Tom Campenni
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IN THIS EDITION OF THE NEWSLETTER
After the last newsletter, I was asked by a friend whether the newsletter should do away with contributors and just stick to reporting on government. The friend believes that I am straying from the original purpose. I can see his point because we have expanded our offerings.
It is true we have become more diverse in our points of view by adding contributors. For the most part, I have received positive feedback about adding different voices and opinions. What we have not done is strayed from giving you the scoop on the happenings of the different Martin County governments.
If you do not want to read a section, just skip it, and go to one that you want to read. When you receive the newsletter in your mailbox, simply click on the image of the newsletter’s cover which takes you to the website. If all you want to read are the government sections, you can go to the tabs where the governments are listed.
I hope you do not skip “News & Views,” “Letters to Tom,” “In the Spotlight,” “Final Words,” or “Articles.” All the sections are there for your information. It gives the reader an entire picture of the Martin County community. It includes viewpoints with which I do not agree but should have a place to be aired. I believe that is a good reason to continue including them.
This week, Carol of United Way writes about “Tools for Success.” This program makes sure that Martin County students have the materials needed to be successful from day one of school. Fletch from the Boys & Girls Clubs gives us the lowdown on his new food truck and what the purpose is.
We have our usual contributors…Pine, McChrystal, and Howard. This week we have two perspectives from our farm community with Hafner and Meier speaking from different vantage points. Our Constitutional Officers fill us in on what is happening at their offices. This edition is carrying a recent piece from the Martin County Taxpayers Association.
The newsletter has all the latest from Martin County governments. Tell your friends and neighbors about us and have them subscribe.
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FINALLY
By as early as tomorrow night, the Stuart City Commission will have voted on whether Costco and the apartment complex will proceed on Kanner Highway.
This project is the culmination of years of fighting about whether it should move forward or not. Palm City made sure it was rejected and now they are going to have a tractor supply, retail, a gas station, and possibly a hotel located in what had been the proposed location for a Costco. Many people just cannot see that at some point all private land is open to development.
Development can be a win for everyone involved or a nightmare for most. If it is private property, then it will metamorphosize from being a vacant site to one with a project on it. And the project will have to make economic sense. If the government tries to prevent that, it can be considered an unjust taking by a court.
Ms. Richards, the owner next door to this development, wants it to remain vacant or, at the most, be developed with a few single-family homes. In today’s economic climate, those homes would have to sell for millions of dollars each to be considered financially viable for a developer. That is a very unlikely scenario. At one point, her family owned all that land and had the choice to continue with the family business of farming, to develop the property as homes themselves, or to sell the land to a developer/investor. They could even have taken a page from the Knight Kiplinger book and donated it to the county as conservation land as Knight did across Kanner Highway. The family chose to sell the land to the developer/investor.
It is amazing how people believe in the free market when the money ends up in their pockets. The people who bought the property want to make a return on their investment just as her family did. Building apartments and retail within the city is where that type of development should be. Doing so outside the Urban Services Boundary is sprawl.
Some people believe they can tell a business where to locate and might suggest that Costco should go by I-95 or US 1. But that would be the opinion of an uninformed person. Companies can identify exactly where a store should be sited to reach the demographic, they need to make the project viable.
The commission needs to understand what they are going to be asked to approve. It is a nearly perfect project in a perfect location. The DEO even claimed that the site is allowed to have much more density than what is being proposed because the comp plan allows for much greater density in that location. This project will not hurt the city or Martin County. On the contrary, it will be one that allows the city to pay for city services that in five years they may otherwise not be able to afford.
The moment of truth is now here. The commission has been given excellent guidelines to follow in the agreement worked out by the parties for the hearing. I urge them not to go down rabbit holes and deviate from it. This is not the time for grand speeches from the dais. All you need to do is listen thoughtfully to whatever testimony is presented by both sides.
I am still in favor of this going forward. I believe that to preserve our western lands development should be concentrated within municipalities and CRAs. The very people who say no to this are encouraging that sprawl until the county has become what they fear the most. Remember this property is not untouched Florida but rather an old farm including what many are calling wetlands but are in actuality dug irrigation ponds that have been neglected.
For the sake of our future, the time is now to move forward with passage of the proposed development.
3
KIDS CAN GET SICK?
It seems that Mayor Clarke did not realize that kids (and their parents) can catch COVID.
Eula Clarke
Otherwise, why would the mayor and then Stuart place on their Facebook pages what looked like about a hundred 9-year-old children and their families at the Port St. Lucie Civic Center to hear a welcome from the mayor and others to kick off the Babe Ruth tournament partially played at the Sailfish Ball Fields? It was like pre-COVID times.
There was hardly a mask anywhere and no social distancing. The kids were arranged by teams on the floor and the adults were sitting shoulder to shoulder. I guess someone figured if the virus was going to be in Florida for a while, it should get to know all its residents.
Florida is now the epicenter of the disease which is infecting all including those who are unvaccinated and the vaccinated to a much less extent. The difference is that the unvaccinated are filling hospital beds while the vaccinated overwhelmingly become only mildly ill and many have no symptoms at all. One out of five new cases are right here in the Sunshine State. About 95% of the cases are being found in those that never bothered to get the jab. Every 9-year-old is currently unvaccinated.
It may be perfectly safe for the kids to be outdoors but huddled in the civic center without much ventilation is a recipe for the virus to take off. What happens if there is an outbreak among the attendees? How will it look for our tourist brochure, especially if a few become patients in the ICU?
Even if the mayor has been vaccinated and out of harm’s way for the most part, what was the point? Many will say that it is silly to believe that anything will happen. Some of the 613,000 dead Americans probably thought COVID was silly also.
As I finish writing this Mayor Clarke has called a special meeting to address COVID. What will she say, “oops, I was wrong to be part of a program that could be seen as a super spreader event and I have seen the errors of my actions.” No matter what Clarke says at this meeting in my mind she has lost the right to now try and impose a mask mandate in city buildings.
You can see the Mayor Clarke’s welcome here
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NON-PROFIT PERSPECTIVE
By Carol Howaart-Diez
United Way of Martin County President-CEO
By the time you read this month’s article, kids will be heading back to school. We wish them a safe return.
United Way of Martin County’s Tools for Success Program, with the help of many community partners, helped prepare students for the first day by providing basic school supplies to all elementary schools and select supplies for the middle and high schools. You may wonder if this is a necessary program in a community with so many riches. I want to give you a little history of this program.
When I moved to Martin County five years ago, I was so amazed by the generosity of this community. Within the first six months of my arrival, I observed the many charitable programs available here. One of the things that stuck out to me was the many school supply drives and give a way coordinated every year.
This inspired United Way to begin working with other nonprofits and community partners on a coordinated effort to ensure all students have equitable access to school supplies. If you are in your 50’s, you might remember bringing a pencil box (in my case, a cigar box) and some paper bags to make book covers on your first day of school.
Back in those days, the schools supplied everything else. The reality of today’s situation is that school districts cannot fulfill all our students’ school supply needs. The result is that children arrive at school without the supplies they need to be ready to learn on day one. We are certainly not immune to this problem in Martin County. In fact, according to a survey of Martin County teachers, nearly 50% of their students show up to school on the first day without the necessary supplies to aid in learning.
In 2019, United Way of Martin County launched the Tools for Success program to create equitable classrooms and prevent agency and client duplication. Over the past two years, we have placed more than 450,000 supplies directly into the classrooms and saved Martin County families more than $137,000 in school supply costs. In 2020, we served all elementary schools and title 1 middle schools and provided some supplemental supplies to the three high schools in Martin County.
Last school year, due to the pandemic, we adjusted the program to provide individual supply packs for each student instead of communal supplies for the classroom. Ninety percent of teachers indicated that the supplies were desperately needed by their students that year.
In 2021, our dedicated volunteers just completed packing supplies for individual schools so the students’ most needed supplies will be ready and waiting for them in the classroom. But being a kid facing hardship is even more difficult. Tools for Success makes school supplies equitable and accessible so that all students can start the school year off on the right foot.
Despite the program’s success, we don’t know how long we can keep this program going. With almost 19,000 students in our district, even just providing the basics for our elementary schools and select items for our middle and high schools has a price tag of over $100,000. That averages about $5 per child in our schools. We are grateful for the many supporters of the program and will continue to look for sponsors so that our kids can all start ready to learn. We do know that many of our nonprofit friends are still hosting back-to-school events but since Tools for Success is providing the school supplies, they can focus on providing backpacks, haircuts, vaccinations, and clothes/shoes.
Tools for Success is just another example of the benefits of a strong, healthy United Way in Martin County and what service we can provide for our community. I will continue to share some of the amazing work we do in Martin County and how we encourage our nonprofit partners to collaborate. It should not be a competition as we all have the same goal in mind. Helping our community be the best it can be. When we all work together, great things can happen.
To learn more or to volunteer with United Way of Martin County, please visit our website www.unitedwaymartin.org.
Carol Howaart-Diez’s opinions are her own and may not reflect Friends & Neighbors viewpoint.
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PINE’S PONDERING
By Tom Pine
Over the past couple of months, the Martin County Taxpayers Association has been ringing the bell loud and clear about our elected officials spending our tax dollars in a questionable manner. In the July 19, 2021, newsletter they mentioned one city commissioner and two county commissioners.
“The city commissioner Becky Bruner wants to spend $50,000.00 of tax dollars to help the Arts Council with renovations of their new home, at the old high school building on East Ocean Blvd. The Arts Council is not a city department so why would the City of Stuart be spending tax dollars renovating a private entity.”
The newsletter went on to name two Martin County Commissioners, Smith and Ciampi for using District Funds for their pet projects. Two recent examples that were given were the actions of Commissioner Smith. The first one was $37,000.00 to upgrade the bar top at the beach side café at the Stuart Beach. The second one was for $200,000.00 to make the new 5.63-million-dollar fire house on Hutchinson Island look even prettier.
The Martin County Taxpayers Association has noticed a pattern that’s only getting worse, our local elected officials are using tax dollars to fund their pet projects on a regular basis.
Commissioner Smith’s predecessor Commissioner Wilcox wanted to enlarge Witham Field so he used his status as a county commissioner and helped pick an airport director that would do whatever it took to extend runway 12/30. Whatever it took meant misleading county commissioners with photos that were years out of date to get approval from the commission to extend runway 12 / 30 and the rest is history.
Commissioner Smith is the one who pushed for and got the Mooring Field on the Jensen Beach causeway at a cost of $1,707,365.00. While this past winter the entire county was more or less locked down the Mooring Field hasn’t fared very well as of yet.
I also believe Commissioner Smith is the driving force in the expanding our Parks and Recreation Department with the intention of going into the restaurant business. The Parks and Recreation Director is from Broward, and we already know everything is bigger and better in Broward County, hence the Browardization of Martin County is now full speed ahead.
Truth to Power
Tom Pine’s opinions are his own and may not reflect Friends & Neighbors viewpoint.
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McCHRYSTAL’S MEANDERINGS
By Frank McChrystal
Don’t alienate longtime friends or family members as this long running culture war goes nuclear.
I refuse to think badly of my liberal friends. I refuse to view all liberals the same. Surely, they can’t all be the radical “woke” mob they are portrayed as, by the communication oligarchs. When I think of the free-spirited liberal folks who help mold me, I view them for who they are. They are the artistic types who make life a lot less boring. They are the educators who inspired me. There was a time when liberals and conservatives weren’t quite as ready for all-out war.
The differences between liberals and conservatives have always been there and according to Jordan Peterson, the world needs both. And I’ll paraphrase him. The lefties are high in creativity and low in conscientiousness. They don’t like responsibility that much, but they’re damn creative. They’re not very orderly and terrible at running things.
The conservatives are low in creativity, but they’re not stupid, their thinking just isn’t as free form. They are high in orderliness and conscientiousness, so they’re good at running things that already work. You need liberals, there is obviously a niche for them, and you need the conservatives. Because the libs are right sometimes and the conservatives are right sometimes, and the environment is always changing; there has to be constant dialogue.
And that’s why you need free speech. Lefties and righties get along just fine as long as they talk to each other. And that’s why you need free speech. There is only two alternatives to negotiation, one is slavery and one is tyranny. Those you cannot negotiate with, will either become your slaves or your tyrants. Wipe out free speech and that’s what you are left with.
The culture war drums have never been louder. But I will refuse to hate liberals. My optimistic attitude is “forgive them for they do not know.” And that’s not necessarily their fault. We have entered a new era where free speech is waning and valuable, relevant information is being shut down.
Not just the liberals, but all the masses are being fed half-truths. It takes time and effort to seek out the truth these days. But it is the libs who charge, guns a blazing, following the party line, transformed by the communication oligarch’s sermon on the mount.
This culture/information war is about to go kinetic. The line in the sand has been drawn. And as the libs have always professed, it’s about “my body, my choice.” Enough people have discovered legitimate alternative information about the experimental Covid vaccines and have decided this is the hill worth dying for. Rise up “leaders,” we need you. Lead. Free speech is under assault and all Americans are finding it hard to decipher conspiracy from fact.
I can forgive the plumber, painter, and third grade teacher who don’t have time to sort out facts. I can’t forgive the local “leaders” who just lazily run with the prevailing narrative. That’s not what leaders do.
Frank McChrystal’s opinions are his own and may not reflect Friends & Neighbors viewpoint.
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HERBIE’S HOBE SOUND
By Herbert Howard
We all enjoy Blowing Rocks Preserve as a wonderful and unique aspect of Hobe Sound.
But did you know it required a 10-year fight against developers? It was originally known as the “Black Rocks” or “Spouting Rocks” and if you have not been, you should make a point of visiting.
The Indian River Association, which was British owned, sold the 62-lot parcel to Mr. William Burgiss in 1920. It was completely undeveloped with only a trail to traverse it. Mr. Burgiss then sold it to Blowing Rocks, Inc. who re-plated it to allow for more lots. The over-heated real estate market in Florida collapsed in 1926-27.
Finally, in 1953 some Jupiter Island residents went before the Board of County Commissioners with a request to re-zone their property commercial! Their excuse was that the mangroves and beach erosion made it impossible to develop the land as residential. So, they wanted to build hotels!
Luckily, there was in place a Jupiter Island zoning board. They, although just an advisory board, turned down the proposal and the County Commission followed suit. This episode, in the minds of the residents of Jupiter Island, was only a preview of intrusive developers to come. They immediately incorporated the town of Jupiter Island so they could determine their own fate.
Ever since the only commercial land use parcel is where the Jupiter Island Club sits. Then there was one more fight over Blowing Rocks. In 1959 a Miami “syndicate” of land speculators sued the newly formed town because they wanted to build a hotel at Blowing Rocks.
Blowing Rocks (Herbie)
The Judge went to Blowing Rocks to see what all the hullabaloo was about! He denied the speculators. Of course, they appealed and filed a 2nd lawsuit to secede from the town! Thankfully, the town won. But only after an appeal in 1963! But wait, there is more.
A stubborn syndicate indeed, they appealed to the Florida Supreme Court! Finally, in 1968 the syndicate must have realized how expensive all these lawsuits were and made a deal to sell Blowing Rocks to Jupiter Island residents including Nathaniel Reed’s mother for $900,000. They donated the land to the Nature Conservancy. It became the Blowing Rocks Preserve that we all enjoy today.
These facts were taken from a book authored by Nathaniel Reed entitled A Different Vision. A debt of gratitude is owed to Commissioner Harold Jenkins (omni-present on his golf cart) for lending this amazing book to me.
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HAFNER’S CORNER
By David Hafner
About 42% of Martin County’s footprint is agricultural land.
So, when topics related to the environment are brought forward it only makes sense that a representative from agriculture should be included from the start. That is often not the case. When agriculture is excluded from the discussion table a part of the story is missing and the outcome of the discussion is often misguided or misleading.
People who do not have firsthand knowledge of modern agricultural practices will bring forward concepts on paper, but a farmer can explain how those concepts actually take place and give the perspective of how an action will affect the farming community.
As farmers advance their production capabilities through scientific research and the adoption of newer best management practices farms become more and more efficient. With the increased efficiency it takes less land, livestock, and man hours to grow our nation’s food supply. For example, in the 1930s one farmer fed four people, in the 1970s one farmer fed 73 people, and in the 2010s that farmer fed 155 people.
From this information I have two points I would like to highlight. With more efficiency and fewer man hours the number of people growing our food is shrinking; farmers now make up less than 2% of our population. With there being fewer farmers there is a growing number of people who have never been introduced to a farmer, and therefore they are lacking firsthand knowledge of farming. With fewer farmers the ones who are still farming need to carry a larger voice for their industry.
With more efficiency farmers are finding better ways to grow our food while limiting impacts on the environment around them. These new methods are not always more cost effective, but farmers adopt them anyway because they often live in the same communities where they farm, and they want the same clean water and air that we all want. Farmers need to be proud of these advancements and share with the community the ways they are making a difference. (You can visit This Farm CARES to learn about these environmentally sustainable farming practices https://www.thisfarmcares.org/)
So, to the farmers I say speak up and let yourself be known so that you can be a resource at the discussion table. To the non-farming I encourage you to seek out farmers and bring them to the discussion so the result can be complete.
David Hafner’s opinions are his own and may not reflect Friends & Neighbors viewpoint.
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FLETCH’S PERSPECTIVE
By Keith Fletcher CEO & President of
Boys & Girls Clubs of Martin County
The sizzle of beef patties on the flattop. The pop of grease from the fryer. The organized chaos of the kitchen as staff ready meals for hungry customers.
Food service often serves as a teen’s first-time job. Some remain in the restaurant business. Others dislike the stress of the rush and leave, never looking back. Few fully realize the depth of opportunities the industry can offer.
Knowing how opportunities are often in shorter supply for so many of our members, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Martin County makes a point to ensure they’re prepared to maximize everyone they get.
That’s what makes our new food truck so special.
At our four 21st Century Learning Clubs in Hobe Sound, Indiantown, Port Salerno, and Stuart, 25 members—ages 12 to 18—participated in our debut culinary program. Across the nine-week program, Chef Dan Bettencourt—a 25-year veteran of the culinary and hotel industry—teaches them sanitization practices, knife skills, food-handling techniques and “tricks of the trade,” such as when cooking onions to “throw in a little sugar and make them caramelize faster,” he says.
The course culminates with the state test so they can earn their Level I certification. We’re launching Level II, which teaches making menus, table setting, and front-of-the-house skills.
The nine teens who work the food truck rely on every skill and more. They plan the menu, incorporating items grown in our club gardens (lettuce, tomatoes, basil, parsley and more), set the budget, cook, serve, run the register, even do the marketing.
“The only thing they’re not doing,” says Chef Dan, “is driving the truck and buying the food.”
Having already catered a small donor event, the food truck will appear from 10 a.m. to noon Aug. 14 at the Mapp Road Town Center ribbon-cutting ceremony of Martin County’s Community Redevelopment Area project. We hope you’ll stop by for a bite.
In addition to giving many of the kids, inaugural introductions to the kitchen and instructing healthy eating habits, the culinary program and the food truck provide well-rounded, real-world work experience that prepares them for possibilities yet imagined.
“Every other week I do a bio on a chef who now runs a corporation but started as a teen working at a pizza place,” says Chef Dan. “Culinary entails the hotel business, convention business, Disney, things they may not even realize they could do by working in a kitchen.”
If the kids need another reminder of all the places—literally and figuratively—the food truck can take them, they can simply look at its name: Fork in the Road.
Keith Fletcher’s opinions are his own and may not reflect Friends & Neighbors viewpoint.
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FARMER MEIER’S PERSPECTIVE
By Michael Meier
Perhaps the most frequent questions I get as a farmer are what and how to eat.
Early on in my farming career, it surprised me to see just how very anxious so many folks were about food, and how earnestly they looked to us growers for advice. Now, I see these conversations as an important part of the relationship between the farmer and her community, even if they can sometimes be, frankly, eye-roll inducing, e.g. “Which is more nutritious – kale or Swiss chard?” “I heard carrots today are all GMO because they were crossed with sweet potatoes.” “Are tomatoes bad for you because they aren’t allowed in macrobiotic diets?” “Are all of these vegetables gluten free?”
But who can really blame us? It seems every other day we are introduced to a new fad diet, a new superfood, a new food to avoid. In just a couple generations in the US, we’ve gone from the majority of folks growing at least some of their food in home gardens and backyard henhouses, to a near-universal disconnect between the plants and animals outside and our kitchens inside. Without the home garden and the local farmer to keep us grounded, food marketing has taken their place and lately turned us all into Goldilocks, with just about everything being too: fattening, artificial, processed, toxic, cancer-causing, inflammatory, unsustainable…
So, how should we eat, after all? I like the way Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma among other good food books, puts it short and sweet. “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”
Seems deceptive in its simplicity, but it’s just as easy as that. 1) Eat real food, meaning stuff that is made from mostly real plants and animals, stuff that was once alive and not too processed, stuff that will generally go bad and get moldy after a while- unless it’s been fermented. 2) Not too much, which speaks to the old adage “everything in moderation” and gives us all a little breathing room. We shouldn’t overdo it, but don’t have to fully deny ourselves either. We can relax and soften against black-and-white prohibitions or prescriptions. And 3) Mostly plants, which provide vitamins and minerals, fiber, phytonutrients, antioxidants, and, yes, protein we need for healthy, strong bodies. Meats throughout most of our evolution and even modern history were luxuries, valuable for their nutrition but, as modern science and medicine have shown, unhealthy in large amounts. We also now know that calorie for calorie, animal products are much more greenhouse-gas (not to mention resource-) intensive to produce than their plant alternatives.
These “food rules” are a great summary, but I’d add one more: Eat where you are. Consider where you live on this planet and get to know what grows well in your area depending on the time of year. Food grown and raised locally is fresher, more nutritious, and tastes better. Eating locally also keeps your money closer to home, supporting your local economy.
In Martin County, we vegetable farmers are in our “off” season, much in the same way growers up north hunker down over winter. Our near-daily rains and oppressive heat and humidity make growing most veggies too difficult to bother. Some exceptions: eggplant, Everglades tomato, callaloo, cowpeas and long beans, Seminole pumpkin, baby mustard and collard greens, and of course, okra, which when picked fresh is something entirely different than what you find shrink-wrapped at the grocery store. Beyond the vegetable farm, there’s plenty more local fare to enjoy. As we pick the last of our lychee and mango, we now look forward to mamoncillo and avocado. Summer heat be damned, we are also harvesting local summer honey, lamb, chicken, beef, and farm-fresh eggs. Sweet potato, plantain, taro, and yuca give us all the tasty starch we could need. I’d happily eat through a Florida summer “off-season” over a northern winter anytime.
Our local farms and ranches serve our tastes. If we begin to introduce ourselves to the kinds of foods that make sense for our local climate, not only will our farmers have an easier time of it, we’ll be happier, healthier eaters to boot.
To learn more about the farms in your area, visit your local farmers markets and websites like localharvest.org
Michael Meier’s opinions are his own and may not reflect Friends & Neighbors viewpoint.
11
FROM THE CITY OF STUART
CITY OF STUART
NOTICE OF CITY COMMISSION MEETING
LOCATION CHANGE
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT THE LOCATION OF THE CITY OF STUART REGULAR CITY COMMISSION MEETING SCHEDULED FOR MONDAY, AUGUST 9, 2021 AT 4:00 PM HAS BEEN CHANGED.
THIS MEETING IS BEING RELOCATED FROM CITY HALL COMMISSION CHAMBERS AT 121 SW FLAGLER AVENUE IN STUART TO THE BLAKE LIBRARY, JOHN F. ARMSTRONG WING, LOCATED AT 2351 SE MONTEREY ROAD, STUART, FLORIDA 34997.
Any person deciding to appeal any decision made by the members at the public session will need to ensure that a verbatim record of the proceedings is made. In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), anyone who needs a special accommodation for this meeting should contact the City’s ADA coordinator at mkindel@ci.stuart.fl.us or 772-288-5306 at least 48 hours in advance of the session, excluding Saturday and Sunday.
CERTIFICATION
I, the undersigned authority, do hereby certify that this Notice of Special Meeting was posted in the kiosk at the front door of City Hall 121 SW Flagler Avenue and Stuart Public Safety Complex 830 SE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Stuart, FL 34994, the City’s website and all places convenient and readily accessible to the general public at all times, and said Notice was posted on August 2, 2021 by 5:00 PM and remained so posted continuously for at least 2 hours before the meeting was convened, and that Special Notice was given to the news media as required by Section 16-4.
STUART CITY COMMISSION
Mary Kindel, City Clerk
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CONSTITUTIONAL CORNER
Here is where we will post notices from our constitutional officers:
From the Clerk of the Court
And from our Supervisor of Elections:
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IF YOU ARE NOT A SUBSCRIBER DO SO FOR FREE HERE
First letter is from Caryn Hall:
Hey Tom….newsletter gets better and better! Thanks so much!
You published your thoughts in Today’s newsletter:
I hope that Mortell plans to keep order by wrangling his commissioners or some of his good work in this instance will go for naught
I find it very interesting you wrote “his commissioners”. I don’t think you meant his, as he voted for them and they represent him.
A municipal attorney should not be “wrangling” his/her commissioners….only presenting them with the “facts and the law” of each separate case/issue.
You do make a great point because Mortell’s wrangling of our commissioners is just one of the reasons I am running for Group IV.
Mary Win OBrien corrected my spelling in the use of buses:
Please use the more commonly recognized spelling of the plural of bus. It is buses not busses.
I answered:
Thanks. I will try to remember that. I grew up using the other spelling so it is hard. Two other people that looked at the cover also missed today’s more common plural of bus. You are correct that we should use the more accepted buses
From Nick Gulota regarding diverse viewpoints:
We cannot escape cancel culture even in our own little community of Stuart.
The criticism from readers on the inclusion of editorials about the vaccination (Frank Mc Chrystal’s column 7/11/21) impugns the American spirit of healthy debate.
I do not always agree with you, but your stance on allowing all points of view in F&N is not only paramount to keeping the conversation real, it validates your newsletter as informational for everyone.
Free speech is what makes us truly free and able to think for ourselves. It is what separates us from totalitarian societies. It is concerning that our own neighbors would even suggest we be censored. We sympathize with places like North Korea, Cuba and China due to their lack of free information and their manufactured history, then we suggest our own restrictions.
The “If you don’t agree with me then you’re wrong” mentality is polarizing us to a point of contention. Respect used to be a community value. That would include the respect of other points of view. People should remember that just because you believe something, does not mean that you can’t be wrong. Sometimes it is not so black and white. What may be right for you might be wrong for someone else. We all have convictions but just because we feel strongly about them doesn’t make them right, even if it is popular opinion. Sometimes right isn’t completely right and wrong isn’t completely wrong. It would be narcissistic and immature to believe that only your opinion matters.
Although your own personal points of view often come out strongly in the columns, at the end of the day you know the importance of balance and inclusion. That is what keeps me coming back.
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And from Tim Brown, I don’t know whether he has my name wrong or agrees with Frank McChrystal. Anyway, it is a compliment and Frank and I should share it.
Thank you Frank ! As always you do a great service to this community!
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The next commission meeting will be August 10, 2021.
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CITY COMMISSION MEETING JULY 26, 2021:
Part of the job for a commissioner is to be a cheerleader for Stuart. Mayor Clarke was certainly that when she enthusiastically embraced the Babe Ruth/Cal Ripken Softball World Series which will be partially played on the Sailfish ball fields of Stuart.
I understand that over the five days of games, there will be 10,000 visitors to Martin County. The bulk of the games will be played in the county not only in Stuart. The other fields such as at Pineapple can accommodate more play than Sailfish.
The ancillary income for restaurants, hotels and shopping is a nice boost to the local economy. Of course, not all visitors will stay five days, and I would imagine most of those meals will be consumed at fast food venues rather than at the Gafford or Pepe & Sale. The upcoming Softball World Series is not anything to sneeze at…yet we could have done better.
A few years ago, we had the opportunity to develop those fields and have new residents and businesses in the city. If we had done so, Stuart would have substantially more revenue to devote to recreation and parks. The development could have been an economic driver for East Stuart where the fields partially sits. The city would have had an additional $250,000 a year in taxes and user fees. Millions more would have been generated for local businesses. And this would have been ongoing year after year.
The Sailfish fields would have been reproduced at the Stuart Community Center according to the plan. So, there would have been no loss of recreational opportunity. There would still have been a chance to host one of many yearly world series and tournaments that are held throughout the country every year. Stuart decided to leave things be.
Leaving things be is a hallmark of the city commission. Not only this commission but commissions for the past quarter century. There is no future vision…only an incredible longing to keep the past going. Like so much of America, Stuart bumbles forward with its head firmly planted looking backward.
I applaud this one series coming to Stuart. Great job! The commission could have done even a better one.
APPEAL
As we have seen in the past few months, the commission acts as a quasi-judicial court at times. This is what it was doing when it heard the appeal of NiK and Rachel Schroth who are building their home at 623 N.W. Palm Street. It sits next door to the old Reb Oil building on Dixie Highway…or is the address Federal Highway? As you will see, it makes a difference…read on!
That building has been an eyesore for years. The building owners wanted it to be turned into an indoor facility for the sale of parts and repair of autos. Yet is it an appropriate use under the code? That depends on where the property is located. Before the new Roosevelt Bridge was built 25 years ago, what is now Dixie Highway was Federal Highway.
The development director, relying on his authority under the code, determined that the Reb parcel was still situated on Federal Highway and therefore the use was appropriate. Most of us could not possibly see how that property could be situated on Federal. Yet there is a case that could be made.
There are very technical questions regarding the LDRs and zoning maps that can be argued. Should those arguments have been made before the development director or should it had gone before the CRB and ultimately the commission for determination?
On the question of whether the director had the authority to grant the use requested, Meier made a motion seconded by McDonald to find that he did not. It passed 5-0. A second motion was made by McDonald and seconded by Meier to grant the appeal. That passed 5-0.
Perhaps the business will now go to circuit court to have a judge decide. Perhaps they will now bring it before the CRB and then the commission to decide. Or Reb Oil will do nothing, and that eyesore will sit there for another decade before anything is accomplished.
The staff and Schroth’s presentations can be found here
STUART BUDGET MEETING JULY 29, 2021:
The 2nd budget meeting was convened to allow the commissioners to hear presentations from the different departments. There was nothing that came as any surprise.
The entire budget is $76,581,155 which includes the enterprise funds. Enterprise funds include water, sewer, storm water, and trash. We tend to concentrate on real estate taxes which is a little over $11 million of the total budget. But as you can see, real estate taxes are only a small amount of the income Stuart collects.
The budget must be in balance. Expenditures must equal income. The city is in flush times, so the commission made no hard choices. They even approved hiring new FTEs in different departments. You can view the entire budget here
All commissioners praised staff and their efforts. This is the part of the process where Stuart becomes the fictional Lake Wobegon where everyone is above average.
It was nice to see that the city’s fire/rescue department will soon be serving all of Stuart as a station will be built north of the Roosevelt Bridge. Finally, Stuart will have the ability to service all its residents just as the police department does.
Though the county will continue to dispatch the units this could be a mistake. The county’s call operators will determine if Stuart has the apparatuses available to answer the calls. This should be Stuart’s decision to make. Since it is a cost to the city for each call that the county responds to, it makes perfect sense for the entity paying to be the deciding party.
The only purpose of the meeting was to vote on the maximum millage rate for next year. Meier made a motion to have it remain the same at 5.0 mills. It was seconded by McDonald and passed 5-0.
While numbers can seem boring, the interesting part is when commissioners begin pushing their pet projects. The first up was Matheson trying to have a way for commissioners’ salaries to increase using a defined metric without what happened a couple years ago when a 55% raise was voted upon and enacted.
There was talk of the COLA and a raise proportionate to what and when other city employees receive one. I do not think there is anything wrong with putting into place a definitive way for commission salaries to increase. Either a COLA or tying it to other employees could be the way to go.
Matheson ( City Of Stuart)
Matheson just needs to flesh out a resolution or ordinance that spells it out. He needs to work with the city attorney to correctly word it and then bring it back for a vote. My suggestion would be for it to begin after the 2022 elections. By doing so, all 5 of the commission seats will have stood for election before any change to compensation occurs.
His second proposal was to create a sinking fund for river defense and add $50,000 a year to the fund. This is a way to put money aside for possible litigation most likely against the Corps or SFWMD. However, it is unlikely to ever accumulate enough money to successfully litigate using such a funding mechanism only.
Let’s put aside whether Stuart has standing in a lawsuit and why it would make little sense to even commence a lawsuit. The Corps is in the process of passing LOSOM. The plan picked, CC, is the most advantageous to Stuart. It will reduce releases from Lake Okeechobee by 65%. That does not count any benefit to the reservoir being constructed south of the lake and what would eventually be done to the north.
Some suggested that having a litigation fund may scare the Corps. If Stuart had $5 million in a reserve, it would not scare the Corps. Matheson will be bringing back a better thought-out plan.
Bruner did bring forward her $50,000 ask for the Arts Council’s design phase for the old high school. At a meeting last month, she also discussed it and was told to bring this topic up at the next budget meeting. (To read what appeared in the last newsletter go here
Bruner (City Of Stuart)
At this meeting, Bruner read a statement of justification prepared by the Martin County Arts Council’s director. You can read it here
Bruner made a motion to include it in the budget. It died for a lack of a second. The other commissioners gave reasons why they couldn’t support it at this point. I guess they did not want to rain on Bruner’s parade. How about just saying this is a terrible idea and waste of Stuart tax dollars.
Lastly there was the perennial discussion about the massive subsidy to the Stuart Main Street organization. Matheson and Meier both had reservations about the $70,000 continuing. Yet the $70,000 is just the cash portion of the subsidy. It does not consider the highly subsidized lease of the city-owned Flagler Center and the Green Market.
Stuart Main Street president, Mark Brechbill, gave a razzle dazzle defense where he threw out numbers about Main Street’s budget that were incorrect. I knew this from my time on their board.
I went online to Stuart Main Street’s website, and there are no budgets listed nor any recent tax returns. I then proceeded to look up their tax return on Guide Star. Their most recent return filed was 2018. You can view it here
I then went on the IRS website where they have filed their 2019 return and an extension of their 2020 return. You can see it here
I find this troubling because the reason the Sunday market was given to Main Street was because the previous operator had not filed tax returns. Commissioners, are you having a double standard? Friends of friends do not have to follow the rules. Now I am wondering whether an insurance certificate was provided by Main Street or is the city on the hook for Flagler Center and the Green Market if something happens? If not tax returns, how about providing audited financials?
Mark Brechbill (Facebook)
I would also like to see a list of their vendors. At one-point Brechbill was their accountant. The 2019 return had a different accountant listed but now that Brechbill is president will he once again be their accountant? Do any of the other vendors have relationships to members of the board? The same goes for the Green Market and Flagler Center? What is the policy of nepotism for the organization?
Besides mouthing platitudes from the dais about looking out for the taxpayers, when do commissioners begin doing so. Or is just saying it enough?
EMERGENCY COMMISSION MEETING AUGUST 5, 2021:
Hands down the most interesting and most meaningful part of the meeting was Cleveland Clinic/ Martin Health System President Rob Lord’s presentation. Lord has been with the institution forever. He will retire in December. Being on the cusp of leaving he pulled no punches in this presentation.
Rob Lord (Cleveland Clinic)
There are currently 78 COVID patients in North Hospital with a total of 141 including Tradition. It is highest at any point since the pandemic began. Average stay with COVID is over 10 days with the longest being 60 days. Over 90% of the patients are unvaccinated. There are no vaccinated patients in either the ICU or on ventilators. The vaccinated patients have pre-existing conditions. There are 13 unvaccinated patients on ventilators.
The hospital system is beginning to cancel elective surgeries. There is no visitation for COVID patients. Other patients are limited to one designated visitor for their stay. Clearly according to the statistics presented, we are much worse off today than we were during the height of the last wave.
The Delta variant is much more infectious than previous known strains. An infected person will spread the virus to 5-9 others. Children are falling ill. There could be as many as five new variants now. Lord believes this could be the new normal indefinitely.
As a child I remember when we had waves of communicable disease. The most vivid memory of my young childhood was when the polio vaccine was finally being given by the NYC Health Department. It was a real game changer. 60 years ago, they labeled measles, German measles (Rubella), chicken pox, and mumps, childhood diseases because you caught them as kids. I was laid up with the mumps for almost a month and had Rubella twice.
People 60 and under have no idea what it was like before vaccination for these and other diseases. Earlier generations than mine had typhoid and smallpox to contend with plus all the others. Most survived having the diseases some did not. You can say the same for COVID that most who catch the virus will survive. Yet why would you want to become ill with something there is no need having.
Carol Ann Vitani from the Health Department gave a presentation with further statistics from the CDC and Florida Health website. One interesting statistic mentioned is that Martin County is number six in the state with rates of infection and Florida is the number one state in the country for COVID cases.
You can find more statistics here
And here
The rest of the meeting was completely unnecessary. The manager could have instituted what the commission voted upon. It was showmanship at its highest. Mayor Clarke said she was urged to call a special meeting to institute a state of emergency and mask mandate.
First let me say only two members of the public were there and one is running for office. So apparently no great ground swell. Everyone had masks on. Local government is precluded from doing just about anything under Florida Statute 381.000316 except what the board ultimately did. You can find the limiting statute here
Lord and Vitani made attending worthwhile for the information they provided. The rest was theater. After some more needles discussion, Commissioner McDonald wanted to approve the resolution adding that the manager has the authority to rescind and invoke the mask mandate in city owned property depending on circumstances. Commissioner Meier changed Section 1 of the resolution to read indoor not outdoor.
Matheson moved to accept those changes and adopt the resolution. Meier seconded. It passed 5-0.
The manager already had the authority to institute the wearing of masks in city owned properties. But for those who don’t want to wear a mask the city cannot have any penalty. I guess the cops could make you leave but probably not.
You can find the original resolution here
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SCHOOL BOARD BUDGET MEETING JULY 27, 2021:
There is always some politicking going on from every dais. It is inevitable that it occurs because they are politicians. The School Board has the least of that going on.
That is not to say that their actions are not political at times. The political has more to do with their different philosophical approaches than with currying favor with the crowd. Maybe they are sometimes worried about their next election but most of what they do is because they have no choice but to follow the law.
At this meeting, which was setting the maximum millage rate, the board voted not to increase any of the rates that they control. However, not every rate is controlled by the local board. The state levies what is known as the “Local Required Effort.” Tallahassee lowered the rate from 3.6990 to 3.5750, a decrease of .1240.
You would think that by lowering the millage rate taxpayer’s pay less. In the convoluted world of Florida real estate tax law, sometimes when you lower the rate, taxpayers end up paying more. There is something called the “Roll Back” Rate which could mean the amount people pay goes up even with the rate going down. That is what happened here.
Each year, the 67 school districts must charge the state rate that Tallahassee sets. The taxes collected under this “local required effort” is then sent to Tallahassee for funding education throughout the state. Tallahassee then sends money back to the districts with each student receiving the same amount of funding. The state cut the rate for the entire state that resulted in Martin County of having a tax increase due to the roll back rate.
The board didn’t say a word. They knew that it wouldn’t matter. They followed the law and did what they were supposed to do.
You cannot make this stuff up!
The entire budget next year is nearly $487 million. This year and last is a transition year for changing budget classifications. Certain budget lines have not been expressing the true amount of spending.
That is why even though it appears that capital items had a large increase, it did not in terms of actual dollars. Prior to Assistant Superintendent of Finance Morrison’s tenure, they did not track Roll Forward funding. “Roll Forward means a ledger account’s ending balance that becomes its starting balance in the subsequent period. They are often part of so called “roll forward reports,” which include a breakdown of the current period starting balance and all debit and credit activity — the sum of which is the roll forward value (a/k/a ending balance).”*
The capital project’s increase was not $84 million but $17 million over last year.
As the district introduces better accounting concepts, these huge discrepancies should go away. To see the outlines of the budget you can go here
*From “Understand Financial Analysis” by Noah Glenn
SCHOOL BOARD WORKSHOP AUGUST 3, 2021:
The board devoted most of this workshop to a presentation from the Gehring Group outlining the principles of self-insurance.
This is not the first time this board has looked at switching from a more traditional insured plan to one where the district is more at risk for losses. The district is the one that will pay the medical bills of those in the plan. Under traditional insurance the insurance company takes the responsibility to meet all the medical expenses.
Once the medical reserves are built up, the district and the employees can save money over time. I think it is a good idea to explore the possibilities that self-insurance can mean. At the same time there is probably a few years in the beginning where it will result in higher costs.
Presently Stuart, Martin County, and the Sheriff are all using self- insurance plans. They rely on a third-party provider to operate the clinic that provides primary care. The school board is a larger employer than the City of Stuart. It has worked well for those entities, and it is very feasible.
As with any self-insured program, what could be problematic is the demographics of the employees. The older and less healthy could bring up the amount of money needed to pay out claims. Insurance, whether a traditional plan or a self-insured plan, is a market. It operates as such. The more you use…the more you pay.
The other factor is whether the employees buy in. Change is always hard to sell. Carter Morrison was concerned that they would need more people on his staff. It also seemed that the Risk Management & Safety Department should probably be transferred to under finance if this occurs.
The board has asked for more information. You can see the presentation here
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SEWALL’S POINT COMMISSION MEETING JULY 27, 2021:
This was the meeting when big things were going to happen…big things never happen in government.
Listening to the public comment, a few things jumped out at me. First those that were not directly impacted by the flooding on South Sewall’s Point Road are not willing to pay another dime toward correcting the situation. Those who do live on Mandalay and other affected areas are very much in favor of tax increases to pay for the projects.
No matter how some in Sewell’s Point, and for that matter Martin County, consider the town on par with Jupiter Island or some unincorporated neighborhoods like Sailfish Point, the town is not. More than one speaker spoke about living on a fixed income as if they were part of the ALICE population. You never hear that complaint from residents of those communities.
Then there were the rumors like the town was going to hire an event planner. Some speakers harkened back to the time when there were no paid staff except the cops. They noted that everything ran smooth then. You know…when Florida was a backwater with 6.5 million people and Martin County’s population was 25,000. Government was a very different animal. Today, the legislature and governor would never allow counties and municipalities to operate the way they did back then.
Again, I heard the old phrase “to run like a business” from speakers. I once said the same thing. If there is one thing I have learned, it is that government is prohibited from running like a business. There are more safeguards to protect the use of public funds. That usually makes things more expensive. The real difference is that government doesn’t have an owner calling the shots but many interest groups trying to influence the outcome. It is very inefficient, deliberately.
Vice-Mayor Campo made it quite clear when he said he would not vote for a tax increase. In fact, he voted no to the communication services tax on 2nd reading at the meeting. He mentioned some not-so-accurate facts in his reasoning. He stated how the manager was doing a good job, damning her with faint praise. Then went on to list a cavalcade of her mistakes that I thought was for the most part inaccurate.
Campo is never going to vote to raise any tax at any time. He is as close as a disciple to Grover Norquist’s no tax philosophy as there is in Martin County.
With Campo’s vote made plainly known, the possibilities for the rest of the commission to act narrowed considerably. They were forced to vote for, at most, a 3.268 millage rate if the 4 voted in favor. Under Florida law to vote for a larger tax increase, the vote would have to be unanimous.
Commissioner Fender went through some verbal gymnastics to agree with Campo yet said he would vote for the increase. He had some notes and graphs that he used, but I am not so sure that he accurately put together the pieces detailing what the rest of the county pays in taxes. He, like Campo, mentioned parks and other amenities that there is just no way for the town to fund.
Tompeck was quite clear that all this increase does buy is the current South Sewall’s Point project completion. It does not include any contingencies on this project. It certainly does not include any of the other things mentioned in the Treasure Coast Regional Planning study. He accurately claimed that for commissioners to say otherwise is disingenuous.
Kurzman has become a very thoughtful commissioner. He believes this project is important. He explained why South Sewall’s Point should be completed. In his opinion, the town is broken and is not thinking about short- and long-term consequences. With a 4-1 vote, the South Sewall’s Point Road will be completed and that is better than doing nothing.
Mayor Mayfield wants the increase. She wants to pay for the infrastructure needed. Mayfield made it clear that you must maintain what is being built. She is not for letting things slide. She sounded as if she would be at home on Jupiter Island or Sailfish Point.
The increase in millage will go to fund a loan to complete the work. Probably, the loan will have a term between 10 and 15 years. Will they be able to borrow more for other projects if the makeup of the commission changes? Actions are narrowing the town’s ability to have more options in the future and quite possibly for future solvency.
Besides public works the town faces other funding problems now and in the future. The commission was in executive session over labor negotiations with the police union. How long is an independent department feasible?
In a few years, they will either renegotiate with Stuart for fire protection or rely on Martin County Fire Rescue and opt in to be part of the county’s MSTU. Currently, they are paying Stuart almost 3 times less than their taxpayers would pay for county protection. No matter who is providing the service Sewall’s Point taxpayers will be paying more.
A motion was made by Tompeck and seconded by Kurzman for the 3.268 maximum rate. It passed 4-1 with Campo dissenting. During the two budget meetings in September, the final rate will be voted upon.
You can find the agenda item with charts here
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COUNCIL MEETING JULY 22, 2021:
During his remarks, Manager Brown mentioned that many things can be found on the village’s website on their transparency page. I looked at that page, and I like it.
Howard Brown
Some people will not give any credit to Brown and his staff for anything. I have written things that are not complimentary about him. Yet when something good has been implemented under his leadership, I want this newsletter to say that too.
I particularly like Brown’s bi-monthly report. It contains many things that would never be known to us by just following the meetings. The page is a great resource and should be imitated by other governments. In fact, I like the way the entire website is set up.
The maximum millage rate was voted on. It will remain the same as last year at 1.634. It passed 4-0. Dowling was absent from the meeting.
One of the things that I find to be excessive is the continuing adjustment of the strategic plan. Alex Karas came back for another presentation and measurement of where the village is in relationship to the plan. Why is the council so obsessed with this document?
Instead of using it as a guide they treat it as Holy Writ. While Mr. Karas may not mind the many visits to the village, the council has become more reliant on the document being followed than actual governance. Most strategic plans are placed on the shelf never to be seen again. The village takes an opposite approach and continuously reviews and tweaks their plan. There should be a happy medium.
Karas’ presentation can be found here
FIRE & DONATION
The interlocal agreement with the county for fire/rescue services was reviewed. Everything it contains (it can be found here ) is what was agreed. The county will provide fire service for 5 years, and in exchange, the village will have an improvement to their water lines for fire prevention in the amount of $1.5 million.
The county commission has a long-standing practice that it will have a formal vote on something only after the other party votes and executes the agreement. I do not understand why it is that they are so adamant in this regard. Even if the county adopts something first and the other party changes the agreement, the county is not obligated to those changes. The council adopted the agreement 4-0 with Dowling absent.
A discussion occurred regarding donations to non-profits. When did small local governments begin to think they should give tax dollars away to non-profits? Perhaps in Indiantown it is because of the trust fund bequeath to them by FPL. Government has no business donating money to anyone.
That shouldn’t preclude a government entity from paying a nonprofit to perform a service. For example, Martin County contracts with the Humane Society of the Treasure Coast to serve as the county’s animal shelter. However, just donating tax dollars is not the right thing to do.
Gibbs-Thomas said the very same thing at this meeting. After much discussion, the council instructed the manager to place a moratorium on any more asks from nonprofits. I hope the moratorium is a long one and not open to discussion again any time soon.
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In The Spotlight
by Jackie Holfelder
Jackie’s next column will appear in our August 22nd Newsletter.
Jackie is always looking for a good story…you may reach her at: jackieacolumn@gmail.com
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FINAL THOUGHTS
A great example of a government-made problem is the looming eviction crisis now that the moratorium has ended. Eviction is rarely the best solution for either the landlord or the tenant.
The problem began with a lack of knowledge on the part of the government regarding how people and the markets respond to circumstances. As a landlord, suppose I told people they wouldn’t have to pay rent if they had been affected by COVID. Most tenants would continue to pay rent because they still had jobs and income and because they signed leases that they felt was their responsibility to honor.
A minority of tenants that did have a hardship because of the pandemic did one of two things. They contacted their landlords and explained things and worked out a deal. Or a smaller percentage took advantage of the moratorium whether they have a COVID problem or not and just stopped paying rent. Most of these tenants would have been identified as problems even before COVID.
I know quite a bit about owner and tenant relations having been an owner and property manager for almost 50 years before retiring. In that time, I have seen several major recessions and the consequences of people not being able to pay their rent. This time was no different than previous times.
Being primarily a New York City landlord, I have worked in the most pro-tenant market by far in America. I have had to deal with several different rent control systems, an anti-owner and anti-market bureaucracy, and a patently craven pro-tenant political establishment.
The civil court system has multiple courtrooms devoted to landlord/tenant disputes in each NYC county. A few years ago, I read an article that stated the filing fees for these cases fund the entire court system. It is big business!
Working in that system, I learned quite early to make deals. Anything but go to trial where you might eventually have a tenant evicted but the victory is all out of proportion to the economic loss suffered. Advising my son, who now owns the business in New York during this crisis, I saw no difference.
Whenever possible for commercial tenants, I advised that a deal including rent forgiveness was preferable to losing a good tenant. 90% of the retail in my son’s portfolio were restaurants. If it was a going concern pre-pandemic, we needed to assist in keeping them in business. The same was true for office tenants. If they had always paid their rent before, it makes no sense to lose a good “future” tenant. In a sense we are all starting over.
Residential is no different. As a landlord, why would you want to see someone lose their apartment if they were always a good tenant in the past. Rent reductions and forgiveness is better than trying to find a new tenant afterwards.
However, there are always a few that take advantage, or they will not talk to you unless a third party is involved.
This is where the courts come in. Once you begin an action, both parties have an opportunity to speak with each other with the legal system acting as mediator. The judge or his judicial assistant will try and structure a deal before the start of a trial and long before an extreme measure like eviction happens.
Without the stick of eviction though, there is no incentive to make deals for the tenant. There is no incentive to pay rent. Then month after month the debt grows and eventually the tenant would just rather leave than pay. This interference is a perversion of the market and a degradation of what a contract means.
The government has no place deciding that one class of people (rental owners) should subsidize another (renters.) By removing evictions as the ultimate tool, the housing market has been severely injured. A moratorium for whatever supposed good reason has subverted the law.
Subversion of markets never pays. Unless we are going to have the state own housing, the state needs to stay out of landlord/tenant contracts. It should not preclude penalties including evictions from occurring. There must be accountability. Things under this moratorium have only grown worse.
After writing this, the CDC imposed another moratorium which is a challenge to the Supreme Court. Justice Kavanaugh stated from the bench the reason he did not rule the CDC did not have the authority was because the moratorium was lapsing on July 31st which was only a few weeks from this decision.
Kavanaugh acted responsibly by not overturning the ban with just a couple of weeks left. He left no doubt that he believed that Congress needed to pass legislation to extend it further. There will be much more to come on this.
I believe Biden’s administration has now placed the CDC in the Court’s crosshairs. By doing so they will have ultimately weakened the CDC’s ability in the future. Mandates and moratoriums need to come from Congress and in an emergency the president. The country has become too fond of dictatorial actions by executives of both parties (Ron DeSantis) instead of passing laws to achieve the desired goals.
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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)
