🌅 👔 City Attorney Role Filled

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☀️ Day: High of 90°F | Mostly cloudy and humid. Winds calm.
🌙 Night: Low of 75°F | An evening thunderstorm in spots, 100% chance of rain.
🌅 Sunrise: 7:04 AM | 🌇 Sunset: 7:32 PM
🌙 Moonrise: 6:28 AM | 🌚 Moonset: 7:16 PM
🎶 Sounds like: "Reasons" — Earth, Wind & Fire

The Fort Pierce City Commission voted 3 to 2 Tuesday night to formally approve the resolution and employment agreement appointing Camille Wallace as interim city attorney, a position the commission first voted to place her in at the August 24th special meeting 🏛️.

If you need the full backstory on how we got here, we broke it down in detail here.

What was approved Monday night 📋:

Worth knowing about this agreement: The contract is written very carefully around the separation between the city attorney's office and the city manager's office. Wallace cannot receive direction from City Manager Richard Chess in her role as interim city attorney. Chess joined the agreement solely to consent to her leave of absence and guarantee her reinstatement. A separate conflicts counsel has also been authorized for any matters where Wallace's prior role as Deputy City Manager creates a potential conflict, including anything related to the city manager's office or the departure of the prior city attorney's staff.

What's next: The search for a permanent city attorney is ongoing through S. Renée Narloch and Associates. Wallace serves until a permanent city attorney is appointed 📅.

💬 What do you think about how this all played out? Call or text us at (772) 212-1504

Vero Beach City Council approved a $1.76 million contract with Ferreira Construction to rebuild the Humiston Beach Park boardwalk destroyed by hurricanes Ian and Nicole in 2022. The 427-foot wooden structure will feature prestressed concrete pillars, Trex composite decking and two covered pavilions. Construction begins November 1 after sea turtle nesting season ends and wraps before nesting resumes in March. Clayton Sembler is donating an estimated $850,000 worth of concrete pilings, bringing total project cost to about $2.06 million.

👉 Read more (Vero News)

Stuart City Commission voted 3-2 to rehire Michael Mortell as city manager less than a year after firing him in October. Mortell, a Navy veteran, will return at a reduced salary of $225,000, down from his previous $265,725, and has agreed to forgo his first cost-of-living raise. The decision comes after Michael Giardino, Mortell's replacement, was fired in August after just months on the job. Commissioners also removed Sean Reed as mayor and named Eula Clarke mayor during the same meeting.

👉 Read more (WQCS)

Martin County School Board will request $3 million from the state to convert the former Stuart Learning Center into a flex campus offering career training, credit recovery, adult education and workforce laboratories. The proposed campus would give students opportunities to earn industry certifications alongside high school diplomas. The district has already budgeted $3.83 million, bringing the potential total to about $6.8 million if the state approves the full request.

👉 Read more (TCPalm subscription may be required)

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