SENATOR HARRELL BRINGS DISTRICT MILLIONS

Gayle Harrell first went to Tallahassee in the year 2000. She succeeded Ken Pruitt in the old 81^st Florida House District. In the Florida House and now in the Senate, she has represented Stuart and Martin County along with St. Lucie and northern Palm Beach Counties. Yet I always consider her a Stuart girl. Her late husband Jim practiced medicine here for many years.

I don’t always agree with her, but in the 10 plus years I have known her, Senator Harrell has always at least listened to what I had to say. And she has brought back millions and millions of dollars to her district including Martin County and Stuart. As far as I am concerned, that is an important responsibility of a state or federal representative.

Harrell will be up for re-election next year. She is running and is counting on her loyal base to turn out the voters. The last time around, she ran unopposed. I don’t know if she will next time. If she does have an opponent in either the primary or the general, that person will have one hell of a fight on their hands once Gayle slips into her red sneakers for campaign season.

During this legislative session she brought home appropriations for her district. Below are her budget requests along with the few that were vetoed by Governor DeSantis:

• FAU College of Dentistry Planning, Engineering, and First Traunch of Construction $30,000,000
• IRSC Renovation Science $4,000,000
• IRSC Deferred Maintenance $3,093,317
• Boys & Girls Clubs of Martin County Education and Mentoring Program $250,000
• Busch Wildlife Sanctuary Environmental Education Center $500,000
• District 19 Medical Examiner Facility Planning and Design $1,000,000
• Palm Beach County Sheriff – The Unmanned Aerial Response Team (UART) $500,000 VETO
• FAU Doctor of Dental Medicine Program

$5,000,000

• Statewide Study of Community Residence Zoning

$110,000

• Alzheimer’s Community Care – Critical Support Initiative $750,000
• Drug Free America Foundation – Reducing the Use of Marijuana During Pregnancy and Postpartum

$216,727

• Els for Autism Foundation Specialized Autism Recreation Complex Phase 1 $1,000,000
• Florida Senior Living Association CNA On-The-Job Training Program $500,000
• Improve Health Care for Florida’s Mothers: Assuring Quality Florida’s Hospital Levels of Care

$300,000

• Lucie County Homeless Veterans Community Village $875,000
• University of Miami Miller School of Medicine – Florida Stroke Registry $1,000,000
• 211 Palm Beach & Treasure Coast Building

$1,000,000

• Place of Hope – Child Welfare Services $1,000,000
• Florida Community Health Centers, Obstetrical Services Viability for Underserved Population

$1,249,467

• Center for Child Counseling: Urgent Children’s Mental Health Services Expansion $300,000
• Council on Aging of Martin County, Indiantown Senior Resource Center $250,000
• Florida Research & Innovation Center Protein Production for Novel Therapeutic Development

$750,000 VETO

• ARC of the Treasure Coast Women’s Accessible In- tensive Behavioral Living Environment $750,000

• Hanley Foundation Community Recovery Center

$1,500,000

• Dental Student Loan Program $2,000,000
• Pediatric Cardiac Technical Advisory Panel Proviso

$$87,733

• Child Protection Team Retention and Inflation in- creases in operations Proviso $7,000,000
• Loxahatchee Groves Stormwater System Rehabilitation $750,000 VETO
• Indian Trail Improvement District M-0 Outfall

$500,000 VETO

• Juno Beach Universe Boulevard Drainage Improvements $1,000,000 VETO
• Loxahatchee River Preservation Initiative

$985,255

• Royal Palm Beach Canal System Rehab Phase II

$500,000

• Loggerhead Marine life Center Lifesaving Water Treatment System for Sick or Injured Sea Turtles

$250,000

• Loggerhead Marine life Center: Improving Water Quality and Coastline Cleanliness $250,000
• Pahokee King Memorial Park Improvements Phase 2

$550,000 VETO

• Martin County Fair $900,000
• Martin County Public Safety Training Tower

$1,000,000

• Town of Jupiter Town Hall Cybersecurity Infrastructure $102,250
• Port of Palm Beach Land Acquisition for Cargo Capacity Throughput Increase $500,000
• City of Port Lucie Tom Mackie Boulevard Phase 4

$3,000,000

• MartinArts: Creating an Arts Center for the Treasure Coast $500,000 VETO
• Town of Sewall’s Point South Sewall’s Point Road Reconstruction Phase 2 $1,000,000
• Martin County South County Line Road Bridge Re- placement $3,000,000
• Village of Indiantown SW Lincoln Street Roadway and Drainage Reconstruction $550,000
• Royal Palm Beach La Mancha Subdivision Roadway Underdrain $500,000
• JARC Florida Community Works Program

$425,000

• Communities Connected by Kids and other CBC ‘s Shortfall Proviso $18,496,941

I asked Gayle why some of her appropriations were vetoed. Here was her response:

“Florida’s 2023/24 budget is the largest budget in the history of Florida, over $116.5 billion, and it continues the great progress we are making in education, health and human services, the environment and infrastructure while putting over $10 billion in reserves and returning over $2.7 billion in historic tax relief to Floridians.  I am so pleased to have sponsored over $100 million in various budget requests that made it into the budget. Although 7 of the 47 were vetoed (a little over $4 million) many of those projects will have the ability to procure those funds through various grants that were established in the budget. It was a great year for Florida and District 31!” 

Some people are upset because she voted for the Live Local Act which preempts local government’s ability to prevent multi-family construction in some situations. That bill was Senate President Passidomo’s chief priority, and if state senators expect to get any of their bills or appropriations through, they just don’t say no.

Besides, at some point as a state legislator, doing what is good for the entire state is what needs to be done. Martin County isn’t the only place in Florida that is trying to thwart any reasonable development, but it is the best known and not always in a kind way by the rest of Florida. The public has been screaming about the lack of housing for years, especially for those that can least afford it. Did we think it was going to happen by building single family homes?

Harrell’s home is on the St. Lucie River in Martin County. She has lived in it for decades. She has seen the green slime, the degradation, and deterioration of our river and the estuary. She has sponsored and helped provide millions of dollars to the cleanup efforts and to water quality not only in her district but throughout Florida.

Many spout how much they want this or that for a better environment. I am still waiting for someone to match her track record for delivering and not just talking. Today, we have elected officials who substitute rhetoric for action. That is not leadership. Gayle has quietly done things and in some cases allowed others to have the bulk of the credit.

There is no perfect score in politics, the goal is to have someone who tries and succeeds most of the time. Gayle Harrell does that and has done so for almost 25 years in Tallahassee. In my book, if she wants to stay another four years, she has my vote.

COMMISSION MEETING JUNE 20, 2023:

Up for discussion and a vote was the sceptic-tank-to-sewer conversion for Port Salerno and New Monrovia neighborhoods.

In 2015, Harbor Branch did a study that concluded that those areas had higher concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus than their reference sites. They stated that the residential wells that supplied drinking water had wastewater contamination which led to these neighborhoods being chosen for a more accelerated conversion.

Estimated wastewater conversion costs per unit would be a total of $12,774 including removal of the old septic tank. According to commission policy, mandatory hookup needs to happen within 365 days of completion. The entire amount of $11,924 can be prepaid or paid over 20 years with fees and interest as an assessment on your tax bill estimated at $749.17 per year. Homeowners who don’t hook up are charged the minimum sewer fee of $19.34 by the utility.

That sure is a good sum for the people of these mostly working-class neighborhoods. Yet new infrastructure has traditionally been paid for by the homes that will use it. There also is the part about the contaminated wastewater in the drinking supply. After public comment, what was the commission’s decision?  Punt.

There are various programs that will help lower income homeowners pay for hook-ups including Florida SHIP funds and possible CDBG funding. All good but limited in the amount of money available. Another tactic employed was securing a 60-day extension from the contractor on the price for his winning bid. That may not appear to be much but with constantly escalating prices, it certainly is.

Ciampi said he couldn’t support doing the work at this time because of the costs. That shows he is in full election mode more than a year away. Is it alright for the neighborhood to be drinking what is not the safest water? The entire commission voted 5-0 to postpone the vote on whether to do the work.

In the meantime, they may change the county ordinance requiring mandatory hook-up. While the state only requires it when your septic system fails if sewer is available, that is not a good policy. We are spending billions of dollars to construct modern sewer systems and then allowing people to go on as if they are not there. It is a criminal waste of tax dollars.

The county can also see whether there are more grants available to lower the costs. Already grants have been received in this case that have cut the individual expense in half.

I don’t know legally whether the county can use ad valorum funds to subsidize these homeowners. Ad valorum funds are paid by every taxpayer in the county including those who live in the municipalities and even county residents who have different utilities providing their sewers. As a Stuart utility user, I know I don’t want to subsidize another utility customer.

Then perhaps the utility’s funds could be used to buy down the cost. That would be asking one rate-paying customer to subsidize another. If the people of Palm Lake Park had to pay for their hook-up, why should they be asked to pay for another neighborhood’s hook-up?

Besides the contamination aspect, there is a huge push to develop the many empty lots in the area. Without sewers, builders and developers will not be able to do so. Some may not care but people who have bought property with the assumption that they can build will care.

Let’s see what happens after the 60 days. I expect the same dilemma that the commission faced in June will be faced again in August. You can see the presentation here

Fire/Rescue Chief Chad Cianciulli made a compelling presentation for the new contract.

Chad Cianciulli

The most compelling figure I heard was that there were 7 structure fires so far in 2023. The notion that many of us grew up with that “firemen” are constantly fighting roaring blazes is no longer even remotely true. It appears from the statistics that the department’s biggest responsibility today is providing emergency medical care.

They are the ones who not only transport people to the hospital during a heart attack or were in a car accident, but they administer first rate care while doing it. Fifteen years ago, victims had to wait until they were in the emergency room. It sort of puts to rest the idea that volunteers could administer this level of care.

Cianciulli provided many statistics about why he needed not only more personnel but that his people needed to be paid 12% more in the first year of the contract. He said that most who leave end up in Palm Beach County where currently the beginning salary is $77,518 as compared to Martin County’s $55,793. It takes roughly 5 years to train a Fire Medic. At that point, they are being paid $70,437 per year and in Palm Beach they would go back to the starting salary of $77,518. That is still more than one receives in Martin County.

We have essentially created emergency rooms in fire/rescue trucks. This is a level of service beyond anything we could imagine a few short years ago. Do they deserve the $6 million more in the first year? Who can say no? Four commissioners will not.

The one who voted no was Heard. Her reasoning is the sheriff has a clause in his labor contract that is a “me too” clause. So that 12% will go over to his department too. Heard also mentioned that the rest of the county employees will be receiving 4% raises. Taxpayers are left to pay for this great care. You can see the presentation here

If you acknowledge that the department is providing a great level of service, then the question is, does the public want to pay for it? Most people want the very best that money can buy. The catch is they don’t want to be charged more. It isn’t whether the fire/rescue employees are performing better and better as care givers, the question that is never asked by anyone except Heard is can we afford the Rolls Royce that has been created?

Pinterest

Budget time is coming up, and I suspect there will need to be instances when the four commissioners who voted for this contract will have to stick together. They will need all four to vote for next year’s taxes to pass. Heard will be a no and that will be consistent with her other votes throughout the year.

Ciampi, Smith, Jenkins, and Hetherington will be doing all sorts of posturing regarding raising your taxes. Throughout the year, they have voted on ways to make it palpable. Can they cut other projects? Sure, parks, public works, and administration can all take hits. Without having a policy discussion about how much public safety services are necessary and the true costs, they vote yes, and the future should look after itself.

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PAL MAR DISAPPOINTS AGAIN

I was away and unable to attend either the Pal Mar property owners or board meetings on June 1st.

I was told that the annual property owners meeting did not go forward because improper notice was given. It is amazing that could occur considering that we had the same legal firm and executive director as in the past issuing the notice. These same individuals should know the process. How could a mistake have happened?

Regarding the board meeting that followed, once again nothing was decided. I guess I should be glad I wasn’t there since apparently it would have been a big waste of time. But I really don’t know what occurred and have no way to verify any of this.

It is standard practice to record all meetings of Martin County governmental entities so that citizens can watch online or listen to a recording of the meeting. Even though Pal Mar meetings are held in the Martin County chambers, no meetings are recorded. I found that amazing.

Pal Mar is a separate taxing district. It isn’t on county TRIM Notices, so Martin County residents are not directly taxed for the lots. However, Martin County owns thousands of lots and of course the assessments are paid by the county using citizen tax dollars. In essence, county residents are the owners. This also applies to residents of Palm Beach County which also owns lots as does SFWMD (and those taxes do appear on citizen TRIM Notices.)

Then why aren’t the meetings recorded and available for viewing on MCTV and the county’s YouTube channel? I don’t think it is because they want to keep voters and taxpayers ignorant…I just don’t believe they think.

I sent an email to Assistant County Administrator George Stokus and Commissioner Sarah Heard, Martin County’s representatives on the PalMar board, asking just that question. You can view it below:

Dear Pal Mar Board Members:

I find it strange that the Pal Mar meetings are not being recorded and then made available to Martin County taxpayers and residents on MCTV.

We, Martin County residents, own thousands of lots within the district. There is keen interest in the fate of this valuable resource. We are locked in a battle as to whether the Pal Mar district will remain a piece of a forgotten Florida or destroyed for the profit of a few.

In an age where the public wants the government to be transparent this utter lack of it with Pal Mar is appalling. Since moving the meetings to the Martin County chamber, the ability to watch it live and have recordings for later viewing is very easy to accomplish.

If an interlocal agreement is needed, then by all means initiate one immediately. But what is happening during the meetings is of concern to our citizens. It would seem a poor waste of a valuable asset (the ability to record the meetings) if it is not used. 

Thank you for your consideration of this request.

There may need to be an interlocal agreement between the county and the Pal Mar District to facilitate the recording of the meetings. That shouldn’t be too hard to achieve. The ability to record is not in question since it is in the chamber where things are recorded regularly. Where is the commitment to transparency that we hear so much about?

The budget for Martin County is north of a half billion dollars. The expense to record one more meeting is negligible. We have a government TV channel just for this purpose. How about using it for the people of Martin County.

COUNTY COMMISSION MEETING JUNE 6, 2023

Sheriff Snyder made a compelling presentation for building a special pod for his mental health prisoners.

The Martin County jail is the largest mental health facility in the county. According to the sheriff, that is true in every Florida county. The cost for construction of the pod would be millions of dollars. He had a figure of $30 million but that was an estimate from several years ago.

How do individuals with mental problems end up as inmates? Many commit crimes when they are in full mental crisis. During an event, they either do property damage or hurt someone. If it is a very low-level property crime, then the person would be “Baker Acted,” an involuntary commitment to a mental health facility for evaluation that can last no more than 3 days.

As many as 30% of the jail population are taking psychotropic medication. Snyder tries to segregate those with mental health problems from the general population, but he doesn’t have the room to do it every time. The sheriff had a presentation that graphically portrayed some of the problems that the staff and inmates face.

He is looking for funds not only from the county but also from the state. We know that many of our “crime” problems are the direct result of the state not providing the resources to alleviate this suffering. As Snyder said, we, as a society, need to make a course correction because what is happening currently is unsustainable.

We probably will be hearing more about this as budget time approaches.

The next presentation was from Judge Jennifer Waters who presides over the mental health court. According to Judge Waters, Florida is 12^th in the nation with those that have diagnosed mental health problems yet 50^th in resource funding. Of the 176,000 in the Florida penal system, one in four are mentally ill.

If the offender can be diverted to her court, they will receive a panoply of services and are required to appear weekly. If the person has a full-time job, they can arrange to do so by Zoom. If the offender sticks with the program and takes advantage of it, the diversion from criminal court is well worth it.

Florida has a recidivism rate of 58%. Those who finish this program have a 12% rate. The program saves thousands of taxpayer dollars based on the current costs of keeping the offender in jail and future costs if they re-offend. You can see the presentation here

The commission went into executive session to discuss the lawsuits with the stores selling live animals in the county. After several meetings last year, the commission passed an ordinance that stopped the sale of dogs, cats, and rabbits after June 30^th of this year. The two pet stores commenced legal action to set the ordinance aside. The commission agreed to stay enforcement of the ordinance until the current legal matter has been adjudicated.

Three Lakes golf course requested a revised site plan approval. The 1216-acre site will have 2 golf courses, practice facilities, an existing home as the temporary club house, and other ancillary uses. There will be 141 acres of lakes to act as storm water retention. There will be 14 cottages for members and their guests only. 97% of the 1216 acres will be open space.

The 14 golf cottages will only be allowed to use one bedroom of the three- and four-bedroom cottages. The project is limited to 5000 gallons of waste per day. This was the first sticking point with Commissioner Heard who didn’t believe them. She also felt the parking was inadequate.

A third golf course, a new clubhouse and the use of entire cottages would have to wait until the applicant applies under the Rural Lifestyle Amendment. If that is successful, then they can tie into water and sewar lines which are adjacent to the property.

All the irrigation water will come from the C-44 canal. That water is loaded with nutrients. Earlier in the day, there was a presentation on best management practices for golf courses. It highlighted that science has changed considerably regarding both irrigation and fertilization. Unfortunately, the county did not provide the presentation as one document. I have enclosed a link to the agenda item where individual pages can be found here

As Commissioner Ciampi stated, Martin County is becoming known for some of the best golf courses in the country. It is a perfect match for our western lands. Farmers and ranchers didn’t stop farming and ranching just to sell their land to developers. It no longer made good business sense to farm because of the price of crops, livestock, and citrus greening.

On this 1200 acres as of right, more than 200 homes could have been built under current zoning using wells and septic tanks. That would equate to sprawl with the need for roads, schools, and public safety. The taxable value would be less than what the golf course’s value will be. The alternative is not leaving the land as is. The alternative is a golf course with a small impact or homes with a large impact.

A motion was made by Hetherington to approve and seconded by Jenkins. It passed 4-1 with Heard dissenting.

Staff needs guidance on the now defunct golf course clubhouse and Top Golf experience at Sailfish Sands. In May after just 6 months, the one bidder for the operation, LaMattina Management, gave the keys back to the county. Should the county operate the facility, or should it go out to RFP for a private operator?

Commissioners Heard, Ciampi, and Smith couldn’t stop describing in glowing terms how staff handled the entire debacle. According to those three, staff handled everything perfectly. Since staff created the problem beginning with the RFP process, that is kind of hard to swallow.

From the very beginning of the building of the new golf course, commissioners were more interested in creating a “private” feel to the clubhouse than what was necessary and the public using the golf course wanted. The facility was not geared to the people who play golf on the courses but rather the commission’s idea of a sophisticated restaurant. In my opinion the food was good but not excellent as Ciampi claims. The service was not good…forget about excellent.

The hitting bays were enticing. However, the two times I wanted to use them they were closed and out of order. That is where the restaurant and bar would make the money.

The staff wants to run it for a year to have figures before sending it out to RFP. But according to staff, the place grossed $2.2 million in six months so that figure is available.  It was revealed that the county spent $634,000 on capital equipment so that a more upscale menu could be produced. The staff in their proposal are not going to sell real liquor and be cashless which already would not give a true picture of a private operation.

Staff are proposing to run the facility cashless, which the commission was not enthusiastic about. There would be beer, wine, hard cider, and canned cocktails. Unlike the beach cafes, they want to allow tipping. They will honor gift cards purchased under LaMattina until the end of the year.

Heard moved to approve staff’s recommendation. The only one who wanted to really understand why the venture failed was Commissioner Hetherington. She said the county needs to take some responsibility for the failure. When there was only one bidder, that should have been a warning sign and she mentioned that at the time the bid was accepted.

She is philosophically opposed to the county operating businesses. Hetherington wanted an audit done by Comptroller Timmann to help unravel the problems encountered. I agree with her…what is going to be different a year from now?

Jenkins seconded the motion but added he wanted it brought back in January to see about going out to bid. The commissioners wanted to have cash considered as an option. Since Heard never agreed with Jenkins and reiterated she wants staff’s recommendations, I don’t think anything was included. The motion passed 4-1 with Hetherington voting no.

There has never been a discussion item on the agenda regarding Martin County running businesses. When staff are questioned, they suggest that the businesses are well run and make loads of money. That may even be true. But it is irrelevant as to whether the government should be competing with the private sector.

In the case of the golf course, the commissioners may have set up the entire clubhouse to fail. They insisted on a grand and beautiful place. They wanted to have a Top Golf facility. This fact alone probably precluded some restauranteurs from bidding.

Most golfers who play on that course want a beer and a sandwich not Pasta Bolognese, which was one of the entrees on the menu. The private sector did not open a Top Golf in Martin County for a reason. The same goes for a water park.

The commissioners need to make their philosophy known to the taxpayers and voters. Is it Martin County’s responsibility to do things that can be done better by the private sector? Just because the private sector is not doing something doesn’t mean Martin County should do it instead.

As a taxpayer, I want to hear if our commissioners want to own and operate the means of production. If they answer yes, then they are not Republicans or even Democrats but Socialists. I think I know where Hetherington stands, how about the rest?

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The next commission meeting will be June 6, 2023

BECKER’S SLANT

By Tom Hurley

Becker Companies, CEO

It sounds a little absurd to make an association between comprehensive planning and poetry.

Yet over the last three years working to advance the Rural Lifestyle land-use amendment and Atlantic Fields project—which we sincerely believe will soon prove among the most positively impactful planning achievements in recent Martin County history—I found myself recalling a line from the well-known poem, “The Road Not Taken,” by Robert Frost.

“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

“And sorry I could not travel both

“And be one traveler, long I stood

“And looked down one as far as I could”

Earlier this week Florida’s Administrative Cabinet confirmed that the Rural Lifestyle amendment complied with the Martin County Comprehensive Plan, affirming previous opinions by the county commission majority and the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council. This upended the recommended order by an administrative law judge who—when presiding over an activist’s legal challenge—took issue with the definition of a small store located within a private community.

The cabinet ruling clears the way for us to now create something incredibly special with Atlantic Fields and hopefully pave a path for other high-caliber projects. The amendment—which incentivizes landowners to help preserve as much land as possible for agriculture or conservation—will protect Martin County’s rural character and create a hedge against the kinds of development patterns seen across South Florida.

That last goal is what put us on that divergent path referenced in the Frost poem.

You see, we’d originally planned to introduce Atlantic Fields—an exclusive community by Discovery Land Company of only 317 homes on 1,500 acres at the Hobe Sound Polo Club property—as a standalone.

As a standalone we planned to seek zoning from one unit per 20 acres to one unit per 5 acres, matching nearby 5-acre ag ranchettes. We also wanted to serve the site with water and sewer, protecting the nearby headwaters of the St. Lucie and Loxahatchee rivers.

Our property is a former citrus grove where my two brothers and I grew up working as third-generation farmers before canker and greening—whose spread the 2004 hurricanes accelerated—decimated our crops and later the industry countywide.

We sought a minimal footprint, lots of open space and numerous public benefits, including:

• Placing the 800-acre Becker Tree Farm in permanent agricultural preservation;
• Restoring a 125-acre wetland for improved flood control;
• Donating our equestrian center to the park service for public enjoyment;
• Creating access to the southern portion of the Atlantic Ridge State Park;
• Donating and relocating the original Hobe Sound Train Station within town for a museum of local history.

After consultation with many smart and accomplished people we realized our offering posed the framework to help preserve large tracts of rural lands through private-sector involvement rather than reliance on taxpayer dollars. With the input of conservationists and slow-growth advocates, we memorialized safeguards into the amendment:

• Limiting the property applicable to minimum 1,000-acre parcels;
• Granting one-unit-per-5-acre zoning only if a separate parcel half the size of the site proposed for development—at least 500 acres—is set aside for permanent preservation;
• Ensuring preservation by placing the land under control of three entities—landowner, local government and established conservation nonprofit;
• Committing the developer to paying all land management and water/sewer costs;
• Limiting service strictly to the site using the Rural Lifestyle amendment;
• Requiring an economic study—reviewed by third-parties—that validates the proposed project’s overall positive economic impact.

We did that with Atlantic Fields, which is projected to generate more than $20 million a year in annual tax revenue. Those 317 homes of mostly seasonal residents will generate the revenue of “8,000 homes,” as one county commissioner stated.

Should other projects meet its high threshold, Rural Lifestyle will help place under permanent preservation land that would otherwise cost taxpayers dearly.

Skeptics may doubt those claims. But now, with the obstacles removed, speculation isn’t necessary, as we’ll all soon get to see.

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

“I took the one less traveled by

“And that has made all the difference.”

Tom Hurley’s opinions are his own and may not reflect Friends & Neighbors viewpoint

A FAILURE THAT NEEDS EXPLAINING

When the Sailfish Sands Golf Course restaurant opened, the Parks & Rec Department decided to have a private vendor run it. But it recently became clear that it didn’t work. The question is why!

Did the vendor have a menu that was too ambitious for the venue? Was it solely the vendor’s fault or did the county push the company into bad choices to satisfy unreasonable requests from the commissioners and staff? Apparently for it to fail so spectacularly so quickly, things were dreadfully wrong from the start. That includes the selection process. The restaurant only opened last fall.

At that time, I was on the county’s Parks & Recreation Board. I went to a pre-opening and thought the food was good. We toured the facility including the Top Golf Bays. Everything looked great from a public perspective.

I liked the restaurant so much that I ate there a couple of times. Service was not terrific but that was to be expected with a new restaurant. The first time I was there, the golf bays were all filled. By the second time I was the only table booked, and the bays had many fewer people.

Then in March we attempted to reserve a bay when we had friends visiting. We were told to try again in an hour because everything was down. Other people have told me they had the same experience. Did the vendor suffer because the equipment that was supposed to be part of what would draw patrons to the restaurant didn’t work? Could the rent at $45,000 per month ($1500 per day fixed cost before any other expense) have been a large contributing problem?

The vendor only paid partial rent for the first month of November. It appears the lease gave him generous payment terms. November rent wasn’t due until December 1^st. It was paid January 4^th. He paid $20,000 on January 30^th and then never paid another dime. Mr. LaMattina, the vendor, left owing the county $250,000 plus.

The county intends to reopen using a menu like the beach cafes have. No liquor…only beer and wine. The county will run it as they do the cafes.

Will they look for another vendor? Knowing our commission, I wouldn’t bet on it. They seem to enjoy operating businesses.

Maybe this was set up to fail all along. There was only one bidder. That should automatically tell you that something is amiss. Taking care of hitting bays is not in the purview of most food and beverage people.

I have also heard from golfers that it is too expensive to play golf there. They don’t accept cash and a reservation is required to play. All things that are fine in the private sector but perhaps too much for a public government course. Fewer golfers mean fewer restaurant customers.

I place this blame where it belongs…on the backs of the commission. Each commissioner was responsible for the bad judgement that gave us failure because they each supported it. They couldn’t just have a place to have a sandwich and a beer…they had to have a pasta bolognaise and a prime steak.

The commission needs to recognize what a parks and recreation department should be doing. Staff will need to identify where the funds will come from to fill the $250,000 shortfall since that revenue is going to be used to fund other expenses at the course. That would apply to the loss rent of $45,000 per month that no one is paying going forward.

It would not surprise me to see that either deep cuts must be made and/or taxes increased this budget cycle. What is the county’s philosophy toward parks and the other services it must provide? There are many more needs other than giving money to an air show or other deserving non-profits. The commission has put in place staffing expansion in public safety which will cause spending to escalate to unsustainable levels.

I don’t blame the private sector company for this as much as I do the public sector. Mr. LaMattina’s company seemed undercapitalized. I could not find a security deposit anywhere. The proof that this opportunity was not viable for a restauranteur should have been clear because there was only one bidder. It should have foretold this story. And it sort of did.

As Published In Martin County Moments

WHAT CHANGED AT PALMAR

Bob Berman, who is currently on the board, has changed his tune recently regarding what is acceptable behavior for landowners.

For the past two years, he has said repeatedly that cars, trucks, and other 4-wheel drive vehicles are perfectly fine in PalMar. He believes that they can’t be restricted, and access should be provided. That is a far cry from what he said a decade ago.

Public Records show that a memo dated March 31, 2010, written by Berman as president of the Palm Beach Heights Landowners Coalition to the board instructs the board that many restrictions apply:

RE: Suggested/recommended access permit requirements/restrictions

1. Applicant must produce evidence that they are a property owner in Palm Beach Heights
2. Must produce a survey showing the location of the land including GPS coordinates
3. The land must be physically marked by a surveyor and certified as to the location
4. If it is determined that there is direct physical access to the land, the applicant will be eligible for an access permit for a vehicle. Otherwise, access is limited to pedestrian
5. If a vehicle access permit is issued, the permittee shall have the obligation to keep Pal-Mar Security informed of the vehicle make, model, year, color and tag number prior to access.
6. Permit will have a expiration
7. There shall be a separate permit for each lot owned by the Some lots may be vehicle access and others pedestrian only.
8. Permit shall specifically prohibit random travel within the District

For applicants eligible for a permit the following should apply at a minimum:

1. Permittee shall notify Pal-Mar security in advance of the intention to visit the property
2. Person must produce a copy of the permit and photo identification for entry
3. Approved permittee must accompany all other guests or family No admittance to anyone unaccompanied by the permittee
4. The permit shall identify the shortest and most direct route to the land and there cannot

be any deviation

1. Motorized vehicles are prohibited on all canal banks for any reason
2. Any firearm on person or in vehicle must be securely encased and not readily available for use for all travel until arrival at the permittee land
3. All alcohol shall be unopened and sealed until arrival at the permittee land
4. Any animals must remained leashed or caged unless on the permittee land
5. An indemnity clause for any travel while within the boundaries of the Pal-Mar

This is a far cry from Berman’s last statements regarding access.

Here is a letter from Berman as president of the Palm Beach Heights Landowners Coalition to landowners:

October 6, 2013

To whom it may concern:

I wrote in September regarding Florida Statute 704.01 because there was this ridiculous notion that this statute somehow applied to the Palm Beach Heights subdivision lots. As I explained last month, this statute is irrelevant for the Palm Beach Heights lots and does not apply.

It has also come to my attention that there are individuals that think that the property is not posted and therefore it is somehow O.K. to trespass on other people’s property.

That is also ridiculous.

First, the entire perimeter of the Pal-Mar (Palm Beach Heights subdivision) is clearly posted with no trespassing signs. These signs are everywhere and clearly visible prior to entering the area. The entire perimeter also is fenced with KEEP OUT signs.

But attached is a copy of Florida Statute 810.09 which the Trespass law for the state of Florida. The law is clear. Notice to prohibit trespassing can be EITHER posting OR actual communication.

This letter is being delivered to you as ACTUAL COMMUNICATION according to F.S.

810.09 (1)(a) 1.

You are hereby prohibited from trespassing on any privately owned property within the Palm Beach Heights subdivision that you do not own. If you are trespassing and are armed with a firearm or other dangerous weapon, you will be guilty of a felony. Hunting is prohibited on all privately owned lots that come under the jurisdiction of the Palm Beach Heights Landowners Coalition. Hunting and trespassing are also prohibited on all lots owned by the South Florida Water Management District or Martin County.

Ownership of a lot in the Palm Beach Heights subdivision does not allow anyone to trespass on another lot PERIOD. Very few lot owners have any physical access to their lot. If you do not know the exact location of a lot that you own, please feel free to contact me. This Coalition has an extensive and detailed inventory of ALL lots in Palm Beach Heights. We will be happy to locate your lot and tell you if you have access or not.

Please do not be a criminal. There will be no further warnings. Anyone caught trespassing and/or hunting in Palm Beach Heights will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

Bob Berman, President

If the individual landowners were acting that way now, then Trailside would have no problems with being their neighbors. Then on June 6, 2014, Berman wrote the board complaining about hunting:

June 6, 2014

Board of Supervisors

Ladies & Gentlemen:

I own, control or represent the owners of approximately 5,000 acres of land within the Pal-Mar Water Control District. The acreage is comprised of several thousand individual parcels. Each of these parcels is encumbered by easements for ingress/egress, drainage or both. There are additional easements for utilities etc.

Many of these easement areas are dedicated to the Pal-Mar Water Control District. Some of the easement areas have been improved and are included in the approved water management plan for the Pal-Mar District. That plan includes many canals and levees. However, it does not include any roadways.

In the past several years there has been significant deterioration of the perimeter levee located on the eastern boundary of the Pal-Mar District. This damage has occurred because there are owners of lots in the Palm Beach Heights subdivision who mistakenly believe that the levee is a roadway.

Prior to the hiring of Mr. Mansell, no truck/car access was allowed along the perimeter levee without contacting the Pal-Mar security officer at the time. There was a gate on SR711 that was locked at all times. Mr. Mansell and others acquired lots in the Palm Beach Heights subdivision at tax deed auctions in approximately 2004 with the express intentions of that ownership allowing them access to the entire Palm Beach Heights subdivision for hunting. To this day, I believe that Mr. Mansell does not understand the fallacy and illegality of that intention.

Worse than that, Mr. Mansell has instigated, promoted and encourage others to do the same thing. I don’t know the exact number but my estimate that there is now over 30 individuals engaged in this illegal activity within the Pal-Mar District.

These individuals use of certain Pal-Mar District levees has caused the wash-outs and pot-holes in the levee that now need to be repaired.

I respect the rights and authority that the Pal-Mar District has contained in their easement areas. However, the Pal-Mar District has not done enough to ensure that the levees and canal easements are not used for other illegal purposes including trespassing.

I intend to provide private security for the lots that I represent. I am proposing a cooperative effort with the Pal-Mar District to eliminate the illegal use of the levees. In some cases that will include erecting fences or gates that will restrict access. Pal-Mar District access for maintenance will remain unrestricted. Public access will not be denied, however the use of the canals and levees as “roads” needs to be immediately terminated.

I look forward to working with the Pal-Mar District to resolve this very serious issue.

Robert A. Berman

President

What happened? Who knows except Bob Berman over the past decade has sold the land he owned in the district to Zach Gazza of “Be A Man Buy Land” and maybe others who promote the place as a free-for-all club where you buy your lot and can use the entire place to do whatever you want. The last of the wilderness.

I have been told that Berman has sold the rest of his property. He probably won’t remain on the board. When money is involved, the tune you whistle changes.

You can see these documents and others here

MARTIN COUNTY NIMBYs SUFFER ONE MORE DEFEAT

“Oops I did it again” is a song Brittany Spears made famous.

Administrative Law Judge Francine Ffolkes understands those lyrics well. She has now been overturned twice by the Governor’s Cabinet regarding land decisions in Martin County. When you cannot get anything right you usually are sent back down to the minor leagues. That may be her fate, but for right now, Discovery Land should be just celebrating the victory.

Throwing out the rural life-style land use designation because of the inclusion of a private convenience store for the use of the residents in a gated community was always a stretch. When do the NIMBYs hang it up and stop complaining about every use of former agricultural land in the county?

Just like the Costco project in Stuart, Discovery will help preserve open space… not destroy it. You can’t bring back citrus to Martin County or for that matter most of Florida. We were the pineapple capital 130 years ago but that faded. Should we have tried to preserve those plantations instead of concentrating on other industries?

Costco is on the site of an old farm and apparently a private dump by what the developer has had to remove. For years after the farming ceased, the past owners dumped cars, trucks, boats, construction materials and other debris on the site. Illegal ponds were dug to irrigate and divert water. That site is as pristine as the old Stuart landfill.

Discovery was more recently agriculture and ranching. Becker Farms, the owner, was a good steward of the land. Why wouldn’t they since it is and was their livelihood.

Now a choice has come to Martin County. Will we have a development catering to the very wealthy which will result in $30 million in taxes, keep most of the property green, and another 800 acres will remain as an existing tree farm in conservation for perpetuity. The other choice is going to be thousands of homes, new commercial development to service those homes, new schools, and other county roads and infrastructure. That type of development would bring in much less revenue than Discovery and it would cost thousands in additional taxes for the new permanent residents living there.

That type of developmental sprawl (which has nothing to do with the recently enacted Live Local Act) would probably be stopped for a few years because of the magical, mystical comp plan. In the end, given the pressures to provide new housing in Florida, subdivisions will sprout with a devastating impact on the environment and demand for services.

Here are the ultimate choices for Martin County and one of the choices is not to do anything.

As Published In Martin County Moments

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BECKER’S SLANT

By Tom Hurley

Becker Companies, CEO

“Every man has the right to an opinion, but no man has a right to be wrong in his facts. Nor, above all, to persist in errors as facts.” (Bernard Baruch, 1948)

I recently received an email; within seconds of reading it, I felt the intended sense of dread and outrage.

“Time is running out!” the author warned, evoking vivid imagery of a terrifying transformation of Martin County’s bucolic western pastures, farmlands, and woodland preserves into asphalt, concrete, and gridlock.

Sounds awful, I thought, and it is something I strongly oppose. But wait for it- the writer, Donna Melzer, referred to the amendment my partners and I brought forward. The Rural Lifestyle amendment bears NO semblance to her characterizations. Most frustratingly, she knows this. We have discussed its details many times publicly and privately, as well as debated it in her ongoing legal challenge.

What is going on here??

I then read further down to the form letters included for its recipients to copy and paste into emails to Martin County commissioners.

Prepared responses claimed:

“The urban boundary will become meaningless because residential and who knows what commercial will be allowed ANYWHERE in the county, from the barrier islands all the way out to Lake Okeechobee.”

“Costly sewer and water extensions would be allowed anywhere outside the urban boundary.”

“More than triple the current density will be allowed outside the ‘urban boundary.’ How many thousands of units and malls will sprawl across the 130,000+ western agricultural acres.”

Some of these prewritten responses—in total or in excerpts—recently appeared in commissioner’s emails.

THESE ASSERTIONS ARE FALSE. PATENTLY, BLATANTLY, FALSE.

The amendment passed last September does none of these things. It does the exact opposite. Rural Lifestyle preserves the urban boundary, limits where services can be provided, and only affects a potential 12,000 acres—making her off by some 90 percent.

Rural Lifestyle requires a minimum 1,000-acre parcel adjacent to the county’s primary, secondary, or free-standing urban service district. Not a by-right entitlement, the amendment commands an extensive application process with multiple public hearings. Seventy percent of the 1,000-acre parcel must remain in permanent open-space conservation. Should the landowner seek zoning greater than one unit per 20 acres, the only option is one unit per 5 acres, mirroring the county’s existing Ag Ranchette zoning.

Even then, the hurdle gets higher. To receive such zoning, the landowner must set aside another Martin County property—a minimum of 500 acres or half the size of the property planned for development—for permanent agricultural or conservation preservation. The set aside must fall under the control of three parties—a government entity, a landowner, and an existing nonprofit dedicated to conservation. All three would have to agree to adjust its protected status—an outcome made remote-to-impossible by design.

The developer is obligated to pay the property maintenance costs for life. The parcel planned for development may seek water/sewer services—but must bear all associated costs. Services remain restricted to the approved site and cannot extend beyond its borders. Such safeguards help protect the rural character of the region where I grew up farming my family’s citrus groves.

By incentivizing the private sector to help permanently preserve land, the amendment seeks to take pressure off taxpayers to purchase conservation land, an increasingly challenging prospect as voters have rejected the past two proposed sales-tax referendums.

When our Atlantic Fields proposal was approved in September using the Rural Lifestyle amendment, we committed to placing our 800-acre tree farm into permanent agricultural conservation. Consisting of only 317 homes on 1,500 acres, this community by exclusive designer Discovery Land Company will generate nearly $30 million a year in tax revenue. We know this thanks to our economic study—which underwent third-party review—demonstrating as much.

This study is another requirement of the Rural Lifestyle amendment.

We included in the amendment findings from nearly 30 years’ worth of planning studies conducted by Martin County, 1000 Friends of Florida, and other esteemed organizations. We wanted the benefits of the best ideas to protect the rural nature of western Martin County.

Of course, we understand that reasonable people may disagree about how best to do so. During this process, we happily and repeatedly met with many people—including staunch critics, specifically Ms. Melzer—to gather insights. We listened intently, incorporated input, and operated in good faith. One often learns more from skeptics than supporters. But when you do ask someone to support your cause, you’re honor-bound to provide them with truthful information. Anything less is irresponsible and risks compromising your credibility and theirs.

In one of her canned letters, Ms. Melzer tells commissioners that “your reputation and legacy are hanging by a thread.”

Those are wise words for her to bear in mind.

Tom Hurley’s opinions are his own and may not reflect Friends & Neighbors viewpoint

THE PITY THAT IS PAL MAR

The Pal Mar board meeting was cancelled…yet again.

I don’t understand why this happens. Is it that the board members don’t care? When I spoke to one of the members, they did not know why the cancellation occurred. With all the problems going on there, you would think that having meetings to sort out disagreements and problems would be paramount.

Are the cancellations being done by the manager, Michael McElligott? During the meetings I have attended, he has been more of a hindrance than a help in resolving some of the issues. Since I have been following the district during the past few years, the support staff has not been very supportive in expeditiously carrying out board directives.

There have been numerous cancellations of meetings this year alone. Nothing is ever put on the website regarding the cancelled meetings. Poof they are just gone. McElligott works for a company specializing in managing Florida special districts.

Special District Services Inc. manages 70 plus such districts in 13 Florida counties. The company was founded in 1993. There is a staff of 22 people. Perhaps McElligott has too many other districts to look after to devote enough time to Pal Mar.

There are problems in Pal Mar. Could a more effective manager, engineer and legal firm do a better job for the district and alleviate some of the problems? I think it is worth exploring the possibilities by the board. One thing is for sure…not having meetings is not part of the solution.

The annual meeting of shareholders is coming up in June. The board will likely still be controlled by the government entities that own the majority of the lots. They need to have the district’s property protected from any more devastation. It is time they actually became serious about that.

COMMISSION MEETING MAY 9, 2023

During Commission comments, Zach Gazza addressed the commission regarding his lots in Pal Mar. The governing board majority and Mr. Gazza have opposing viewpoints about how the property should be managed. The county, together with the South Florida Water Management District and Palm Beach County, owns by far the largest number of lots.

Mr. Gazza stated that he will be returning to these meetings as many times as necessary to make the commission aware of his views and offers. You can read more from Mr. Gazza in his letter published in this week’s letter section.

It is time to begin preparation for the Evaluation and Appraisal Revue (EAR) to the Comprehensive Plan which is mandated by Florida Statute. The contract with the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council was pulled from the consent agenda by Commissioner Heard. She was right because it should be discussed by the commission.

Heard was a bit hyperbolic with her comments that they would take apart the comp plan. With the Live Local Act, the legislature has put local governments on notice that they can’t hide behind the comp plan or their LDRs, zoning or anything else. Housing will be built in the state. Florida has taken the position that if counties and cities want to continue to exist, then get on board with the state’s objective of more housing.

The EAR will allow the county to control some facets of development if it is done with the above in mind. I agree with Heard that two public meetings as called for in the contract are far from enough for public input. During this process, the public should let the county know what is on their mind, and the facilitators should give the public an education as to what is possible under the Live Local Act.

This is a great opportunity to inform the public about how much local government’s abilities have been curtailed by the state legislature. If I were the commission, I would be making sure that the message gets through loud and clear… “The next development you see, don’t blame us call your state representatives.”

The motion to sign the $83,600 contract was made by Smith seconded by Jenkins. It passed 4-1 with Heard dissenting. You can see the contract here

For some time now Tom Pine, a Martin County resident, has complained that putting the “warrant list” on the consent agenda is a way to conceal payments. It is not. The paying of the county’s bills is one of the most carefully monitored systems in local government.

The paying of bills is governed by Florida Statute 218.7. The framework is tightly controlled, and there are many checks and balances. Administrator Don Donaldson explained the procedure at this meeting.

In his presentation, Donaldson stated that the operating budget and/or the CIP have been approved by the commission in two budget hearings and a CIP agenda item before the budget year begins. The county’s warrant list is required by statute. That is similar to a check register. The invoice is matched up to an approved budget item and submitted to the county comptroller for review and payment. If the work was not authorized by the commission in the budget, a check is not going to be cut.

Any county check or bank payment is a public record and on the Martin County website for review. Commissioner Smith stated and Donaldson agreed that the county pays $10 million a week in bills. The consent agenda is the only way possible to provide a public record and be transparent.

There is, at times, some “good old boy” favoritism, but the commission, staff, and the clerk of the court are not all conspiring to have a slush fund and pay for things that have not been approved in the budget. Even when the money has been allocated to an individual vendor, if the contract is over a certain threshold, the commission approves the contract.

I hope Mr. Pine and anyone else who thought that the government was doing something slippery has been satisfied. I suspect that, if not Pine, someone else will make the same allegations again soon. You can find the presentation here

Government has its own language. This week’s agenda item with a special acronym was SPARC. Can anyone guess what that stands for?

I didn’t think so! It stands for Special Parking Alternatives for Redevelopment Centers. If you still don’t understand what it means, I can’t blame you.

The United States, and Martin County in particular, worries incessantly about parking. How much, where, what type of business, and many other factors are in the mix for a project to be approved or a business allowed to open. In this instance, we are speaking about the parking requirements within CRAs.

SPARC is a “Payment in Lieu Program.” For example, if someone wants to open a restaurant and is required to have 15 parking spaces but only have 12, he wouldn’t be able to open a restaurant. This program would allow him to buy parking from the CRA for those 3 needed spaces to open the business.

The restaurant operator is not purchasing or reserving spots in front of the business but contributing to a dedicated fund. The money could go to creating more on-street parking, or a municipal lot, or other street amenities depending on the CRA. How much is paid for this privilege?

There is a current program that pegs the cost of a spot at $7900. Since its inception in 2007, it has been used once in Jensen Beach. The new program pegs the pay-in at $24,600 which is the realistic cost of providing one parking space. How many small business owners can spend that amount of money on a phantom parking space?

The question should be asked why government should be involved in how a business’ customers park. The government dictates parking minimums and the results are empty parking lots (Treasure Coast Mall) or businesses not opening. We use parking requirements as an excuse to curtail development and businesses.

Elected officials like Stuart City Commissioner Chris Collins make no bones about his position of artificially high numbers of parking spots to stop new ventures. Other planners and elected officials believe it is their responsibility to run a nanny state and they know what is best.

After spending over 50 years in the private sector, I know what is best for my business…and if I am wrong, I will fail. That is the free market capitalistic system.

A motion was made by Jenkins and seconded by Hetherington to approve the SPARC plan. Both Heard and Smith voted no. Hetherington would also have been a no vote if it didn’t have a provision for the program to be re-evaluated after a year. Stacey, have your aide put it on the calendar so it is brought back.

I am a member of the LPA, and I voted yes to recommend adoption to the commission because of the re-evaluation provision. You can see the presentation of the program here

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STATE OF THE COUNTY FEBRUARY 24, 2023

Every year, the county presents something called the “State of the County”.

I have been attending for several years. For a while, the meeting has been held at New Hope Church in Palm City. The confab is a breakfast. Each of the commissioners has a table where their invited guests sit. The county has two reserved for their staff directors. The rest of us grab a spot where we can at the other tables.

The main reason to go is because many elected and appointed officials attend. It provides a few minutes before the presentation formally starts to meet and greet old and new friends and perhaps have an introduction to someone you have been intending to meet. For many, it is an opportunity to plug their project or organization.

This year as Chair, Ed Ciampi, was the MC…a role he was born to do. It is always humorous and rather funny. It began this year with a clip of him skydiving and seeing the entire county as he glides to the ground. In the video, he landed at the church to the sound of James Bond’s entrance music. He really did skydive…just not that morning.

With the levity out of the way, he introduced County Administrator Don Donaldson who made the actual presentation. As usual, the state of the county is good…think of the president’s state of the union. There were no surprises.

Then why go through the time to have such a shindig? Most of the people attending know each other. They may even have seen each other the day before at some other meeting. Martin County is a small place.

I sometimes think of all the people who sit in their gated communities without a clue about what is going on in the local world around them. Some residents have big opinions and have no concept of why about 80% of any local government decision is because there is no choice due to state and federal laws and regulations. I look at the posts on “Next Door” or Facebook and chuckle. Many people don’t even know whether they live in Stuart or unincorporated Martin County.

How many complain about a project on private land as if the government has the right to prevent something from happening? They complain about the schools being overcrowded when most are below capacity. Others gripe about traffic…not understanding that much of it is caused by people travelling through the county from somewhere else to somewhere else or coming here to work.

Most people who go to something like the State of the County know who the movers and shakers are in Martin County. They understand that any one person only has so much sway with a commissioner or administrator. But most attending can at least pick up a phone and have a conversation with anyone else.

The alternative is you can sit behind your wall in Palm City, play golf, and be ignorant about what is happening in Martin County. I would say to anyone living here…get involved. Learn what is possible and what is not. Pick your battles to fight and know how to fight them. And, importantly, know who you want to fight them with.

COMMISSION MEETING MARCH 7, 2023

For some time now, Commissioner Smith has wanted the county to have a dedicated FTE (Full Time Employee) to coordinate the Special Olympics in Martin County.

There is already a non-profit in the county that has a dedicated group of people who put on the Special Olympics here. They are affiliated with the national association. So why is Commissioner Smith so eager to have the county take over a private nonprofit’s role?

This could be one more time that government is overreaching to do something that is already being done by an organization. Commissioner Heard asked about liability, accessibility, and transportation. Why should the BOCC take on that responsibility? The private organization’s leader said all three were already being covered.

The $92,000 budgeted position has no clearly defined role in the Parks Department. In the past few weeks, we have seen how inadequately our parks, such as Wojcieszak, have been maintained and continue to be underfunded. Yet the commission is ready to commit almost $100,000 because of a whim.

It was suggested that the organization ask for funding during the annual grant approval process in July. The Special Olympics has not expressed whether they even need an employee or could the money be used by them for some other more pressing purpose.  It would be better that they come up with their own plan and then apply for funding.

Tom Lanahan, from the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council, addressed the board regarding Senate Bill 102 which could seriously affect home rule.

The legislature is about fed up with counties like Martin that complain about the lack of affordable housing then do everything in their power to prevent it through their comp plans and LDRs. At some point, some accommodation must be made, or the state will do it. They have begun here with this bill.

The real pre-emption is about taking away real estate taxes from local government. Depending on how many units are involved, much of those taxes will be waived as a condition in the bill. Only local governments collect real estate taxes. That will leave those projects’ services being funded by existing taxpayers.

There is also a provision stating that if rent of 120% of the AMI (which in Martin County would equate to about $2000 per month for a one bedroom) would qualify as affordable and thereby the exemption.

In some respects, this is a sop to developers at the expense of residents. The hype about density, height, and zoning is a way of diverting attention from the real problem which is depriving cities and counties from collecting taxes to provide services. Tallahassee won’t end here.

There is another bill that would do away with localities having storm water requirements as well as wetlands. That would mean most of western Martin County would be subject to being built upon. Not really very good overall.

Nick Blount, the head of the affordable housing coalition, said it best. If affordable needs were met locally, the state would not need to step in. No truer words were spoken.

Chair Ciampi and the board are calling a press conference for March 10^th to “talk about home rule.” While home rule is important, for the past decade we have seen Tallahassee taking more and more of it away. If a municipality or county stands in their way or protests, Tallahassee has been known to look at what funding the local government is also asking for. All local elected bodies should walk softly here and as Blount said solve a problem and not try to lay blame.

You can see the Lanahan’s presentation here

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COMMISSION MEETING FEBRUARY 21, 2023:

Assistant County Administrator George Stokus gave an update on the county’s affordable housing efforts to the commission.

He mentioned Banner Lake where they are looking to form a community trust to own the land and build affordable homes. Commissioner Jenkins envisions this as a pilot project for the entire county. The people involved are looking for a legal firm.

Stokus is looking for it to be a public/private partnership opportunity. The County is looking to put attainable housing in its comprehensive plan. What I did not hear was where the funding for either of these initiatives would be coming from.

The buzz word seems to be tiny homes. After reviewing whether the construction meets the building code, it appears that most do not. A bright spot is Operation Lift which does construct their tiny homes to meet the state’s standards.

Even so, in most areas of the county, the minimum home size requirements and parking standards would not allow these homes. Within certain areas like the CRAs, dwellings of 800 square feet or less are counted as half units. That would push your density up to 30 units per acre in some areas.

In Martin County, many believe we need hundreds of units (if not thousands) to be built to house our population. This is no small feat. Land trusts, tiny homes, and other single-family residences will, at most, give us tens of homes. That is not anywhere near what we need.

Tallahassee realizes this and is rapidly moving to pre-emp local control to speed development of attainable housing. I believe zoning will be the first casualty of this effort. It will be followed with density and parking requirements being curtailed.

By local government moving too slow in this regard and other land development matters, the state will execute what they believe is necessary to solve this crisis. Commissioners are very interested in paying lip service but are trying to be on both sides of this issue. I fear it is already too late to stop the first stage of pre-emption for development regulations. If our county and cities do not become serious, local authority will be a thing of the past in much of the development arena.

You can see Stokus’ brief presentation here

Fire/Rescue made a presentation to hire 40 more personnel. 20 of which would be immediate hires and 20 additional by applying for a SAFER grant. There is much to consider about whether to do so.

Chad Cianciulli

There is no doubt that while Martin County’s population has not grown very much, the call volume has. In the past, 15 years call volume has increased by 63%. The population has grown older and there are many more assisted living facilities than in the past.

A SAFER grant is a federal program that pays the cost of a new hire entirely in the first year. Over the next two years, it pays less and less of the cost until the local agency picks up the entire cost after three years. They are competitive grants, so applying for a grant is not a guarantee that it will be awarded.

Four of our commissioners asked no hard questions or even easy ones to justify what additional millions of dollars could be needed. Their focus was that this is the level of service our residents want. Yes, that may be true, but for what level of service are they willing to pay?

Commissioner Heard feels the department has grown very fast especially since 2017. There was a motion to approve the request by Hetherington, seconded by Smith, it passed 4-1 with Heard dissenting.

You can see the presentation here

I am not a huge fan of district funds. While I will not call it a slush fund, it can be used for things that could be seen as a waste of money. Commissioner Smith used over $200,000 to have a more architecturally pleasing roof for a new fire house.

This time I want to applaud Smith for using district funds to pay for a study by the Treasure Coast Planning Council detailing the possible uses for the Treasure Coast Mall. The mall has suffered greatly with changing retail times. At some point, it will no longer be in existence…at least in its current iteration.

Commissioner Heard believes that staff can perform the work. It is true that staff can, but in the past few months, the commission have given the department several projects to work on plus their primary responsibility to look at new projects. The mall project is a forward-looking idea that has merit.

This wouldn’t usually come before the commission for a vote except that, in this case, an Inter Local Agreement needs to be signed between the county and the Treasure Coast Planning Council since they are both government agencies. A motion was made by Smith that was seconded by Hetherington for $115,000. It passed 4-1 with Heard dissenting.

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COMMISSION MEETING JANUARY 24, 2023

Wojcieszak Park was the main agenda item at this meeting.

A group of dedicated parents had complained for some time about the conditions at the baseball fields. They are right…the ballfields are deplorable. The park has been neglected for years.

Until recently, I was a member and chair of the Parks & Recreation Advisory Board (PRAB). I know that parents did follow procedure and met numerous times with the department and came before the PRAB to plead their case. Little do most people understand that there is serious underfunding for the maintenance and capital improvements in the park system.

Wojcieszak (Wojo for short) is in the Port Salerno Community Redevelopment Area. Most people who use the park walk to it. It is truly a green oasis within an urban setting. The park is 11.5 acres with a beautiful canopy of shade trees. According to the agenda item, it has 5 baseball/tee-ball fields, some batting cages, a playground, 6 racquet ball courts, 1 tennis court, 1 Futsal court, and 1 basketball court. There are no soccer fields or open space. Both the Boys and Girls Club and Port Salerno Elementary School are on the boundaries of Wojo and use it.

On two separate occasions, November 18^th, and January 20^th, the PRAB approved recommending to the BOCC using $1.7 million in ARPA funding for a redesign and renovation of the park. The reason that ARPA funding can be used was because the park is in a census tract that is considered low income. This was a way to immediately do the needed work. In this fiscal year, the Fixed Asset Replacement Budget (FARB) has $1.6 million that will be spent for improvements across the system’s 72 parks.

At the February 1^st BOCC meeting, I spoke as a member and chair of the PRAB urging the commission to approve the $1.7 million in ARPA funding which they voted to do. Since then, the department has conducted focus groups and presentations with the neighborhood including hiring Hoyle Tanner and Associates, Inc for $234,000 to meet with the community and redesign the park. There will be a workshop for the community conducted by Hoyle Tanner on February 2nd.

Those were the facts leading up to the commission taking an interest. After the three parents spoke who are involved with the league, it was the commissioners turn. Commissioner Heard, whose district Wojo is in, emphatically wants to continue with the community process.

Commissioner Smith asked Kevin Abate, the department director, if the $1.7 million was enough. His response was it depends on the results of the February neighborhood meeting. Commissioner Hetherington toured the park with the baseball parents and rattled off a list of things that should be done immediately for safety.

Kevin Abate

Abate stated that he would immediately have TRICO, the county’s insurance carrier, come and do a risk management assessment and then immediately take care of those items flagged. No commissioner said it was a good idea to have the experts decide what was an immediate danger.

They would rather trust their own expertise and ideas on what was needed. The ideas of the parents of the baseball players who had been ignored for years were suddenly important. Spending scarce funds even if six months from now the repairs become obsolete because of a new park design.

Commissioner Jenkins stated the one unequivocal truth. The Parks & Recreation Department took the biggest whipping at budget time including the freezing of the use of FARB funds. Smith noted that the parks were, by far, the most widely used county amenity.

Chair Ciampi went through a laundry list of immediate improvements that the ball field parents want done. And after the long list, he instructed Abate to make it happen. Hetherington wanted the process to begin immediately.

Heard and then Smith kept saying that there needs to be community involvement. Most of the community are not the baseball parents. They use the fields, but most don’t live around the park. In fact, I would suspect the actual Port Salerno folks would say take a baseball field or two away and give us soccer instead. But statistically the poor and immigrants don’t vote.

Ciampi has already determined how the park should look after he visited. He said that things don’t need to go back to the PRAB because the commission has a good idea on how to proceed. Commissioner Hetherington brought up the fact that the last two PRAB meetings had been cancelled because of a lack of a quorum.

After having served on numerous boards, I can lay much of the blame for lack of quorum on the commissioners who appoint people to boards who do not come to meetings. One reason for the attendance issues may be because the members attend meetings and spend time studying issues related to boards’ agendas but find their advice is ignored by the commission. More on that in a subsequent piece.

A motion was made by Hetherington to spend the money and do the safety corrections based on staff’s evaluation of the fields. It was seconded by Jenkins and passed 5-0.

The current commission, like commissions before, has no philosophy regarding the parks and recreation department’s mission. Should it concentrate on the basic needs of neighborhood and regional parks that serve most of our residents or be in the glamour business? This department, at the commission’s direction, spent about $10 million on the county golf course.

The golf course is not just a municipal golf course. It is a sight to behold. Mr. Abate and his department have given us a great casual restaurant (privately operated), a state-of-the-art driving range, and a Top Golf facility. It is something that is stunning and beautifully executed and was done with the approval and urging of this commission. The same can be said for the beach restaurants, splash water park, and the soon to be completed Phipps Park.

According to the county, they all are in the black. Those facilities give the private sector a run for its money. But it cost millions of dollars to do. And even if these facilities make money, is that the function of government?

The commission starves the Wojos to fund these other projects. Fixing benches and lighting is not sexy. Until a constituent group shouts, those kinds of repairs don’t matter…parks are an afterthought. The motion that was passed is the worst kind because it says its ok to waste funds to satisfy one group, but we are not going to change the starvation diet that led to the problem in the first place.

The agenda item can be found here

The second agenda item that was of importance was the 2023 commissioners’ priorities.

Commissioner Heard had an interesting idea regarding the gates to the St. Lucie Canal from the Lake. She would like to see the muck dredged from in front of them and then install new gates that would allow water to flow over the top instead of swinging the gates open which allows the sediment from the lake to flow. Heard said the Corps of Engineers, as well as other agencies, were interested in the proposal. It would cost millions of dollars if the funding could be found.

She also had the idea of seeing if the entire 156 miles of the Indian River Lagoon could become a national park which would allow more sources of funding for the waterways and further protections.

The commission is very interested in buying more land in IRL South, Pal Mar, and the Loxa-Lucie for conservation. Most of the land will never be developed because of wetlands. It is a great idea though what is not spelled out in their priorities is where to get the funds. I believe a dedicated sales tax of ½ cent would have a good chance of passing but only if the ballot language clearly limited it to conservation land in those areas.

The list can be found here

TRAILSIDE A SPECIAL REPORT

By Kyla Shay

Trailside HOA President

This past week, the Pal Mar Water Management District held another meeting.

Some progress is being made. Ingress and egress to Pal Mar was discussed as to how they can limit who and what is allowed to utilize the Pal Mar accesses.  In viewing a few of the western portions of Pal Mar’s title searches, it clearly states: “no ingress or egress provided”

It has been discussed by others that the lots within Pal Mar have ingress and egress. My question is: What do the title searches say according to the recorded Plat. Anyone can record an easement. It means nothing if it is not recorded and accepted into the Plat.

We do have a comparison of the illegal building and campers within Pal Mar.  Some of the violations have been removed due to Martin County Code Enforcement. But not all.  What is going on with those? Have they had their time in front of the Magistrate? What is the outcome.

The ATV’s, side-by-sides, dune buggies and hunting buggies are still destroying the wetland areas. They are utilizing the works of the Pal Mar Water District to access the areas of Pal Mar they wish to tear up.

So here are the images for comparison. April 2022 to December 2022.

April 26, 2022

Dec 21, 2022

4-22-22 image 512-21-124

Nice garbage and debris in a wetland.  SFWMD and Martin County must be cringing.  I know we wouldn’t get by with that in our area.

In short nothing much has changed.  We are still waiting.

Kyla Shay’s opinions are her own and may not reflect Friends & Neighbors viewpoint.

PAL MAR MEETING JANUARY 17, 2023

This meeting was originally scheduled for January 5^th and listed as such on the Pal Mar District’s website. All the meeting dates for the entire year are listed. Guess what…there is no mention of the meeting being moved to January 17^th.

I went to the meeting location on January 5^th expecting a meeting. The Martin County chamber was closed. I ran into County Administrator Don Donaldson in the lobby, and he made some phone calls only to find out that it would be on the 17^th.

The board decided not to have the February meeting at the January meeting. I will bet you that the February meeting will continue to be listed on the website. March’s meeting is also cancelled because one member was not available to attend, and a suitable date could not be agreed to.

The scheduled meeting should occur and the member either misses the meeting or attends by an electronic means. For example, Commissioner Heard did not attend the last commission meeting. It went on without her.

Looking further at the meeting calendar, the April meeting is listed on the website as April 6^th, but one of the board members can’t make it. It has been switched to April 5^th. There was no meeting in December, the January meeting was moved from the advertised and listed date, February was cancelled, March was cancelled, and April has been changed from the noticed date. What about the public?

Back in November, George Stokus was elected to the board in place of Zach Gazza. In December, the Martin County Board of County Commissioners appointed Sarah Heard to this board as their representative instead of Harold Jenkins. This was done in the annual re-assignments by the commissioners. The site still has Gazza and Jenkins listed as board members.

It would appear to me that the district staff has been lax in the performance of their duties for some time. Another example was District Director Michael McElligott was instructed by the board to send a letter in November to a property owner regarding the removal of a culvert placed illegally. The letter was not sent. If I heard the director correctly, the letter got “buried” on his desk.

The board needs to take control of the situation and have the regularly scheduled meetings. If they believe there is only need for quarterly meetings, then schedule quarterly meetings. But the excuse that people can’t make meetings is unacceptable for a public board. Further, it is unacceptable if staff can’t get things done in a timely manner.

A question arose regarding how different people can access Pal Mar. A legal memo was written by the district’s attorneys in 2019 outlining this very subject. In the statement of facts section on the front page, the memo claims that, “Because of strict development rules and regulations promulgated by Martin County, the land within the District has not been developed as originally conceived, and no road, rights of way, or outfalls have been constructed.”

The board’s duty is to operate according to a water control plan. It is a “Special District” under Florida statute. Easements can only be used for the purpose those easements were granted. Further, there is no statutory authority for the public use of district lands or property. The general public does not have any right to use the Pal Mar District’s lands.

In the conclusion section of the memo, it goes further to state, “There is no express obligation in the District’s legislative authority to grant landowners access.” If there are no roads in what are called the “works of the district,” then the only way to gain entry is across other lot owners’ lands. While there is no express prohibition about vehicles, there is no way to drive from point “A” to “B”.

Further all building permits which would include roads on all property must be approved by Martin County. Under the County’s current zoning, Pal Mar does not qualify for any type of construction. The board asked legal to flesh out the memo to make the districts ongoing policy understandable, but in a 3-2 vote, it was deemed good enough to have as a beginning of a policy. The memo can be found here

Board Member Stokus then wanted to obtain prices from both Martin and Palm Beach Sheriffs’ Departments to have off-duty deputies patrol the district’s property on the weekends.  Board Member Lew Lolmaugh stated that the district has no enforcement powers, and he is right. They can only protect the district’s property. However, off duty deputies are sworn law enforcement officers, and if they see a crime is being committed, they should stop it.

Stokus also wanted to terminate the funding agreement and a separate mowing and maintenance agreement being done by a company owned by Zach Gazza. I have not seen either agreement, but it appears that Mr. Gazza donates $12,000 per year to the district to pay $12,000 per year to his company to do basic maintenance and mowing. That results in the district not paying anything.

While that is a great deal for the district, Mr. Gazza was on the board and is a large landowner in Pal Mar. It saved the district money…there is no denying that. However, there may be something, if not improper, at least having the appearance of being so in that arrangement. Just think if Commissioner Jenkins’ landscaping company did the maintenance for a county park and had a similar deal. Even if Jenkins was paid without the offsetting credit it would still be illegal.

The funding agreement was terminated with a 5-0 vote. Staff was instructed to do RFPs for both the maintenance and management agreement. The new “maintenance manager” will report directly to the district engineer.

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The next meeting will be January 24, 2023

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COMMISSION MEETING DECEMBER 6, 2022

Most of the meeting focused on the housing shortage.

Chair Ciampi has made this issue the centerpiece of his chairmanship. Assistant County Administrator George Stokus gave the county’s presentation. His presentation showed the limited tools they have to work with.

The state has constrained the ability of places like Martin County and Stuart from requiring developers to include affordable housing in their projects as part of the approval process. If you can’t mandate 10 or 20% of units to fall within that category without paying a subsidy to the developer in perpetuity, then a valuable tool has been removed.

If you look at the chart attached here

You will see there is not much of an opportunity for the county to have rental subsidies. There is less than $3 million in funds that the county has for both rental and home fix up projects from the state.

When asked about whether to pursue rental or home ownership, the commission was all over the place. Jenkins wants to focus on the ownership piece as part of the plan to build “generational wealth.” Ciampi saw it as a three-tier approach: homelessness, doing something about rental forces, and home ownership.

Hetherington is in favor of home ownership but, given current circumstances, more people could be helped in the rental market. She believes it should be high on the legislative priority list. The entire country is having these problems and, according to Heatherington, it needs a national solution. She is not for any type of rent control which had been brought up as an option in the presentation.

Smith said the state will be doing something with building codes because of the devastation by Ian, especially on the west coast. If the codes are tightened, the result will be higher building and remodeling costs. He wants more study perhaps using the Treasure Coast Planning Council.

Jenkins also brought up a county land trust. They are fleshing out that idea in Banner Lake with a group of citizens. He is thinking the county would give excess property to the trust to build housing. The board unanimously approved the study of the idea.

Hetherington also said that the ideas tossed around are good ones. But it all means nothing when, even under current code, when accessible dwelling units are included projects, the commission often restricts them in the approval process.

Rob Ranieri, Nick Blount, and other advocates spoke. The commission decided to make this a permanent part of the meeting once a month.

Staff will now begin working on land trusts, and CRAs and ADUs will be explored. Perhaps using funding to do more infrastructure projects will also be included. That allows more density because there are sewers instead of septic systems. It makes lower cost development more palatable.

Until both state and national government view this as a priority, nothing localities do will come close to solving the problem. Perhaps places like Cleveland Clinic or IRSC could build housing for their employees with the county and Stuart waiving impact fees to make it less expensive. But these are only minor as compared to the entire problem.

You can find the entire presentation here

MARTIN COUNTY COMMISSION MEETING DECEMBER 13, 2022

Sometimes commissioners cannot get out of their own way and sometimes they can. The agenda item regarding the sale of dogs, cats, and rabbits exhibits both.

The commission originally directed the Animal Care & Control Oversight Board (ACCOB) to draft an ordinance regarding the sale of dogs, cats, and rabbits after two pet stores opened that sold those animals.

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ACCOB was formed in 2017 to provide oversight of the contract between the county and the Humane Society of the Treasure Coast (HSTC) and to rewrite the entire Martin County animal ordinance. Part of the revised animal ordinance created a TNVR program (Trap, Neuter, Vaccinate, Return) to reduce the size of feral communities by eliminating their reproductive capabilities.  This program, currently administered by HSTC, has dramatically reduced their euthanasia rate as they are no longer required to euthanize feral cats as the earlier ordinance required.

The ACCOB has been meeting every six months to monitor the HSTC contract and any other business having to do with the welfare of animals. The commission asking the board to draft a proposed ordinance about pet sales was in keeping with its mission.

The ACCOB investigated the matter and unanimously voted to recommend that the commission prohibit the sale of those animals while giving the two existing stores the ability to continue the sales until June 30, 2023. This would give the businesses time to retool providing only pet supplies and services like all of the other Martin County pet stores. When approving the proposed ordinance, the commission decided to reduce the ACCOB-recommended grace period for the sale of dogs, cats and rabbits and banned such sales after December 31, 2022. The motion passed 5-0.

A few months ago, the two stores and their supporters decided to threaten legal action if they were closed. Supporters spoke during public comment. The commission, instead of just listening, did what politicians do and that is back pedal.

There are 85 governments in Florida that ban such sales. Martin County had followed in their footsteps. But when trying to please everyone, the commissioners, in my opinion, threw their staff and the ACCOB volunteer board under the bus. Commissioners, because they didn’t want to just do nothing and allow the ordinance to stay in place, came up with a ridiculous charge to the ACCOB to have a workshop with all interested parties to work out the differences.

These are not differences about things such as store hours. There is two diametrically opposed views on the matter. When the workshop was started, it quickly degenerated and became raucous to the point that a recess was called. There wasn’t even a deputy in attendance. A few weeks later, the ACCOB met for their regularly scheduled meeting and again unanimously voted to recommend the same original ordinance including their original grace period until June 30, 2023.

Those who were against the ordinance were in opposition for two reasons. The first was “the being unfriendly to business” bunch. They claim that government regulation is wrong. Yet government regulates businesses all the time defining what can and cannot be done. And 85 other Florida governments have banned these sales not to mention entire states throughout the nation.

The pet store owners affected have more than just a libertarian argument to make. They opened stores that sold a product that was legal in Martin County at the time they entered business. The argument of the animal advocates is that at least some of the puppies are being acquired from out-of-state puppy mills. The two store owners vehemently deny this, but the evidence presented states otherwise. The agenda item is attached here

One of the pet store owners pleaded no contest to a felony regarding the forging of documents related to the sale of animals while owning his local store. This is not an old charge. It was adjudicated March 2022 in Martin County. Neither he nor his attorney appeared at this commission meeting.

The commission listened to several speakers including the other pet store owner and her attorney who was allowed extra time to make his comments. They then voted to accept the recommended ordinance from ACCOB. The vote was 4-0 with Hetherington absent.

Willis Custom Yachts had final site plan approval for their continued expansion.

This is a targeted industry in Martin County. They will more than double the number of employees. These are high paying jobs. The company is working with both the school district and IRSC to have training programs.

It passed 4-0. You can see the presentation here

TRAILSIDE A SPECIAL REPORT

By Kyla Shay

Trailside HOA President

ALMOST THE END OF ANOTHER YEAR-

Nothing has changed with PalMar.

The engines roar over across the canal in PalMar daily. The destruction continues day by day.  The shots are still fired.  Fertilizer bombs are shot off destroying native areas. The quiet is gone.

Over the past months, I’ve met with Martin County Staff. I have spoken twice at SFWMD board meetings in West Palm Beach.  We’ve alerted Martin County Commissioners to the difficulties presented to Trailside with the unchecked activities at PalMar.

Where we understand that the wheels of government move slowly, HOW LONG SHALL WE WAIT to not be shot at? How long shall we wait to not hear the destruction of what are precious Florida native areas. Native vegetation is torn up and destroyed. The animals have left PalMar, either by death or fleeing for their survival.  Alligators are shot within PalMar and left for the vultures to feed on.  The alligators are being poached.  No tags are attached. FWC has on one occasion that we know of found a deceased poached alligator being removed from PalMar.

South Florida Water Management District under the Preservation 2000 Florida Forever does mention PalMar under the FY 99 Objectives. Management agreements need to be done with DEP immediately. DEP was contacted by SFWMD over six months ago. To date, Trailside’s board has had no response from repeated requests to DEP for a status update on their plans going forward.

Most of the lots that were sold within Pal-Mar on a title search show there is no ingress and egress into the lot. Why is the PalMar Water Management District allowing their works i.e. canal banks, to be used for ingress and egress? In the past, those who hunted the PalMar area, enjoyed a quiet, native Florida wildlife and fauna within PalMar, walked or biked into their lot. There’s a lot to be said about leaving only footprints when in native areas. This is not the case in PalMar.  There is no legal recorded easement for ingress and egress. FWC, MCSO, Martin County Administration, DEP, PalMar Water Management District and SFWMD need to put a stop to the nonsense.

On an article published by the Stuart news, the reporter felt residents of Trailside should not have purchased land in a Martin County approved development next to hunting. It has never been the hunting we are objecting to. We are objecting to dangerous behavior resulting in shots being fired into our neighborhood. We are told by the Sheriff’s Department that there is nothing they can do to stop it. We are objecting to native Florida lands including wetlands being destroyed by ATV’s, side-by-sides, and hunting buggies. We are objecting to the blatant destruction of the wildlife. We object to the poaching. We object to being shot at. We object to not being able to utilize our bridle paths and common areas without the fear of being shot.

Where we understand there are differing opinions, we LIVE here.  How would you feel about what we are simply enduring if you were living here.

Hoping for resolution and repair within PalMar within the coming year of 2023.

Kyla Shay’s opinions are her own and may not reflect Friends & Neighbors viewpoint

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BOCC MEETING NOVEMBER 22, 2022

Commissioners Hetherington and Heard were sworn in for another four-year term at the start of the meeting. Congratulations to both for their work on behalf of the people of Martin County. 

It was also the meeting where a new chair is selected. A motion was made by Hetherington and seconded by Jenkins for Ciampi to become chair. It passed 5-0. Jenkins was nominated for vice-chair in a motion made by Hetherington and seconded by Ciampi. It passed 4-0.

In the re-organization of the committee assignments, Chair Ciampi gave up his seat on the MPO to Commissioner Heard. Vice-Chair Jenkins relinquished his seat on the Pal Mar board to Commissioner Heard. The rest of the assignments stayed the same with minor tweaks.

The old Golf World site on Kanner Highway was re-zoned to General Commercial. The applicant, Barron Landings, stated that the old zoning was no longer appropriate. Michael Houston, their land planner, argued that Kanner was no longer the same 2 lane road that it had been. It is a classic infill project he said.

Commissioner Heard did not think that it was compatible with residential. I don’t understand why not. Don’t you want commercial uses next to residential to encourage multi-modal transportation?

The vote was 4-1 with Heard voting no. You can see the presentation here

The idea of the county building its own wellness center was once again discussed. It would be operated under a VEBA Trust. A VEBA is a way to provide benefits to employees under the IRS code.

They predict that the county will run out of space with their current setup by 2024. If they build the center under a VEBA, the county can customize providing medical care to employees, their families, and former employees who have retired and are still on the county’s plan.

According to the study presented, the VEBA model would give a better ROI than any other in the long run. The downside would be the higher startup costs. Currently, Palm Beach County uses that model.

The staff gave the commission five location choices for the building. The consensus was to locate the facility on one of two vacant parcels already owned by the county on Ruhnke Street.

The more employees who participate the better to keep costs down. Currently, the sheriff uses a different center than the rest of the county. If the county and sheriff become consolidated, it would add 600 more employees.

Hetherington, Jenkins, and Heard are fine with the VEBA model. Ciampi likes the idea of a county-owned facility but would lean toward a 3^rd party administrator. Smith apparently was not happy with the choice of location. He wanted to locate the facility on the lot owned by the county between the Blake Library and Kingswood.

Heard moved approval of exploring one of the Ruhnke lots for a site. Jenkins seconded. The vote was 4-1 with Smith voting no.

Whether it would be the VEBA model (owned & operated by the county) or a third-party administrator has not yet been determined.

You can find the presentation here

You can find information on VEBA here

For years, the City of Stuart has had a financial reimbursement program as part of their CRA to encourage businesses to improve their properties. After extensive NAC and other community-based meetings, CRA Manager Susan Kores has now brought a similar program to the commission for final approval.

There were three parts to the program. One was a minor business retention piece for up to $2000 for things like design and very small improvements. There are also $10,000 and $20,000 grants available. It is a reimbursement program and will be up to 80% of the uppermost grant amount.

When questioned by commissioners about non-profit participation, Kores said the reason not to include non-profits was because the program’s aim is to increase tax revenue…non-profits pay no tax.

Heard was not going to support it. She has never been a fan of the CRA concept. Hetherington was not initially in favor of the program, but once she went to the Golden Gate NAC meeting, she saw where it could be useful. She was not in favor of the smaller grants going toward marketing and business development. She also did not think non real estate taxed properties (non-profits) should benefit from taxpayer dollars.

Smith cited Stuart and stated that non-profits were still part of the street scape. He did agree to eliminate the marketing piece. He made a motion for the program without non-profits and the marketing. It was seconded by Jenkins and passed 4-1 with Heard dissenting.

Smith then made a motion to include non-profits to be part of the program. It was seconded by Jenkins. It passed 3-2 with Hetherington and Heard dissenting.

I have never been a fan of the government choosing one business to receive tax money over another. However, I also see that it could be a beneficial program. I certainly agree that marketing and non-profits should not benefit from tax dollars under any circumstances.

You can find the presentation here

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COUNTY COMMISSION MEETING NOV 15, 2022

It was a light agenda for this meeting.

The county had an RFP to engage firms to perform public relations, communication, and community outreach. There were six firms that answered the RFP. Two of them were local, Firefly Group and Cotton & Company Inc. Neither were picked by the selection committee.

The two most highly ranked firms were Quest Corporation of America and M Network Inc. Commissioner Hetherington asked why there was not at least one local group. Commissioner Ciampi believes that the internal staff is very good, but he understands that they cannot do everything that the county needs in this area. Both wanted to have a firm that knew Martin County.

Commissioner Smith asked whether there was latitude in this regard to pick more than two firms for consideration. Assistant County Administrator George Stokus said if that was going to be done, then he would recommend that all firms be in the selection. Commissioner Hetherington made the motion to include all six then departments could pick the firm that best suited their needs on a case-by-case basis. It was seconded by Ciampi and passed 4-0. Commissioner Heard was absent from the meeting.

You can find the ranking sheet here

The proposed Hobe Sound Tennis Center located on Federal Highway and SE Constitution Blvd was approved in a 4-0 vote. It will have 12 tennis courts, a clubhouse, and a pool. The PAMP will take up more than 25% of the 9-acre property.

You can see the presentation here

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COUNTY COMMISSION MEETING OCT. 18, 2022

The BOCC meeting took just 1 hour and 24 minutes from beginning to end.

It wasn’t that the commission did not do anything. There was actually quite a bit that was accomplished. Not counting the several agenda items having to do with the Loblolly and FIND land swap, the commission approved three developments.

Just down the road from Stuart (which has morphed into a sideshow when it comes to development), Phase III of Banyan Bay on Kanner Highway was approved. The 72-unit multi-family development will have its own separate entrance onto the roadway. There will be three 3-story buildings.

There were no hysterics from “concerned citizens” or anyone else for that matter. Just a routine 72-unit project that took about 5 minutes to approve. A few weeks ago in the city in a much more built up area there was so much concern about the impact of what would have been less traffic caused by the development just a mile up the road?

DR Horton’s Sabal Pointe Project on Savannah Road will have 68 single-family homes on 30 acres. It is a typical Horton project of suburban homes 3 story high like so many others. The homes are on lots of 7500 sq feet with lot dimensions of 60 ft. x 125 ft.

Again no one spoke against the project, and it took less than ten minutes to approve.

And last, there was the Willoughby Townhomes PUD. It will be on Willoughby Blvd. and Salerno Road. There will be 117 townhomes on 18.37 acres. Again, the public said nothing.

In the span of about 45 minutes the BOCC approved 257 new units for unincorporated Martin County. There were no hysterics, outraged citizens, or commissioners wringing their hands as if the weight of the world was upon them. The commission’s 5-0 (including Commissioner Heard) response was appropriate for the approvals that were given.

If that had been the current Stuart Commission, two out of three projects would not have passed, and I am not even so sure about the single-family home development. Most of the people who will occupy those homes will work and shop and recreate, to a large extent, in Stuart.

City police and emergency services will have to consider these visitors in their planning. They will drive on city roads and add to the supposed congestion that we hear about. What the city will not have, is one cent of tax money.

Every time the city denies a project, it doesn’t end development. Stuart commissioners have preserved the idiocy of NIMBY within the city’s boundaries. Unincorporated Martin County doesn’t quite believe in NIMBY. The county has invaded Stuart’s back yard. Stuart just doesn’t have the tax dollars to deal with the invasion.

At almost every commission meeting, one member of the public denounces the county for putting every check that the county has cut in the past few weeks on the consent calendar. He makes it out as if the county is somehow trying to get away with not informing the public about these “Secret Expenditures.”

Martin County spends a lot of money…there is no denying that. But every cent must be appropriated by the commission, and they do so by passing a budget. By state statute every dollar then that is being spent of that appropriated money must be approved by the commission at an advertised meeting. There is just no reason to have county staff read every check into the official minutes. It would take several hours more to complete a meeting.

You can look at every check and to whom it was written on the county website. Further if you really are interested on what county money is being spent on then look at the budget. In the past few years, the public except for the Taxpayers Association has not been very curious.

By the time the check is cut you are way too late to complain. It is just as idiotic as the federal raising of the debt ceiling which is done after the money has been appropriated and spent. The same congressional fools voted in passed bills to spend the dollars. There is no grandstanding at the county like Congress.

THE PAL MAR SUBDIVISION

After months of writing about Pal Mar and looking at it from Trailside, I finally had the opportunity to visit it myself with Martin County staff.

What was once a place that had been relatively untouched by humans now bears all the signs of a paradise lost. It was one of the last places in Martin County that was what most of our area looked like two hundred years ago.  Pal Mar should not be thought of as a recreational area. Even though now it has been relegated to an unregulated such place. Martin County, which owns thousands of lots there, is also the legal authority regarding what can be done within its boundaries.

The county allows no construction of anything whether it is a shack, a road, or full-fledged home. Further, staff told me that the use of off-road vehicles is not permitted…though I saw trucks and cars parked throughout. Yet there are complications. It isn’t black and white.

There are many lots that are in private hands. In the past when the bulk of the properties were owned by “old timers,” they were more in tune with the wonder of Pal Mar. Camp out, do a little hunting, do a little drinking, and hike back out to your truck on the other side of the gate. Now with the newbies, it is apparent they believe they have the right to tear the place up with off-road vehicles, shoot indiscriminately, build roads, erect homes and pretty much do whatever they want.

For the most part, we are not talking about large acre parcels. Most are one acre and recently they are even being divided into quarter acre lots. To get access to almost any lot, you need to trespass over at least one other person’s property if not a dozen.

The lots are not really demarcated. Generally, it is guesswork where lot lines are. The county has been sending out their surveyors to determine ownership when someone is building an illegal structure…and they are all illegal. Is the structure on their land or the county’s property or South Florida Water Management?

In a legal opinion regarding providing access to individual lots the district obtained from Caldwell Pacetti Edwards Schoech & Viator LLP in 2019, it states that:

There is no express obligation in the District’s legislative authority to grant landowners access. The District is authorized to exercise only such powers as have been expressly granted or necessarily implied. Any reasonable doubt as to the lawful existence of a particular power sought to be exercised must be resolved against the exercise thereof. The District is utilizing its easements

lawfully for the purposes for which they were granted. Furthermore, there is no statutory authority providing for public use of property owned by drainage and water management districts created under Ch. 298, F.S. The members of the general public do not have a legal right of access to those easements which are dedicated in the District’s favor and not to the general public.

It seems clear that the public or, for that matter, individual landowners do not have the right to use the district’s easements to go anywhere. In the old days when someone hiked or biked into Pal Mar doing no ecological damage to the land, no one cared. Now sensitive wetlands throughout have been torn up by ATVs and four wheelers driven by yahoos who claim they can do whatever they want.

The county has started to enforce code violations against people building roads, wells, and houses. It is a daunting task. Made even more dangerous by staff (and even the residents of the Trailside community) being threatened with violence. It is so dangerous that when we were there county employees would not leave the district’s right of way without law enforcement.

So where is the sheriff in this? Good question. The sheriff’s department has told me that they can’t stop the shooting. Everyone has a right to shoot on their own land. But as I said, very few people have any idea where their lots are.

What about the fact that they have vehicles using district roads that no one is to use for non-district access? No good answer was forthcoming.

The sheriff’s department is working with the county using their helicopter for scouting and providing deputies to go with code enforcement to these encampments. The mindset at the department may be that people destroying the environment is not the same priority as catching bad guys from down south on I-95.

The Pal Mar Water Control District needs to hire security such as off duty deputies to protect this property, especially on weekends. Anyone out there has almost certainly committed trespass, which is illegal. If people provide the proper paperwork verifying that they are landowners and want to hike into their property and just camp without the benefit of anything more than what they caried in on their backs, then no one would care.

But if a visitor is using a motor vehicle and in some cases a tractor trailer to bring in loads of lumber to build their dream house, that person should be arrested. A house cannot be built without supplies, and some of the structures out there are substantial.

If it can’t be stopped, then Pal Mar will be destroyed. This is our heritage. It isn’t some old orange grove but an intricate eco-system. Either our commissioners, the water district, and law enforcement can end the rape of this magnificent area, or we should get used to the fact that we will have a new subdivision.

The Pal Mar subdivision will have no approvals, no inspections, no public hearing, no public input. It will just be a mish mosh of desecrated habitat that once had enumerable plants and animals living there. That will be gone. In its place will be the Pal-Mar Subdivision.

TRAILSIDE A SPECIAL REPORT

By Kyla Shay

Trailside HOA President

It’s Been a While, Not Much Has Changed

We had a few weeks of respite due to the after effects of Hurricane Ian.

Heavy rainfall placed PalMar under two feet of water. Now that the water has receded, it’s back to PalMar business as usual.   The mud buggies, ATV’s and side-by-sides are tearing up the wetlands. Noise travels out here in the county. We hear the engines roaring, the yelling and screaming of the persons destroying Florida protected areas.

The bullets still fly. We frequently hear the rapid repetitive gun fire with no understanding of where the bullets may land or which direction the projectiles are headed in.  Last week, one lot owner had a work crew working in his wetland and yard. The workers took shelter behind vehicles and the building.

They stated they could hear the bullets flying over their heads…WITHIN Trailside.  The Sheriff’s department was notified. They stated they would send someone out to check who was in PalMar. No follow up has been received.

Until one of us dies, nothing will change. We doubt even if one of us gives our life if it will even change then. According to the Sheriff’s department, they must put the gun in the person’s hand who caused the injury/death.  That simply is not going to happen. 8000+ acres to escape to. Plausible deniability. Trailside has been abandoned by the Sheriff’s department and the elected officials of Martin County.

We have written letters to multiple State agencies asking for help. Crickets and frogs are all we are hearing.  There isn’t much left to say. We are obviously left to our own devices to protect our way of life, our livestock, our families, and our property.

We all feel abandoned by all aspects of Martin County government.  Our commissioners and staff can concentrate on their land use changes and getting more houses built.  They are not interested in solving a situation that Martin County politics, Martin County policy, and the State of Florida neglected to fix from the 1960s. With the lack of response, they don’t seem very interested in correcting the error.

Kyla Shay’s opinions are her own and may not reflect Friends & Neighbors viewpoint.

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COUNTY COMMISSION OCTOBER 11, 2022

It was a brief meeting with very little of significance to report.

There was a discussion about the progress in the construction of the mooring field in the Manatee Pocket. In essence, it will be almost identical to how the field in Jensen Beach is operated according to staff. The next thing to be done will be the dock which is scheduled for completion in early 2023.

There was a change in the county code to mirror state changes mostly dealing with the regulation of home-based businesses. The state has pre-empted much of what local government can do in this respect. Economic freedom trumps zoning which is what occurred with short term rentals. Local government is no longer allowed to have any regulations concerning that. The people of Martin County should become used to more and more of this occurring.

Donna Melzer has filed a suit against the county for the adoption of the rural lifestyle use. It looks like it is almost identical to the one filed against Costco. We will report on this as more is known.

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COUNTY COMMISSION MEETING SEPT 27, 2022

Hetherington requested that the ordinance having to do with the sale of dogs, cats, and rabbits be brought back for discussion.

For some odd reason, the discussion was framed that the ordinance was unfriendly toward business. Some commissioners believed that the two stores that opened very recently should have received notice that an amendment to the county’s animal ordinance was being considered which would ban retail stores from selling dogs, cats, and rabbits in Martin County. That type of personal notice is not how it is set forth in statute.

As an example, Hetherington said that when they were discussing an ordinance to ban vaping for those under 21, the county spoke to the businesses who sold those products. The same went for the irrigation ordinance restricting how often lawns could be watered. In both those instances the county was attempting to solicit advice before the ordinances were written not in this case.

The motions and direction to staff had encompassed doing that with those two examples. There was no direction given for staff to contact anyone with the animal sale ban. Staff followed usual county procedures and the statute. Without clear direction from the board how is staff to know that something more is necessary.

As to whether the ban is anti- business, I don’t know how it would be in this instance. Government restricts what businesses can do…from dictating product placement to hours of operation…all the time and on every level. I do not blame the businesses for trying to overturn rules that limit their ability to sell to the most customers possible. I do object when the government does not step in when there is a potential problem.

There are really two problems with these types of sales. First, most large chain pet stores have eliminated selling dogs, cats, and rabbits for profit. In most of the stores today, they allow animal rescue organizations the opportunity to adopt animals out of their stores. The store benefits when a person adopts the pet and then immediately needs to spend money on food, litter, toys, a cage, and all other manner of accoutrements. There is no need for the store to source, feed, and pay vet bills for animal inventory. It is a win-win.

The second reason that stores sell live pets is because they can reap big profits by having a finance company come in and charge interest rates that would make a loan shark blush. If someone wants to overpay for an animal, that is their business. But the government started protecting the public from loan sharking a long time ago. Just this week the Washington Post published an article on this very practice and one of the predatory financing companies that both of the stores use, according to their own websites, is named in the article. Read it here

Every animal I have ever owned came from a rescue of some sort. We haven’t had a dog for quite a while, but we do have cats. I have never been disappointed in either any dog or cat that I have adopted.

Frank Valente of the Treasure Coast Humane Society stated that there are 85 ordinances banning the practices of selling dogs and cats in retail stores in the state of Florida. He also mentioned that some of the breeders that the two stores buy from have been cited by the USDA. He further went on to state that this ordinance did not put anyone out of business.

Ciampi and Hetherington did visit the stores. Ciampi is very concerned about the financing part and what happens if a customer ends up with a sick animal that costs a fortune in medical bills or dies. These are serious problems.

Most people who sign the financing contracts may not be the most astute financially. If you buy a bad product, then taking the store to small claims court could be a nuisance but not a catastrophe. When something happens to your pet that costs thousands of dollars in vet bills and/or the pet dies you have lost a member of the family. These pet owners may still be on the hook for thousands of dollars in loans.

I can also see the store owners’ dilemma. They have guaranteed the leases with the properties’ owners. The county should have gone to them to help negotiate surrender agreements and even pay some money to avoid any possible litigation. Since the businesses have been opened for less than a year, there is not a huge loss of income that can be proven in a court of law.

The commission has sent it back to the Animal Care and Control Oversight Board to have a public meeting with all the pet store owners invited (including those that do not sell animals), the Humane Society, and all other interested parties. The motion passed 5-0.

The Oversight Board was tasked originally with overseeing the humane treatment and welfare of the animals. They aren’t about looking to other competing interest outside of the animals’ well-being including real or imagined concerns of business owners who want to sell those animals. The board is not a competing interest group nor is it an arbiter between the animal rights and rescue community and the two store owners. Either the county considers this type of commerce acceptable or not to continue.

The agenda item which includes the USDA reports of violation and customer complaints can be found here

A major site plan approval for two 18-hole golf courses on Kanner by 96^th Street was approved by the commission 5-0. All the irrigation for the courses will come from the C-44 canal. This is a good idea since it will not be taking water from the aquifer. Instead, the gray water from the canal which does have phosphorus and nitrogen will be used. A byproduct of this is that the courses will need to use much less fertilizer.

You can find the presentation here

If I were to say the Martin County Fair Grounds Board was back for another extension, would that surprise anyone?

They are now asking for the lease option to be extended from November of 2022 to 2024. The Fair Manager, Jay Spicer, has commitments but not firm dollars to construct his Agri Plex. This is not only going to be the Martin County Fairgrounds but so much more…a museum, a teaching farm, a campground, everything that you can imagine including a go cart track.

It is true that COVID prevented many things from happening perhaps including the fair board the opportunity to raise sufficient funds to sign a lease. Yet why can’t a fairgrounds with the few buildings it takes be built now and all the rest come later? Commissioner Ciampi has become a champion of this never-ending saga with asking the question why not just give a lease?

Attorney Woods explained that she is trying to protect the county’s assets. Heard, in her usual fiscally conservative manner, grilled Spicer on why he had not been able to do the things outlined in the option agreement to obtain a lease. Hetherington is with Ciampi on this because the community needs it. Agreed, but after years of the Stuart Fairground being in disrepair and the inability of the Indiantown property to proceed, when does it stop being funny.

It seems that the commissioners can’t separate the fairground from the fair from the fair board. The first question to be answered is should there be a fairground? Who should manage the fairground which is owned by the county? And should the fair board, an independent organization, have both the fair and the fairground under their auspices?

The county should take the asset of the fairground back under their control and build only those buildings necessary to have a Martin County Fair and the needed parking. The county can reduce the acreage now promised as they did to give to the Indiantown Charter High School and either use it for other purposes or lease the excess for private sector development.

Martin County Parks can construct the basic fair buildings and infrastructure under their auspices and be responsible for this county asset. It has been determined by the BOCC that a fair is needed. The county can have an RFP or a long-term contract with a company to run a fair. For the rest of the events/activities, the parks department can handle the scheduling and maintain a public asset. They do it now throughout the system, including at Sailfish Splash Park, where they have meets throughout the year.

Let us stop making a mountain out of mole hill and recoup some of the acreage that will sit unused but in the hands of an inept organization. At some point in the next decade, they may get their act together and build a few buildings…then what?

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COMMISSION MEETING SEPTEMBER 13, 2022

This was the meeting when the rural lifestyle amendment finally came to a vote. It was a long day.

Most of the day was spent on public comment. And as usual, most was uninformed and, in some cases, not relevant to what was being voted on. Someone mentioned a more European approach where urban areas are clustered surrounded by farmland instead of sprawl. I like that one.

A few people said that the county needs to keep green spaces. Yet while farmland is green, it is not open to the public as a park is. Farmland or a golf course is owned by a private person and citizens can’t just take a stroll.

Others mentioned to preclude Harmony litigation, rural lifestyle should pass. Though it does give a viable option to Harmony as one of the properties that could opt for the designation, I don’t believe anything will stop the litigation.

Former County Administrator Taryn Kryzda explained the financial ramifications of having the tax dollars from the project with a minimum of increased use of existing services. Another person said that the rural lifestyle amendment was not going to be the typical suburban sprawl development. That is correct.

In a nutshell the amendment currently applies to 6 properties, and it is highly unlikely any new ones will join those. The new criteria apply to properties that are at least 1000 acres and outside the USB but contiguous to it. There are no package plants allowed but rather the property owner must extend the sewer lines from the USB and no other property can piggyback on those lines. It restricts retail to 6000 sq feet. An economic analysis must be done by the applicant.

70% of the property must be left green which does include golf courses as it would under the current code. And another parcel of at least 500 acres must be given in either conservation or into a perpetual agricultural trust owned by a third-party non-profit. So, even more space will be left open.

Heard wondered why the 6 properties couldn’t just be included in the amendment as having the designation if they chose. According to the assistant county attorney, since each individual property must show they would meet the criteria then they could not just be included. I don’t quite understand but the attorney is the expert.

Another observation was how bad the staff is at presenting in a public setting. They are more than competent as planners and in their specialties. However, when something like this comes up, they are presenting not only to commissioners but to the public.

At one point in time, weather presenters on TV were seldom meteorologists. Al Roker, from “Today Show” fame, is not a scientist at all but he sure could make weather lively and fun and explainable to the masses. Today almost every weather person on TV is a meteorologist. Not all meteorologists are on TV. Some of our county presenters need to learn how to improve their public delivery skills.

Jenkins gave a history on how Nathaniel Reed knew him from the time he was born. Jenkins was annoyed that some people suggested that Reed would not have approved of this change and never even knew him. I only met Mr. Reed once or twice so I have no idea what he would have thought of this amendment, but I would trust that Jenkins would know.

Jenkins also said that the voting public is changing, and it is. He used the example of a relative unknown that had not much of a platform but came within 5 points of beating Sarah Heard. That is true and he does have a point. He also brought up the fact that Tallahassee will take back control of development and I agree there.

Smith stated that we have a very wealthy tax base that does support the county philanthropically. Everything comes with a cost. Preserving land is also costly whether it is done as a wetland or a park. In this case, green space is being provided by the private landowner as part of the development. He also mentioned the pre-1967 constitution where the county did not have much authority in the development area. He also feels those days are coming back.

Ciampi said little. He was steadfast in his opposition to the amendment even though he was for the Atlantic Fields project. Hetherington was the key vote as to whether the amendment would be part of the comp plan. She played it for all she could.

At this point, Atlantic Fields and the $20 million tax bill that will benefit the county coffers would not happen without the amendment. Hetherington had always expressed support for the project. Perhaps if the tape could be rewound, the developer would have had a different scenario and plan, but it could not.

Hetherington felt she needed to extract something of benefit from her colleagues for her vote. She did.

After her continued soliloquy, there was a vote to go out to RFP to hire an entity to conduct planning sessions throughout the county to see where our future development goes from here. Everyone was on board except Heard. This a very good benefit for Martin County.

The motion to accept the amendment into the comp plan was approved 3-2 with Ciampi and Heard voting no.

The other two hearings to have the Atlantic Fields’ property adopt the land use of rural lifestyle and the PUD agreement passed 4-1 with Heard dissenting.

TRAILSIDE A SPECIAL REPORT

By Kyla Shay

Trailside HOA President

THE PAST FEW WEEKS AT TRAILSIDE

Representatives from Trailside HOA met with reporters from TC Palm.

Initially, the Reporters were accompanied into PalMar by a sheriff’s deputy. They then asked the deputy to reach out to me for an interview. Due to a lack of immediate availability, one of our board of directors and another lot owner generously gave time to the reporters to talk about the difficulties Trailside has faced with PalMar’s unabated activity.

We were assured by Martin County staff that the county continues to move forward on the code enforcement violations. However, the shooting is still very close to Trailside. One can never determine when a bullet will strike one of us, our guests, our horses, or cattle.

It isn’t a pleasant way to enjoy our rights as property owners.  We do hope the county and other agencies can come to a resolution soon.  We continue to alter our behavior to not fully utilize the common area of Trailside for fear of dying.

With our area finally receiving rain, we are still hearing the ATV’s and Side-by-Side’s tearing up the wetland areas.

A group of us who reside in Trailside have reached out to ecological organizations to help save the sensitive lands of PalMar. We are still waiting to hear the results. It will be a long and arduous process.

Stay tuned…It’s never a dull day out west in Martin County.

Kyla Shay’s opinions are her own and may not reflect Friends & Neighbors viewpoint.

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MARTIN COUNTY ELECTION:

Stacey Hetherington is completing her freshman term as a county commissioner.

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She has learned much in that time. Her constituent services have been excellent. But what she really excels at is political campaigning.

Though her opponent T.J. McGowan was a novice, Hetherington approached the campaign as if she were the underdog. I don’t really know what Mr. McGowan’s reason for running was. Neither did most of the voters.

McGowan did not respond to our repeated attempts to have him submit a statement for the newsletter about his reasons for running and why he deserved to be elected.

Stacey has grown into the job of commissioner, and I believe will only be better in her 2^nd term. She deserved re-election. The voters agreed. She received nearly 65% of the vote.

A more interesting race was the Heard/Mustapick race. Sarah Heard has been a commissioner for the past 20 years. She is very conservative fiscally, pro-environment, and fervently anti-development. She brings a different point of view to the dais that no other current commissioner expresses.

Doug Mustapick is a Marine veteran who served in Afghanistan. According to his statement, he was born in Tequesta and works for a veteran’s aid group. In his online biography, it doesn’t appear he was a member of any local nonprofit groups or civic organization until he wanted to run for office. He was in last year’s class of Martin County leadership which is run by the Stuart Chamber of Commerce.

According to his financial filings, several Stuart Chamber members and fellow leadership classmate Zach Gazza (of “Be A Man Buy Land” fame) contributed to his campaign.

His campaign was exceptionally well run for a political novice. However, his reasons for running were a bit obscure. He said he was non-growth, citing his opposition to the proposed Rural Lifestyle use. Mustapick also claimed to be pro-environment but did not have any specific proposals differentiating himself from Heard.

If that is what a voter wanted in a commissioner, why wouldn’t that voter just cast a ballot for Heard whose actions prove she stands for the environment and no growth. Besides the clouded message, his campaign supporters are just the opposite of both those attributes.

While Heard pulled it out by about 5%, is Martin County tiring of her. In my opinion it is time for Sarah to take a bow in four years and retire. At some point the voters, even those that agree with her, will want to see a fresh face on the dais.

TRAILSIDE A SPECIAL REPORT

By Kyla Shay

Trailside HOA President

THE HISTORY OF TRAILSIDE HOA

Trailside Homeowners Association is a development in Martin County located off Pratt Whitney Road.

It is an easy drive to Indiantown, Hobe Sound or Stuart for any of our needs. There is easy access to the Turnpike, I-95, or Beeline Highway for transiting to and from work or shopping.

Trailside Homeowners Association was developed by Clifford Burg Sr. in 1999.  He proposed the development to Martin County Growth Management, Martin County Commissioners and South Florida Water Management.  The development of 41 individual lots was approved by the Martin County Commissioners in late 1999.

The approximate 950 acres had been part of Box Ranch and had been used for cattle grazing pastures. Existing canals for drainage had been added at approximately 1947 or so.  The drainage was put in to service the orange groves.

Westberry Farms had previously owned the property and were responsible for the canal systems under permits from the State of Florida.  We are the only 20 -acre community in Martin County that has survived and thrived. Currently, I receive many telephone calls and email communication inquiring if any of the lots are for sale, or if I know of any owner’s that may sell.  We are different from the average community and proud of it.

For our residents, the community has drawn all of us here for the peace, quiet, bucolic lifestyle we all enjoy. White three rail fences surround our properties giving us a feeling of tranquility that we call ours.  The 20-acre lot minimum up to 38-acre lot sizes allow for privacy from our neighbors.  Our lots cannot be subdivided. The privacy and tranquility allow our children and grandchildren to be surrounded by animals and learn a country living lifestyle instead of being packed in a zero-lot line community.

Trailside HOA was set up as an agricultural community primarily for equestrian use.  Bridle paths surround all our lots.  Quite a few of us have horses here and enjoy the freedom of being able to ride within our community. The bridle paths are for lot owner and guest usage for horses only.  The equestrian rides are peaceful in the surrounding natural setting of South Florida.

We enjoy riding our horses, riding our bikes, and walking on our private roads.  Can you imagine country living with the amenities of paved roads, underground utilities, wooded lots, and fantastic sunsets over wide-open spaces. We can. We live here. We raise our children here. Our grandchildren visit us here. We raise our horses and cattle here.  This is home.

That is why we are fighting so hard to protect our Martin County way of life from those that clearly have no idea about our rural lifestyle and want to destroy it.

Kyla Shay’s opinions are her own and may not reflect Friends & Neighbors viewpoint.

PAL MAR MEETING AUG 23, 2022:

This was the conclusion of the meeting that began on June 27, 2022, when the meeting was adjourned to allow for the challenges of all the objections to counting proxies to determine if Zack Gazza would remain on the board or be replaced by county employee, George Stokus.

The crux of the matter is whether Martin County and South Florida Water Management District paid their fees and assessments. That payment would entitle them to vote.

According to the property appraiser, they did pay the current year but there were back years plus late penalties still due according to Gazza. As of June 27^th, there was a court case on whether Martin County and SFWMD had to pay those back charges or not. That was resolved on July 27^th when the Florida Supreme Court let a ruling stand that they did. However, as of June 27^th when proxies and other objections were made, it was still outstanding and therefore the payment was not yet due because of the litigation.

Legal counsel for the Pal Mar District gave their opinion that dismissed two objections from Martin and Palm Beach Counties and seven from Gazza’s group. In essence the decision was that the proxies and votes as of June 27^th were accepted. That gave the disputed board seat to George Stokus. With that control of the board went from the Gazza group back to Martin County and the other governments.

A motion was made to seat Stokus, and it passed 4-1 with Gazza voting no.

At the board meeting that followed, they then elected Commissioner Marino from Palm Beach County as chair on a 3-2 vote followed by Stokus being elected vice-chair 3-2. Another piece of the puzzle toward bringing law and order back to Pal Mar has been solved.

There were many angry small landowners in the audience. Why were they angry? It doesn’t appear that any of their rights will be violated regardless of who sits on the board. The matter of general easements across properties was dropped by the board. Every property owner must now give individual permission for another to cross their land That will cramp some of the cowboy style in the sensitive habitat.

If these landowners can’t do what they believed they should be able to do or were promised they could do, it is not the government’s fault. Whoever they purchased the property from may have not been honest with what was and wasn’t allowed out there. That is who they should be angry with…and at themselves for not adequately performing their due diligence regarding permissible uses.

The board needs to stop anyone who is not a landowner from using Pal Mar as their unsupervised playground. That would include personnel from the sheriff’s office. Pal Mar is not a target range or a hunting preserve.

In the meantime, another skirmish has been won in bringing a little sanity to the wilds of Pal Mar.

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COUNTY COMMISSION METING AUGUST 9, 2022

The commission was asked to approve an increase in the charge for waste pick-up by about $16 per year.

That increase was almost all due to inflationary pressures. A single-family household is currently charged $389.69 per year. It will increase to $405.55, which is $15.86 per year.

Some members of the public complained. If you remember, the county chose Waste Management for the contract last year. It was the most expensive firm. When compared to the problems with the level of service that St. Lucie County and the City of Port St. Lucie are experiencing, Martin County has it good.

Though I was against the selection last year, Martin County made the right decision in keeping Waste Management. In any event, what is another seven and half cents per pickup as Ciampi stated.

Hetherington did not support it because she said that once the county begins hauling their own recyclables to St. Lucie County instead of a contractor, it would not be necessary. Though she did agree that Waste Management was the right company. You figure it out.

The vote was 4-1 with Hetherington opposed.

The Meridian Marina in Palm City at Champion’s Way has been considered an eyesore for years by some. It was bought in bankruptcy last year by a husband-and-wife duo that own and operate marinas throughout the country.

They have a proposal to spend a bundle of money to rehabilitate the facility. It is amazing that this is part of the Martin Downs Master Plan. They will have 540 dry slips and a revised restaurant building from 12,000 sq feet to 6,000 sq feet even though no food facility is open there now.

It was amazing that the public comment was all positive even from the residents of the 49-unit Admiralty Condo which is located right next store. Rob Lord, the past CEO of Martin Health systems, said that it was a vast improvement over the previous marina owner. I did not hear one negative public comment.

At first, I thought that Heard would not vote in favor, citing incompatibility. If it had been an application for a new marina, she may have had a point but since inception the area was always supposed to be mix use. Today more and more projects, especially on the waterfront, will be.

Ciampi made a motion to approve staff’s recommendations with the following conditions:

• No rooftop uses
• Two accessory dwelling units only
• No music venue after 9 pm
• The applicant must come back with a projected opening date for the restaurant

It passed 5-0. You can see the applicant and staff presentations here

COUNTY COMMISSION MEETING AUGUST 16, 2022

Commissioner Heard stated that Discovery Land Company submitted a new application with new changes and requests last week. It is starting from scratch. She said that we had promised our residents public workshops to explain what was being asked by the developer.

She is right in wanting those workshops. People need to understand that Discovery is not what many have believed it is. The facts need to get out there. The way to do it is by having many informational meetings, so the public buys into the project.

Loblolly and FIND (Florida Inland Navigation District) have parcels next to each other on the intercoastal. They are asking the commission to allow them to exchange 51 acres so that FIND would then have contiguous lots. (See drawing) In order to do that, the lots need to have new zoning classifications to go with the swap which is what was being requested. It was approved unanimously.

Three Lakes Golf Course asked for a mandatory rezoning classification. There is nothing else being asked at this time. It was approved 5-0. Now they can begin their site plan drawings. You can see the presentation here

Palm City really blew it when they made sure that Costco was defeated on Martin Downs Blvd and Martin Highway. Instead of an integrated plan and dealing with one owner, they now have a Tractor Supply, Wawa, and a self-storage. But the district commissioner was a little peeved because the developer did not come to him and receive permission.

In all fairness, before proposing something (even something that is as of right), the developer should have called Ciampi and filled him in. The only reason they had to come before the commission is because it is a PUD. The BOCC can’t reject a use because commissioners want to substitute something else that, in their judgement, should go there instead of what the property owner plans to put there which is a self-storage. Mr. Ciampi did not think that use should go there.

Every commissioner was waiting for Ciampi to make the motion to approve. Finally, Jenkins did and, after a little more dialogue and a break, Heard seconded. As County Attorneys Elder and Woods stated if you are going to vote to reject the project, then you must give a reason after looking at the competent substantial evidence.

The vote was 4-1 with Ciampi voting no. You can see the presentation here

Banyon Bay on Kanner has been going along for almost 20 years. In the interim, single-family homes have been built under the PUD. Now comes 72 multi-family units of three 3-story buildings with garages and a club house. While it is on the master site plan, it will have no relationship with the rest of Banyon Bay. The project will have a separate entrance off Kanner.

Now it was Hetherington’s turn to be a little disappointed that she was not contacted as the district commissioner. Again, since it was consistent with the master plan, they had no choice but to vote in favor. Hetherington urged the developer to make sure the neighbors were consulted. You can see the presentation here

TRAILSIDE A SPECIAL REPORT

By Kyla Shay

Trailside HOA President

And Some Things just don’t change

It was another noisy weekend on Trailside’s southern border. The shooting continued unabated over Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Due to a sick horse, I spent the night keeping a close eye on him in our barn with a perfect view of PalMar (Gate One entry area.) All night long, I witnessed headlights going back and forth within PalMar. All night I heard truck engines, ATVs and buggies traveling through PalMar. Sunday brought a new level of the amount of gunfire.

We have rumors which are unconfirmed by FWC of individuals being caught with out of season bucks that were killed and an alligator. Most of the game killed in PalMar stays in PalMar. We can hope that FWC is ramping up their enforcement of PalMar to the previous supervision levels.

FWC was called out to deal with all the semi-automatic and automatic shooting within PalMar this weekend. Did they arrest individuals or just nicely discuss it with them again?

It is concerning as I have had others within PalMar tell me that at their last lot owner meeting it was mentioned that they should shoot me a message. Did that mean email me, call me, or shoot with a weapon. It sounds like a deadly threat to me. But I am sure that MC Sheriff’s department and FWC will just talk to the individuals involved in the threats and not actually do anything at all. I will be reporting this to FDLE for oversight on the actions of our law enforcement community or lack thereof concerning the PalMar issues.

We are waiting on code enforcement action. We shall see what happens at the end of August.  PalMar owners have posted on Facebook encouraging the owners to contribute to a legal fund to fight Martin County Code Enforcement. They do not feel that Martin County has the right to tell them they need permits to build on their lots.

I am not surprised as I have been told that what is happening with the code enforcement actions is all my fault.  If PalMar lot owners weren’t doing anything wrong or against Martin County code, there wouldn’t be anything to write home about.

Last weekend more vehicles were stuck on the Gate One access which is FWC property. Vehicles were trespassing on SFWMD land to free the vehicles.  The persons involved do not think it matters that FWC property is actively being destroyed. Does FWC care?

This coming week is packed with meetings with conservation organizations to attempt to assist in finding monies to purchase PalMar land and start to correct the ecological disaster.

Time will tell if anything at PalMar is corrected.

Kyla Shay’s opinions are her own and may not reflect Friends & Neighbors viewpoint.

A CONVERSATION WITH THE CHIEF DEPUTY

After months of speaking with “Ag Deputies,” I finally had the opportunity to have a conversation with Chief Deputy John Budensiek about PalMar.

I thought he would be unfamiliar about the details with Trailside and PalMar, but he was up to speed with the situation. According to Budensiek, his department’s hands are tied because of the way current laws are written. He said the department is helping the county with enforcement regarding illegal buildings and wells. Unfortunately, he said that he is not able to do anything when it comes to shooting.

The big problem, like so much in PalMar, is that no one really knows what parcels belong to whom. Until that is established, how do you enforce trespass? The same goes for even reckless shooting. Unless a deputy sees someone deliberately firing in the direction of Trailside, how could the officer know which rounds belong to any one gun. Budensiek said that when people with guns are confronted by deputies, they claim they are shooting into the ground.

I asked whether it would help if they had better laws regarding the unsafe discharge of firearms. He didn’t think anyone, including Representative John Snyder who is Sheriff Will Snyder’s son, would want to try and pass a law like that. 2^nd Amendment rights being sacrosanct.

I agree that the 2^nd Amendment is a primary right under our Constitution. Like other rights guaranteed under the Constitution, it is not absolute. You have the right to own and carry a firearm, but you do not have the right to discharge it wherever and whenever you want placing others in jeopardy. It is amazing how we continue to believe we possess all types of rights without any responsibilities.

If this PalMar dispute was just about the county on one side and Gazza and his small owners on the other, it would be interesting but nowhere near as dangerous. There are live rounds going into Trailside and it is only a matter of time before someone is killed. It isn’t a land dispute anymore but a public safety issue.

Unfortunately, according to Budensiek, there is not much they can do. I don’t know if I buy that completely, but to a large extent I do. Then it means in my mind the safety of the Trailside Residents is secondary. I guess that is what is hard to fathom.

IF YOU ARE NOT A SUBSCRIBER DO SO FOR FREE HERE

COUNTY COMMISSION MEETING MAY 3, 2022:

Sheriff Snyder and his entourage made a presentation to the commission regarding body cameras. He said it was a discussion of policy, but there was no doubt where this policy was headed.

Snyder said, “Today everyone lies.” Unfortunately, that is the truth. Law enforcement personnel are often reluctant to engage. The use of body cameras by deputies and supervisors in other jurisdictions has proven that there is a dramatic reduction in complaints by the public claiming some sort of improper behavior.

Most of the surrounding jurisdictions have them in use. I am surprised it has taken Snyder so long to request the appropriation to outfit his department. With the additional people needed, it will cost over a million dollars a year for the cameras. The department will not own the equipment but lease from Axion. The sheriff explained that most departments do it this way. Axion provides new cameras every 30 months and is responsible for maintenance and upkeep.

After a long soliloquy, Ciampi agreed that it was money well spent. Jenkins agreed as did the rest of the commissioners. Kryzda and her team were tasked to work with the sheriff to accomplish it. It passed 5-0.

There was a quick hearing on the ½ cent sales tax for the purchase of sensitive lands such as in Pal-Mar. The gist of the commission’s sentiment was that it was a fine idea whose time had not yet come. Due to inflation and the state of the economy, this was not the right time. Commissioners heard that from their constituents.

Commissioner Heard’s constituent feedback was just the opposite with her followers wanting the sales tax to buy the sensitive properties. She made a motion to have the sales tax, and it died for lack of a second.

Ciampi once again mentioned using a portion of the real estate tax proceeds from the Discovery Project to fund the buying of land. At the moment, this funding mechanism is the only way this will happen. However, even after approved, any ad valorem tax will not be available for several years.

The commission unanimously approved Don Donaldson’s contract to be the next administrator. His salary will be $220,000 per year. The contract mirrors the one that was approved for Kryzda last year. It will run for one year.

You can see it here

COMMISSION MEETING MAY 17, 2022

Forty years ago, Martin County had many undeveloped tracks of land including the eastern part of the county along Federal Highway.

One of the tracks that was platted and assigned land uses was a parcel in northern Martin County on Federal which encompassed acres and acres. It was known then as a DRI (Development of Regional Impact.) Those were substantial proposed developments that would affect the “character, magnitude or location, would have a substantial effect upon the health, safety, or welfare of citizens of more than one County.”

Over the years, many acres of this DRI were developed. No doubt, many of the residents in these developments do not even realize that their homes are part of this. The 40.5-acre West Jensen CPUD is part of it. A land use change from industrial to residential and commercial was being requested by the owner of the property.

The area is off Federal and Goldenrod. The developer is asking for 8 units per acre. A small part of the land will be used for general commercial. Some nearby residents are anxious about what was going to be built, but the development area was decided a couple of generations ago. The owners as of right could put anything from a junk yard to a factory. What is currently being proposed is ultimately a better solution.

A motion was made by Heard and seconded by Jenkins. It passed 4-0 with Smith absent.

A final site plan approval was given to KL Waterside for an industrial use. It is located on SW 96^th Street and Kanner Highway. The facility is expected to employ 400 people.  It passed 4-0

Commissioner Smith asked Martin County Utilities to compare the county’s water with different bottled waters. The utility would measure impurities and chemical compounds. As expected, the county’s water scored just the same as the bottled water except it is much less expensive. The cost to the consumer is less than ½ cent per gallon.

While I have Stuart water, it is equally as good as the county. In our household, we use it for everything from cooking to drinking. Time and time again in test after test both utilities have proven that they provide a good tasting water at a low cost. To see the tests results in a number of categories, including chemicals, in the water you can go here

TRAILSIDE A SPECIAL REPORT

STILL WAITING FOR RESPONSES

By Kyla Shay

Trailside HOA President

What are the Agencies hiding from Trailside Residents?

In the past four weeks, I have made 5 telephone calls and 3 e-mails to FWC asking for an increased presence within Pal-Mar.  I’ve demanded that they enforce their own rules.  In the past four weeks, I have had not one returned phone call or email.  Perhaps they are avoiding the issue they helped create.

I have emailed Governor DeSantis three times.  I’ve filled out the form for a private meeting in the past two weeks.  Not one call, not one returned email.

Martin County Government departments and officials have set up a follow-up meeting with us for the last week of May.  We will see if they answer any of our questions this time.  We aren’t holding our collective breaths.  They are simply “dotting their i’s and crossing their t’s” so they cannot be accused of burying their head in the sand and avoiding the issue.  Their due diligence “responsibility” will be “done” without really resolving anything.  Their condescending attitude was noted in the previous meeting.  We hope is does not recur.

I have e-mailed SFWMD executives.  Three times, 8 executives.  I did get one email back that said “this isn’t my department, but I’ll forward it for you.” No return emails and no phone calls.

No response from the Martin County Sheriff Department.  Most of our calls for a deputy go unanswered.  We are simply not a priority. But our tax dollars are funding the Sheriff’s department.  And they assure us they are here to protect us.

Department of Environmental Protections did a fly-over with SFWMD over 6 weeks ago.  I have left 3messages and sent 3 emails.  No response.  No action.  NO COURTESY.

I did receive a personal telephone call from our SFWMD governor-appointed representative, Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch.  We had a lengthy conversation on what has been happening in Pal-Mar and the negative effects that Trailside is experiencing.  She is the only person that has bothered to respond to our appeals for help.  Every other agency is ignoring the issue.  We have faith that Jacqui will help us resolve this issue.

On May 3, 2022, at 5: 57 pm. Ammonium Nitrate “bombs” were exploded in Pal-Mar.  The Sheriff’s department did not respond to the telephone 911 call.

On May 7-8, 2022, Pal-Mar hosted a “friends-and-family” event where guests were welcomed and encouraged to tear up other lot owners’ land.  The line of vehicles hauling in ATV’s stretched for over a mile on Pratt-Whitney Road.  All weekend, we heard them having a great time destroying the wetlands and flag ponds.  Where were the FWC officers, the sheriff’s deputies, DEP, SFWMD, and Martin County Growth Management?  They certainly were not in Pal-Mar observing, let alone curbing, the negligent behavior.

The shooting continues unabated. We continue to call for sheriff’s deputies for help. There is nothing they will do to help us.

As FWC, SFWMD, FDEP continue to ignore a horrendous destruction of our vital resources, we are left with the attitude they do not care. What are they hiding?

It does make me wonder, what are the multiple agencies hiding?  What part did their agencies play in allowing this destruction and terrorization of a neighborhood who follows the rules? Since the agencies in question are too busy ducking their responsibilities, we shall have to seek the truth without them.

Why are Martin County Commissioners & Martin County Growth Management hiding a proposed land swap deal? Wouldn’t it benefit the county to have ownership of the remainder of 2500 lots within Pal-Mar? At that point, Martin County and SFWMD could work out usage agreements with the remaining lot owners.

Why do the Commissioners need Trailside lot owners to petition the Governor for funds to buy the land? Well, they certainly haven’t made the request themselves. And if we accomplished this feat for them (but we don’t know how many funds to petition for) would the Sheriff’s department, FWC, SFWMD and Martin County Growth Management enforce their own rules then?  Definitely thoughts to ponder.

We are still awaiting answers.

Kyla Shay’s opinions are her own and may not reflect Friends & Neighbors viewpoint.

WHERE HAVE ALL THE ENVIRONMENTALISTS GONE?

“Where Have All the Flowers Gone” is a folk song by Pete Seeger, written in the 1950s. It reached its height in popularity during the Vietnam War protest movement.

The last time I was driving from Trailside back to Stuart, that song became stuck in my head. I was thinking about the plight of the Trailside residents and Pal-Mar being ecologically destroyed by supposed owners of the tiny lots that now make up much of the Pal-Mar property.

I began singing the song to myself and substituting Martin County ecologists in place of flowers. Like the soldiers dying in a war mentioned in Seeger’s song, places like Pal-Mar that disappear can never be replaced. So far in this tragic plight, not one environmental organization or so-called environmentalist has said a word about this destruction.

Everglades Foundation, don’t you care about wetlands or is it only when some landowner wants to build a project on his property that you pipe up? Sure, there is no massive housing project going in at Pal-Mar, but there are trailers and campers being brought in and shacks being constructed one at time in violation of the rules and the comp plan that you claim to want to uphold and preserve. Dragging a trailer across ecologically sensitive lots not even owned by the miscreant is an egregious violation of our environmental laws.

The Guardians and Director Braun Trailside residents would like to ask if the destruction of native species by four wheelers only counts when the rich say it does. Where are the 1000 Friends of Florida complaining about unregulated hunting that goes on out-of-season and for species that should be protected not slaughtered? How about all the usual suspects who call themselves environmentalists and come to commission meetings to bemoan any change in land use even on an old farm site, while earth moving is going on at Pal-Mar without the benefit of any permits.

FWC has jurisdiction but apparently it is too hard to make sure that their own rules are enforced. It is ludicrous that they do not give out gate keys only to legitimate permit holders, but they leave the gate unguarded and unlocked for anyone to call Pal-Mar home. South Florida Water Management District is one of the largest property owners in Pal-Mar yet seems incapable of making sure that the land will be used to clean water headed for the Everglades and Florida Bay as it is intended to do instead of being a race track for four wheelers.

Where have all the county commissioners gone? I know they claim they can’t talk about anything because of pending litigation. The litigation concerns dues that should or should not be paid to the Pal-Mar Board. I am tired of listening to that same refrain in the county’s songbook. They simply won’t enforce our building codes because they are afraid of the big bad men defying their rules.

Lastly, where is the law? The duly sworn sheriff and deputies who have pledged to enforce all laws. We hear about the helicopters and how they can swoop down and make sure that lawbreakers are caught in the act. Where are the drones paid for by tax dollars patrolling the skies looking for those not obeying the law? Would it be different if the Pal-Mar gunmen belonged to a Broward street gang coming here to do bad?

How do you think the landowners of Trailside feel when confronted with the lack of responsibility by all these elected and appointed officials? All of whom are on the government payroll yet won’t lift a finger to do their duty. Just another day in the life of a fool…but that is a different lyric from a different popular song…though it could apply to the governments here.

(This appeared in Martin County Moment)

Letter From Gary Krosin

Trailside Owner

Our immediate problem is the random gunfire coming from Pal-Mar to our south.  Semi-automatic AND automatic fire cadence.  Rifles, not shotguns.

This is a serious, legitimate safety issue which severely affects and restricts our right to “peaceable assembly,” which is a First Amendment guarantee, to its core, from the US Constitution.

We cannot safely take a walk around our own neighborhood!

We cannot “peaceably assemble” on our own horses and take a pleasant walk, or trot on our bridle paths, which are on the extreme, “exposed” perimeter of Trailside.

Our immediate goal and requirement are to curtail the shooting, at least in the northerly direction coming from Pal-Mar.

As you could each well see from your personal visit of April 25, 2022 (Campenni, Representative Snyder and his aide,) we Trailsiders do support the Second Amendment… if responsibly followed.

We Trailsiders are not a proper target of any “well regulated Militia,” as the Second Amendment calls for.

We simply want to peacefully coexist with those who presently disrespect our life, liberty, and our pursuit of happiness.

On the environmental side of the situation, clearly the landowners and users of this section of Pal-Mar have substantially defaced the wetlands. There is no respect for property lines at all.

Per SFWMD rules, any “innocent” property owner is still personally responsible for wetland damage occurring on his owned lot. This is true whether the actual landowner did the damage, or if his “neighbor “multiple lots away did the damage.

One could make an argument, that “eminent domain” in favor of properly maintained wetlands should apply.

These defaced lands need to be returned to the “public.”

Clearly, private owners have betrayed the public trust on proper custodianship of these wetlands.

Private owners should be compensated at fair value for their land, minus restoration and remediation expenses….and bought out. Just like the CARL (“Conservation and Recreational Lands”) buyback program was intended to do during the 1990s, but did not.

This buyout would include the “Be a Man Buy Land” organization, presently selling lots in Pal-Mar.

See:  https://beamanbuyland.com

If SFWMD, FWC, DER, and other agencies having jurisdiction follow their own rules and requirements for wetland preservation, many of these promoted uses would be called out as not allowed. Please note the letter sent to Pal-Mar private property owners earlier this year by Don Donaldson, Deputy County Administrator.

Numerous violations are enumerated:

“Negotiating” with these owners is a tough proposition. They tend to shoot first and encourage no dialogue, let alone…questions. There is no official Homeowner’s Association. There are no official “representatives” of the lot owners.

The local Martin County Sheriff officers are understandably reluctant to risk their own lives dealing with these owners. They don’t want to get shot at, either…

It seems the only appropriate agencies of sufficient force and authority rests upon the US Army, National Guard, or similar!

It might be instructive, as a means of testing their “civility” to post this sign on their Pal-Mar entry roads:

If the signs get shot out, run over, or otherwise destroyed, we have our answer:  the Pal-Mar owners have zero respect for our concerns, let alone personal safety. if the signs do not get damaged, perhaps the mayhem…might stop.

Personally, I will gladly pay the cost and install the signs myself.

We at Trailside simply want our way of quiet, peaceful life, to return!!

Gary Krosin’s opinions are his own and may not reflect Friends & Neighbors viewpoint.

IF YOU ARE NOT A SUBSCRIBER DO SO FOR FREE HERE

BOCC MEETING APRIL 19, 2022:

Most of the meeting was consumed by the rural lifestyle amendment.

There were more than fifty public comments that by my count were almost 3 to 1 against passage. Some of the public made statements in opposition that were not factual. And a minority would have been against anything that would be proposed. Most people just didn’t have the information they expected.

Paul Schilling, Director of Growth Management, and his team gave a presentation of the amendment as did the applicant’s consultant. The Guardians, who had held two informational meetings for the public, could only perhaps support Discovery. Smith commented on the quality of staff. I’m not sure that the timing of his praise was appropriate. They had something to do with the debacle that this was becoming. Culpability belongs not just with Schilling. It goes all the way up the staff chain including a misreading of the public.

Commissioner Heard was the most critical. Her examples of what could be built using the classification for a fictional 1500 acres were accurate but highly improbable. What she did expose was that guidelines for what could be built were not as complete as they should have been. This is something that needs more work. Every home built could have an ancillary dwelling that could be ½ as many square feet as the main dwelling. Another thing that the growth management team admitted was that for dormitory housing for staff, the current draft allows the building to be four stories. Not exactly rural lifestyle.

What became clear especially to Hetherington was that there are few parcels that would qualify for this use. Then why is it needed? It quickly became apparent that this amendment affecting the entire county was sinking the Discovery project. It was as though they had pointed a gun to their own heads.

Ciampi reiterated that the amendment was too broad. Heard moved to deny the adoption and it was seconded by Ciampi.

Jenkins could hardly contain himself. He stated he “bleeds Hobe Sound.” He thought the Guardians were in favor of the amendment. He doesn’t understand what happened. It is a vehicle to contain the urban service boundary. He had a 2-hour lunch with a high school friend who lives on Jupiter Island to explain why it was good. Jenkins’ friend then told him that it was a no brainer to support it.

It may be a no brainer, but not everyone is lucky enough to have a two-hour lunch with a commissioner to receive a thorough explanation and have their questions answered. The next best thing would have been to have lots of community meetings conducted by professionals to provide thorough explanations.

Jenkins moved to approve which was eventually seconded by Smith who passed the gavel to Ciampi. During discussion, Hetherington said this project and concept did not come overnight to the public. Hurley of Becker Farms is a great guy, but she can’t support the text amendment to be for the entire county. She is fearful for the future, but the applicant should not have to be responsible for the entire county.

Hetherington asked if the use could be site specific. The county’s attorney said it could but not today. Then Smith blamed the public backlash for the amendment on Stuart’s development projects which seemed highly inappropriate and comparing a dog with a cat.

It is beyond a stupid statement. First, if development should occur, shouldn’t it be inside the urban area? Second, the rural lifestyle amendment was intended for vast acreage in western Martin County. To equate the two is the height of hypocrisy. Stuart commissioners should do everything possible to ignore him since he clearly is the city’s enemy even though Smith represents a substantial part of the city.

Finally, the Board moved to table the resolution and to bring it back later without requiring any additional fees. It passed 4-1 with Heard dissenting.

You can read more about this at HERE

TRAILSIDE A SPECIAL REPORT

ANSWERS AND ACTIONS OR MORE GOVERNMENT FINGER POINTING????

By Kyla Shay

Trailside HOA President

Pal-Mar is an ecological disaster on so many levels.  Trailside Homeowner’s Association has asked for answers from all of our local and state governmental agencies.  We do not get answers.  We get finger pointing to other agencies who direct us back in a continuous circular motion. There have been no answers given, just excuses:  “kick the can down the road” is the favored approach.

Here is an aerial from the Martin County Property Appraiser’s Office.

Note the vast number of tiny lots on Pal-Mar… (Trailside lots are 20 acres± for comparison.)

Here is how Pal-Mar is supposed to look, from Google Earth:

And from the same exact viewpoint, here is how Pal-Mar adjoining Trailside looks now:

In March of this year, a group of Trailside residents confronted the county commissioners at a regular meeting.  The result… they would like us to write to Governor DeSantis.  This week we met with our local state Representative John Snyder.  He was not aware of anyone in Martin County’s local government having approached Florida State government for either help or funds to purchase back the Pal-Mar land.  It appears that our Martin County Commissioners are waiting for us to do their job for them…

On January 27, 2022, after repeated complaints about the ecological destruction of the sensitive lands within Pal-Mar, Martin County Deputy Administrator Don Donaldson sent a letter to all Martin County Pal-Mar lot owners.  Mr. Donaldson has received irate telephone calls from some of the lot owners, but from our side of the Pal-Mar fence, nothing has changed.  This last week, we witnessed four camper vehicles being hauled into Pal-Mar to join the other structures out there.

According to the real estate listings of lots for sale there, it states that a lot owner may:

Bring camper vehicles in as long as they are not permanent houses

Camp, hunt, fish and ride ATV’s.

Have access to 8000+ acres for your personal recreational pleasure (whether it’s “your” lot or not).

This is a misrepresentation of what we are told is actually allowed within Pal-Mar. Who is telling the truth?  Dump trucks with fill travel along the drainage berm illegally dumping dirt.  Where are the permits for this?  Has Code Enforcement been out to start citing people?  NO:  they are fearful of the rampant, seemingly random gun discharges to venture into lawless Pal-Mar without a law enforcement presence.

We understand their fear.  We live here!  We get to experience bullets crossing into our platted, gated community’s boundaries.  Every week.  We have lost our First Amendment right to “peaceably assemble.”  It is no longer safe, nor prudent to take a pleasant neighborhood walk, or even enjoy our own back yards, or ride a horse— lest the rider get “bucked off” by a scared, startled horse.  Take a moment, and then take a deep breath:  Put yourself and your family members in our shoes (and stirrups)!

The Sheriff’s Department instructed us to call them promptly when we hear gunfire close to us.  We do call.  Typically, it takes about an hour for the deputy to arrive.  A deputy takes our report:  add another half-hour. We are told their next action is that they will go out to Pal-Mar and look to see what they can find.  Is that happening?  We really don’t know.  Often, they tell us there is nothing they can do about it.

“Just keep reporting it,” we are asked.

The Martin County Prosecutor’s office states there is nothing they can do either!  We are told there is case law that prohibits it.  The Pal-Mar lot owners have a right to enjoy their land.  But are they even on their own property?  See attached photos please…vehicle tracks everywhere…zero respect for any “property lines.”

With ¼ acre to 1 acre lots, it is not safe to be firing weapons.  There is just not enough space.  Law enforcement must determine who actually fired— who held the gun at the time of the “shot.”  In the recent case in Indiantown, about five weeks ago with great bodily injury, four people admitted to firing the weapon.  There were no arrests.  Police and prosecutors cannot say which of the four fired the actual shot that caused injury.  No justice for the injured.  Perpetrators get better treatment under the law than do the victims!

In the 1990’s Pal-Mar was designated as 47^th on a list of 85 sensitive lands under Florida State’s 1979 Conservation and Recreational Lands (“CARL”) program.  Recommendation was to purchase the lands to protect the surface water that is vital to the area.

Today, ATV riders have destroyed the flag ponds within Pal-Mar.  In the past, lot owners within Pal-Mar had to walk in or bicycle into their lots. They were not allowed to utilize ATV’s or dirt bikes for access.  No motorized vehicles of any type were allowed in the interior.

Today, it’s a free-for-all, a complete mess of a train wreck.  Each day we listen to ATV’s tearing up the ecologically sensitive lands.  As mentioned earlier, a letter was written to the Pal-Mar lot owners by Martin County on January 27, 2022, reminding them of allowed and disallowed property uses.  What has been done for follow up?

Apparently, Martin County Growth Management and South Florida Water Management District (“SFWMD”) will not even enforce on their own actual owned, and damaged, lands.  For example, if a Pal-Mar owner has property next to SFWMD parcels, and then tears up his parcel and also the adjacent SFWMD parcels, each lot owner bears the onus of remediation and “repair,” but only of his own property.  There has been no evidence of the Pal-Mar owners being cited, and SFWMD seems not to care about fixing up their own damaged properties.  There is no accountability against reckless Pal-Mar lot owners.  It’s like having a neighbor who trashes your lot but is not required to pay for your damages!  Sensible people and government officials would likely agree this “no-fault” concept is quite ludicrous in the context of land destruction.

The Department of Environmental Protection did a flyover with SFWMD about a month ago.  What is the result of the flyover?  Silence, or less, is all we are “hearing” from these agencies.

The metal lead content in the bullets is damaging the ecological system (bullets embedded in the canal banks, or the canal itself, which releases lead into the water.)  Defenders of Wildlife report “Illegal shooting and lead poisoning are among the primary threats to bald eagles”.  Their report can be found at defenders.org.  Pal-Mar and Trailside have always been prime Bald Eagle nesting areas, not a good place for lead poisoning.

Furthermore, why is the main entrance gate, “Gate One,” on Pratt Whitney Road (C.R. 711) not locked as the Florida Wildlife Commission (“FWC”) has the right to do? We have been told by FWC there have been too many lot purchasers. FWC issues the keys. With the large amount of request for keys, they could not keep up.

Verbal threats about denying legal lot owners’ access to their land was mentioned as the reason the lock was taken off the gate. Gate Seven, elsewhere, has a lock still on it. Why? We are told certain Pal-Mar lot owners did not want their land trespassed on. How are they special while other lots are being destroyed? Special interests? Fear of lawsuits? Anyone’s guess is as good as ours. FWC does not have answers for us. They tell us to call the Sheriff’s Department. OK, been there, done that.  Next suggestion….?

We do realize that the damage done to the lots owned by SFWMD, Martin County, and Pal-Mar lot owners who are following the original rules set forth for Pal-Mar will cost the taxpayers of Martin County, the State of Florida, and private lot owners tens of thousands of dollars, or more, to fix destruction that they did not cause.  Allowing this behavior to continue will only increase these costs.  Each of us gets to pay for damage caused by the lawless, destructive behavior of others.

When will we get action and answers?

Who is in charge?

Who will be accountable and act responsibly and effectively?

When can the residents of Trailside get to enjoy OUR guaranteed First Amendment rights again?

Kyla Shay’s opinions are her own and may not reflect Friends & Neighbors viewpoint.

TRAILSIDE CONTINUES:

This week, I attended a meeting between Trailside residents and Representative John Snyder at Trailside.

There were twelve residents in attendance including the farm manager of a still working farm next door whose employees have had shots whizzing by as they worked in the fields. Over and over, those attending said that they feared for their lives. Someone whose home is close to Pal Mar left his property last Saturday because the gunfire was non-stop and intense.

The commission goes on about a rural lifestyle, but this community is what it is all about. The homes in this community are on 20-acre ranchettes. Some of the people have larger properties. This is a group of people who are not averse to the outdoors. They own cows, and horses, chickens, and goats. Most have houses but a few just have fields and barns.

Indiscriminate shooting from Pal-Mar has prevented these law-abiding citizens from enjoying the full use of their property. These are not Second Amendment bashers. When I asked for a show of hands for how many people owned firearms, everyone raised their hands. Many of the residents were born in Martin County. So again, it isn’t a band of northerners moving here and then trying to change their surroundings.

If anyone is trying to change those surroundings, it is the new acre and quarter-acre landowners in Pal Mar. Many are from down south and think they have been given the right to shoot at anything alive or dead moving or not. They tear up the wetlands with their four wheelers. The county and sheriff are taking a hands-off approach. It is a breakdown of law and order.

Someone is going to die. That isn’t hyperbole but a fact. Last month a woman was killed in Indiantown after being shot when her neighbors were target shooting. No arrest has been made even though they know the four individuals who were shooting the gun at the time. I was made aware of this by Trailside residents. Is this the fate of someone in Trailside?

The people who pay taxes, live in Martin County, and vote are being told that the county’s hands are tied. Sherrif Snyder says there are procedures to follow whatever those are. FWC and DEP are allowing illegal use of the lands of Pal Mar. Aren’t all these layers of government for a purpose other than collecting taxes and providing people with employment?

We have reverted to the 19^th century wild west. Should the Trailside folks hire their own gun slingers to clean out the “nesters” south of the canal? Government is saying that residents are on their own in the wilds of Western Martin County every time a beehive or barn is shot up without any repercussions.

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COUNTY COMMISSION MEETING NOV. 16, 2021

This was the BOCC re-organization meeting.

Jenkins nominated Smith to be chair. It was seconded by Ciampi. The vote was 5-0. Jenkins then nominated Ciampi as vice-chair which was seconded by Hetherington. The vote was 5-0.

Smith is an old pro at the job and is more than capable. I want to congratulate him on once again being chair. Hetherington did an outstanding job for her year.

I am a bit disheartened…not that Doug was elected but that Heard has not been nominated by the board. I know there were years when Smith was ostracized by Heard and the other commissioners. He was not given his chance to be chair and other slights. Now I guess it is payback. When does payback end?

Though the election for commissioner is partisan, there are currently five elected Republicans on the commission. Our factions within the commission are more determined by how much growth a commissioner is in favor of. The role of chair is ceremonial as the presiding officer and setting the meeting agendas. The position should be a shared responsibility.

This meeting was supposed to be where the vaunted comp plan was to be eviscerated. The commissioners fooled all those who believed that they would throw out Chapter 2 of the plan. That chapter was authored by Maggy Hurchalla and made it into the plan in 2016.

This thorough review was precipitated by the state requiring a new element be added to every comprehensive plan regarding property rights. Just like Chapter 2 is unnecessary, so too is this element. Staff took this as an opportunity to look at the entire plan for inconsistencies. They said that most of Chapter 2 is inconsistent with the current plan and unnecessary.

There were many speakers during public comment that were against the changes, and others did not understand what was being proposed. It looked as if the commission was setting itself up for a protracted battle.

When the item was called, Commissioner Ciampi immediately spoke. He recognized the concerns of the public and saw that they had questions. He praised staff and said they were not political, mentioned the number of emails received, and acknowledged the politicization of the plan. He said that the comp plan should not be political.

Ciampi then made a motion that the property rights element be adopted with any necessary language in other parts of the plan for it to be incorporated and that staff come up with a process for more public education and input. Jenkins seconded the motion and it passed 5-0

In 2023, the county will be required by state statute to do an Evaluation and Appraisal Report (EAR) to update the entire comprehensive plan. That is a process that will go into all the elements of the comp plan with extensive opportunity for the public to be heard. That process will begin in 2022. The commissioners and public agree that the EAR process is the place where a robust discussion of Chapter 2 should take place.

Ciampi and the rest of the commission acted politically smart but also as good public servants. They all agreed the public should have a forum to comment on the plan. I believe there was universal agreement.

You can find the changes  here

COMMISSION DISTRICTS

The commission was supposed to tackle its own redistricting at the meeting. They were presented with district maps and options. When Ciampi said staff was not political, he was not kidding. And while I don’t think districts should be drawn to favor political parties, there are no political districts in Martin County.

Every person, regardless of commission district, votes for every commissioner. There is no “one man, one vote” aspect which was a Supreme Court case that found that districts must be equal in population when the elected official only receives votes in that district (congressional districts.) There is Florida statute that says districts like Martin County’s should be drawn as compact and be as close in population as possible.

The districts that staff drew only take into consideration population with a 1% difference while other counties have a 3-6% deviation in population. The City of Stuart is split between two county districts. As a city resident, I would prefer to have one commissioner not two. Neighborhoods should remain under one commissioner’s district.

Why is there not more of a population deviation? There are not commission voting districts only commission MSTU districts. The larger the unincorporated population is in a district, the more you collect for those slush funds known as district funds. Municipalities are not taxed since they pay for municipal services through city taxes. The MSTU money cannot be spent in cities.

The commission realized that what the staff proposed was not going to fly. They were given their marching orders to come up with other solutions. Like the school board for school redistricting, the county should have a citizen committee that considers staff’s recommendation but then draws district lines and those are presented to the BOCC for approval.

If that system is good enough for Martin County’s children to determine where they will attend school, it should be good enough for the adults in our county. The commission should pass an ordinance now for such a committee for the next update in a decade.

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COMMISSION MEETING NOVEMBER 2, 2021:

Chapter 2 of the comprehensive plan was discussed in public comment.

On November 16^th, the commission will be discussing the plan. In our News & Views Section of this edition, County Administrator Kryzda goes into detail as to why this is occurring. I urge you to read her statement if you have not already. There is a brief synopsis of the changes here

It was an interesting meeting if you believe the job of a county commissioner is to spend tax “mucho” dollars.

Apparently, the Stuart Air Show, a private enterprise, needs another $23,000 of county funds to pay for additional fire protection. That is in addition to $25,000 already allocated from the county. The money will come from the airport enterprise fund.

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Smith and Ciampi, who never turned down an appeal if taxpayers are paying, told us it was a wise investment. They spoke about the usual reasons including “heads in beds” and full restaurants. The number of county residents who own a hotel or restaurant in the county is extremely limited. If what they claim is true, they are still taking money from the residents and subsidizing businesses. Remember 93% of sales tax collected goes to the state not to the county.

Heard noted that over the years the county has given generously to the Stuart Air Show. There is no audit of the activity. No agreement…no deliverables… in short no accountability.

Ciampi made the motion to give the additional funds. It was seconded by Jenkins. It passed 4-1 with Heard dissenting.

DISTRICT FUNDS & 40 MORE FIRE/RECUE PERSONNEL

The slush fund known as District Funds is an MSTU collected by levying a tax on unincorporated taxpayers in each commission district. The commissioner for the district can allocate those funds pretty much as he/she sees fit. The system works well if it used as intended. Hetherington and especially Jenkins use that money conservatively. Ciampi spends it freely, but the projects are usually related to infrastructure.

Smith is very liberal with his allocated funds. It was no surprise that he would spend $200,000 toward installation and a base with a water feature to display a donated $300,000 Geoffrey Smith sculpture. It is being donated by an individual through the Community Foundation. It will be in Indian Riverside Park.

From his district funds so far this year, Smith has spent nearly $40,000 for a bar top for the beach café and $200,000 for a better-looking roof for a new fire station. There have been other expenditures also.

I am sure the work of art will be beautiful. I could even see spending taxpayer money on a marble or stone base and installation for the sculpture. That would cost about $60,000. Commissioner Smith has chosen to use taxpayer dollars to create a work of art for the work of art.

The vote was 4-1 with Heard dissenting.

The Fire/Rescue Department is applying for a SAFER Grant that will help defer the costs of hiring an additional 40 FTEs. The grant will partially pay for the first three years of costs, and the county will pay a little less than half the costs for those employees for that period. The reason for the increase bodies is to offset the increase calls for service.

The department has already added 5 additional ambulances which have to be staffed. Because of that, they are currently paying $3 million in overtime. The Fire Chief indicated that the additional FTEs would eliminate the overtime. At current rates in three years after the SAFER Grant ends, those 40 personnel will add $4 about million per year to the fire MSTU.

How many more employees can the county absorb? There needs to be someone looking outside the box to find a solution. We are adding employees faster than residents. A solution is not going to be found by hiring consultants who are retired from fire/rescue departments. When the commission will need super majorities to raise taxes, then what will happen?

The agenda item is here

The vote was 4-1 with Heard dissenting.

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COMMISSION MEETING JULY 13, 2021:

Commissioner Jenkins has received inquiries from his constituents about the Harmony litigation.

Harmony is a proposed development in western Hobe Sound. The property owners are suing the county for not agreeing to their development plan. The commission turned down the submission 5-0. That was a good decision for the county overall. When Smith and Heard both vote no on the same project, I need say no more.

The developers took the county to court. After recent rulings that were favorable to the BOCC, the county was ready for trial. One of those rulings held each party responsible for paying their own legal fees, so the landowners have now requested an extension of time. The judge granted that request.

Everyone should know the county is ready to go as soon as possible.

TIME TO PAY THE PIPER

If you remember almost a year ago, the commission unanimously approved a new contract with Waste Management. There were two other bidders at lower prices, but the commission unanimously chose Martin County’s long-time hauler. During the process, the commissioners went to great lengths to justify their positions.

I do not need to go over the reasons that this newsletter and the Martin County Taxpayers Association were opposed. (If interested, you can read the taxpayers’ article here

And the newsletter here

Homeowners will receive a 19% increase in the first year. Commissioner Hetherington pulled the item from the consent agenda. She wanted to know if the amount could be phased in. At this point, the answer is no. The contract is signed. This is just a formality.

It is like the ridiculousness of raising the debt ceiling by Congress. Congress acts as if by not doing so they are being fiscally prudent. That is ludicrous since Congress has already appropriated and spent the money. Raising the debt ceiling is only paying the bills you voted to incur.

Hetherington is not being cynical as they are in Washington. I am going to cut her some slack. But at this point after more than two years, she should now understand what the implications are of her votes. Sticking taxpayers with a 19% increase that could have been avoided is the outcome.

Ciampi made a motion to move ahead with the increase that was seconded by Smith. It passed 3-1 with Heard absent and Hetherington voting no. Voting no on this is like voting no on the debt ceiling…too late.

PAVING ROADS & MORE DISPATCHERS

There are an incredible number of unpaved roads in the county. And once again the staff is looking for direction on what to do. They prepared a presentation outlining where the roads are and who presently maintains them.

It was agreed to lower the number of parcel owners along a road needed to move ahead and assess the property owners to paved roads from 67% to 51%. Reaching the higher number becomes problematic especially on roads that have only a few property owners.

Contrary to the publicity and propaganda, Martin County wants to believe it is rural but actually wants all the services of a city. From offering municipal services such as fire to trash collection, we have become a very urban county.

That is true even in places out west. The BOCC decided that all services must be equally provided to all residents. While that may sound egalitarian, the more that residents are separated from each other by space, the more expensive it is to provide “urban” services resulting in the more urban residents subsidizing the rural ones.

The commission tasked the staff to come back with a plan to spend a million dollars more a year on these roads for ten years. You can see the presentation here

Fire Chief Chad Cianciulli has determined that he needs an additional five dispatchers to manage fire/rescue calls. Five dispatchers are the equivalent of an additional person on duty 24 hours a day seven days per week. Last year calls increased 4.6%. The chief is also claiming the new hires will reduce overtime.

I do not know whether new employees are needed or not. What I do know is nowhere in the backup material were any costs outlined. Not one commissioner asked how much this will cost the taxpayers. Commissioner Hetherington, will you vote no later to allocate the funds after the new people are trained? It is going to be hundreds of thousands of dollars more in expense.

When Fire/Rescue calls for more of anything, all the commissioners except Heard vote yes. No questions are asked. Ciampi stated it makes perfect sense and made a motion to hire. Smith seconded the motion. The vote was 4-0 with Heard absent.

COMMISSION BUDGET MEETING JULY 20, 2021

In a little more than two hours, the board approved the 2021/22 budget for Martin County.

In truth, there was truly little to do. Most of the increases were driven by an additional 5% for health insurance, a Tallahassee mandated increase in the retirement plan, and salary adjustments. Commissioner Heard noted that she was troubled by the growth in the budget.

The General Fund is increasing from 6.7618 to 6.9275. That is the rate that all Martin County Taxpayers are charged. The MSTUs go from 3.5152 to 3.5161. This is the tax that only unincorporated residents pay. And of course, do not forget the district funds that all unincorporated taxpayers will be charged. The amount depends in which commission district you reside.

The sheriff’s budget jumped by 6.5% to $79 million. That is an increase to nearly $500 for each resident of Martin County wherever the citizen resides. His deputies’ labor contract has a “me too” clause that their pay will be a similar increase as any raise negotiated by the firefighters. Which means, like so many things, this too can go up even more than anticipated.

I knew that Heard was going to vote against the budget, but I did not think that Hetherington would. She had voted yes on almost all the individual department budgets. Hetherington said something about some of the FTE positions could be eliminated. She did not elaborate.

A motion was made by Smith and seconded by Jenkins to vote for the tentative budget of $530 million and millage rate. The vote was 3-2 with Hetherington and Heard voting no. You can see the 2021/2022 budget here

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COMMISSION MEETING MAY 11, 2021:

After Commissioner Jenkins asked the question regarding ending mandatory wearing of masks, Administrator Kryzda provided the answer.

The policy of mandatory mask wearing will end in county buildings on June 1^st. She said that will give everyone regardless of age the opportunity to be vaccinated and have the additional two weeks for the full immunity needed. This deadline will also apply to the Emergency Family Leave that was extended to this date.

THE SHERIFF & MENTAL HEALTH

Sheriff Snyder gave a presentation on what his department has seen regarding the mental health of our citizens.

There have been 2,358 calls regarding a person with mental problems from January 2019 to April 30, 2021. In 2019 there were 776 people that were involuntarily placed in custody using the Baker Act. During 2020, 711 people were. Deputies responded to 186 overdoses in 2019 and 224 in 2020. There were 8 suicides in 2019 and 18 in 2020. Those are staggering statistics for a county our size.

Within the jail complex, there has been a 21.8% increase in mental health incidents year over year. In 2020 there were 964 as compared to 1174 this year. There is a 67% increase in psychotropic medication prescribed over the same period for inmates. This statistic is for inmates with new prescriptions not those that were already on medication before they entered the system.

This is not something unique to Martin County. We see this throughout the nation. The U.S. has relegated the mentally ill to the penal system for care. This has placed our law enforcement in the precarious position of dealing with a population, but they have had little training in this area. We continue to see the results of this societal failure in police shootings and civilian deaths.

Sheriff Snyder is searching for answers. He has instituted crisis intervention training and case management. There is a full-time mental health councilor on staff. He is formulating an alternative response unit.

It has been found that people in uniforms with all their equipment could add to the stress of a mentally ill person. At the same time, even if a trained civilian responds to a call, the mental health professional would still need law enforcement to be with them. After 40 years of closing institutions, we know that leaving the mentally ill and their families to deal with this illness on their own has not worked.

I would imagine that MCSO’s solution is to spend law enforcement dollars on something that the health care system should be doing. A police officer or deputy is an expensive and not remarkably successful resource for doing so. We need to let law enforcement deal with crime and not turn illness into criminal behavior.

CRA CLASSIFICATION

A few months ago, the CRA and Growth Management departments brought an amendment allowing that in the zoning classification of Marine Waterfront Commercial, there should be a way to have residential development and public access. Both does not seem hard to accomplish.

At the present within that classification, you could have restaurants, marinas, boat yards, offices, retail, and everything else including hotels but not a residential development. This residential prohibition applies to both condos and single-family homes.

The change proposed would be to allow residential development within this zoning classification. There will also be a requirement that the public be given access to the waterfront much like what Stuart has done with their boardwalk system.

You would think this would be a no brainer…not in Martin County. Heard and Smith expressed fright that the small marinas may disappear. Heard also spoke about the shoreline setbacks. John Yudin, representing the Maritime Industries Association, said he was not in favor of the change because it may affect his members.

Decades ago, the commission placed this protection in the code because they were afraid that residential growth would overtake smaller industries. Apparently even with protections, there has been no growth in opening more working marinas and boat yards in the CRAs. That tells me that more of these uses within this area probably will not occur.

Government trying to protect certain industries happens all the time. It happens in places like New York, where for years they have tried to keep garment manufacturing through zoning prohibitions alive and well in Midtown Manhattan, to no avail. You can almost forgive an anti-free market Democratic city from thinking it knows best. What is Republican Martin County’s excuse for ignoring market trends?

Smith, but to a lesser extent some other commissioners, spoke about visioning sessions in CRAs that occurred more than 20 years ago as if the people then are the same as those living there today. Markets change and trying to create a vision that is 20 years old is economic and socially irresponsible. Ciampi asked if you could still operate or open a marine business. The answer was yes.

Even with the new loosening of allowing residential building, it would still need to be a mixed-use project.  While it is better than no residential at all, it still requires an unnecessary element instead of allowing the market to decide. Within the CRAs, all projects are infill. There is no pristine habitat being sacrificed. It should be purely market driven. It appears the market wants more residences on the water with docks.

All the wringing of hands by some was just show. Smith made the motion to accept, and it was seconded by Jenkins who does not wring his hands. It passed 4-1 with Heard dissenting.

To see the presentation, go here

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