All right. Good morning everyone. Welcome to this special call meeting. Uh there's one topic and one topic only today. Um, and that's the uh selection of a council member to replace Councilman Dayne uh who passed
away. And um right now we'll start with uh an invocation from the vice mayor, excuse me, from Mr. Carol. We're thankful for this town and its residents. We are grateful for all who work for the betterment of our community
and all who serve on its behalf. Let those who work here and those who serve here be ever mindful of the town's vision and mission statement. Grant this council the wisdom to govern amid the conflicting interest and issues of our times. The ability to work together in
harmony even when there is honest disagreement. A sense of the welfare and true needs of our people. personal peace in our lives and joy in our task. Amen. >> Amen. >> Thank you, Councilman Carroll, for join us in the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United
States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> All right. Thank you. Be seated everyone. If you can kindly silence your phones or preferably turn them off uh
for the duration of the meeting. Can you call the role please? >> Mayor Foley >> here. >> Vice Mayor Alwater >> here. >> Council member Carroll >> here. >> Let the record show all members are present with the exception of council member Alieri. >> And council member Alieri is recovering from a surgery I understand on his back
or something like that about to violate HIPPA. But uh it's a excuse excuse with cause. Um all right. We have a quorum, Mr. Town attorney. >> Yes, sir. >> Is council ready to proceed? >> All right. >> All right. If council's ready to
proceed, we are we are here as a special call meeting to uh as I said, select the replacement for council member Dayne. Uh this is a this is a uh an appointment made by council pursuant to the uh town charter, which is the c basically the
constitution for the town of Indian River Shores. Pursuant to that um that provision, the appointment will be an interim appointment and will expire in November. Um you correct me if I get anything wrong in this, Mr. Town Attorney, but I
think I've got it I've got it correct. So, uh the interim appointment will not be for the remainder of Councilman Dayne's term. It will be until the next election call, which is in November, should there be should there be a need for one. It's important to note that uh
in November there will also be two additional seats open. So after this interim appointment uh I am term limited as is u council member Carol. So we will have three seats open in November. Um we're going to start now. Uh I'm I'm
just going to begin by you know basically uh laying the foundation for how this worked. I got um personally I got uh an opportunity to interview four candidates. Uh one withdrew. Uh there was another
candidate that put their name in and withdrew before an opportunity for an interview. And then there were a couple of you know just on the street you know requests to what's this all about? Um the process was as follows. After the uh
appropriate paperwork was submitted, then the candidates were given the opportunity to meet with city council members who according to the town uh charter, our town constitution, uh make the interim appointment. Uh I take it everybody had an opportunity to uh reach
out to the candidates and and speak to those that they wanted to. With um with that in mind, there are four candidates uh currently on the table. Uh, excuse me. There are three candidates on the table. One withdrew. Uh, Mr. Stevenson,
uh, is here. Uh, Miss Serno is here. And also, Mr. Tedesco is here. Uh, I will say this at the beginning, and it's not something I I didn't say in in our in our meetings. Uh, uh, any one of you, the town council, would be uh, lucky to
have sitting you here. And regardless of the way this vote goes up here for this interim appointment, I would encourage you if it doesn't go your way, very very carefully consider and you know hopefully throw your hat back in the ring in November because each one of you as far as I was concerned personally
impressed me very much. Uh so with that we are going to open up the floor for nominations. Is there a nomination? >> Are we going to have any discussion? >> Uh well I thought we'd have a nomination. Okay fine. We can have discussion first. I'm I'm up for that. under Robert's rules typically we get a
nomination a second you know but no no it's fine we'll do it that way so um why don't we start with your impressions of the candidates Mr. Carol we'll go from left to right >> thank you Mr. Mayor, my approach to analyzing the three
candidates was for former Councilman Dne's seat was to ask myself three questions. Can the candidate do the job? Will the candidate do the job? And how will the candidate fit in?
During my interviews with Mr. Tedesco and Miss Serno, my long-term knowledge of and friendship with Mr. Stevenson. And considering the written material provided by each candidate, I attempted to discern
which candidate had the best combination of core qualities and skills, essential credentials, and personal attributes. My conclusion based on forward thinking dating to last summer,
which I will comment on later, and current analysis was that Rob Stevenson should be appointed by council to fill former Councilman Dayne's open seat. Rob's presence in Indian River Shores is
unprecedented. Following the footsteps of his grandparents and parents, he's been here for 50 years, making him the third generation Stevenson to live in Indian River Shores.
Rob and his wife Kathy have been members of John's Island Club for 26 years, and of course, Rob and Kathy are Florida residents. Rob's professional experience as a recently retired 38-year veteran and
senior vice president in Morgan Stanley's private wealth management division gives him a decisive edge in my opinion. The core qualities required to succeed at Morgan Stanley including integrity
and trust, communication and interpersonal skills, empathy and personalization, analytical and technical prowess, proactive yet disciplined approach, continuous learner
and realistic expectation setter are self-evident in Rob and cemented his position. as a long-term partner for his clients complex financial lives. As a member of council, Rob will call on
and utilize all those core qualities to represent a new set of clients, the citizens of Indian River Shores. I know something about this because I spent 41 years in private wealth
management, including the last 35 at Morgan Stanley. I have attempted to apply the same set of core qualities to my position on council the past seven plus years. To the extent my fellow council members
believe I have represented the town and its citizens well, worked steadfastly and collegiantly with you as well as the town's employees, then I urge you to think of Rob as a younger me with the
same passion I had when I sought a council seat in the 2018 general election. Rob's current and past board affiliations, too numerable to mention here, but all listed on the written
material he provided, give me confidence that he will be an excellent fit for the four of us. I am also confident that Rob will work well with the town's employees and that they will embrace him as a member of council.
Last summer, knowing that my second four-year term on council would end in 2026, I began thinking about who amongst my network of friends would be the best replacement. I gave this question serious
consideration for several weeks, and in early October, I concluded that Rob Stevenson would be my number one pick. I arrived in Indian River Shores on October 20th and purely by chance, I ran
into Rob on the practice driving range at John's Island West late afternoon on October 23rd. We agreed to play on Sunday, October 26th. Upon arrival at JI West that morning, with me not having mentioned a word to
Rob about council, Rob said to me, quote, "I'm glad we're playing because I would like to speak with you about running for counsel in November of 26." In the most remarkable coincidence of my life, Rob told me he wanted to run for
counsel before I could tell him he was my number one choice to run for my seat. Shortly thereafter, at my suggestion, he contacted and met with the town manager and the town clerk, filled out a form
indicating his interest, and Rob took the initiative without the knowledge of Councilman Dayne's health condition. He had determined to run as a candidate for town council a year before the 2026
election. That is very important to me and it should be to my fellow council members because Mr. Tedesco and Miss Serno only filled out their indications of interest after they learned former Councilman Dne
had passed away creating an open seat and that council would appoint his successor at a special meeting in January 26. Now I don't begrudge Mr. Esco's or Miss Serno's decision to file their
indications of interest for former Councilman Dne's seat with the hope of being appointed by council without sticking their necks out and running in a general election. Further to that point, when I met with
Mr. Tedesco and Miss Serno, I asked Gage point blank, "Will you run in the November 26 general election?" both hedged. Mr. Tedesco said he might. Miss Solerno
at first said she would not, then stated she might if she was appointed and learn more about what the position entailed. Both responses turn me off because I believe they indicate a lack of commitment and desire to serve only if
appointed by council. Rob, on the other hand, committed to run three months ago at a time when he did not know a meeting to appoint former Councilman Dayne's successor would take place. Rob's commitment signal signals to me that he
wants the seat more than Mr. Toedesco or Miss Solerno by a wide margin. I'll cast my vote for Rob Stevenson and I encourage my fellow council members to join me and appoint him to former Councilman Dayne's seat. Thank you, Mr.
Mayor. >> Thank you, uh, Councilman Carol, and uh, regarding a younger version of you, you look younger than the day you took the day. So, I just want to make that that point clear. Thank you for your thoughtful uh, thoughtful uh, talk there. U, Vice Mayor, I order, please.
Okay, so I met with all three candidates and we went over six questions. I asked them why are they applying for the position? What do they hope to accomplish during their time on council? What skills do they bring to the table?
Importantly, are you aware the job entails more than simply attending a monthly council meeting, which has been a problem with some council people in the past. uh discuss your availability during the entire year. You attend meetings both on council and the committees that are uh council members
are on a whole series of different committees that represent us around the geographical area and also the Florida League of Cities. And finally, I asked them, are you familiar with the Florida property tax proposals that are being debated in the state legislature? And I
asked their thoughts uh on that. So, uh, went through all those questions with them and looking at the different candidates. I I would echo what the mayor says. We got three good candidates here. Uh, Miss Serno, we we talked a lot. I thought what she brought to the
table was she had done negotiations and contracts and HR uh work which and also being a president of board of uh their her particular homeowners association which uh gets you involved in
understanding some of the issues that go on in the in the town. So I thought she she was a a good candidate. Uh Rob Stevenson, as uh Councilman Carol said, brought to the table
uh the his skill set in the uh wealth management area. I worked in the bond market from 1978 to 2014 and financial background is important and I you I think I brought a lot of that table. So I I thought he was a good candidate as
as well. Uh Peter Dodesesco uh has a lot of business experience, but importantly for me is that he's been on the finance committee since May of 2019. And in checking with the town clerk, he's attended practically every meeting.
Before I came on council, uh I started out on the finance committee. I was the chairman and it gave me what I thought was a leg up when I joined uh council in the first time around in uh 2016. You understand what's going on in the
financial uh area, see how the different departments interact uh with each other and I think you it's you gather institutional knowledge. He's been on there ever since. So he's he has seen how the town has inv evolved and I think
you know in terms of talking about commitment the fact that he is uh attended these meetings and and been actively involved and I checked that uh with uh Miss Christmas and our our our town clerk I think is important. So I for that reason I'm going to support uh
Peter Tedesco for the appointment. >> All right. Thank you uh Mr. Vice Mayor. Um, and thank you for your comments as well. Uh, as I said, uh, uh, jokingly that the, uh, uh, Councilman Carol looks, uh, not a day older than the day
he he got on the deis, uh, it's decisions like this that make me look many days older. Um, very tough decisions when you have candidates that are as qualified as this. I also had, um, the pleasure of meeting with all the candidates that are here today and others. Um, and I asked essentially four
questions. Why do you want to run for council? Um I thought it was important to to discern that um that basic fundamental question. Um I thought the experience on collegial boards and and other committees and and deliberative
bodies was also important to our decision. Um we don't always agree up here, but we always find a way to to uh get to a common consensus. I think if you look at uh the history of us voting, it's very rare that we even have a 4-1 vote. Um and that takes hard work. It
takes listening to the other side. It takes listening to your colleagues on the deis. Um and it takes most importantly having respect for the decisions that we make and having respect for the staff. Um
we talked about recusal. The worst reason to run for this this council is because you have a personal issue or an axe to grind. because once that axe to grind is is either ground down or or not ground at all u what do you what are you left what's your motivation
um and I thought that um each candidate handled that question well and then I asked for the qualities that are most important in a council member. Now just to be clear if I didn't ask the specific questions of the candidates it's because you covered it in what you were what you
were saying to me. So, I found um out of the three candidates, uh it was essentially a tie between uh between two in terms of who I thought would be the best council member. With due respect to uh Councilman Carroll, uh I I don't
discount the timing um of Mr. Tedesco or uh or Miss Solerno, you know, and hedging whether or not they would run. Um it's it's not something that comes up terribly often in someone's life. And when you're when you're presented with the opportunity to, you know, to run for
the council seat, uh you you do give due deliberation. And u the timing of the expression of interest is um is is a factor, but it's not a determining factor for me. Uh the tiebreaker for me was the fact that we're already
mid-season and we need someone who can hit the ground running. Um Mr. Mr. Stevenson has an incredible resume and uh Miss Lerner, you've got great qualities, too. Uh Mr. Tedesco's prior experience with the finance committee, his knowledge of the town and how it
works, I think is what I would like to see as a tiebreaker um that was a tiebreaker for me in in making this difficult decision. So, I would be um inclined to support uh Mr. Tedesco for the seat, the interimm seat
uh for the remaining term. Um, but I would be very disappointed if Mr. Stevenson and Miss Lerno did not um, how did you put it? Put their necks on the block in uh, in in November. Um, and you know, sometimes we have elections,
sometimes we don't. It all depends how many people are running running for the spot. Sam, I think you and I were the only ones up. Did you ever have an election or were you um, >> No, we were two of three. >> We were two of three. We were two of three, but I'm not sure if Bob did. So, >> yeah. So,
>> not better. Yeah, oftentimes we don't. Um, but you just have to wait for that to see it. So, uh, not to not to belabor it, uh, I think in appreciation for Mr. Tedesco's prior service and, uh, the detailed knowledge that he was able to
provide to me in our interviews and I met with him a couple of times before, including, you know, while Councilman Dean was was ill and he was thinking about running. Uh, that's the tiebreaker for me. So, uh, we can have further discussion or we can open up the floor
for nominations and seconds and then vote. >> I nominate Rob Stevenson. >> Is there a second? >> Okay, there's no second, so the motion fails. Is there another nomination? >> I nominate Peter Tesco.
>> And I will second. If there are no other nominations, we'll close the floor of nominations. Uh so, uh is is there um now a motion to appoint uh Peter Tedesco for the interim
seat until November for Councilman Dne's term. >> That's That's correct, Mr. Mayor. And I would suggest a roll call vote. >> Oh, we have a motion. >> Oh, I thought we had a motion. >> Okay. Yeah. >> All right. Uh well, I Well, not to quibble with you, Mr. town attorney, but we made a motion on on the nomination.
>> You are correct, Mr. Mayor. I apologize. Thank you. >> So, the motion is stated. Uh is is uh is there a motion to that effect? >> I can make the motion and gavvel over. You can make the motion. >> I I make the motion to nominate to nominate Peter Tesco for the unfilled
council seat. >> All right. And I second the motion. So, we will now have a roll call vote. >> Mayor Fley. >> I. >> Vice Mayor Atwater. >> I. Council member Carroll. >> No. >> Let the record show. The motion passes two to one.
>> All right. Thank you. Uh that concludes the business for today. Uh excuse me. We're going to have a swearing in. >> We swear in today or before. >> Mr. Mayor, it's at your purview. We could either do it now if our clerk is prepared to do it. I think she is. Or you could do it at the beginning of next meeting.
>> Why don't we swear the new council person in before he runs away? >> Okay. Understood. Mr. Tedesco, she's got to get you to swear in if you'll just come to the podium there. >> Thank you. I didn't learn to put a time. >> Would you raise your right hand, please?
State your name. >> Peter Tedesco. qualified elector under the constitution and the laws of Florida to hold the office to which you desire to be nominated. You have qualified for no other public office in the state, the term of which office or any part thereof runs concurrent with the office I seek
and you have resigned from any office from which you are required to resign pursuit of the section 99.012 Florida statutes and you will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Florida. >> I will. >> Thank you. >> Congratulations. All right,
congratulations, Mr. Tedesco. Thank you for donating your time to the town. >> Again, it's a difficult decision and um you know, please uh uh take a breath, uh Miss Lerno, and take a breath, Mr. Stevenson, and let's get together and talk uh about this. And I'm going to be
pushing you hard to run in the run in the fall. Okay. All right. Thank you very much. We are ajourned.