- April 26, 2024
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During last week's City Commission meeting on Sept. 19, Ed Kelley, former city mayor and current Volusia County Council Chair, advised the commissioners to look into adding cell towers in Ormond Beach.
Kelley, who lives in The Trails community, said county officials needed him to be accessible during and after Hurricane Irma to sign emergency ordinances. There was one problem with that.
“I had no phone service," said Kelley at the meeting. "I had to drive out to basically Granada and Williamson, chart driving around, charging my phone up and the while I didn’t have power either.”
He said a cell tower by the Bodez Fitness Gym, which is located at 1140 W. Granada Blvd., would have made a difference. He also pointed out that at the time of the meeting, City Manager Joyce Shanahan and City Commissioner Rick Boehm had no cell service at their homes. A cell tower by Bodez would benefit all of them.
Wayne Reither, who has lived in Ormond Beach for 31 years, also suggested the City Commission take action on the matter. Like Kelley, Reither lives in The Trails and said they had the "inexcusable situation" of being without cell service for five days after the hurricane.
"I look at it as a point of safety, because in Tomoka Oaks and The Trails, we have a lot of senior citizens," Reither said. "If something would have happened to any one of them during that time, there was no way of reaching emergency services.”
He said the City had looked into putting in a cell tower behind Houligan's a few years ago, but that never came to fruition.
“If we would have had that, I don’t believe we would run into all the problems that we had," Reither said.
Kelley told the City Commission that on a regular day, he depends on wifi for reliable phone service. Without power, there is no wifi.
“It’s very important," Kelley said. "It’s a public safety issue now. The two storms in a row I think kind of prove that we need to do something about it.”
He suggested the City Commission ask the owners of Bodez if they can put a cell tower near them. Currently, there are no towers east of I-95 until Nova Road.
“It doesn’t have to be a lose-lose," Kelley said. "It can be a win-win”
