

[31:13] more of a need for nonhomesteaded commercial type business projects though like this is. So again,

[31:21] I support the project, Mr. Mayor. Thank Thank you, Jim. Uh, Commissioner Briley,

[31:28] it's my apologies. I would like to hear Mr. Spraker's uh uh Sure. Let's do it. I'd like

[31:32] to hear from Mr. Spraker on this. I'd like to hear his presentation. Yeah, that's right. I was not at

[31:36] the last meeting. That's right. You should have said something. I forgot about that. You know,

[31:38] I'm not 100% tonight. So, you know, give me a little break there. Steven, how are you? I'm doing

[31:43] great. Good evening. Steven Spraker, planning director with city. So, the property is located

[31:47] 890 uh North US Highway 1 shown on the screen. It's about US Highway 1 and the railroad tracks.

[31:56] The project has a uh general commercial land use and a planned business development zoning. There

[32:03] were two previous approvals uh both of which expired. The 2007 approval was known as a root

[32:08] commerce park. Similar site design as what is being presented tonight. Um although the

[32:14] industrial in the back is a little bit different with the site design today. The project um has an

[32:20] expired development order. There are two choices. is either to go back to the B8 zoning district

[32:24] which would allow the permitted and conditional uses or to seek the plan business development

[32:28] amendment which is before you tonight. There is a separate preliminary plat preliminary plat are

[32:34] now approved by the site plan review committee based on state law. Um there are four proposed

[32:39] lots. Lots one and two for commercial. Lots three and four would be for warehouse light industrial

[32:44] uses. This is the site plan that was included in your packet. Uh the total project is 12.48 acres.

[32:51] There is a wetland on the southeast corner that is being preserved. The project has their St.

[32:56] John's River Water Management District permit and they are exceeding their natural preservation at

[33:00] 20% where the land development code requires 15%. There are a total of 11 buildings totaling 110,000

[33:08] square ft. Lots one and two are just over 9,800 ft. Those are commercial along the front edge

[33:13] of US1. Lots three and four are on the rear site and those are intended to be a warehouse inside

[33:20] RV boat storage and light industrial uses. The uh development order that's included in your packet

[33:27] has a list of uses. Lots one and two are shown on my left. Those are commercial uses. Lots three

[33:33] and four are shown on uh my right. Um so if it's not on that list, it's not allowed in that that

[33:40] development. The project has been reviewed by the Florida Department of Transportation. There was a

[33:46] traffic impact analysis. There are improvements that are required on US Highway 1. The center

[33:51] drive aisle would be the entrance into the project. The drive aisle on the north would be the

[33:56] exit. Um there are three a total of three wetlands on the property. Uh wetland A is being preserved.

[34:03] It's just over 1.2 acres. wetlands B and C which are uh each less than half an acre are being

[34:10] impacted and incorporated into the storm water system. The project um has two flood zones. Flood

[34:17] zone A is basically where the wetlands are. The rest of the site is in zone X which is not in the

[34:22] special flood hazard area. The two deviations that are being sought through the project are four uh

[34:28] foundation plantings along where the warehouses bu buildings are. those are being uh replanted within

[34:34] the site. And then to delete the interior drive um interior lot buffers where the drive aisle exist

[34:41] and that is a a deviation that's been approved on previous projects. There is one historic tree that

[34:47] is being uh proposed to to be removed. There is an analysis from uh Mr. Don Spence who uh basically

[34:54] said the tree is in in decline is tree number five on that site plan. There are three uh trees,

[35:01] three historic oaks that are being preserved on the project. Property has gone through uh

[35:07] through site plan. There was neighborhood meeting site plan review committee determination. It was

[35:11] recommended for approval by planning board. On the first meeting commission, there was a

[35:15] recommendation for approval. Tonight is the final reading before the commission. The planning board

[35:20] did recommend approval of the project including u the uses the deviations subject to the resolution

[35:27] of all outstanding SPRC comments. Commissioner Briley, you have any questions? Yes, sir. Um

[35:33] Steven, the TIA, I I don't think the uses that are proposed here are super intensive. So, I guess

[35:42] my question is the TI didn't show that they were going to have to um install any like a right turn

[35:50] lane on US1 for for southbound for the project. They are doing a deceleration and they're doing

[35:57] a uh birectional median. So, they knew about the bidirectional median. So, th those are the limits.

[36:03] Um they may have a final proportionate fair share contribution that they required to meet. Um, but

[36:09] those are the improvements that were required as part of the traffic study. Thank you. Absolutely.

[36:15] Anyone have any other questions for Steven? No. Thank you, Steven. Um, do you want the applicant

[36:21] to come up and speak because we had the applicant last night? Is the applicant here? Oh, yes.

[36:25] Okay. Good evening. Steve Buzzwell with Parker Mynchenberg and Associates. Uh, again, thank you,

[36:32] Steven, for the report. Um, really just here to answer any questions you have. Any questions for

[36:38] the applicant? No. Thank you for being here. Appreciate it. Thank you. Okay, we have a a

[36:43] motion. We have a second for approval. Uh any discussion you guys like to uh go around and talk

[36:49] about? Commissioner Sargent? Yes. I spoke with a resident today and she was unable to attend and

[36:55] asked if I would read her email that she sent to I believe everyone received it from a Robin Magleora

[37:04] and I I just told her I would read it. So, please bear with me. Commissioner Sargent, I apologize

[37:09] for sending screenshots attached, but it is uh a lot of information. Please accept this as a formal

[37:17] and for the record request to table the second vote for this project to a for a future date

[37:24] for reasons stated in the information. It is my opinion and with all due respect to Mr. Vanacore,

[37:30] that more research is needed to prove the need for this facility. Please confirm receipt of this

[37:36] email in regards Robin Magleora which I forwarded this email and I'll read the the screenshots but

[37:46] I did forward this to the city clerk to include in the record. It just says first reading passed

[37:51] the city commission meeting on 1 20 2026. The vote was 4-0 with commissioner Bradley absent.

[37:57] The second final reading for this bill will be on 23 2026 at commission meeting 700 p.m. 23

[38:06] Tuesday 22 South Beach Street. One of the reasons stated by the commission for approval was lack of

[38:12] public opposition to the build. They stated that they did not receive emails, phone calls to of

[38:18] opposition. Some did not see the social media post and comments. Commissioner Sargent question. Where

[38:25] is the proof that Ormond Beach does not need more storage units built? Storage unit information. At

[38:32] 65 to 75% occupancy, a facility will break even, covering operating expenses and debits services.

[38:40] To be profitable, they must be must have 85% to 95% occupancy. They will raise rates on

[38:48] current units rented to make up for the loss of occupancy. A well-maintained facility will run

[38:55] a 90% occupancy with profit margins ranging from 30 to 40%. Ormond Beach storage unit information.

[39:05] I contacted, now mind you, this is from the resident, not me myself. I contacted the storage

[39:12] units in Ormond Beach to get their statistics for occupancy. I was unable to get information

[39:17] from Mr. Vanacore's builds. I was advised that they could not give me that information. I was

[39:23] given a corporate phone number to contact. I left a voicemail for a call back and never received one

[39:28] to date. Further attempts to call sent me to an automated phone system. The system disconnected

[39:34] when I chose an option. The facility that I contacted are running at 40 to 85% occupancy. Most

[39:44] are are below 80% with two possibly running at 80 to 81% and one at 75 to 85%. Small local boat/RV

[39:54] storage facilities that had 90 to 100% occupancy at one time are running within approximately 40%

[40:03] occup occupancy. The same for small local storage facilities. Um, and I think I'll I'll leave it for

[40:11] there. And this resident asked if um at the end of it just said I am going to request that the

[40:19] commission table this vote to a future date. This will allow the commissioners to do their homework

[40:27] to regarding the need for their facilities. Um so that is the end that I will read. Um, I don't know

[40:38] if any commissioners need to table this to do more homework, but I asked and I read the email and I

[40:49] will say that since we've been here, I received two emails. It looks like one that is in strong

[40:57] support, another one that is not for that is opposing it. Um, and with that, I'll hold my

[41:05] comments. I'll let others speak and then I'll come back. Mr. Mayor, sure. Commissioner Deaton, can I

[41:12] ask a question of the applicant? Oh, sorry. After hearing that email. Yeah. Is this going to be a

[41:20] traditional storage facility? As my I understand it, it's uh you know, we're doing the use and it's

[41:27] going to be it has the opportunity to be offices with a warehouse um component to it where small

[41:33] businesses can use it. um they're going to be um basically accessed um from both the north and the

[41:41] south portion of it. So to my knowledge, they're not the typical mini storage warehouse um that you

[41:49] get from other facilities. These are more of the outdoor business type. So this is different from

[41:54] his other storage facilities. Okay, that was my question. Thank you. Sure, Commissioner Briley.

[42:03] what you're talking about. I was just going to say you may want to stay up there for just a

[42:06] second. Sorry. I was looking that direction there. I because I do have a I just want a clarification

[42:11] too. I heard on the first reading that the and I just want you to confirm for me that the the

[42:17] frontage buildings will be more like stores and businesses and things like that that are along

[42:23] US1. Correct. There are commercial/retail and then and there's some um storage. The industrial

[42:30] portion is back railroad tracks in in the rear of the property. And that's to aimed at small

[42:36] businesses, right? To promote small businesses and so trucks and build um work vehicles would

[42:43] not be parked in your driveway. Correct. Those with logos and that may have issues

[42:48] with their homeowners association have a place to go where they can park their vehicles, store their

[42:54] um equipment and so forth. have a small office to manage their business. And I'm not sure if

[43:00] you all have ever received any emails, but I know I have received multiple complaints from residents

[43:06] um that have a neighbor that has their work truck or multiple work trucks in their driveway. So,

[43:12] I think this is good and that it anticipates or bringing those trucks into um a proper place. So,

[43:20] thank you. No more questions from me. Sure, Commissioner Briley. Thank you,

[43:25] Steven. I don't have anything for you. So, okay. Thank you. Any more questions for the

[43:29] applicants? This No, no more questions for the Okay, you can you can sit down. Thank you. Um

[43:34] I can tell you from my time when we served on when I when I served on the planning board,

[43:39] um we had um certain types of uses that most city residents wouldn't want on in town. So, they were

[43:52] they were delegated to the I1 zoning district. Um, however, if you had a a a parcel with

[44:05] acorage such as this one, it was actually allowed there. That type of that type of business. And

[44:15] knowing Mr. Vanacore him being here for a very long time most likely wouldn't

[44:24] do that but that type of development is allowed by right there are a lot

[44:28] of other developments that are allowed by right dollar stores

[44:33] um certain types of he has certain uses where he wouldn't even have to come to this commission and

[44:41] ask he wouldn't have to go to the planning board or the city commission and bill by right that's

[44:49] He could, if this was denied, I guess, sell the property to somebody else who

[44:56] could come in and maybe build something we don't want. So, knowing how he builds,

[45:06] I mean, the projects he's done, I'm not I'm comfortable with this project. I'm not sure what

[45:17] there's other there's other things out there that I would not be comfortable with. I'll just

[45:21] I'll leave it at that. Thank you. Yeah. And you know what? I'm just going to jump in here for a

[45:25] second because I saw some stuff, you know, I being under the weather, I'd spend a little

[45:29] more time online than I like to, you know, cuz not much to do when you're sick. Um, you know,

[45:35] that you're right, Commissioner Briley. You know, we the applicant right now he is I think it's B8

[45:41] zoning if I'm correct. B8 Steven and under B8 he can build you know all kinds of different things

[45:46] right he could build maybe a 30 40 50,000 foot building right freestanding building and put

[45:51] something there and you know he can do that right now he just has to go to site review committee oh

[45:56] sorry right site review committee non-commission approval needed is that correct Steven you know

[46:01] Steven actually you know what if you can come up here you can just kind of you know uh acknowledge

[46:06] what I'm saying here so this way we're on the same page so um the applicant can you know,

[46:12] at the current zoning the way it is under B8 can go and just apply for give site go to state review

[46:19] committee if you want to build a freestanding building for whatever the type of uses that are

[46:22] on that B8 zoning and you know it will not come to the commission here. Correct. Correct. They

[46:28] would have to do a zoning map amendment back to the B8 but once they're there then it is a

[46:33] staff approval for the uses in the B8 zoning district. The permitted and the conditional

[46:38] uses and then on the screen there shows it right there. Okay, those are some of the uses,

[46:41] correct? Nursing home, retail sales and services, clubs and fraternal organization,

[46:47] right? Things like that. I'm reading on the uh on the C permitted uses side now. I mean,

[46:52] and what could happen is that and I, you know, I I do real estate transactions and I, you know,

[46:56] I've been around this game a little bit. You know, that could eventually become a empty property,

[47:00] right? Somebody could move in there, things might not work out, and now you got empty property,

[47:04] right? And it could become blighted at some point. You have a lot of different uses that are going

[47:09] to be in this new uh zone change, right? You'll have commercial space in the front which could be

[47:14] a restaurant, a nail salon, hair salons, things like that, right? And then the rear part of the

[47:19] property if it's called the rear part there is we'll have warehouse units which are not really

[47:25] storage units. I don't know why they're called storage units. I mean I I know a little bit about

[47:29] these things. So I was trying to buy one and that was you know an obstacle but they're also business

[47:33] opportunities for people too. You know, people might, you know, somebody might want to, you know,

[47:37] be working out of their garage or it could be working out of a warehouse, a storage unit,

[47:41] you know, and they have supplies in the storage unit. They got a little full and now it's like,

[47:46] you know what, I got to step up my game. I got to go to a bigger space, right? And this is the

[47:50] space they're going to have. And it's also going to have an office inside those spaces, too, right,

[47:54] Steven? Yes, sir. Um, so you'll have an office as well. So, think about your your plumbers,

[47:58] your contractors, um, you know, people that services that we rely on, just so you all know,

[48:03] right? I mean how many times we call somebody for services and we call 10 people and five maybe

[48:08] call you back and three show up and maybe one will give you the actual job right so these are

[48:13] services that will be provided along with business opportunities so I and then you think about the

[48:18] tax roles too right we heavily rely on property tax right forget about the the whole property tax

[48:23] elimination thing right we rely on on property taxes I talked to mayors all across the state on

[48:29] different you know types of gatherings that we do and I've had mayors come up to me saying that, you

[48:33] know, we have a high millage rate. How do we get the millage rate down and they live in and they

[48:37] and their communities don't have any commercial business space at all and that's why their millage

[48:42] rate is high because every most of the people most of the residents are homesteaded. Their

[48:45] property values are a little lower and that's going to that's going to be have a reflection

[48:48] on what your property tax rate is. This type of thing right here is good because that's what

[48:52] keeps our millage rate low and that's why we have the second lowest millage rate in the county. So,

[48:56] you know, think about that for a second, right? You're going to have services coming out of this

[49:00] location. you're going to keep your taxes low and you're going to provide business opportunities for

[49:04] people too which also might include u you know job openings for for individuals as well. So I

[49:09] I you know I can understand the the frustration with some of the residents here on this whole

[49:13] thing but at the end of the day we could have a freestanding building that might not offer as much

[49:18] services might only be one service you know I mean for all you know I don't know what it could be

[49:22] could be one service not that much staff and not as much property taxes either collected because

[49:26] the property taxes are going to be assessed on what the value of the building is. Each one of

[49:30] those warehouse units I was told are going to be sold at $300,000 each. So if they're sold at

[49:34] $300,000 each, the assessed value is going to be 300,000 and that's going to be the tax rate on it.

[49:38] And there's no there's no homestead because these things don't get homesteaded. So I think that,

[49:42] you know, overall I think it's a good project. I think it'll be good for the for the area. The

[49:46] the the applicant went through above and beyond everything that you were supposed to do to make

[49:50] sure that there wasn't going to be any flooding and things like that. So I mean at this point it's

[49:54] like, you know, it's hard to say no, especially when they can build something else. So that's

[49:58] my that's my comments for that. Anybody else want anything else? Okay. Commissioner Sargent,

[50:07] I don't need Oh, Steven. No, no question for Steven. I'm sorry. Thank you, Steven. Standing

[50:11] there. There's just a few things I'd like to address, and I appreciate this resident taking

[50:17] the time to make the phone calls or the trips to get this information, but I think we're comparing

[50:22] apples with oranges because these are not storage facilities. And you know when you look at you know

[50:29] we hear Ormond doesn't need more storage units. Okay. If you go down Granada how many storage

[50:38] buildings do you see that are vacant? They're not up for sale. They're I I don't know they're

[50:46] you know I believe these um occupancy rates but they're not out of sale or out of business. When

[50:53] you go down Granada, you see several restaurants that have closed. Um, so once again, these are not

[51:02] storage facilities. They're light industrial buildings for small business owners. And

[51:14] I believe competition is good with these. And maybe the other places need to lower

[51:18] their rates for our residents instead of increasing the rates. Maybe they'll get more

[51:24] people and their occupancy rate will go up instead of increasing the rates. Just a business thought.

[51:31] Um, and I know that it came up that I think a during our last meeting that it was talked

[51:38] about a strip club going in there and I saw that online somewhere and I don't remember anyone up

[51:45] here referencing a strip club or a gentleman's club. I believe what was referenced was a and

[51:53] can you go back one slide please? I believe thank you right there. I believe it was number 14 or 13

[52:02] I'm sorry a sexual sexually orientated business is what was referenced not a strip club. So when

[52:09] we talk in facts and make decisions I think it's important to do it in facts and it's not a storage

[52:15] facility. It wasn't a strip club being forced. It was light industrial with retail upfront and

[52:26] a sexually orientated business is what one that was a potential. So, I just think it's

[52:32] important to do facts and I I think this is going to be a great project for uh this area

[52:37] as the US 1 95 interchange gets redone and the empty lots start getting developed. You know,

[52:50] no one's going to develop, let's just think about this, no one's going to develop those lots right

[52:53] now until that's interchange is done and then they can bring businesses in there and that will

[53:00] be our gateway to our community, not the storage facilities that everyone's saying we don't need

[53:06] this storage facility as our gateway. Well, that's once again, let's talk about facts. With that,

[53:14] I'm done. Thank you. Okay. With that said, you actually um what you read there about the

[53:20] resident wanted to table this. Is there any any energy here to table this thing? No. No.

[53:24] Seeing none. Okay. Any other discussion? No. Okay. Well, we have a motion on the floor for

[53:31] approval and we have a second. I don't believe you have a motion. Oh, we don't. I thought we

[53:34] had a motion for move approval. Okay. Second. We already have one. Oh, did we? Yeah. Second. No,

[53:42] I'm not. Sargent and Tolland. I'm sorry. My Okay. All right. With that said, we just verify

[53:48] we have the motion in a second. Uh, city clerk, please call the vote. Commissioner Deaton, yes.

[53:52] Commissioner Briley, yes. Commissioner Tolland, yes. Commissioner Sargent, yes. Mayor Leslie, yes.

[54:03] Okay. Well, city clerk, please read the legal title 8B, ordinance number 2026-02.

[54:13] Ordinance number 2026-02, an ordinance amending chapter 2, District and General Regulations,

[54:20] article 2, District Regulation Section 2-39, affordable housing of the Ormond Beach Land

[54:27] Development Code to update the section based on Senate Bill 17:30 for expanded

[54:33] applicability to planned developments permitted in the area zoned for commercial, industrial,

[54:39] or mixed use and parking requirement reductions, repealing all inconsistent ordinances or parts

[54:45] thereof providing for severability and setting forth an effective date. This is

[54:49] the second reading of ordinance number 2026-02 read by title only. Move approval. Second. Um,

[54:58] Commissioner Briley was absent in the last meeting. Do you want me to have

[55:01] Steven Spraker come up and just talk about the item? If you would briefly. Okay. Thank you.

[55:09] Good evening. Steven Spraker, planning director with the city. So, uh, the Live Local Act was

[55:14] enacted in 2023, requires jurisdictions to, um, allow uses, uh, for affordable housing regarding

[55:24] height, density, and permitted by staff approval. In the last legislative session, there was Senate

[55:30] Bill SE 1730. It expanded the live local act to plan developments for commercial, industrial,

[55:37] and mixed use zonings. It also requires reduction of parking within a/4 mile of a transit stop. Our

[55:44] code already has multimodal um corridors that that has a a reduction. Quarter mile is a little larger

[55:51] than what we allow, but it's similar. Um so these are required state improvements that are now being

[55:56] integrated into the city's land development code. The planning board recommended approval and staff

[56:01] is also recommending approval. Any questions for Steven? No, sir. That was my understanding. So,

[56:05] thank you. Okay, great. Thank you, Steven. Okay, I don't have any cards. Uh,

[56:10] second reading here. Uh, any other discussion from the commission? No. Okay. City clerk,

[56:15] please call the vote. Commissioner Briley, yes. Commissioner Tolland, yes. Commissioner Sargent,

[56:19] yes. Commissioner Deaton, yes. Mayor Leslie, yes. I will now close the public hearings. Uh,

[56:28] city clerk, can you please read legal title 9A, resolution number 2026-15?

[56:34] Resolution number 2026-15, a resolution appointing a trustee to serve on the firefighters pension

[56:41] trust fund board setting forth terms and conditions of service and setting forth

[56:46] an effective date. This is resolution number 2026-15 read by title only. Is there a motion

[56:52] for approval? Move approval. Second. Okay. Um I could have the city clerk speak on the

[56:58] item if any want her to speak about it. Seeing none. Okay. You got the free pass

[57:04] right now. Um I don't have any cards here. No other deliberation. So with that, city clerk,

[57:10] please call the vote. Well, we need to nominate somebody. Correct. Uh correct. This is Oh. Oh,

[57:16] you know what? You're right. That wasn't in my cheat sheet. Mr. Mayor, I I'll nominate um Mr.

[57:22] John Long. Mr. Can you say that again? John Long. Okay. Second. I'd like to nominate William Medlin.

[57:37] Okay. So, let me just go here. So, any you want to Is there a second for William Medlin? Okay. Seeing

[57:45] none, I only have a first and second for John Wong. So, a motion fails on the on your motion.

[57:52] Okay. Any other discussion then? Okay. City clerk, please call the vote. Commissioner Tolland, yes.

[58:00] Commissioner Sargent, yes. Commissioner Deaton, yes. Commissioner Briley, yes. Mayor Leslie, yes.

[58:12] Okay. Uh, city clerk, please read a legal title 9B, resolution number 2026-16. Resolution number

[58:20] 2026-16, a resolution appointing a member to the planning board, setting forth terms and conditions

[58:26] of service, and setting forth an effective date. This is resolution number 2026-16 read by title

[58:33] only. Move approval. Second. Second. Okay. This is uh the mayor's appointed uh person. I nominated

[58:41] Amber Bobak. So um you know I already made the nomination on that. So uh if there's no any no

[58:49] other objections to it, um I think we could just call a vote, right, Randy? Sorry, I didn't mean to

[58:55] do that to you. Yeah. Yes, sir. Okay. Okay. Call vote, please. City clerk. Commissioner Sargent?

[59:06] Yes. Commissioner Deaton? Yes. Commissioner Briley? Yes. Commissioner Tolland? Yes. Mayor

[59:11] Leslie? Yes. And just real quick, is Amber here? Amber, congratulations. Well deserved and serve

[59:19] us well. I know you will. Okay, we're going to move on to uh uh staff and commission report,

[59:28] suggestions, and request starting with well, the city manager is not here today, so we'll start

[59:33] with assistant city manager Claire Whitley. Hi, good evening. Just a couple of announcements. Um

[59:39] Florida Department of Transportation has installed the last of the three pedestrian crossings on

[59:44] Granada. I believe the last one was the one on the east side of Granada across um from the shopping

[59:52] centers. And so those are all there to increase pedestrian safety. Hopefully you've seen people

[59:58] using them. I know the one across from the chamber I've seen activated quite often. Um movies on the

[1:00:05] Halifax this week is Pride and Prejudice on February 6 at 5:30. Reel in the fun fishing

[1:00:11] tournament is scheduled for Saturday, February 14th at 8:00 a.m. at Central Park 1. And the great

[1:00:20] backyard bird count at the EDC is on Saturday, February 14th from 9 to 2. Any questions? Any

[1:00:28] other questions for Assistant City Manager Claire Whitley? Thank you. No, thank you, Claire. Uh,

[1:00:34] assistant city manager Shawn Finley. I just want to kind of brag about our utility department here.

[1:00:40] Uh, we had some cold weather over the weekend and and being that we're not used to freezes and cold

[1:00:45] weather, we uh sometimes don't know that we can how we can handle it. Um, just for some numbers,

[1:00:51] we received 91 calls to our water department over the weekend. On Sunday, every single one of our

[1:00:57] staff member was staff members was out there addressing those concerns. Um, majority of them

[1:01:03] were backflow preventers. Those those raised um portions of the water of the water service

[1:01:09] that you see sticking out of the ground. A lot of those were frozen. That was the really the biggest

[1:01:14] call that we got. We did have three water main breaks that that occurred on Monday. Two 2 in,

[1:01:19] one 6 in. And what I'm most proud is that our water distribution guys were able to make those

[1:01:24] fixes all what we call a hot condition where the pressure remained on the system. There was no

[1:01:30] outage. There is no need to do a boil water. Those guys are those guys are great. And so,

[1:01:35] um, they they really step up like they do on every day. So, I'm taking this as an opportunity to brag

[1:01:39] on them. So, but thank you all for and have a good night. Thank you for that, assistant city manager

[1:01:45] Shawn Finley. I know that we see I see Bob back there from utilities. Bob, thank you. And anybody

[1:01:50] else here from utilities? No. But Bob, make sure you let your staff know thank you for everything

[1:01:54] you do. Do a great job. And uh, it just goes to show how important our utilities are. you know,

[1:01:59] to uh to the to the community. Um uh city attorney Randy Hayes. No, sir. Thank you. And good night.

[1:02:06] Okay. Have a good night. And like I said, Joyce is not here. I know she's listening online. So,

[1:02:11] uh get well, Joyce, and everything will be taken care of. And we'll see you when you get back.

[1:02:15] Uh with that, we'll begin our evening with uh Commissioner Briley. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I'll be

[1:02:20] very brief. I just like to uh welcome uh Captain DW Smith back. You look great. Glad you're here

[1:02:27] with us this evening. and uh our city attorney, Randy Hayes. Welcome back. You're looking great.

[1:02:34] That Mr. Mayor, I'll say good night. Thank you. Good night. Um Commissioner Tolland,

[1:02:41] Deputy Mayor. Yep. Thank you. Uh first, I do have a request. I'm wondering if staff wouldn't mind

[1:02:47] reaching out to resident Marsha Blew regarding the airport. She had some questions. If we did the

[1:02:55] we're not discussing the airport extension, but if we did, would that change the B2 level? If someone

[1:03:01] would mind reaching out to her and just talking to her about the airport. Yes, we can provide her all

[1:03:06] that information. I would appreciate it. Thank you. Um, I do want to congratulate our chamber.

[1:03:11] They had their annual installation and awards and congratulations to all the incoming um folks

[1:03:17] and great job with the outgoing folks. Um I was also attended the um the firefighters banquet the

[1:03:27] uh fire uh Ormond Beach fire department's banquet and they celebrated all the good men and women

[1:03:33] uh that performed exemplary work and their whole their whole department performs exemplary and I'm

[1:03:41] very proud of them and it was it was a fun banquet. um also able which just is for the

[1:03:47] residents that we were able to uh represent you at um Florida League of City's legislative action

[1:03:55] days. Oh, I didn't know Marsha was here. I'm sorry. So, you'll be talking to staff.

[1:04:00] You're still here. Um Florida legislation action days. Um we advocated for a couple priorities,

[1:04:08] infrastructure type priorities for the city um with our legislature. So, I was um honored to

[1:04:15] be able to go up there and represent you as well. Um I also had the opportunity, it was kind of fun,

[1:04:22] uh was asked to read to some kindergarteners at Pine Trail Elementary for literacy week. And you

[1:04:28] know, you forget about why you do this and how fun it is. Um you know, we always see adult residents,

[1:04:35] but it's it's the kids that really um bring joy to your heart. And I enjoyed that opportunity.

[1:04:42] Um, also congratulations to the fire pension board and the planning board nominee. Amber,

[1:04:48] I know you're here. And I'm just going to say a couple things to to all the appointees in their

[1:04:54] advisory thing. And my advice to you is take your appointment and I'm going to speak to

[1:05:00] you directly, but it's to any anybody and in any advisory position. Take your appointment

[1:05:06] seriously. Be prepared for your meetings. Participate with meaning. You don't have to

[1:05:13] just talk to talk. Make it meaningful. Listen carefully to what people say, particularly

[1:05:19] the residents. Always go into a meeting with an open mind and willing to learn and um know that

[1:05:27] you're appreciated. So, that would be my advice to anybody that's on any of our advisory boards. It's

[1:05:34] um it's a it's a privilege to serve and I think a lot of us started out serving on advisory boards

[1:05:41] and you learn a whole lot about the city when you're when you're doing those things. And um

[1:05:47] with that, I'm going to say good night. Good night uh Commissioner Sargent. Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

[1:05:55] Um thank you public works. Appreciate that. The firefighter banquet. Sorry I could not attend. Um,

[1:06:03] thank you all for representing us there. Um, I'd also like to say a special thank you to PD, Fire,

[1:06:10] the Sheriff's Office for responding to Temple Beth-el last week during the bomb threat. You

[1:06:17] know, and it's not real easy when you have kids that go there and you get a call from your wife

[1:06:21] that um there's been a bomb threat. Um, but man, is it reassuring to know that they respond within

[1:06:28] less than a minute. I think all hands were on deck doing the sweep. You know, it really puts you at

[1:06:35] ease and um we just got to realize that there's no place for this hate in our society. Zero place for

[1:06:43] it. Doesn't need to be tolerated. And thank you to the sheriff's department who were able to track

[1:06:50] this person down, I believe, down by Main Street and took him into custody within 30 minutes,

[1:06:57] an hour of this incident happening. Um, thankfully no one was harmed obviously at the school. Um,

[1:07:04] but then the following day they got two more threats that were very nasty that were emails,

[1:07:11] you know, and of course they were traced to some far far away place. But it's just really a shame

[1:07:16] the hate that people have for whether it's um color, religion, whatever it may be. We

[1:07:25] need to rise up above that. We're better than that. And uh it's just very disturbing. But I

[1:07:31] am very thankful for the sheriff's department, police, fire, and everyone that responded. Um,

[1:07:40] I also know that we put our names, a lot of us put our names on the petition that's going out for

[1:07:47] uh the the residents to vote on toilet to tap. What I would like to propose, if if this

[1:07:57] commission is okay with it, is for us to have a workshop to discuss and have staff provide us data

[1:08:05] with our water quality. What are we doing? Um, explain the wells in Ormond Beach, the re reser

[1:08:12] uh reverse osmosis that we do in Ormond. just really give us a high level because it's it's

[1:08:19] real easy to jump on and say, "Hey, we want to ban this and ban that." And you know, I think we need

[1:08:25] more information. Obviously, none of us want to drink toilet to tap water. I think that's probably

[1:08:32] I can't speak for everyone, but I know I don't. But I think it's important for us to maybe better

[1:08:39] understand it before we make certain decisions on it. So, I don't know if everyone up here is

[1:08:46] willing to maybe direct staff for a workshop on water and um kind of outline that, but I think

[1:08:53] that would be just something that I would like to know what you all think on it. So, you're really

[1:08:57] looking for just an education on how our water is and what we do. Correct. Correct. Is that really

[1:09:04] a a workshop or is that is that a presentation maybe from Shawn at a commission meeting? We

[1:09:10] could do that as well. Um what is uh Shawn what do you think about it? What's your opinion? I think

[1:09:17] we can cover a lot of those topics in a pretty short with a pretty short discussion item. Um we

[1:09:22] are in the process of work reworking our utility master plan which would be something at a later

[1:09:27] date that we would do a workshop on it. Um but I I think that a a more that's a little bit further

[1:09:33] down the line. So I think that we could we can come up with something in a little bit shorter

[1:09:36] order here and do a presentation. um get with the I I'll get with each of you individually and make

[1:09:42] sure that we're covering the things that you want want answers to and and if there's things that

[1:09:45] you want to learn more about, I'm happy to happy to get that information provided to you because

[1:09:49] I think it just would benefit all. I would like a presentation so our community can hear it as well,

[1:09:55] not just one-on- ones. Well, I think that I think that you were talking about No, I didn't

[1:09:59] mean one-on- ones with you. I get with you each individually to get the topics you'd like for

[1:10:04] us to bring for our presentation at the commission meeting if if that works for you. Thank you. Okay,

[1:10:08] I I can hear him, too. Thank you. All right. So, uh basically what you're saying is that um you

[1:10:14] can meet us individually so we know what we want to talk what you we want you to talk about and do

[1:10:19] in a presentation. How much time do you think it would take you to to be able to do something like

[1:10:23] this? Can we can we have this in the agenda in the next maybe month or two? I I'd say our next

[1:10:28] meeting is February 17. Shoot for the March 3rd. If if that works and if that's not too late or

[1:10:34] if you want we can we can put pressure on it and get it get something for you for for next meeting.

[1:10:38] March 3rd is perfect with me. March 3rd. Everybody else. Okay. I think it's fine. I just think May

[1:10:44] I speak for one quick second? Sure. Mayor, I just think it's, you know, um Mr Finley, you're

[1:10:50] probably not aware. We're getting a lot of emails with misinformation and um we need to understand

[1:10:58] just as much as the residents. So I think even a high level where we're at well you know and

[1:11:05] we'll talk individually but yeah I think it need we don't need to get into all the the details of

[1:11:09] all that but high level and and that was the main reason for asking you know if you've got emails if

[1:11:16] you've got questions that you're getting from your resident from the residents that you want to make

[1:11:20] sure that we address we'll make sure I don't want to I don't want to cover nine out of 10 things we

[1:11:25] want to make sure we cover everything that that that you'all have questions about. So, fair

[1:11:29] enough. And I would just like to say reach out to family, friends, loved ones, and check in on them.

[1:11:37] You never know, you might save a life. With that, good night, Commissioner Deaton. Thank you. Um,

[1:11:44] well, I'll move past. I was able to read to the kindergarteners as well at Pathways Elementary,

[1:11:49] and that was quite the experience. Um, but it was good. And the We've attended a bunch of

[1:11:55] events. Nobody needs to go over all of it. We attended a bunch. They were all great. Okay. I

[1:11:59] had a meeting with Lucy Jackman at the Performing Arts Center last week. They are needing some help

[1:12:03] promoting the pac as a professional theater, but with community involvement, not necessarily as a

[1:12:09] community theater. They have all of the higher grade lighting and sound that they have highly

[1:12:14] invested in and are trying to get bigger artists. The pack is providing a 10% employee discount for

[1:12:19] the upcoming performance of the Ultimate Gar and Shaniah Tribute Show on Saturday, March 14th.

[1:12:25] So, if anybody who works for the city would like to go, she's giving 10% off. Um, I did get with

[1:12:32] um Mary Margaret Kelly so we can try to get Brian Kelly and they are working on that to try to get

[1:12:37] our hometown guy here for a concert at the pack. Not sure if it'll work out, but we put them in

[1:12:42] contact. If anyone has any other ideas on how to sell more tickets and get bigger performers,

[1:12:46] I'd love to get them back to Lucy. Have we asked Jen to help out with at that? I did. Okay.

[1:12:55] Um, any other ideas of how to get No, not seeing any. Okay, moving on. Unfortunately,

[1:13:03] we didn't get the racing and wreck grant that we needed for the lighting on fields 11 and 12

[1:13:07] for safety. There was an incident on these fields this past weekend that involved a lot of police

[1:13:12] presence. With that being said, I'm proposing the following and would love to have the feedback of

[1:13:16] my fellow commissioners. I feel that we need to take the funds from the recreation fees income

[1:13:20] to get lighting on fields 11 and 12. They are moving flag football there from the Wendlestep

[1:13:24] fields. So, this is going to be imperative with the incident this weekend. Pey didn't necessarily

[1:13:29] know where to go right away and they were headed to the wrong field. We need to remove the Palmetto

[1:13:34] underbrush for better visibility, leaving the trees of course, and add additional signage

[1:13:38] for fields 11 and 12. And I'd like to get your input on that. Safety is really huge. And if our

[1:13:46] if if our first responders cannot get and find a field, so we only have the fields labeled on like

[1:13:54] the fence like it used to be or are there real raw word Robert K left? Um there is signage but

[1:14:02] it wasn't I guess maybe Chief Godfrey can maybe speak to what the confusion was with the officers

[1:14:08] going to the field. So maybe I'm sorry signage isn't on the road. It isn't on the road. So,

[1:14:14] we need to get the signage on the road. And they were having problems with the underbrush being

[1:14:18] able to see where the field was because there's so much palmetto under. That's a no-brainer. I mean,

[1:14:22] you have to have signage. I think a lot of this could be could be solved with wayfinding signage

[1:14:26] out there because there's almost none. Okay. So, we could maybe direct. We'd like to see for

[1:14:33] safety reasons uh we need to see the underbrush cleared out and the trees kept. Yeah. And what

[1:14:38] are you asking about with uh the lighting? Okay. So, we had what was it a couple of meetings ago?

[1:14:44] We requested a grant for the wreck and the wreck and racing grant so we could get the the lighting

[1:14:47] at least matched for the the lighting on those two fields. They don't have any lighting on those

[1:14:52] two fields. We didn't get it. We weren't in the top seven. So, um I was speaking to Doug Thomas

[1:14:58] who is not here at the moment, but he suggested possibly taking the funds from the recreation fees

[1:15:02] income to get lighting on those two fields. Do we So, there's no lighting or are we just converting

[1:15:07] it to LED? I need to get more information. There's no lighting on those two fields. Uh,

[1:15:12] Robert's not here. Uh, Alex, shaking your head. Is that correct? So, could we just get some more

[1:15:17] information and bring it back? Maybe ask Robert what that would look like financially, you know,

[1:15:23] and how much Absolutely. We've already started that discussion with uh our finance director,

[1:15:29] Kelly. So, we'll bring that information back to you. Okay, that's great. Yeah, I just couldn't

[1:15:32] make a decision right now. Absolutely. But that was something that he would like us to look into,

[1:15:37] so I figured I'd bring it up. Um, that is all I have. Have a good night. Thank you. Have a good

[1:15:42] night. Um, I will echo the commissioners on some of the things that was discussed just now. I mean,

[1:15:48] we did a lot of events together. Um, I also got to read to uh some young kids, first graders.

[1:15:53] It was really interesting. I haven't read to a first grader in I don't remember how long. Um,

[1:15:57] but that was really a lot of fun. Um, we had our legislative days um in Tallahassee. That was very

[1:16:03] interesting. Got to learn a little bit more about what's going on in Tallahassee. As you may know,

[1:16:08] this is the last uh session for the governor. So, a lot of moving parts happening and a lot

[1:16:13] of things going on. Uh but it was a good learning experience for us. Um we had a chance to talk to

[1:16:17] our delegates about our city's priorities for two projects that we'd like to get funded. Um I think

[1:16:23] that the consensus was that, you know, everyone seemed to be okay with it, but by the time it

[1:16:27] gets to the governor's desk, that could be another story, but we're hoping for the best on that one.

[1:16:32] Um attended the firefighters banquet. Great job by the fire department. There's some fire guys

[1:16:38] over there. Uh it was the second annual uh really great job and it's really nice to recognize the uh

[1:16:43] fire department for everything they do. Uh great group of people. Um you know police department

[1:16:49] too. I mean you know what happened the other day at Temple Beth-el. I mean I saw the the message

[1:16:54] and I'm like oh you know and then within short time you know they already captured the person.

[1:16:59] So that was really good. And that's what that's what I love about the police department. We have a

[1:17:03] great police department and you know that's one of the things I talk to residents about when we talk

[1:17:07] about our our property taxes. It's like we got the second lowest milit rate in the county and we

[1:17:12] still have a great police department and we have great services and that's that's the investment

[1:17:16] that we get in our community. So we pay property taxes. It's an investment and that investment is

[1:17:22] money well spent with our first responders. So thank you to the first responders for everything

[1:17:26] they do. Um the last thing I want to talk about too is that we have um you know this is election

[1:17:32] year. hear a lot of things going on with that. And so I just want to just kind of point out that, you

[1:17:36] know, everyone out there just to try to be mindful if you're um a candidate for office about just

[1:17:43] um being careful about, you know, what you're going to post on your campaign page um versus

[1:17:48] what you do with uh things in your position that you're in. Um, I remember meeting General Flynn

[1:17:53] about two years ago and I wanted to do a picture with him and I was a candidate and he knew I was

[1:17:56] a candidate and he wouldn't take the picture with me because he's like, "No, I don't want

[1:17:59] you to post it because then it'll look like an endorsement or something like that." So, just be

[1:18:03] mindful of that because, you know, uh, some people might not like it. Just ask, you know, permission,

[1:18:08] you know, before you do things like that. Um, but other than that though, uh, good luck to

[1:18:12] all everybody out there and, uh, be safe, be well, and with that, I'm going to adjourn the meeting.

City Commission Meeting 02-03-2026

Transcript