By Ella Chabot-Remington
SEBASTIAN — “This is a bittersweet moment for me. I just want everyone to know that if they had to wheel me in tonight I was making this meeting. This is my last official council meeting for the City of Sebastian,” said out-going Councilwoman Dale Simchick at the last city council meeting.
“I can proudly say I have never missed a meeting in two and a half years. I was trusted with a job, and it was important to me that I made all the meetings,” she added.
Simchick, an administrator with the Indian River County Sheriff’s Department, is now focused on her campaign for an Indian River County Commission seat to be voted on in August.
“It’s been a pleasure working with you Mr. Ginsburg, Al Minner, and Sally Maio,” Simchick said to the city’s attorney, manager and clerk, respectively. “I’ve learned a lot from all of you. I want to tell you that you conduct our business in a professional manner, and I can’t say enough about the three of you.”
Simchick also thanked the staff and employees at the Sebastian City Hall and the Sebastian Police Department, with a special reference to the police officers who faithfully oversee City Council meetings.
Simchick served on the council for an extra six months because elections were moved from March to November during her term.
“I have gotten to see what makes a small community a wonderful place to live in, and why Sebastian is the most desirable place to live,” Simchick reminisced in her farewell remarks.
“It’s not just the city residents, the city employees, or the police officers, it’s the organizations,” she said, reflecting on the different groups that make up the City of Sebastian.
Mentioning the Sebastian Historical Society, the Friends of the St. Sebastian River, the Women’s Club, and the Lions Club, Simchick noted, “We wouldn’t have the 4th of July if it wasn’t for the Lions Club.”
Referencing the Clambake Foundation, The Boys and Girls Club of Indian River County, and The Soccer Association, she remarked, “All these little activities, the youth activities, that’s what makes our city wonderful to live in. All their contributions and their dedication, they give freely and so much. The Ecumenical Association, the food pantry, I don’t think anybody knows how many families they feed a week. I don’t want to continue to name because I could name a long list.”
Simchick stressed the value of all those who choose to serve the community.
“I want to thank them all because it’s made me take pride in my community for all the things that they do. Thank you to all of you who serve in your way.”
Reflecting on the highlights of her term, Simchick included “bringing the community and state college here,” creating an economic development plan, and offering the tax abatement question on the upcoming ballot.”
“The Collier Creek Canal, although it’s not a glamour project, was a very important project,” she remarked, emphasizing that the improved drainage is a credit to the city manager and council.
“The main street project and working waterfront is something that we can take pride in, the revitalization of that area,” she said.
Simchick then mentioned her personal joy at being involved in saving the Hardee Tree.
“It’s a tribute that we saved that tree to hopefully live a few more years,” she added.
The “Hardee Oak” is located in the Downtown Historic area of Sebastian, near the Indian River Lagoon. It was planted in the 1890’s by Capt. Robert G. Hardee, a tax assessor and post master, and a Sebastian council member in 1926. The first woman on the Sebastian Council was his daughter, Meta, in the 1950s.
According to Simchick, the legend is that when sidewalks were constructed in the area of the Hardee Oak around 1925, Hardee’s mother chained herself to the tree to save it from demolition. The tree faced a similar threat after it was ravaged by hurricanes Francis and Jeanne in 2004. Simchick was part of the City Council that voted to save the oak during the revitalization of the waterfront area by placing water pipes underneath it.
“It would have been easier to just cut it,” said Simchick, who sees the efforts to preserve the tree as a reflection of the regard for history and tradition that make Sebastian a special community.
