FORT PIERCE — City officials Monday night shut the door on the mayor’s idea to consolidate the Police Department with the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office.

Mayor Bob Benton could not get the support he needed from at least three commissioners to move the idea forward.

Commissioners Rufus Alexander, Christine Coke and Reggie Sessions did not want to disband the police department. And Commissioner Eddie Becht didn’t express an opinion on how he felt about the idea.
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STUART — Martin County Commissioner Ed Ciampi said he wants County Administrator Duncan Ballantyne to resign on Tuesday to start a makeover of the county government.

“I asked Duncan for his resignation,” Ciampi said. “I think that we need change in our organization and I feel that change starts at the top. I want to get started right away.”

But Ballantyne’s fate remains uncertain because the four other commissioners said they did not want to immediately commit to keeping or firing him. (more…)

Employees at Pratt & Whitney in Northern Palm Beach County will receive five days off, without pay, as the parent company of both Pratt and Sikorsky Aircraft lowered its 2009 profit forecast and announced that 11,600 workers will be laid off in 2009.

Pratt’s portions of the sprawling facility along the Beeline Highway in Northern Palm Beach County will be shut down, along with all Hartford, Conn.-based United Technologies Corp.’s Pratt & Whitney locations in the United States, on April 13, May 22, Sept. 4, Oct. 12 and Nov. 25.

“The furlough program is a part of our overall efforts to reduce costs with a focus on ensuring a strong future for the company, our employees, customers and shareowners,” the company released in a statement.

The moves, part of an expanded $750 million restructuring program because of the deteriorating commercial aerospace market, are being driven by a decline in expected revenue, which is now seen totaling $55 billion this year, down $2.7 billion from a December estimate.

Besides the furlough days, Pratt & Whitney has limited hiring, decreased the use of contract and temporary personnel, cut back on travel and deferred merit pay increases for 2009. (more…)

Thursday, February 26, 2009

STUART — The city this week continued assembling pieces of the purchase package for Arthur’s Dockside Waterfront Restaurant property adjacent to City Hall, acquiring $1 million in financing and further negotiating the final price.

The City Commission inked a contract for the property in early December that established a maximum purchase price of just more than $4.4 million for the last piece of riverfront property north of St. Lucie Avenue not under city control.

Since that time, primary emphasis has centered on negotiating down more than $4 million in liens and claims against the property. The outcome of those dealings will determine how much the city ultimately pays for the property.

On Monday, city commissioners approved a $3.85 million price cap for the deal. However, as of Tuesday, City Attorney Paul Nicoletti said the encumbrances hovered just below $4 million.

Because of the ongoing negotiations with lien holders, the city obtained a three-week extension until March 20 to conclude its pre-sale inspection and set a new
closing date of April 3.
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FORT PIERCE — Plans for a $90 million project to build a hotel, restaurants, shops and homes on the old H.D. King Power Plant site may be in jeopardy because of a glitch in the contract.

Jonathan Snyder, president and chief executive officer of Nevada-based Snyder Development LLC, wants the city to donate 6.87 acres of waterfront property on Indian River Drive to build his project, but language tied to the deed says the city has to use the land for a public purpose or the property reverts back to the state.

The glitch might kill the project, Snyder said.

The City Commission, seated as the Fort Pierce Redevelopment Agency board, will discuss the city’s options during a 12:30 p.m. Wednesday meeting at City Hall. (more…)

Slumping aircraft sales are prompting more furloughs at Piper Aircraft Inc.’s headquarters in Vero Beach.

The plane maker announced today that it would shut down the plant at the Vero Beach Municipal Airport for one week in May and one week in June, forcing all employees to take unpaid leave.

The furloughs are in addition to week-long plant closures planned for April and July, which Piper announced earlier this month. (more…)

Stuart will have to keep waiting for its answer to Downtown at the Gardens.

The developers of the Fountains at Stuart, a 325,000-square-foot open-air shopping center planned for U.S. 1, are pushing back the construction schedule while they wait for an economic rebound.

“The financing became more difficult, and the tenants became more nervous about opening in such a risky environment, especially in Florida,” said Charlie Trotman, president of Trotman Co., the Montgomery, Ala.-based developer.

The firm planned to open the center this March, and it started prepping the 25-acre site for vertical construction last year. Trotman said he’s now waiting to see a “definable recovery” before opening.

Tenants previously announced for the center include Barnes & Noble, J. Jill, Talbots, Coldwater Creek, Belk, DSW, Ulta, Aveda Day Spa and others. Trotman would not say if any of them have cancelled their contracts.

A Wellington couple have managed to do what many who bought at the market’s peak are dreaming of: escape a new-home contract.

A Miami-based arbitrator ruled in January that the contract Kurt and Micheline Moeding inked with Kolter Homes violated federal law, and that they should get their $76,114 deposit back. The couple signed up for the $629,580 home at Kolter’s Verano community in Port St. Lucie in 2006 – before home values plummeted.

The tool the Moedings used to get out of the deal is a technicality in the Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act.

The law requires developers to make time-consuming reports to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, unless they claim exemptions. The exemption Kolter used: It promised to complete homes at Verano within two years of signing a sale contract.

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Marlins pitcher Scott Proctor (left), plays with his 3-year-old daughter, Mary Elizabeth, and wife, Carrie. Photo by Sarah Grile

JENSEN BEACH — There’s no disputing Scott Proctor’s passion for baseball. After a tough loss, the new Marlins reliever once burned his glove on the dugout steps at Yankee Stadium — “a sacrifice to the baseball gods,” he explained.

Proctor persuaded his wife to name their first child,  5-year-old Camden, after Baltimore’s baseball yard.

Their youngest, 18-month-old Cooper, got his name from the New York town that’s home to the Hall of Fame.

“It helped me understand what really matters,’’ he said. (more…)