“Carpetbagger!”
Lori Halbert blurted that word as she looked at new councilwoman Mary Jo Kilcullen at last month’s Indialantic council meeting. Halbert accused Kilcullen of wrongly occupying a council seat when her residence was in White Plains, New York.
A heated exchange followed in which Kilcullen denied the allegations.
Who is correct could come to a head when municipal attorney Paul R. Gougelman presents a report on Kilcullen’s residence at the April 12 council meeting.
“At last the council meeting, I received from Lori Halbert a pile of documents and I was asked to review them for the next meeting on the residency status,” Gougelman said.
On the surface, the issue revolves around whether Kilcullen was eligible for office because she maintained an apartment in White Plains and rented her Indialantic home at times to vacationers when she stayed in New York. But the testy discussion also reflects what appears to be a deep animosity between Kilcullen and Halbert and perhaps others in the community over the direction of Indialantic.
“The last council meeting was nothing short of a performance put on by citizens with questionable character in an attempt to debase much-needed changes for Indialantic that I am fighting for,” Kilcullen said.
Halbert says Kilcullen’s vision of Indialantic does not fit with the town.
“My town is under assault,” she said. “Imposing your values on other people is not why we elect people to council in Indialantic. Most people like the way things are. Can improvements be made? Of course. There are always things to make everyone’s life a little more pleasant without changing the character of our town. This is a slice of heaven in an increasingly hostile world. A newcomer wants to destroy the very thing that makes us special – destroy this with higher taxes, traffic and crime.”
“It’s slanderous,” said Kilcullen of those charges. “I am a threat to them and their good old boys club.”
Kilcullen said she maintained a full-time address in the Indialantic home where she has resided since 2012 even as she travelled back to New York in 2015 and 2016 after her now former husband, Matt, accepted a position as director of athletics at Mercy College.
During her absence, she rented the house on a short-term basis, which was a violation of municipal codes prohibiting such transactions in certain areas of town. Kilcullen said she was not aware of the restrictions at the time.
According to a report, Indialantic Police Sergeant Michael Connor investigated Kilcullen’s property regarding its use as a vacation rental after receiving complaints. Connor located the property on Vacation Rentals by Owner website.
“I decided to rent my home in Indialantic for short periods and weekends while I was in New York. I also paid all appropriate state and county sales tax during these short-term rental periods. When I received a notice of cease and desist I did,” Kilcullen said.
What is under scrutiny is whether Kilcullen was considered a resident of New York prior to and when she ran for office or a resident of Indialantic. According to municipal law, members of the town council are required to be residents for at least a year prior to the time they run for office. Findings are mixed, so far.
Last June, Connor concluded Matthew and Mary Jo Kilcullen do not live at the property but in New York. The Brevard County Property Appraiser seemed to confirm Connor’s finding yet also confirmed Kilcullen was registered to vote in Indialantic and not New York.
