- April 17, 2024
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The final moments of the Monday's City Commission meeting were spent remembering Drew Dellecker, who was one of three killed in a U-28A crash at Cannon Air Force Base in New Mexico March 14. The cause of the crash is under investigation.
Zone 2 Commissioner Troy Kent said he was Dellecker's fifth-grade teacher at Pathways Elementary, and later on he became a close family friend. Some of Kent's favorite memories are the surf trips to Costa Rica he would take his step-son, Zach Sutton, and Dellecker to.
"Later on, Drew told his father that being on those trips with those huge waves really prepared him for many obstacles he faced later in life," Kent said. "He was an all-around good guy who came from a really incredible family."
Kent also mentioned how dedicated Dellecker was to get into the Air Force, and said that in 2009, he was the only Volusia County resident to be accepted into the military branch. The Observer has been unable to confirm this.
Zone 3 Commissioner Rick Boehm said he coached Dellecker one year in basketball and that he was in the same class as his daughter.
"He was an Ormond Beach kid," said Mayor Bill Partington. "He had the Ormond Beach experience of growing up here. The Delleckers are the great family, and it’s a loss to all of us and to our nation."
Dellecker was a graduate of Seabreeze High School. There will be a service for Drew Dellecker at 2 p.m. March 24 at ICI Center at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. After that, Dellecker will be laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetary in Virgina.
"Drew did everything right," Kent said. "We've lost a great Ormond Beach resident."
Could the future Cassen Dock be commercialized?
Before approving a grant submittal to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission for the construction of a public dock at Cassen Park, Zone 1 City Commissioner Dwight Selby raised some questions about the dock's use.
His main concern was eliminating the potential for organizations like the Ormond Beach Historical Society or Ormond Mainstreet to have their own boat tours or activities. It's written in the grant application that the dock will only be for residential use.
"Are we tying our hands with this grant?" He questioned City Engineer John Noble. "I hate to slow this thing down, but I'm aware of these issues and I wanted to bring it up."
Zone 2 Commissioner Troy Kent reaffirmed his stance on keeping the dock purely residential and maintained that the main purpose for its construction was for people to be able to access the downtown by water.
"I like the idea of keeping it for our residents and visitors," he said. "Not for a business to take up one, two, three, or four spots."
Because the FFWCC only accepts applications for this grant once a year, the commission decided to approve the application as is but keeping in mind that they can always not accept the grant in the future. City Manager Joyce Shanahan also pointed out that they could bid services out at the dock, similar to what they're trying to do with the kayak launches in Central Park.
Selby: In winter park there is a boat tour operation, and on Monday they go our every hour, the boats hold 15-20 people and it was totally sold out. Point is, not necessarily, this might be something the historical society or main street as a revenue source forth, that was my point. i don’t want to see that kind of thing. Some sort of commercial
In other commission news:
