A13
Vet’s next invasion
St. Lucie Mets to host Vets
How to be a happy camper Tips for the upcoming camp season
A16
Wonderland at the Sunrise Ballet troupe performs Alice’s tale
B1
ST. LUCIE WEST • TRADITION
YourVoiceWeekly.com VOL. 4/ISSUE 26
YOUR INDEPENDENT LOCAL COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER
County Commission considers sales tax increase
Safety first at SafetyFest A large crowd was on hand to watch Robbie Gibbons, of the Port St. Lucie Police Departments K-9 demonstrate tactical moves with his dog Bleck. This is one of several demonstrations held by First Responders at the SLC Safety Festival.
Patrick McCallister STAFF WRITER
pmccallister@YourVoiceWeekly.com
ST. LUCIE COUNTY — Voters will likely decide in November whether to raise their sales taxes. On Tuesday, April 19, the County Commission got a staff presentation about a proposed half-cent local-option sales tax at an informal meeting. The commission doesn’t vote at informal meetings. There’ll be the first of two public hearings about the proposed sales tax at a regular commission meeting on June 7. The proposed sales tax is aimed at helping the county catch up on needed infrastructure maintenance. In an interview after the meeting, Commissioner Chris Dzadovsky said he’s generally supportive of sending the proposed sales tax to voters. But, he does so with heartburn. “First and foremost, it clearly is a regressive tax,” Dzadovsky said. “That can be problematic for some the least affluent members of our community.” Commissioner Tod Mowery said he’s still considering the merits and demerits of the proposed sales tax. However, there’s one aspect he already likes.
See SALES TAX page A18
FRIDAY, APRIL 29, 2016
Photo by Douglas L. Farrell
Doubt clouds Copas Veterans Home Patrick McCallister STAFF WRITER
pmccallister@YourVoiceWeekly.com
TRADITION — The much anticipated Ardie R. Copas State Veterans’ Nursing Home might not ever exist. “All the veterans are going to be very disappointed,” Wayne Teegardin, manager of St. Lucie County’s veterans services, said. “It was a united effort to lobby for the original grant award. There’s a lot of folks who are going to be disappointed.” Steve Murray, communications director at the state veterans department, said in an emailed response to questions that the
state has withdrawn a grant application to the federal government to build the home, but submitted another. “On April 15, 2016, the Florida Department of Veterans’ Affairs withdrew its initial grant application of $39 million for the Ardie R. Copas State Veterans’ Nursing Home and resubmitted it to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for $58.9 million to reflect additional VA requirements for Community Living Center model construction,” Murray wrote. However, results of the new grant request won’t be known until November, and the state will have to go back to designing
the facility from scratch if it gets the new grant. That could set back construction by years. The state is hoping to avoid that by getting a bureaucratic shortcut back to where it proverbially started. The Florida Department of Veterans Affairs — which is not associated with the federal veterans department — manages the state’s six veterans homes and an adult living facility. Around 2010 it applied for a grant from the federal Department of Veterans Affairs to build four more nursing homes. The federal veterans department gave its
See COPAS page A9
ECRWSS
Local Postal Customer
26650
PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID FORT PIERCE, FL PERMIT NO. 248