The Miami Herald from Miami, Florida • 439

Poacher suspects angry2D Business5D ClassifiedllD Voters will decide on raise Sebastian workers unionize 2D By LORI ROZSA Herald Writer SEBASTIAN The mayor of this small community in northern Indian River County might finally get paid what he thinks worth After a lively sometimes angry public hearing Wednesday the Sebastian City Council voted unanimously to put a referendum on the Nov 6 ballot to let voters decide if Mayor Jim salary should be raised and if the job of mayor should be declared full-time Voters will be asked to raise salary from $9600 to the United States to be part-time We need a full-time Andre said Council member Richard Szelu-ga said before the public hearing he had intended to vote against putting the referendum on the ballot but he changed his mind have heard things this afternoon I SzeJuga said is a democratic process The question is do you want a full time mayor or Gallagher was a substitute teacher before he was elected mayor He has said that he needs a higher salary to support his The salary for the highest ranking official in this city of 5000 has fluctuated dramatically in the last few years Former Mayor Pat Flood had his salary cut from $17600 to $9000 in 1982 after a circuit judge ruled in favor of a referendum that allowed city voters to set the salaries of their elected officials Because of that ruling the only way to change salanes is by the vote of city residents Jay Andre told the City Council that if the city is going to make any progress it needs a full-time leader elect a president of but he also said he made it clear that he might ask for a raise one told me what be facing with this job No one told me the amount of aggravation the intensity of concentration required in this Gallagher said person cannot put in full-time hours at $800 a Residents in March rejected a referendum to increase the salary to $25000 A petition drive to put the question on a September ballot failed last $18000 a year About 25 people went to the Sebastian City Council chambers for a public heanng prior the vote Barbara Bricker called Gallagher poor excuse for a human because she said he yelled at the people who spoke against the raise One of those people was Peter Vallone who ran against Gallagher in the March election Vallone said Gallagher told the public when he was campaigning that' he had no problem with the salary Gallagher admitted saying that Mayor Jim Gallagher: He wants salary increased to $18000 Treasure Coast braces for storm 4 Shelter opened events canceled By FRANCIS DONNELLY And LORENZO BENET Herald Staff Writers Surprised by the sudden emergence of Tropical Storm Isidore off coast the Treasure Coast battened down Wednesday Along the coast residents and public officials took the following precautions: Citrus growers quickly burned seedlings bought from canker-infested nurseries so the disease be spread by driving rains Extracurricular activities at Martin County schools were canceled and more than 500 students were sent home after their last classes Martin County officials opened Stuart Middle School as a shelter for Hutchinson Island residents who want to leave the island About 240 firefighters were placed on alert in case of an evacuation In all three counties Red Cross officials notified shelter managers and reviewed shelter plans About 40 personnel at the US Coast Guard Station in Fort Pierce spent most of the day preparing the station for a possible storm St Lucie County inmates placed sandbags around the county jail so the facility which is located in a low-lying area be flooded by heavy rains All the while emergency planning officials in Martin St Lucie and Indian River counties fielded clls from anxious residents been swamped with phone said Phil Rodi St Lucie County emergency preparedness director is no lack of But there were no distress calls or rescues Wednesday The phrase was commonly used by civil defense radio operators in all three counties as they checked their equipment and maintained contact with state emergency officials And residents took their own preparations In Indian River County the Vero Marine Center was doing a brisk business selling line to boat owners who wanted to secure their vessels sold a heap of said Gene Barttain of Vero Marine Center which has about 40 boats Barttain said boat owners who are unable to pull their boats out of the water doing everything they can to double-tie Grocery stores and gas stations on the Treasure Coast also reported heavier than normal business running said Bill Brown the owner of a Citgo station on US 1 in Fort Pierce are coming in here and driving me crazy say been having twice as much business as Martin County school officials canceled afterschool activities because they feared heavy winds and rains might cause school bus accidents said Clifford Rollins an assistant school superintendent Those activities included freshmen and junior varsity football games between South Fork and Please turn to STORM 2D STEPHEN CROWLEY Miami Herald Stolf The surf was up Wednesday at Conn Beach in Indian River County washing away more than one-fourth of the vegetation planted as part of a $181500 restoration project tuunn oi me Ft Pierce seeks new redevelopment aide gut reaction to this is I want to be part of John Sherrard former redevelopment agency member By CANDACE TURTLE Herald Staff Writer FORT PIERCE After John resignation Tuesday from the Downtown Redevelopment Agency Mayor William Dannahower said he doubted the City Commission would be ready to appoint a replacement by Monday Dannahower said he had two or three candidates in mind but that there might not be enough time for the commissioners to nominate and elect replacement by the next regular meeting Sherrard a local lawyer resigned after criticizing Sunvest Group of Companies the developer chosen by identical to what he showed us in December gut reaction to this is I want to be part of At meeting he called for the agency to drop Sunvest and choose another developer but his motion died when it was not seconded Sherrard also said he felt alienated from other agency members sort of feel like the lone person who sits on the agency and dissents Agency Chairman Richard Coke said he expected that finding a replacement for Sherrard would delay the project somewhat and regretted his resignation the agency to carry out the multimil-lion-dollar revitalization of the downtown area major reason is I just feel like there is any work product being produced by Sherrard said to the Aug 27 meeting I had an open mind But when they asked for an extension when I got Sherrard who in an August meeting opposed granting Sunvest more time to present detailed working plans voted against retaining the company Monday after Sunvest developer Oswald Sousa made a report to the agency was almost an he said opened the plans and they were Crackdown on Sebastian park leads to repairs by state By LORI ROZSA Herald Writer VERO BEACH A county crackdown on electrical and sanitation violations at Sebastian Inlet State Park may have been a blessing park officials said Wednesday The Indian River County Environmental Health Department Tuesday ordered the state to correct electrical sanitation and water problems found at the park Assistant Park Manager Craig Wilcox said he and his staff have wanted to make the repairs for quite a while but we blessed with an abundance of But now that the county has given the state 30 days to make the repairs finally be done that declared it somewhat of an emergency it will get done Wilcox said The repairs include installing devices to prevent water from going back into the mam system and polluting it replacing missing tiles in showers and changing exposed electrical outlets Environmental Health Department Director Mike Galams said the repairs be effected without shutting down one at the park Sebastian Inlet State Park is one of the most popular in the state Galams said Last year 40246 campers and 168 million visitors used park facilities get a trailer space there unless you reserve it in Galams said James Cook of the Bureau of Park Management office in Tallahassee said the types of repairs needed at the park are Cook said the park is one of the largest state parks that charge an admission fee Cook said one of the reasons for wear and tear on park facilities and for what he called bad vandalism there get a lot of people there mainly because State Road A1A runs right through the center of it People just drop Cook said entrance fee would hold down vandalism People as likely to destroy something if they know they have to pass through a gate when they More park water tests planned PHIL LONG Miami Herald Vero pool room blaze HOBE SOUND Martin County officials said this week they would conduct another battery of tests at the Jonathan Dickinson State Park swimming area in November to determine whether the beach can be reopened long as the problem is there there will be no said Bob Washam county environmental health director For the past three months county and state officials have been testing for fecal coliform an infectious bacteria found in human and animal waste that can cause vomiting and fever Large quantities of the bacteria were found in the swimming area in June and health officials subsequently closed the beach Recent tests by the Florida Department of Environmental Regulation found that the source of the problem was from wildlife feces State officials could not find any evidence that the contamination was being caused by waste disposal companies dumping sludge near the river that gutted the pool hall was as suspicious pending further A nearby TV and stereo sales store received moderate smoke damage Firefighter Emmett Lane drags away a flaming air conditioner at Cue and Brew 736 21st St Vero Beach South Indian River County Fire Department Capt Otis Humanes said the 8:15 am blaze Wednesday.