There was no way 2019 could surpass the previous year, which produced Florida Power & Light’s purchase of Vero Beach’s electric utility, Cleveland Clinic’s takeover of the Indian River Medical Center and Major League Baseball’s agreement with the county to run the Jackie Robinson Training Complex, formerly Dodgertown.
All big events that will improve our quality of life.
The past 12 months did, however, give us a chance to collectively catch our breath before embarking on what should be this century’s version of the Roaring ’20s – a decade in which we’ll continue to confront serious issues, solve problems and explore opportunities that will shape our community.
Here are some of my thoughts heading into the new year:
First and foremost, we need the right vision for the prime real estate known as Centennial Place, which must be planned and developed to become the lagoon-front hub – a popular and park-like gathering place for social, commercial and recreational activity – that Vero Beach so sorely lacks.
And while we’re on that topic: We also need to move Vero Beach’s wastewater treatment plant off the waterfront, and sooner rather than later – whether the city builds a new plant by the airport or partners with the county to provide wastewater treatment services.
Either way, if we’re going to draw crowds to that lagoon-front parcel at the heart of Vero Beach, we must remain vigilant in our efforts to improve the waterway’s overall health.
Then there’s this: Making Centennial Place something special would help solve the parking problems, real or imagined, in the Central Beach business district by giving folks another option, along with downtown Vero.
Since the county’s new school superintendent, Dr. David Moore, comes to us from Miami-Dade with a reputation as a transformational leader, he should begin here by transforming the culture of intimidation that haunted school district employees the past four years.
I’d start by taking a hard look at the human resources department.
We might as well accept it: Paid parking has arrived in Vero Beach, and we can expect to see more of it – not only downtown. Now that the owners of private lots have broken the ice, it’s only a matter of time before the city follows their lead.
We all should be rooting hard for business to continue to soar at Piper Aircraft, the county’s largest private-sector employer, which had a terrific 2019.
I’d love to see Elite Airways stay in Vero Beach and expand its service to include new destinations, possibly in the Midwest. That said, Airport Director Eric Menger continues to have conversations with other airlines, which are monitoring Elite’s success here, and competition is always welcome.
Having suffered a crippling defeat in court last month, it now appears inevitable that we’ll eventually see high-speed passenger trains rolling though our community, forcing taxpayers here to pay for upgraded road crossings.
That’s bad, but what’s worse will be the increase in freight-train traffic that is sure to follow.
There’s no good reason for local prosecutors to continue to appeal two county judges’ decisions to prohibit police surveillance videos from being used as evidence in last February’s prostitution sting here. The public humiliation suffered by the alleged johns, whose mugshots were posted on websites for months, was punishment enough for a misdemeanor.
Maybe you noticed that local law enforcement agencies proved none of the human-trafficking claims it used to hype the story to the news media.
Somebody out there knows what happened to Susy Tomassi, who wandered away from the Quilted Giraffe restaurant and disappeared near the intersection of Oslo Road and U.S. 1 in March 2018. Please, make a call, even if you do so anonymously.
Let’s keep political parties out of local No Party Affiliation elections, such as school board elections. While we’re at it, let’s not allow the polarization and vitriol of our national politics to trickle down and turn us against each other.
Oh, and let’s not have any more local politicians writing silly letters and picking fights with other cities. It’s embarrassing.
Any chance that Major League Baseball will use its clout to bring at least one Grapefruit League game to Vero Beach each year? We’d pack the place.
Someday, the Vero Beach Lifeguard Association will have the $250,000 it needs to build an oceanfront headquarters – an L-shaped, 600-square-foot observation tower and command center at Humiston Park – that would allow lifeguards to see more of the city’s shoreline. It’d be nice if that day arrived in 2020.
In closing, as I wrote a year ago, let’s refuse to settle for merely keeping Vero Vero this year and, instead, keep trying to make Vero better.
