Merritt Island incorporation study faces backlash from residents

Merritt Island residents showed up in droves at Tuesday's County Commission meeting to express their disdain for the idea of becoming Florida's newest city.

As an unincorporated area, islanders get their services from the Brevard County, which has no power to incorporate the community. And a key state legislator who would be critical to and incorporation effort has said emphatically that he does not support the idea.

No action was taken Tuesday that would move the barrier island community of nearly 45,000 people closer to becoming a city under state statute. Out of nearly 20 people commenting on the issue, none showed their support for incorporation.A feasibility study—which outlines whether Merritt Island would be a viable city—was accepted at Tuesday’s meeting, a step that had no bearing either way at all on the process and was described as “housekeeping" by commissioners. “Just because we received it, doesn’t mean that we liked it. It just means we’re acknowledging that we have it in our hands,” Commission Chair Rita Pritchett said.

The feasibility study is just one of several steps required for Merritt Island to become a city. Accepting the study has no impact of the hurdles that would need to be cleared for the island to become a city.

Foremost among those hurdles is the lack of support from Rep. Tyler Sirois, the Merritt Island Republican who is against the bill and would not support it in the state House of Representatives. Incorporation would require the approval of the State Legislature as well as from the voters of the island.

Sirois has said he would not introduce any incorporation legislation in Tallahassee.If Tuesday evening’s showing was any indication of support for a referendum, incorporation would have higher hurdles to clear than are already outlined in Florida law. Dozens of constituents wearing stickers and holding signs that read "No City" made their stance known before the board.

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Several longtime residents of the island felt that the feasibility study was commissioned without their knowledge and without their support, expressing concerns that the Board of County Commissioners wasted money on a study for an issue that has little support on the ground.

John Weiler, a longtime Merritt Island resident, called the feasibility study a "fantasy report" based on numbers he felt were inconsistent.

"Many of us on Merritt Island don't want an additional layer of government with additional taxes, fees and regulations," Weiler said. He pointed out the study showed only five full-time employees for a new city in Merritt Island, which would have over 40,000 residents, whereas Cape Canaveral, a city of only 11,000, has several dozen employees.

For further comparison Cape Canaveral, had a recent annual budget of $36.1 million. For a similar style of city government in which police and fire services are contracted to the county, the study shows Merritt Island's city expenses in 2025 would be just over $26 million.

Another resident Michael Wilson said the study was a "joke" and rejected the study's assertion that a new government in Merritt Island would be a "prototype" for future local governments.

"Prototype means an experiment. It means a trial. Let's see if this will work. Why would you accept an experiment for your constituents? I'm asking you to change your mind tonight and not accept this report," Wilson said, reflecting a broader sentiment in the room that the report not be accepted by the county commission. District 3 Commissioner John Tobia, whose district does not include Merritt Island, used his office’s allotted pandemic relief funds to pay for the study after being approached by Merritt Island residents. He stated that he had supported the measure so that Merritt Island residents could have the information they needed to make an informed choice in a referendum if one were to take place.

Members of the political action committee the Merritt Island Preservation Committee had originally suggested the idea to Tobia when a vacancy on the Commission meant there was no active representative for the island to take action either way.

The northern boundary of the proposed but unlikely 16.97-square-mile city of Merritt Island would be Kennedy Space Center and other federal land, while the southern boundary would be State Road 404/Pineda Causeway, in the area between the Indian River and the Banana River. The total taxable value of properties in the area is $4.67 billion.

The city's population would be about 44,500, making it Brevard County's fourth-most-populous city, behind Palm Bay, Melbourne and Titusville.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Merritt Island incorporation study faces backlash from residents