Category Archives: City of Stuart

The Decision Is Still Ours

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Florida will continue to experience huge population growth from now until 2060.

 

A new study by Woods & Poole Economics, a firm specializing in long-term economic and demographic trends, shows that the Villages will be the number one metro area for growth in the U.S. between now and 2060. Orlando, Cape Coral, and Naples-Marco Island are all high on the list to experience exponential growth by 2060.

 

The Port St. Lucie metro area will grow from 511,300 people today to 920,600 by 2060. The Port St Lucie MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area) has that city as its hub. The city’s population is now 212,901 residents, and it is currently the 7th largest city, by population, in Florida.

Florida scrub habitat in early springtime at Lake Kissimmee State Park in Lake Wales.

Fort Pierce is part of the Port St. Lucie MSA and so is all of Martin County. Where do you think the additional 400,000 plus residents are going to live by 2060? It is highly likely that a big subsection of these new residents will call our county home, and to believe otherwise is denying the data.

 

What the study also showed was the growing urbanization of most of America in the past 20 years, and it is projected to continue. Government policies that do not take this into consideration will fail. Saying no to projects because of some belief that you control the use of land owned by other people will fail.

 

If Florida were an independent country, it’s economy would rank 15th in the world. By 2030, we could be ranked 10th according to a study conducted by the Florida Chamber. There is no study that doesn’t expect Florida to be an economic powerhouse now and well into the future. People are moving here not to just retire anymore but to make their fortunes and find jobs.

 

Tallahassee wants and needs tax revenue now and in the future. They need to keep the train moving to accomplish it. One place they will be looking to make sure ample housing and economic opportunities exist will be in Martin County. The days of saying no are over. There is no longer the luxury of many residents being armchair nay sayers.

 

Costco and the Kanner PUD are a good project that should go forward. It has less density than what Stuart’s comp plan allows. The state DEO pointed that out when it went for review. The developer, now owner, of the site has an excellent chance of prevailing with the Governor’s Council, but if not, it will be a slam dunk in the owner’s favor in court.

 

The state must find adequate housing for millions of people. I don’t mean affordable or attainable or work force…I mean homes to house the folks who are flocking here from all over the U.S. Businesses of all types will open to serve the population. Our growing population will fill those jobs and open those businesses. Tallahassee is not going to have a few naïve people stop it. The economic and demographic juggernaut that is and will be Florida will continue.

 

Either we are going to have rational housing policies in Stuart and Martin County by good planning or the state will do it. If the state does the planning for us, I can assure you that Martin County will be looking more like other parts of the Port St. Lucie MSA and even Broward. The decision for another year or two is still ours…after that look for the final decisions to be more and more made in Tallahassee if our county has not realigned its thinking.

Thank You Commissioner Hetherington

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Some people are saying that Stacey Hetherington sold out those who voted for her by ultimately supporting the rural lifestyle amendment to the comp plan. That is just nonsense!

In the beginning, what was originally called Discovery (now Atlantic Fields) was a project of multi-million-dollar homes off Bridge Road that was going to proceed as an exception. There was not going to be any new land use designation. The Becker and Discovery folks were making presentations throughout southern Martin County and on Jupiter Island to select audiences. It seemed everyone was on board.

 

There was no public outcry or fierce resistance. The way it was proceeding, every commissioner except Heard was in favor of it. Discovery was going to be a money generator, leave acres of open land, and even have 800 acres remain in permanent conservation for farming. What happened?

 

In the interim, the developer came back with a plan to not proceed with the project as an exception but rather as a new land use classification in the comp plan. Suddenly, thousands of acres throughout unincorporated Martin County seemed to be up for grabs. I firmly said that it was a good project, but the new land use category had me wondering why disrupt the project at this point in the approval process. Until I had answers, I could not support it.

 

There were now people who began to want to know much more about the project. When it came before the BOCC at the beginning of the year, there wasn’t so much opposition by the public as concern. They also had questions that needed answers and until we (and I am a member of the public) received them, we couldn’t support the change.

 

Ciampi went from a yes on the project to a definite no on the land use category. Hetherington said she would not vote for it until she understood it better and there was much more public outreach. I was right there with her.

 

Then election season hit. And to my chagrin Stacey was a bit too strident in some of her campaign rhetoric hitting Stuart as growing too fast. It made her seem as if she was anti, anti, anti-development of any sort and that is not true.

 

Chastened, Becker, the developer, did do informational meetings and took public comment. The result was a narrowing of where the rural lifestyle could be used by Becker and county staff. It now encompassed only those properties of at least 1000 acres contiguous with the USB but outside the boundary. The number of acres to which the amendment could apply was less than 12,000, and 70% must continue to be open with at least 500 acres additional in conservation. There are 6 properties that meet the criteria.

 

There would be no package plants allowed. Water and sewer lines must be brought in at the developer’s expense and no other project can tap into those lines. My questions were answered, and there was ample opportunity for residents to go to the informational meetings held at the libraries.

 

Hetherington’s position was that questions needed to be answered and the number of acres narrowed. This was accomplished.

 

Unfortunately, she was less articulate on the dais when she was conveying her thoughts. That is too bad. But for anyone to believe she betrayed her beliefs or had situational ethics is not true. Hetherington conveyed to me that she needed a narrower definition of the rural lifestyle amendment.

 

If I had been a commissioner before the changes, I would not have voted for the designation either. Hetherington, by constant pressure on staff and the developer, received the changes she thought best for the county.

 

She also received something more…the commission’s vote to go out to RFP for a company to facilitate public meetings about where the future is for Martin County’s development. Doug Smith has been trying for years to have a real plan. Ciampi, Smith, and Jenkins all voted to do this.

 

In fact, Hetherington would not agree to vote in favor of the rural lifestyle amendment until a vote was taken on having a better planning model going forward.

 

Unlike Ed Ciampi, she never stated that she was unequivocally opposed to the rural lifestyle amendment. What she said was that she could not support the amendment as it was drafted back in February and without the chance for the public throughout the county to attend workshops on the proposal. I know that is true because Hetherington and I were of like minds and discussed it a couple of times.

 

Regarding this development and amendment, our five commissioners acted in good faith. Heard and Ciampi voted no, but I understand why even though I disagree. Smith and Jenkins were always in favor of it. Jenkins explained his position very well at the commission meeting as did Smith.

 

To think that Hetherington was somehow disingenuous is utter baloney. Is she a politician? Yes, what else is new. For that matter so are the others. Could she have better explained her position? Yes, that is for sure.

 

I applaud Hetherington for sticking to her guns at making the amendment better. I further clap my hands for putting the county on a footing to be able to construct a plan for our future. Thank you, Commissioner Hetherington.

 

 

 

 

How To Replace The Stuart Rail Bridge

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I recently went on the Federal Railroad Administration’s website. It can be a fascinating read for those looking for money to do rail transportation projects.

 

And what I found was a $7.2 billion a year program that is slated to continue for the next 5 years at the same funding levels. This program is “to advance projects that expand and establish new intercity passenger rail service…” I don’t know about you, but that seems exciting to me.

The first grant I came across in the program was one to replace the 100-year-old San Luis Rey River Bridge with a double track concrete bridge and eliminate a .6-mile single track bottleneck in the city of Oceanside. The tracks are also used by BNSF freight lines. Sounds like a place I know in South Florida where I live.

 

There is also a grant for a new bridge across the Connecticut River in Connecticut. Maryland has a replacement slated for a 115-year-old bridge crossing the Susquehanna River. There are more rail bridges being replaced than I can list. But you get my point.

 

What I don’t understand is why isn’t the St. Lucie River Bridge in Stuart, Florida on the list? It is a partnership between the states and the federal government so is that the reason? Tallahassee doesn’t want to take any Democrat Washington money. The projects I saw that were funded were not for private companies. Yet there was the San Luis Rey Bridge that has the BNSF component. There is nothing that said only government owned rail roads need apply.

 

It appears that elected officials need to be engaged to bring home the money. This is more than doable. It requires that all our governments work together to accomplish something. That is a hard ask in our complex fractious political world.

 

In the meantime, our federal and state representatives will speak with the Corps of Engineers and the Coast Guard to have a more equitable open and close bridge time and other such well-meaning but less effective problem-solving ideas. What we won’t do is ensure the funding for a new bridge. Isn’t that what our federal and state officials should be trying to do?

 

FRIENDS & NEIGHBORS SPECIAL ELECTION EDITION

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Several surprises in Martin County elections yesterday will change how some municipalities and the school board will be governed. There were many more close races than in the past. If anyone doubts the strength of Governor DeSantis and the GOP in this county, they should not. And there are no longer any nonpartisan races here.

 

Congressman Brian Mast easily beat his three challengers in the Republican primary. Jeff Buongiorno, Melissa Martz, and Ljubo Skrbic combined had 22.5% of the 23,375 votes cast in the county. Mast should beat Democrat Corinna Balderramos Robinson in the general by similar margins.

Val Demings trounced her opponents for U.S. Senate in the Democratic primary without breaking a sweat. She will go on to challenge Marco Rubio in November. Rubio a fixture in Florida politics for over 20 years will have a tough race on his hands. However, this is a red state and only getting redder. Governor DeSantis at the top of the ticket should insure Rubio’s re-election.

 

Former governor and now Congressman Charlie Crist came out on top over Nikki Fried in their Democratic primary matchup. He will go on to face Ron DeSantis in the general. At this juncture, Crist is on his own Quixotic journey. It may be time for amiable Charlie to practice law and lobbying.

 

In District 2, Stacey Hetherington beat her dark horse opponent T.J. McGowan handily. Hetherington has been a solid dedicated commissioner throughout her first term. She has grown in the job. McGowan came from nowhere and did not seem to have any accomplishments to point to in his bid for election. The final vote was Hetherington 22,931 to McGowan’s 12,491.

 

Sarah Heard beat Doug Mustapick by less than 5% of the 35,422 votes cast. Mustapick ran an almost flawless campaign. But going up against an iconic legend can be hard. While his mechanics were good, his message was unclear. He seemed to be anti-growth and an environmentalist. If so, how would he be different than Heard?  In this race one need to look where the money came from. The influence of the “Good Old Boys” almost won…message be damned.

 

Jennifer Russell, a newcomer to Martin County and to politics, beat Liz Bernstein with 56.2% of the vote. This was the most political of the non-partisan races. Russell had the endorsement of DeSantis and the PAC money to back her up. Bernstein ran a flawed campaign that did not take adequate advantage of her solid credentials. She was too close to Victoria Defenthaler and the teachers. Russell, even though her children do not attend regular public schools, is a mother and believer in parent involvement at the district level. Just what the voters of Martin County want.

 

In the other school board race, Amy Pritchett defeated incumbent Anthony Anderson by less than 1% of the vote. Anderson, a past teacher in Martin County and brother of the late David Anderson who was a fixture on the school board for over thirty years, was in his first term. Pritchett who is active in the “Moms for Liberty” movement has been involved with the school district for several years. Anderson had the experience but was too closely aligned with the educational establishment for this election’s voters. The nature of the school board will be very different in the future.

 

The continued ½ mill referendum designated mainly to fund a stipend for teachers passed by a two to one margin. I would have thought with the anti-educational fervor, this would have gone down to defeat. I am sure the teachers are very happy with the result.

 

The voters in the City of Stuart rejected incumbent Merritt Matheson for newcomer Chris Collins. Collins is firmly anti- growth. The vote in that race was 51.31% to 48.69%. Incumbent Eula Clarke beat back challenger William Laughlin with 1930 votes to his1687 votes. The open seat was that of Mike Meier who chose not to run. Campbell Rich won over Mark Brechbill by almost 10%.

 

Both Rich and Collins were beneficiaries of a voter backlash to perceived over development. New projects in Stuart will be coming to an end. Developers are already saying the gates are closed. The developers are not wrong.

 

Indiantown elected two newcomers to the council and returned Susan Gibbs Thomas. Both Jackie Clarke and Anthony Dowling were handily defeated in their races for reelection. Carmine Dipaolo won over Dowling by almost 20% of the vote. I would call that a solid drubbing. Clarke was defeated by Angelina Perez by almost 6% of the vote.

 

The electorate was tired of an ever-growing village government. The rub will come if the developers knocking on the door are allowed in. No matter who sits in these seats, the village will have a vastly expanded population moving in. The one person who may have been the biggest loser is Manager Howard Brown. The new majority will not be as accommodating as the last one.

 

This is our special election edition. More on the changes that this election will bring in our newsletter of September 4th.

CONTINUED NO WILL BRING A BIG FAT YES

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Within the next dozen years, Martin County will have thousands of units being built.

 

While Smith, Heard, and increasingly Hetherington have lobbed bombs at Stuart for approving new units within an urban area, the county has with great stealth by the commission decided to create one city and probably a second. I am not speaking about Atlantic Fields or Three Lakes Golf Course. In my opinion, projects like those will save hundreds of acres of open land from development. Sure, the roll out of the “Rural Lifestyle” use was botched but that is imminently fixable.

Florida scrub habitat in early springtime at Lake Kissimmee State Park in Lake Wales.

Kiplinger’s Newfield will be a new urban center in Palm City. If it is developed as the now plan suggests, it will eventually have the same population as Stuart currently has. I support it because it is creating mixed use and mixed income housing and jobs within walkable neighborhoods. Not to mention all the open land that will be incorporated into the “town.”

 

Indiantown is open for business and the sprawl will occur there. The South Florida cookie cutter homes with every family having a car, truck, (and probably several) will happen. Residents that need to go for a quart of milk, be prepared to hop into your car to travel to the new Publix that will be built in a shopping plaza with hundreds of empty parking spaces. Schools, fire/rescue stations, and more will need to be constructed to support the population.

 

You doubt that Indiantown is becoming known as the next South Florida land development grab. Ask a hedge fund based in West Palm, Miami, or even New York, and they will have heard about the village. Acres that are not even in Indiantown will be annexed in to accommodate the Divostas and Pultes.

 

The reason the village was incorporated was because the county commission said no to everything from industrial to new homes. Instead of smart development we are likely to get what was feared…any development. See what I mean when a continued no ends up as an unqualified yes.

 

Could that new motor track we heard about be on county land? Maybe Lakepoint will morph into a track from the current mining operation. Perhaps King Ranch’s or Becker’s lands will be ripe for the track and the ancillary uses such as hotels, fast food joints, and gas stations.

 

The biggest unknown could be Harmony. That is still a ticking timebomb waiting to go off. The “Rural Lifestyle” could have helped prevent the thousands of homes that may come out of the ground there. While Newfield is an integrated community, Harmony will be a classic 1950s sprawl development.

 

The mishandling of the new land classification could have been easily prevented. Instead of relying on elites such as the Guardians to sell it, the county should have mounted their own dog and pony show and travelled near and far to explain what “Rural Lifestyle” was and wasn’t. While the supposed movers and shakers usually still win, the people are gaining ground on the good old boys whether moneyed environmentalists or developers.

 

Lastly, with the mood of the governor and legislators to keep Florida growing, there is no way they will allow a local government to stop the flow of new residents into the state. Florida’s entire way of life needs new blood for the economy to prosper. That means the new residents will need a place to call home.

 

A continued response of no from Martin County will have Tallahassee declaring a big yes. That of course will strip away even more home rule.

 

HOUSING IS A CONCERTED EFFORT

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I had heard that the Crossings in Stuart was losing its affordability status. That would have been a serious blow to families in the city.

 

Stuart City Manager David Dyess forwarded to me an email he received from the county’s Housing Program Coordinator clarifying that this was not true. The complex will continue having rent limits based on the adjusted AMI (Adjusted Median Income) until 2044. As the AMI changes so too will the rents. Even with a rising AMI, there are rent caps for tenants.

 

While this is much better than the apartments going to market, using the AMI may still place rents out of the reach of many people. When HUD was active in providing funding for different housing programs, the rent people paid was more tailored to the individual. That of course has all changed with the shrinking of those programs, which has resulted in the crises we see today.

 

Using solely the AMI to determine affordability will leave many renters not able to afford their apartments. The government needs to greatly expand the number of families that would be eligible for HUD’s Section 8 program.

 

Section 8 is a voucher program that allows those eligible to find their own apartment in which to live. The tenant then pays the landlord a pre-determined amount based on their income, and the government sends the landlord/owner the remainder of the rent.

 

This program worked extremely well in the 1980s and 1990s. All properties are eligible to participate. There were gross rent caps on the funding depending on family size. The Section 8 program was instituted at a time when public housing was failing to provide safe housing. The program became the perfect public-private partnership.

The federal government has all but given up on housing for people who need help. Homelessness for families is one of the outcomes of greatly reducing this type of aid. Can we really expect a few private owners, even using other government-backed programs, to build all the housing needed? The answer is obvious.

 

There are many problems in Martin County when it comes to affordable, workforce, or attainable housing. Some of the housing shortages for more affluent people can be solved by just building. The more product on the market, the cheaper prices are.

 

Years ago in big cities, unions and manufacturers constructed housing for their members and employees. This was an attempt to provide “wholesome” homes instead of tenement apartments. It was very successful in combatting social as well as economic problems and contributed to a stable workforce.

 

I don’t quite understand why the school board and Cleveland Clinic do not investigate doing something like that. Employees just starting out in their careers could be offered this type of housing first since their earnings are the lowest. More and more employers throughout the country are coming to this realization such as the “Teachers Village” in Newark N.J. and “Sea Pines” in Hilton Head S.C. Employers who want to attract good personnel can also provide rent subsidies as a perc.

 

Progressive has come to mean socialist in our political era. It wasn’t always so…just remember Theodore Roosevelt. Nothing beats the free market for sorting winners and losers. The government needs to be ruthless in not protecting industries or individual companies and enforcing anti-trust laws. However, when it comes to individuals, government has an obligation to provide basic needs…one of which is housing.

 

The question is will we? The answer would require a national effort. It is not anything we can do on the local level alone.

 

AFFORDABLE, ATTAINABLE, WORKFORCE HOUSING

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The most significant item of the day wasn’t even on the agenda.

 

During commissioner comments, Ed Ciampi brought up how much the county needs affordable or attainable or workforce housing. That was precipitated by the comments made by advocates for such housing during public comment which Ciampi probably knew were going to be made. Ciampi wanted to keep the ball rolling from the joint meeting last month.

 

As usual with such a spur of the moment discussion, there were many ideas floated. Doug Smith would like to see focus groups headed by the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council. Ciampi wants to use staff and existing groups and others to move it along.

 

Heard made it quite clear that taxpayers don’t want to grant any subsidies for such housing nor have it in their backyards. Then she began saying density is not the solution. Too much traffic on the roads and zoning incompatibility were also bywords.

 

Hetherington wants the private sector involved and, perhaps, the school board. She has constituent families that have had their rents raised. But she believes too much housing is already being built. And non-profits should collaborate.

 

Jenkins does want an item to come back. He is working with Banner Lake on a community land trust to foster home ownership. Ciampi made a motion to bring back an agenda item that Jenkins seconded. It passed 5-0

 

At the present, the members of all these committees who are pushing for an answer to the affordable, attainable, and workforce housing shortage have no real experience with operating, building, or maintaining such housing. I have worked with and managed this type of housing using the Section 8 program and other such federal and state programs, and it is daunting. One thing those programs did do was allow the private sector to make money. Alas most of those programs are now history.

 

On a national level, that is one of the reasons that fewer and fewer units are available at affordable rents. This isn’t the only reason. But This problem will never ever be solved without an infusion of massive federal money. Even states can’t do it, and it is certainly prohibitive for local government to do so.

 

Sybil was a book in the early 1970s that dealt with a woman that had 29 multiple personalities. Martin County may have that many or more when it comes to its affordable, attainable or workforce housing goals. It can be seen by the commissioners’ comments.

 

It is not that they are not serious about the task, but it is beyond county or municipal government capabilities. To encourage private sector response, you will need to encourage building of more housing not less. Real estate is where supply and demand make the market. As a glut happens then prices fall, and this is very true of the rental market. Right now, we have nowhere near the number of units needed.

 

The county can eliminate impact and other fees for those who will commit to a specific number of apartments with rental rates based on an AMI derived formula. They could give a density bonus in their CRAs if the extra apartments had cheaper rents using an AMI derived formula. The more apartments that came under the formula, the more they would be allowed to build up to 30 units per acre.

 

Every single-family home, regardless of where it is located even within HOAs, could have an accessible dwelling unit that, if rented, would not be subject to increased real estate taxes. The community land trust idea is a good one, but like Habitat for Humanity, it can only build so many homes.

 

In fact, all these suggestions would eventually lead to more housing options. However, these are stop gap measures without a commitment by the feds to release billions in housing dollars. And that is not likely.

 

Heard and Smith and, now to a lesser extent, Hetherington are not interested in more housing being built. The City of Stuart did approve more housing for the last few years but has now gone back into its shell and is not likely to come back out for a decade or more. Politicians cannot blame greedy developers and property owners when the reason existing prices are so high is a lack of product.

 

Government adds about 25% to the cost to build and that doesn’t consider the increased building prices due to more stringent construction codes. The private sector’s motive is profit. Local government can incentivize to some extent, but it cannot do so unless it gets behind a continuous effort to produce these units. They cannot retreat every time people complain about a new project being built.

 

So, form any committee you want. I would be glad to lend my expertise. Commissioners, just realize you can’t complain about the lack of housing and then do everything in your power to prevent new housing. And if you think by allowing more single-family homes to be developed you are going to solve the existing problem, you are not. That is what will contribute to sprawl.

clipart review

What Is The Rush

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The land development approval process has fairly rigid timelines that are set by Florida State Statute.

 

What made me do some research on the subject was a column written by Blake Fontenay in TC Palm regarding Atlantic Fields also known as Discovery. Depending on the type of proceeding that is before the commission, there are definite time frames that must be followed under statute. The county just can’t let things go on indefinitely. In my research I spoke to both the county attorney and the City of Stuart attorney beside reading the statutes cited.

 

How many of us have been involved in a civil lawsuit? The continuances and postponements are legendary. Sometimes, years go by before a court rules or, more likely, a settlement between the parties is reached. It may not be swift justice, but it is due process.

 

I believe that the project in question is a good one. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, the Atlantic Fields developers decided they needed a new land use in the comp plan instead of the development plan that was explained to me. Originally, they were going to come in and ask for approval of their PUD as an exception. If that had occurred, two of the commissioners who now oppose the introduction of the “rural lifestyle” use would have probably approved the development.

 

Once the very favorable project became the subject of a new land use introduction, everything changes. Such a change requires more scrutiny and public outreach and education. The new land use would apply to more than just the one project.

 

On the first hearing date in the spring, almost everyone who spoke wanted to receive more information. There were some that were not in favor. At that point most of us wanted to have our questions answered in more detail. It didn’t help that the presentations given by the staff were not meant for civilians that need more basic knowledge and delivered with more enthusiasm.

 

Now the entire thing has been hanging around for far too long. Positions begin to harden. In my experience, the longer it takes to obtain an approval, the more opposition will develop. This is what has happened with Discovery.

 

The agenda for June 21st had three different public hearings regarding this project. The first one asked for approval to create a new future land use designation of rural lifestyle in the comp plan. If that were approved, then the second hearing would allow the Discovery property to be assigned the future land use of rural lifestyle. And then the third hearing would have been to have a PUD agreement and site plan for the property. Each hearing could only happen if, at the hearing before, the commission approved the action.

 

The first postponement was initiated by the BOCC and was tabled to a date uncertain. The second was requested by the applicant to table the three hearings to a date uncertain that the commission voted to approve. There is a 180-day time frame under FS 125.022 for quasi-judicial public hearings which would apply to a hearing for a PUD agreement. It can be extended by mutual agreement.

Comp plan amendments must be approved by the state. Under FS 163.3184, there is a 180-day clock from the time the state comments are received. Martin County received the comments on March 31, 2022. While there can be postponements, the 180-day time frame is not stopped. The clock ticks down to zero on September 27, 2022. The only way the time can be extended is by mutual consent of all affected parties including those who provided comments.

 

Would the commissioners like to have only non-controversial land use changes come before them? Sure, they would. But that isn’t what they signed up for. In my experience, the commissioners are genuinely concerned with what the public is saying. They may even agree with the prevailing view and do not like a project, but they just can’t vote no. They have a responsibility to vote yes if state statute and local ordinances dictate that the developer’s request is within the scope of the statute or ordinance.

 

If at some point this ends up in court, the county will have to prove that it did follow state statute and gave every opportunity to the applicant to be able to make their case. The price of that is sometimes having adjournments or postponements. Property rights are taken very seriously in Florida and a government violates them at some peril.

 

Deliberative consultation with as many residents as possible should be the goal. The notion that things such as this should be rushed ultimately benefits no one. In my opinion, at this point not enough is known about the classification of rural lifestyle to make a good decision.

 

Those that are in favor of the classification would probably find very little development that they would not support. And those who are adamantly opposed are no-growth adherents. Most of us just want more information and outreach. I think Martin County deserves it.

 

That educational responsibility clearly falls on the party that is proposing the change. Until the developer is ready to hire a third-party facilitator that is neutral to go out into various communities and hold informational meetings, this land use change should not move forward.

 

Public comment is important, but even more important is that the public comment be given by a fully informed public. When the public speaks their opinions should be based on facts not supposition. A reasoned argument is more important than a rushed one. Commissioners are more apt to listen.

What Is Supposedly A Native Prairie

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Some people believe that when a parcel of land doesn’t have tall buildings on it or other dense uses, it should be pure and pristine and the way that God intended.

 

That is usually not true. And that is particularly untrue of the property known as the Kanner PUD. The Kanner PUD was an old farm where tons of debris were strewn and buried. Perhaps today farmers are good shepherds of their land, but that is a recent phenomenon. For years, farmers would throw their old machinery, garbage, and chemicals in unused sections of their property. They didn’t care that those chemicals would leach into the ground water and pollute. Perhaps, at an earlier time, they didn’t even know about such things.

 

More recently after farming on that parcel ceased, others who owned the property didn’t seem to care about rusting cars with crank cases full of oil, gas tanks with fuel, or other old machinery strewn about that had been improperly dumped there. Some with the loudest voices against building the Costco PUD are those whose relatives made a fortune by selling off the land but felt no compunction at not having cleaned it up to be good shepherds to our birds and animals.

 

This “range” is not full of antelope and deer that play. The Kanner PUD has been used as a dump and, as the pictures show, they even discarded things into the wetlands and supposed ponds. Most of those ponds were dug by the “farmer in the dell” not to attract native species but to drain the land and hold the water for irrigation. There are 130 slides showing the degradation to that property. It will all be cleaned up before the PUD is built but isn’t it a shame that it is not in the pristine state claimed.

 

Let’s not have a holier than thou attitude toward this mess which was created by the past owners and not the present ones. There is no good stewardship by anyone except the current owners. You look at the photos and you decide. Pristine Florida prairie or exotic toxic dump? Don’t be fooled by silly platitudes.

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We need to move on and have actual people living there and businesses operating. This is an urban area, and the land is owned by a responsible party that, rightfully, wants to make a profit. After all the additional money they will have to spend on this “Garden of Eden,” they are entitled to it.

 

Please carefully look at all 130 photos received through a public records request which are attached. It is important that we all understand what is at stake. Don’t be fooled by a group of people who want to prevent a cleanup because they want you to believe that there is only goodness and light on the property now.

 

You can find the photos here. It had to be in four files because of the amount of detail:

HERE

HERE

HERE

HERE

Martin County Taxpayers Association on the BDB

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The MCTA has reviewed the last year’s audit for the Business Development Board which was on the April 19th BOCC meeting.

 

It was not a clean report since the auditors pointed out accounting policies not in line with best practices. Among the discrepancies found by the auditors were that there was not timely reconciling of accounts, and that one person is performing too many accounting functions. We do not believe there is anything being done at the organization that would rise to the level of malfeasance or misfeasance. Perhaps, at worst, there are too many chiefs and not enough Indians.

 

We have for some time believed that the board is much too large to do an effective job in oversight. The board is a political and insider who’s who of Martin County elites. Everyone seems to have a seat, but no one has much responsibility.

 

Further, their budget is composed of $450,000 from Martin County taxpayers with another $35,000 from Martin County municipalities. Government handouts make up $485,000 of the nearly $519,000 in total income. In effect, it is a creature of government without the oversight that the taxpayers deserve. This is nothing new and has been going on for years. It just appears that the BOCC does not have the political will to bring this function in-house.

 

The audit uncovered improper bookkeeping procedures. Another area of concern was that the employees lacked an understanding of accounting. A direct quote from the audit: “We strongly suggest that a better understanding of not-for-profit accounting principles and QuickBooks would significantly benefit the Organization not only in terms of internal controls and related processes but also with regard to financial reporting and the accuracy of related financial statements. In our opinion, this is a significant part of the basic foundation of knowledge that must exist within the Organization in order to overcome many of the issues cited in this correspondence.”

 

If the financial responsibilities of the BDB were brought under the county’s finance department, it would be a step in the right direction. But that is not the real problem with this organization. Unlike the St. Lucie County EDC, the BDB suffers from a lack of focus and dynamism. St. Lucie County knows where it wants to go. Martin County doesn’t want too much business to disrupt the nature of the county and then only want what the elites consider the right types of business.

 

Because there is no strategic vision, we are wasting the taxpayers’ money on halfway measures. A review of what businesses the BDB played a key role in bringing to Martin County, would be the same ones that several other organizations would also take credit for.

 

When we had an independent tourism board, it too was a waste of taxpayer dollars. Once the BOCC brought that function in house, there was a concentrated effort to determine how we should go after tourism dollars. It is time to stop spending our tax dollars so that the political and current business elites can have a place to call home.

 

With nearly a half a million dollars of government money, the results should be measurable and quantifiable…not what the BOCC currently receives in the form of Rah-Rah pep rally speak. Every taxpayer should demand accountability which is sadly lacking in this situation.