3 !
Local News What is proper role of advisory panels to City Council?
Coldwell Banker Ed Schlitt Realtors® Island Previews International Office NORTH HUTCHINSON ISLAND PREVIEWS OFFICE 772-464-7007
0##%$%& (! /**.,'''
$'"-/&" 0##%$%& (! /+"*,'''
:/&/E2 I-OO$)O ?N"-S* RS) ,"R+# 'OR! PO$L ,)-+% -++2 +SO "RM2'S+* ,# G-O* K/>R$ PRS*
FlColdwellBankerPreviews.com VERO BEACH ISLAND PREVIEWS OFFICE: 772-231-4800
$'"-**( 0##%$%& (! /+).,'''
$'"%.(&
0##%$%& (! /+).,'''
$+-"(-",(
&/9/02 A7J<D ?6=C2 ;+)-S2 ?S")M -S* ?SMO-+R-NM-" 2F&39 % 0.CC9 @# I%,&FC 3FA)' 3;?%.;A) -.C,@AF&9
454=+5/' :*7*E<> 4;) I >@;8! <,&.A#;@A8 FRS*R2 B"HF)$" 1$S*RKN K 8-SRO-!$+ 3$)KN
(I)*/0QI-2 48DJ5CD @?65;7?FJ= 7?3C7B7;<5 C65J5C
!#) $'"-.%, 0##%$%& (! /-).,'''
!#) $'"-,&- 0##%$%& (! /.-*,'''
!#) $''/'-. 0##%$%& (! /..-,'''
EQQ. (@.8 "@,D' 7F,! FA (&.681' $!.;B .A) G6A,H@A
Tis the Season... We wish you and your loved ones a joyous holiday season. From your friends at Coldwell Banker Ed Schlitt Realtors® IslandPreviewsOffices
!#) $'"-,/, 0##%$%& (! /+*','''
3/2.5/2, 186’ of Waterfront, Lg Boat Slip w 45’ Storm Pilings, 2 Boat Lifts
3/4/3, MOORINGS w Office & Loft, Lrg Bed- 4/5/3, GRAND HARBOR,wExecOffice,LuxMaster 3/2.5/2, 10 Acres Fncd in, 4 Horse Stall Barn,Resort StylePool w Hot Tub, Grotto, Slide, Waterfall. rooms, Granite Island Kitchen w SS App Suite, LgGrtRoomwGraniteIslandKitch,Pool/Spa
N E W S W E E K L Y
History is the difference. Knowledge is the difference. Global is the difference.
B E A C H
CONTINUES ON PAGE 4
V E R O
council to support council decisionmaking. Per our ordinance, December is the time for Utility Commission appointments. In light of the overwhelming citizen support of the referendum to proceed with the sale of our utility to FPL does our current commission assist or hinder our progress? Should our advisory commissions be committed to forwarding the desires of the citizens and the council?” It is debatable if the meaning of the referendum was to sell Vero Electric to FPL or, as many supporters said prior to the vote, simply to continue negotiations to see if a deal can be worked out to the satisfaction of both sides. Such a council debate on the meaning of the referendum would have been instructive.
!
When the Vero Beach City Council removed four members of the Utilities Commission and replaced them with citizens said to be more in tune with selling Vero Electric, they left open the central question of the proper role of these volunteer panels. To be sure, the three council members in favor of pushing forward with a sale -- Mayor Pilar Turner, Vice Mayor Craig Fletcher and council member Tracy Carroll -- were completely within their rights. They followed procedure perfectly at the Dec. 6 Council
only members she remembers being replaced with time left to serve were individuals who missed meetings. The issue came to a head at the last City Council meeting when both the Mayor and council member Carroll placed items on the agenda under New Business to discuss the Utilities Commission. Attached as backup to that request were the resumes of Mechling, Hill, Heady and Fourmont, all of whom wanted to serve on the Utility Commission. Then, minutes before the 9:30 a.m. council meeting was scheduled to begin, Turner added a slate of members she wanted to appoint to the board and members she wanted taken off. When the council reached the New Business portion of the meeting, the mayor laid out the issue, stating: “The commissions are formulated by
2 0 1 1
BY IAN LOVE VERO BEACH NEWSWEEKLY
meeting in seating Chuck Mechling, James “Toby” Hill, former City Council member Brian Heady and Daniel Fourmont as new members on the panel. The new members replace former commission Chairman Herb Whittall; Robert Blumstein; Duane Wasmuth and alternate Thomas Burkett. In addition, Jane Burton was removed from the commission but will serve as an alternate. “They (commission members) serve at the will of the council,” acting City Attorney Wayne Comment said. “It is council’s prerogative if they don’t like the advice they are getting or they don’t think it is well founded, they can make changes.” Just the same, City Clerk Tammy Vock says she can never remember such a wholesale change of a sitting board in all her time at City Hall. The
1 5 ,
Question arises after sacking of four members of the Utility Commission
D E C E M B E R
NEWS ANALYSIS