10 minute read
Letters
from OBO 07 08 21
Q+A ROB LITTLETON, CITY COMMISSIONER Public safety fund, Hand Avenue extension and church vote
JARLEENE ALMENAS
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ASSOCIATE EDITOR
The big issue hovering over Ormond Beach is Avalon Park, said City Commissioner Rob Littleton.
That’s something he said he plans to keep an eye on in the next year to make sure the city of Ormond Beach isn’t too negatively impacted.
The Zone 4 representative spoke with the Ormond Beach Observer on July 5, about other issues in the city, from the church at 56 N. Beach St. to his feelings about the county’s failed half-cent sales tax initiative.
Is there a project that you’re hoping is included in the upcoming budget?
Yes, the creation of a public safety fund, with a dedicated millage rate, is my top priority. While other crackpot cities are defunding the police, we in Ormond Beach love our first responders. I also want to look at converting our medians to native plants in order to save water and replacing the roof on the police station.
What is an issue you’re keeping an eye on in your zone?
Recently, the Volusia County Council discussed widening Hand Avenue to four lanes between Nova and Clyde Morris. I want to make sure that stretch of road doesn’t become like a drag racing strip with those intersections becoming a destruction derby contest, almost.
Do you still support an extension of Hand Avenue? And if so, why?
I do support the Hand Avenue extension still, and it’s going to make it easier to travel to the other side of I-95. On the plus side, Ormond Beach won’t be paying for it because it’s not our road.
Another half-cent sales tax initiative could be on the horizon. It was discussed by
Rob Littleton
File photo by Jarleene Almenas
the County Council not too long ago as an option to fund future infrastructure. You encouraged residents to vote against a half-cent sales tax in the 2019 initiative. Would you support a future initiative?
H--- no, I would not support a future initiative. The sales tax was garbage back then, and it’s going to be even stinkier garbage now. It needs to be taken out back and put out of its misery. To be honest, I don’t think the Volusia County Council will actually move forward with it. If they do, they need to tell me what drugs they’re smoking, because it must be the good stuff. Seriously, the citizens of Volusia County voted it down and Jeff Brower won the chair’s race handily. What more evidence do they need?
Why do you feel so strongly against it?
The way it was configured, it was a watered-down mess, and the citizens basically would have been required to [pay to] build roads and other projects that developers should be required to pay for.
What are your thoughts regarding relocating the police station?
In theory, I’m not against relocating the police station for a proper EOC. In reality, it’s going to cost too much money, so I’m not supportive of it at this time.
You were a ‘yes’ vote to demolish the church. Why did you vote in favor of it, and what are your thoughts about the upcoming special meeting that the mayor called?
The building was constructed to be a church. It functioned as a church, and it looks like a church. Yet, the city doesn’t operate religious services. Therefore, the building constrains the possible uses and limits the potential for the parcel. I do not want our community’s vision constrained and limited because of an asbestos-ridden, mold-infested old building.
But the special meeting does change the dynamic, and I’m open to hearing what people have planned for the property.
Email Jarleene Almenas at jarleene@ormondbeachobserver. com.
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A MESSAGE FROM THE CITY OF ORMOND BEACH!
ORMONDBEACH.ORG
Dear Editor:
I had a very unpleasant experience with a water sports company, to which Volusia County granted a permit to conduct a kayak competition in Ormond Beach. Their activity, in my view, was dangerous and infringed upon the rights of beach patrons. While taking my morning walk, I heard a woman yelling at me to get out of the way. She was obviously angry, and was making faces and waving at me in a very hostile manner. I then noticed some people running out of the water with kayaks who I had to dodge to avoid being knocked to the sand.
The lady in charge of the event continued to yell at me and told me that I was rude. The owner of the LLC later denied that she said those things, or that one of his other controllers had jabbed his finger in to my chest several times later telling me that I was lucky he wasn’t out there or he would have handled it differently. I am a senior citizen and an army veteran of 41 years’ service to my country and am not accustomed to being bullied or having my right of access to the beached obstructed. Mostly, however, I am disappointed in Volusia County granting permits for these kinds of activities in high-density areas during peak hours to companies that exhibit this kind of behavior.
CHARLES MICHAEL SITERO
Ormond Beach
Union Church issue
Dear Editor:
As one of “we the people” in our Ormond Beach paradise, I presented a 15-minute overview of the Union Church issue at a recent civil discourse meeting this past July 1. I then emailed this overview to the mayor and other Commission members.
My thrust was to advocate for a pause in the demolition of the church. A pause to give enough time for our community to get involved in helping to determine the best use of the church property.
I see that there was a predisposition by the city to demolish the church and replace it with a temporary parking lot, followed later by a civic center per the city workshop 18 months ago, on Jan. 7, 2020. This was at the outset of the coronavirus pandemic. The ensuing horrific pandemic precluded any real citizen awareness and input on the church issue.
Now, we are here, to continue to register our concern and input, 18 months later, thanks to attenuation of the pandemic by the vaccines. A key question: Is it really best to demolish the church and convert it into a parking lot for the time being at the expense of sacrificing one of the notable links to our history? I think the best use of the church and property should be evaluated by a suitable historical urban consultant.
For example, such as Bender and Associates did for the MacDonald House several years ago. The public meetings they held really enabled enhanced citizen awareness and allowed for input by our citizens. Another question: Has a formal study been done on the need for additional parking? The report presented by the consultant during the workshop contained an inventory of available parking spaces in the area, but did not analyze a need for additional parking. We haven’t heard about any input from the city’s Quality of Life Board on this issue. Why not? I see great value in establishing a citizenbased committee with appropriate representatives including business and development interests in our city.
Thanks to our mayor for sanctioning a special meeting this coming Tuesday, July 13 at 7 p.m at City Hall. It is a wonderful opportunity for us to express our views concerning the best use of the church property.
JERRY A. VALCIK
Ormond Beach
Preserve the historic Ormond Union Church
Dear Editor:
The City Commission should reconsider their vote to demolish the historical and architectural significance church located at 56 N. Beach St. and allow six months for concerned citizens to find a way to preserve this piece of Ormond Beach history.
It was a mistake when the commission voted to remove it from the Ormond Beach Historic Landmarks list with ordinance No. 2019-13.
Rev. E.Y. Pinkerton started holding religious meetings in this area in 1876. In 1882, it grew into the Ormond Union Church, and a sanctuary was built in 1884-85. The remaining larger sanctuary was built here in 1963, with the older structure incorporated into the new one. A church has existed here for nearly 140 years.
On Jan. 9, 1891, when Ormond was less than 20 years old, a group of residents met in the Union Church to create a community service organization when the Village Improvement Association was formed by a group of women. In 1894, the Association purchased the property where the Anderson-Price Memorial Building now stands.
Ormond’s library was moved from its Lincoln Avenue location to the building. Mrs. Elisha Pinkerton, widow of the town’s first minister and founder of the Union Church was the librarian. In 1958, the VIA changed its name to the Ormond Beach Women’s Club.
Historical figures from around the country such as industrialist John D. Rockefeller, the wives of presidents Ulysses S. Grant and Grover Cleveland have worshipped at the church.
The church and property are near other historical buildings and landmarks including the Ormond Yacht Club, Pilgrim’s Rest Church, and the site of Ormond Beach’s first school.
The Union Church is an important piece of Ormond Beach history and is on the Ormond Beach Scenic loop and Trail and the Ormond Beach Historic trail and is listed on the Volusia County Ecotourism and Historic Walk Tour list. No historical account or tour of Ormond Beach would be complete without including it.
TIM GRIGSBY Ormond Beach
What Common Ground is about
Dear Editor:
What Common Ground is asking of the Ormond Beach City Commission at the upcoming special meeting on July 13 at 7 p.m. in the commission chambers is to grant a reasonable period of time before the demolition of Union Church at 56 N.Beach St. to explore together — all of us, (citizens, business owners, city staff, commissioners, builders, contractors, environmentalists, parks and recreation, historians, architects, waste management) — all options for the property, and to give equal time during this period to resolving the parking issue on the north side of Granada. Let’s decide together how we can have it all.
During the length of time it would take to make just 56 parking spaces, Common Ground will have found or breathed life into many more possibilities for parking, and the property; thereby finding a win/win for all. That is what Common Ground is about.
LINDA WILLIAMS
Ormond Beach
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