- February 24, 2025
Also: Community garden to be planted this spring
Only half of the available spots in the free fishing tournament on Feb. 28, called Reel in the Fun, have been reserved, City Manager Joyce Shanahan said at the Feb. 17 City Commission meeting. In the catch-and-release tournament, children ages four to 12 are teamed with an adult, and prizes are awarded.
The city has had two successful fishing tournaments for children and adult teams on the walkway under the Granada Bridge. This is the first year a tournament has been added at Central Park.
City Commissioners Troy Kent and Bill Partington said the city should continue promoting the tournament.
“This is what it’s all about as far as good family values,” Kent said. He suggested that the city deliver fliers to the elementary schools for children to take to their parents.
Information can be found on the city’s website, ormondbeach.org., or by calling the Leisure Services Dept. at 676-3250.
Shanahan said that the Community Garden is set to be planted this spring, but the volunteer committee is still $6,000 short of funds for materials, after raising $6,000. She said the city is going to supply the needed funds so they will not miss the planting and growing season.
City Commissioner Bill Partington said that if all the garden spaces are not sold, he would like for the commissioners to get involved “in a meaningful way” in the garden. He said he has heard other commissioners talk about their container gardens. The Leisure Services Dept. will start taking reservations for garden space on Feb. 23.
Before the meeting, the officials had a brainstorming session. These sessions are informal meetings where the officials throw out ideas for discussion and no official decisions are made.
In the session, the commissioners discussed different possibilities with the MacDonald House, which houses the Ormond Beach Historical Society; the Ames House on South Beach Street, which houses the city legal department; and the tennis courts located near the MacDonald house. Ideas included relocating the Historical Society and seeking private development for the tennis court and MacDonald House areas. Another idea was selling the Ames House to raise money to buy the historic firehouse that is now up for sale on East Granada Boulevard, which could be a site for the Historical Society and other uses.
The commission asked Shanahan to get appraisals on the MacDonald House and tennis court areas so future decisions can be made.
Mayor Kelley mentioned that the top two floors of the MacDonald house are deteriorated and restoration would be expensive.
Also at the meeting, Commissioner Rick Boehm said there should be a record of government officials who have served in Ormond Beach. He said it’s an important part of history.
“It’s just absent,” he said. “There should be a compilation of people who served here. They talk about pioneers, but not who was in government.”
