Tom Campenni
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1
IN THIS EDITION OF THE NEWSLETTER
Some particularly good news and a little sad news to report.
The good news is that beginning with the next edition, we are adding a new section. It will be called “In the Spotlight” which Jackie Holfelder will edit. As you may remember, Jackie was the Martin County editor of Luminaries for years.
She has never stopped helping non-profits showcase their accomplishments in Martin County. Jackie will continue doing that very thing in our newsletter once a month. She will also do more in depth pieces on individuals giving of their time in our community.
The sad news is that Michael Syrkus is leaving us due to an increase workload at his business. While I am disappointed to see Mike go, he may be contributing a piece once every so often. I hope he finds the time to do that.
Taking his place will be David Hafner. Dave lives outside of the Village of Indiantown. He is a farmer and a business owner. He will bring that western Martin County slant to the newsletter. We welcome him aboard with the next newsletter.
I also offered the developer of the Costco project and its chief critic an opportunity to state their viewpoints so that the readers will have an opportunity to hear both sides in this edition. Those viewpoints are in the Stuart section.
Beginning with the next newsletter, Missi Campbell, the executive director of the Palm City Chamber, will be contributing a column a month regarding what is happening in her neck of the woods. I think she will contribute a knowledgeable perspective for our readers.
As we build the content of the newsletter, I encourage everyone to be part of it. Send your letters and as important pass the newsletter on to your friends so they can sign up for their free copy. My goal is to make sure that everyone knows what is going on wherever you live in Martin County.
If you have a concern or a problem, let us know and we will try to get the answer for you. Customer service is what governments should be doing. Sometimes your problem may get lost in the system. If so let us know and we will try to help.
I have been receiving letters and newspaper articles through the mail. While I have nothing against the post office, this is an electronic vehicle. I cannot publish anything sent that way or include them in the “Letters to Tom” section. Also, no anonymous emails will be published. You must include your full name so the readers will know whose opinions they are reading.
2
WILL IT EVER BE MOVED?
Martin County has been trying to move the fairgrounds to Indiantown for years. So far, it remains in place. The current location is too small and is in the middle of the City of Stuart on an expensive piece of county owned real estate.
The group that runs the fair has demonstrated that the task is a big one, but in today’s world how could a private organization raise the amount of money needed? The Fair Manager has said it is hard competing against dogs and kids. Of course, it is! Where would you rather contribute?
It doesn’t help that the fairground is trying to be more than just a fair. The Fair Association wants a museum, motor-cross track and even an archery center. That takes some serious bucks to build and for what purpose?
Some of it is the Martin County mentality of grandiosity. A pool cannot just be a pool…it needs to be a waterpark. A golf course isn’t a place to play a round but an entertainment experience. A place to buy a hotdog at the beach needs to be a sit-down restaurant.
So then why can’t the fair be operated by the county? The problem with having a fair organization is that you are asking them to not just organize and run a county fair for a couple of weeks a year but also to be responsible for an entire complex for the year. If it is a county site, then the county could just lease the fairgrounds to them for a month to put on the show. The rest of the time, the location could be used for other county events or even rented to other organizations for their events.
Knowing our commissioners, I wouldn’t be surprised if they took over the idea of a motor-cross track, museum, archery center, and more that has not yet been imagined for the site. For in Martin County, if we cannot build a pool without it becoming a waterpark, then a fairground will certainly morph into so much more.
To read my Martin County Moments piece on this issue go here
3
HOMELESSNESS
Stuart & Martin County have a homeless problem. Florida has a homeless problem. The entire nation has that problem. Only the United States government can solve it.
It is not practical or even rational that there is an expectation that either the county or the city could possibly make a difference on this front. The number of resources needed can only come from Washington. From short term shelters to permanent housing, none of these are going to be built by local government.
The problem is not only about sheltering, but also about addiction and mental health. There needs to be a massive amount of money earmarked. Most homeless people need a variety of services that only the federal government can fund and provide.
If Stuart built a shelter, it is highly unlikely that only Stuart people would use it. It would be a magnet for the homeless in the surrounding areas that would immediately outstrip the city’s capacity to fund it. The last thing we need is to be known as the only place with a shelter. Then how do we change the reason a person is homeless? As I said, there are many services that this population needs.
It is easy to have a bleeding heart and say we need a shelter. It is hard to think through the problem and begin lobbying to have the right national policies enacted. As our woods are developed, you will begin to see more and more people with no sanctuary but the benches in the parks. This is far from a solution or even acceptable for our quality of life.
We need to stop making believe that we can solve this problem locally. It needs to be a national solution which will take money…tax money. There is no getting around it.
4
WHAT IS BETTER?
I am writing this in Connecticut. We recently bought an apartment there to spend more time with our family who all live close by.
This new apartment is the result of the isolation we had during Covid. Not seeing our children and their families for that year was not something we want to do again. It is an event that made us realize the importance of family.
We know the town well where we bought having lived there for many years before moving to Stuart. Though it has changed a bit in the past nearly 20 years, it still retains a New England charm of reserved calm and steely reserve at the same time.
Everyone is still wearing masks to go to stores. The positivity rate is less than 1% in a town of 63,000 people. The vaccination rate is over 70%. I would imagine once the vaccine is approved for children, they will probably have a vaccination rate of about the same.
You do not see the same anti-mask fervor and liberty questions as you do in Martin County. Greenwich, Connecticut (and New England in general) is measured. There is much more thinking of the common good and less about individualism.
Still to me it seemed that once you are vaccinated why are people still acting as you did before. If except for children, the vaccine is now readily available then isn’t it truly a personal decision? I think Connecticut residents’ overabundance of caution is just as ill-informed as I did when Florida residents were equating the wearing of masks as a loss of liberty before the ability for all to be vaccinated.
Florida likes to believe that it gives its citizen personal liberty and small government. Connecticut has an income tax and higher fees than Florida. In some respects, it does have a nanny state mentality. Yet perceptions are one thing and reality another.
There are two SROs at Greenwich High School, the only public high school for the town. It has 2700 students which is much larger than any student body we have in Martin County. There are no officers assigned to the middle or elementary schools. Though it is an affluent community, there are several low-income housing projects and a couple of senior apartment complexes. They are government supported and operated by the town.
We live next to an elementary school. What we saw were children playing on the fields and playground after school. There were no fences or gates that have become mandatory in Martin County under the banner of student safety especially after Parkland. The state though had the Sandy Hook Massacre. It still refuses to have their schools become minimal security prisons.
How many millions are spent in Florida on having officers in every school? How does it foster a rich school environment to see buildings and fields locked after hours because of some perceived threat? Parents are no less involved in Connecticut as Florida when it comes to teaching subject matter. Greenwich School Board meetings tend to be more polite that Martin County but just as fraught with disagreement.
There is much to love about Florida. We live in a relatively inexpensive affordable county. I would not want to move back to Connecticut full time. While Florida is all about extremes, Connecticut extols in moderation. Both have a downside at times. When it comes to schools and children, a little common sense and moderation beats out armed police officers and locked gates.
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NON-PROFIT PERSPECTIVE
By Carol Howaart-Diez
United Way of Martin County President-CEO
At the end of this month, the Martin County Board of County Commissioners will be voting on the local allocation of the American Rescue Plan (ARP) funding.
The American Rescue Plan is equivalent to the CARES Act in that it is emergency funding for eligible state and local governments to respond to the pandemic. The federal government also released details on how the funds can be used to respond to pandemic needs and support the areas hardest hit by the pandemic. In turn, each local government has the flexibility to decide how best to use ARP funding within these guidelines to address its most significant economic impacts.
The broad categories of allowable uses for ARP funding include:
- supporting the public health response,
- addressing negative economic impacts caused by the pandemic,
- serving the hardest-hit communities and families,
- replacing lost public sector revenue,
- providing workforce development opportunities,
- investing in water and sewer infrastructure,
- investing in broadband infrastructure.
There is additional funding for programs under the American Rescue Plan Act outside of the allocation that will be administered by the Martin County Board of County Commissioners. This includes funding from the Department of Justice, HUD, U.S. Department of Education and others. While having multiple sources provides a much-needed infusion of resources, it can also cause confusion on where to turn to access funding.
Additionally, guidelines can vary across municipalities as every community has its strategy for how to best allocate resources, which can also add to the confusion. I may be biased, but I honestly believe the Martin County Board of County Commissioners does it right. No dollars are ever given directly to clients, there are guidelines and procedures that must be adhered to and all funding must benefit Martin County residents.
As with the CARES program, United Way of Martin County is humbled and honored to partner with the Martin County Board of County Commissioners to help manage the infusion of resources coming to our community. We have been working with county staff to help in any way we can.
There are so many needs in our community that has resulted from COVID. The need for food, mental health programming and so much more continues — even in our slice of paradise. This round of funding will allow us to look at current needs and address some systematic issues in our community. Programs to enhance workforce development, infrastructure and assisting those affected by this pandemic are all being considered in this round of funding.
As we strive to get back to business as usual, United Way of Martin County and other funders like will continue to tackle the issues that face our community. These partnerships are what make us stronger as we rebuild. None of us take this job lightly, and we work together to invest in programs with a proven track record in Martin County.
To learn more about or to volunteer with United Way of Martin County please go to our website www.unitedwaymartin.org.
6
PINE’S PONDERING
By Tom Pine
Martin County was founded on May 30,1925, and in the year of 2021, we will be moving at the fastest pace yet towards the Browardization of the county. Building on every piece of vacant land is only part of the destruction of our way of life.
The director of the Parks and Recreation Department of Martin County who was hired directly from Broward County has decided that Martin County government should be in the restaurant business and that county employees will now be operating the two restaurants on the beach. This will be the first time since the late 1950s when they first opened that they won’t be operated by private vendors.
This now makes at a minimum three businesses that our county government will be operating that should be operated by private vendors.
There is a water park in Riviera Beach that’s been there for several decades, and it’s owned and operated by a private business. The Mooring Field in Stuart on the St. Lucy River is owned by the City of Stuart and operated by a private vendor. The restaurants on the “beaches” in Palm Beach County are owned by the county and run by private vendors.
Under our Parks and Recreation Department head we will now have more nonessential workers living off the backs of Martin County Taxpayers than ever before, and that’s just the start, wait till the ten-million-dollar golf course opens.
The next time the Parks and Recreation Depart head comes up for a new contract he’ll want more money because of all the people he has working under him, and this is just the start to the never-ending cycle of bureaucracy that we the suckers will be held accountable for.
This is not Democracy, when local governments start competing with the private sector for jobs, Democracy is in big trouble.
Stop signs are another major area of concern as more and more motorists routinely drive through them. While it does add a major danger to pedestrians it’s much more dangerous for those on bikes, skateboards, and scooters just to name a few, especially now with more and more of these devices becoming electric and moving at a higher rate of speed.
So, I would strongly encourage everyone to look BOTH ways when you’re blowing through that stop sign, you wouldn’t want to be that person involved in that accident.
Truth To Power
Tom Pine’s opinions are his own and may not reflect Friends & Neighbors viewpoint.
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SYRKUS THOUGHTS
By Michael Syrkus
I vividly remember 2 short years ago having a conversation with a close friend, regarding volunteerism.
I had just come off the board of directors for the Republican Party of Martin County and was the chairman of the Young Farmers and Ranchers committee for the Martin County Farm Bureau. This was in addition to the normal demands of a 30 something year old in today’s world.
Kids, Marriage, Work and just trying to survive. Dave had even more on his plate, easily twice the number of extra-curricula’s and twice the kids, ha! We spoke of the demands of time, and how difficult it is to take things off your plate when you know how important those volunteer activities are. The same holds true today.
I have always strived to leave an inspirational message in every piece I have written and will do the same here. Even in the most challenging of times, and the most pointed of opinions, optimism is paramount. So, for my final message (for now), I leave you with this: we are all capable of doing good in the community, we just must try.
Through all my involvement in community events I have noticed something that sticks out-the same people are there, event after event. It doesn’t matter what group is hosting the event, it’s generally the same folks that work them all. I see the same faces in so many groups. 4-H, FFA, Farm Bureau; REC, Taxpayers Association. Martin Leadership, Kiwanis, and the list goes on. The same people work so many of these groups that it is easy to see why people are spread so thin, and why they feel it’s so important to not leave their posts.
Martin County is blessed to be somewhat of a small community, sandwiched in-between major areas. It is up to us to keep it that way. I encourage each and every one of you reading this to get out there and find what speaks to you.
Volunteer in a position that compliments your schedule and can benefit from your particular skills. There are so many organizations to choose from, all wanting for help. Whatever you can offer is more than nothing. Through this, we can maintain that small community charm and really live up to this publication’s title:
Friends and Neighbors.
Michael Syrkus’ opinions are his own and may not reflect Friends & Neighbors viewpoint.
8
HERBIE’S HOBE SOUND
By Herbert Howard
My walk brought me to the Hobe Sound Chamber Government Affairs Committee meeting the other morning.
It is open to the public. I learned quite a bit. Freshman State Representative John Snyder was on speaker phone to explain some of what happened in Tallahassee during legislative session. It was more interesting than I anticipated.
Here are some highlights:
- The legislators passed some 250 bills. I couldn’t help but wonder if they are so prolific every year, just how many laws do we have!
- Florida received half of what New York did in federal aid. I wondered why.
- With some of that money the state is giving $1,000 bonuses to teachers and first responders. I thought teachers are beginning to do pretty darn well under this administration. But, if by first responders they mean firefighters, I thought they already did very well. If they mean cops, in my opinion, for what they’re going through these days, you just can’t give them enough.
- I learned that Florida has 20% of the property insurance claims across the country but 70% of the litigation! I wondered what took lawmakers so long to act on this. This legislation is an attempt to stop roofers from going door to door soliciting businesses, then “unbeknownst to the homeowner” suing their insurance company on the homeowner’s “behalf”. “Hey, all my neighbors are getting new roofs, why not me?” They stopped at my house after that weird “mini” hurricane a couple of months back. Left a flyer on my doorknob. This is one reason why insurance premiums are so high here. I will be interested to see if they come down at all because of this new law.
- I learned that some counties in Florida had begun charging contractors enormous impact fees. Raising them in cases 100% to maximize revenue during the housing boom. It all lands on the homeowner doesn’t it. After all, that builder isn’t going to absorb those fees. They will get passed along in the price. I wondered if local governments who set those fees think of that trickle-down effect.
- Florida will put some regulations on social media platforms. So, if they kick us off their site, they must explain why within a certain amount of time. They must stop the practice of “shadow banning” which is when they don’t show our posts without telling us. I thought these guys are out of control! So, now we have a right to sue them. Realizing that Facebook etc. have much bigger pockets than we do, in my mind it will remain a Sampson vs. Goliath fight. At least now we’ll have a rock.
- I learned that the state will no longer be accepting federal money for unemployment as of June 26th. They are doing this to force people back to work. I saw a guy pan handling right in front of a help wanted sign the other day. I should have taken a picture.
Photo By Herbie
Finally, I learned that the flood victims in Hobe Heights should have checks in hand within 6 months. It can take up to 5 years! The one-year anniversary of the flooding throughout Hobe Sound is upon us.
Disturbingly, I was told that if you were displaced from a home which you had spent 30 years paying off and now had to pay upwards of $1,600 rent per month while waiting on your check, it is unlikely that you will be compensated for that rental money.
And I thought I was very lucky to not have to go through what those fellow HSLs were going through this past year.
Herbert Howard’s opinions are his own and may not reflect Friends & Neighbors viewpoint.
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9
FLETCH’S PERSPECTIVE
By Keith Fletcher CEO & President of
Boys & Girls Clubs of Martin County
The little things make a big difference—especially when it comes to kids.
A little extra time, a little applied insight, a little more focused attention, and the benefits are boundless.
Jomar Zelaya started at the John & Marge Bolton Boys & Girls Club in Port Salerno when he was 10 years old and had no interest in taking part in anything.
“I was super-shy,” he remembers. “I was just in my own corner.”
He’s since come out swinging at all the right directions. The now 15-year-old Stuart resident and Martin County High student is a confident, gifted public speaker who excels at his studies and—best of all—rightly recognizes his responsibility as “a role model for some of the younger kids.”
Last year, he won the Boys & Girls Clubs of Martin County’s highest honor—Youth of the Year. This year, he won the “Take Stock in Children” scholarship from the Indian River State College Foundation, earning prepaid tuition at IRSC as well as priority admissions at a state university.
- The scholarship includes a college success coach who helps guide his transition to higher ed. It’s a structure he knows well thanks to three powerful aspects of BGCMC academic interventions:
- Dedicated certified teachers at all four clubs providing homework help after school and for three hours a day over summer.
- Landmark data-sharing agreement with the Martin County School District, enabling us to attain real-time insights into each member’s school performances and tailor lesson plans to their needs.
- Confidence and autonomy members develop as they witness their hard work paying off in better grades and improved understanding.
And like everything at BGCMC—it’s available free to every member.
Today, Jomar takes courses in the Advanced International Certificate of Education, developed by a nonprofit associated with University of Cambridge of England. He plans to be not only the first person in his family to finish college, but the first to finish medical school in route to becoming a surgeon.
“My mom is super excited,” he says. “She told me to follow that dream and not give up.”
We echo such encouragement at the club, which Jomar generously credits for his achievements. His testimonial for the Youth of the Year award started with the words: “My club has destined me for greatness.”
Actually, Jomar, that greatness was always there. And it’s found in various forms and fashions in every child. At BGCMC, we’re just grateful for the kindness of community that equips us with the resources to help you discover it.
Visit BGCmartin.org
10
FARMER MEIER’S PERSPECTIVE
By Michael Meier
Four hundred million acres is a lot of land.
To put it in perspective, it’s the size of California, Texas, and Florida all put together – plus another Florida and a half.
That much land, all 400,000,000 mind-boggling acres of it, is the amount of farmland that is expected to change hands in the U.S. within the next decade or two. Inherited or sold. Worked or subdivided and developed. Preserved or lost.
As aging farmers pass away, their families must decide what to do with their land. New farmers willing to work it are hard to come by. When they do come by, they rarely have the resources needed to buy it. So, farm families unable or unwilling to continue the business more often sell to speculators, developers, and increasingly, large funds and financial institutions.
Set aside the largest farms in the U.S., which operate in a vastly different economic system, and the business of farming is mostly undercapitalized, risky, and low-profit even in the good times. The farm business is meant to pay for its land, and hopefully a meager living for its stewards. But when the business is tight (it is) and the land costs a lot (it does), it’s no wonder land access is still the single biggest barrier for young and beginning farmers. And why so many land-owning farmers give up the ghost and sell.
The question isn’t how to connect the burgeoning young farmer movement with all those acres of farmland. It’s how to overcome the difference between swollen land costs and the economic realities of small farming.
Two things need fixing. The business of small farming has to get better, and we as a society have to appropriately value our farmland.
Luckily, the growth in the new farmer movement has inspired and embraced creative business models and new technologies. Small farming ain’t like it used to be, and that’s a good thing; online sales and marketing, new efficient tools and machines, collective farm organizing and info sharing, and new specialty markets are all helping to pave the way for a more economically sustainable small farm business model.
But we still have a big problem with our land. Right now, it’s overpriced but undervalued. Comparing the real value of farmland to the short-term speculative market pricing of developable suburban land is apples and oranges. Like with so many issues plaguing our communities, we have a broken accounting system to blame. We price land based on its ability to become a strip mall, not based on its caloric productive capacity, or its ecological function, or its water storage, or its carbon-sinking potential. No matter how well-oiled the farm business becomes, it can’t compete with suburban development on land’s sticker price.
A solution? Farmland trusts and preservation initiatives around the US and the world are actually working to overcome development pressure, keep land in farming, and encourage regeneration. There are local examples in New Jersey, New York, Maryland, and elsewhere, and nation-wide too. In France, Terre de Liens has preserved some 14,000 acres in perpetuity, in small organic farming to boot.
The approach is simple. Partnerships between landowners, local governments, private conservation organizations, and land trusts incentivize the purchase of easements on farmland, which protect its working value while lowering its cost. Put simply, farmland is protected from market forces by purchasing and locking away its developability. Some organizations, like Agrarian Trust, go even further, reframing farmland as a commons and reimagining collective land stewardship. Often, land trusts participate in the purchase of land at the time of sale to the next farmer, lowering the cost in real time.
Back here at home, we should encourage this type of public/private preservation, but our local land use policy decisions matter too. Farmland in western county is at risk just like anywhere else in the country. Much of it – old citrus land – is fallow thanks to the challenges of international competition and citrus greening, to name a few. While we figure out what the next commodity crops will be out there, before the next big subdivision comes knocking, we can protect it by focusing our development in our existing urban areas. The pressure to sprawl into rural lands outside the urban services boundary is only increased when we refuse to build within.
Protecting farmland is a win-win-win all the way down. Large green spaces are preserved, our environment is benefited, farmers are less burdened, and our community is more resilient. But we’d better hurry up with it, because once it’s gone, it’s gone for good.
Michael Meier’s opinions are his own and may not reflect Friends & Neighbors viewpoint.
11
MARTIN COUNTY TAXPAYERS ASSOCIATION
By Darlene Van Riper
Executive Director
As many of you know I am the Vice Chair of the Taxpayers Association. Darlene asked me to put this in our newsletter and I agreed.
On June 17th at the Miles Grant Country Club at the 12:00 luncheon, the Martin County Taxpayers Association will have as our guest speaker State Attorney, Tom Bakkedahl.
Why would a taxpayer watchdog organization host such a speaker? Many reasons. First and foremost, in his position as State Attorney Mr. Bakkedahl is now the steward of $12 million of our tax dollars annually. He has a staff of 150 and is the State Attorney for 4 counties. There are large companies that strive to have such a budget.
Secondly, Mr. Bakkedahl has been the prosecutor of some of the area’s most infamous cases such as Tyler Hadley who was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his parents in 2011, all three of the Mackerley trials. He has convicted 26 murderers out of which 9 have death recommendations. That, alone, makes for some great summer reading.
Third, with such responsibility you’d think Mr. Bakkedahl would be less outspoken than his presentations reveal. I was recently fortunate enough to hear him speak and I can say everyone in the audience was simply shocked at some of the revelations about the state of our prison and judicial system. He is refreshingly honest with his audience. He speaks extemporaneously, and from that alone one can tell he is speaking from the heart with a passion that has driven him for 30 years.
And finally, you just might be curious as to what makes a guy like this tick.
Please join us by rsvp at https://mctaxpayers.org/ (under events) or call Darlene at 772-285-7447. The cost per person is just $28.
Darlene VanRiper, Exec. Dir.
IF YOU ARE NOT A SUBSCRIBER DO SO FOR FREE HERE
IF YOU ARE NOT A SUBSCRIBER DO SO FOR FREE HERE
Our first letter is from Bill Cole:
Thank you so much for all you do for us. The ugly Indiantown train wreck should be a cautionary tale and could be used in college classes. Keep on, please.
Bill Cole, Stuart
The next letter is from Maxine Parks:
Firstly, thank you for your newsletter. It is informative and well thought out. I think your viewpoints are impartial and really look at all the facts.
I’ve lived in Martin County since 1987 and have seen many changes, some good, some not so much. I will admit that while I mostly sided with the slow growth commission from years ago, I do see positive changes from some of the development decisions that have been made. I do take issue with the proposed Costco plans. I don’t mind having a Costco nearby, but I do take issue with the planned location. Costco does not fit where it is planned. It belongs either close to I-95 where commercial and industrial is appropriate, or further south on US 1 where again, commercial and industrial projects are located. Near I-95 it would have better exposure with signage attracting visits from those coming from south and north. The proposed residential units are certainly appropriate for the Kanner Hwy area, but the developers may not be able to separate the two. That’s their problem. The City of Stuart needs to stop and think how this is going to affect all the residents along Kanner Highway, the High School and traffic patterns along Kanner, Monterey Rd and ultimately US 1 as people will not always use I-95 to get to the proposed location. Many folks use 95 getting to and from Port St Lucie. I don’t. I live east of US 1. Its a pain in the rear going out of my way to get to 95 to head north to PSL.
I’m dismayed that most of your feedback seems to approve of the Costco as planned. I’ll bet most of them don’t live close to the location and don’t give a hoot about those that do.
The next is from Nick of We Care Martin:
My name is Nick. I am one of several administrators of wecaremartin.org
None of which are associated with the tree farm family except we share a common concern. You should have shown some courtesy and reached out to us on the website if you wanted information instead of spreading falsehoods about who we are and impugning us as anti-growth. We believe in responsible growth as you should also. Many of us are subscribers to Friends and Neighbors, which is how I noticed your article. I also noticed that you are not showing the same civility towards Linda Kay (who I met three weeks ago) as you require on your site. It would show a lot of class if you apologized to her. Just because someone thinks differently from you does not make them a bad person. I tell you this as a friend and ally. Sometime we all need a little nudge to be kept on track. We have met before. I will introduce myself next time I see you.
My answer:
Nick:
Thanks for your email.
I did reach out to your website. Unfortunately, your website did not list you or anyone else as being involved. That was my point! Why weren’t your names listed as being on the “board” or the leaders of “We Care Martin”? It is kind of hard to have a dialogue without someone on the other end.
As to Ms. Richards she is a fine person. Her reasoning in this instance is faulty. She has still not presented any evidence to back up her position. It has all been supposition and feeling by everyone, none of which were experts that gave testimony Monday night.
If we want to save Martin County from the fate of St. Lucie and Palm Beach, we must have development within the urban areas. My wife’s family came here in 1971 when much of Stuart was a depressed area. Farms prevailed and it hadn’t much changed from 50 years before except downtown was not exactly booming. Over the past 50 years, the county has said that they do not want growth, yet Palm City became a place with thousands of residents creating sprawl for example. The county still is enthralled with this type of sprawl such as the Christ Fellowship development.
As a county and a city, we need to begin using more urban planning to limit the degradation of our environment. You do not do that by having low density within the urban center. All of Stuart and the county CRAs are urban and therefore infill projects need to reflect this. Kanner is a 6-lane highway with more unused capacity than not. To say there will be traffic is ridiculous. If anything, they should have built it with more streetscape to slow down traffic to travel at 35 miles per hour. That you don’t do by artificial means such as speed limits only.
Your letter and my answer will appear in the next issue.
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And from Tom Steele:
Masks should have been off as of May 3rd, when the Governor’s latest Executive Order went into effect, since schools are a “government entity” and his order “Suspending All Remaining Local Government Mandates and Restrictions Based on the COVID-19 State of Emergency“.
Additionally, last month Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran sent a letter to school district superintendents throughout the state, urging them to eliminate their face mask mandates and instead make facial coverings optional, stating “face coverings serve no remaining good at this point in our schools”.
Why didn’t you report on any of that, because our school board is guilty of violating the Governor’s Executive Order as well as violating our children’s rights by force masking them without authority?
My Answer:
The governor’s order did not apply to school districts.
The Department of Education recommends that masks be made optional for next school year. The district has made them optional as of next year and for this summer. Nothing I wrote was incorrect.
Steele replied:
The school district is a government entity and there was no exclusion for school districts. Did you read his Executive Order?
Even the Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran, who is head of the Department of Education was urging no masks as of last month.
Out of all that, where do you get that it was ok for schools to continue forcing children to wear masks?
My reply:
It does not apply to School Districts. The DOE immediately had to clarify stating that the Governor’s Order was for municipalities and counties only. Even for the 2021/22 school year the DOE is recommending not mandating a voluntary program.
The governor’s immediate order referred specifically to emergency orders “issued by a county or municipality.” School districts are neither. The Department of Education announced later in the evening that the order did not apply to schools.
His answer:
That’s not what I was told by the Governor’s office, as well as the fact it doesn’t make any sense in light of Richard Corcoran’s (Head of the DOE) request to eliminate masks last month.
Plus they eliminated masks as of June 1st, so what was the point of having kids wear masks for another two weeks? Because today it’s dangerous and next week it won’t be?
Also, the DOE’s protocol for any positive students indicates they never believed masks work, because when a boy sitting next to my son tested positive, my son was sent home for two weeks as well. If masks work, why was my son sent home if both he and the boy were wearing masks?
And Finally:
Government doesn’t need to be rational. Governor’s orders have never been the best written leaving to much confusion in the past and now.
There was an educational plan filed with the state by the district regarding reopening. It would take longer than the two weeks to change from mandatory to optional thus just leaving it alone.
I agree with you, Corcoran, and the school district that as of June 1st and going forward (if nothing unforeseen happens) masks should be optional.
Marcus Rothstein on the U.S. 1 Corridor:
Tom – Thanks again for your efforts and the resulting newsletter.
Love that briefing on St Lucie Crescent US 1 corridor redevelopment ideas. Hopefully a lot of the ideas will be captured and play out by the property owners. They could really enrich the area and make good money besides. Some really great ideas. Thanks for sharing!
COMMISSION MEETING MAY 25, 2021
The meeting only lasted for 1.5 hours. City of Stuart and Village of Indiantown please take note. Less is more!
A couple of things stood out to me. The board’s fiscal conservative, Commissioner Heard, was pleased with the Stuart Beach renovations. They are spectacular. My surprise came when she said that she couldn’t wait for the Sand Dune Café to open once the labor shortage was over.
Sarah Heard
For those who believe there is a labor shortage, they are wrong. There is a shortage of applicants willing to work for the wages being offered. It the employees of the café were being offered comparable pay with those in the private sector; they would apply at the county owned and operated facility. At $11 per hour with a no tipping policy, the jobs aren’t attracting many people.
Why is the county running restaurants? They should be leasing them to the private sector. This is another example of the commission’s socialism in action.
They approved several new fire stations one of which (Station 14) is in Commissioner Smith’s district. That project will receive an additional $200,000 of his district funds for enhanced architectural details. That is in addition to the base building price of over $4 million. What is the purpose? No ordinary station for District One will do.
A brief discussion was held pertaining to Indiantown’s counter for fire/rescue. The commission is standing firm with its last offer. They can either take it or leave it. Mr. Brown’s letter with the counteroffer can be found here
COMMISSION MEETING JUNE 8, 2022:
It appeared to me that the main purpose of this meeting was to discuss the two restaurants the county operates at Jensen and Stuart Beaches. There was very little else on this agenda to report.
The BOCC is perplexed over why the county cannot find workers for their restaurants. Is it the extended and enlarged unemployment benefits? Commissioner Ciampi believes it is. Vice Chair Smith, who presided over the meeting, thinks an agenda item should be brought back to discuss why there are so few applicants.
He cited the fact that no tipping is allowed at the venues. The no tipping policy in and of itself (not to mention the $11 per hour wage) would not induce many to work there. Ciampi volunteered to man the counter since he is food safety certified. Is this a new qualification we should look for in a commissioner?
For Mother’s Day, the Jensen Beach café served 400 brunches we were told by staff. The commissioners were giving kudos for the sales number. And by the way the Stuart café at this same meeting needed an additional appropriation of $136,000 for overages. (You can see the budget amendment here )
To make up for the cost over runs Stuart café will have to sell a lot of brunches.
This needs to stop! County government should not be operating restaurants. This is the purview of private industry. The commission and staff are going to claim that the café at Stuart Beach was operated for years by a private party, and the facility deteriorated to the point that it had to be torn down. The correct operating agreement and, even more importantly, enforcement and oversight of the terms of the agreement would have prevented that problem from occurring.
All non-governmental functions should be given to the private sector to manage for this department or any department. This should be a money-making opportunity for the county. What happened to common sense? Are some commissioners so invested in building empires at the expense of taxpayers that they no longer have good government as their goal? It is too bad.
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COMMISSION MEETING MAY 24, 2021:
This was the first time that the commission had the Costco PUD before them. This quasi-judicial hearing was the time for the applicant and the intervenor to make their cases. The applicant, his attorney, planner, and other consultants were there and presented their evidence from qualified experts.
In their presentation, the staff stated why the Commercial Plan Unit Development was the correct zoning and a Neighborhood Special District land use with master site plan approval was correct. Staff said that the project was looking for the commission to grant the following exemptions:
- Parking requirement for the residential is 722 spaces. They have 700 spaces.
- “Within a large commercial development which provides shopping carts for use by patrons, one parking space per 25 spaces shall be dedicated for the storage of shopping carts. This storage area shall include fence materials to keep the shopping carts in the space. Required spaces to be dedicated for storage of shopping carts is 24 and the applicant is providing 14 spaces for storage.”
- Landscaping Code Section 6.04.07C.5 Interior landscaped islands shall be provided between every ten (10) parking spaces. Each interior island shall be not less than six feet in width. Each interior island shall contain not less than one shade tree and a combination of shrubs, ground cover, grass and mulch. The commercial parking areas for Costco building’s parking lot contains 14 rows with more than 10 spaces without a landscaped island.
- “The applicant is proposing to mitigate existing wetlands per Section 5.03.03 of the Land Development Code as permitted by policy 5.A5.5 D of the City’s Comprehensive Plan.”
Of the four the last was the one that gave a few commissioners pause. It has to do with mitigation due to wetlands. This is key to whether this site can be developed.
Yet for a project of this size, it isn’t much to overcome. The entire area is a bit shy of 50 acres. In most places except Stuart, this would not be a stumbling block. In Port St. Lucie this would have been disposed of in minutes. Here the meeting went from 5:30 pm to after 2 am.
The applicant’s attorney, Bob Raynes, presented his case first. He introduced expert witness after witness to bolster his case. They each were specialists in their field. Are they hired guns? Yes, but that doesn’t take away from their expertise in their subject matter. Further, if a question was asked of one expert and it was not in his/her field, then the expert said they were not the right person to give testimony on that.
The intervenor, Linda Kay Richards, was pretty much on her own. She isn’t an attorney and was out of her depth. Even though the rules of evidence in such a proceeding are relaxed as compared to a court, there is a reason to have representation by an attorney. Her witnesses were not experts and none of them would have been qualified as such by a court. It was all extended public comment and should never have been allowed.
She had an attorney, Ginny Sherlock, make an opening statement but she then retreated leaving the heavy load to Richards. Her cross examination of witnesses proved irrelevant. The entire thing went on for hours for no reason.
Being an intervenor doesn’t mean that for the $400 paid to qualify, opinion is substituted for expert testimony. Presenters need to operate within a legal framework no matter how broad. In the recent past, the only intervenor that did act in that manner was a group of homeowners who hired Attorney David Earle to represent them. They still lost, but at least they made a cogent case.
The City of Stuart needs to stop embarrassing itself when it comes to quasi-judicial hearings. I am not criticizing the mayor. Clarke did as good a job as possible by a politician trying to be a judge. Commissioners are politicians and, in most matters when dealing with the public, allow leeway…sometimes too much. When they act as politicians instead of as judges, they are doing a disservice to both sides in a hearing process.
The city attorney should become the presiding officer (judge) during the quasi-judicial hearing. He can act as the impartial arbiter of what is testimony and what is not. He can then tell applicants, intervenors, and even commissioners when they are out of order. Arbitrariness needs to be removed from the proceedings.
The other thing that needs to be reformed is public comment. Nowhere in statute does it say comment must be allowed after a motion. It can be allowed at any time in the meeting. It doesn’t even have to be during the item, so it can be before or after a motion is made. And, if heard before the motion, it does not then need to be heard after the motion. How public comment is conducted is in Section 286.0114 of the Florida Statutes found here
Martin County has time limits for quasi-judicial hearing presenters. I do not believe that is a good policy. If it takes 4 hours to put on the case, the presenters should be allowed to have the time. However, that means the testimony should be from experts. People who are not experts should speak during public comment of the item when there are time limits.
After many hours, a motion was made by Bruner and seconded by McDonald to approve. Matheson offered the following conditions be added which, for accuracy, I obtained from the city development department:
- 5% Density Reduction.
- Fertilizer use
- Previous Parking
- Oaks/Shade trees
- Fountains in Lakes
- Fence in front of Lake 2 removed
- Irregular shape + Littoral planting to Lakes
- Roadway not named Costco Blvd
- Decorative Roundabout feature
- No credit for fill in respect of tree replacement/stormwater
- Full breakdown of Tree mitigation
- Stormwater function – monitoring/reporting
Bruner became annoyed at Matheson. McDonald became the buffer between the two. He did a good job in getting those needed requirements into the approval. It passed 5-0.
You can find the presentations of all here
COSTCO: BOTH THE PRO AND CON VIEWPOINTS:
CON
By Linda Kay Richards
Land in Stuart is being developed at a record rate, not for those who live here, but for those who might, and it’s happening at our expense.
In 2008, Stuart was anointed “America’s Most Beautiful City” by the national America in Bloom competition. In 2016, Coastal Living Magazine gave Stuart the title of “America’s Happiest Seaside Town.” In 2020, Oprah Winfrey’s magazine listed Stuart as #6 on the list of “60 charming American towns you haven’t heard of but should visit ASAP.”
These honors were not made because we have a plethora of developments and a big box store next to a high school. These honors were bestowed because we, as a community, prioritize preservation over growth simply for growth’s sake.
At least we did.
The Kanner CPUD is leveling all proposed 50 acres of land and clear cutting it, destroying all 8 wetlands, and all native Pine Flatwoods, Upland Scrub, Pine and Hardwoods. There is no attempt to preserve any wetlands or native habitats. This land is a floodplain to the St. Lucie Estuary with the river less than 500 feet away.
Land that was once designated as low-density residential, 5 units per acre, is now requesting an exception to the Future Land Use that maximizes the density on this development. By using the special CPUD zoning, they are using semantics to put 378 apartment units on 14 of the acres, with the Costco, gas pumps, strip mall and fast food consuming the remainder.
The project that was submitted for consideration with the assistance of tax-paid Stuart Development staff is, frankly, a blatant manipulation of the zoning and land use codes. In fact, the idea is well-documented in the many emails between the city staff and the developers. The project is designed to maximize the impact to the land to maximize the profit to the developer.
As I said during my presentation as an intervenor against the Kanner CPUD, I am not one woman, representing one family or one business. I am but one voice of a community that is fighting to preserve our quality of life.
There is a place for a development like this. There is a place for another high-end luxury gated apartment complex. There is a place for a big box store. But this is not the place.
This parcel of land with its natural beauty, wetlands, vegetation, and ability to house endangered animals like gopher tortoises is why Stuart is wonderful and smart, prudent growth with a focus on preservation is important. This parcel of land should be developed smarter, with more amenities to the community and less impact on the environment.
Yes, there is a place for this kind of development. This parcel isn’t it.
Linda Kay Richards opinions are his own and may not reflect Friends & Neighbors viewpoint.
Ms. Richards has been leading the fight against this project.
PRO
By Joe Marino
Over nearly four decades in real estate investment and construction, there are days when you feel like you’ve been in a boxing ring. I can say with sincerity—having done this in several states—that when it comes to advocating on behalf of their community, Stuart is home to some of the very best.
That goes for city commissioners, city staff, residents and even skeptics and critics of our plan.
At M&M Realty, we deeply respect the passion—and thoughtful, intelligent commentary—of the people in Stuart. Moreover, we appreciate the opportunity to create something they can feel good about, even if at first, they doubted us.
Since working to bring a Costco, upscale apartments, and commercial space to a 49-acre spot on Kanner Highway in Stuart, we’ve gathered an outpouring of input—most of which we’ve incorporated into what will surely benefit the finished product.
Some examples include:
- Reducing the originally conceptualized 450 apartments to 398 and then—after commission input—down to 378.
- Relocating the Costco to minimize disturbances to neighboring sites.
- Reorientating apartment buildings on the northeast corner to prevent shade from impacting the Lychee Tree Farm grow operations.
- Adding an access road—which is open to the public but we’ll maintain—connecting Kanner Highway and Willoughby Boulevard to reduce traffic.
- Creating wider sidewalks for increased pedestrian comfort.
- Enhancing nearby intersections with additional safety features.
- Outfitting the Costco parking lot with more native shade trees to reduce heat sink.
- Beautifying the roundabout with an artistic design that captures the public’s appreciation for nature and wildlife.
We’re constructing upscale apartments that will add an important housing option to the market, and hopefully encourage other builders of multifamily communities to provide enhanced amenities.
Certainly, people are excited about Costco. In addition to families and small business looking forward to savings on great products, many eagerly anticipate the job opportunities. With pay starting at $16 an hour and excellent benefits for full- and part-time employees, it’s little surprise that Costco has been chosen the nation’s best employer by Forbes and Indeed.com.
My partner, Jack Morris, and I were blessed to call the late Jeff Brotman, cofounder of Costco, a personal friend and mentor. Despite its size, he ran the company like a family business. Jeff once said Costco wanted its people to “have a great life and a great standard of living…and be able to give back to their communities.”
Jeff prioritized people and left an inspiring legacy that we strive to uphold. When you honor people and value their input, what you plan—and create together—can withstand anything, including the test of time.
Joe Marino’s opinions are his own and may not reflect Friends & Neighbors viewpoint.
Mr. Marino of M&M Realty is the developer of the project.
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BUDGET MEETING MAY 27, 2021:
The school district is very lucky to have CFO Carter Morrison, a consummate professional, on board. I am not a staff or board member, so I do not know what it is like to work with him. If he is just blowing smoke, then he is the best smoke blower I have ever seen. However, the truth must be that he is the best at his job.
Morrison began his presentation outlining the past legislative session and how it will impact school districts. Presentation slide after slide demonstrated how the independence of local school districts is slipping away. This is nothing new only the increasing ferocity with which the Lords of Tallahassee exhibit their disregard for local voters’ control.
Instead of just doing away with local districts all at once, the state is slowly chipping away at their ability to choose curriculum or whether to promote a child or not. I believe that the concept of district public-guided education is anachronistic. All schools should be charters determining their own curriculums etc. with the state providing only the necessary licensing for teachers and facilities much as they do for doctors and hospitals now.
Every parent will pick the school the child attends. Once enrolled, the state would send the voucher payment to the school. The curriculum would meet some broad state standards that were outlined in the facility’s license.
Being the pessimist that I am I could see Tallahassee meddling as to substance and form which would negate the parent choice of what the curriculum should contain. As an example, one bill just passed that mandates health education and in what grade it can be taught. Another bill allows parents to opt out of health education if they do not agree with what is being taught. That is the schizophrenic nature of Tallahassee.
Florida Capitol
It is mandated that there be a “Moment of Silence” at the start of each day. It must be more than one minute but no more than 2 minutes. It is for contemplation. The state has decided that children need at least 60 seconds but not longer than 120 seconds of nothing. Zen for dummies at its finest.
What does all this have to do with a budget? If you are going to teach a health curriculum as dictated, then the money must come from somewhere. The state is not providing funds…only orders. They mandate how much to tax. What can be spent on transportation. Minimum salaries paid to teachers and so much more.
Governor DeSantis may be trying to make districts obsolete. Martin County enrollment is down and even with the development happening in Stuart, there does not seem to be a need to build more schools. There was even discussion about opening Jensen Beach High School to St Lucie County students to fill the seats.
All the numbers are in the presentation attached here
I believe we are on a decline in the number of pupils the traditional public schools will have in the coming years. If another charter school were opened, you would probably see another 500 kids leave. It is time we re-imagine what it means to be a public-school student.
BOARD MEETING MAY 27, 2021:
If there is one good thing in the past year that happened, it was that board meetings are now being televised via YouTube. For someone like me that must “attend” tons of meetings to write the newsletter, this one thing has been a godsend.
So, when a meeting is now not televised, I immediately think that there is something trying to be hidden from the public. This meeting was not televised. There were no backup materials in the agenda package (sadly, a too common occurrence with this board.) What am I to believe?
John Millay
The sole purpose of the meeting was to go over the board’s first evaluations of Dr. Millay. Asking political boards to write evaluations is usually not helpful to ascertaining what each board member really thinks about the superintendent or manager. In this case, the evals were at best perfunctory.
At 6 months, the superintendent hasn’t been here long enough to warrant an accurate assessment. With COVID thrown in he has been dealing with too many fires that may have precluded his ability to undertake some initiatives that he had anticipated.
When I was on the advisory committee to pick the first appointed superintendent, Dr. Millay was not on my final list. He was also not on any of the final lists of any of the other 30 plus members of that committee. And it was also not a unanimous choice to hire him by the board either. The vote was 3-2.
Since there isn’t a meeting to watch or a recording to hear, there isn’t anything to help place these written evaluations in context to better understand what the board was thinking or wanted to convey when doing them. There is no subtlety of the spoken word to go by. And that is too bad for the public.
If I were rating Millay, I would give him an incomplete at this point. I think he has great promise, but it is too early to tell whether it will come to fruition. If anything, he may be too cautious in his approach. Too much a creature of the academic system to effectuate the change that some board members, school employees, and parents want.
I think a fair time to do a real evaluation would be this time next year. Millay has a steep learning curve when it comes to Florida and especially Martin County. He just needs more time.
All board members need to be completely honest with him. These checked-box evaluations are cursory when dealing with a position of such important leadership. A public, open and frank conversation needs to occur between employee and board. Seldom does that happen at the district level…or at the county or municipalities either, for that matter.
Finally, it is the board’s responsibility to make sure that these meetings are televised. The agenda items need to be on the website prior to the meetings for the public to view. Citizens shouldn’t have to go searching for things. The board that claims to want transparency needs to make sure it is provided.
The evaluations can be found here
SCHOOL BOARD MEETING JUNE 1, 2021:
A few days before the board met to evaluate Dr. Millay…perhaps they should have waited until after this meeting to turn in their evaluations.
Millay has recently begun to look at his administrative staff in a different way than previous superintendents. He wants to eliminate some positions and reimagine several others to focus more on the classroom. He envisions eliminating the COO position which I never believed was well thought out in terms of its job functions within the district structure.
Dr. Millay’s vision also begins to eliminate the inhouse legal team and outsource to an outside legal firm that specializes in education. That makes far more sense than the way the district is organized now. Some current directors become assistant superintendents. Carter Morrison becomes assistant superintendent of finance while Dr. Tracy Miller becomes assistant superintendent of academics.
The superintendent will have more direct reports. He also has decided to have an executive cabinet. It is Millay’s vision to better integrate the administrative and school-based functions. It is probably something that should be tried. You can read and see the reorg charts and descriptions by going here
Unfortunately, the latter part of the meeting received the headlines. Two incongruous ideas followed…the district expects a 3% decline in student population next year and David L. Anderson Middle School could be the 4th high school in the district. It was just two weeks earlier that Board Member Roberts suggested that Jensen Beach High School should be opened to St. Lucie County for a year or two because the school has excess capacity.
Staff seemed to be saying that the 3% dip would be temporary. Because of the supposed development that will be occurring, more FTEs will be needed. This is all supposition, and the district should be contemplating a different academic world. The past will not be repeated. While Dr. Millay is rethinking non-school staff, there needs to be the same re-evaluation for schools.
While I do not think we should rush into Anderson’s transformation, if at some point a 4th high school is needed then I like the Anderson Middle idea. I would propose to make it a high school focusing on academics for those students looking to go to college. That would require much less time to change the facility from a middle school to a high school.
You can add more CTE classes to the existing high schools. By not having so many infrastructure changes, it is less expensive to convert Anderson. I like Mr. DiTerlizzi’s idea about having kids who want to be on sports teams playing at Martin County because that would also save money. Of course, all is predicated on whether Martin County becomes inundated with kids.
Many of our residents are familiar with this problem as they have come here from Long Island and other places that experienced exponential growth. Often, those families found that after graduation, their kids decided to move to other places. Schools became empty and needed to be sold and repurposed. Hundreds of millions of dollars were spent by districts building schools that ended up vacant.
Like most other parts of government, schools need to be evaluated with a fresh eye. We should not rush into any decisions but take a wait and see approach. I do like that Millay is beginning to think outside the box.
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COMMISSION MEETING MAY 25, 2021:
This was the meeting where Manager Berger was looking for the commission to make decisions. When it comes to pulling the cord, not all commissioners are ever ready to do so.
The first decision was whether to have FPL give an engineering estimate to put the utilities on South Sewall’s Point Road between Ridgeland and Ridgeview Road underground. This is where there is an expanse of Banyon Trees. I think many of us, regardless of where we live, have seen the utter disregard with which FPL trims trees around their lines. It is not the way an arborist would choose.
This may be money well spent in tree happy Sewall’s Point. Berger has gotten the FPL ballpark estimate price down to $225,981 and, with ancillary costs, the town engineer is estimating $300,000 for the entire project. It is currently in the CIP. FPL requires $1400 deposit for engineering costs to give an exact estimate that must be signed within 180 days. The $1400 is applied to the costs if the town moves forward.
As usual there were the cries of not enough available information to decide. But Mayor Mayfield moved the ball down the field and the motion passed 5-0 to spend the $1400.
In the last workshop, there was consensus on raising permit fees by at least three commissioners. A motion was made by Commissioner Kurzman and seconded by Commissioner Tompek to raise the building fee to 1% and the technology fee to .08%. It passed 4-1 with Commissioner Campo dissenting.
FIGURING OUT HOW TO BILL FOR FIRE AND OTHER SERVICES
Berger wants to create a separate taxing line to pay for the fire/rescue contract with the City of Stuart. By doing so, the general fund would be available to pay for other things such as debt service for capital projects. The mechanics of separating the fire contract expense out is an issue that she has asked the board to let staff explore.
Presently, the contract with Stuart costs $517,000 per year it will increase each year for the remainder of the contract. If Sewall’s Point had elected to remain with the county for fire/rescue, the Sewall’s Point taxpayers would pay a MSTU of 2.7 mills on the town’s taxable value directly to the county. That amount would be $1.9 million. So, the Sewall’s Point taxpayer has a great deal.
The town commissioners, especially Campo and Fender, often tout that Sewall’s Point has the lowest millage rate in Martin County. The prime reason is that the taxable value of the real estate is high as compared to Stuart. There are many properties in the city that pay no taxes whatsoever and many more pay less in taxes than what it costs to provide municipal services to their property.
When comparing the tax rates of Sewall’s Point to Jupiter Island, the latter is slightly higher, but the level of service provided is much greater. However, the taxable value of Jupiter Island real estate is almost five times as much for many fewer residents. The point is that a particular millage rate does not mean much unless it is taken into a broader context.
In my opinion, taxable rates are a “red herring” without the understanding a foundational underpinning of a particular government. Sewall’s Point must now face what to do about decades of burying their proverbial heads in the sand. Berger is trying to get them on track.
To recommending what to do next, Glen Torcivia wrote a letter to the commissioners outlining how they can have dedicated fees for different services. In his 5-page letter to commissioners, he outlines Florida law. A county has more leeway than a municipality in determining how to charge taxpayers for different municipal services. Unless a municipality is opting to contract for services with a county, then an MSTU or MSBU cannot be charged.
Currently, the town purchases waste removal through Martin County. Passing an ordinance and signing an interlocal agreement with the county to have Sewell’s Point residents charged the MSBU for that service by the county is correct. However, it is important to note that the millage rate is capped at 10 mills for any municipal service provided.
A municipality can have its own special assessments to pay for and maintain capital improvements. The two requirements are that the assessed property must derive a special benefit from either the improvement or service and it must be apportioned among the properties that receive the service. This works fine for things like water mains. Connections to a million-dollar house or a ten-million-dollar house cost the same. That is why properties pay on the ERC method.
With something like fire/rescue, it becomes more difficult. While it is possible to differentiate between commercial and residential properties, doing so based on assessed value is trickier. For instance, the fee could be based on square footage. The assumption would be that the bigger the home, the more it would cost. Fees do not consider tax exemptions that MSTUs do.
The question being posed at the meeting was to instruct staff to explore other possibilities for charging residents beside the general fund. The motion to proceed was 4-1 with Fender dissenting. One thing is clear that the prized millage rate of 2.87 cannot continue to remain if the town is going to pay for and maintain the necessary services and maintenance going forward. There will be many 3-2 votes from this commission in the next months on whether to move forward.
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COUNCIL MEETING MAY 27, 2021:
For some reason, Ms. Clarke and Mr. Stone are still not attending the meetings in person. Is there a reason that they prefer sitting at home or in their offices instead of interacting with constituents and their colleagues? Having remote meetings, though allowed in statute if a quorum is physically present, is not conducive to conducting business. I can see no valid rationale for this to continue.
As discussed in the Martin County section, the County is finished with fire/rescue negotiations. The pressure on the Village to move forward and forget about creating a department from scratch is immense. If the Village already had its own, like Stuart does, it should be kept. To create one from scratch when the Village already has services from the county is not good use of taxpayer dollars.
Antony Dowling
In breaking with her usual pattern on who she asks first for council comments, the mayor called on Dowling to go first. Usually, she calls on Gibbs-Thomas to lead off. If Gibbs-Thomas had gone first she probably would have made the motion to accept Martin County’s offer regarding continuing to provide fire/rescue services. Something that in all fairness was appropriate for her to make since she had advocated for it for some time.
Instead, Dowling took 20 minutes to tell his listeners at home many things before broaching fire/rescue. When he got to the subject, he thanked the county commission, especially Jenkins for the offer. In the spirit of unity, he made a motion to accept the $1.5 million; to receive monthly reporting statistics; to have quarterly presentations from Martin County Fire/Rescue; and to amend the deed restrictions for the buildings at Booker and Big Mound Parks to allow for a civic center, community center, event center, meeting rooms, municipal annex, emergency operations center and hurricane shelter.
It was seconded by Gibbs-Thomas. It passed 5-0. Everyone thanked the county for being understanding. Gibbs-Thomas also added that the residents should be thanked for making their will known and for their common sense.
I would add the council should apologize to the taxpayers for spending thousands of dollars on studies and consultants for this outcome. It was obvious from the beginning that the residents and taxpayers didn’t want to create a fire/rescue department. They had to walk back all their plans. I do not believe all will be forgotten and forgiven at election time.
I am also not so sure that the county will acquiesce to the deed changes either. The BOCC was certain in that they wanted those buildings to be used for recreation. They probably could stretch it to include some of those uses but probably not all. Will the deal blow up? Not likely given that the commission is finished giving things away to the village.
LET’S EAT DINNER AND TALK SOME MORE
Council Member Dowling made a motion to change the date of the August 12th meeting to August 19th because of the Florida League of Cities Annual Conference. The conference officially begins Thursday August 12th and runs to Saturday, August 14th. Thursday night is usually reserved for dinner with members attending from the Treasure Coast. I checked with the director, and the dinner is scheduled for that evening. However, there are currently no sponsors picking up the tab so there may not be a dinner.
Instead of making the 2-hour drive to Orlando early Friday morning when the work of the conference begins, Dowling and the gang will have village-paid rooms two or possibly nights. Though the end of the conference is on Saturday afternoon, there is a purely social gala on Saturday night that could be in the cards for this council to attend. The motion passed 3-2 with Gibbs-Thomas and Hernandez voting no.
The meeting schedule will change in August to provide for a workshop on the 4th Thursday of the month with a business meeting on the 2nd Thursday. This is to allow for discussion with the residents. Nothing will be voted on, and it isn’t really a workshop because the council will discuss the items that will be on the business meeting with the public.
I hope it works but sometimes 2 meetings a month are not enough. Having only one meeting where votes can be taken will result in awfully long meetings. As to the workshop, Stone wanted to put a time limit but that gained no traction. Gibbs-Thomas put it succinctly when she said that there will just be double handling and discussion ad infinitum.
The motion passed 4-1 with Gibbs-Thomas dissenting.
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COMMISSION MEETING JUNE 9, 2021:
Lynn Griffith Jr., a noted arborist, gave the commission advice on the disease that is killing the trees of the Ficus Allée. The good news is that it is a slow progressing disease. While the bad news is that there is no known cure.
The disease is spread by spores entering the tree through cuts in the bark. Griffith suggests that they try several new fungicides and see what happens. He does not see any need to panic. The older the tree, the more likely that it will become infected. Trees are like other living organisms that have a life span. Some of the trees are reaching the end of their natural life, and just like people, they are more susceptible to disease as they age.
There was a place holder for an executive session due to a lawsuit brought by residents because of the current dune line regulations. There is a zoning-in-progress (ZIP) which prevents new building application from being processed and approved. The town attorney, John (Skip) Randolph, stated that he did not need to have a shade meeting on the pending suit at this point.
John Randolph
Mr. Randolph is an eminent legal presence in municipal government law and seemed to be a little annoyed with some members of the commission. Usually, the elected officials are apprised of matters once there is a settlement offer or a policy decision that must be made. They do not advise legal counsel on strategy or what pleadings should be made.
There are five quite accomplished commissioners, two of whom are attorneys. It seemed that some members of the commission were offering legal advice that was not apropos to their positions. Pidot knows how to steer the conversation back to what is acceptable. Randolph will chart strategy and involve the commission when appropriate.
The Building Official, Reuben Cruz, discussed the other zoning-in-progress regarding dock lighting. His memo can be found here here
There are currently 2 residents that want to build new docks. Cruz wants to set up a demonstration to show the commissioners different lighting intensities. It was decided to extend the ZIP while this occurs.
Town Manager Michael Ventura gave the current financial condition of the town plus introduced the draft budget for 2022. The budget has increased 5.25% to $9,516,585. This is not the final budget but only projected at this point. Included in his presentation was a timeline for final approval.
You can find the presentation here
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In The Spotlight
by Jackie Holfelder
FINAL THOUGHTS
In the next few years, the United States will either be on the verge of a democratic rebirth or at end of our democracy.
It depends on who you speak to or your own political leanings. Politically speaking, I find myself more and more isolated. We have left the country of the Founders and stepped into the world of “The Seven Kingdoms” with the prize being the Iron Throne.
The very people that claim to be libertarians are anti-liberty. Those that keep speaking about “our capitalist system” are far from being capitalists. Many equate all government as bad when without it we would quickly be back in the jungle.
They use terms such as woke and cancel, but when asked to explain what those terms mean, they cannot. In my youth, it was the Democrats who wanted to disenfranchise people. Now it has been turned around and it is Republicans. By the 1960s, white southern Democrats were feverishly trying to stop Blacks from voting. Now white southern Republicans are feverishly trying to stop Blacks from voting. The only thing that has changed is the name of the political party doing the oppressing.
Clausewitz said that “War is the continuation of politics by other means.” Invert the words war and politics and we have Mitch McConnell’s Senate strategy. General Sherman would be proud of the scorch earth policies we have today. Take no prisoners and sound “El Deguello” is the battle cry of the Armies of the Potomac.
Perhaps we will come to our senses before it is too late, but I would not bet on it. We may have gone too far down the rabbit hole. We have squandered a legacy of freedom and democracy to embrace whacky conspiracies and hatreds brought on by a will to hold power at any price.
The enemy is us, but we are so busy being knee deep in our persecution complex we cannot come back to a reality. Perhaps this started with people more content to read George R.R. Martin’s “Fire & Ice” than American history. History can be boring while fantasy literature is exciting. We have turned our cable news stations into an extension of “Game of Thrones.”
It just is not real…much like the state of our politics.
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GET THE WORD OUT Friends and Neighbors of Martin County are your eyes and ears so that you know what is going on in Martin County’s municipal and county governments. I attempt to be informative and timely so that you may understand how your tax money is being spent. Though I go to the meetings and report back, I am no substitute for your attending meetings. Your elected officials should know what is on your mind.
Tom Campenni 772-287-5781 (o) 772-341-7455 (c) Email: Info@friendsandneighborsofmartincounty.com thomasfcampenni@gmail.com
ARTICLES OF INTEREST
Articles Tom wrote:
From Martin County Moment:
“A Deal In The Works”
“The Emperor Has No Clothes”
From Medium
“School Vouchers Can Prevent School Censorship”
“Christian Nationalism For America Is A Fallacy”
Other Articles:
The Capitolist: “Jeff Brandes’ think tank: Live Local Bill will help, but bigger changes needed to fix affordable housing crisis”
The New York Times: “How To Clear 500,000 Ferel Cats From New York Streets”
Trump’s Indictment
Florida Phoenix: “Statehouses debate who should build EV charging networks”
The Washington Post: “Tracing the power of Casey DeSantis”
GLOSSARY
American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA)
Annual Medium Income (AMI)
Basin Action Management Plan (BMAP)
Best Management Practices (BMP)
Board of County Commissioners (BOCC)
Business Development Board (BDB)
Capital Improvement Plan (CIP)
Career & Technical Education (CTE)
Center For Disease Control (CDC)
Centum Cubic Feet (CCF)
Children’s Services Council (CSS)
Community Development Block Grants (CDBG)
Community Development District (CDD)
Community Redevelopment Board (CRB)
Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA)
Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR)
Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP)
Department of Environmental Protection (DEP)
Emergency Operation Center (EOC)
Equivalent Residential Connection (ERC)
Equivalent Residential Unit (ERU)
Evaluation & Appraisal Report (EAR)
Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA)
Fixed Asset Replacement Budget (FARB)
Federal Rail Administration (FRA)
Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT)
Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC)
Florida Inland Navigation District (FIND)
Full Time Equivalents (FTE)
Future Land Use Maps (FLUM)
Health Maintenance Organization (HMO)
High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP)
Hobe Sound Local (HSL)
Indian River Lagoon (IRL)
Land Development Code (LDR)
Lake Okeechobee Regulation Schedule (LORS)
Lake Okeechobee System Operating Manual (LOSUM)
Local Agency Program Certification (LAP)
Local Planning Agency (LPA)
Martin County Fire/Rescue (MCFR)
Martin County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO)
Martin County Taxpayers Association (MCTA)
Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU)
Municipal Service Taxing Unit (MSTU)
Not In My Back Yard (NIMBY)
Organization For Economic Co-operation & Development (OECD)
Parks & Recreation Advisory Board (PRAB)
Planned Unit Development (PUD)
Preferred Provider Organization (PPO)
Preserve Action Management Plan (PAMP)
Request for Proposal (RFP)
Residential Planned Unit Development (RPUD)
Right of Way (ROW)
Secondary Urban Services District (SUSD)
South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD)
South Martin Regional Utility (SMRU)
State Housing Initiative Partnership (SHIP)
Storm Water Treatment Areas (STA)
Tax Increment Financing (TIF)
Urban Planned Unit Development (UPUD)
Urban Services Boundary (USB)
World Health Organization (WHO)
Zoning-In-Progress (ZIP)
