- April 18, 2024
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A 19-acre parcel of land within the city of Ormond Beach will be preserved, thanks to a joint purchase agreement between the city, the St. Johns River Water Management District and Volusia County’s Volusia Forever program.
On Tuesday, Sept. 6, the Volusia County Council unanimously approved a participation agreement with the city and SJRWMD to buy the property, known as the Penland and Pomerenke property, which sits along the north side of the Tomoka River and abuts Ormond Beach’s Riverbend Nature Park, according to the county. In April, the property had added to the “Group B” acquisition list by the Volusia Forever Advisory Committee because acquisition funding partners had not been identified.
Because the city and SJRWMD decided to come forward — with the city contributing $154,000 and SJRWMD contributing $462,000 of the $770,000 purchase price — the acquisition was moved to the “A-list” on June 22. The county, through the Volusia Forever Program, will contribute a total of $161,000, as each party is also contributing 33.3% towards due diligence costs, the county reported in its agenda item.
Mayor Bill Partington spoke before the council during the public participation portion of the meeting in the morning, saying it was “a special piece of property.”
“It was slated to be warehouses, but conserving it for the future for our residents makes so much more sense,” Partington said.
He also added that the preservation of this land presents an opportunity to create a trail system for residents due to the land’s proximity to Riverbend Nature Park.
City Manager Joyce Shanahan told the council that she was grateful that SJRWMD joined them in purchasing the property.
“The city is committed to supporting these efforts by managing the property as part of the Riverbend Nature Park that we currently have, and we’re required to do a plan for that,” she said.
SJRWMD will retain a conservation on the property while the county and the city will retain joint ownership, according to the county.
County Council appoints ENRAC members
The Volusia County Council appointed 14 members to the newly-created Environment and Natural Resources Advisory Committee at its meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 6.
The committee will be tasked with reviewing the county’s environmental standards and making recommendations to the council, according to a county press release.
A total of 22 people applied to serve on the committee.The following 14 people were appointed to serve a two-year term:
The city of Ormond Beach will be installing a new sidewalk on the west side of Washington Street, from Division Avenue to Tomoka Avenue.
According to a city notice, the purpose of the project is to replace deteriorated sidewalk and make it ADA compliant. The contractor for the project is Sanderson Concrete Construction, Inc. The Ormond Beach City Commission approved a $117,622.60 bid for the project in July; the project is funded through Community Development Block Grant dollars. The contractor began work on Tuesday, Sept. 6.
The Ormond Beach Planning Board will meet at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 8, at the City Commission Chambers located at 22 S. Beach St.
On the agenda is a development order for a proposed residential development, Tattersall at Tymber Creek; a zoning map amendment and development order for a commercial property at 520 and 540 Flagler Road; and two administrative requests.
