Council appoints members to new environmental committee

Posted On: September 6, 2022

The Volusia County Council created a citizens advisory committee in July that will be tasked with reviewing the county’s environmental standards and making recommendations to the council. On Tuesday, the council appointed the 14 members of the Environment and Natural Resources Advisory Committee (ENRAC) who will tackle the job.

With the group’s membership now selected, an orientation will be scheduled for the committee to go over the finer points of things such as parliamentary procedure and Florida’s open meetings and public records laws. Pursuant to its enabling resolution, the committee is required to conduct an annual goal setting session to outline its work plan for the year.

A total of 22 people applied to serve on the ENRAC committee. On Tuesday, the County Council appointed the following 14 people to two-year terms:

• Wendy Anderson, DeLand, professor of environmental science and studies at Stetson University
• Robert “Bob” Fitzsimmons, DeLand, residential builder and developer
• Jessica Gow, Port Orange, attorney
• John L. Hoblick, DeLeon Springs, farmer and owner/operator of Hoblick Greens Inc.
• E. Bliss Jamison, Edgewater, real estate broker
• Kerry Karl, DeLand, executive director of the Volusia County Association for Responsible Development (VCARD)
• Melissa Lammers, Ormond Beach, marketing consultant
• Bernie LeFils, Lake Helen, certified personal accountant
• Bill Lites, Orange City, director of environmental services
• Tyler J. Malmborg, DeLand, civil engineer
• Saralee Morrissey, Daytona Beach, community/school planner consultant
• Jack Surrette, Ormond Beach, consultant
• Elias Tobias, DeLand, web developer/digital manager/marketing professional
• Alex Zelenski, DeLand, owner of Clearview Geographic LLC

County rules prohibit residents from serving on more than two advisory committees at the same time. Surrette already serves on the Volusia Growth Management Commission and the ECHO Advisory Committee. He has agreed to resign from the Growth Management Commission in order to serve on the Environment and Natural Resources Advisory Committee instead.