- February 8, 2025
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Locals had another opportunity to sit down — this time at the Tomoka Brewing Co. — with Port Orange City Manger Jake Johansson and talk about what is happening in their city.
The two-hour "Talkin' at Tomoka" event on Thursday, Aug. 3, gave citizens a chance to discuss any concerns while also hearing about new plans officials are working on.
Medical Marijuana
A newly passed legislation regarding medical marijuana legalization means the City of Port Orange will have to repeal ordinances the city already has in place. Now, if local communities like Port Orange plan on having medical marijuana treatment centers, they cannot be regulated any more than the pharmacies already are or regulate the number of facilities.
"Council is giving us direction that they're willing to allow medical marijuana dispensaries to operate exactly like pharmacies," Johansson said.
During the Thursday meeting, Johansson encouraged residents to visit medical marijuana dispensaries to better understand how they function. He said the council already visited the dispensary in Edgewater to see how one operates. The dispensary zoning regulations will be on the Aug. 15 city agenda.
Water and Sewage
The city has made, and is making, several new changes related to the Public Works Department. Johansson said at one time all the cities in eastern Volusia County dumped treated water into the Halifax — something he noted is not done anymore. However, the city is still looking to make sewage improvements.
"We still have septic tanks that are reaching into the ground," Johansson said noting some of this could be going into the Halifax River. He said he wants to prevent this by doing septic to sewer programs, one of which is with people on septic tanks that should be on sewer.
Easing flooding is also a concern and the reason behind the Virginia Avenue and Monroe Street Drainage Project. The roughly $3 million project is expected to improve existing storm water drainage facilities with the possibility of installing new facilities.
The city will also be conducting its annual flushing and maintenance on the water distribution system. This will begin Aug. 10 and be completed no later than Sept. 21.
New Website
In late August, the city plans to roll out a new website, according to Johansson, who added that city officials want to get feedback when the site goes live. Johansson said the new website design is expected to make searching for city information easier.
Once the new website is up and running, Johansson said he would also like an app developed called Port Orange Citizen Connection, which would let residents notify the city about any issues in the area, such as potholes or accumulated trash.
Budget and taxes
When Thursday's discussion came to the topic of the budget, there were a few numbers that had changed. Johansson pointed out that the budget this year is about 4.7% more than it was last year, which equals about an additional $1.5 million. Johansson said the larger budget includes the additional staff for the new Riverwalk Park, in addition to funding for the police and fire departments.
"I'm not trying to turn it into a city I want, I'm turning it into a city you want."
JAKE JOHANSSON, city manager
Other topics of interest during the social with the city manager included the upcoming Riverwalk Park, which is set for a Nov. 4 ribbon cutting. Johansson also let residents know that even local pickleball games have become more popular, leading the city to turn several tennis courts into pickleball courts for Port Orange citizens to use.
"I've traveled around the world, seen a lot of cities, seen a lot of things that have worked well and a lot of things that haven't worked well," Johansson said addressing Thursday's group. "The good news is I'm not trying to turn it into a city I want, I'm turning into a city you want."
