- April 23, 2024
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Dear Editor,
Many people may not realize this, but the city of Ormond Beach was granted the right to sell wholesale water and sewer services to the upcoming residential project Avalon Park.
Although the development lies within Daytona Beach’s boundaries, it would stand to reason that, as the utility provider, Ormond would have some leverage over this mega-development. Indeed, Mayor Partington and Commissioner Kent acknowledged on separate local radio programs that such an arrangement gives Ormond some control.
As a citizen, I would hope Ormond would exercise such control to negotiate down the proposed massive 10,000 home density. Nearly everyone I talk with shudders at the thought of the additional traffic that will pour onto Granada Boulevard, our sole east-west traffic artery.
There’s also the concern of the additional stress on our water and sewer systems, including water coming out of the aquifer.
Lastly, the commission is considering a tax hike and a water and sewer rate increase. Perhaps one source of additional revenue could be reflected in the utility rates charged for Avalon Park. I would hope that such rates are sufficient to cover the above-mentioned burdens and potential hidden costs.
Mindy McLarnan
Ormond Beach
Dear Editor:
I would like to commend Mr. Blankenship for his in-depth research in his Sept. 16 letter regarding the Ormond Beach municipal airport. I would like to clarify several points regarding the runway extension.
First, there will be no commercial airlines using the runway. The current runway surface and the extension are not designed to handle the weight of commercial airliners.
There will also be no heavy shipping or receiving of manufacturing goods or supplies.
The additional corporate traffic will be to send technical and sales support to customer sites and potential clients. There will also be potential clients coming here to work with businesses.
To keep it in perspective, there are less than a dozen corporate airplanes based at Ormond Beach. They normally leave in the morning and return late in the afternoon.
His contention that the airport doesn’t operate profitably is also patently wrong. One of the issues not discussed often enough is the economic impact that our airport has on our community. Several of the businesses in the industrial park located here specifically because of the airport. Our company looked at available land in several communities before choosing Ormond Beach in 1986. We started with seven employees and now have 160 with a payroll of over $7 million.
Our workers range from accountants and engineers to direct factory workers. There are many high-paying technical jobs that are 40 hours a week with benefits.
The companies located on the airport also employ over 400 people. The business revenue from these activities is over $56 million. If you add the total employment of the adjacent business park, the airport area is one of the largest revenue and jobs producers in the city of Ormond Beach.
This runway extension will create more jobs and lessen the noise pattern for those people that live east of the airport also.
The success of Ormond Crossings commercial park is greatly enhanced by its location adjacent to the airport. The new headquarters for Security First Insurance company is adjacent to the airport, and their executives use corporate airplanes to travel efficiently to clients. They employ over 300 people in their beautiful new headquarters.
This project started due to the need to modernize the airport and bring in more high paying companies. That is working, and now we have a chance to see more high paying career jobs to keep our well-educated children here in Ormond Beach.
David Slick Sr.
CEO, Command Medical Products Inc.
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