- February 13, 2025
-
-
Loading
Loading
The Ormond Beach City Commission gave approval to sending $15,328.78 to help Daytona Beach extend their emergency homeless sheltering program while criticizing Volusia County government for their handling of the homeless issue.
“I’m going to support this because it’s a request from the city of Daytona Beach, and I have a ton of respect for Daytona Beach,” said Commissioner Troy Kent. “I believe they would do the exact same for us.”
“It would simply become a dumping ground with a budget that would be unsustainable.”
JOSH WAGNER, County councilman, on running a shelter without help from cities.
Daytona Beach has worked with the Salvation Army, 560 Ballough Road, to provide emergency, temporary shelter for the past 90 days. Seeking to extend the shelter for another 90 days, the city has asked other cities to pitch in for the operating cost, which is expected to be $119.663, plus $65,314 for an assessment program and $15,000 for a Traveler’s Aid program.
Daytona Beach requested payment based on the percentage of individuals from individual cities. For example, 22 individuals said Ormond Beach was their last address, or 7.67% of the 90-day counts. So, Ormond Beach was asked for $15,328.78.
Holly Hill was also asked for $15,328.78. Port Orange and South Daytona were both asked for $12,541.73.
The Ormond Beach City Commission approved the payment unanimously, but not without criticizing the county.
“We have ears hearing the problem, mouths talking about it, but no heads doing anything about it.”
ED KELLEY, Ormond Beach mayor, on the homeless issue.
As the homeless issue was debated over the past couple of years, the county offered to build a permanent shelter, but the plan died when cities would not commit to ongoing operating costs.
“I am ashamed of the County Counsel of Volusia County,” said Ormond Beach City Commissioner Troy Kent. “I am disgusted by what happened in that homeless issue.”
Kent believes the homeless issue should be handled with county tax dollars.
“This is a county issue,” he said.
Mayor Ed Kelley said the issue could have been resolved, if county leaders had talked to the mayors about the problem instead of “drawing a line in the sand.”
“We have ears hearing the problem, mouths talking about it, but no heads doing anything about it,” he said.
Kent pointed out that the county has spent millions on beachfront property.
“It’s not a lack of money problem, it’s a where you’re spending the money problem,” he said.
County Councilman Josh Wagner, when asked why cities needed to contribute, said that a shelter would not work otherwise.
“It would simply become a dumping ground with a budget that would be unsustainable,” he wrote in an email. “By having the cities as stakeholders, there will be internal pressure for it to be cost effective.”
Meanwhile, the city of Daytona Beach is currently working on a plan to build a permanent shelter on land the city owns in the county, west of the city limits.
City spokeswoman Susan Cerbone said it is a smaller concept than the proposed county shelter, but it could be enlarged as necessary. She said details are still be worked on, and the Daytona Beach City Commission will need to vote on the project.
The cities in East Volusia County will be asked to help with operating costs, she said.
Asked about helping with operating costs for a permanent, ongoing shelter, Kent reiterated in a telephone interview that it’s a county issue.
The Ormond Beach City Commission will likely get a chance to vote on committing operating funds for the planned Daytona Beach shelter, which is expected to start this fall.
