At a special meeting on 18 July, the Vero Beach City Council convened to discuss the future of an ambitious marina project, weighing multiple funding and management strategies.
The meeting began with a presentation assessing the financial feasibility of the $25.9 million USD project. Based on the 2020 marina master plan, the city is currently executing phase one at the Vero Beach City Marina, which includes reconstructing the adjacent dock to increase the number of berths from 20 to 30, and reconstructing the dry storage building to increase the number of dry storage racks from 57 to 124.
Phase two of the project would involve the reconstruction of the mooring field and the main marina complex. As proposed, the number of moorings would increase from 57 to 87 moorings and the main marina docks would increase from 79 slips to 86 wet slips.
According to WQCS, during the meeting it was determined that the project would bring long-term benefits within 50 years, however it would take approximately 25 years for Vero Beach City to turn a profit from the investment.
Although the marina’s long-term financial forecast was optimistic, Mayor John Cotugno was reported to be concerned about the local government’s ability to execute the project efficiently, referencing past challenges.
“As the devil’s advocate here, based on track record, we have had execution issues because we are a government. We have to do things a certain way. It takes time,” he said. “This city is under a lot of pressure, from revenue sources going forward. If we are going to be in this business, we need to maximize this revenue and minimize risk.”
Council Member John Carroll, however, opposed the idea of leasing the marina to private firms, arguing that the marina should be led by the city.
Marina Director Sean Collins said that sooner the permitting plans could be submitted, the better, both for the project timeline and the cost. He said permitting should take anywhere between 12-18 months. Meanwhile, City Manager Monte Falls was reported to have emphasised that the council had time to explore all options before making a decision.
“The city council is not bound to anything until we go out to bid," Falls said, supporting moving forward with the design and permitting phases of the project while the council continued to deliberate.
