- April 19, 2024
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See related story on the abandoned house report.
The city commission heard from the Citizens for Ormond Beach about their research into abandoned houses in a workshop on May 6. There was barely time to fit the presentation in the workshop schedule, so there were few comments from the officials, but they were receptive to the information and indicated changes could be made regarding the problem.
City Manager Joyce Shanahan disagreed with one of the statistics presented by the group. The presentation stated that the city does not collect property tax and other fees from the 300 houses on the abandoned properties list, so $516,000 is lost annually. Shanahan said the property tax is not actually lost, because eventually someone will take over the house and have to pay all of the back taxes.
But Liz Myers of CFOB countered that there is a delay getting those tax funds.
Mayor Ed Kelley said he agreed it would be a good idea to form a committee or board to monitor the situation and asked Shanahan to look into it.
Anita Lapidus, of CFOB, encouraged the city to hire more code enforcement officers and be more proactive. She showed a slide of an open gate leading to a swimming pool.
Shanahan said when the city is notified about a safety issue, the city acts immediately to fix it and uses city funds if necessary.
But Lapidus said with more code enforcement, more could be done in a timelier manner.
In the presentation, CFOB president Rita Press showed slide after slide of dilapidated houses throughout the city, including Beach Street and the Trails.
“Gentlemen,” she said, “Does this look like Ormond Beach?”
Showing a picture of a house with vegetation growing from the roof, she said, “One can only imagine the mold in this house.”
After the workshop, Commissioner Jim Stowers said the discussion may lead toward more maintenance standards.
“Even some homeowners don’t maintain their properties,” he said.
He said he heard a lot of great ideas in the presentation and if the public pays attention to a problem, the city will pay attention.
He also said code enforcement may need to be more proactive.
