Category Archives: City of Stuart

Working Together Yields Great Results

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To be successful, any civic project requires the involvement of our city leaders and employees but the project also must be embraced by the residents. Stuart’s centennial birthday celebration was such a civic endeavor. We are proud of our rich heritage and proud that we came together as a community to honor this important year.

There were many historical lectures and shows given by the Stuart Heritage Museum and the Stuart Women’s Club. A sold out show at our historic Lyric Theater, the “Century In Review,” was orchestrated by those two organizations and proved to be an overwhelming success. The best part was that the well over two hundred cast members were local resident who gave of their time, treasure and talent.

The City of Stuart itself put on three main events during “Centennial Week.” The city commission appointed a task force to plan the week. As the Task Force Chair, I worked closely with a remarkable city staff to plan events that would allow the greatest number of people to participate and attend.

Our Task Force decided that the first event would be a formal gala. Up until this point, the centennial had been focused on the past. The gala would focus on the present. It was priced to allow the largest number of people to attend. As our kickoff to the “Centennial Week,” it was a huge success with over 200 people attending.

May 7th was the actual centennial birthday of Stuart. Beginning at 8:30 a.m., we had a ceremony at City Hall raising our Centennial Flag. We then proceeded to our outdoor stage in downtown overlooking the Saint Lucie River where a program featured the pre-school children of Gertrude Walden Day Care serenading the crowd. Our speakers included dignitaries … the Bahamian Consul-General, where we will soon have a sister city, and our state legislator, Gayle Harrell. Our mayor, Troy McDonald, and two other citizens, Joan Jefferson and Jean Law Scot spoke on our past, present and future. We also had a time capsule filled by Stuart school children and also artifacts from other citizens.

 

 

 

The final Centennial Task Force event was this past Saturday, May 10th. It began with a pancake breakfast for all by our local Kiwanis Club in Kiwanis Park. We then had a parade that included our city commissioners, task force members, city employees, county and state officials, local stakeholders and residents. But the real stars were the hundred cars representing almost every year from 1913 to the present. After the parade, the City hosted a free festival in our Memorial Park with events, music, food, games and fireworks. One of the musical personalities was an ex-Stuart resident who returned from Nashville (at his own expense) to be here and perform.

Many businesses and individuals became sponsors donating not only their money but their time to make Stuart’s Centennial a grand event. Our entire city pulled together to celebrate an important birthday. This should be what communities do and are about…a spirit of togetherness pervaded our city this year. Residents, present and past, came together for our birthday.

Public Art Enriches a City

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With some fanfare earlier this week, Building Bridges and Women Supporting the Arts dedicated their tile project on the East Stuart sign, located on Martin Luther King Blvd, and at Building Bridges itself. The tiles were hand painted by the children of Building Bridges and some remarkable seniors from the East Stuart community. This was the idea of Mary Ann Loomis of WSA and Commissioner Eula Clarke to bring public art to East Stuart. Ollie Harvey of Building Bridges quickly warmed to the project and the idea became a reality.

Though based and nourished in East Stuart, this tile project encompassed the energies of the entire city. Maggie Blizard, a snow bird, was the mentor to the children and adult artists. She enlisted the help of Stuart Ceramics to fire the tiles. Brenda Leigh, a local artist whose murals dot the county, did the heavy lifting of being in charge of the placing, cementing and grouting of the tiles. Others assisted where needed and made contributions to make sure the project was completed.  I was honored to be among those who lent assistance.

Public Art transcends a neighborhood or community and brings together each of us regardless of age or race. Looking at works of beauty stirs the hearts of individuals. It makes for better people and cities. Each time I pass that wall or Building Bridges, I will appreciate all those who had a part in bringing this to Stuart. For a city is more than just houses and offices. It is a place where people live and call home. Women Supporting the Arts and Building Bridges made our homes a bit more beautiful this week.

FECI’s Plans are Wrong for Stuart!

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I was at the “Not All Aboard Florida” rally on Sunday at Flagler Park.  There was an enthusiastic crowd of about 350 people. Congressman Patrick Murphy and County Commissioner Sarah Heard were two of the speakers. K.C. Traylor did a remarkable job in putting the entire thing together. She passionately spoke in support of our homes and way of life on the Treasure Coast. It seems for the past few years we, the people, have had to continuously defend our homes and communities against being rolled over by big government and business.

The few ultra-rich corporations and individuals are buying our state and federal government officials with campaign contributions to our detriment. Our entire estuary is on the verge of collapse. There is pressure to develop our western areas by a few developers who really won’t care what happens to us when they have turned the natural landscape into additional half-empty developments and strip malls.

Now, a railroad that we are told can do just about whatever it wants because of rights granted and laws promulgated in the 19th century. Never mind that entire counties, peoples and cities have happened in the intervening years. We are told we must accept our fate and be quiet. These are property rights and they are sacrosanct. What about the impact to OUR properties?

We are not the same place we were the last time passenger trains were on those tracks 50 years ago.  Stuart, Fort Pierce and Vero were very small places. There were no interstate highways. Communities like Loblolly and Mariner Sands were not in existence. The entire world has changed. A corporation cannot expect to claim rights granted on and for another time which will destroy our time.

They want us to just shut up and move over. What’s more, FECI wants to do it with our tax dollars. Governor Scott is giving away our land and the loans are coming from our federal taxes. Is there any bigger insult than to ruin our waters and our towns with the very tax dollars that we pay?

The Spirit of the Centennial Gala

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On Saturday night, there were over 200 people at Stuart’s Centennial Gala. There were past and present commissioners, city managers and other elected officials. It was a time of celebration without a trace of contention in the air. Everyone was just having a good time.

It is now Monday morning and everyone is back to their own lives.  While we may still have a bit of the birthday feel, the problems of the city remain. If we could harness the good feelings we enjoyed on Saturday toward our city and each other, then it would be easier to find solutions to our problems going forward. Saturday did not exist in a vacuum. Everyone was truly happy to see a celebration of Stuart.

We now need to remember this and work together. The vast majority of our citizens want to reach solutions to move the city forward through consensus with a spirit of good will that would be achievable. Civility, courtesy and open-mindedness would serve all of us better as a community to find that consensus. There are no simple solutions, only hard work, to find tolerable outcomes.

The Centennial celebration will continue for the rest of the week with speeches, a parade and a festival. But also continuing will be our problems of budget deficits, taxes, the train and our river. As we move forward to tackle those and other problems, let’s remember the feeling we have toward our city expressed in the joys of her birthday.

Our Indian River Lagoon

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Another summer is fast approaching the Indian River Lagoon. With the humidity of our tropical season will come the rain.  In spite of all the protests, the rallies and the work by so many people, are we any closer to ending the dumping into the rivers than we were last year? On paper and with the politicians’ promises, we are.  But, in actuality, if we have a rainy summer, the same thing will happen again.

The people on the rivers have been complaining for over 80 years about the degradation of our marine and animal life. But somehow the problem persists. There was a funeral for the lagoon on Saturday morning, and we had speakers promising to end the death once again. They say recovery is a slow process and they are right. I can accept the slow return of nature’s life, but when do we stop the causes of her death to allow the rebirth?

Rachel Carson said “The question is whether any civilization can wage relentless war on life without destroying itself, and without losing the right to be called civilized.” The United States is sacrificing so much of its birthright so that a few corporations (with the help of our government officials) can supplant the future for the sake of short sighted financial gain. Man does not have the right to allow greed under the guise of economic development or jobs to destroy our environment.

Our boating, fishing and recreational industry brings many billions of dollars in income and thousands of jobs to our state. Most of us would not be here without the water. We do not have the right to allow its death at our hands. We need to change the people who make the laws if they do not stop her death. Promises of a future time when pristine water will return are no longer enough without meaningful programs being enacted and sufficient funds being allocated.

Local Governance

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Florida often speaks about government being in the open and in the sunshine. Of course when it comes to the legislature, there are so many exceptions that it is, for all intents and purposes, meaningless. Our county and municipal commissions operate in sunshine. However, with a strong unelected administrator in charge of the day-to-day operations of government, the public is still too often in the dark. The only time we may be aware of an issue is when the matter is opened for discussion at a commission meeting.

There is something quite undemocratic about an unelected executive. The system was devised to weed out ineptitude and corruption. The rational was that government would be run by professionals, and the oversight of such would be the elected commission. But this seldom works in practice. In our county’s recent past, our administrators and managers have been decent and hardworking individuals who had the interest of their communities in their actions. Without a strong-willed and diligent commission to check the power of the administrator or manager, arrogance, insularity and disregard for the citizens can happen.

Our commissions need to take a more pro-active stance in regard to governance. This will insure the true will of the people will be followed. Professionalism in government is needed. You want a trained water expert in charge of our water plant and a trained policeman to enforce the law. Governance and policy must be left to elected officials. Those officials need to make sure that when their policies are enacted, they are not subverted by the bureaucracy.

How Did “All Aboard Florida” Go So Wrong?

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How did “All Aboard Florida” go so wrong? I have gone from being excited about the return of passenger train travel on the Treasure Coast to one unhappy resident. How could they possibly have turned off so many people in such a short period of time with such a great idea? I have to say that feat was not easy.

There will always be a small minority who dislike change no matter what is proposed. Then, you have the people who are against something because they have either a prejudice or their facts are wrong. I am neither of these. The saga of “All Aboard Florida” is wrong because the company is not being honest about their true intentions to the people of the Treasure Coast.  Passenger trains are just the rouse being used to be able to borrow $1.5 billion or more from the federal government to lay a new track bed in anticipation of increased freight traffic. Will FECI double track through Stuart? Are they going to close our Florida Street crossing? These and other questions have yet to be answered.

I keep hearing that the railroad was here first, and that is absolutely true. Without it, Stuart possibly would not be Stuart today. Yes, railroads have enormous rights but then shouldn’t these rights granted in the 19th century adjust to the realities of 21st century Florida? We are currently the third most populous state in the nation. When the railroad was built, there were very few people on the Treasure Coast. While Stuart prides itself on its “old Florida charm,” we live in the 21st century. Today’s population cannot be held hostage to a 19th century reality.

The property rights of the railroad are important, but neither can you destroy the property rights of the people who have come here in the intervening 125 years. For the past 50 years, the railroad has operated as a sleepy little freight line with a limited amount of trains mostly travelling at night.  In the intervening years, Florida’s population has gone from less than 5 million to over 19 million with Martin County’s population growing from 17,000 to 148,000.  What was once acceptable can no longer be tolerated. There is no absolute right for anyone or any corporation. Our government should be there for the protection of the vast majority not a minority of one railroad.

Planning for the Future

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The Stuart Centennial celebration is upon us. As the Centennial Chair, I am proud of the job that the city staff has done to make next week possible. Planning for this began several years ago under a different commission and city manager. Planning for the future is something that we need to do — not just for something like the centennial — but also for the future of our city.

I am a firm believer in the free market. But the market can only function if government provides the tools needed for its success. Government officials or bureaucrats cannot know whether a hair salon or clothes store should be in a particular location. What government can provide are clear rules and helpful employees to enable the business owner navigate the bureaucracy.

When a person wanting to open a new business seeks the proper licenses and permits, there should be one person he or she can turn to in the bureaucracy to assist in contacting the right departments. In fact, it would be my hope (in most instances) that the city’s economic development director could assemble the different departments needed at one time. This would streamline the process for the business owner tremendously.

It is the government’s responsibility to make sure the water is working, police are patrolling and the roads are taken care of. It is the government’s responsibility through zoning and codes to make sure that our residential neighborhoods are protected. Our citizens have spoken out for a certain quality of life. It is not the bureaucrat’s job to circumvent that by allowing outdoor rooftop bars and music venues, for instance, contravening the residents’ wishes.

We must plan if we want to continue to enjoy living in our city. That doesn’t mean we stop progress and change. We can have both and continue to maintain the good things about living here. I believe in the free market deciding what businesses should be opened. And, it surely does not mean that we have to allow everything a business owner wishes to the detriment of the community as a whole.

Our Passionate Community

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I have been very busy in the past two weeks attending a myriad of meetings, events and forums. You wouldn’t think that a place as small as Martin County could produce so much high drama. But it does. Perhaps it’s because it is an election year for some of the commissioners in each of our elected bodies. But I don’t think so. No, I think it is because so many people who call Martin County home are passionate about the place.

Most of the residents are transplants from somewhere else. We have found our little piece of heaven and want to preserve it. A few are from old Florida families. They grew up in Miami or Broward and know what over-development can do. Even fewer were born in Martin and have never lived anywhere else. But whether you sought this place out or are here by an accident of birth, we all know we have a good place to live.

That is why we disagree and argue about the future of the county and city and community in which we live. Some strive to maintain what we have, and others seek to improve it. That is where the rub comes in and the disagreements happen. Is it an improvement to build a new city in our west? Can we really entice jobs by providing subsidies? Or will an immigration and customs house at the airport be beneficial to us?

Most people on either side of an issue passionately believe that what they are advocating is the correct path for us to take. We should not demonize someone because he or she is on the other side of a particular issue. Our supposed “enemy” today may be our “ally” tomorrow on another issue. Rather, it is important that once the disagreement has been settled, we remember the community comes first.

The Key to Economic Development

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How can government help economic development in the private sector? Is it by planning which type of businesses should be encouraged? Should subsidies be given to attract a developer or business owner to enter our community? These are questions that need to be discussed by governments and citizens.

I do believe there are some things that government does well. One of the things it can do is encourage a vision. Not a vision that picks which business goes where, but rather a vision for the type of community in which the residents want to live. The worst possible thing that government can do is to think that it can pick losers and winners when it comes to which businesses and buildings should be opened or built.  Some officials in Stuart continue to tout the idea of a hotel locating in downtown. They think that all they need do is provide the right incentive and some developer will build and successfully operate a hotel. I have one simple question.  If that is the case, why hasn’t a hotel been built?

Some will argue it’s because they would need to take the City Hall-Spoto site to do so. While another excuse is that our four story height limit discourages that development. Perhaps a developer-operator could be found if we allowed a taller building on the city hall site with its picturesque view. However, the real problem with that is Stuart would sell its soul and economic future to enable one developer possible success.

If Stuart is to thrive into the future, its government cannot think that one project of dubious worth that requires us to give up more of our waterfront and our specialness is the key. This would be our Digital Domain, and it is exactly the wrong way to encourage economic development.

Most people who decide to live here do so after being seduced by our life style as a result of spending time here as tourists. The very thing that brings them here is what some want to destroy in the name of economic progress. The only sustainable development is that which is organic in nature. Bureaucrats are not equipped to know what business should be encouraged.

What a government can do is have fast tracking of projects. There should be individuals in government dedicated to shepherding projects through the different departments to get them approved, built and opened. The only time government should stand in the way of a project is when it is clearly not in the city’s interest. The government places parameters such as the height limit or zoning which is how we maintain our quality of life. The marketplace will ultimately dictate what will succeed and what will not.