Hi, kids!

It’s time once again to turn a jaundiced eye toward the news and newsmakers of the day who, in my cynical opinion, either contributed to our quality of life or detracted from it in some significant way…

Volusia County Council of Cowards

Best Practices

“A procedure that has been shown by research and experience to produce optimal results and that is established or proposed as a standard suitable for widespread adoption.”

Industry Standards

“A set of criteria within an industry relating to the standard functioning and carrying out of operations in their respective fields of production. In other words, it is the generally accepted requirements followed by the members of an industry. It provides an orderly and systematic formulation, adoption, or application of standards used in a particular industry or sector of the economy.”

Best Management Practices (BMP)

“Best management practices are methods that have been determined to be the most effective and practical means of preventing or reducing non-point source pollution to help achieve water quality goals.”

Political Prostitute

“Elected officials who accept campaign contributions and endorsements from special interest groups, corporations, and the wealthy individuals who control them in exchange for favorable legislation or policies that increase profit margins for the few to the detriment of many.”

For good or ill, my gift/curse remains the preternatural ability to unravel the inconsistencies and paradoxes that frequently occur in local governance and politics.  Those contradictory riddles of logic that challenge our conventional understanding of the “truth” – that we can see with our own eyes versus the bureaucratic artifice which seeks to deflect our attention.   

That said, I must admit, sometimes the abject absurdity of it all still baffles me… 

For instance, after reviewing the Volusia County Council’s agenda for Tuesday’s “Special Meeting” – the first in what will be a long series of tortuous memorandums and agonizingly boring PowerPoints, narrated in monotone by senior staff and played out over months, a strategy that will eventually crush the enthusiasm of even the most ardent supporter of flood control measures – something about a ludicrous plan to “incentivize” a voluntary low-impact development ordinance didn’t smell right.

By definition, an “Ordinance” is a law established by governmental authority, an official decree, an authoritative order.  It isn’t a mere suggestion, or an invitation to do the right thing – and it typically doesn’t come with financial inducements for following the rules…

To ensure I understood the contradictory concept of ‘voluntary best practices’ in the context of the council’s choreographed discussion, I took a minute to review the above definitions. 

The first three come from the United States Government, an organization not traditionally known for its clarity. 

The last one I made up. 

Just seemed appropriate under the circumstances…

Then I pondered the obvious: “If best practices are shown by research and experience to produce optimal results, and industry standards are generally accepted as integral to the optimal functioning and conduct of operations – why in the hell would our ‘powers that be’ not demand those basic standards from the local building industry – or take steps to ensure development practices in Volusia County conform to industry norms?”

Look, it doesn’t take the deductive reasoning of Lieutenant Columbo to see that the opposite of standards and practices is an intentional deviation from accepted principles, a complete disregard for established rules, ignoring potential risk, and creating unintended consequences for others who may be harmed by negligent or nonconforming practices.

Sound familiar?

It should. 

Especially if you are one of the thousands of Volusia County property owners suffering the devastating effects of development-induced flooding – repeat victims who are demanding substantive action from our elected officials on the Volusia County Council of Cowards.  

Inconceivably, in the face of unprecedented suffering, this week the foremost minds in the Ivory Tower of Power in DeLand concluded that not only should Volusia County government make industry standards and best practices voluntary – they should provide “…incentives for developers and design professionals to implement these best management practices during the design phase of a project.”

You read that right. 

Somewhere along the dusty political trail, local governments were sold on the idea that with the right application of public funds – or other lucrative “incentives,” tax breaks, and infrastructure improvements – they could compel impactful businesses and industries to ‘do the right thing’ by the taxpayers who supply the spiffs.

Several years ago, a business presented under a mysterious cryptogram that everyone knew was spelled “Amazon” – the most successful ecommerce company in the known universe – yet Daytona Beach granted millions in inducements to locate a robotic fulfillment center at the very nexus of I-4 and I-95…

One can only imagine the uproarious guffaws in Amazon’s site development offices when it was announced, “Not only are we getting the warehouse at the most advantageous access point to all of Central Florida – but rather than make us pay for the privilege – those rubes are going to give us $4 million!” 

I don’t make this shit up, folks.

Now, using the bureaucratic legerdemain they are famous for, the Volusia County Council has reached into their well-worn top hat and pulled out a way to appease and enrich their political benefactors in the development industry by incentivizing what should be mandatory practices while making it appear they are accomplishing something of substance to reduce (emphasis on “future”) regional flooding, using empty promises of revisiting the ordinance to ensure current victims won’t notice they are being cut adrift…

Abracadabra. 

Just like that, on Tuesday evening, during a clearly orchestrated farce, our elected dullards voted 6-1, with Chairman Jeff Brower dissenting (and Councilman David “No Show” Santiago literally phoning it in) to implement a series of toothless measures permitting developers to voluntarily incorporate low-impact best management practices into “conservation developments” within the Urban land use designation, or not.

If they choose to follow what should be mandatory LID best practices, developers will be eligible for a smorgasbord of lucrative “incentives,” to include increased density, increased building height, reduction in tree replacement requirements, and reduced building permit and land use development fees.

Bullshit.

I got a chuckle when Councilman Danny “Gaslight” Robins once again mewled his hollow denials, quibbling that – despite the fact Low-impact development has been discussed in Volusia County government for decades – he’s heard no “measurable data” that LID practices reduce flooding (?) – while laughably painting himself and his fellow shills as “small government” advocates:   

“Seven out of seven of us ran on less government, and making government larger by adopting mandatory regulations that still no one has been able to provide no measurable data to say that it will stop or prevent flooding to the people that we hear about — that’s the pickle I’m in,” Robins said.

In actuality, the “pickle” Mr. Robins finds himself in is that his neighbors are being financially ruined by repeat flooding – and instead of taking definitive measures to help them – he sold his political soul to development interests with a chip in a very lucrative game… 

Then, as evidence of the senseless mindset that has resulted in Volusia becoming the most flood prone county in Florida – seventh in the nation – Councilman Don Dempsey, who represents inundated areas of West Volusia, explained his daffy rationale to waterlogged constituents:

“We all want to see low impact development tested out and try to see if it works, but the mandate — all we may do with mandates is drive developers out of the county.  They may just pack up and say, ‘Heck with this, we’re going to go to Lake County and do a subdivision.'”

Yeah.  That would be a terrible thing. 

I mean, where would the $1,000 campaign contributions come from if speculative developers picked up and left Volusia County rather than adopt ethical practices to prevent the destruction of neighboring homes?    

City of Daytona Beach – Communication is Key

“The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn’t said.”

–Peter Drucker

I recently had an interesting discussion with a resident concerned about last week’s tempest in a teapot at Daytona Beach City Hall when Commissioner Stacy Cantu took exception to a proposed internal policy that would grant City Manager Deric Feacher and the city’s Information Technology director the authority to pull the plug on elected officials electronics if they violate cybersecurity protocols.

Last week, in an informative article by Eileen Zaffiro-Kean writing in The Daytona Beach News-Journal entitled “Daytona Beach city commissioner worried cybersecurity policy violates city charter,” we learned:

“Imagine a state government employee telling Gov. Ron DeSantis he wanted the power to remove the governor’s access to the state’s information technology network if he ever thought DeSantis violated state cybersecurity policy, or he didn’t think DeSantis was following cybersecurity best practices.

That’s how Daytona Beach City Commissioner Stacy Cantu sees a proposal to give City Manager Deric Feacher and the city’s information technology staff that kind of power over the six city commissioners and mayor if they violate a 77-point policy outlining requirements for use of the city’s information technology network.”

She’s right.

To her credit, the ever-vigilant Ms. Cantu believes the policy would upend the critical balance of power at City Hall which states the city manager works exclusively for the city commission, not the other way around.      

As City Manager, Mr. Feacher is granted extraordinary powers by city charter to fulfill his myriad responsibilities.  He denied the policy represents a “power grab,” explaining “It’s not a matter of me asserting any authority,” he said. “It’s me protecting the integrity of the system and the city’s $390 million budget.”

Mr. Feacher is also right.

Observers looking on from the outside can often see situations more three-dimensionally than those at the point of conflict.  It is the result of the natural loss of situational awareness that comes when well-meaning people become so caught up in conflict, they can no longer see the precipitating issue objectively.

Perspective dictates our response to situations and limits our view of the details.    

This is especially true during a “Clash of the Titans” – when senior leadership at the top of a public or private organization allow disputes to transcend the honest debate of competing views that makes for good policy, begin circling the wagons, and protecting their turf.   

More often than not, this results from poor communication. 

In the Council/Manager form of government, where the manager is permitted broad powers and permitted to perform their duties free of interference from individual elected officials, on occasion, there will be friction.   

Therein lies the headache for city/county managers who must keep five to seven big personalities informed and engaged – while overseeing the day-to-day operations of an organization with a lot of moving parts – or risk being tossed out on their ass by majority vote of the butcher, the baker, and the candlestick maker…  

It’s a hard dollar, and in my view, Mr. Feacher does an excellent job for the residents of Daytona Beach. 

That’s what makes this unfortunate miscommunication so disappointing.

According to the News-Journal’s report, “After a back and forth debate Wednesday night between Cantu and Feacher, and input from other commissioners and the city’s head of information technology, it appeared Cantu was mostly alone in her protest. By the end of the discussion, most commissioners seemed to see the proposed cyber policies as necessary protection for the city’s online systems.

City Attorney Ben Gross’ comments appeared to calm most worries that the cyber policy for the elected officials would violate the city charter.

“This would be a legal delegation of authority under our charter,” Gross said. “I’m not aware of any impediments that would prevent you from authorizing the manager to implement this. … You would not be violating the city charter.”

In my experience, when it becomes necessary for a governmental organization to place limits on those with the responsibility (and political liability) for its funding and oversight, it is important that everyone – including those in the cheap seats who pay the bills – understand the operational necessities for the action, and the checks-and-balances in place to prevent abuse.  

Far too often, elected bodies fall victim to the “tail wagging the dog” syndrome, a reversal of the power dynamic, where the bureaucracy controls duly elected representatives and sets public policy by proxy.

This is often accomplished using arbitrary rules and subjective edicts that neuter an elected officials sworn responsibilities to their constituents.

Don’t take my word for it, ask Volusia County Council Chair Jeff Brower what happens to those in his political fishing camp who dare to think independently and refuse to be beaten into the round hole of conformity…

To her credit, Commissioner Cantu has been sensitive to maintaining the elected body’s oversight authority – and her independent research and due diligence has uncovered potential problems and pitfalls before it was too late – most recently exposing serious issues with an asbestos-laden Beach Street building the city was considering for purchase.  

Unfortunately, for having the courage to ask the tough questions, Ms. Cantu is often accused of having sharp elbows, and her strained relationship with Mr. Feacher is well known to her colleagues and constituents.

Let’s hope they can find common ground, and mutual respect.

Effective internal and external communication between the elected officials, administrators, and those they exist to serve begins with trust – and a sensitivity to the roles and responsibilities established by charter that allow for the effective and efficient functions of government. 

In my view, it is a win-win for the City of Daytona Beach to have an effective watchdog looking out for potential threats to its IT infrastructure – and an elected representative with the strength and independence to ensure the safeguards established by the Commission’s oversight authority continue to protect tax dollars, ensure transparency, and promote accountability.

Quote of the Week

“The Palm Coast City Council is moving toward a plan to raise water and sewer rates 28 percent over the next four years and borrow $456 million over the next two years to finance some of the $700 million in repairs, expansions and new construction of a water and sewer infrastructure under strain from age and rapid growth.

The two bond issues would dwarf all previous city bond issues and its existing total debt, which stands at $134 million. The rate increases would, for a household using 4,000 gallons of water a month, result in bill increases of $40 a month by October 1, 2028, or an annual increase of nearly $500–more for households consuming more water.

Palm Coast Mayor Mike Norris and Council member Ty Miller, over Council member Theresa Pontieri’s dissent, gave the administration direction to draft an ordinance that would sum up that approach and go before the council and the public at two public hearings, on March 4 and March 18, for approval. The hearings are likely to draw large and possibly angry crowds. If the council’s history is any guide, that kind of response may change the council’s direction, though Norris and Miller repeated a half dozen times Tuesday evening the metaphor of the can having been kicked down the road for too long. They are not willing to kick on.”

–Pierre Tristam of FlaglerLive, as excerpted from “Palm Coast Plans to Sharply Raise Water-Sewer Rates and Borrow $456 Million to Finance Needs, Dwarfing Previous Debt,” Wednesday, February 12, 2025

According to stressed Stormwater and Engineering officials in Palm Coast, the city has already tightened its belt to the breaking point to meet rapidly growing needs in its overcapacity wastewater utility – now, they’re down to boiling that belt and eating it…

That means existing residents will pay for Palm Coast’s exponential growth the development community said would pay for itself when they were clearcutting pine scrub to shoehorn more subdivisions. 

Now, city officials are up to their hips in shit (literally), under the yoke of a state consent decree, and prepared to take on massive debt to expand capacity while somehow funding mounting repair and replacement costs.  

This phenomenon isn’t limited to Flagler County.    

Now, at our time of need – when those of us who have lived on the “Fun Coast” for years are suffering the devastating impacts of overdevelopment – state officials who gifted developer’s carte blanche to build whenever and wherever they want under threat of crippling lawsuits – have indicated they are less inclined to return our tax dollars to fund utilities projects for individual cities going forward.

So, what’s the ultimate cost if the City of Palm Coast decides to kick the can even further down the political trail and violate the consent decree?

According to FlaglerLive:

“Miller asked about consequences if the city does not satisfy the consent decree. He only got half an answer: the city would face fines if it does not comply with the order by 2028 or complete projects that would invalidate the fines. The fines are not burdensome: What he wasn’t told is that if the city violates its consent order, bond-rating agencies would punish the city with a downgrade, which would substantially increase the city’s cost of borrowing and financing its needed capital improvements. Those cost increases would be measured in the millions, compared to the thousands, in fines from the Department of Environmental Protection. “Generally, the higher the credit rating assigned to the bonds, the lower the interest rate on the bonds due to a lower risk,” Hamilton said.

In the end, it’s not entirely the council members who are voting, but the bond-holders.”

I think they call that an “inescapable position” – with existing residents bent over and paralyzed, left without viable options – while out-of-state developers continue to haul untold millions out of the pine scrub as the bulldozers continue to roar…

And Another Thing!

“Basin studies can take 6-18 months depending on the size, Bartlett estimated. Getting stormwater projects done could take years.

“Unfortunately stormwater projects are some of the slowest moving projects there are,” Bartlett said.

The projects are complex and require careful planning and work. The process begins with studying how an area responds to storm events and looking for possible solutions. After officials decide on a project, it has to go through design and permitting. That can involve multiple agencies.

“Once all permits are obtained, the design is finalized, and land acquisition is complete, the project can proceed to construction. The entire process, from initial analysis to project completion, can take anywhere from 4 to 10 years, depending on the scope and complexity of the project,” according to county officials.”

–Volusia County Public Works Director Ben Bartlett, as excerpted from his interview with reporter Sheldon Gardner of The Daytona Beach News-Journal, “Does development cause flooding? It depends on where you live, Volusia official says,” Monday, February 10, 2025

Having read Director Bartlett’s interview twice, I’m still not sure if it was an explanation, or a confession… 

The Q&A began with the typical detached bureaucratic empathy for repeat victims, “If you get water in your house, that is a catastrophic event, and I completely understand why the reaction is what it is. … And I completely understand it is a devastating experience,” he said.”

When asked “Is development the cause of flooding in Volusia County?” Bartlett immediately reverted to the vague generalities that form the “talking points” senior bureaucrats use when avoiding specifics:

“Bartlett said flooding issues in Volusia County are multifaceted.

“You have to look at each individual location, and each area that floods is different. It floods for a different reason. It might flood for multiple reasons,” Bartlett said.

The county is seeing issues with older subdivisions with limited infrastructure, he said.

An example that Bartlett pointed to is Daytona Park Estates in DeLand, an area with a history of flooding issues.

Road construction likely began in that area in the 1950s, according to an email to The News-Journal from county officials. Most were first built as dirt roads before modern stormwater regulations “and rely on shallow swales for drainage.”

Except, the recurring inundation is no longer limited to established subdivisions and low-lying areas with a history of flooding. 

Since our visionless ‘powers that be’ began ignoring density and concurrency requirements to facilitate the profit motives of their political benefactors in the development industry, the problem is now regional and spreading – affecting suburban and rural areas alike – recurrent devastation that has left many Volusia taxpayers financially destroyed and demanding solutions.

In response to the now undeniable problem of development induced flooding, Volusia County officials explained:  

“These swales have limited capacity and can become overwhelmed during heavy rainfall,” according to the county. “Additionally, many older homes were built before the current finished floor elevation requirements, making them lower in elevation than newer homes constructed to modern standards. When a new home is built at a higher elevation on an adjacent lot, it can potentially create drainage challenges for older properties.”

So, during the recent period of explosive growth, none of the pseudo-experts in Volusia County government were aware that massive sprawl, filling wetlands in a “help here/hurt there” mitigation strategy, and utilizing fill-and-build construction techniques would result in stormwater runoff destroying adjacent homes and properties?

Really?

In acknowledging the problem (sort of) Director Bartlett quibbled, “Large developments if they follow the rules generally should not impact offsite (nearby properties). That’s not 100% guaranteed, but that’s why those rules are in place,” Bartlett said.

The county has seen other issues with developments, such as pond failures during storms, Bartlett said.”

According to the report, Volusia County would prefer we place the blame on Mother Nature for contributing to the problem with more “major rainfall events” that quickly overwhelm stormwater systems, which has prompted more time-consuming “studies” in “top-priority” areas:

“Right now, four watershed studies are being developed: for Spruce Creek, Little Haw Creek, Deep Creek and DeLand Ridge. The county is also contributing funding to the city of Edgewater’s study because there are county assets there.

“We’re trying to focus on the areas where we’ve experienced issues and there’s infrastructure or development or folks that might be impacted by flooding,” Bartlett said.

Those studies will look at ways to protect properties from flooding in major storms and recommend possible solutions. The studies will also involve input from the public.

“The truth might be, ‘Hey, this structure in an 11-inch rain event, it’s OK. But in a 15-18 inch rain event, it’s going to flood.’ And then the question becomes, ‘What do we do? … Do we acquire that home and demolish it? Do we elevate it? Do we come up with a project that might fix it?’ That’s why these studies are important,” Bartlett said.”

Which brings us full circle… 

According to Bartlett, “studies” are time-consuming endeavors, taking between 6 and 14 months if everything goes as planned.

He’s right.

Once the findings are analyzed, solutions discussed, consultants hired, and preferred contractors selected and properly greased – it can take years to get a single stormwater, traffic infrastructure, or public utilities project shovel ready – and even longer to complete.  

When you add to that the constant procrastination and strategic foot-dragging that has been the modus operandi of the Volusia County Council of Cowards – allowing more time and distance between mandatory low-impact development regulations and additional growth – you begin to see the enormity of the problem our highly paid faux-experts should have seen coming a decade ago…    

Now, homes are being washed out by recurrent floodwater as the rhetoric turns from “100-year” storms to “500-year” storms (that come twice a year now) while the emphasis remains on how best to facilitate the destruction of more, more, more natural areas to accommodate more zero lot line cookie cutter subdivisions and half empty strip centers.

Greed-crazed madness…

In my view, this continued collusion, postponement, and abject negligence by those who accept public funds to serve in the public interest should be criminal. 

That’s all for me.  Happy Valentines Day!  Have a great Daytona 500 weekend, y’all!