'Year in Review': Looking back into 2018

What happened in Ormond Beach in the last 12 months?

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January

  • Jan. 8: Roundtable of Volusia County Elected Officials is presented with survey stating a half-cent sales tax referendum would likely pass in the county, if the money went toward road and water improvements. 
  • Jan. 8: Kissimmee woman Janice Marie Zengotita-Torres' body was dumped on Bennett Lane. She was killed after being mistaken for another woman during a murder for hire plot. 
  • Jan. 16: Daytona Beach's new slogan, "Wide. Open. Fun," adopted at a Halifax Area Advertising Authority meeting.
  • Jan. 18: All 16 city managers approve the default distribution of funds raised by a possible half-cent sales tax, announced County Council Chair Ed Kelley during a meeting.
  • Jan. 18: Ormond Beach Mayor Bill Partington writes editorial about how a prior commission's decision to refuse changing the city's wetland rules led to the land that is now Margaritaville being annexed into the city of Daytona Beach. "It was a victory of sorts to the anti-sprawl residents and commissioners who supported it at the time," he wrote. Ormond Beach will now be impacted without having any regulatory authorities or revenues to control long-term consequences, Partington wrote. 
  • Jan. 22: Volusia County is "soaring to new heights," said County Council Chair Ed Kelley at the State of the County address.
  • Jan. 26: Ormond Beach Chamber of Commerce swears in new Board of Directors. Rachael Gilbert becomes its chairwoman for 2018. 
  • Jan. 29: After 15 months of hurricane repairs, the original Houligan's Sports Grille in Ormond Beach reopens. 
  • Jan. 30: Volusia County Sheriff's Office arrests Adam Schumann, of Vero Beach, for a 2008 rape case that happened around the 300 block of South Atlantic Avenue.

February

  • Feb. 1: Ormond Beach City Commissioner Rob Littleton writes editorial against the county's half-cent sales tax proposal.
  • Feb 7: OBPD succesfully talks down a suicidal man who barricaded himself in his home in the 200 block of Roosevelt Avenue. Officers spent hours communicating with the man to prevent him from killing himself.
  • Feb. 8: Former City Commissioner Jeff Boyle writes editorial responding to Partington's over the Margaritaville land annexation into Daytona Beach. He wrote that Consolidated Tomoka Land Co. demanded waiver of the city's wetland rules at the time, and that the commission at the time pledged to uphold wetland rules against corporate pressures. "We were not 'imprudent' in that rejection," he wrote. "We were upholding our oaths."
  • Feb. 12: Volusia County asks all 16 municipalities to pass resolution to add a half-cent sales tax referendum to the November ballot. At the Roundtable of Volusia County Elected Officials meeting, some of the smaller cities expressed apprehension.
  • Feb. 14: The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting leaves 17 people dead. Faux threats begin to flood into Volusia County schools. 
  • Feb. 20: People speak before the City Commission to "mourn" the loss of trees at what is now Granada Pointe.
  • Feb. 20: City Commissioner Dwight Selby suggest the city buy the Ormond Beach Riverside Church property during commission workshop.
  • Feb. 26: Ormond Beach resident Kaleb 'Lee' Scharmahorn makes it through the blind auditions on The Voice. 
  • Feb. 27: Ormond Beach residents Ken and Julie Sipes form CANDO 2. Former City Commissioner Jeff Boyle becomes their spokesperson. CANDO 2 announces it is not political and that it will not receive or donate money for campaigns. “We’re not interested in elections," Boyle said. "We’re interested in communication.”
  • Feb. 27: Parents, teachers and former educators from across the county plead to the School Board against arming teachers in the wake of the Parkland shooting.

March

  • March 4: Ormond MainStreet holds fifth-annual Taste of Ormond. 
  • March 7: Security First Insurance holds groundbreaking ceremony for its new headquarters in Ormond Crossings. Volusia County Council Chair Ed Kelley called it "one of the greatest historic moments in economical development" in the county. 
  • March 8: CANDO 2 holds first official meeting at the Ormond Beach Library. 
  • March 20: By this point, all 16 cities in Volusia County have passed a resolution to put a half-cent sales tax referendum on the ballot. The County Council discusses having a representative from each city attend a County Council meeting prior to it passing so the referendum is seen as a unified initiative. 
  • March 20: Mayor Bill Partington directs City Manager Joyce Shanahan to expedite the city's civic engagement action plan (which would later become know as the OB Life series) due to the growing concerns about development and growth in the community.
  • March 22: A town hall meeting hosted by the Daytona Beach News-Journal in partnership with the Volusia County School District discusses the idea of arming school personnel and increasing the number of school resource officers throughout the county as safety strengthening measures.
  • March 24: At least 1,000 people in the March For Our Lives event at the East International Speedway Boulevard Bridge to protest gun violence in the wake of the recent Parkland massacre.
  • March 29: The city begins dispute with Volusia County over  $135,000 in unpaid taxes by the River Bend Golf Club since 2012 when the county removed its tax exemption status. Ormond Beach City Attorney Randy Hayes said the city only became aware of the issue in fall of 2017. The city argues that those tax bills were mailed to the golf club's lessee, and not the city.

April

  • April 2: City finally receives $5.8 million FEMA reimbursement from Hurricane Matthew, 18 months after the storm.
  • April 3: The Ormond Beach City Commission pushes back against the notion that it favors developers' interest over the residents'. "The idea that we never have supported trees or we never support the environment is just wrong," City Commissioner Rick Boehm said. 
  • April 3: A late insert to state legislature's 2018 tax package put additional restrictions in county and municipality ability to tax the public, affecting Volusia's initiative to place a half-cent sales tax referendum on the ballot. “We are the losers on this," County Councilwoman Joyce Cusack said.
  • April 9: Volusia County Sheriff's Office charges the county's 21st and 22nd students that made a school threat in the aftermath of Parkland.
  • April 10: CANDO 2 holds its second meeting, and spokesman Jeff Boyle reminds attendants to be civil, saying he was disturbed to find out some people were making threatening calls to Paul Holub (developer of Granada Pointe), his bank and related real-estate agents. "We're better than that, and when something like that happens, it reflects on CANDO and everyone of us," Boyle said.
  • April 12: A total of six candidates for City Commission emerge.
  • April 12: Planning Board approves a rezoning on the beachside to demolish an existing blighted building and build a standalone Starbucks. 
  • April 17: CANDO 2 submits a formal request to the city for a six-month moratorium on development.
  • April 19: Ormond Beach celebrates Earth Day with 26th-annual Picnic on the Plaza at City Hall.
  • April 24: Ormond Beach Police Chief Jesse Godfrey announces the Department has fired an employee in light of 185 discrepancies in evidence. 
  • April 26: CANDO 2 supports spokesman Jeff Boyle despite the resurfacing of allegations that he had romantic relationships with students while he was a teacher at Seabreeze High School in the 1980s. 
  • April 30: A neighborhood meeting is held to discuss the possibility of demolishing the Fountain Square Shopping Village on the Beachside to build a five-story commercial and residential building. Citizens and building tenants push back against the project.

May

  • May 1: Volusia County Council backpedals on half-cent sales tax, citing it was not the right time as ballot was already "too crowded" and OPPAGA audit hindrance. The council looks to raising its 15-year-old impact fees instead. 
  • May 1: City decides to buy the Ormond Beach Riverside Church property for an all-cash deal of $729,000. 
  • May 4: Gov. Rick Scott visits the new Hard Rock Hotel in Daytona Beach.
  • May 8: More than 100 people participate in Volusia United Educators Organization's march for better wages and benefits for teachers. 
  • May 10: Planning Board approves plans for an Aldi's and PDQ restaurant for Shoppes on Granada.
  • May 10: Medical Examiner Sara Zydowicz sends letter to the Florida Medical Examiners Commission about "dangerous conditions" at the Volusia County Medical Examiner's Office.  
  • May 11: CANDO 2 announces its moratorium request during its meeting. Spokesman Jeff Boyle steps aside, saying he didn't want to be a distraction to the cause.
  • May 11: A naked man disrupts over 200 flights at the Daytona Beach International Airport after issuing a bomb threat and attempting to ride a baggage carousel to the tarmac. 
  • May 15: Volusia County Council vows not to "shelf" the Beachside Redevelopment Committee's recommendations to improve the beachside from Ormond Beach to Daytona Beach Shores. "This is a really pivotal time for Volusia, and I think it's very important that we don't drop the ball," said Councilwoman Heather Post.
  • May 15: The City Commission recognized two Waste Pro employees for their heroism in saving an Ormond Beach resident from a house fire.
  • May 15: Ormond Beach resident Kaleb "Lee" Scharmahorn is eliminated from The Voice 
  • May 18: Hundreds of officers from Volusia and Flagler County gathered for the annual Law Enforcement Remembrance at Daytona Memorial Park.
  • May 22: School Board says it needs help from municipalities to fund the 44 new school resource officers needed to be in compliance with state law.
  • May 24: Salty Church opens its new "rescue station" in the historic Ormond Beach Fire House.
  • May 26: Democratic Congressional candidates Stephen Sevigny and John Upchurch debate health care policies at the Ormond Beach Library.

June

  • June 5: CANDO 2 pickets outside city hall due to lack of response from the city about the moratorium request and restoration of 2009 wetland rules. 
  • June 5: The City Commission takes Cassen Park floating dock project off its capital improvement plan for the 2018-2019 fiscal year to keep general fund reserves from dipping below 15%.
  • June 7: The proposed five-story project for Fountain Square Shopping Village is placed in an indefinite hold by developer, Across the Pond Developments LLC. 
  • June 12: School Board chooses $3.2 million plan to hire 44 school guardians. 
  • June 14: CANDO 2 announces it is now a political action committee and endorses Kathy Maloney Johnson, Joe Dugan, Sandy Kauffman and Barry du Moulin.
  • June 19: Volusia County Manager Jim Dinneen steps down, is relieved from the obligatory six-month transition period and collects just under $250,000. 
  • June 19: County Council votes to help School Board with $500,000 to fund school resource officers. 
  • June 22: City Commissioner Rick Boehm announces he will not seek re-election due to a worsening medical condition.
  • June 26: City holds remembrance ceremony to honor the heroes who battled the 1998 wildfires. 
  • June 28: City holds the first OB Life workshop. It focused on the topic of development and drew about 250 people.

July

  • July 9: Mowers Depot starts community watch group to fight back and raise awareness against power tool thieves. 
  • July 10: County Council begins search for new county manager. Some council members broach the idea of an audit to restore public trust.
  • July 12: Planning Director Steven Spraker announces that the PDQ restaurant project in Shoppes on Granada was placed on hold by the developer.
  • July 15: A panel of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students stop in Daytona Beach during its March for Our Lives Road to Change tour. They criticize Legislature's decision to place an armed school resource officer in every school. "We shouldn't be preventative," said sophomore Ryan Servaites. "We shouldn't need a good guy with a gun to stop a bad guy with a gun because the bad guy shouldn't have a gun."
  • July 16: Missing Daytona Beach man is found dead in Ormond Beach river. 
  • July 20: Gov. Rick Scott visits Ormond Beach and congratulates Hull's Seafood on its expansion. "Buy more fish," he said.
  • July 24: City holds second OB Life workshop, this time centered around transportation. 
  • July 24: County Council goes to roll-back rate of 5.6944.
  • July 24: County Council approves plans for a Tournament Drive extension, which will shift the planned Minto community's exit farther west.
  • July 31: A Lucky's Market is announced to open in the old Food Lion building on the beachside.
  • July 31: City Commission votes to raise property taxes by 2.87%, but keeping its rank of third-lowest out of the 16 municipalities.

August

  • Aug. 7: The County's interim district medical examiner recommends the medical examiner's office be run by a private company, not Volusia. 
  • Aug. 7: City Commission Candidate for Zone 4 James Holcombe is on trial on racketeering allegations dating back to a 2015 sting by the sheriff's office.
  • Aug. 10: Holcombe is found guilty. 
  • Aug. 13: Florida Hospital announces plans to demolish its Florida Hospital Oceanside building, the only emergency room on the beachside, which had been shuttered since October, 2017.
  • Aug. 14: Florida Hospital announces to its employees it will be rebranding itself as AdventHealth. 
  • Aug. 15: City Manager Joyce Shanahan is one of six finalists to become the next city manager for Naples. 
  • Aug. 20: Ormond Renaissance Condominiums celebrates its groundbreaking ceremony. "A lot of people have been waiting for this day," Realtor Sheriff Guindi said. 
  • Aug. 21: Ormond Beach Riverside Church asks city to lease the property until the congregation can find a new location. 
  • Aug. 21: City holds reception for its new fire chief, Richard "Rusty" Sievers.
  • Aug. 22: Site plans for a complete renovation of the Publix in the Trails Shopping Center reach the city's site plan review committee.
  • Aug. 22: A neighborhood meeting for the Marshside Village development, a 144-home subdivision north of Airport Road. Citizens raised concerns about flooding and traffic. 
  • Aug. 28: Former Volusia County sheriff Ben Johnson wins County-Council At-Large race. He will take office in January, 2019.
  • Aug. 30: Ormond Beach Police Capt. Lisa Rosenthal retires from the force after 22 years in the Department. Capt. D.W. Smith is promoted to fill her shoes.

September

  • Sept. 5: The City Commission orders the Ormond Beach Riverside Church to vacate, citing the building's deteriorating conditions and possible safety risks. The city had previously stated the church property was in need of at least 2.8 million in repairs. 
  • Sept. 6: The Women of Waterfront begin advocating for a safer John Anderson Drive.
  • Sept. 6: The gates to the city's new Mary Margaret and Ed Kelley YMCA dog park officially open. The city spent $500,000 on the facility.
  • Sept. 13: Local developer Lewis Heaster and Billy's Tap Room owners Doug and Lillian Rand dispute over access to the restaurant's gas and trash from the Gaslamp Shoppes' back parking lot. Heaster asked the Rands to pay $400 a year for access, but the Rands they have a right to use it with "no strings attached."
  • Sept. 13: Planning Board recommends the City Commission vote against the Marshside Village development. One planning board member voiced disapproval over CANDO 2's "gentlemen's agreement" with developer, which suggested a $25,000 fine in case preserved wetlands or conservation areas are impacted.
  • Sept. 13: Developer Paul Holub begins landscaping Granada Pointe, despite having no buildings on the property. 
  • Sept. 14: Naples City Council selects Ormond Beach City Manager Joyce Shanahan as its top candidate to become Naples next city manager. 
  • Sept. 18: Councilwoman Heather Posts presents data on 30-minute EMS response times during a council meeting. Other council members called her reckless, and the county's EMS Director Peter Springer said these calls were "outliers" as the county maintains and seven minute and 30 second average response time. "Do we know if there were any bad outcomes from that?" Springer asked. Ironically, an ambulance had been called that morning to transport County Council Chair Ed Kelley to the hospital for chest pains. It took about 18 minutes to reach him. 
  • Sept. 19: City Manager Joyce Shanahan turns down the Naples job and decides to stay in Ormond Beach.
  • Sept. 20: The plans for a new brewery in downtown, to be named "Ormond Garage Brewing," are revealed.
  • Sept. 27: Halifax Health holds a National Day of Remembrance program, allowing local families to grieve the death of loved ones. 

October

  • Oct. 2: The Volusia County Council decides to wait on raising impact fees. Some council members said they wanted to get public input first, though several members of the public at this meeting and previous ones voiced their desire for the county to increase fees. "I think we need to take as much time as required to have these community conversations," Councilwoman Deb Denys said.
  • Oct. 7: Ormond Beach Firefighters Charities battled cancer by buzzing heads at its Fired Up for a Cure event, which raised over $4,000 for Light The Way.
  • Oct. 9: Ormond Beach Mayor Bill Partington announces the state of the city is strong at annual address. "We're blessed to have great management, a great staff and years of experience and knowledge that make our city run like clockwork," he said.
  • Oct. 9: A neighborhood meeting is held to discuss a new parking lot next to the Hamlin and Associates' building at 801 W. Granada Blvd. A residential home would need to be demolished in the adjacent Fiesta Heights subdivision. The meeting's attendees were divided over the project. 
  • Oct. 10: Citizens for Ormond Beach holds a candidate forum at Ormond Beach Elementary. Candidates across the board disagree on what is "responsible" growth and whether the city is headed in the right direction.
  • Oct. 15: A 77-foot shrimping ship washes ashore near the Cardinal Drive approach in Ormond Beach. It comes to rest just feet away from the historic Nathan F. Cobb wreck. 
  • Oct. 16: The City Commission unanimously rejects the Marshside Village residential project, citing flooding concerns and the "gentlemen's agreement" between the developer and CANDO 2.
  • Oct. 18: CANDO 2 is no longer requesting a moratorium on commercial development. The political action committee states it believes the city's development rules will be addressed, should its endorsed candidates be elected. 
  • Oct. 18: Repairs to the MacDonald House's siding to begin soon.
  • Oct. 25: The Florida Hospital Oceanside property is listed for sale at $2.5 million. Aside from incentivizing a hospital to open an emergency room, which he doesn't believe would be enough to entice a hospital to build on that lot, Mayor Bill Partington said there's not much the city can do.
  • Oct. 27: The city hall plaza is officially named the "David Hood Plaza" in a special ceremony.
  • Oct. 29: Zaxby's officially opens in Ormond Beach.
  • Oct: 30: Residents and officials ask the County Council to raise impact fees at the County's last public workshop. "Act on it," said Mary Anne Connors, former deputy manager. "Act now." 
  • Oct. 31: After gaining much popularity among visitors and residents alike, and more than its share of selfies, the 77-foot AMG shrimping vessel is tugged away.

November

  • Nov. 1: The Daytona Beach News-Journal publishes front-page story about a complaint filed against the Ormond Proud political action committee. In the article, the Ormond Beach Observer is accused of showing favoritism to the PAC by offering a special pricing of $1,000 for each full-page political ads. 
  • Nov. 5: Ormond Beach City Commissioner Rick Boehm is celebrated at his last commission meeting. He represented Zone 3 for eight years.
  • Nov. 5: City Commission approves a 50-year service agreement with the Ormond Memorial Arts Museum. This will allow OMAM to qualify for grants to help fund its $2.5 million expansion.
  • Nov. 6: All City Commission incumbents are re-elected. Zone 3 candidate Susan Persis is also elected.
  • Nov. 8: Observer Publisher John Walsh issues public apology about Ormond Proud ads. He announces that the newspaper will never offer discounts to another political organization. 
  • Nov. 8: City Commissioner Rick Boehm speaks about civilian service during the city's Veterans Day Celebration.
  • Nov. 13: The Volusia County Council votes to phase impact fee increase. Fees will be implemented in full by 2020. 
  • Nov. 19: Just six days after the council acts on impact fees, the discussion for a half-cent sales tax referendum is renewed during a Roundtable of Elected Officials meeting.
  • Nov. 20: The new Ormond Beach City Commission is sworn in.
  • Nov. 27: The sixth and final OB Life workshop draws less than 40 people. 

December

  • Dec. 4: The Volusia County Council votes 4:1 to legally fight Amendment 10, which will shift autonomy back to certain offices, including the sheriff's. Volusia County Mike Chitwood calls the council "Scumbags of the Week" on Facebook, writing "Volusia County is a sunny place for shady people." At the same meeting, the council also renewed an ordinance creating the Department of Internal Auditing, to aim for more transparency.
  • Dec. 4: Ormond Beach City Commissioner Troy Kent proposes building a concrete pier on the beachside.
  • Dec. 5: Chitwood holds press conference announcing he and the Florida Sheriff's Association will fight the council on Amendment 10's validity. “This is an affront to democracy," Chitwood said.
  • Dec. 6: A neighborhood meeting is held to discuss the possible construction of an Extended Stay America hotel on Interchange Boulevard. Only a handful of people showed up, and there were no objections.
  • Dec. 12: Volusia County EMS Director John Zaragoza is placed on administrative leave. A county spokesperson said he and County Public Protection Director Joe Pozzo met on multiple occasions, where it was "mutually agreed" Zaragoza would resign. 
  • Dec. 13: The Planning Board votes to recommend changing the city code regarding alcoholic beverage licenses to match changes made by the state of Florida in 2016. In order to serve spirits, business will need to be 2,500 square feet and be equipped to serve 150 persons.
  • Dec. 18: The Volusia County Council bids farewell to Councilwoman Joyce Cusack and Councilman Pat Patterson at their last meeting. "You have hours and hours of boredoms interspersed with moments of sheer terror," said Patterson about politics. 
  • Dec. 18: Developer Paul Holub holds a neighborhood meeting to discuss amendments to his Granada Pointe Planned Business Development. He seeks to have a car wash open in the project. "We're just heartsick that this is what you have brought us for this piece of land," Ormond Beach resident Linda Williams said.

 

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