City of Fort Pierce Minutes of a Regular Meeting

Regular Postponed Meeting February 22, 2011
Mr. Marty Laven, 2400 South Ocean Drive, said he wants to
support Mr. Schelin and his concerns about the dredging issues,
and the timeliness of appropriate grant submissions. He is
certain that FIND Commissioner Kavanagh will give it her full
attention. If he can assist the gentleman in any way or the
marine industries can, please let him know. He would like to
give a shout out to the Fort Pierce energy team, their staff has
done an extraordinary job. He has had the opportunity to be in
one of the assets they were reviewing. In the effort that is
taking place across the county and the other municipalities, he
thinks their team is taking the lead. There is some excellent
opportunities for savings with some unique non-profit and net
operating lease mechanisms. He will be happy to share that with
their staff accordingly. Next, the Communitywide Council
certainly is a great group and they indeed need to offer
assistance. He understands they may be sitting as the
brownfield advisory board as well. Having attended a recent
major event in Miami for brownfield remediation, he would like
to point out that in anticipation of their planned charrette
there is a unique opportunity to secure funding for that
charrette through brownfield designations that might be a
consideration for the wastewater treatment facility and the
opportunity to expand the footprint of the charrette and
possibly resolving some long term challenges. Last, he would
like to mention WOW - Art With Out Walls - will be taking place
on Friday, March 4th. From 5:30 to 7:30, there will be an
artist's reception at City Hall. For more information call 772-
579-1529.
Ms. Rachel Harris, 119 South 11th Street, said she would like to
address the Commission's approval of the Site Plan for the
Trinity Lutheran Church Childhood Development Center at the last
meeting. David Carlin, Fort Pierce Planning Staff, stated that
the most pedestrian-friendly urban design was one that did not
include sidewalks. To give them an idea of the seriousness of
the inclusion of a sidewalk, here is some pedestrian statistics.
In 2009, Florida was ranked first among the states for
pedestrian fatalities. In 2010, Florida was ranked second, with
even more deaths than the previous year. More than 40% of
pedestrians are killed when no crosswalk is available and only 1
in 10 pedestrians are killed when present inside a crosswalk.
Most telling, the FHA's designing streets for pedestrian safety
study showed that sidewalks reduce pedestrian crashes by 88%.
To recap the discussion of the inclusion of a sidewalk in the
Site Plan, Pastor Engel of Trinity Lutheran stated that is a
very community-minded congregation; however, the added burden of
$50,000 required to build a sidewalk for the pedestrians of the
community was a quote-unquote hardship. Commissioner Becht was
the only commissioner who as an elected official of the City
fulfilled his duty by pressing the matter during the meeting.
As for the community-minded Trinity Lutheran Church, tax exempt
status by the way, she is sure that the first pedestrian who is
hit will be prayed for, when in actuality they could have served
the community by including $50,000 to build a sidewalk which
would have prevented the crash in the first place.
Ms. Gerrie Biegner said she and her husband own the S&S Takeout
at 148 North Depot Drive. It is her understanding the City is
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City of Fort Pierce Minutes of a Regular Meeting held on February 22, 2011
Copyright © 2011 City of Fort Pierce Florida