GUEST COMMENTARY

JASON NUNEMAKER

Editor’s note: Jason Nunemakers is the City Manager of Fellsmere.

Ten years – depending on your perspective that may seem like a trivial length of time. But as a city manager that is a term of service in a single city that is unusual in Florida and frankly a milestone I was not sure I would achieve based on my early experiences in the profession. Rarer still is the opportunity to work with people as genuine, caring, and proactive as I have found in a succession of City Councils in the City of Fellsmere. Against the backdrop of this milestone, ten years as City Manager, coupled with a New Year and a recent large-scale annexation it seems appropriate to reflect on where we have been and where we are going.

The City Council changed their charter from a strong-mayor form of government to a council-manager form in 2005. I was humbled to be selected as the first city manager subsequent to this change, albeit the second choice as Councilman Tyson likes to jokingly remind me. This significant change was predicated in large part on the City’s desire to manage and facilitate quality growth. Several years prior the Pine Grove annexation and associated land use amendments were completed and City leaders recognized the need to professionally manage the implementation of the eventual development.

The real estate market was on fire in 2005 and it seemed likely that development would escalate quickly in the City. Facilitating a clear and unified vision became paramount and several substantive efforts were taken to make this happen. One of the first planning initiatives that in retrospect has had a most profound impact on the future of the City is our participation in the Design Institute through Florida Atlantic University led by Marie York. A direct result of this planning session was the decision to locate City Hall in the Old School. This decision meant that the historic core of the City would remain the epicenter of the City regardless of future growth and the temptation to shift focus. It also resulted in the location of our first Boy’s & Girls Club providing new hope and opportunity for the children of Fellsmere.

The City engaged with the Indian River Health Department to implement the Protocol for Assessing Community Excellence in Environmental Health (PACE-EH). This grassroots planning effort led by Julianne Price engaged our at-risk community to facilitate their participation in addressing their needs in a manner that allowed a comfortable and honest dialogue. As a result of this effort the City gained a better understanding of the perceptions and needs of some of its most vulnerable residents and the residents were empowered with an internal efficacy that was previously lacking.

The City similarly engaged in the Sustainable Design Assessment Team (SDAT) sponsored by the AIA and the Your Town Citizen’s Institute on Rural Design through the National Endowment for the Arts. These community planning efforts coupled with the public processes of updating the City’s comprehensive plan, implementation of the Community Redevelopment Area, and revising the land development code created a unified vision focused on economic development, historic preservation, and eco-recreation/tourism. It is important to note that participation in these various efforts was widespread and represented a cross-section not only of Fellsmere but indeed Indian River County and beyond. Annexation became an opportunity to make the vision happen. The 2007 annexation of the Fellsmere Joint Venture (Sun-Ag) property is perhaps most emblematic of the positive-sum scenario through strategic expansion. As one of the largest employers in the County and the largest employer in the City the future of Sun-Ag could not be disaggregated from the future of Fellsmere itself. Citrus has never been a business for the faint of heart but its very survival began to become an issue.

The annexation addressed the property owners’ need to protect the future of their investment and the future opportunity for their employees. The City was able to address its desire to create opportunity for its residents and make once distant goals happen immediately. The siting of Florida Organic Aquaculture and The National Elephant Center along with the extension of natural gas to North County and the implementation of the North County Greenway are all a direct result of the Sun-Ag annexation. The Ansin annexations that occurred concurrent with Sun-Ag have not resulted in development yet but their generous donation of $250,000 facilitated the development of the Boys & Girls Club. It is hard to imagine another course of action that could have had as significant an impact creating opportunity and increasing the quality of life for the residents of Fellsmere.

These experiences led to the ability of the City to seamlessly move forward the latest annexation of the Corrigan property. This approximately 8,800 acres will foster unparalleled job opportunities, preservation, and connectivity. The Corrigan family will be outstanding partners to work with Sun-Ag and the Ansins to realize the vision of City Council.

Working together we hope to diversify our economic base so that we overcome the tradition of suffering higher unemployment levels in Indian River than the state and national averages respectively. We are also optimistic that a diversification of our economic base will make us less susceptible to market fluctuations and that tend to impact our service, citrus, and construction-based environment.

I feel blessed to be a part of this history in Fellsmere and I look forward to being a part of the dynamic future we envision. We have come a long way in the past ten years. Check back in 2025 and I think you will find that we realizing our vision.