October 28, 2015

Volume 3 Issue 43
Cost: Priceless
October 28, 2015
City considers offer on recently
Free transit rides
purchased Liberty Medical building for students
The Port St. Lucie City Council discussed selling the former Liberty Medical
building to a private company at its regular meeting on Monday, October 26.
The city purchased the vacant building at 10400 South U.S. Highway 1 in Port St.
Lucie for $4.4 million in August of this year, intending to use it for the expansion of its
growing utility and public works departments. Shortly after the sale closed, Peter
Tesch of the Economic Development Council of St. Lucie County contacted city staff
with a prospective buyer – EMD Holdings, LLC.
Jim McCarthy of EMD Holdings, is a private real estate solutions company, wrote
in an August 24 letter that his intent was to purchase the building, equipment and
contents for $5.4 million and lease it to Teleperformance S.A., a company employing
approximately 600 people at its St. Lucie West facility. McCarthy wrote that Teleperformance seeks to hire more than 500 additional employees but is “bursting at the
seams.”
According to the city’s staff report, the purchase price was negotiated up to $6.1
million, $1.7 million in excess of the amount paid by the city in August.
“As Mr. McCarthy mentioned in his letter, this building is a one-of-a-kind asset, a
well-appointed turnkey call center,” said Daniel Holbrook, assistant city managercommunity development. “As much as we need to accommodate the necessary
growth of our utility and public works departments, we also need to consider the job
Liberty Medical continued on page 3
The pilot project allowing youth to
ride fixed-route transit at no cost during
summer break was a huge success and
the St. Lucie County Board of County
Commissioners has identified funding to
extend the Youth Ride Free program
year-round. Starting Monday, Oct. 19,
anyone under the age of 18 with a valid
student ID or St. Lucie County Library
Card can ride the Treasure Coast Connector for free.
The 10-week summer pilot program
provided more than 3,032 free rides during summer school break, giving students access to library events, summer
camps, recreational activities and parttime jobs. Continuation of the service will
allow more youth to access after-school
activities, as well as volunteer and emFree ride continued on page 2
PSL Business Women award scholarship to IRSC
student
The Port St. Lucie Business Women presented the last of three scholarship
awards for the 2015-2016 school year its October 15 meeting held at Tutto
Fresco in Port St. Lucie. This Port St. Lucie Business Women's Scholarship, an
annual award of $2,500 for tuition and books to a female student who is pursuing a bachelor's degree at Indian River State College (IRSC), was presented to
Demetria Housing.
Demetria Housing, who was a graduate of Fort Pierce Central High School,
is a Business Administration major at IRSC. She works a bus driver for the St.
Lucie County School District where she has been employed for 15 years. Housing serves as the youth director at her church, where she has been recognized
by her pastor for her excellence in leadership.
Port St. Lucie Business Women Scholarship Chair Pamela Houghton presented the awards. Marta Cronin, Dean of the School of Education, IRSC, and
PSLBW continued on page 5
Left to right, Pamela Houghton, Port St. Lucie
Business Women Scholarship Chair, scholarship
winner Demetria Housing, and Marta Cronin,
Dean, School of Education, IRSC Photo credit:
Diane Gallagher, DSG Design & Photography
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Weekly Tidbits
Experience Port St Lucie’s
Fall Fun Fest
The Fall Fun Fest will be held on Friday, October 30
through Sunday, November 1 at the Civic Center. Festival
goers will enjoy live music and entertainment, a wide variety of traditional carnival food and midway carnival rides.
The festival's carnival rides will add to the fun. Tickets
for the rides are $1 each or for $20 you can purchase a
wrist band and
ride an unlimited
amount of times
on the day of
purchase.
The
festivities
start Friday, October 30 with line
dancing and live
music.
The Halloween
activities
include a costume contest on
Saturday, October 31 from 5 to 7 p.m. Judged on creativity
and originality, there will be winners for most creative, original and scariest in each age group. There is no fee to enter
the costume contest. Winners will be announced at 7 p.m.
Kids 12 years old and younger are invited to go inside the
Civic Center to trick or treat with the Police Athletic League
and fill their pumpkins with free candy.
On Sunday, November 1, Shaboom will perform live
playing your favorite oldies.
Here's a summary of the times and activities for the festival:
Friday, October 30 from 5 to 10 p.m. Line dancing and
live music
Saturday, October 31 from noon to 11 p.m. Trick or
Treat Zone with tons of candy, hosted by the Police Athletic
League, 5 to 7 p.m. Costume contest for all ages, 5 to 7
p.m. and live music from Showcase Band
Sunday, November 1 from 1 to 6 p.m. Live music from
Shaboom
Parking and admission are free. Proceeds from the Fall
Fun Fest benefit the PSL Downtown Lions Club programs.
Arts and Crafts vendors can still be part of this great
event, by downloading and submitting a Display Vendor
form from the city’s website at www.cityofpsl.com .
The Civic Center is located at 9221 S.E. Civic Center
Place, on the southeast corner of U.S. Highway 1 and Walton Road.
Dreams come true at the Pretty
Princess Tea Party
Your child will meet and mingle with real princesses
from Princess Enchantment during the Pretty Princess Tea
Party on the first Wednesday of the every month from 10 to
11:30 a.m. Princesses ages 2 and older can dress in their
favorite royal attire and enjoy the dress-up trunk, story
time, “tea time” snacks, sing-alongs and crafts.
The next Pretty Princess Tea Party is scheduled for
Wednesday, November 4 at the Port St. Lucie Civic Center. The cost is $3 per child. Be sure to bring your camera
to capture the happily ever after.
The Civic Center is located at 9221 S.E. Civic Center
Place, on the southeast corner of U.S. Highway 1 and Walton Road.
October 28, 2015
Free ride continued from page 1
ployment opportunities. Research has shown that supporting access to opportunities by overcoming barriers such as transportation can contribute to reducing crime, drug use, gang involvement
and violence leading to improved community safety and economic
development.
For more information about the Treasure Coast Connector,
including bus routes, fares and transit stations, call 772-464-RIDE
(7433) or visit: http://treasurecoastconnector.com. To obtain a library card visit http://library.stlucieco.gov to find a branch near
you.
October 28, 2015
Weekly Tidbits
Liberty Medical continued from page 1
opportunities and other benefits selling the building to EMD
Holdings would bring us.”
Holbrook also said that purchasing and utilizing a building that
had been vacant for 18 months to accommodate growing city
departments was the best decision when there seemed to be
no private buyer in sight. “However, we now have an opportunity for everyone to win,” he said. “We can build or acquire
new space for our utility and public works departments, a
building ready for turnkey use as a call center will go back on
the tax rolls, and a local employer will add a significant number
of new jobs.”
City staff plans to work toward developing the best possible solution for the growth of its utility and public works departments, necessary due to ongoing residential and commercial
growth within the city.
“Both the utility and the public works departments are the
largest in the Treasure Coast region and have either been recognized for outstanding plant operations and maintenance
and/or received nationally recognized accreditation,” said City
Manager Jeff Bremer. “As we said in August, however, it is
still necessary for these departments to add standard workshops, equipment labs and other facilities in order to continue
to provide excellent levels of service to the city’s residents and
businesses.”
The City Council is supportive of the sale, the City will conduct a first reading of the ordinance necessary to effect the
sale at its November 9 meeting. If the ordinance is passed
after its second reading on November 23, EMD Holdings, LLC
will pay a $50,000 deposit within three days; $8,000 of this
deposit will be non-refundable. Closing would be on or before
February 10, 2016.
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EVENTS and NOTICES
Eating out of control?
Thinking about food often?
There is help! Come to a
Food Addicts Anonymous
meeting every Wednesday
at 6PM. Call 772 878 9657
for more information.
Open Informational
Meeting Free
Do you want to learn about
“green“ safe consumer
products? Contact Dr. Jack
about the weekly meeting
time and place at
772.343.7122
Port St Lucie Botanical
Port St. Lucie Sunset
Gardens Jazz & Blues
Rotary at Catering RevoluNight Listen to the
tion, 440 Peacock Blvd. on
wonderful sounds of the
the first and third Tuesday’s
Fort Pierce Jazz and Blues
at 5:30 for cocktails and 6:00- Society indoors at the
7:00 PM for dinner. We are a Gardens every other
non-profit and do great things Wednesday night from 6:30
for the community.
to 9:30 p.m. Admission is
only $5 per person. Visit
Coffee with the PSL
our website calendar at
Council Every fourth
www.pslbotanicalgardens.
Friday of each month
org for more info.
beginning at 8:30 a.m. at
the PSL Community Center,
Blues Alliance August
(unless otherwise noticed).
28, Fri., “Hooked on Blues
Hosted by the St. Lucie
and Music” with the Duffy
County Chamber of
Bishop Band at Double
Commerce. Public is welRoads Tavern, 251S. USI,
come.
Jupiter, FL 33477, 561-2037061, 7:30, http://
The Solid Gold Dance
doubleroadstavern.com/
Band "Dance Party"
Special Olympics Track,
At the Civic Center on the
Bocce and Tennis, Tuesdays
last Thursday of every
at 5:30 pm, Saturdays at
month, at the Port St. Lucie
Civic Center from 7—10 PM. 9:00 am, Lawnwood Stadium, Ft. Pierce
Hey Port St. Lucie
“Single Stream Recycling”
Residents Who Recycle
Can Win Money
Register for your FREE
e-subscription and receive
Weekly Tidbits at home each
week on your computer
www.YourWeelyTidbits.com
It’s a new year and Waste Pro
is continuing to give away fifty
$100 Visa gift cards per
month to randomly selected
customers who have their
carts out for collection and
recyclables
properly prepared. A representative from
St. Lucie County will handdeliver the gift cards to each
winner. Monthly winners will
be entered in a drawing for a
$2,500 Visa gift card at the
end of the year. The more
you recycle, the better your
chances at winning will be! For more information, contact
Waste Pro at (772) 595-9390.
Do your part, it’s a start.
Weekly Tidbits
4
October 28, 2015
Cost Effective
Advertising
Opportunity
50.00 per month for a
weekly ad with
a quarterly agreement.
We will promote your
business spotlight column
on our Facebook page
once a week.
But that isn’t all you get!!!
We will promote your
business on our Facebook
page three times a week.
You will also be
highlighted
in our “Business
Spotlight” Column
Your ad will be on
our Home Page of
our Website and
linked to your
website or Facebook Page
.
Call...
772-370-8122
Weekly Tidbits
October 28, 2015
PSLBW continued from page 1
Wendy Dwyer, Housing’s former English instructor, were there
to honor Housing. Dwyer, in her letter of recommendation,
commented that from the very first Housing was engaged, enthusiastic and excited about being a college student. Housing’s
enthusiasm spread to her classmates, for she chose to share
her learning tools and encouragement to help her fellow students succeed as well.
Upon receiving the certificate at the Business Women
presentation, Housing said that she has many ideas for starting a number of different businesses and that she hopes that
one day she, too, can be a proud member of the Port St. Lucie
Business Women.
Students may apply for scholarships starting October 1
through January 31 through the IRSC “STARTS” online scholarship application portal. For more information contact Julia
Keenan, Scholarship Development Coordinator, Indian River
State College, (772) 462-7249, or by e-mail at [email protected].
The Port St. Lucie Business Women is a professional organization dedicated to promoting the interests of business
women and serving our community in an effective way. For
more information visit www.pslbw.com.
The Treasure Coast Deaf Church
2nd Annual Craft Sale
November 7, 2015
9am - 1pm rain or shine
260 SE Prima Vista Blvd
Port St. Lucie in the Parking Lot
BRING YOUR OWN TABLETS, TENTS &
CHAIRS * SPACES LIMITED
NO ELECTRIC AVAILABLE
VENDORS NEEDED!!
$20 per parking space
For More Info Call Sarah 772-529-3637 anytime
Giggles and Grins
It was mid-October and I was waiting for my wife, Julie, at
the checkout at Walmart supermarket in Worcester, Massachusetts, USA, I noticed that someone had left behind their
broom.
When no one came to claim it, I went outside to search for a
couple I remembered seeing at the cashier's desk. I spotted them getting into
their truck and hurried over.
'Excuse me,' I said to the young woman,
'but did you by any chance leave your
broom
inside?'
'No,' she retorted quickly and with a
smile, 'we came by truck.'
Weekly Tidbits
A publication of Summit 21,
LLC
1391 NW St. Lucie West
Blvd. #190
Port St. Lucie, FL 34986
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