- December 16, 2025
Officials look at lighting up the bridge
At the City Commission final meeting of the year on Dec. 2, the officials awarded a work authorization to Zev Cohen and Assoc. Inc. to study the feasibility of an aesthetic lighting project for the Granada Bridge. The idea was suggested by the Ormond MainStreet Board.
Commissioner Rick Boehm said he is “really looking forward” to the project.
The firm will also do preliminary engineering and present lighting and cost options to the commission. The cost of the study is not to exceed $34,560.
The project would require approval from the Florida Department of Transportation.
Alcoholic beverages OK’d for salons
Also on Dec. 2, the officials voted to amend the Land Development Code to allow complimentary beer and wine to be served to customers at personal service businesses in some commercial and business zones. It was a first reading and a second reading will be required for approval.
The decision was in response to a request from Tipsy Nails and Spa LLC, which is located in the Trails Shopping Center. The business only requested the change be made in their zone, but city staff determined that various regulations would be confusing. Hair salons and massage parlors would also be considered personal services.
Mike Sharpton, attorney for Tipsy Nails, said salons often provide an alcoholic beverage.
“The need is to put a law in the books for something we know is going on,” he said.
Tipsy Nails also asked to be able to sell alcoholic beverages, but that was denied.
Commissioner Troy Kent said he had displeasure with the name, “Tipsy Nails,” because it implied drinking.
“But we have no say in that,” he said.
City approves settlement in lawsuit
The City Commission also approved a settlement in the amount of $37,000 that was reached in mediation in November regarding a personal injury claim. The matter was scheduled for trial the week of Dec. 15.
At 9:25 p.m. on July 4, 2009, Shirley C. Gay, 65, was walking on Seville Street when she allegedly tripped on a pothole and fell, sustaining multiple fractures to her left arm and wrist, which required surgery, according to the city attorney.
She incurred $21,419.22 in medical expenses, and there is a health insurance lien of $12,206.19. At the time of the incident, the sovereign immunity limited the city’s damages to $100,000 to any one person, which is the amount of damages Gay initially demanded.
The issue regarding liability relates to whether or not the city knew or should have known about the pothole; whether or not the city maintained the roadway properly and whether or not Gay was comparatively at fault, according to the city attorney.
MRI question removed from agenda
The City Commission was set to consider if a trailer housing an MRI would be allowed in a parking lot on West Granada Boulevard, but the item was removed by the applicant, according to the city clerk. At the last meeting, the mayor was absent and the vote resulted in a tie. For that reason, it was continued until the next meeting.
Partington named association president
In other city related news, Deputy Mayor and City Commissioner Bill Partington was elected on Dec. 4 to serve as the Volusia League of Cities president for 2015. The vote was held at the league’s bimonthly meeting.
Partington was raised in Ormond Beach and earned his law degree from Loyola School of Law in New Orleans. He currently serves as an assistant public defender for Florida's Seventh Judicial Circuit.
He has worked as a private attorney, assistant public defender and assistant state attorney. Early in his career he served as a Florida Senate page for the late State Senator Ed Dunn and was also an intern for the late U.S. Congressman Bill Chappell.
