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…