Volusia ECHO
ECHO Listening Sessions
Five community listening sessions will be held to give residents an opportunity to comment about the Environmental, Cultural, Historical and Outdoor (ECHO) program’s future.
Listening sessions will be held at these times and locations:
- 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 7, at the New Smyrna Beach Regional Library, 1001 S. Dixie Freeway, New Smyrna Beach
- 6 p.m. Thursday, April 8, at the Ormond Beach Regional Library, 30 S. Beach St., Ormond Beach
- 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 13, at the Deltona Regional Library, 2150 Eustace Ave., Deltona
- 6 p.m. Thursday, April 15, at the Daytona Beach Regional Library, 105 E. Magnolia Ave., Daytona Beach
- 6 p.m. Thursday, April 22, in the second-floor county council chambers of the Thomas C. Kelly Administration Center, 123 W. Indiana Ave., DeLand
♦ A link to attend the meetings virtually will be posted on this webpage the day of each session.
Below is a link to the presentation that will be shared at all of the ECHO Listening Sessions: https://youtu.be/keKYSmmDVPc
Public comments regarding the future of ECHO may be submitted through this link: https://arcg.is/GqiOL0
The Volusia ECHO program, generated by a grass roots initiative, resulted from a citizen approved referendum passed November 7, 2000. Volusia ECHO provides grant funds to finance acquisition, restoration, construction or improvement of facilities to be used for environmental, cultural, historical and outdoor recreational purposes. Resolution 2000-156 states: It is the intent of the County Council that the funds be allocated throughout the County to provide broad geographical distribution and apportioned appropriately among the environmental, cultural, historic and outdoor recreation projects. The Volusia ECHO Program seeks to enhance the quality of life of Volusia County's residents by working to achieve the following goals over a broad geographic base:
- Provide environmental/ecological, cultural, historical/heritage, and outdoor recreational facilities.
- Preserve significant archaeological or historic resources; and develop, enhance, and promote heritage tourism opportunities, experiences, and resources.
- Foster public memory and community identity by promoting and providing access to destinations and experiences associated with past events, peoples, and places within the County of Volusia.
- Provide high quality, user oriented outdoor recreational opportunities including, but not limited to, access to the Atlantic Ocean through the establishment of oceanfront parks and off-beach parking.
- Improve the quality of life for Volusia's citizens by providing access to the cultural arts, increase cultural based tourism, and encourage redevelopment and revitalization of downtown and urban areas through the provision of cultural arts facilities.
HOW TO APPLY
The ECHO Grants-in-Aid is a program, providing grant funds to finance acquisition, restoration, construction, or improvement of facilities to be used for environmental/ecological, cultural, historical/heritage, or outdoor recreation that must be open for public use.
Applicants must attend a mandatory workshop prior to submitting a grant application. Grant Applications are only accepted at specific times during the year. Dates may be found on the ECHO Calendar located on the main page.
The ECHO Grants-in-Aid Critical Historic Acquisition and/or Stabilization application is to be used solely to finance the acquisition and/or stabilization of historically designated sites determined to be endangered by immediate development, elimination of public access and/or structural conditions that are recently and unexpectedly revealed, including projects being neglected in order to access demolition permits. Applications are accepted year round. Please contact the ECHO office if you want to apply.
- ECHO Grants-in-Aid Critical Historic Acquisition and/or Stabilization Application Guide
- ECHO Grants-in-Aid Critical Historic Acquisition and/or Stabilization Application
GRANT APPLICATIONS
ECHO grant applications are available to the public for inspection at the Community Assistance Division located at 110 West Rich Ave., DeLand, Florida, 32720. If you would like further information, please call the ECHO program at (386) 736-5955.
ECHO AWARDS & FINANCIAL INFORMATION 2002 - 2020 (updated 4/5/2021)
