Throughout his campaign for a seat on the City Council last year, Taylor Dingle stressed the need for Vero Beach’s young adults to get more involved in the decisions that impact the future of their community.
Which was fitting: Elected in November at age 27, he became the youngest council member in the city’s history.
Now 28, Dingle is continuing his efforts to engage with citizens of his generation – anyone under 40, really – and provide more opportunities for them to publicly share their thoughts and concerns about important issues confronting local government.
To that end, he has scheduled a public forum for working residents who cannot attend daytime meetings but want to learn more about and discuss the four proposals the city has received for the development of the Three Corners site.
Dingle’s first “Public Input After Hours” session is set for 6:30 p.m. April 11 at the Heritage Center in Pocahontas Park in downtown Vero Beach.
“I was a student of the City Council for a long time before I got elected, and while I attended a lot of meetings, I didn’t see very many people my age in the audience,” Dingle said last week, when he announced his plan for the first of what he hopes will be at least two after-hours gatherings per year.
“So, I’m trying something new,” he added. “One of my campaign missions was to engage with younger people – get them more involved and get their input, especially on projects as important to the future of our community as the Three Corners.
“This forum is open to everyone, but I’m hoping that, by doing it at a time more convenient for people who work during the day, we can target a younger demographic than we usually see at our council meetings.”
Dingle, a John’s Island golf pro who ran unsuccessfully for a City Council seat in 2021 and 2022, said he sent the announcement of the inaugural meeting to a “core group of friends” and other young-adult groups in Vero Beach, but he also wants the local news media to help him reach others in the community.
In fact, the rookie councilman distributed a news release that stated: “I understand the demands of daily life, and I want to ensure that everyone has the chance to contribute to the dialogue about our community’s future.”
He concluded with a plea to his peers, asking them to join him as they “collectively shape the path forward for Vero Beach.”
Dingle alone will conduct the forum, which will not be subject to Florida’s Sunshine Law because it is not an official council meeting and he’s not collaborating with other council members to organize it.
However, he said he has invited key members of the city’s staff, including Three Corners Project Manager Peter Polk, to attend.
Dingle, who founded the local chapter of the Young Republicans and went on to serve on the city’s Utilities Commission, said he would be thrilled to attract a gathering of at least 50 people under age 40 to talk about the Three Corners proposals and provide feedback.
He said he planned to refrain from taking a position on any of the submissions, however.
“I see this as a pilot program,” Dingle said of his after-hours initiative, adding, “Ultimately, if this thing gets traction, I would love to fill the Heritage Center.”
Vero Beach officials want to create a dining, retail, social and recreational hub on the mainland’s waterfront – on 34 acres that straddle the west end of the 17th Street Bridge and are currently occupied by the city’s defunct power plant and still-functioning wastewater treatment plant.
Mayor John Cotugno, the oldest member of the City Council at age 75, welcomed Dingle’s attempt to engage with younger citizens who too often aren’t seen at daytime meetings.
“Unless there’s a particularly controversial issue and people are really stirred up about something, such as the marina-expansion project, we don’t usually see a cross-section of the community represented from an age-demographic standpoint,” Cotugno said.
“Even when we’ve had evening meetings, you don’t see it,” he added. “But I’ve always been a big proponent of public input. The more you can reach out to the community – the more you can engage in conversations regarding what’s going on in the city – the better.
“So, as long as nobody is violating Sunshine, why not?”
Cotugno regularly participates in “Coffee with the Mayor” gatherings from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. on the second Friday of each month at the Heritage Center. Dingle, however, said he’s not planning monthly after-hours forums.
Not yet, anyway.
“I suppose it could eventually evolve into something more, but I’m not trying to steal anyone’s thunder,” Dingle said.
