INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Tracking Station Beach has gone unguarded since the new fiscal year began on Thursday due to county budget cuts, but Commissioner Joe Flescher is hoping to convince at least two other colleagues to find the money needed to get lifeguards back on the stand soon.
Also on the agenda is public notice of a joint meeting with the City of Vero Beach and the Town of Indian River Shores on Oct. 15 to discuss the possible consolidation of the city and county water and sewer utilities. The Vero Beach City Council will meet at 7 p.m. and County Commission Chair Wesley Davis will address City Council members about the proposed meeting at Vero Beach City Hall in the Council Chambers.
During its regular meeting on Tuesday, the Board of County Commissioners will consider a request by Flescher to fund the $42,000 to $110,000 needed to staff the lifeguard station at the beach, located on county land but within the boundaries of the Town of Indian River Shores.
Flescher has been pummelled by members of the Indian River Shores Town Council about the issue because the town lies within his commission district. He has placed the item in his matters for consideration.
The Board of County Commissioners meets at 9 a.m. in Building A of the County Administration Complex.
The Indian River Shores Town Council has agreed to attend the proposed Oct. 15 meeting, but the Vero Beach City Council has yet to officially sign on to this meeting, though it will be a topic of discussion at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting.
Chairman Davis has stated that, if the City will not move the issue of consolidation “off center” in a timely manner, the county will consider a resolution passed by the county Utility Advisory Committee to notify the City of Vero Beach that it will not be renewing a 1987 franchise agreement for water and sewer services and intends to build the infrastructure needed to serve county residents with utilities. That agreement expires in 2017 and the county must notify the city at least five years in advance whether or not they intend to renew. Should the county decide to service its own residents with water and sewer, the City of Vero Beach would lose nearly 30 percent of its current customer base, much of that coming from the south barrier island.
The Town of Indian River Shores also has franchise agreements with the City for water, sewer and electric which expire in 2016 and they are in the process of researching and examining those agreements and all possible implications of renewing or not renewing the franchise for services.
