- April 25, 2024
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Over the next decade, the city of Ormond Beach is planning more than $19.6 million worth of capital improvement projects for its stormwater system.
The City Commission reviewed the findings and recommendations of the long-awaited stormwater master plan update during a workshop on Tuesday, Feb. 7, where a total of 13 projects to address flooding concerns were highlighted by Mark Ellard, of Geosyntec, the firm the city contracted in 2019 for the update. The master plan was first created in 1997, and updated in 2007 and 2010.
The bulk of the capital improvement projects to address flooding are concentrated in the eastern part of the city, west of the Halifax River, and include recommendations for flood studies, infrastructure upgrades and evaluations of stormwater capacity.
“It’s a common problem for these areas like Ormond Beach or along the coast where there was a lot of development in the ‘50s and ‘60s and ‘70s where there wasn’t these requirements to treat stormwater runoff,” Ellard said.
The 13 areas identified for infrastructure improvements were:
Commissioner Harold Briley asked about the improvements needed to the North U.S. 1 corridor, where runoff also affects the nearby Ormond Lakes subdivision. City Public Works Director Shawn Finley said the city is working with developers to address stormwater impacts.
“Part of the need for looking at this is to stay out in front of it, so that some of the development in the future doesn’t reverse some of the benefits that we’ve gained — doesn’t exasperate some of the issues that may be out there,” Finley said.
The plan also identified about $4.15 million worth of water quality projects, with the aim to reduce the amount of pollutants impacting the Tomoka River Basin and the Halifax River, both currently established by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection as impaired waterways.
And as coastal communities continue its future resiliency efforts in regards to sea level rise, the city’s master plan update also identifies about $300,000 for a full vulnerability assessment of its critical assets and an impact study of its stormwater infrastructure.
“That sea level rise I think is going to affect us more from the river than the Atlantic Ocean,” Finley said. “... If in the last decade we focused on projects in Central Park, I think this is going to be the decade were we’re going to be focusing on projects this side of the river, the side of U.S. 1. In that corridor there is really the area that we have the biggest need for projects to focus on.”
City staff will bring back a finalized update for the commission to approve in a future meeting. Then in June, staff will propose funding options for the the first few projects, budgeted at $1.295 million.
Civil Discourse/Common Ground, a citizens civic group, will meet at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 13, at the Ormond Beach Public Library auditorium.
According to an announcement by founders Linda Williams and Bill Denny, the group is developing a new direction, with the aim to look at issues “from a deeper perspective than the current debates over what is good for our communities.”
The meeting will also be available to attend via Zoom. For more information, email [email protected] or [email protected].
The Ormond Beach City Commission approved on Tuesday, Feb. 7, the submission of a letter to Volusia County, in support of a dog-friendly beach area in front of Michael Crotty Bicentennial Park.
The commissioned favored the location as Bicentennial Park is already home to a dog park.
The Volusia County Council will discuss the idea of dog-friendly areas on the beach at its meeting on Feb. 21.
