Volusia County Council OKs nearly $3M in ECHO grants

Volusia County councilmen Tuesday approved more than $2.8 million in funding for recreational projects from the taxpayer-funded ECHO program.

ECHO provides funding "to finance acquisition, restoration, construction or improvement of projects to be used for environmental, cultural, historical and outdoor recreational purposes." Residents across the county fund the program through an annual property tax of 0.2 mills.

This time the projects include new pickleball courts in Edgewater and adding equipment for children with disabilities to a park in Port Orange.

"It's fantastic to see kids of all ages despite any disabilities they have being able to participate, having fun with their peers," District 4 Councilman Troy Kent said.

What projects received ECHO funding?

According to a county presentation, the projects that received funding and the ECHO dollars going toward the project include:

• Historic Seville School Restoration: $214,779. The Seville Village Improvement Inc. organization will use the funds to restore and preserve the school.

• Ormond Beach Sports Complex Softball Quad Installation of LED Lighting: $456,479. Fields at the facility will get LED lighting with support from the city of Ormond Beach.

• Nova Community Park Fields 2-5 Improvements: $216,326. The project from the city of Ormond Beach will convert one field from a softball field into a baseball field and will improve a few other fields.

• City Center Playground Improvements in Port Orange: $150,000. The playground will get Americans with Disabilities Act-accessible equipment with the support of the city government.

• Hawk’s Park Pickleball Courts & Amenities: $600,000. The city of Edgewater is co-sponsoring the project, which will build the city's first pickleball courts. Four courts with a parking lot and an ADA-compliant sidewalk are planned.

• Deltona Family YMCA Athletic Fields & Playground: $428,500. The YMCA will use the money to improve soccer fields and build an ADA-accessible playground.

• Lake Beresford Shoreline Restoration & Public Access Enhancements at the Sandra Stetson Aquatic Center: $600,000. Stetson University plans to build a living shoreline, a public dock and expand ADA-access.

• New Smyrna Beach Skate Park Expansion: $148,825. The city will add 8,000 square feet to a skate park, "including skate stairs, jersey barriers, ledges, rails, and other street skate elements." This project just missed the minimum rating from the advisory committee to be recommended for funding. But the County Council decided to fund it anyway.

District 1 Councilman Don Dempsey said the skate park is another way to encourage children to be more active.

"We need to get kids outside and doing things. ... I hate to see something get shot down because of an inexact numbering system," he said.

Every applicant is providing funding to support their project in addition to the grants.

The city of DeBary's efforts to open Alexander Island as a passive park on the St. Johns River could still receive ECHO funding, but it will have to wait. The site is west of U.S. 17 and around 2 miles west of the DeBary SunRail station.

The County Council voted to open an additional grant cycle so the city of DeBary will have another chance to apply and possibly be awarded funds this year.

The city is seeking $2.5 million from the ECHO program to prepare the park, which will include "public amenities for passive recreation, including trails, a fishing pier, observation deck and kayak launch."

County staff recommended disapproval of the project because it didn't have the required construction documents that would make it "shovel ready," Volusia County Comunity Services Director Brad Burbaugh said.

DeBary City Manager Carmen Rosamonda said the city is taking a phased approach, and the environmental permitting process poses a challenge to the normal ECHO process.

"Just because of the technicality of requiring construction plans on every single thing and (having) it fully shovel-ready sometimes on environmental projects may not be the best strategy," he said.

Volusia County Council Chairman Jeff Brower took issue with Rosamonda's comments.

"This is a beautiful piece of property. I want this project to go through, but Carmen just talked about the requirements as technicalities. That puts all of us in a bad position. It's not technicalities. ... There's rules in place that should be followed," Brower said.

Councilmen voiced support for the project and asked county officials to assist the city in preparing the application.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Volusia ECHO grants for pickleball courts, parks get OK