EVOLVE Business and Professional Magazine May 2020 | Page 14

Parks & Recreation:
Building A Better
Community
by David Castagnacci
olusia’s cities are blending the scope of parks &
recreation into the fiber of community life.
V Thousands of acres are being enhanced with
environmental learning centers; new gymnasiums
and civic centers; nature parks and trails for fitness,
hiking and biking; community and botanical gardens;
expanded boat docks; athletic fields and waterfront
boardwalks.
Fitness and recreation are an obvious focus of
these projects. But there is also an emphasis on
civic involvement, the environment, volunteerism
and socializing, education and community-wide
inclusiveness – elevating parks and recreation into a
major part of building a better community.
Three of Volusia’s most thriving cities – Ormond
Beach, Port Orange and Deltona – are undergoing major
upgrades or laying out plans for projects to bring their
communities into the lives of their residents – and also
enhance their economies.
Citizens are major
players in many of these projects.
“Our community involvement in Ormond Beach reflects
the value our residents place on parks and recreation”
comments Mayor Bill Partington.
In Ormond Beach, a Downtown Fit Loop is being
spearheaded by the Rotary Club of Downtown Ormond
Beach in conjunction with the city and AdventHealth
Daytona Beach. This will create a 2-mile fitness pathway
throughout the four parks at the corners of Granada
Bridge.
A similar group effort of mountain bike enthusiasts
Mayor Bill Partington
has created a three-mile mountain bike trail throughout
Riverbend Nature Park (off Airport Road) that already
is being used by hundreds of bikers. And impressive community gardens for
vegetables, flowers and native plants are succeeding through the nonstop
efforts of civic and garden clubs and citizen volunteers.
“What’s unique about Ormond Beach is the citizens find a way to
partner with the city without asking for any additional investment from
the city,” comments Robert Carolin, director of the city’s Leisure Services
department.
Ormond Beach commissioners now have their visions on building
a community center on North Beach Street overlooking the Halifax
River on property the city purchased from Ormond Beach Riverside
Church. And a new gymnasium is being built at the South Ormond
Neighborhood Center on Division Avenue, a recreation hub that
the city’s leisure services directors say is one of the most popular
in Ormond Beach.
In Port Orange, community
workshops are conducted in the
planning of all major projects. “We
pride ourselves on that,” notes
Peter Ferreira, deputy director of
Parks and Recreation.
“Parks and recreation plays into
the culture of a city,” comments Port
Orange Mayor Don Burnette. “If
you have a high quality city, parks
and recreation is a big part of
Mayor Don Burnette &
Pete Ferriera
that. None of this is possible
without engaged citizens.”
Riverwalk Port Orange
| 8 | EVOLVE BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE