- December 5, 2025
Once the new bait shop at Cassen Park is complete, it will carry the name of its longtime operator, Ike Leary.
Ormond Beach city staff provided the City Commission at its meeting on Tuesday, May 20, with an update on the Granada Pier Bait and Tackle building, which is part of the $2.5 million Cassen Park redesign project. Initially, staff proposed generic signage reading "Ormond Bait Shop," but Commissioner Travis Sargent disliked the idea.
"Ike Leary is one of our [Goodwill] ambassadors," Sargent said. "He fills up the soap dishes in the bathrooms. He fills up the toilet paper when it's needed."
At the commission's meeting on April 15, Sargent had suggested highlighting Leary's name on the side of the building — that the sign should read "Ike's Granada Pier Bait and Tackle." Commissioner Lori Tolland liked the idea, but said she was hesitant.
"If we could find a way where his name could be prominent, but maybe not permanent on a building, I think that might be a better way to go," she said at that meeting. "But I'm not going to be an obstructionist. I'm just presenting another alternative."
Sargent responded that the sign wouldn't be permanent, but that while Leary runs the bait shop, he should be recognized.
After getting clarification that Sargent sought lettering on the side of the building, City Manager Joyce Shanahan said staff would have to look at due to some existing limitations. She said staff would bring something back.
At the May 20 meeting, Assistant City Manager Shawn Finley said they opted for a generic sign for consistency, as concession operators in other city facilities — such as Andy Romano Beachfront Park, Ormond Beach Sports Complex, Nova Community Center and the Ormond Beach Performing Arts Center — largely do not have their signs on the building.
Commissioner Harold Briley suggested the city not use channelized letters for a generic sign, and instead highlight Leary's shop with something like a backlit sign that can be easily replaced if needed in the future.
Tolland said she liked Briley's idea.
Sargent expressed frustration because he felt a consensus was reached at the April 15 meeting, but Tolland, Mayor Jason Leslie and Shanahan disagreed.
"I don't think that the minutes reflect that there was a consensus," Shanahan said.
Joining the discourse, City Attorney Randy Hayes said that the city's Site Plan Review Committee met prior to the commission's April 15 discussion too.
"I don't think it was necessarily ignoring the desire of the commission, as much as the fact that the SPRC probably met well before this commission had discussed it and staff, I don't believe, had a clear consensus within themselves in terms of what the lettering should be," Hayes said.
Staff, he added, has clear direction now.
As for the permanence of the sign, Leary, who has operated the bait shop since 1999, also gave the city clear direction.
"I've got a son that when I retire is going to jump right in there," Leary said. "OK? As far as I'm concerned, it will always be Ikes Granada Pier Bait and Tackle, and that's how I'd like to leave it."
