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Beachside board recommends city buy Meridian vehicle‑mitigation system, asks CRA shares be adjusted
Summary
After a police presentation, the Beachside Redevelopment Board recommended the City of Daytona Beach pursue purchase of a Meridian vehicle-mitigation system (total $416,401.37) and asked that Beachside’s share be adjusted to match Midtown CRA’s contribution.
Captain Conde presented the Meridian barrier system and asked the board to support buying equipment to protect pedestrians at festivals and large events. The total requested amount was $416,401.37, with the staff breakdown presented as $208,000 from impact fees, $100,000 from Main Street CRA, $78,000 from Midtown CRA and $30,000 from Downtown CRA.
"Meridian Barriers are a rapidly deployable vehicle mitigation system," Captain Conde said. "It stops the vehicles from crashing into pedestrians. ... It is used to manage pedestrian flow at festivals, markets, and any open venue, helping organizers create safe environments with minimal setup." He described specific equipment sought: three archerdrop trailers to transport units, 36 Archer barriers, two rapid gate kits, six manual haulers, two tow bars, 30 arrestor cables and 18 ADA cable protectors, and showed short demonstration videos.
Board members expressed support for the public‑safety purpose and asked technical and fiscal questions about engineering, deployment speed and how CRA cost shares were calculated. Tom Caffrey moved that Beachside’s recommended contribution be adjusted to match the Midtown CRA amount ($78,000) and that staff or the redevelopment board identify which other CRA would make up any difference. The board voted to forward that recommendation to the CRA/city commission for its Feb. 18, 2026 meeting.
Supporters said the system reduces risk to pedestrians and officers and provides a rapid, single‑operator setup for some elements; opponents and some members asked for more detail on cost allocation and source documentation. Angela Armstrong and other staff said they had consulted with other CRAs and that shared use or borrowing from partners (for example Bethune Cookman University or Volusia County Sheriff resources) remained an option when demands conflicted.
The board’s recommendation is advisory; final purchase and formal appropriation decisions will be taken by the CRA/city commission at its scheduled meeting. Staff noted the proposal will be agendized for the commission workshop and provided additional documentation to board members on request.
