VERO BEACH — Upon hearing that Indian River County did not apply for funding for lagoon projects from the regional Indian River Lagoon Council and that there was $64,000 left on the table, the Vero Beach City Council voted Tuesday to join Sebastian and Fellsmere in representing Indian River County in the effort.
Sebastian Mayor Richard Gillmor, who has approached Vero before about participating, rose to the podium again to tell Vero that the Lagoon Council released its project list and that Sebastian was awarded $24,000 for oyster mats.
Gillmor again appealed to Vero officials to join in.
All the Vero Council members said they are big supporters of the lagoon, but Councilwoman Pilar Turner repeated her objection to the way the new council was formed and to the power that the staff seems to wield. Turner was the lone dissenter in the vote for membership, though she said that time may show that the council does have a positive impact if it is well run.
The council asked Gillmor if he thought the money was awarded evenly among the five lagoon counties, and he said yes, taking into account the large geographic area that Brevard County covers.
Gillmor said he still holds out hope that the Board of County Commissioners will someday have a change of heart and decide to join, but until then, he feels that the cities should have a shared seat at the table.
“I think the coalition (of cities) has value even down the road even if the County does opt in,” Gillmor said, noting that representatives from the cities could still keep track of what applications the County submits, how much is awarded and how the money is used.
The participating municipalities would need to jointly come up with the $50,000 the council is asking for from Indian River County.
The Board of County Commissioners declined to join on the basis that the Council did not have a sunset date, and that unelected, paid staffers from several government entities have voting membership on the council.
For now, the council meets in Palm Bay at the St. John’s River Water Management District building, but the council is in the process of breaking out on its own.
