With the latest version of the Vero Beach City Council sworn in and poised to move forward with an already-ambitious to-do list, Mayor John Cotugno wants to make sure the panel has its priorities in order.
To that end, he requested – and received with a unanimous vote last week – a special-call workshop at which the council will discuss the city’s goals, objectives and priorities for the coming year.
The workshop, which will be the first of several planned to address different topics, is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall and is open to the public.
“The council needs to decide its goals and objectives, and where they slot in terms of our priorities,” Cotugno said from the dais at last Tuesday’s meeting. “Then you’ll have a better understanding of where we’re going to be able to divvy up staff time to address the issues we want to address.
“They’re all important in their context,” the mayor added, referring to projects and issues the council needs to discuss at length, “but where we direct our limited staff and resources is one of the key duties we have as a city council.”
Among the topics the council plans to discuss in the coming weeks and months are the progress of the three major projects already in motion – the much-anticipated-but-delayed development of the Three Corners site, relocation of the city’s wastewater-treatment plant from the banks of the Indian River Lagoon to the Vero Beach Regional Airport, and expansion and improvements at the municipal marina. Council members also want to discuss:
- Enhancing the allure of downtown despite voter rejection last month of a referendum to increase residential density in the district.
- The possibility of the county helping fund the planned replacement of the storm-damaged boardwalk at the city’s Humiston Beach Park.
- Administration of the city’s stormwater utility and the possibility of giving property owners credit for efforts made to mitigate runoff.
- Infrastructure needs created by the county’s increasing population growth.
- The city’s ongoing recovery from the damage done by Hurricane Milton-spawned tornadoes, especially the devastating twister that tore through the Central Beach community.
At recently re-elected Councilman John Carroll’s urging, the council has scheduled for Jan. 14 – immediately following its regularly scheduled 9:30 a.m. meeting – a workshop to discuss the development of a future cumulative substantial improvement ordinance.
Carroll said the city needs to consider amending its ordinance setting a limit on the number of times property owners may make significant repairs to storm-damaged structures, located in flood zones, without being required to adhere to current building codes.
“That’s something we can do in a relatively short workshop,” he said.
A much longer workshop will be needed for the council to discuss its options – and get community feedback – regarding the revitalization under the current residential density restrictions.
The council has scheduled a workshop to address improvements to the “downtown walkable core and adjacent areas” for Jan. 28 at 6 p.m. at City Hall.
“Downtown is a major topic,” Carroll said, adding that such a session is necessary to accommodate an exhaustive discussion of the topics he introduced on the agenda for last week’s meeting as “Next Step Ideas.”
His proposals included the establishment of a Community Redevelopment Agency to fund improvements – a strategy also embraced by Vice Mayor Linda Moore, perhaps the council’s most-ardent downtown advocate.
Carroll’s agenda item also calls for a discussion of adopting new regulations that would ensure “retail, restaurants, coffee and ice cream shops, etc., are located on the first floor and that professional offices are located on the upper floors” of buildings along the 14th Avenue corridor.
