Shores leaders don’t do well when things don’t go their way
COMMENTARY
“Surely Kramer is not surprised by these assaults from Barefoot and the island weekly. When Kramer voted to protect the interests of his own constituents, he knew full well the attacks that would follow. Kramer’s vote will likely cost him support from Shores residents in his Aug. 30 primary contest against Solari. Win or lose, Kramer is an example of political courage in a time when selfless public servants are not easy to be found.”
MARK SCHUMANN
Imagine that someone approaches you asking to buy your home, or if you are a wealthy resident in Indian River Shores, imagine receiving an unsolicited offer from someone wanting to buy your second or third home. You weren’t planning on selling, but you inform the prospective buyer you will, at your own expense, hire a professional appraiser and will then get back with them.
After completing his work, the appraiser informs you your home is worth $470,000. When you share this number with the person wanting to buy your home, he balks. A few days later he comes back with his own figures showing your home is worth just $300,000. You weren’t looking to sell your home. The professional appraiser you hired believes it is worth $470,000. The person who has made an unsolicited offer insists the home is worth just $300,000. What would you do?
This scenario is not much different from the recently concluded negotiations between the City of Vero Beach, the Town of Indian River Shores and Florida Power & Light. After spending more than $1 million on a lawsuit that sought to strip Vero Beach of its service territory in the Shores, and fearful the Florida Public Service Commission will reject their latest petition, Shores leaders, working through FPL, made an offer of $30 million to buy Vero Electric’s Shores customers and electric utility infrastructure located within the Town.
In an effort to accommodate the Shores’ request to be served by FPL, Vero Beach leaders hired a team of five utility consultants to determine how much it would take to keep the City, its taxpayers and remaining customers from being exposed to potentially higher rates. The consultants came back with a number of $47 million. It is, admittedly, an estimate, but one calculated to protect the residents of Vero Beach and the customers of Vero Electric.
To justify the Town’s $30 million offer, the Shores representative on the City of Vero Beach Utilities Commission, Bob Auwearter, came up a set of numbers showing the City needed no more than $27 million. Auwearter is a resident of Indian River Shores, and was appointed by the Town to represent the Town’s interests on the Utilities Commission. To be sure, Auwearter does not wake up each day asking himself what he can do to protect the taxpayers of Vero Beach and the 34,000 customers of Vero Electric. Auwearter is a Shores man looking out for his own interests and those of his fellow Shores residents.
In his most recent letter to Shores residents addressing the electric issue, Shores Mayor Brian Barefoot focused on and lauded FPL’s $30 million offer, $3 million of which was to be paid by Shores residents. “FPL’s $30 million offer was incredibly generous,” Barefoot wrote.
Joining the island weekly in singling out Vero Beach Mayor Jay Kramer for criticism and blame, Barefoot wrote, “I hope you can see why I was shocked when Mayor Kramer rejected FPL’s offer out of hand.”
Reading Barefoot’s letter, I could not help but wonder if he made his fortune spinning half truths as a public relations professional, for nowhere in his letter did Barefoot mention that a team of utility experts hired by the City believes FPL’s (and the Town’s) $30 million offer is just 63% of what would be needed to protect the remaining stakeholders from paying higher rates and higher taxes.
Representing the interests of Vero Beach residents and the customers of Vero Electric, Mayor Kramer, Vice Mayor Randy Old and Councilman Richard Winger all insisted they could not in good conscience put their constituents at risk by rejecting the advice of the City’s team of consultants. If Barefoot were in their shoes, I suspect he would have made the same decision, namely to protect his constituents.
In his letter to Shores residents, Barefoot failed to address a proposal Kramer made that, according to the Town’s own estimates, would have yielded Shores residents and businesses a net savings of some $40 million in electric rates over the next 30 years. To the $27 FPL has said it would be willing to pay, Kramer proposed the Town pay another $20 million. As Kramer pointed out in a letter sent to Barefoot last week, by the Town’s own estimates, Shores residents and businesses would save $60 million over the next 30 years as customers of FPL. Barefoot and Shores Vice Mayor Jerry Weick made clear this week they are unwilling to propose spending $20 million to save $60 million.
Silent on half the relevant facts, Barefoot’s letter singling out Kramer is at best an attempt to mislead Shores residents. At worst, is a vengeful political attack on Kramer aimed at aiding Bob Solari, whom Kramer is challenging for a seat on the Indian River County Commission.
In the latest issue of the island weekly, Kramer is viciously attacked for not caving to the wishes of Shores residents. Notably, the newspaper’s publisher is a resident of Indian River Shores, and at least as of a few years ago, the owner of John’s Island Real Estate Company was a part owner of the newspaper. Since its founding in 2008, the island weekly has maintained a constant barrage of attacks on Vero Beach. Given Vero Beach 32963’s ownership interests within the Shores, and given its constant attacks on Vero Beach leaders, it is hard not to see the island weekly as a Shores newspaper, and one with an obvious bias.
For reasons inexplicable to rational minds, City Council members Pilar Turner and Harry Howle sided with the Shores. They rejected the City’s own estimates, and were instead prepared to accept Auwearter’s numbers. Had they been in the majority, Turner’s and Howle’s votes may well have constituted misfeasance, for if the the City’s consultants proved correct, the risk of loss would fall entirely on the taxpayers of Vero Beach and the remaining customers of Vero Electric.
Surely Kramer is not surprised by these assaults from Barefoot and the island weekly. When Kramer voted to protect the interests of his own constituents, he knew full well the attacks would follow. Kramer’s vote will likely cost him support from Shores residents in his Aug. 30 primary contest against Solari. Win or lose, Kramer is an example of political courage in a time when selfless public servants are not easy to be found.
Vice Mayor Randy Old also cast a courageous vote. He is running for re-election in November, and will now be under attack from moneyed interests in the Shores.
With Shores leaders smarting over not having gotten their way, Vero Beach residents would do well to pay attention to the means these wealthy outside interests will employ in in another effort to control the outcome of November’s municipal elections.
Indian River Guardian 
It is no surprise that the attacks against Jay Kramer are being leveled now. They will increase as we get closer to primary day. This entire FP&L offer and Aug 25 deadline was perfectly timed to put pressure on Kramer. If Kramer had agreed with the “low ball” offer he would be malfeasant. When he countered with $47,000,000 was needed ,he showed he had the courage to do the right thing by the city he represents despite the fact he is seeking a seat on the county commission. Not so with Turner and Howle who “sold out the city” Turner and Howle do not represent the city: they represent FP&L and Indian River Shores. They are malfeasant. When you look into the campaign money they get from sources outside the city ,and who they are, you will understand their voting record which is decidedly anti city.
Excellent report by Mark on the recent city council vote to ‘reject’ the Shores/FPL offer of $30 million for the Indian River Shores customer base. This was a difficult decision for ‘our’ City Council members (ie those who represent the interests of City of Vero Beach voters), since the City’s experts had valued the Shores customer base and related equipment transfer and contingent liabilities (for example, of long term costs/billings on Stanton 1 and 2 nuclear plant decommissioning) at $47 million. How could City Council members accept the Shores/FPL offer in total disregard to the City’s own estimates? Kudos to Old, Winger and Kramer for doing the right thing. But Kramer was in an even more difficult situation, since he is trying to get elected to the County Commission—to hopefully bring some honesty and competence to that government body. If he had disregarded the City’s own expert valuations, and accepted the ‘deal’ of $30 million offered, he would be selling out the citizens and taxpayers of Vero Beach for the easy votes of Mayor Barefoot’s Shores residents. But Kramer chose to do the honest thing. Now the weekly newspaper named for the island’s zip code ‘32963’ is attacking him as ‘flip flopping’ on being willing to sell Vero’s power plant. This is not flip flopping, just wanting a fair offer. It is indeed ironic that Kramer is attacked for having offered to explore a partial sale of Vero’s electric system. No good deed goes unpunished! 32963 should be ashamed to publish it’s crass political view, —claiming Kramer was deceptive, etc— which only rewards Bob Solari, one who has talked much (like most lawyers) but done little to benefit the county residents: including pushing through an ‘industry drafted short term rental’ law this summer that allows these businesses to operate ‘Motel 6’ type public lodging in the middle of our residential neighborhoods, and to the detriment of the real neighbors/voters who live there. Note on Kramer’s ad, showing in the slam editorial of 32963, that he opposes short term (daily/weekly) rentals. Solari supports short term rentals, just not next to his own house in the ‘protected zoning’ of City of Vero Beach (something Kramer, Winger and Old have fought hard to keep protected for the benefit of City residents). So let’s not get distracted by the FPL-funded attacks on Kramer for his very reasonable vote to reject their low-ball ‘offer’, but see the bigger picture.
I admire Jay Kramer, Randy Old, and Dick Winger for standing up for the citizens of Vero Beach. I would suggest to those outside the city limits who are on Vero Electric that they request the County drop the 6% franchise fee which they require the City to include on your bill…..I am assuming it is still being done. The County does nothing for that money that the City must turn over to them. I don’t know if the folks on FPL in Indian River County also pay a franchise fee. I think everyone on the City Council is willing to sell the entire system WHEN it can be done without costing us an arm and a leg to do so. We stand by our commitments…..which, to me, is quite an honorable thing to do. It is understandable that the leaders in I.R.S. and those at F.P.L. are used to getting what they want at any cost (as long as the ultimate long-term cost is not their own).
All residents in the unincorporated areas of the County, as well as those living with the city limits of Fellsmere and the city limits of Sebastian by a 6 percent franchise on their FPL bills. Awash in property tax revenue, Shores leaders have so far chosen not to assess a six percent franchise fee.