Name: Andrea B. CoyAge: 56Place of Birth: Upstate, NYLength of residence in Indian River County: 12 years in SebastianOccupation: Adjunct ProfessorEmployer: Indian River State CollegeMarital status: Single
Experience you feel is most relevant to serving in public office and why:
21 years U.S. Army active duty service – Retired Master Sergeant3 years Sebastian City Council Member1 ½ years Mayor, City of Sebastian
Now that I have almost 5 years of political experience under my belt, I think I bring the ability to recognize, prioritize, and expedite issues that are important to the City of Sebastian. I have made many connections with city, county and state officials that are invaluable assets when you need support and knowledge to accomplish a goal. Knowing where to go and who to ask for help saves time and resources.
Additionally, I believe that I have a consistent track record of being fair to everyone on every issue that comes before Council. I believe the public deserves factual information and challenge those individuals who deliberately try to “spin” an issue or make intentionally false allegations. I try to present facts and issues in logical and simple terms in order for the public to understand and visualize the pros and cons of our decisions.
Civic and Volunteer Leadership Experience:
Vice President Sebastian Property Owner’s Association January 2004 to March 2005Sr. Vice Commander Sebastian River VFW Post #10210
Candidate Questions
1. What is the biggest challenge facing Sebastian?
The biggest challenge is to maintain a balanced budget without raising taxes while at the same time, maintaining current level of services.
2. What is your vision for the Sebastian Riverfront area and what steps need to be taken to achieve that goal?
The Sebastian Riverfront is Sebastian’s greatest asset. We have gone to great lengths to preserve and protect our lagoon and maintain stringent building codes to preserve the character and visibility of our beautiful river. My vision is to see more business activity along the waterfront that will provide a destination for residents and tourists. The Working Waterfront project funded primarily by the Stan Mayfield grant will help to create another destination site and provide viewing, educational, historical, and commercial fishing opportunities. As the economy improves and combined with other business incentives and infrastructure improvements, we will be more attractive to small businesses.
3. What is your position on CRA (Community Redevelopment Area) expenditure allocations in terms of how much is spent in business incentives and infrastructure improvements?
The only other area CRA money can be spent is to sponsor special city events like the 4th of July, Clambake, Fine Arts Festival, etc. The majority of the money is spent on business and infrastructure improvements. Nothing else is allowed by law.
4. One of the city’s efforts currently is to attract new tenants to the Sebastian Municipal Airport. If elected to council, what would you do to continue or change those efforts?
Council needs to address providing infrastructure improvements NOW that will make virtual turn-key business opportunities to attract new tenants.
5. What is your opinion of the Sebastian Clambake and how proceeds are delegated? What, if any, changes would you like to see for the annual event?
The Sebastian Clambake Foundation has been operating as a local non-profit organization for the past seven years. They have sponsored five clambake events in Sebastian and donated more than $220,000 to other local organizations in our community. The clambake is one of the most successful and popular events in Sebastian. The annual influx of tourists and visitors for the 3-day event brings $$$ to many local businesses. The Clambake Foundation coordinates hundreds of volunteers to make this an annual success. Previous allegations of criminal activity by several local residents proved to be totally unsubstantiated and deliberately malicious.
What is my opinion of the Sebastian Clambake? WOW, what a great event!!! Thank-you Clambake Foundation and all the volunteers who make this happen. Keep up the great work!!!
6. Are there possibilities for partnerships or efficiencies by working with Fellsmere, Vero Beach or the county? If so, how would you like the city to work with those entities?
In these dire economic times, the City of Sebastian needs to seek partnerships with all government entities – City, County, State, and Federal. Economies of scale and other efficiencies need to be maximized for the common good. To accomplish this, we all need to set aside our differences and embrace a cooperative spirit with the goal being win-win, not win-lose.
Any other comments?
This is a very important election year for the City of Sebastian. Three Council seats are being elected. The current economic crisis is affecting everyone – residents and business owners. Strong leadership and experience are needed to guide the city budget and successfully survive the crisis. I am asking the public to vote for those individuals who have demonstrated their concern for the public good. Look for folks with previous public service and avoid those who only have empty words and promises. We need government representatives who will enhance our city’s reputation and work cooperatively within and outside our community. We definitely don’t need representatives whose reputation and demonstrated history will only make them politically impotent and ineffective.
