Ponce Inlet, FL - The fate of the "Legends of Racing" parade that takes place in February in Ponce Inlet is on today's Volusia County Council agenda. When the application for the 2020 parade was submitted earlier this month, the county attorney said that both state law and the county's Incidental Take Permit need to be amended in order for the parade to be legal.
Ponce Inlet is part of District 2, which is represented by Billie Wheeler. Wheeler said after the 2019 parade, the county attorney talked about pulling the plug on the event. Wheeler said that at first, she thought that the reason for pulling the plug was the expense. That was not the case. At issue, according to the county attorney, is compliance with the Incidental Take Permit. Wheeler said the owners of the North Turn and Volusia County have complied with the ITP and no laws have been broken.
When the county turned down the application in July, the North Turn owners turned to U.S. Congressman Bill Posey. He contacted the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service who responded that there were no issues with the Incidental Take Permit and no violations, which brings Wheeler back to her question of "Why?" She says she's really fighting to keep what she calls "this wonderful, historical event." She said too many things of our history are being wiped out and this event is a really good one for Volusia County.
Wheeler said she is not in agreement with the county attorney's interpretation of the laws relating to the event. She said that nothing has changed since the first permit for the "Legends of Racing" parade was issued. Wheeler said she does not have a "Plan B" if the permit doesn't get approved.
Wheeler said she will try to make the case for the historic and economic value of the "Legends of Racing" parade during today's meeting and hopefully get the votes to push the permit through.
