Newly appointed chairman and long-serving member of the Vero Beach Utilities Commission, Scott Stradley, no longer lives in the city, or within the larger service area of Vero Electric. Councilwoman Pilar Turner is seeking an exception to an existing requirement that members of the Utilities Commission live within the service area of Vero Electric.
In 2014, when Curtis Carpenter was appointed to the Utilities Commission by Randy Old, Stradley objected to Carpenter’s participation on the grounds that he did not live within the service area of Vero Electric.
The minutes of the Dec. 1, 2014 meeting of the Utilities Commission read, “Mr. Stradley said one of the things that was important when the Utilities Commission was reorganized last spring, in fact, Mr. Winger insisted on it, was that they have County representation. He thought that Mr. Carpenter was the only County resident on the Commission other than the Indian River Shores’ representative. He said each County resident on the commission needs to be a customer to be qualified to be on the Commission according to the Ordinance. He wanted to make sure as they go forward that they maintain good representation between the ratepayers.”
According to existing City of Vero Beach ordinances, (Article III, Sec. 2-10, Paragraph 7), “”All regular voting and alternate members (of the Utilities Commission) shall reside with the city utilities service area.”
Indian River Guardian 
I was removed from the Utilities Commission, specifically requested by Scott Stradley, because I didn’t live in the service area. I think there might be a tid bit of hypocrisy here…
Curtis , surly you jest, Pilar Turner would never have a double standard .LOL. We might want to create the Hypocrite OF THE YEAR AWARD to which Turner and Solari, her mentor, would alternate winning the award each year. Stradley must be removed ASAP.
Mr Stradley no longer meets the requirements to serve on this board so he should resign
or be removed by the city council. No double standards.
How is this even a question? You mean one member of the City Council can arbitrarily change the rules to suit his or her needs? Then, I see there’s someone that’s commented that was actually removed for this exact reason. Surely this is literally unbelievable…
Will, the request to make an allowance/change came from Pilar Turner. Her view seems to be that so long as someone has an electric meter in their name, they should be eligible to serve on the City’s Utilities Commission. In the case of Mr. Stradley, though he no longer lives within the service area, he ownes a business served by Vero Electric. You could make the case that as a business customer of Vero Electric, Mr. Stradley has a vested interest in the prudent and efficient operation of the City’s utilities. You could also make the case that, unlike Mr. Stradley, someone who actually lives within the service area has more skin in the game, so to speak.
To his credit, Mr. Stradley brings knowledge and experience to the Utilities Commission. Though a strong advocate of the sale of Vero Electric, Mr. Stradley is not given to the delusions and hyperbole you hear from people likes Steven Faherty, Glenn Heran and Laura Moss. For example, he saw the clear benefit in renegotiating the City’s contract with the OUC. The same cannot be said for Pilar Turner, Harry Howle and Laura Moss.
For Mr. Stradley’s continued service on the Utilites Commission to be in compliance with City Code, the Council would have to agree to change the ordinance setting out the qualifications for members of the Utilities Commission.
This makes a little more sense, I guess. But, wouldn’t this sort of open up Pandora’s Box for who could be appointed to the Utility Commission? Or even set precedent for a non-resident to run for City Council? Could a resident of the County hypothetically open a shell of a business in the City, simply to be appointed to a commission or even run for City Council? My personal opinion is that residents are residents and businesses are businesses, the two are exclusive of each other.
But that’s just what it is, my opinion. I guess that’s why you have the poll…
Will, You are correct in your hypothetical case, but that concept could even be expanded to include anyone with an electric meter. The true reason Turner wants this is because he one of her political allies. Nothing more nothing less.