VERO BEACH – Over the objections of County Commissioners Joe Flescher and Bob Solari and Taxpayer’s Association president, Glenn Heran, the Indian River County Commission voted 3-2 to lease the old jail property on 17th Avenue to the Boys & Girls Club and St. Francis Manor.
The two non-profit organizations, both with facilities adjacent to the old jail site, had proposed the 3.8-acre property be split between them and added to their current $1-a-year leases from the county. The Boys & Girls Club borders the property to the north, and St. Francis Manor to the west.
Solari and Heran argued that leasing the land to charitable organizations, rather than selling it at fair market value, amounted to “the coercive arm of the state reaching into the pockets of taxpayers to redistribute the wealth.”
Commission Chairman Joe Flescher joined Solar in opposing the amended land leases, explaining that he felt “a higher obligation to the taxpayers.”
Commissioners Peter O’Bryan, Wesley David and Tim Zorc voted in favor of the revised land leases for the Boys & Girls Club and by St. Francis Manor.
Fellsmere City Manager Jason Nunamaker spoke in support of the county leasing the land, saying he though it could be considered “penny wise and pound foolish” to not help make available programs such as those offered by the Boys & Girls Clubs.
Nunamaker said the Boys & Girls Club’s afterschool programs in Fellsmere have saved the city money it would otherwise have had to spend on law enforcement. The programs, he said, have also “engendered additional private sector support.”
According to Boys & Girls Club Co-chairman Jay McNamara, the organization requested the additional land to provide outdoor recreational activities. The current site, built in 2010, has limited space for outdoor activities, he said.
St. Francis Manor Board Chairman Louis Schacht said the new lease will enable the organization to expand its facilities. St. Francis Manor offers efficiency apartments to seniors 62 years and older on limited incomes, and who are able to live independently.
The Boys Club and St. Francis Manor will be jointly responsible for demolishing the existing buildings on the property, and then converting it to assisted living facilities and to outdoor playing fields.
Indian River Guardian 
Apparently Messers. Fletcher, Solari and Heran are of the belief that the county has no obligation to serve all of its citizens. Once upon a time — not that long ago — we had elected public officials who recognized that they had an obligation to the public and not just to a small cadre of adults with the financial resources to purchase property. Living up to their moral and ethical responsibilities to meet the needs of vulnerable citizens would not meet any logical person’s definition of “redistribute the wealth.”
Perhaps the trio of backward thinkers might need some tutoring on the Golden Rule — DO TO OTHERS AS YOU WOULD HAVE THEM DO TO YOU. .