- April 25, 2024
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Ormond Beach Zone 3 Commissioner Rick Boehm has announced he is seeking re-election to the City Commission. He has served on the commission since being elected in 2010.
Boehm said in a statement that his goal has been to maintain or improve the quality of services offered by the city while keeping Ormond Beach’s property tax rate among the lowest in Volusia County.
Boehm points to the landscaping and beautification of the city, the continued improvement of recreation and cultural facilities and the ongoing development of Ormond Beach downtown as projects that he and the commission have worked on.
Boehm is a retired attorney and U.S. Navy veteran. He is city representative on the Ormond MainStreet board, a member of the Ormond Beach Chamber of Commerce and city representative to the Chamber Economic Prosperity Committee. He also belongs to Citizens For Ormond Beach.
Boehm has resided in Ormond Beach since 1986 and in Zone 3 since 1991 with his wife Delia and their three children.
Melissa Frankel has joined the Ormond Memorial Art Museum as director of membership and marketing. Her professional background includes more than 15 years of retail sales management with a focus on networking events, marketing campaigns, and global social media initiates, according to a press release.
Frankel will focus on membership development and creating partnerships in the community at the 70-year-old museum and gardens. The position had been open for a couple of months.
She holds a bachelor of arts in textile merchandising with a minor in journalism from the University of Rhode Island. Originally from Connecticut, she recently moved here from Orlando.
The city is currently seeking volunteers for the Environmental Discovery Center, which is expected to open this spring. Opportunities include program leader, field trip leader, exhibit docent, special events, outreach, fundraising and program development.
The center plans to have children’s classes, speakers, programs, etc. For more information or to apply, visit ormondbeach.org/edc or contact Brittany McDermott at 676-3293 or [email protected].
The City Commission gave approval on Jan. 4 for a contract with Zev Cohen and Associates Inc. for engineering work in the design and permitting of the planned public boat dock at Cassen Park at a cost of $142,130.
Last year, the commission agreed to seek grants to build a dock that would enable boaters to visit the city’s restaurants and attractions. The concept includes a floating concrete dock parallel to the existing fishing pier and 70 feet to the south.
The design work was originally estimated at $70,000. Since that time, the city has learned that extensive permitting and modeling will be necessary to construct a breakwater south of the dock, and borings to test the subsurface will be required. This increased the design cost to $142,130, according to City Manager Joyce Shanahan. The money will come from property tax collected in the Community Redevelopment Area, known as TIF funds.
Last August, the city applied for a grant from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission for construction of the dock, but it did not get a high enough score. The city now plans to apply for two more grants, one with the FWC in another program, and one with the Florida Inland Navigation District. They are hoping to receive up to $570,000, which would be 87% of the construction cost.
The City Commission approved on Jan. 4 design work for the replacement of a 30-inch-diameter outfall pipe that extends about 1,000 feet into the Halifax River at Melrose Avenue. The pipe discharges treated effluent from the Waste Water Treatment Plant into the river. A design contract for $79,597 was awarded to Quentin L. Hampton & Associates Inc., of Port Orange.
The 44-year-old pipe is broken in several places and has become separated from the diffuser at the end, which results in a boil of water is occurring when effluent is discharged, according to city documents
The construction cost is estimated at $800,000 and was budgeted last year in the Capital Improvement Plan.
