The Town of Indian River Shores will see just one change on the town council next week as Councilwoman Mary Alice Smith returns to life as a private citizen and Judge William Dane takes the council seat he won unopposed.
As Dane is sworn in at the Nov. 14 organizational meeting, council members James Altieri and Bob Auwaerter will be sworn-in again for another four-year term. Shores council members are limited to two full four-year terms, so Altieri and Auwaerter will both be term-limited in 2028.
Dane, a workers compensation attorney and retired judge, said no one thing drew him to the barrier island town, but a variety of factors contributed his settling in Indian River Shores.
“I have, in retirement, come to appreciate the less hectic and collegial smaller town setting it provides,” Dane said. “By serving on the Town Council, I hope to contribute to the ongoing success and preservation of this unique township.”
With the addition of Dane, the council will consist of three attorneys and two executives with deep credentials in finance. Since the town council helps negotiate issues with public safety officers, and collective bargaining agreements, Dane’s experience in the labor law arena may come in handy.
The city is also attempting to renegotiate its utility franchise agreement with the City of Vero Beach, and Dane has decades of experience working as a dispute mediator.
Mayor Brian Foley praised Smith for her four years of service to the town, saying she always brought a unique perspective to issues that came to the council.
“Mary Alice always brought forward aspects of an issue that I had never thought of and I’m grateful for that,” Foley said.
Vice Mayor Sam Carroll, who said he counts his fellow John’s Island resident Smith among his dear friends, added that he looks forward to conversing with Smith during their Monday-morning gym workouts beyond the niceties they’ve been able to exchange these past four years while they’ve been under the constraints of Florida’s Sunshine Laws.
Smith promised to keep in touch not only with Carroll but with all of her colleagues on the dais, now that they can talk about town issues again, as she’s still very passionate about getting things accomplished.
She half-jokingly called the coming months her “Unbridled” era, unconstrained by the laws which have prohibited her from talking to other council members about anything that may come before the town council for consideration or a vote – now or in the future. The rest of the council picked up on the “Mary Alice Unbridled” theme, saying they look forward to hearing her ideas.
Before joining the council, Smith spearheaded the Distinguished Lecturer Series and organized professional golf tournaments at John’s Island. On the council, she pressed Florida City Gas for answers about the expansion of natural gas to the island, and pushed officials to get much-needed sand on the Shores’ beaches.
