Spring 2017 IRNA News Magazine

NEWSLETTER ISSUE 01 APRIL 2017

VERO S2S

Stormwater Utility Update

Honey Minuse

ALL SEPTIC 2 SEWER

AFLBOORAIRDDA Jean Catchpole

John Higgs INDIAN RIVER LAGOON

Then and Now
Judy Orcutt

WHO WE ARE

The IRNA brings people together to solve issues, to the groves, we bring everyone …..individuals….
protect the community from ill-advised development organizations….governments… together.
and to assure a quality of life for the benefit of It was the impetus behind our formation and it
future generations throughout our county. carries our mission today.  But we cannot do this
without your financial support.
Our history is strong and we remain the only
organization people can turn to for help and advice We are an all-volunteer organization, contracting
when proposed land issues threaten their homes, out only for essential services. We remain a non-
their neighborhoods, their surrounding communities partisan, not-for-profit organization and our annual
and waterways.  fundraising has started.

Some issues are unique to specific jurisdictions. We are asking for your financial support to help us
Others embrace a wider area.  Broader issues such as continue our work.
the health of the lagoon are inclusive of all our local
governments.  And we advocate for collaboration You may donate to the Indian River Neighborhood
among them all.  Association using the envelope inserted in this
publication or you may donate online by going to 
And when issues such as the fast-train (All www.indianriverna.com
Aboard Florida), short term vacation rentals or
building heights threaten our entire county as We thank you for your support.
well as communities from the beaches through

OUR MISSION

Dedicating our efforts on behalf of our towns, cities and neighborhoods
throughout the County in concert with a welcoming business environment to:

• Preserve our green spaces
• Protect our communities
• Foster managed growth

• Restore our waterways
• Treasure our resources
We strive to engage today to provide an enhanced tomorrow.

2 IRNA ISSUE 01, APRIL 2017

ALL menace. We are grateful that it did. A recent court
ABOARD ruling found that the County and others had standing
in court. As a result of this ruling the rail proposal has
FLORIDA been modified so that initially it will no longer affect
By John Higgs our County. Is the fight over? Absolutely not. If selling
bonds to finance the first part of rail project is successful
T he proposed high speed rail service through our (which is uncertain) we may be certain that the threat to
County presents a serious threat to the safety and our County will return.
lifestyle of all of those who live in Indian River
County. It makes little or no difference if you live on the The parent company, Fortress, was recently purchased by
mainline or island. a Japanese firm and we do not know what effect this may
have on the rail project.
What has the Indian River Neighborhood Association done to
stop this threat? The short answer is plenty! The IRNA will continue to support our County
government, our elected officials and others to prevent
We were the principle organizer of a large group of local this potential disaster from happening.
organizations put together to study the effect of the
rail proposal on our community. This group concluded
that the proposed rail project presented many serious
issues including that the required environmental impact
statement was deficient. We also urged our County
government to get involved in litigation to stop this

HISTORIC SITES AND THE FAST TRAIN By Honey Minuse

T HERE ARE SPECIFIC FEDERAL LAWS WHICH REQUIRE Archaeologist Andy Hemmings and
COMPLIANCE TO ALLOW THE FAST TRAIN, BRIGHTLINE former Vero Beach City Councilman
(ALL ABOARD FLORIDA), TO PROCEED. Randy Old have been representing
this site to the federal agencies.
One which has received little Historian, Ruth Stanbridge, the
attention is the NHPA (National County’s historic sites have been It is not known at this time what
Historical Preservation Act) which correctly identified and represented protections can or will be placed
protects historical, archaeological, to the numerous agencies involved to protect these sites. The major
and cultural resources. This with permitting this fast train now accomplishment to date is that
applies to any Federal undertaking known as Brightline. federal agencies are now aware of
including the proposed fast train. these historic assets.
Another site receiving protection
National Historical Preservation Act according to “Section 106” is These individuals working on
the Old Vero Ice Age Site, an Section 106 have been participating
Referred to as “Section 106”, our archaeological site of significant in our Train Impact Coalition (TIC).
County’s historic properties, of importance. While the active We are indeed fortunate to have so
which there are many, are accorded dig site is in near proximity to many dedicated volunteers working
protections by this Act. Many of the existing tracks the entirety on behalf of the well-being of our
these properties are adjacent or of this archaeological area is many community interests. A big
close to the tracks. Under the considered to run east under the thank you is extended to all of them!
very capable leadership of County tracks and extending under US 1.

To provide support, get involved or learn more, please visit us at www.indianriverna.com 3

DODGER

TOWN

- A VISION -

4 IRNA ISSUE 01, APRIL 2017

In 1947, the Brooklyn In response to an overwhelming objection to the sale by
city and county residents, and local media, the contract
Dodgers promoted Jackie was not accepted by the City Council.

Robinson from the Montreal SEVERAL OPTIONS FOR THE FUTURE USE OF
THE PROPERTY ARE:
Royals to play in the major
• Passive Park
leagues. For many years, • Recreation Complex (requiring substantial

MLB had spring training capital costs)

camps in the south; however • Mixed use development
• Purchased by the Vero Beach Regional Airport for
the south was segregated.
expansion of support facilities, leased for a hotel/
Brooklyn trained in the sports village.

Dominican Republic in 1947 In context with the vision plan, the city has limited
privately owned vacant land for development. In
but sought to have a facility addition, there are several larger parcels of city owned
property – the current Water Sewer / Electric / Post
in FL. Office Annex that the vision plan must evaluate for
future use. The 30 plus acres of waterfront property
To solve the segregation issue, Walter O’Malley, at the (W/S and VBE) is the largest yet undeveloped on the
urging of Bump Holman, established a self contained lagoon.
operation (sports village with full service amenities) in
Vero Beach for the Brooklyn team. SUCH CONSIDERATIONS WOULD BE:
In 1954, having been denied a stadium in NYC, the
Dodgers relocated to LA and the NY Giants to SF. The • In the late 1960’s the IRC population was 33K, VB
then 16 major league teams (only the two St. Louis clubs
were the furthest west) were limited by rail travel. In was 12K; in 2017 IRC population is 145K, VB 16K.
1965, the team expanded the complex with the Dodger
Town Golf Course on 34 acres. After 6 decades, in 2008, • The average household was over 3 per unit, today
the team departed for a facility in Arizona. Through the
years, Dodger Town was central to Vero Beach’s identity barely over 2 – with the average age of under 40 to
and economy – attracting thousands of tourists for the today’s average age of over 50. Approximately 15% of
“Grapefruit League” games. Locals enjoyed playing the the city’s residents are seasonal.
golf course as well as rooting for the Vero Beach Dodger
farm team. • The City is essentially built out, current available

In 2016, the City declared the site as surplus, and privately owned vacant property would support
solicited buyers. A contract for $2.7M was offered to future residential development to increase the
develop 280 residential units. However the land was city’s population of perhaps maxing out at 20 – 25K
appraised at $3.5M and $6.1M in debt remains until while the county could grow to well over 150K – (in
paid off in 2026. The sale would have paid off 44% of the near term).
the outstanding debt and provided $300K annually to
the City’s General Fund; developed property would have The bottom line is the demand for City services will
increased revenues by $150K per year (property taxes, continually increase upward pressure on the costs of
return on investment from the City’s Utility Enterprise services.
Funds (W/S, S/W, Electric) and eliminate COVB annual
maintenance / insurance expense with $1M revenue in The economy of the City is primarily dependent on
water/sewer impact fees. services i.e. hospitality, health care, concerts, recreation,
landscaping, facilities maintenance, tourism, aviation.

A crucial element of the vision plan also must include
prospective growth of employment and commercial
enterprises as well as holistically integrate and prioritize
the proposals for the City’s current – and future use
– of its land and facilities. The “bottom line” is to
realistically provide the anticipated impact on the level
of services and property taxes.

By Peter Gorry
Member, COVB Finance Commission

To provide support, get involved or learn more, please visit us at www.indianriverna.com 5

THETINhDIeAnN RanIVdENR LoAwGOON
By Judy Orcutt

M y husband, John, and I the people, were already having an has made our Lagoon one of the
have lived on the Lagoon impact on the water quality of the most diverse estuaries in the North
for 37 years. Back then Indian River Lagoon. In the 1983 America. The seagrasses are gone
because of poor water quality. There
we would frequently find a raft of Florida Scientist journal, The Future is a direct correlation between the
water quality of the Lagoon and
manatees, maybe 10-15 of them, of the Indian River System; Harbor population growth in the Lagoon
watershed. Historically, we did
sleeping peacefully in our backyard. Branch scientists were questioning not understand our human impact,
but now we know how to fix it!
Why were they there? Well, a short “What effects will increased Some of the clean up requires
citizen education and behavior
canoe paddle away was a meadow population pressures have on the change. For example, we absolutely
need to wean ourselves from the
of seagrasses – the manatee’s ecology.…, especially fisheries idea that sprawling St. Augustine
lawns are the only way to have a
favored diet. We would float over and seagrass beds….? What is beautiful Florida landscape and
we must admit that septic tanks
the seagrasses and see an amazing the capacity of the IRL system to will never prevent toxic effluents
from entering nearby waterways.
variety of life through the clear absorb ecological assault, especially Fertilizer remedies are up to us;
septic conversions and stormwater
water. A short paddle to the island increased nutrient and toxic filtering require government
investment in infrastructure.
and we could dig our toes through chemical concentrations…..?”

white sand to find clams.

Now, our population has more than

Back then the 17th Street Bridge was doubled. It is a celebration to see a

just completed. There was still a manatee or dolphin; a rare sighting.

drive-in theater on US #1. There The sea grass beds have disappeared

between the

HISTORICALLY, WE DID NOT UNDERSTAND Sebastian
OUR HUMAN IMPACT, BUT NOW WE KNOW Inlet and the
HOW TO FIX IT! Alma Lee
Loy Bridge.

Seagrasses

were less than 60,000 people living feed the manatees, hide the juvenile

in the entire county. And yet we, fish and anchor the food web that

6 IRNA ISSUE 01, APRIL 2017

RESTORATION PROJECTS

Fortunately there are recently-adopted projects we can support to achieve restoration of the
Lagoon’s water quality:

GRAVITY SEWER HYBRID STEP SEWAGE SYSTEM

Indian River County is working diligently The City of Vero Beach is steadily installing the
toward the installation of gravity sewer necessary pipes to connect septic tanks within
on the east side of US#1 in Sebastian. The the City to the hybrid STEP sewage system.
Commissioners have creatively financed
the project so that connection is affordable. WATER QUALITY IMPROVEMENT
Sebastian has a grant program to help
residents connect. The City has commissioned a study to
determine the best way to finance water quality
REMOVING CHEMICALS improvement projects for a large portion of
City land that currently receives NO
The County Stormwater department has stormwater treatment.
some effective and innovative projects that
are removing large amounts of Nitrogen and FELLSMERE FUNDING
Phosphorus from the drainage canals before it
reaches the lagoon. The City of Fellsmere has funded improvement
projects through a Stormwater Utility. They
have reduced the risk of flooding and the
discharge of water toward the IR Lagoon
through C54 canal.

These are the good news! They are really important projects that will improve the water quality in 7
the lagoon. Scientists are closely monitoring the status of the water quality and the seagrass beds.
It may be necessary to further invest into other projects for the health of the lagoon. We should be
terrified for the future if we don’t continue to mitigate the effects of our growing population. So
far, we have not experienced a massive fish kill or a toxic microcystis bloom like our neighboring
counties. But this past summer, we had fudge-like algal blooms from Indian River Shores to the
Moorings for the first time. Those organisms are tiny and reproduce very quickly. When they
bloom, they leave cysts or seeds that remain dormant in the lagoon until the conditions are right
again, with warm water and lots of nutrients. We must reduce the nutrient load or we can expect
more blooms. Our economy and quality of life depend on it!

To provide support, get involved or learn more, please visit us at www.indianriverna.com

S2S

Septic 2 Sewer
By Jean Catchpole

T HE IRNA WAS Debbie Mayfield and letters were installations have been completed
AN EARLY written to the Governor to require on properties experiencing septic
any regulation change necessary to system failure and over thirty
SUPPORTER OF implement the hybrid system. The (30) are on a waiting list. The
year was 2013. City will be sending out notices of
THE STEP SYSTEM, AN installation readiness in the Live
Since then the IRNA has followed Oak and Bethel Creek basins in
INNOVATIVE HYBRID the City’s progress and worked March. Following the City’s notice,
to educate the citizenry about the the IRNA is planning a series of
SEWER SYSTEM urgent need to get our communities neighborhood meetings to educate
off of septic. The IRNA Water & residents about the installation
PROPOSED BY VERO Lagoon committee studied soil process, costs and benefits of the
conditions and heard presentations STEP system and encourage early
BEACH WATER & SEWER form Harbor Branch scientists sign up to take advantage of the
identifying nutrients, bacteria and monetary credits offered for hook
DIRECTOR ROB BOLTON.   other chemicals from septic systems up within one year. City Water &
as major pollutants in our lagoon. Sewer Director Rob Bolton and the
It offered an ideal solution to Today the amount of scientific County Health Department‘s Cheryl
eliminate the 1540 septic systems evidence of septic effluent leaching Dunn will be on hand to answer
on the barrier island with small 2 into the groundwater and finding its residents’ questions. The IRNA goal
inch pipes that prevent damage to way into our lagoon has is to convince our neighbors that
the tree canopy and cost 50% less increased exponentially. their most important contribution
than a gravity sewer connection.   to eliminating pollution into a
There was a concern that it did not As of this publication 64,640 treasured resource, our lagoon, is
meet the State Health Department’s linear feet of force main pipe for connecting to the STEP system as
regulations and would not be the STEP system have been laid soon as possible. We need
approved in Tallahassee. Water & throughout the City’s barrier island your help.
Lagoon Committee Chairman Debbie properties. Seventy eight (78)
Ecker engaged Representative

8 IRNA ISSUE 01, APRIL 2017

SHORT-TERM
VACATION RENTALS

By Carter Taylor

IRNA WAS FOUNDED commercial use.
UPON THE
DESIRE OF While the new law greatly facilitated the business plans
LEADING CITIZENS TO PRESERVE THE of these internet behemoths, it did so by effectively
UNIQUE QUALITY OF LIFE AND NATURAL “taking” the “quiet-enjoyment” property rights of
BEAUTY THIS COMMUNITY PROMISES ALL OF residents who suddenly found themselves living next to,
ITS RESIDENTS. in effect and under law, a transient public
lodging establishment.
IRNA serves an almost unique role in our community.
We do the hard work to develop knowledge, expertise, IRNA’s expertise derived from listening carefully to the
and consensus about issues that impact our Quality minority of property owners directly affected, whose
of Life. peace and tranquility were destroyed. Many of these
property owners had lived on their streets for decades,
When it comes time to elevate an issue, we reach out to yet felt they had no voice.
our elected representatives, government officials, and
the media. We are prepared, and we deliver for the citizens. IRNA studied the economics of STVRs as well as
industry methods and business plans. We reviewed case
Case in-point was the decisive role IRNA played in the studies from other jurisdictions. We made ourselves
development and adoption of ordinances by Indian knowledgeable about all facets of the issue.
River County to reign in the proliferation of Short-Term
Vacation Rentals (STVRs). Prior to IRNA’s involvement in Armed with this knowledge, your IRNA lobbied hard,
this issue, the County had no controls or regulation on over a period of three years, to move the County from a
STVRs. This was developing into a problem, and had the position against regulation to one in favor of reasonable
potential to get out of hand. and necessary regulation. We met with Commissioners
and Staff on numerous occasions, penned many a letter
and article, and turned out in force to Commission and
Committee Meetings where we shared our knowledge of
the issue, and made our recommendations known.

STVRs originated from a 2011 act of the Florida This hard work paid off in 2016, when the Indian River
legislature that quietly overturned 72 years of local County Commission moved to license and regulate
control over zoning of residential neighborhoods in order occupancy, noise, parking, septic system capacity, and
to create a privileged business opportunity for internet special events. While more remains to be done, this
marketers such as AirBnB, HomeAway.com, VRBO.com, modest regulation heads off the possibility of developers
and others. creating purpose-built mega-mansions, party houses
and rental wastelands as seen in other
The effect was to create a large economic incentive for beach communities.
homeowners to convert their residences—and in time,
their quiet residential neighborhoods--to This is your IRNA in action, delivering.

To provide support, get involved or learn more, please visit us at www.indianriverna.com 9

VEURTOILSITTYORUMPDWAATTEER
INDIAN RIVER LAGOON
By Honey Minuse

T HE IRNA HAS DIRECTED MUCH ATTENTION TO FINDING SOLUTIONS TO HELP RESTORE
AND PROTECT THE INDIAN RIVER LAGOON FROM THE IMPACTS OF THE HUMAN AND

BUILT ENVIRONMENTS.  HELPING TO DEVELOP A FERTILIZER ORDINANCE WAS A

SIGNIFICANT FIRST STEP.  NOW COMES THE CHALLENGE TO ACKNOWLEDGE PROBLEMS

CAUSED BY POLLUTED STORMWATER RUN-OFF AND TO FIND A SOLUTION.  

Our Water Lagoon Committee And the Rest of the Story...  We thank all the dedicated
is to be commended for its  On February 7, 2017 the Vero Beach people who attended the Council
outstanding work on this City Council, in a 3-2 majority vote, meeting and who spoke in defense
important issue. Recently the City of declined any further consideration of the Lagoon and it’s contribution
Vero Beach addressed the matter.  of a Stormwater Utility to finance to the economy, recreation, tourism
a project to protect the Lagoon and property values in Vero Beach
Save the Lagoon from toxins and other harmful and beyond. 
On January 10th people left the chemicals running off parking  
Joint Meeting of Vero Beach’s lots, roadways and impervious Councilmen Richard Winger and
Utility and Finance Commissions surfaces.  The majority was not Tony Young presented compelling
optimistic that a proposal persuaded by testimony from statements about the need to
to restructure stormwater projects scientists, environmentalists and have a Stormwater Utility as this
into an Enterprise Fund would be citizens and voted against any was the best method to provide a
accepted by the City Council. further consideration of a Utility. committed stream of income. 
     
After considerable study the Utility Advocates believed an estimated Although our views on the
Commission voted 6-1 and the user fee of $5 a month, for a strictly desirability of a Utility were not
Finance Commission voted 5-0 in specified time period, was a fair accepted we are grateful that the
their official advisory capacities to amount to contribute to restore and Council recognized the need to
recommend to the City Council that maintain the health of the Lagoon.  clean up and protect the Lagoon. 
they adopt the formation of a utility The monies would have been We encourage a solution be found
to prevent stormwater pollutants dedicated and unable to be diverted sooner rather than later.  It is
from contaminating the Lagoon.  for other uses and the project would important to do so.
  have been run by current staff in
the City’s departments. 

10 IRNA ISSUE 01, APRIL 2017

STORMWATER UTILITY

T his past February, the proposal for to charge a fee to utility users or impose a charge
through the property tax. Because the fee would be
the creation of a Stormwater Utility Enterprise Fund was based on the square footage of a parcel’s non-pervious
strongly supported by Council Members Dick Winger surface, this approach has the advantage of being a
and Tony Young, by IRNA and almost unanimously by stimulus for owners to reduce runoff areas.
two citizen advisory committees, Finance and Utilities.
The project had been moving forward from the City’s Expect to hear more from IRNA about how stormwater
Public Works Department for more than two years. pollution can be reduced.
Unfortunately three members of the Vero Beach City
Council, Laura Moss, Harry Howle and Lange Sykes, By Debby Ecker,
voted against. Now we must find an alternative way Lagoon Committee
to handle a critical remedy for the protection and
restoration of the Lagoon.

Fortunately, the Lagoon has the IRNA. We will
not drop our commitment to its restoration. While
the Enterprise Fund approach was turned down, you
can expect IRNA to lobby forcefully to follow up on
statements of Moss, Howle and Sykes that City budget
dollars can to be used for stormwater system repairs and
replacements.

The city has serious storm water runoff problems. One
part is the need to replace aging infrastructure, the basic
under-the-road pipes counted on to remove storm water
surges. The other is the absence of pollution controls on
pipes draining water flowing directly into the Lagoon.

Public Works identified fourteen repair and replacement
projects. These are estimated to cost roughly $5.6
million dollars. The challenge: the Department has
had annual budget funds for these projects of about
$300,000. Over the last 15 years the Department has
done what it could to implement these projects but has
only been able to cover a little more than one-third of
the city’s watershed.

An Enterprise Fund is commonly used by other Florida
cities. Its establishment would authorize the city either

To provide support, get involved or learn more, please visit us at www.indianriverna.com 11

PO Box 643868 Vero Beach, FL 32964-3868 | indianriverna.com | (772) 559-5766