Buoyed by a big win Tuesday when the Board of County Commissioners voted unanimously to earmark $2.7 million to fight All Aboard Florida, residents who think the high-speed train should run alongside Florida’s Turnpike are preparing to gather in force to rally for their cause.
Thousands of people are expected to descend upon the Indian River County Administration Complex for the rally from 2 to 3:30 p.m. March 7 to show elected officials across the state that Indian River County does not want the train. The event is being hosted by Citizens Against The Train.
The All Aboard Florida issue has brought together groups and individuals with a vast range of political views, from the barrier island to Gifford, from retirement communities in Sebastian to Tea Party activists to the firefighters’ union.
“I’ve never seen an issue galvanize the community like this,” said Chairman Wesley Davis before Tuesday’s vote. “This is one that we truly get all of the bad and none of the good. This is being forced down the throats of the people of this community.”
Commissioner Bob Solari, who proposed allocating $500,000 this year plus $1.1 million in 2016 and 2017 to mount legal challenges to All Aboard Florida, is scheduled to speak at the rally, along with Vero Beach City Councilman Randy Old and firefighter John O’Connor, who worries about 32 trains bisecting the county’s roadways used by fire engines and ambulances.
The County Commission’s vote to commit $2.7 million over a three-year period for legal and technical consulting fees related to its efforts to derail the All Aboard Florida high-speed train was unanimous.
The commission also voted to bring back a resolution expressing the County’s opposition to All Aboard Florida being able to issue bonds to fund the project.
Commissioner Solari made the two motions, saying that $2.7 million represents roughly one percent of the County’s general fund budget.
Solari made the motion that $500,000 be allocated this fiscal year ending Sept. 30, plus $1.1 million in the 2015-16 and 2016-17 fiscal years.
He said the issue is well worth the potential cost. Solari said efforts so far have significantly delayed the project and changed the way the project would be funded, instead of via federally insured loans, All Aboard Florida is now applying to issue private activity bonds.
But Solari said Indian River County cannot do it alone, and that he’s hopeful officials in other counties “will do the right thing.”
“We need the governments of St. Lucie County (to) do all they can,” Solari said.
In addition, he praised the grassroots efforts that have sprung up along Florida’s coast to fight the project.
“There are plenty of ways for groups to help and plenty of ways for citizens can make their voices heard,” he said.
Commissioner Peter O’Bryan offered a second to both the motions.
“I am not opposed to commuter rail. I am opposed to this project due to the high-speed nature of it coming through our community,” O’Bryan said.
O’Bryan added that when it comes to the tragic loss of life in crashes with the trains, “it’s not a question of if, but when.”
“It’s almost unthinkable that 32 trains a day would be coming through our community at 110 mph,” O’Bryan said.
Dozens of speakers rose to oppose the project, with only one man speaking in favor of the train, saying that Indian River County should work with All Aboard Florida to support the project and to get a stop in Vero Beach.
Developer Joe Palladin said he attended a meeting in Malabar in the early stages of the project and All Aboard Florida staffers told the public they were not there to ask permission, but just to inform them, that the project was a “done deal,” because they already owned the right of way. That attitude, he said, struck him the wrong way.
“It’s not going to do anything positive for us,” Palladin said. “We’ve haven’t been given all the information, and the information we did get has been flawed.”
County Attorney Dylan Reingold said the County has been working with some experts to examine its options, but with this appropriation, it will be able to hire an attorney to bring the Board back some strategies to file suit to stop the project.
Some of the meetings regarding what the County can and may do in court would be legal “shade” meetings, and as such exempt under Florida’s Sunshine laws.
