- May 6, 2024
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Norm Echelberry took this photo of the Votran transfer station on North Thompson Creek Road. He also said the dumpsters at Winn-Dixie were an issue (Photo by Norm Echelberry).
Brian Adair, owner of The Children' s Workshop, sent this aerial photo in with his letter to Winn-Dixie' s district manager to show how close his preschool is to the dumpster (Photo courtesy of Brain Adair).
Cars frequently visit the Winn-Dixie dumpsters (Photos by Brian Adair).
Brian Adair said he often finds the trash bins unlocked.
Dumpster divers are common at the Winn-Dixie garbage bins.
It' s not just homeless people, Brian Adair said he' s witnessed a woman who pulled up in a Mercedes going through the trash.
Almost two weeks ago, Stop 2463 was a mess. The benches at the Votran transfer station on North Thompson Creek Road were covered with blankets, jackets, and litter: a Gatorade bottle, plastic grocery bags, and cardboard boxes. The mess was enough to make resident Norm Echelberry stop his car and take a photo.
"While truly a national problem, the homeless are obviously moving into Ormond Beach, particularly in the area of Gold's Gym and the Winn-Dixie," Echelberry wrote in an email to the Ormond Beach Observer and city officials. "I am not sure this was the original intention of putting bus benches on this small street. I should have overlayed one of the newer statues saying 'Welcome to Ormond Beach.'"
The wooded area between Gold's Gym, 333 W. Granada Blvd., and Winn-Dixie, 353 W. Granada Blvd., has been frequented by homeless people for quite some time, according to employees who work nearby.
But the homeless seemed to have moved on just days after Echelberry emailed his complaint. The three transfer stations were cleaned, and the bus benches removed by city crews. City Manager Joyce Shanahan said the bench removal was a separate issue that was not because of the homeless.
"The benches were originally intended to provide sitting places for people waiting for the buses," Shanahan said in an email. "However, practice has shown that the one bench near the curb is adequate to service the bus terminal. If future demands change, we will revisit the need for additional benches."
Duane Mediak, an Ormond Beach resident who takes the bus at least once a week, believes the benches were removed specifically because homeless people were using them to sleep and rest. Though he understands the city's reasons, he said it isn't fair.
"The homeless people weren't a problem, but they were definitely a presence," he said. "I get that it's an eyesore, but they never bothered me. I haven't been over here at night yet, but I don't know where they are now."
One local business manager said it's the first time in a long time that things have been this quiet.
"It's been a problem for about three years," said the manager, who wished to remain anonymous. "It was getting worse recently. Blankets were hanging in the trees, and people were constantly asking our customers for money. But in the past five or 10 days, I haven't seen anybody."
The manager said the spot was popular to homeless people not only because of the shade but also because of the easy access to discarded food.
"If I had to guess, it's because Winn-Dixie throws trash out back, and the food is always there. Then you've got Halifax Humane Society (Thrift Store) right nearby. It's kind of a one-stop shop for everything."
The Winn-Dixie dumpsters have been a consistent problem for Brian Adair, who owns The Children's Workshop, 506 Lincoln Ave., adjacent to the grocery store. He recently wrote a letter to the district manager of Winn-Dixie complaining about the two unlocked trash containers.
"Each day a stream of people arrives by foot, bicycle and automobile to climb through the dumpsters and scavenge food," he wrote. "It is usually many of the same people each day. Winn-Dixie’s garbage bins have become a primary food source for a large group. Someone is going to get hurt in this situation, either from falling out of the dumpster or by eating spoiled food."
Adair also wrote that he had witnessed some of the Winn-Dixie staff yelling at people to get out of the dumpster and that he had suggested locking the containers, but the store manager said the locks would just get destroyed. Shanahan said that even though Winn-Dixie is required to secure its dumpsters, the city frequently receives complaints about compliance and vandalism, which the city is working to resolve.
Though the benches and the trash bins may have been a reason for the large homeless population to live near Stop 2463, not everyone saw them as a problem that needed to be solved. One man who is used to seeing the homeless there every day said he hopes they put the benches back sooner than later.
"They're nice people," said the man, who wished to remain anonymous due to his job. "One guy, Noah, we see him all the time. He's always cutting grass or doing some sort of work to make a little cash. Good guy. They're just homeless. It's hard."
Mediak also hopes the city reinstalls the benches. His mother uses the bus frequently and could use a comfortable place to sit — and so could the homeless people.
"I mean, I don't think it will make much of a difference," he said, sitting on the ledge of the transfer station. "They could still sleep here."
