The county Hospital District postponed action last week on three important, ongoing issues, loading up a full plate of work for the board in early 2026.
As the year comes to a close, the future of the property that the Hospital District bought on 10th Street just outside the Vero Beach city limits for a planned sober home is still pending, as are a stormwater drainage dilemma on land purchased by the Visiting Nurse Association in 2024, and new lease terms on the building rented by the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine for medical student training.
The Hospital District, while mulling four pitches it received from potential operators of sober living and addiction-related facilities interested in the 10th Street property, in November voted to enlist a real estate broker to determine how much the buildings and land might be worth if trustees opted to sell them instead.
Taxpayers currently have a total of $4.2 million tied up in the property including renovations. The two buildings’ residential zoning remains a concern, as rezoning, if needed for a sober home, would be costly and time-consuming.
Staff told trustees the broker said the property could fetch $4.7 million to $5.2 million, with numerous inquiries already received.
On the second matter of the retention pond, legal counsel Jennifer Peshke said she’s met with the VNA attorney and engineers, but that the issue is much more complex than initially thought. The VNA Hospice House runoff drains onto the Cleveland Clinic campus, and VNA wants the same arrangement for a planned expansion north of the Hospice House.
Peshke said the St. Johns River Water Management District is seeking more information about the VNA property and the proposed project. This fall the Hospital District’s own consulting engineer said the rights the VNA seeks have substantial value. If the VNA must construct its own retention facility, the engineer said it would cost the VNA between $800,000 and $1 million.
Also, any expansions of Cleveland Clinic Indian River Hospital could trigger the need for a whole new drainage plan and permits based upon today’s regulations, so hospital personnel will be involved in any easement rights the Hospital District might want to grant the VNA.
With regard to the third matter, the lease with the VCOM medical school hoping to open in Vero Beach, trustees extended the time to amend the lease terms as the verbiage was not fleshed-out last week.
Though two VCOM principals spent two days in Vero last week and committed to a new timeline for making capital investments in the taxpayer-owned building – saying they already have construction plans and a developer – what was missing was any certainty for when a medical school or residency program would be accredited and accepting future doctors in Vero.
The Virginia-based VCOM faces political and regulatory hurdles in Tallahassee trying to get the legislature to add VCOM to the approved list of medical schools training residents in Florida.
VCOM already has third- and fourth-year students training at the hospital, and at local clinics.
Chairman Dr. Bill Cooney said he wants a timeline for VCOM moving forward on the academic front built into the lease. Trustee Paul Westcott and others agreed.
“I think it’s a mistake for us to go forward with just this, because our commitment is to have them lease the building for the specified purpose within this particular time frame. I think the fact that we’ve come to them and said, ‘Hey, we’re running into some deadlines, let’s work with it,’ has demonstrated flexibility on our part,” Westcott said. “I would invite them to give us a realistic timetable to accomplish those things, in addition to these physical plant improvements, so that we have some accountability.
“I think without that degree of commitment from them, there’s something missing for us,” Westcott said.
After VCOM had not complied with the initial lease terms in October, the board approved a 90-day extension to Jan. 9 to negotiate revised terms. Last week, trustees voted to extend the lease for an additional 60 days.
Those three items are expected to be taken back up in January, when the board traditionally also chooses a chair, vice chair, treasurer and secretary for the calendar year.
Vice Chair Kerry Bartlett last week thanked Chairman Dr. Bill Cooney for his service leading the meetings in 2025. Cooney’s term as a trustee expires in 2028.
Back in January, both Bartlett and Trustee Karen Deigl nominated themselves as chair, but Cooney prevailed. Bartlett has run several key meetings over the past year including budget discussions pertaining to the funding of local nonprofits.
The trustee selected as chair serves in the important role of ex-officio member on the board of Cleveland Clinic Indian River Hospital and is privy to a wealth of important and sometimes sensitive information not disclosed to the general public.
This dual role means the chair must discern which items discussed must be kept confidential – such as personnel matters or litigation – while ensuring that Hospital District trustees stay well-informed about their tenant, Cleveland Clinic. The taxpayers of Indian River County still own the hospital land and buildings, which Cleveland Clinic has been operating since 2019 on a 75-year lease.
Prior to Cooney’s year as chair, predecessor Marybeth Cunningham held the position for eight straight years, then immediately became a regular voting member of the Cleveland Clinic board in December 2024 as her term as an elected Hospital District trustee was ending.
