DAYTONA BEACH
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VOLUME 1, NO. 2
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Daytona dog beach location selected County County eyes allowing dogs from Williams Boulevard to the Seabreeze Boulevard approach. PAGE 3A
Redistricting targets equal populations Daytona Beach’s new map is based on 2020 Census data. PAGE 6A INSIDE ARTS FUNDING CUT
Volusia County Council’s Danny Robins takes issue with LGBTQ events funded by taxes. PAGE 4A
NEW FACILITY
Volusia County opens a new animal intake shelter. PAGE 6A
INDEX
Business..................... PAGE 3B Calendar..................... PAGE 2B Cops Corner................PAGE 2A Crossword.................. PAGE 8B Letters........................ PAGE 9A Public Notices.............PAGE 5A Sports......................... PAGE 6B Tributes ...................... PAGE 3C Real Estate................. PAGE 4B
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Commissioner Cantu: City inspectors OK’d sidewalks Repairing the sidewalks in the Mosaic neighborhood could cost taxpayers across the city $1 million. Cantu said staff is blaming others for their mistakes. SIERRA WILLIAMS STAFF WRITER
At the Oct. 1 Daytona Beach Commission meeting, Commissioner Stacy Cantu said the city should own up to mistakes instead of pointing fingers. “People make mistakes,” Cantus said. “I make mistakes. If you make a mistake, you just say I’m sorry, and tell the residents I’m sorry, and you move on, and you fix your mistake. You don’t keep blaming other people for our own mistakes.” Cantu, the Zone 4 representative, was referring to the situation in the LPGA-area Mosaic neighborhood, where residents have been dealing with faulty sidewalks for the last two years. The issue first came up in a July Daytona Beach City Commission meeting. Assistant City Manager for Public Infrastructure Andrew Holmes said the city is responsible for the repairs to some of the sections of sidewalk. The repairs will cost around $1 million, Holmes said in July, and the city will still need to budget for the repairs and find funding.
Daytona Regional Chamber celebrates local business leaders
The Daytona Regional Chamber of Commerce recognized outstanding individuals and organizations at its 2025 Annual Awards Celebration, held on Tuesday, Sept. 30, at The Shores Resort & Spa in Daytona Beach Shores. The 2025 honorees were: Small Business of the Year: Acies Renovations Nonprofit of the Year: Eas-
Since then, Daytona Beach has been working on resolving the issue alongside the developer, ICI Homes. City Attorney Benjamin Gross said the city is working with ICI Homes on finalizing an agreement for repairs. “We basically have a final agreement,” Gross said. “My expectation is that agreement will come to you for approval at the next commission meeting.” Cantu took issue with statements made that former City Manager Jim Chisholm reduced performance bonds for some Mosaic sidewalks without city inspectors checking them first. Bonds are held in trust to guarantee work is completed by a developer and are reduced with the completion and inspection of construction work. Cantu said that was not the case, at least on the Mosaic project. “I actually looked up all these sidewalks, all the inspections passed,” Cantu said. “I have them [the reports]. I got tons of them. The inspectors signed off and passed these.” Cantu said she made a public records request regarding the Mosaic sidewalks and was told “records were lost.” But, she said, she went online to find them herself. In July, Holmes told the commission that the city was legally responsible to repair specific sections of the sidewalks. Cantu found memos sent to Chisholm
terseals Northeast Central Florida Young Professional of the Year: Caroline Cline, ICI Homes Marvin Samuels Memorial Leadership Award: Len Marinaccio, Bomar Construction “These remarkable individuals and organizations are not only leaders in their respective fields, they are true champions for our community,” said Nancy Keefer, President & CEO of the Daytona Regional Chamber of Commerce.
Daytona Beach City Commissioner Stacy Cantu. Photo by Brian McMillan
in 2019 from Holmes, then the Public Works director, requesting Chisholm reduce the performance bonds for the completed sidewalk work in the Mosaic 1A and 1B subdivisions. “The reductions in the bond amounts are a result of large portions of sidewalk that are completed and accepted by the city,” Holmes’ memo read. “The City Engineer has reviewed and approved these amounts.” Chisholm approved a reduction of the 1A performance bond from $342,736.16 to $322,844.74 — a total of $19,891.42 — and for the 1B bond from $320,860.90 to $304,427.17 — or $16,433.73.
Nancy Keefer, Daytona Regional Chamber President & CEO; Rick Durgin, Jami Gallegos and Chris Toews, Acies Renovations - Small Business of the Year Winner; Beverly Johnson, President & CEO, Easterseals - Nonprofit of the Year Winner; Len Marinaccio, Bomar Construction - Marvin Samuels Memorial Leadership Award Winner; Caroline Cline, ICI Homes - Young Professional of the Year Winner; Mike Sznapstajler, Cobb Cole & Chair of the Board of Directors. Courtesy Photo
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Another memo, this one from 2022 was sent from current City Manager Deric Feacher to ICI Homes Vice President of development Dick Smith notifying ICI that the “required sidewalks for the subject subdivision have been constructed to the point in the amount of the performance bond from $322,844.74 to $6,457.00 is hereby approved.” City engineer Jim Nelson was copied on the memo. That was a reduction of over $316,000, just for subdivision 1A’s sidewalks. A similar memo to Smith from Feacher notified of 1B’s performance bond reduction from $304,427.17 to $6,089.00 for completed sidewalk work. Cantu said she was not there to defend Chisholm or be his protector. The city may not have done anything to the sidewalks themselves, but its inspectors signed off on the work, she said. The city is “absolutely responsible for this,” she said. “What is right, is right,” Cantu said. “You don’t blame someone that is not here when he didn’t sign off on these things.” The people responsible need to be held accountable if they are not doing their jobs, Cantu said, and the city needs to watch its mistakes more closely. “The city was very, very messy, and now the residents have had to pay for it,” she said. “Our residents that don’t even live in Mosaic, are having to pay for this mistake.”
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