Deltona staff presents $139 million estimate for citywide sidewalks, street lights and lake spraying; commissioners prioritize schools and resident-funded light

City staff presented preliminary, citywide estimates for installing sidewalks, expanding street lighting and treating aquatic vegetation across Deltona and commissioners agreed to narrow the next steps to school-area sidewalks, law-enforcement–informed lighting and resident-funded street-lighting districts.

Phyllis Wallace, a city staff member who led the presentation, told the commission the combined one-time installation cost for five-foot sidewalks across the city and initial treatments for lakes would be about $139,125,000 and that ongoing annual costs for street lighting and lake management as presented would be in the low millions. Wallace cautioned that some figures in her slides contained calculation errors and said staff would correct and re-distribute the detailed numbers.

The discussion matters because sidewalks, street lighting and lake management affect public safety, mobility and local budgets. Commissioners repeatedly pressed on who would pay, whether improvements would be equitable across neighborhoods, and how projects should be prioritized and funded.

Wallace said staff calculated sidewalk costs by assuming five-foot sidewalks where sidewalks are currently missing on both sides of streets and estimated street lighting costs using standard cobra-head 40-watt LED fixtures on existing utility poles; decorative poles and locations requiring new poles or bringing power from the rear of lots were excluded from the initial estimate. She also presented district-level estimates: for example, she cited roughly $17.2 million in sidewalks and $360,000 per year in lighting costs for District 1 and higher totals for some other districts. Wallace said she used $25,000 as a sample initial lake-treatment cost per lake and roughly $1,000 per month as a recurring treatment figure in some examples, and noted Lake McGarity has seen reduced per-owner costs after initial treatment.

Commissioners said the staff assumptions were conservative and in some cases unrealistic. Vice Mayor Harriot and Commissioners Santiago and Howington said they did not expect sidewalks to be installed on both sides of every street and urged staff to analyze one-side-of-street options first and to prioritize sidewalks near schools and where law enforcement or crash data indicate a safety need. Commissioner Santiago said, "I think we need to focus first on making sure we have sidewalks on one side of the street" near schools.

On street lighting, multiple commissioners recommended resident-led non-ad valorem assessments (municipal service benefit units, often shortened to MSBUs or street-lighting districts) rather than a citywide property tax increase. Vice Mayor Harriot said residents she’s spoken with prefer smaller, 10- to 15-foot residential-style poles and would pay assessments for localized districts. Commissioner Novick said boulevards and high-crash corridors that are city responsibilities (for example, Saxon Boulevard and Howland Boulevard) should remain city-funded and completed from the city budget, while other street-lighting should be led by property-owner petitions.

Commissioners and staff also discussed lake management. Some commissioners said lake treatments are largely an aesthetic and property-value issue and should be initiated by property owners; others said limited lake spraying might be appropriate where aquatic vegetation directly impedes stormwater conveyance or creates health-and-safety conditions such as algae blooms. Commissioner Novick said Lake Lorraine’s algae blooms justified spot treatment. Vice Mayor Harriot proposed using stormwater funds for aquatic vegetation control only within a narrowly defined distance (for example, set by the city’s stormwater engineers) of city stormwater conveyances, with other lake treatments funded by MSBUs or property-owner petitions.

Staff identified funding options they will explore, including grants, non-ad valorem assessments, impact fees, public–private partnerships and ballot initiatives. Commissioners asked staff to return with refined analyses that (1) assume one-side sidewalks where appropriate, (2) show street-lighting district options and costs per home, (3) identify stormwater versus non-stormwater lake-treatment needs, and (4) link sidewalk proposals to a transportation/master plan and available grants. Wallace said staff would provide corrected calculations and more-detailed follow-up information.

The commission also asked the city manager to pursue filling gaps on boulevard lighting and to supply clearer public information on how residents can form street-lighting districts and lake-treatment MSBUs. Commissioners suggested public education efforts and using the city’s website and events to explain the petition process and estimated costs.

A few residents spoke during public comment. Tim Blodgett questioned the pace and priorities of sidewalk work and said some proposed treatments could have environmental side effects; another resident, Lori Wanaki, asked why Twin Lakes subdivision residents were not present for a later agenda item on a related assessment request.

The city did not take a formal vote on a citywide package at the meeting; staff will return with corrected figures and a narrower set of options for the commission’s direction.