COMMENTARY
“Kramer is, after all, a private citizen, not a subject of Solari.”
MARK SCHUMANN
Clearly bristling over Vero Beach City Councilman Jay Kramer’s questioning of the efficacy of the County’s $4 million, Spoonbill Marsh filtration system, County Commissioner Bob Solari fired off a public records request demanding from Kramer documentation of his claims.
Solari directed his request to City Clerk Tammy Vock. What Solari seems not to understand is that because the City of Vero Beach has nothing to do with the ownership and operation of Spoonbill Marsh, information Kramer may have about the County’s project is not a public record of the City, at least not unless or until Kramer gives the information to the City Clerk’s Office. Kramer is, after all, a private citizen, not a subject of Solari.
Citing reporting by self-described “knowledge journalist” Thomas Hardy, Solari also demanded proof of Kramer’s claim that the County is seeking a takeover of the City. Again, Kramer’s opinions about the County’s nefarious intentions are his own. If Solari is going to spend time chasing after ever reported challenge to him supremacy or that of the County Commission, he will be left with little time to represent the interests of his constituents.
What is public record are emails exchanged between Hardy and Kramer on Kramer’s City of Vero Beach email address. Hardy wrote, “I emailed you the day before yesterday regarding the little birdie that told me you said that Spoonbill was not working.” (Kramer’s reply to Hardy is presented below.)
It is well established that Solari and his fellow County Commissioners are seeking to force Vero Beach to abandon its electric customers in the unincorporated areas of the County. It is also well known that Solari led a failed effort to force Vero Beach to surrender its water and sewer customers on the south barrier island. In 2012, Solari and his fellow County Commissioners also failed in to wrest from Vero Beach its water and sewer customers in the Town of Indian River Shores.
When Vero Beach and Shores officials were negotiating to extend their water and sewer franchise agreement beyond 2016, island weekly reporter Lisa Zahner wrote, “If the Shores stays with the city, chances of a regional utility or getting the sewer plant off the river greatly diminish. Vero Beach will have no motivation to come to the table with the Indian River County Utilities to form a countywide utility.”
Just as Press Journal reporter, Larry Reisman did today, Zahner seems to have been speaking for Solari, who, since a tumultuous term of the City Council, has had nothing but ill will and enmity toward the City of Vero Beach.
Clearly hoping to hurt Vero Beach financially, Solari earlier this year persuaded his fellow Commissioners to surrender some $200,000 in revenue by dropping the County’s six percent equalization charge on its water and sewer customers in the City of Sebastian, the Town of Orchid. Solari expected the move would force Vero Beach to cut its rates to Indian River Shores and south b artier island resident by 6 percent. The renewed franchise agreement negotiated between Vero Beach and the Shores, calls for Vero Beach to match County rates.
But the County, in cutting water and sewer rates by six percent in Sebastian and the Town of Orchid did not also cut rate for its customers in the unincorporated ares of the county. By agreement, then, Vero Beach continues to charge Shores customers the same rates the County charges the great majority of its customers.
Does Solari have it in for the City of Vero Beach? The record speaks for itself.
Indian River Guardian 
I don’t know what it is the Commissioners – and particularly Mr. Solari – want of Vero Beach….other than just pointing fingers at COVB and keeping the spotlight off themselves. But I have no proof of that – nothing to send to the County leaders. When they refused to join with others to work toward bringing the Lagoon to a healthier state–citing “hidden agendas” of those others, it was a red flag moment for me. Control issues? Who knows. Mr. Kramer is one of my favorite people.
You can see that Bob Solari doesn’t like being criticized ,but it’s OK for him to criticize others. With regard to Spoonbill Marsh Bob Solari is all “wet”. Yes, Solari had a stormy tenure when he was on the city council. He knew he could not be re-elected so he moved on with a wish to hurt the city every way possible. Maybe this is just one of the reasons Solari does everything in his power to try to have the city cease to exist.
I often wonder how he gets elected when the City of Vero Beach is his District. Now I know.
County Commission elections are county wide even though he lives in the District that is in Vero Beach. Seems like so many County residents love to bash Vero Beach that it gives him a large constituency.
The Bob Solari fans will only just ignore Jay Kramer running for the soon to be vacated District 54 seat for so long. I think the more he criticizes Kramer the more attention to his own failures will come out.
Salami, as he is often called on Bea-isms, should have stuck to Greek Philosophy rather than politics. That way, when he rambles, no one can call him on his rants because we are not up on the Greek philosophy stuff.
Actually Jay is a “public figure” no longer a private citizen. With this is mind the rules change. Careful Jay, you as I now become bigger targets!
Larry, Jay Kramer may be a public figure, but he is also a citizen with rights, and not a subject of “King Solari.” The only information in Jay’s possession that is public record, are records having to do with city business. To use “knowledge journalist” Thomas Hardy’s term, if a “little birdie” told Hardy Jay Kramer said the transition in Afghanistan was going badly, and if Hardy wrote that in his “Vero Mis-Communique,” Bob Solari would not have a right to demand from Kramer documentation for his assertions. The same applies here, because the Spoonbill Marsh is owned and operated solely by the County.
Because Solari is a commissioner ,he should already be in possession of all the information he needs. He should consult the EPA or any other governmental body he chooses inorder to get this info if he can’t get it from county records . This is just a page taken from his friend Charlie Wilson’s book, which reads ATTACK,ATTACK, ATTACK. If he can’t get the info from the county or the EPA, he should consult with the Oracle of Delphi, with whom I am told he is on a first name basis .