SEBASTIAN — “What the heck were they thinking?” is the question the Sebastian City Council intends to ask the Indian River County Commissioners in response to the Commission’s 5-0 vote not to join the Indian River Lagoon Council, thus leaving the County’s municipalities without a voice on a body that will likely be making significant decisions about the lagoon and its welfare, going forward.
Sebastian Mayor Richard Gillmor brought the issue up at the Jan. 28 City Council meeting, saying the County’s no vote “has been bugging me.”
Referring to the County’s decision as “unconscionable,” he said the precarious condition of the lagoon is “a generational problem which won’t be solved next week or next month or next year. Our City has already done a lot. Our own tests (of the lagoon waters at Sebastian outflows) show high nitrogen content.”
The Sebastian Council feels that a joint effort, with pooled funds and resources, can go farther than any on individual entity to accomplish what must be done to preserve a waterway that is a precious resource and, in many ways, the lifeblood of the communities along its shores.
The Lagoon Council was created through a funding commitment of $500,000 from the St. John’s River Water Management District and the South Florida Water Management District, plus $250,000 from DEP, in order to expand protection efforts and lead the work, under the Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program.
The interlocal agreement is currently going before each of the partners expected to join the two water management districts and the FDEP on the new Council: Volusia, Brevard, Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River counties.
The five counties along the Indian River Lagoon were to invest $50,000 each toward the program, but, at their Jan. 13 meeting, Indian River County Commissioners declined the partnership, citing concerns about control of Council funds, regionalization, and the possibility of a “hidden agenda.”
Martin County has approved the agreement.
Gillmor wondered whether, perhaps, other Indian River County municipalities – Vero Beach, Fellsmere, Indian River Shores – would be interested in joining Sebastian, together putting up the $50,000 buy-in for a seat on the Council, and asked City staff “wouldn’t it be better to be involved?”
City Engineer Frank Watanabe called it a no-brainer, pointing out that having a closer relationship, through the Lagoon Council, with entities from which the City must seek permits (the SJRWMD) for various city projects, is most certainly a good idea, as well as the obvious decision-making ability a seat on the Council provides when decisions arise concerning potential lagoon projects.
Council member Andrea Coy called Gillmor’s suggestion of a joint effort among the cities “a great idea. We could take control of the money, and send the County a bill,” she said with a smile, then seriously suggested the City send the county a letter asking, rhetorically, “‘What the heck are you doing?’ At least we have made (our concerns) formal,” she stated.
Vice-Mayor Jerome Adams wondered how sharing a seat among cities might work, when a vote was to be taken. City staff will find out whether and how a city or cities can, in fact, hold a seat on the Lagoon Council, and City Manager Joe Griffin will draft a letter to the County Commission.
