Deltona holds workshop on community assets; residents asked to prioritize spending

Deltona city staff and planning consultants held the third workshop in the city’s comprehensive-plan update this evening, asking residents to prioritize capital improvements and public services that will shape policy through 2050.

Jordan Smith, identified in the meeting as the community development services director, opened the session and said the workshop would focus on Chapter 3, “community assets,” including capital improvements, educational and cultural facilities, emergency management and public services. “We appreciate your time and continuing to follow in this comprehensive plan update,” Smith said.

The consulting team explained an open-house format that replaces the round-table structure used in earlier sessions. A consultant leading the presentation told attendees the project has received online input to date, reporting “92 unique contributions, 286 total responses, and about 700 visits to the website.” The consultant asked participants to visit five staffed stations—emergency management, education, parks, utilities/public services and transportation—and complete two exercises: an audit of each area’s condition and a dot-priority budget exercise.

In the budget exercise, each participant receives five dots meant to represent a hypothetical $1,000,000, and is asked to distribute those dots across priorities to indicate how they would allocate the money. The presenter said the exercises are intended to help staff translate residents’ big-picture priorities into actionable policy direction.

Smith emphasized the planning horizon: “Not just today, but remember, this plan is for 2050,” and said the engagement tonight will inform a series of policy-development sessions beginning in May and continuing into July; staff noted a possible additional session in September if policy drafting requires further public input.

City staff and consultants introduced the project team and acknowledged officials in attendance including the city manager (Dr. Ortey), Public Works representative Phyllis Wallace, the fire chief, and School Board member Ruben Colon. Consultants from JB Pro, Access and Cordino Group were identified as supporting the engagement and subsequent policy work.

Organizers also reviewed logistics: one staff or consultant will be at each station, attendees were asked to use sticky notes rather than permanent markers on public boards, and a whiteboard was provided for additional comments. The session moved into the open-house exercise after the introductory remarks and refreshments were noted for participants.

No formal votes or motions were taken during the workshop; staff said the feedback collected tonight and online will be compiled and used to draft policy proposals that will be returned to the public in the May and July sessions.