Volusia County residents will be able to hear from two county council candidates, including the incumbent chair, at a community forum and Q&A session scheduled for Thursday night.
RELATED: Amid flooding concerns, Volusia voters face big choice
Incumbent County Council Chair Jeff Brower, a Republican who’s made a name for himself responding to residents’ flooding concerns by pushing for development moratoriums in the county, is slated to attend. Joining him is Steve Miller, a Democrat running for the District 2 seat who previously served as a Daytona Beach City Commissioner.
The two candidates’ opponents were also originally slated to attend the forum, before it was rescheduled due to Hurricane Milton earlier this month. Now Randy Dye, seeking the chair position, and incumbent District 2 Commissioner Matt Reinhart won’t be present Thursday night.
Residents in Tomoka Farms Village, a rural part of the county grappling with persistent flooding issues, organized the forum, following a community meeting attended by about 90 people in early September. At that meeting, speakers spoke of the history of Tomoka Farms Village, an area designated for “rural residential and agricultural land use,” according to its local plan
One speaker at that September meeting, Mike Poniatowski, organized Thursday night’s forum.
“We really want to forestall development … so we can keep the natural, rural character that we've cherished for generations,” Poniatowski said. “We have members that have been here since the '50s. I've been in my home for 37 years. We want that not to change.”
Many residents in the area experienced devastating flooding earlier this month during Hurricane Milton, as well as during Hurricane Ian two years ago. But it’s not just hurricanes anymore, Poniatowski said: these days, any heavy afternoon rainstorm lasting more than a couple of hours is likely to lead to flooding.
“An acre of vacant land holds a lot of water,” Poniatowski said. “And a lot of the vacant land around us has now been built up. So that water is shedding off onto the historically existing properties, which are lower than new construction, because regulations require that construction to be higher.”
Thursday night’s forum will be held at Spruce Creek Baptist Church on Taylor Road, from 6 to 9 p.m.
