Citizens called to advise Haddox seeks new committee
3
Debut fishing column
Fred Caimotto’s fishing report
17
Tenor comes to town
Michael Amante comes back to Lyric
23
PALM CITY/TESORO
YourVoiceWeekly.com VOL. 3/ISSUE 48
YOUR INDEPENDENT LOCAL COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER
County commission reconsiders CRA Patrick McCallister STAFF WRITER
pmccallister@YourVoiceWeekly.com
MARTIN COUNTY — “(Neighborhood advisory committees) and (community redevelopment areas — they have a target on their back.” Commissioner John Haddox minces no words about the County Commission’s relationship with the Community Redevelopment Agency, CRA, and its neighborhood advisory committees, NACs. Advisory committee members, who must meet certain residency or property-ownership qualifications, are appointed by commissioners. Nevertheless— “They’ve devalued their voices and opinions,” Haddox added. “Government is supposed to do the opposite. We’re supposed to foster community participation.” At the center of an ongoing mêlée between supporters and opponents of the county’s Community
Redevelopment Agency is Southwest Mapp Road and the 12-yearold Mapp Road Town Center Design — a proposed New Urbanism design for a pedestrian-friendly downtownesque area from Southwest Martin Highway to Southwest Martin Downs Boulevard. Haddox is a staunch supporter of getting the Mapp Road Town Center Design done over time. In recent months, a political war has developed between CRA supporters and opponents. The battle has been a mostly deadlocked trench combat for months with no apparent decisive turns. Since the current slate of commissioners were seated in 2012, what’s often called “the Commission majority” — commissioners Sarah Heard, Ed Fielding and Anne Scott — have been, at times, openly antagonistic toward the Community Redevelopment Agency’s history and community redevelopment area projects. They’ve often citing Mar-
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2015
Gridiron Tigers going strong
See CRA page 8
$200 million award for C-44 reservoir Patrick McCallister STAFF WRITER
pmccallister@YourVoiceWeekly.com
MARTIN COUNTY — Water flowing into the St. Lucie’s South Fork will get a bit cleaner by the start of the next decade. Earlier this month the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers awarded a nearly $200 million contract to get the long-anticipated C-44 Reservoir and Stormwater Treatment Area built.
County Commissioner John Haddox said it’s great news for Palm City. “The South Fork is definitely affected by the releases,” he said. Haddox added, “We’re making some headway. I think that’s positive.” The C-44 lets into the St. Lucie’s South Fork at Palm City’s southern end. The water flows northward through the Veterans
See C-44 page 9
Mitch Kloorfain/chief photographer Anthony Golino of Palm City completed a 25-yard reception for Martin County High School untouched by the St. Lucie West Centennial High School defense during a game Friday, Sept 25 at South County Regional Stadium. The Martin County Tigers record is now 4-1 following the 16-0 shutout of the Eagles.
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