NEWS ANALYSIS
“The folks in the Shores have their reasons for doing what they are doing, but I’ll tell you what, they’re not in the soup line. So whatever you do, please look out for your residents and the other rate payers.” – Ken Daige
MARK SCHUMANN
Vero Beach City Council members Pilar Turner and Harry Howle were in rare form yesterday, as they joined civic “activist” Charlie Wilson in defending the Indian River Shores Town Council’s efforts to force Vero Beach to sell its Shores electric customers to Florida Power & Light at a price that would result in higher rates for everyone else.
Councilman Richard Winger, Vice Mayor Randy Old and Mayor Jay Kramer said they will not stand for it. At times, Kramer and Winger became visibly frustrated with Turner and Howle over their attempts to undercut the City’s negotiating position and its legal defense. Old agreed with Kramer and Winger, insisting the City has every right to defend itself.
“It’s time to stop this insanity. Now it’s time to work a deal,” Turner said, reading from a prepared statement.
Kramer countered, “The confrontations we have had have been the Shores beating up on Vero Beach.”
Later, Kramer said he would not agree to Turner’s proposal for negotiations, so long as the Shores continues to pursue its lawsuit and its petition before the Florida Public Service Commission. Kramer added that he would not be strong-armed into making concessions. He stressed, though, that he has had ongoing informal discussions with Shores Mayor Brian Barefoot.
“We know the Shores is not going to lose their resolve,” Turner said.
On that point, Winger agreed with Turner. “At the end of this last month they (the Shores) will have spent about $880,000. So it certainly proves they have a lot of resolve. They may go to $1 million, $2 million, or $3 million before they are through. And we have spent about $290,000. We’ve got better lawyers than they do. Be that as it may, they are certainly willing to spend unlimited amounts of their taxpayers’ money, and they have lost everything I’ve seen so far. Correct me, if I’m wrong,” Winger said.
Turner did not respond.
“We are not in a weak position,” Kramer then added.
“I do want to add that I don’t think the City is in a weak position at all,” attorney Schef Wright said.
Attorney John Frost agreed. “You are at least a year away from a court ruling,” he said, adding, “We are the defendants in all these lawsuits.”
Turner argued that despite active litigation by the Shores, Vero Beach officials should sit down with representatives of the Town and FPL to negotiate a price for a partial sale.
FPL initially offered $13 million for Vero Electric’s Shores customer base. Vero Beach officials have estimated it would take some $64 million to avoid hurting the utility’s remaining customers, many of whom live outside the city in the unincorporated areas of Indian River County.
“The number has to be small enough so Florida Power & Light can actually take it on. That’s a number much smaller than we have to get to satisfy our rate payers. Maybe it’s $60 million on our side. Maybe it’s $40 million. It will never get close to the $13 million or $14 million to satisfy Florida Power & Light. It will never get close to the price FPL needs,” said Old.
“I don’t know that we know that,” Howle said.
Winger countered, “We actually do know that.” He later explained that if Vero Electric’s Shores customers are sold for FPL’s proposed price of $13 million, it would lead to approximately a 3 percent rate increase for the City’s remaining customers for some 20 years.
Accentuating Winger’s point, Kramer said, “The Shores gets the benefit. Everybody else pays.”
Urging the Council to protect the interests of city residents and taxpayers, Vero Beach resident Ken Daige said, “One of your main duties is to the residents of this community, our city.”
Speaking of Shores leaders, Daige added, “They apply a lot of political pressure, and they apply a lot of money to what they want…You are still responsible to the residents of Vero Beach. You took an oath to that. Do not put the burden on us. Let’s say you do whatever Indian River Shores would like. It comes right back to us, where we will incur the extra costs. Not only us inside the city limits. Also the other rate payers outside the city…You start adding extra money to their bill, they can’t afford it. The folks in the Shores have their reasons for doing what they are doing, but I’ll tell you what, they’re not in the soup line. So whatever you do, please look out for your residents and the other rate payers.”
Charlie Wilson, a non-city resident and frequent commenter at City Council meetings, argued on behalf of the Shores, contending Vero Beach is at fault, and that Shores leaders are only defending themselves against “unconscionable” electric rates. (For three of Florida’s investor owned utilities, the PSC has approved rates significantly higher than rates charged by Vero Electric.)
Winger disagreed with Wilson. “Mr. Wilson, my position is any solution that keeps the people of Vero Beach whole, and does not increase their costs and rates is great. But when we had the first mediation meeting with Indian River Shores, they were talking about $3 million to $10 million…I will say it to you simply. I will never vote for something, as Mr. Daige suggested, that will penalize the people of Vero Beach to reward others. I swore an oath, and I am not going to violate it.”
Visibly frustrated with Turner, Kramer at one point looked at her directly and said, “I’ve been open to a partial sale for five years. Where have you been?” (When a member of the Carroll-Fletcher-Turner majority, Turner adamently dismissed the potential for a partial sale. The remaining system, with a smaller customer base, would not be viable, she argued. Now Turner is eager to sell Vero Electric’s Shores customer base, and on terms dictated by the Shores and FPL.)
To hear Turner and Howle tell it, Shores residents have every right to demand access to the lowest electric rates in the state, even if that means higher rates for the customers of Vero Electric. Further, Turner and Howle seem convinced Shores leaders are fully justified in continuing to pursue expensive lawsuits and petitions before the PSC.
The testy Council debate was sparked by consideration of a motion seeking conflict resolution meetings between the Shores and Vero Beach over an ordinance the Shores Town Council passed establishing the itself as a utility authority. The Shores Town Council plans, beginning in November, to regulate Vero Electric rates and operations within the Town.
City Attorney Wayne Coment explained that the means of conflict resolution sought in the motion are required by Florida law. When Shores leaders finally attempt to set the rate Vero Electric will charge Shores customers, the two municipalities will be required to first mediate their differences before going to court.
By a vote of 3-2, with Howle and Turner dissenting, the Council agreed to seek formal conflict resolution meetings with Shores leaders.
Kramer, Old and Winger seem determined to continue defending the City against lawsuits brought by the Shores and the Indian River County Commission. At the same time, they are moving ahead with decommissioning the power plant. In combination with the already re-negotiated power supply contract with the Orlando Utilities Commission, shutting down “Big Blue” will lead to lower rates. Already this year, Vero Electric’s rates are down more than $5 per month per 1000 kWh.
Indian River Guardian 
Out of curiosity, I keep wondering how it was that VB ended up putting in utilities for a large portion of Indian River Shores in the first place. Why didn’t FPL do it? I suspect those who developed IRS had a schedule and we were able to meet that schedule. But regardless, I appreciate so much Mr. Kramer, Mr. Old, Mr. Winger, and Mr. Daige standing up for us against the usual forces of self-interest. Mr. Wilson has consistently done all he could to rip VB. Mrs. Turner–I’ve not figured out but it appears she has no idea how destructive such quick actions would be for the future of VB. She tried to ram through a quick sale to FPL before – cost us money for special-type of attorney who may have not had our interests in mind, though we paid the firm. Mr. Howle, I don’t know. There is concern over FPL and its toxic nuke plant. There is concern over FPL’s $4 billion in hedging losses. Apparently everyone isn’t concerned – only those of us who live here, work here, and appreciate the uniqueness of Vero Beach.
Pilar Turner expresses concern over the $300,000 spent defending Vero Beach against her Indian River Shores supporters and patrons, but to this day she justifies having spent $2 million on attorneys who botched the purchase and sale agreement with FPL. Turner and Howle get away with betraying the trust Vero Beach voters placed in them because the island weekly and the Press Journal will not report the full story, and because Shores leaders use their considerable wealth to influence the outcome of Vero Beach’s municipal elections.
Press Journal columnist, Larry Reisman, has a lot to say about his misguided notion that the Florida Legislature can and should “break up the FMPA.” Isn’t it interesting, though, that he has yet to report of FPL’s $4 BILLION in hedging losses, or the company’s proposed $1.337 billion rate increase? Reisman has a lot of opinions, but none he is willing to share about how Turner and Howle are doing the Shores’ bidding. Reisman, of course, works for a newspaper whose publisher is married to an FPL vice president. There was a day when Reisman and his Press Journal colleagues were committed to serious, responsible journalism, but that day seems to be long gone. The island weekly is a shameless propaganda rag, and the Press Journal, sadly, is not much better.
I am wondering if there is not grounds for impeachment of council members who obviously are not working in the best interests of the citizens they were elected to serve?
MISFEASANCE: Generally, a civil defendant will be liable for misfeasance if the defendant owed a duty of care toward the plaintiff, the defendant breached that duty of care by improperly performing a legal act, and the improper performance resulted in harm to the plaintiff.
Harry Howle and Pilar Turner seem to believe they were elected to serve the interests of the residents of the Town of Indian River Shores. In fact, though, they are members of the Vero Beach City Council. Both swore an oath to serve the best interests of the residents and taxpayers of Vero Beach, not the residents of Indian River Shores. Especially given that it is painfully clear what they propose to do will have a significant and long-term negative impact on the taxpayers of Vero Beach and the customers of Vero Electric, one might well be successful in suing them for misfeasance.
Let’s hope the community does not get to that point. Let’s hope Turner and Howle remain Indian River Shores’ only two quasi official representatives on the Vero Beach City Council. The next election will be critical. Turner is up for re-election, as is Randy Old. Presumably, Jay Kramer’s seat will be open. There is certainly a chance those who seek the disincorporation of Vero Beach will regain a majority on the Vero Beach City Council.
Make no mistake about it, there are those within Indian River Shores, including at least some of their elected officials, (Brian Barefoot is likely one of them), who are thinking several moves beyond the power sale. Ultimately, what they seek is an opportunity to annex the central and south barrier island. Other than attending highbrow fundraising events for local non-profits serving less fortunate mainlanders, many islanders, especially those living in the Shores, want little or nothing to do with the mainland.
Indian River County’s barrier island would become something like the “Capital City” in the Hunger Games, with the mainland divided into “Districts.” Brian Barefoot could fill the role of President Snow, each year announcing, “Let the hunger games begin. May the odds be every in your favor.”
This analogy is a stretch, but you get the point. There are those within Indian River Shores who are using the power issues as a way of further distancing themselves from the mainland. To that end, they seek to incorporate the central and south beach into one barrier island municipality. When Bernie Sanders is railing against the top one percent, he must surely be thinking about Brian Barefoot and his supporters within the Shores. The Shores is, after all, the wealthiest community in Florida.