- October 11, 2024
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Roads can be state, county or local, with jurisdictions switching every few miles or so.
But as Volusia grows and road use climbs, local officials want to have a say on potential road projects — whatever their jurisdiction — and hope that a newly formed subcommittee will help.
The Transportation Subcommittee, part of the Roundtable of Volusia County Elected Officials, met for the first time on Monday, July 17, at the Volusia County Road and Bridge Northeast Services Facility in Daytona Beach.
Chaired by Port Orange Mayor Don Burnette, the subcommittee aims to address safety and capacity needs for Volusia County’s roads and infrastructure.
Members will discuss ways to coordinate services and roadways more collaboratively, according to a news release.
“We can talk all day about projects,” Burnette said. “We can come up with projects. We can talk about existing projects. ... But the bottom line is, how do we get things done?”
In addition to Burnette, the committee includes Daytona Beach City Commissioner Stacy Cantu, Deltona Mayor Santiago Avila, DeLand Mayor Chris Cloudman, New Smyrna Beach Mayor Fred Cleveland, Ormond Beach Mayor Bill Partington and DeBary City Manager Carmen Rosamonda.
Partington and Rosamonda could not attend the first meeting, in which members heard a brief presentation about road capacity needs and projects and then drafted the group’s mission statement.
County Engineer Tadd Kasbeer gave the group an overview of the county’s road program and anticipated needs.
In the county’s Impact Fee Zone 1, which includes Ormond Beach, Daytona Beach, Holly Hill and Port Orange, Kasbeer highlighted four segments that need improvements:
Those priorities are based on capacity numbers, both current and anticipated, but the county understands that numbers don’t always tell the whole story, Kasbeer said.
“What we’re looking for, what we’d love, is feedback ... on certain road segments that are county road segments that you’d like to see improved,” Kasbeer said.
County Manager George Recktenwald said the county is seeking road solutions that differ from previous ones, though some projects will require a regional approach, with help from the River to Sea Transportation Planning Organization.
“We need to be right along with what developments are going on, because they’re coming along and they’re going to put those trips on there a lot faster than we’re going to be able to expand that road,” Recktenwald said.
People want to see road improvements happen in conjunction with development, he said.
The county receives proportionate fair share funding from new development, but Recktenwald said that money often comes in incrementstoo small to cover road project costs. The exception, he said, has been in Daytona Beach.
“It’s taken almost explosive growth to do that over in Daytona,” he said. “In all the other places, it’s just a little piece here, a little piece there, and then hopefully we can tie enough of them together and throw in some ... impact fees or gas taxes or a grant from the DOT or something to fill in that gap and do the project.”
Burnette said the committee should discuss funding opportunities for road infrastructure.
He noted that Volusia considered implementing a half-cent sales tax to fund infrastructure and water quality projects in 2019, but 55% of voters rejected it in a special election. Burnette said he was hesitant to consider a sales tax as a future funding source, given that history.
“If that’s where everybody wants to go and we want to float it, then that’s fine and great,” he said. “But I want to make sure that we do this right and that we have citizen committee involvement.”
The committee will meet again on Aug. 28.
