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Ormond Beach approves $300,000 watershed analysis for Ormond Terrace neighborhood
Summary
Commission approved Resolution 2025-73 to contract Freeze & Nichols Inc. for a hydraulic watershed analysis of the Ormond Terrace area to guide multi-year stormwater improvements.
The Ormond Beach City Commission approved Resolution 2025-73, authorizing a contract with Freeze & Nichols Inc. to perform a watershed and hydraulic analysis for the Ormond Terrace neighborhood, which city staff identified as a priority flooding area.
Deputy Mayor Lori Tolland raised concerns about the cost of studies and asked staff to explain why outside consultants were necessary. Assistant City Manager Sean Finley replied that the work is an engineering hydraulic analysis that staff cannot run in-house because of the specialized modeling software and intensive staff time required. “This is really the first phase of design,” Finley said, adding that the analysis will establish drainage basins, tailwater conditions, and pipe-sizing needs so the city can prepare construction documents and capital plans.
Finley told the commission the work would provide the technical basis to prioritize and phase repairs across several years and to seek external grant funding from state agencies and water management districts. He said the modeling software is licensed by consultants and would be expensive for the city to acquire for infrequent use.
The consultant proposal was characterized in the presentation as a comprehensive engineering calculation and modeling contract, not a narrowly scoped desktop report. The commission voted to approve the resolution; the clerk recorded unanimous “yes” votes from the commissioners present.
City staff said the analysis is expected to inform a multi-year program of pipe replacements and drainage improvements, with some projects likely requiring 15 to 24-inch pipe sizing in locations now served by undersized 8- to 12-inch pipes. Staff also indicated the analysis will help the city prioritize project phasing and support grant applications.
The contract will move the city toward construction-ready documents for prioritized areas; staff cautioned that solving the neighborhood’s flooding will take multiple projects over five years or more, and that the study is the technical first step toward that multi-year effort.
