That well-thought-out process the Vero Beach City Council created for attracting, evaluating and, ultimately, selecting the developer for the transformational Three Corners project on the mainland’s waterfront?
Now, there’s a new plan.
The council members voted unanimously last week to amend the process, deciding to not rely solely on the city’s carefully chosen, seven-person Three Corners Selection Committee to meet with and interview the four developers who submitted proposals.
They want to meet with the developers, too.
So on May 21 – a week after the developers each make their presentation to the Selection Committee during one-at-a-time interviews – they’ll need to return to Vero Beach to answer questions from the council members.
“We were elected to do this job,” Council member Tracey Zudans said, emphasizing that the Selection Committee wasn’t chosen by the voters. “I think it is negligent for elected officials at this dais to not want to do this.”
Vice Mayor Linda Moore and council members John Carroll and Taylor Dingle agreed with Zudans, who is running for a seat on the County Commission.
Mayor John Cotugno argued against changing the process, saying that council members may submit questions that can be asked by the Selection Committee during its interviews with the developers.
He expressed concern that the council, by inserting itself into the interview phase, risks the appearance that it is undermining – or at least second-guessing – the exhaustive work done by the Selection Committee, which will rank the four proposals before and after the developers’ presentations, then make a public recommendation.
Cotugno also warned that the council is creating an opening for citizens to question its intent, especially if it doesn’t embrace the recommendation of a committee that brings needed expertise to the process.
“We need to stay above that fray,” the mayor said.
Moore responded by saying the council shouldn’t “automatically agree” with the committee’s recommendation, adding that she wants to be able to ask questions directly to the developers and see their faces as they respond.
“Sometimes, when you have a conversation with a person,” she said, “you get a certain feeling about where they’re at.”
Carroll said he believed it was important the council have an opportunity to speak directly to the developers, particularly because questions asked could prompt follow-up questions.
“I just think it’s the right way to do it,” he said. “And I think we probably missed the boat by not setting that up, initially.”
Under the previously approved plan, the Selection Committee would meet with the four developers and conduct the interviews behind closed doors – two on May 13 and two on May 17 – then publicly discuss the information gathered and make its recommendation to the City Council.
The committee also would weigh input from a consultant the city has hired to determine if the developers have the financial wherewithal to execute its proposal.
The council then would meet on May 28 to consider the recommendation, debate its merits and choose a developer with whom the city would engage in contract negotiations.
Last week, however, the council squeezed in another phase – and Cotugno backed off his opposition.
“I believe the council is a team, and the mayor is the leader of the team,” Cotugno said. “As the leader of the team, you need to be able to work with your teammates to make informed, fact-based decisions.
“I felt compelled to express caution, and I did, but seeing where the vote was headed, I aligned with the team,” he added. “It’s the same position I took with the Twin Pairs. I’m a process guy, and I let the process play out, which took us to the right decision.
“Just as it did then, I’m confident the process will take the council to the right decision again.”
The development groups that submitted proposals were: Clearpath Services of Bloomington, Indiana; the Su-Da, CREC Capitol, Madison Marquette partnership of Pompano Beach; Vista Blue Vero Beach Resort & Spa; and the Edgewater Group of Fort Lauderdale.
The proposals range from investments of $144 million to $500 million.
