Daytona Beach Youth Advisory Board prioritizes parks access, homelessness, sandbags and youth safety; schedules agency briefings

The Daytona Beach Youth Advisory Board on Jan. 29, 2025 identified parks access, student homelessness, additional sandbag locations and youth-focused public-safety outreach as priorities and directed staff to invite city and county departments to brief the board on possible actions.

Board members and staff reviewed a one-page list of priorities carried forward from the board’s October 30, 2024 meeting and discussed next steps, including asking Public Works, Parks and Recreation, the Daytona Beach Police Department and the Volusia County School Board to present at future meetings. The board also agreed to a photo in February for the city website and set a follow-up assignment for members to propose volunteer opportunities.

Why it matters: board members serve as youth representatives to the City of Daytona Beach and the topics they flagged—play spaces, homelessness among students, and youth safety—can shape what the city and partner agencies present to the city commission and to residents.

During the meeting staff said the board’s priorities list includes “better promotion of activities in Daytona Beach, more sandbag locations in the city, provided shovels, volunteer opportunities, homelessness in Daytona Beach especially students, better park access through the city, waterway cleanup, a pool at Derbyshire Park, better access to mental health services, and host community meetings on gun violence and the youth.” Board members generally supported those priorities and discussed how to turn them into concrete items for city departments to address.

On sandbags, staff described a small sandbagging tool as “inexpensive” and suggested inviting Public Works to explain why the city currently has the number of sandbag locations it does and whether adding sites or tools would be feasible. Staff explained one recurring problem: shovels left at locations are sometimes taken or not returned, which limits availability for residents.

The board asked to invite the Volusia County School Board’s homeless-youth program to speak so members can provide first‑hand feedback about student needs. Staff said the Volusia County School Board has a homeless-youth program and committed to invite that division to a future meeting.

On park access, members called for more playgrounds and open spaces usable without paid programs. Board member Ronnie Johnson and others raised Derbyshire Park, and staff said there is a Derbyshire Park master plan in progress and that Mr. Willis from Parks and Recreation would be asked to return to take public input while the plan is in early stages.

The board discussed holding a youth-oriented community meeting on gun violence and agreed staff should invite the police chief or the chief’s designee. Staff noted the Daytona Beach Police Explorers Program is aimed roughly at ages “14 to 21” and suggested exploring whether the Explorers program or a police-sponsored event could help engage youth directly. Staff also said the department does ride‑along programs but that age and approval requirements would need confirmation.

The board asked communications staff to advise how to reach people aged roughly 14–21, noting that promotion and social-media outreach are important to increase youth participation in city programs. As a near-term task, staff asked board members to bring ideas for volunteer opportunities to the next meeting and said staff will compile a schedule for the invited department briefings.

In public comments, Commissioner Monica Paris, who represents Zone 1, introduced herself and offered the commission’s assistance. “I just wanna thank you all for volunteering your time,” Commissioner Paris said, and she offered to help the board organize cleaning projects for local canals and to be a resource to the board.

A procedural vote also took place. The board approved the minutes of the Oct. 30, 2024 meeting; the motion was made by Jaylen and seconded by Tacoi Dublin and the clerk declared the motion carried 4 to 0.

What’s next: staff will invite Public Works, Parks and Recreation, the police chief or designee, the Volusia County School Board’s homeless-youth program and communications staff to future meetings; board members will prepare volunteer-opportunity proposals; and members will meet in February for a group photo in their board shirts for the city website.