- September 14, 2024
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The Florida Department of Environmental Protection may pave a 1.5-mile stretch of dirt road inside Tomoka State Park soon — a project that some locals say will bring negative environmental and archeological consequences, and one whose $1.5 million funds could be best used to address other park needs.
On Jan. 3, 2023, FDEP assigned a work plan for the project, assigning an engineering consultant. The completed design plans were submitted on Feb. 1 of this year, and the project went out for bid in April, according to a listing on MyFloridaMarketPlace, a vendor portal used by the state for projects. Bidding closed on May 8. A search of FDEP's current permits under review did not reveal that a building permit has been issued to date.
This took place mostly unbeknownst to the park's many volunteers and engaged community members, including the Friends of Tomoka Basin State Parks, the citizen support organization specifically formed to advocate for the local state parks. Most found out about it last week.
That's one of the most frustrating aspects of the project, said Suzanne Scheiber, founder of environmental advocacy organization Dream Green Volusia.
"I don't think anyone would know if some of the park rangers [hadn't] talked about it amongst themselves and to a handful of people," Scheiber said. "It's frustrating that the members of the Friends of Tomoka didn't find out before now. i think that the lack of transparency to date has just been troubling."
According to information provided to Scheiber by Park Manager Terri Newmans, the project was first proposed in 2012 when a Unit Management Plan for Tomoka State Park, Bulow Plantation Ruins Historic State Park, Bulow Creek State Park and Addison Blockhouse Historic State Park was created. The plan "serves as the basic statement of policy and direction for the management of the Tomoka Basin State Parks as a unit of Florida's state park system. It identifies the goals, objectives, actions and criteria or standards that guide each aspect of park administration, and sets forth the specific measures that will be implemented to meet management objectives and provide balanced public utilization," according to the document. FDEP held a public workshop and an advisory group meeting in 2012.
The Tomoka Basin State Park Unit Management Plan was due to be updated in 2022. This was not completed.
FDEP did not respond to the Observer in time for publication.
The 2012 plan recommended not only paving the 1.5-mile stretch of two-lane dirt road from north of the campground to the Chief Tomokie Statute parking area — the project's scope today, which also includes repaving the entrance of the park — but it allowed for the paving of all roads within Tomoka State Park.
"Although our Unit Management Plan allows for paving all the roads in Tomoka, we are trying to keep the paving minimal and only paving the areas that are the most heavily used and tend to degrade the fastest," Newmans wrote.
FDEP is hoping to pave the road to stabilize it, which has been in discussion since at least 2008, Newmans wrote.
"During dry periods, the roads become dusty and soft," she said. "In some spots it is like driving on the beach in fine sand, creating a hazard for larger vehicles and camping units accessing the park. During wet periods, the roads hold water for multiple days, swales form, and certain sections turn to mud, causing safety and access issues. Former management made numerous attempts to resolve the issues prior to paving, including bringing in a professional grader to attempt to level out the road and capping the road with crushed concrete. However, all attempts have failed, and several have ended up causing more issues.
"We currently attempt to keep the road accessible and safe by grading the road with a tractor and using fill dirt and rock to fill swales and areas prone to become mud or overly soft, however all of our attempts are temporary, and the materials erode with each rain," Newmans said.
She added that FDEP is working with biologists to ensure that impact to the park's natural resources are "minimal." The department is also working with the Division of Historic Resources to ensure cultural resources are protected.
The news of the park paving project is circulating at a time Florida citizens statewide are pushing back against Gov. Ron Desantis' "Great Outdoors Initiative," which proposed adding golf courses, resort-style lodges and pickleball courts to several state parks. On Wednesday, Aug. 28, DeSantis called the plan "half-baked" and said FDEP will gather more public input before moving forward with the initiative.
The project work plan recommended a 20-centimeter buffer be maintained "between ground-disturbing activities and the depths at which archaeological materials were identified during the 2022 cultural resource survey."
What archaeological materials?
In a letter dated June 1, 2023, to FDEP, Alissa Lotane, the state's Division of Historical Resources director and State Historic Preservation officer, wrote that the proposed roadwork is located within the boundaries of the Nocoroco archaeological site, which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. It's also within the boundaries of the Mount Oswald Plantation, which the Division of Historical Resources previously determined was eligible to listed in the register as well.
Nocoroco was the name of a Timicua Indian village. According to the Florida State Parks website, Nocoroco was occupied for hundreds of years before Europeans arrived, devastating the Timicua population. In 1766, the land was among 20,000 acres granted to Richard Oswald by the British government. He established the Mount Oswald Plantation and grew indigo, rice, timber, sugar and oranges. The plantation was abandoned in 1785 when Spain regained control of Florida after the American Revolutionary War.
The Nocoroco site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.
"If we're operating so close to archaeological materials in a state park, it does not make sense to proceed," Scheiber said. "Why would we not just work to protect what we already have and not consider putting it in jeopardy?"
Another concern about the project is the cost — $1.5 million could cover many outstanding park needs, a park volunteer said. The volunteer requested anonymity due to wanting to preserve relationships with park management.
"The Friends group is paying for a lot of the repairs that are being done at the park right now," the volunteer said.
This includes park pavilion repairs, picnic table and bench replacements. The Friends also recently replaced a transmission on a park ranger's truck.
The recreational hall's air conditioning unit has been broken since the spring, though that will be repaired in the coming days. The Friends stopped meeting in the hall because the temperatures were so hot. The hall also needs a new roof, and 19 septic systems for the park's bathrooms are in need of maintenance.
Scheiber, who also volunteers with the Friends and the park, said the hall lacks insulation, which means that electricity bills are higher than they should be, no matter if the unit is replaced.
"There's a lot of ongoing expenses and then there's items that just break down," she said. "When you're running a park and everything is outside, and we're living in this climate, it is difficult for them to keep everything up and it's a constant expense to the park just to run the park itself."
That's partly why the paving project is upsetting, the volunteer said. But it's also because the volunteer worries paving the road will make the park lose its "old time Florida" feel.
"Paving the road, you lose that old time feel that everybody loves, and not only that, it's not good for the environment," the volunteer said. "At least with the sand road, the water has somewhere to go, where on asphalt, ... more flooding is going to happen."
Flooding on the Ormond Beach Scenic Loop and Trail, off which Tomoka State Park is located, has worsened over time, Scheiber said. This has taken place as more development is built in the area.
"On the north end of Old Dixie Highway, the water runs across the road into the park, so more pavement, more asphalt in that area, even within the park, does not make sense," Scheiber said.
The community should have been given more transparency by FDEP, Scheiber said. She's not sure that the recommendations outlined in the 2012 Unit Management Plan would be the same today.
"Times have changed," she said. "The attitude now with what's happened in Volusia County and even specifically on the Ormond Scenic Loop is that so much has been lost and with flooding issues and wildlife displaced, the attitude now is different than it was then."
With the resident pushback across the state for the governor's Great Outdoors Initiative, Scheiber said she found the timing of paving the road "questionable." Roads can lead to future development, she said.
"It feels like everyone's looking at all the other parks and no one is focused on what's happening right here in our backyards," Scheiber said.
Dream Green Volusia has organized a protest against the paving project, to take place at the west end of the Granada Bridge at 5:45 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 4. Some residents will likely speak at the City Commission meeting that evening at 7 p.m.
The city and the county are not responsible for this project, but Scheiber is hoping to ask for their support.
"This is not the public versus Tomoka State Park or their staff or volunteers," Scheiber said. "It's to do the right thing by the park and to save our green space."
