DeLand: Legislature should dedicate money for water issues

Published: Wednesday, March 4, 2015 at 4:49 p.m. Last Modified: Wednesday, March 4, 2015 at 9:42 p.m.

DELAND City commissioners unanimously have passed a resolution to use funding from a voter-approved conservation amendment to ensure a sustainable water supply for the city and its West Volusia neighbors, and not just for buying more conservation land.

More than 75 percent of voters in Florida approved Amendment 1 in last Novembers elections. The measure directs the Legislature to dedicate a third of the states real estate tax to water and land conservation efforts over the next 20 years. That means lawmakers will be required to spend about $757 million on environmental programs in their new budget.

At Monday nights commission meeting, Mayor Bob Apgar said the idea of the resolution was borne out of recent discussions with other cities with similar concerns.

The notion was that as the Legislature debated the Amendment 1 funding, since Volusia County had long been acquiring land for conservation purposes, that we should make the Legislature aware of that fact and our needs in Volusia County for issues related to septic tanks and similar infrastructure for water and sewer, he said.

The resolution passed by the commission was slightly tweaked from one that the Volusia County government had asked cities to pass, specifically pointing out challenges faced by them on the west side of the county, such as finding water sources that dont threaten the health of Blue Spring in Orange City.

Commissioners unanimously approved alcohol sale and consumption permits for two St. Patricks Day events, one of which is the first of its kind to be officially sponsored by the citys parks and recreation department.

On March 14 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., the department will hold Shamrocks & Shenanigans at the amphitheater at Earl Brown Park. The event will feature a performance of dueling pianos and a corned beef and cabbage cook-off, along with beer sold by the DeLand-based Persimmon Hollow Brewing Co., said Rick Hall, the citys director of parks and recreation.

Commissioners also unanimously approved a $38,500 change order to the Intermodal Transportation Facility just south of downtown, to install a decorative fence and make accessibility improvements to the transport hub, used by Votran buses. In January, they previously approved a change order for $20,950, for an electric sign to display the arrivals and departures of Votran buses.

Altogether, the overall cost of the project is now $1.51 million, fully paid for by a Federal Transit Administration grant.

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DeLand: Legislature should dedicate money for water issues