Locals have gotten used to the idea that City Island needs constant defending.
At Thursday’s Volusia Council meeting, one of the first orders of business was walking back the notion that the county might move the library branch on Daytona Beach’s City Island, potentially opening the land for development.
On social media and through letters to the editor, local residents have been blunt in their rejection of the idea, which first surfaced at a chamber of commerce breakfast in December. County Chairman Ed Kelley touched off the firestorm when he told the group that he’d be open to the idea of relocating the library.
Kelley is right that his remarks, in response to an audience question, were interpreted to mean more than he actually said. “I said yes, we should look at it,” he told other council members Thursday. “Did I say we should close it? No. Did I say we should move it? No. The next thing you know, we had everything in the world torn down.”
Perhaps Kelley was literally thinking out loud as he answered the December questions. That contention is backed by fiscal reality: The county is currently spending a considerable sum (which it hopes eventually will be reimbursed from federal emergency management funds) to rebuild and refurbish the library.
(READ: Dinneen: Daytona’s City Island library will reopen in April)
At the same time, Kelley should have expected the backlash. Many locals are already nervous about a serious proposal to demolish the courthouse annex on the southeastern point of City Island, potentially opening the way for high-rise condos on a very desirable, picturesque spit of land. And the City Island library has been on residents’ minds in particular, since it has been closed after being flooded during Hurricane Irma.
They’ve also gotten used to the idea that City Island needs constant defending. As News-Journal columnist Mark Lane observed, the idea of raffling off City Island property for private development floats up a few times each decade, most recently when former County Council member Josh Wagner suggested doing away with the courthouse and library in favor of shiny new condos. Each time the idea comes around, local residents shout it down — but they are always cognizant of the fact that decades of “oh heck no” can be swept away by one unchallenged “why not?”
So if Kelley was floating another trial balloon, it's no surprise it immediately drew fire.
It's good to see county officials on Thursday express support for the library through words and deeds. County Manager Jim Dinneen said, "We are going to be in that building for the long run.” That was followed by council members approving spending $271,341 to replace furniture destroyed during the flooding.
City Island holds a special place in local hearts. People may decry the frequent presence of homeless residents at City Island pavilions, grassy areas and inside the library — but they also flock to summer evening games at historic Jackie Robinson Ballpark, considered hallowed ground by locals and baseball enthusiasts. The library sees heavy use, and a planned playground, to be named after Robinson’s widow Rachel, is also likely to be popular.
Thus was the vocal outpouring of dismay predictable, and Kelley (who was first elected to local public office in 1993) knows enough to have foreseen it.
That doesn’t mean the chairman, or any other elected official, should shy away from answering tough questions or exploring controversial solutions. But they should always be prepared to hear that their latest idea is unpopular, or even flat-out wrongheaded. And they should be ready to accept the public’s reactions.
Give Kelley credit: That’s exactly what he did Thursday. And so the defenders of the City Island Library can stand down from the ramparts — this time.