BY PAT LAVINS

The recent Indian River County Commission meeting in which opposition to the Seven50 group initiative was voted against is a demonstration of unjustified paranoia.  Thus, it is obvious that the first order of business for the county “leadership” in 2013 must be the allocation of funds so that large billboards can be erected at the county lines with the bold warning: INNOVATION AND PROGRESS STOP HERE.

On December 18, 2012 a few dozen people used coercion to influence a 4-1 majority vote against being a participant in Florida’s future.  The statements made at the meeting  document a lack of awareness of the Seven50 project or its goals.  The false claim was made that being a part of a forward thinking coalition will result in “nameless, faceless bureaucrats”  imposing ideas on Indian River County. Only someone with a vivid imagination would make such an assertion after reading the goals and objectives of the organization that is included on the Seven50 organization web site. (www.seven50.org.)

Some even voiced a fear that “outside influences will take away our liberty.”  There was, unfortunately, no identification as to how creating a business environment for clean industry would be able to do any such thing. Nor was there an identification made as to what liberty in Indian River County would be at risk.  In earlier statements about the project there were false assertions that our building height limit would be taken away from our control.  There is no reality for such an absurd claim.

The false claim that regionalization was not representative government was also made.  There is no reality to support such a myth.  The goal of the Seven50 group is to create a blueprint for prosperity.  The residents of Indian River County would be able to pick and choose which portions of the plan that they wanted to adopt.  Hopefully this would be done by a ballot vote rather than continuing to allow a small group who have false perceptions make decisions for those of us who want to see highly educated people get good jobs in our county.  The time is long past to be solely reliant on only the citrus industry and tourism.

There is no validity to the Taxpayer Association representative’s false assertion that taking a regionalized approach to comparable problems would lead to “more bureaucracy, federal intrusion and outside control.”  There is also no validity to the claim of the representative of the Indian River Tea Party that “ uncontrolled bureaucracies are controlling more and more of people’s lives.”  Sane people who live in this community are appreciative of the fact that the Federal government enforces clean air and clear water legislation.  Having worked on this very legislation on the staff of the U. S. Senate in the 1960’s it is obvious to me that the goals and objectives have been met.  We in Indian River County enjoy a high quality of life because the Federal government took action rather than ignoring the problem.

By leveraging resources there would be less waste and duplication of efforts county by county.  Thus, we would be better able to tackle the ecological issues that cross county lines.  The added benefit of addressing issues from a regional approach is that there is less demand on the limited financial resources of the taxpayers.

The most critical issue that faces the county’s economic future is dependent on building the fiber optic network that businesses will be dependent on increasingly in the 21^st century.  Being a part of a regionalized approach will propel the region to the head of the lists of the Department of Energy in awarding municipal grants for the integration of the high speed capacity that are now an economic necessity.  This is a financial burden that Indian River County is not able to do alone.  However, we could and should benefit from a regionalized approach in order to attract those corporations that are dependent on their highly educated staff having high speed communication capability.

Indian River County is lagging behind the innovations of our neighboring counties.  This is particularly true in regard to St. Lucie which will benefit from being able to offer high paying jobs to the educated workforce that will staff the growing Torrey Pines Institute.  There is no reason that Indian River County could not and should not attract comparable research initiatives and provide jobs with no adverse impact on our quality of life.

By being a part of a regionalized approach to attract research initiatives we are also providing a climate where our best and brightest students can come home to live and work in Indian River County after they have graduated from college.

The short-sighted thinking of those who are opposed to having a prosperous community in the 21^st should not be a deterrent to those of us who represent the majority of forward thinkers.