Daytona Beach’s new approach for riverfront vagrancy: Network of vigilant security guards
DAYTONA BEACH FL March 11 2024— For nearly 14 years, Sweet Marlays’ Coffee has been serving up freshly brewed java, delectable desserts and a sun-filled retreat overlooking the Halifax River across the street.
At times it’s also been a battleground between shop owner Tammy Kozinski and the vagrants who wander inside the Beach Street café to lobby for free food, rant for no particular reason, urinate on the floor and steal. One angry man recently cursed at Kozinski and threw his cup of hot coffee at her.
After years of repeated problems with the homeless and panhandlers on the riverfront corridor, Kozinski and her weary business neighbors are hopeful relief is coming soon.
The city is getting ready to launch a pilot program that will provide security officers six days a week along Beach Street between Orange Avenue and International Speedway Boulevard, where the city’s redevelopment director said “most of the issues have been.”
Two unarmed officers will cover foot patrol shifts from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day except Sunday, and when they see problems they’ll use their radios to summon police for help.
The 60-day pilot program will start this month and run through early May. Then city officials will decide if they want to permanently station security guards along Beach Street.
Vagrancy, homelessness and panhandling have plagued the historic downtown corridor for decades, but there’s less patience than ever for those problems now that Cici and Hyatt Brown have invested more than $35 million to create the Riverfront Esplanade natural wonderland, the city is about to pour $30 million into Jackie Robinson Ballpark improvements, the city is funneling $12 million into Beach Street road and sidewalk refurbishment, and the $60 million Brown & Brown insurance headquarters tower has provided a stabilizing force on the north end of the road.
After vagrancy problems ebbed in recent years, there was a flareup again last summer that hasn’t let up, Kozinski said.
“Mid-summer last year it got bad again with the homeless out of the blue. It got constant,” she said.
Police patrols increased for about two weeks last summer, and then the officer presence faded.
A few weeks ago, Beach Street business owners met with Mayor Derrick Henry to explain what they were dealing with. After that meeting the idea was hatched to try hiring the security officers, and Henry announced the plan during his closing comments at the March 5 City Commission meeting.
The city will use First Coast Security, the same company that has guards patrolling the Riverfront Esplanade, Brown & Brown’s Beach Street property, and Brown & Brown’s Ridgewood Avenue property. It’s a coordinated effort that will allow the use of security cameras, radios and officers to deal with the vagrants who have plagued those few blocks of the downtown between Ridgewood Avenue and the river.
The Beach Street security officers will be able to reach police directly using their radios, the same thing esplanade officers can do.
Residents and business owners will be able to use a new app called See and Click to alert the security officers when they’re having a problem or see someone else in trouble.
“We’re trying to make sure people feel safe and comfortable during their business activities,” said Ken Thomas, the city’s director of redevelopment.
When the security officer idea was discussed initially, city officials suggested business owners pay for it, Kozinski said. With the thousands of dollars Daytona business owners pay in property taxes each year, including one Beach Street property owner who said he pays $75,000 annually, there was strong pushback, she said.
The city then agreed to cover the full cost of the security officers, who will be paid $25 per hour, Thomas said.
That will cost the city $2,400 per week, and a full eight weeks would come to $19,200. City Manager Deric Feacher is using his discretionary funding to cover costs.
Feacher can spend between $25,000 and $50,000 without city commissioners’ approval. The type of expenditure dictates whether the city manager’s spending cap is $25,000 or $50,000.
The money for the guards will come from Downtown Redevelopment Area funds, Thomas said.
The city would like to eventually have five security officers along Beach Street, and more officers in the city’s other community redevelopment areas on the beachside, in Midtown and along Ballough Road, Thomas said. Officers could one day use bikes and Segway electric scooters to patrol, he said.
The idea to add the unarmed guards was inspired by ambassadors other cities use, including Orlando and Riviera Beach in southeast Florida, Thomas said. Riviera Beach uses its ambassadors to pick up trash and cut overgrown lots, he said.
Ambassadors can also be guides for people looking for a store or place to park. Daytona Beach hopes to eventually have ambassadors along Beach Street, but not in the immediate future.
“We’re doing something totally different,” Thomas said. “We want to curb the unwanted activity people are experiencing downtown.”
While the Beach Street guards will be focused on keeping people safe, they’ll be able to answer simple questions about the road’s businesses and the area. They’ll also build relationships with the business owners and learn when shops are open and closed so they know the normal rhythm of the road.
“We’re excited. We can’t start it fast enough,” Thomas said. “We’re trying to set a tone that it’s a comfortable and safe place.”
