NEWS ANALYSIS

MILT THOMAS

The Statue of Liberty sits on some very expensive real estate in New York Harbor, but is there a price too attractive for our debt-laden government to refuse?  Generations of immigrant Americans fled tyranny for the freedom that statue represents. Would it take another kind of tyranny to sell it or any of our other landmarks?

The problem arises when one person looks at the Statue of Liberty and sees a national landmark and another person sees a commodity – real estate.

A commodity is an item for which broad demand exists, such as copper, oatmeal, oil or land.  It doesn’t matter if you buy Chevron, Mobil or Texaco gasoline, you are going to buy gas. Many products cannot be sold as commodities, like movies for instance. Just making a movie is no guarantee of success. It has to target a specific consumer who will actually be compelled to leave home and pay theater prices. If they don’t like the movie, it fails and investors lose money. On the other hand, every oatmeal producer makes the same product, striving for a share of the existing oatmeal-consuming market.

Locally, we have been faced with the same choice. Should our landmarks be put up for sale? In the past year, members of the Vero Beach City Council have considered selling public landmarks. To some, our park system and Crestlawn Cemetery are pieces of real estate, commodities to be sold at a profit. To others, they are landmarks, handed to us for safekeeping by the generations before us.

These issues were raised in a recent interview on the InsideVero radio show.  Guest Councilwoman Pilar Turner was asked about the issues City Council will be facing in the year ahead. “The biggest issue is still guaranteeing FPL rates for all citizens,” Turner said, “especially small business which is hurt the most by high Vero Electric rates.”

While it is true that businesses bear the brunt of high energy costs, the last election proved that voters have moved on from that issue, which is now in the hands of FPL and the Florida Municipal Power Agency.

The next issue Turner brought up was her request for a charter review. “Several charter questions have come up over the past few years like residency requirements, compensation to Councilmen, and whether to incorporate more park lands into the charter.”

This past year, Vero Beach citizens expressed widespread concern over any effort to sell off lands that are held in the public trust and are the landmarks that distinguish our community and quality of life. Land is a commodity, with no emotional relevance beyond the price it commands. Landmarks are not commodities because the property has intrinsic value to the community beyond the price it could sell for.

In her interview on Inside Vero, Turner brought up questions about the Bob Summers Park. “It is not yet in the City charter,” said Turner, “What is the value of the land? What are the dimensions? No one wants to spend $20,000 on a referendum to decide, but it could be incorporated in a charter review.”

Her request for a charter review received no support at the following City Council meeting.

Turner’s background is well suited for a commodity orientation. She earned her bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Georgia Tech, MBA in oil and gas exploration from the University of Houston and spent 20 years working as a project manager in that field. She and her husband, Al, moved to Vero Beach 11 years ago after Al retired from the oil business.

We know from experience that a Vero Beach “state of mind” does not necessarily reflect the number of years spent in the community. Many people adopt it before they move here. For long time residents, it is part of their psyche. For others, regardless of how long they live here, they may never get it.