- March 4, 2025
Dear Editor:
After coming off a very heated few years regarding over development, flooding and the proposed Belvedere Fuel Terminal, in a recent City Commission meeting several commissioners sought to "demoralize" by "silencing" our recently elected Mayor Jason Leslie for what appeared to be an honest, enthusiastic media tour showcasing what is left of Ormond Beach "charm." I personally think that action speaks volumes about their commitment to constituents and is eerily similar to the Volusia County Council trying to keep Chairman Brower quiet.
I personally look forward to Mayor Leslie's exuberance about and openness to his community...Not a "go along to get along" attitude demonstrated by my zone's commissioner when questioning Belvedere Fuel Terminal, yet voting for it without any debate presented from other members as to why it was a "good addition" to Ormond Beach community. Or a previous member who thought it was a "Buc-ee's" style proposal...Can't say they actually read it. Or another previous member who staked their career on "banning plastic straws" yet not a peep regarding Belvedere close to sports fields and later we all learned that adhesive used in
paper could be harmful — all about protecting the children.
My personal hope is I will never hear the words "You're Barking up the Wrong Tree" when our previous mayor addressed a packed meeting of constituents concerned about the proposed Belvedere Fuel Terminal prior to meeting commencements and without recorded minutes. Funny how he ran for state office outside the voting population of Ormond Beach.
Ormond Beach residents spoke loud and clear for our choice of mayor just as Volusia County residents spoke loud and clear for their council chairman.
Stand tall and make us proud!
Cecilia List
Ormond Beach
Editor's note: The Ormond Beach City Commission has not voted to approve the Belvedere Terminals fuel farm proposal at 874 Hull Road. The property is located in unincorporated Volusia County, meaning it is under county jurisdiction. Votes taken by the commission in relation to the project include the creation of the I-2 Heavy Industrial zoning district, which was later eliminated by the commission. The commission, both past and present, has voiced opposition to the project, and also voted against supplying utilities to and allowing Belvedere to annex the property into the city. Additionally, previous Ormond Beach Mayor Bill Partington now represents District 28 on the Florida House of Representatives, which includes the city of Ormond Beach and its voting population.
Dear Editor:
It was a dark and dreary night. In fact, it was in the middle of the night when our house alarm went off. I called 911. Within minutes two patrol cars were at our house.
If wasteful spending and fraud is found in our government, it could go to pay our police more. My grandson is a policeman. He gave the Victorian speech at the police academy. He challenged the cadets to change many lives for the better. Our police do change many lives for the better. Whether they put their lives in danger to pull over a drunken driver or respond to a 911 call in the middle of the night, they save lives.
Barbara Sandberg
Ormond Beach
Dear Editor:
Ormond Beach Commissioners are correct to end fluoridation — ethically, morally and scientifically.
My two beautiful granddaughters are growing up in Ormond Beach and I am relieved and overjoyed that their commissioners finally stopped adding unnecessary fluoride chemicals into the drinking water.
I appreciate Mr. Valcik’s 40 years of working to keep drinking water safe. It’s an important job. But during his tenure, over the same 40 years, I’ve studied the safety and efficacy of water fluoridation only to discover it’s neither. My town, Levittown, New York, stopped fluoridation in1983 with no evidence of creating more tooth decay. This started my fluoridation investigation. In fact, three counties in New York State: Rockland, Nassau and Suffolk are totally non-fluoridated while neighboring New York City is 100% fluoridated, where tooth decay is rampant.
The addition of fluoride chemicals into drinking water started 80 years ago with the mistaken belief that ingested fluoride was an essential nutrient. But it’s neither. Like all drugs, fluoride has adverse side effects that affect different people in different ways and others not at all.
The most egregious are the over 300 studies showing fluoride’s detrimental brain effects which EPA ignored when setting safe water fluoride contaminant levels. So, EPA was sued. A federal judge did EPA's job for them. After 7 years, two bench trials, and expert testimony, he ruled that fluoride at 0.7 mg/L (the amount legislated into drinking water) poses an unreasonable health risk. We are waiting for the EPA to act upon that ruling.
It’s important to note that the concentration of fluoride in water doesn’t equate to an individual’s total fluoride intake from all sources.
Fluoride is in virtually all foods and beverages, some medicines, absorbed from dental products, inhaled in air pollution and ocean mist. It’s in all infant formula, some baby foods and juices — very high in tea, ocean fish, soy and grape products, etc.
It’s undisputed that too much fluoride damages bones, brains and children’s developing teeth. Seventy percent of US children and adolescents are afflicted with dental fluorosis, the only outward sign of fluoride toxicity. It’s unknown what fluoride is doing to the rest of their bodies.
World Health Organization data shows that tooth decay rates declined equally in fluoridated and non-fluoridated countries. Despite Florida’s 78% fluoridation rate, Florida ranks at the bottom for poor dental health, not from lack of fluoride, but from lack of dental care.
Carol S. Kopf
Levittown, New York
Editor's note: Health organizations such as the American Dental Association, Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Medical Association all support community water fluoridation. According to the ADA, fluoridation is the most effective public health measure to prevent tooth decay.
Dear Editor:
As a resident of Volusia County for all of my 75 years, and of Ormond Beach for 66 of these years, I heartily endorse the city’s proposed acquisition of the property at the southeast corner of Center and Wilmette Avenues as reported in the Observer of Feb. 27. I recall growing up and playing in the area when this was open grazing land. Nature has now reclaimed this land and its proximity to Thompson’s Creek provides a vital watershed, and the vegetation shelter for many forms of wildlife.
I would also suggest the city explore the opportunity to acquire a portion of the wetlands between Division and Hand Avenue for the purpose of creating a retention pond that would provide great relief to area property owners, especially along Hand and Division Avenues, from the flooding of streets and yards that accompanies heavy rains. A vacant house that was virtually destroyed by Hurricane Milton stands on property that would offer access to this area for such a venture.
Steve Doll
Ormond Beach
Dear Editor:
I am grateful to Mike Scudiero and Terry Harmening for their responses to my letter regarding eliminating the property tax here in Florida. Public civil discourse is a great exercise of our First Amendment as well as a means to flesh through issues and potential solutions. It is something I both enjoy and encourage others to do.
As mentioned, the sales tax and electric vehicle tax are both less intrusive revenue replacement to the property tax. Another preferable alternative is a voluntary means to give money to fund services via options on utility bills. For example, the City of Ormond Beach can add a line item for road improvements with a box to check next to it on the invoice and different dollar amounts to take out additional money every month for a year.
Being a fiscal conservative, in addition to looking for other means of revenue generation, I also like to look at the other side of the financial ledger: expenses. I mentioned utility bill already. Creating and mailing those out, as well as receiving and processing returning payments, require funding. I bet that many residents would opt to go paperless-billing and ACH auto-payments if given an incentive. Maybe $10 off their next bill? The cost of the credit would be made up in a couple of months and the rest would be ongoing savings. There has been recent moves to go to native or Florida-friendly landscaping on public property. This should save money as well as be environmentally friendly. There will also be a cost-savings item on this month’s City Commission agenda to make fluoride in our drinking water optional, which I would encourage our City Commission to pass for both fiscal responsibility and personal health decisions going back to the people. I could go on, but these are a good start.
The beauty of trying a new idea in Florida is having 67 counties be incubators of solutions with best practices that later may be shared to other counties (and eventually other states). I would propose the state provide that each county government make their own decision to opt-in to replacement of property tax by another means. Provisions can be made which would raise the cap on sales tax or fuel tax for the opt-in counties. The target would be revenue-neutral. Cost savings options can be exercised if revenue is below budgeted expectations.
Joe Hannoush
Ormond Beach
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