INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — With no apparent interest by the School District in leasing or purchasing the 16th Street ball fields adjacent to Vero Beach High School, the County Commission will move forward with plans to surplus the property.
The Commission agreed to allow the 32 Al Ripkin Youth Baseball League teams to continue using the fields even after their lease expires June 1, until the property is sold.
After the County Recreation Department expressed no intention of utilizing the property, the county sent several letters and emails to the School District, but received no response, other than a previous offer by the district to swap the 11.76-acre complex for a section of sidewalk right-of-way near Sebastian River High School.
League President Derek Muller came before the commission May 10 to request that the teams be allowed to continue playing on the fields until the property was sold, and the commission agreed to “extend the status quo.”
County Administrator Joe Baird told Muller the League, as tenant, could move forward with a “month-to-month contract, which can be terminated at any time.”
As of 2015, the property was valued at $512,990. The commission directed staff to surplus the property for disposal through sealed bid sale.
