Empty Bowls at the Farmers' Market

Every year, I shop for Empty Bowls at the Downtown Farmers' Market of Fort Pierce, this year held on Saturday, March 31, 2012. Can you guess who's next to me? That's right, Debbie Hawley, St. Lucie County School Board member.

Empty Bowls is one of my favorite special events at the Market. Art students create and decorate bowls, and sell them at the Market, with proceeds going to the Treasure Coast Food Bank to feed the hungry. Culinary arts students prepare soup for patrons who purchase bowls. The soups this year included breakfast soup, clam and corn chowder and carrot and ginger soup. Lots of fresh faces appear at the Market on Empty Bowls Day, including students, teachers and their parents. I love Empty Bowls Day! Thank you students and teachers for this great event.

Zora Neale Hurston Library Opens

I attended the ribbon cutting ceremony of the opening of the remodeled and expanded Zora Neale Hurston Library, 3008 Avenue D. The library is now open for business Thursday and Saturday.

St. Patrick's Day

The South Hutchinson Island Western Peninsula charrette was well attended on Saturday, March 17, thanks to a number of people who called and emailed to business people and residents throughout St. Lucie County. The diverse group included 2012 candidates for a county and city offices. Six team leaders presented their reports and all teams called for some kind of development on the Western Peninsula, including residential, resort, recreation and even a marine academy. Marcela Camblor of the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Agency is shown wrapping up the charrette, with the six conceptual drawings behind her on the wall. In the second picture, I'm leaving the Downtown Farmers' Market of Fort Pierce with my market bag loaded with healthy vegetables. Later in the day, I worked at the St. Patrick Day Festival for the Downtown Business Association (DBA).

Public Meeting on Hutchinson Island Private and Public Property

The Western Peninsula of South Hutchinson Island has a privately owned parcel that's vacant and a public parcel now used as the FPUA's waste water treatment plant. The waste water plant should be moved in the future, but when and for how much is a big unknown. The vacant, privately-owned parcel was the location of the Causeway Trailer Park, until the 2004 hurricanes gave the city the opportunity to close it. The City of Fort Pierce has hired a consultant to host a public meeting to allow property owners, businesses and residents to provide input into what should happen there in the future.

Editorial: Participation critical for public design workshop on South Causeway in Fort Pierce

A workshop scheduled for Saturday will lead to potential goals for prime waterfront property in Fort Pierce

By Editorial Board

Friday, March 16, 2012

After four years of discussion and a year of negotiations, a public design workshop on the future of the western peninsula of Fort Pierce Beach will be held Saturday.

Major parts of the workshop — or "charrette" — are the potential uses on the south side of the peninsula for the privately owned parcel that was formerly the Causeway Mobile Home Park and for the waste treatment plant on the Indian River Lagoon owned by the Fort Pierce Utilities Authority. Other properties to the north on the peninsula will be included in the discussion.

Residents, property owners and city and St. Lucie County officials are urged to take part in the charrette from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the River Walk Center, formerly the Fort Pierce Community Center, at 600 N. Indian River Drive, Fort Pierce.

(Yes, it's appropriate to wear green in recognition of St. Patrick's Day.)

Some of the delay in scheduling the charrette was making sure property owners, businesses and residents, including seasonal residents, would be available. There was some delay, also, in determining funding for the event and follow-up.

This will not be an inexpensive exercise. City and county officials have agreed to split the $35,000 cost, which includes the charrette and a report on consensus recommendations, as well as maps and drawings of possible uses for the properties. Facilitating the workshop will be Marcela Camblor of Stuart, a former design specialist with the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council. A report will be due in about three weeks.

The need to create a vision for the prime waterfront property became clear last year when Ashton DePeyster of Palm Beach, who owns the former mobile home park site, submitted plans to the state to build a marina on his property adjacent to the FPUA waste treatment plant. Residents and city officials have said they want an overall plan for the peninsula rather than piecemeal projects that could impact the overall future use. It's unlikely any of the properties can or will be developed to their full potential until the waste treatment plant is moved inland from its present site.

DePeyster and/or his representatives are expected to attend the workshop.

Leslie Olson, assistant planning director for the city who has been coordinating Saturday's charrette, said participants will be asked to develop, potentially, two sets of goals — one on their ultimate desires for the properties and one in which private investment might help financially in getting the waste treatment plant moved. The FPUA, she said, doesn't have the financial means at this time to fund the move inland.

It has been many years since Fort Pierce residents, business and property owners have had an opportunity to weigh in on the future of the western peninsula of the island. Officials have suggested such goals as a resort hotel and a convention center.

Considering the cost of this public design workshop and its role in developing a plan for the eventual use of the sites in connection with public and private partnerships, major participation from those with an interest in their future can be critical.

A few hours of discussion and drawing maps and buildings will likely have a significant impact.

editorial board

PUBLIC DESIGN WORKSHOP

Reason: To establish goals for waterfront properties on the western peninsula of Fort Pierce Beach

Date: Saturday, March 17

Time: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. (Participants may drop in and do not have to attend the entire session.)

Location: River Walk Center, 600 N. Indian River Drive, Fort Pierce

http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2012/mar/16/editorial-participation-critical-for-public-on/

Will Fort Pierce Benefit from Recor's $6,000 course?

The City Manager says he'll stay in Fort Pierce to justify the commission's approval of his $6,000 two-week course to learn how to be a better city manager.

Recor says he learned from mistakes, wants to stay as Fort Pierce city manager

By Laurie K. Blandford

Friday, March 9, 2012

FORT PIERCE — City Manager David Recor, who nearly was fired last year and then put his name in the running for another job, said he's staying in Fort Pierce.

Recor withdrew his name this week from the list of six candidates chosen as finalists for a city manager position in Palm Beach County. He said it was to show commitment to his current job and give closure to worries he might leave shortly after city commissioners agreed to spend more than $6,000 of taxpayer money on training that would enhance his professional credentials.

"I do not intend to use the (institute) as a steppingstone to something else," Recor said on Tuesday. "I am happy in my current position."

He also said he's learned from his mistakes.

Mayor Bob Benton said he's glad Recor decided to withdraw from Boynton Beach's list of finalists and hopes the other commissioners have confidence in Recor.

"I'm glad things are working out because I have confidence in him," Benton said.

Commissioner Tom Perona said in an email he expects a 100 percent commitment from the city manager because it's the only way a local government can be effective.

Boynton Beach officials confirmed that Recor's name was withdrawn from consideration.

Recor said he always planned to withdraw his name from the running but was waiting to hear from Boynton Beach officials, who contacted him Monday afternoon about signing disclosure forms as a finalist for the position.

In September, Commissioner Eddie Becht asked for a vote of no confidence in Recor to be placed on the commission's agenda and then changed the agenda item to a vote on terminating Recor's contract, but commissioners voted 3-2 in October to keep Recor. Neither Becht nor Commissioner Rufus Alexander could be reached for comment this week.

Recor said when Boynton Beach reached out to him in October to apply for the city manager position, he agreed.

"We hit a bump in the road here in Fort Pierce, and my future was uncertain," Recor said. "Now, six months later, we're in a much different place."

Recor said he's staying because it's an exciting time in Fort Pierce, with progress on the city's strategic planning initiatives and construction on the city marina project.

He also received unanimous support from commissioners last month to attend the Senior Executive Institute at the University of Virginia's Colgate Darden School of Business in July and was accepted two weeks ago. In addition to the initial $6,000, Recor said he would use nearly $600 for his flight, mileage and meals from the remaining $2,000 designated for travel, education and conferences in the City Manager's Office budget.

Recor said the institute is a highly competitive learning opportunity with senior executives from across the nation. He said he's motivated by a challenge and driven by sense of accomplishment, and he plans to develop the city into a high-performance local government organization.

"Every day, my job as city manager here in Fort Pierce presents me with a new and exciting challenge, and that's what keeps me coming to work," Recor said. "Until my job gets boring (or) until there's not another challenge for me, I'm going to want to be the city manager in Fort Pierce."

Recor said he was flattered to be approached in February last year by Fort Lauderdale to apply for its city manager position and he considered it a compliment to have been selected as one of 12 finalists for that job. Recor said Boynton Beach recruited him because he had been recruited by Fort Lauderdale.

"That really not only put me on the radar for a lot of other executive recruiters, but it put Fort Pierce on the radar," Recor said.

Recor said staying in the city and taking himself off the job market wouldn't hurt him professionally because he faces constant challenges in the city.

Recor said he has demonstrated he can respond to constructive feedback from commissioners, referring to his plea to commissioners during the city's final budget hearing in September to raise the city's property tax rate to bring in the same amount of revenue as the city brought in the previous year — despite commissioners making it clear they wanted to keep the rate the same.

Recor said he learned from the experience and was reminded of his role — city managers provide information, options and alternatives while commissioners decide policy.

"It's never easy to admit when you make a mistake, but the first step in learning and growing and improving so you don't make the same mistake again is to acknowledge that you've made a mistake," Recor said. "I am not perfect, but the commission as a whole and I as city manager have moved forward over the last six months in a positive and productive manner."

Commissioner Reggie Sessions said he has confidence in Recor and hoped "this hardship might have strengthened him and matured him somehow." The average person would have "run for the hills," Sessions said.

"Even though this has been a rocky road for him and, I guess you could say, a lack of job security given the recent sequence of events, he's never given up."

http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2012/mar/09/recor-says-he-learned-from-mistakes-wants-to-as/

Fort Pierce Voters Could Make History

Will Fort Pierce voters elect city's first female or black mayor?

By Laurie K. Blandford

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

FORT PIERCE — Voters could make history in the city this year by electing its first black or first female mayor.

Although all other major cities across the Treasure Coast have had several female mayors, only one, Stuart, has elected black mayors.

Fort Pierce candidates Vince Gaskin, Christine Coke and Linda Hudson each said they would be honored to be the one to make history in the city come the November election, but all agreed race or gender shouldn't be the deciding factor for voters.

When looking back at more than 30 years of election history, the City Clerk's office found several black or female candidates for mayor. Joanne Correll ran in 1980. Charlie Frank Matthews ran in 1983. Havert Fenn, Sylvie Kramer and David Leigh Cook ran in 2003.

But none of them won.

As the only black candidate so far in this year's mayoral race, Gaskin said voters choosing a black mayor would show the city's progress regarding its racial divide.

"It's time to open the gates to show that we truly are equal," Gaskin said. "It would give a notion to younger people that if you try, then you can overcome obstacles."

Gaskin said blacks always believed they didn't have a chance. Now that the nation elected its first black president, Gaskin said blacks can believe the same opportunity exists on the local level of politics.

Candidate Hudson said the city electing its first black mayor or first female mayor would show it has come a long way. She said the election process is being opened up to people who never thought they had a shot.

"Now (the city) is ready for the next era," Hudson said. "Maybe, in a way, it might be long overdue."

Still, Hudson said it doesn't matter if the candidate elected is male or female, as long as the mayor elected has good business sense. She also said all genders and races don't vote alike.

Hudson admitted she didn't realize she could become the city's first female mayor until other people brought it to her attention.

"I don't think about gender as much as I think about doing a good job," Hudson said. "It's not like I'm going to have a feminist agenda."

As the other current female candidate for mayor, Coke said people told her they missed having a woman on the commission because it provides a different perspective, but she said people in general have different perspectives.

"It's a great thing," Coke said, "(but) I don't think really that gender has an awful lot to do with it."

Even though Coke was elected the first woman president of the Fort Pierce Kiwanis Club and the first woman lieutenant governor for the state club's District 16, she said she never has been active in women's liberation.

"I never set out to do any of those firsts for women," Coke said. "I think somebody should vote for the position of mayor, not by gender, but for somebody's commitment to their city and their community and the experience that they have."

Coke said it doesn't matter if the mayor elected is female or male or black or white. She said the election is about choosing someone would is well-rounded enough to represent the entire city.

"It would be wonderful to have a qualified woman as mayor or senator or governor or president," Coke said, "but I don't think that it should be decided based on gender."

Although the city's fourth candidate, J. Curtis Boyd, wouldn't qualify to be the first female or the first black mayor, he agreed the election is about the candidates and not their race or gender.

"I have an absolute open mind," Boyd said. "As long as the person that got elected did a good and fair and honest job, then their race or gender would be insignificant."

St. Lucie County League of Women Voters President Cathy Townsend-King said it's time Fort Pierce had its first female mayor.

"It would be a huge step," Townsend-King said. "We look at things differently than men. Personally, I feel that it would be a move in the right direction to finish bringing the city in to where we need to (be)."

Townsend-King said women can multitask and reason well, are affectionate and emotional beings, always want to seek good in people and are strong leaders. She noted Port St. Lucie's mayor is female.

"Putting a woman in office would speak volumes for the voters and the residents of the city," Townsend-King said. "That would be a huge milestone for (St. Lucie County)."

If the city were to have a black mayor, it could be a positive sign, said Eddie Whitfield, St. Lucie County chapter president for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

"It's wonderful that we have some qualified (black people) in the community to run for office," Whitfield said. "(But) it doesn't really matter if you're white or black, as long as you carry the agenda of the people that you represent."

Whitfield agreed black people haven't run for office because they didn't think they had a chance. Now he said black and young people are voting more because they are concerned about their city.

"Racism is still alive," Whitfield said, "but things have changed."

MAYORAL HISTORY

Only one Treasure Coast city has elected both black mayors and female mayors in its history:Stuart: Robert Hall in 1973, James Christie Jr. in 1985 and 2011, Joan Jefferson in 1981, Susan Hershey in 1995, Gene Rifkin in 2000, Carol Waxler in 2006, Mary Hutchinson in 2007

Port St. Lucie: Patricia Christensen in 2006, JoAnn Faiella in 2010

Vero Beach: Dorothy Cain in 1980 and 1983, Caroline Ginn in 1994, Sandra Bowden in 2000 and 2003, Mary Beth McDonald in 2005, Pilar Turner in 2011

Sebastian: Louise Cartwright in 1996, Ruth Sullivan in 1998, Martha Wininger in 1999, Andrea Coy in 2007

Source: Stuart, Port St. Lucie, Vero Beach and Sebastian city clerks' offices.