Commission hears public plea to act on Daytona Beach $2.5M offer for Avalon Park service rights; members request closed-session and workshop discussion

A member of the public told the commission that on Nov. 5 the Daytona Beach City Commission voted 4–2 to offer Ormond Beach $2.5 million to purchase the city’s rights to provide water and sewer services to Avalon Park. Jeff Boyle urged the Ormond Beach commission to place the offer on the agenda for immediate public consideration and to pursue a public hearing, saying accepting the offer could end litigation and avoid future infrastructure costs.

Commissioner Travis Sargent raised the matter during reports and asked that the commission schedule a shade meeting to discuss the settlement offer (which city staff said is the appropriate forum for settlement discussions) and a separate public workshop to review the broader Avalon Park agreement and history. City Attorney Ann Margaret Emery advised that settlement terms and offers are appropriate for a shade meeting but that broader contract context is better handled in a workshop; staff agreed to develop scheduling options.

No formal settlement vote was taken; Commissioners discussed the need for transparency and public outreach and instructed staff to return with scheduling options for a limited shade meeting about any settlement offer and a subsequent workshop focused on the Avalon Park service agreement and background.