- May 13, 2025
What do the Ormond Beach City Commissioners want to accomplish by the end of their terms?
On March 12 and 13, the commission held a two-day workshop where they discussed goals and priorities on issues including transportation, economic development, public safety, the environment and quality of life. The discussions — moderated by Doug Thomas, of Strategic Government Resources — led to the creation of 28 goals and 39 priorities.
Commissioners then took individual surveys to see where they stood on each of the goals and priorities, the results of which were then whittled down during a final goal-setting workshop held on Tuesday, May 6.
"Ultimately, you want to provide clarity to your administration as they're developing your budget, and then also outlining the goals and objectives that you think are the most important as elected officials in this community as well," Thomas said.
Here is an overview of what the commissioners discussed in each of the categories.
The development of multimodal trail connectivity in the city and improvements to the city's gateway corridors (I-95 and West Granada Boulevard, as well as U.S. 1 and I-95) were among the top goals regarding transportation.
The highest ranked priorities included:
Commissioner Lori Tolland said adding multi-modal trails and connectivity are goals she's had for the past few years.
"It's very apparent that Ormond Beach has got some huge gaps — and that's connecting different cities to our trails in here," she said. "It's always been one of my priorities and I think it will serve our residents well."
Multi-modal trails weren't high on Commissioner Kristin Deaton's list, she said, mainly because she explained she saw other items as a higher budget priority.
Tolland said she understood, but that she would love to have the city's master plan on trails updated; this was last done in 2016, and called the city's bicycle master plan. Every project identified in the plan has either been constructed or is in the queue to receive funds from the Transportation Planning Organization.
Commissioner Travis Sargent said he ranked trails high on his goal list because it's what many residents want.
"It's a priority to the residents so it's going to be one of my top priorities," he said. "I think that there's a lot of funding sources that we could figure out with this down the road."
The commission's goals in this category included encouraging a diversified economic base, considering Community Redevelopment Authority projects in the downtown and Ormond Crossings districts, promoting the city's airport and protecting the historic character of the downtown.
The highest ranked priorities were:
The commission also spoke about expanding the airport's east-west runway. Sargent said the expansion would make it safer for existing corporate jets, as well as allow pilots to take off with planes at full occupancy and full fuel capacity.
When Gov. Ron DeSantis visited Ormond Beach to sign a bill in 2021, Sargent said the governor couldn't fuel his jet in the Ormond Beach Municipal Airport; he had to fly to Flagler County's airport to fuel up before heading back to Tallahassee.
"By lengthening [the runway], they're up sooner and level off and it makes it quieter," Sargent said. "It is not for bigger airplanes to come in here. It's for the current class of airplanes."
Sargent was also in favor of investigating the need for more hangars at the airport, and seeing if a company wishes to lease land to build them.
The commission's goals include striving to achieve public trust, attract the best talent to work at the city, and provide residents with convenient and modern services for efficiency and accessibility.
When it came to priorities, commissioners seek to:
Developing a policy for the mayor and commissioners on "norms and procedures" was also discussed, though two commissioners ranked it as a low priority.
Thomas said this one included how commissioners should engage with one another, deal with conflict, citizen participation and how they should treat staff. Deaton asked if the city already had something in place, other than what the commission received when they were first elected. City Manager Joyce Shanahan said that the city does not.
But, other municipalities do have a set of best practices, Thomas said.
"Most organizations that are high functioning will have some level of, 'Here's the rules of engagement,'" he said.
Commissioners were mostly in favor of having a document outline best practices.
Mayor Jason Leslie, however, said that the commission doesn't operate as one body, like a private company does.
"We're all here elected by the people, representing the people, and we all have different things that we campaigned on, things that we promised people," Leslie said. "And if we start following these procedures that come up, are we taking away from what we were intended to do as an elected official?"
Sargent said he didn't see procedures taking away from anything — they would provide guidance on how to better operate.
Goals in public safety for local officials largely remained standard: provide enough staffing, maintaining a low crime rate and ensuring the security of city assets and operations.
The top priorities were:
Commissioners were split on prioritizing collaboration with drug/alcohol treatment providers and measures involving Narcan, speaking about the recently placed Narcan vending machine at the Grocery Box at 448 S. Yonge St.
Commissioner Harold Briley said he's received a lot of phone calls about the optics of the vending machine.
"They think it makes it look like we're an area that encourages that type of activity," Briley said, explaining why that priority ranked lower for him.
Sargent agreed, but said the commission should consider the number of lives saved as proof the vending machines are working.
Tolland said she spoke with Foundations to Freedom, the nonprofit that placed the vending machine, and that their placement is strategic.
"They're putting the vending machines where the hotspots are and they would prefer to put the Narcan inside a store where you would go in, but if the store's closed and there's an overdose, this gives that ability to provide Narcan," Tolland said. "That one vending machine was emptied out within the first weekend it was put out there."
Overdoses are down 25% in Volusia County, and Tolland credited the distribution of Narcan through several nonprofit-led initiatives.
Leslie then asked what the visibility of the machines do to property values, to which commissioners said lives saved were more important.
"I wasn't saying that it wasn't," Leslie said. "I was just making an observation. I'm sorry."
Considering the development of additional facilities for public programs and community events, as well as expanding recreational fields in Ormond Beach were among the top Quality of Life goals for the commission.
The top priorities included:
Commission was split on how high to rank public art — largely because they didn't support using taxpayer dollars to fund it. Though, lighting the bridge could be an exception, the commission discussed.
Sargent said some people have reached out to him in favor of public art, while others have complained about some of the recent mural projects.
"I know we're not going to please everyone but as far as a priority, I ranked it lower," he said.
Tolland said the Ormond Beach Arts District has worked hard to beautify the downtown and hasn't asked for significant city funds, save for the sculpture installation, which the city chose to help sponsor.
"This is all part of the uniqueness of our city and the beautification," Tolland said. "... I'd like to keep it a priority."
A lot of the art in the downtown, Shanahan said, is funded through CRA dollars.
The commission did rank determining a use for 56 N. Beach Street — the property that used to be the Ormond Beach Union Church, which the city demolished in 2021 — as a top priority.
Past discussions for the property, which the city turned into a temporary parking lot, included constructing a community center. But is that the best use?
Sargent said he doesn't believe it's an adequate location for a community center.
"I do not think it's wise to build on that lot," he said. "Even if you do underground parking, you'll outgrow it before you even construct it."
Protecting and enhancing the environment, investing in infrastructure projects to reduce flooding risks and increase sustainability, and promoting recycling were among the goals for the commission.
Priorities included:
Sargent also suggested exploring possible benefits of a new federal inlet north of Highbridge Road to improve the Halifax River's water quality.
"If you open up an inlet, you now have an area to flush all this stuff out," he said. "Better fishing, better drainage."
Tolland said she was looking at the benefits, but not doing a "deep dive" at this point.
"Let's gather information and see if it makes sense for us," she said.
The final goals and priorities will be brought before the commission at a future meeting for adoption.
