Volusia council to vote on ECHO requests totaling $13 million

News admin October 5, 2026 0 Comments

Volusia council to vote on ECHO requests totaling $13 million

Volusia County Council members this week will consider spending some $13 million of ECHO funds on 10 projects, including public site improvements to The Brown, formerly known as the Museum of Arts and Sciences in Daytona Beach.

Other ECHO projects up for consideration include an education center and dock at the Marine Discovery Center in New Smyrna Beach, new boat ramps in Edgewater, and an environmental education facility at the D Ranch Preserve in Southeast Volusia.

Also on Oct. 6, council members will consider a temporary ban on the construction of data centers, as well as barring law enforcement agencies from using license plate readers and Flock cameras on county rights-of-way.

The County Council will meet at 9 a.m. Oct. 6 at the Thomas Kelly Administration Center, 123 W. Indiana Ave., DeLand.

Here’s a look at the new ECHO projects and some of what council members will consider ahead of the meeting.

Volusia ECHO projects recommended to receive funding

The ECHO Advisory Committee scored 10 applications for grants. Nine received scores of 80 or more and now come recommended to the County Council for approval. The 10th, an ADA-compliant oceanfront boardwalk from Breakers Oceanfront Park south to Harvey Avenue in Daytona Beach, seeks $400,000 and received a score of 77.83.

Marine Discovery Center, Inc.: The fourth phase of an education center and dock will add a 3,000-square-foot, open-air education pavilion, accessible walkway, restrooms and a passenger-vessel dock on the Indian River Lagoon in New Smyrna Beach. Request: $1,019,290. ECHO score: 96.6.
The Brown museum, Daytona Beach: Event lawn, native landscaping, walking paths to the Tuscawilla Preserve, and outdoor classroom and sculpture spaces. Request: $2.5 million. ECHO score: 95.33.
City of Edgewater boat ramps and amenities: Phased regional waterfront facility with up to four boat ramps with eight lanes, floating docks, a fishing pier, restrooms and 85 trailer spaces. Request: $2.5 million. ECHO score: 95.17.
City of Ormond Beach sports complex softball field improvements: Four softball fields with shade, fencing and parking improvements. Request: $1 million. ECHO score: 92.17.
City of DeBary community park splash pad improvements: Replacing the existing splash pad with a dinosaur-themed spray zone for all ages and abilities. Request: $125,000. ECHO score: 91.67.
City of Port Orange Willow Run Park: Accessible routes and parking, expanded playground, bike track, improved courts with LED lighting, pavilions and a new restroom. Request: $2 million. ECHO score: 91.5.
City of Holly Hill Ross Point Heritage Park and Pier: On the Halifax River at the 1868 Ross homestead site with an observation platform, covered pavilion and historical marker. Request: $1 million. Score: 88.33.
Conservation Florida, Inc., D Ranch Preserve Nature Center: Two-story environmental education center at the 476-acre D Ranch Preserve in Osteen, with classrooms, exhibits, restrooms and a wetland overlook. Request: $2.5 million. Score: 81.83.
Volusia-Flagler Family YMCA: Playground project at Port Orange Family YMCA with an accessible playground and shade structure. Request: $100,000. Score: 80.

What is the Volusia ECHO program?

Originally passed by voters in 2000, the Volusia ECHO program is a property tax of 20 cents per $1,000 of taxable value. It was subsequently renewed in the 2020 election.

Money collected from the tax is then dedicated to projects that fall under the ECHO moniker: environmental, cultural, historical and outdoor recreation. These are reviewed by an advisory committee, which scores projects and makes recommendations to the County Council, which has the final say on which projects are approved.

Well over $100 million in projects have been approved in the program’s 25 years.

Changes to ECHO award limits, scoring raise concerns

Earlier this year, the County Council made a change to the limit for individual ECHO grants, which ranged from $600,000 to $2.5 million for what were known as “exceptional” projects. Exceptional projects had to meet higher standards for approval.

The council eliminated the higher standards requirement.

Meanwhile, the county introduced a new method of scoring projects.

At least one ECHO advisory committee member, Doug Pettit, said he believes the new scoring method is problematic.

Pettit said ECHO Advisory Committee members were invited to individual meetings with county staff to learn about the new scoring matrix.

“I refused to participate in this exercise because I felt it was highly inappropriate and gave the appearance of county staff manipulating” the committee and scoring, Pettit said in an email he shared with The News-Journal.

He preferred a workshop, which he believes county staff avoided “for fear of the backlash they would receive on the new system, as most members had unfavorable opinions of the scoring system,” which he described as “both disappointing and insulting, requiring little, if any, objective input from the board members and relying almost exclusively on staff’s assessment of the applications.”

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Volusia council to vote on ECHO requests totaling $13 million

Reporting by Mark Harper, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal

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Copyright Reuters or USA Today Network via Reuters Connect

This story was originally published October 5, 2026 at 5:10 AM.