VERO BEACH — The Vero Beach City Council Tuesday approved applying for a $12,500 grant to fund the design and bid phase of a fishing pier to be built at Riverside Park in memory of Cole Coppola.
Coppola is the 16-year-old John Carroll Catholic High School student who was killed in a tragic crash on the 17th Street Bridge in September 2014, in the early morning hours when the bicycle Coppola was riding was struck by a vehicle.
Friends and loved ones have pledged to raise the $25,000 needed to match a separate grant for the construction phase of the project, which Vero will apply for from the Florida Inland Navigation District’s Waterway Assistance Program next March.
Provided the funding is in place, the pier is slated to be constructed during the 2016-17 fiscal year.
The staff memo about the proposed pier states it would provide “another recreational opportunity at Riverside Park,” but would require no funds from the city.
