The City Council directed Mayor Patricia Christensen Monday night to meet with Martin County Chairman Michael DiTerlizzi and ask him what exactly the county wanted from city officials.
A meeting between Martin County Administrator Duncan Ballantyne and Port St. Lucie City Manager Don Cooper abruptly ended two weeks ago, prompting DiTerlizzi to ask for cooperation at the City Council meeting last week.
Reached before the meeting, DiTerlizzi said the corridor would benefit the city's 15,000 residents who commute to Martin County, per results of a regional study done several years ago.
Officials said the issue was whether Port St. Lucie developers should pay to widen the road from two lanes to four lanes in the future. DiTerlizzi said those developers planning huge projects west of Interstate 95 will negatively impact Martin County's roads, boat ramps and beach access.
"All we're asking is those developers pay for their impacts," he said.
City officials agreed in concept for the connection years ago, Christensen said, but not the lane expansions. There was no interlocal agreement on the road, she said.
DiTerlizzi disagreed, saying the road was addressed in an interlocal agreement the two governments made about a year ago, dealing with either development orders on large developments or the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council.
Before the meeting, Councilman Christopher Cooper said that a decade ago the connection would have been important, but with multiple routes to Martin County now, including a Becker Road access to Florida's Turnpike opening early next year, the corridor wouldn't be used as much.
The City Council also voted 3-2 to do more research and continue to educate its employees on the benefits of opening a health clinic for city workers, effectively rejecting the clinic opening as city staff hoped in early 2007.
Mayor Christensen and Councilwomen Michelle Berger and Linda Bartz voted for the continuation and Vice Mayor Jack Kelly and Councilman Cooper voted against.
The city could save more than $500,000 its first year with the clinic, according to city staff. The clinic would keep workers healthier, reduce time off work for medical appointments, and reduce the number of visits to specialists, Crowne Consulting Group officials said.
Human Resources Director Tamara Williamson said her staff had gotten only positive feedback from employees about the clinic, though the two police unions did not support it.
"Holding off will hurt us," she said.
Councilwoman Berger, who voted against the clinic concept before, said the city needed to renegotiate with the unions on health care benefits to control costs.
"Our health care costs are escalating, but they are everywhere (else)," Berger said. "We need to go back and renegotiate with the unions. We don't expand government as a response."
IN OTHER ACTION
The City Council:
• Tentatively approved a code enforcement amnesty program that was discussed previously. For all code fines and liens assessed before May 22, 2006, if violators fix the problem and pay a $150 application fee, they would be able to pay only a fraction of their fine. During the month of March, the amount is 25 percent, April — 50 percent, May — 75 percent.
• Voted 4-1 to waive about $29,400 in city fees the Workforce Development Board was billed for relocating its offices. The board asked to waive the fees because it was forced out of its offices to make way for the City Center.
• Unanimously approved a five-year lease with the St. Lucie County School District to let the district build a temporary school in the city. The city would get park facilities the district would build onsite after the district leaves.
• Accepted an environmental study by Port St. Lucie consultants Mark Youmans on the proposed canal park boat launch site on the C-24 Canal.
(By CHRIS YOUNG chris.young@scripps.com )
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