Hobe Sound thinks about incorporation
Approval would create sixth municipality in Martin County.
Approval would create sixth municipality in Martin County, second in less than a year; residents to vote Aug. 28.
HOBE SOUND — If voters have their way Aug. 28, Hobe Sound will begin governing itself as Martin County’s sixth municipality.
The centuries-old town located about 10 miles northwest of Jupiter — population 13,308 as of last July — would become the second Martin County community to incorporate in less than a year after Indiantown voters chose to do the same last November.
Prior to that, the last Martin County community to incorporate was Ocean Breeze in 1960, according to the Florida League of Cities. Stuart came first in 1914, followed by Jupiter Island in 1953 and Sewall’s Point in 1957.
Hobe Sound is bigger than all but one town on that list — Stuart has 16,673 residents — and has pushed to add its name for years.
But a grassroots effort led by a quintet of longtime Hobe Sound residents jump-started the process three years ago.
“I want to stay here and raise my two young girls here,” said Angela Hoffman, executive director of the Hobe Sound Chamber of Commerce and a founding member of Protecting Hobe Sound, the group that is lobbying for incorporation. “I would like to see some resources come back to Hobe Sound and be guided by the heart of the people that love it here and live here.”
That goal is an achievable one if voters agree that local control of government is needed, Protecting Hobe Sound founding member Mike Ennis said.
The five-member Martin County Board of County Commissioners enacts and administers local ordinances, approves budgets and oversees spending in the county, and its decisions often don’t reflect the needs of the town, Ennis said.
“We’re never going to be able to control what we’ve got and keep our culture unless we become a town,” Ennis said. “We can ensure that our money’s spent here and not pulled away.”
Ennis cites numerous reasons for incorporating, among them preserving the culture of the town, protecting local businesses, and ensuring a positive vote on issues that affect the town.
The catalyst for getting Project Hobe Sound off the ground was a county commission decision to divert redevelopment money that would have improved safety and infrastructure, Hoffman said.
“Projects that would help us as a community, with basic safety and drainage and sidewalks and lighting — all things that are important to businesses and to families — the money’s gotten redirected,” she said. “We’ve spent 20 years battling just to redevelop the downtown.
“That was really the catalyst, and although we have a wonderful county commission now that represents us, we just can’t rely on the county government to be as stable as we need it to be in this small town to help us.”
The county government fully supports the incorporation efforts, commissioner Doug Smith said, and it assisted Hobe Sound’s campaign to get a referendum on the ballot.
That process took more than two years and involved multiple trips to Tallahassee to meet with state legislators and attend committee meetings, Ennis said.
Incorporation advocates lob-
bied legislators themselves, and worked with a “shoestring” budget of $100,000 that was raised through donations, some as small as $5. Most of that money went to hiring a consultant and attorneys’ fees, Ennis said.
The group held more than 40 public meetings in an effort to inform residents, and will continue to hold them throughout the summer. For a calendar of events, visit www.townofhobesound. com.
Feedback has been mostly positive, though some residents have expressed skepticism about incorporating.
“There’s a couple of naysayers,” Ennis said. “That’s to be expected. We encourage them to come to our meetings and to participate in our meetings.”
Still, Ennis said, he feels confident the measure will pass.
“Voters have gotten informed, and understand this is a critical point in Hobe Sound’s history,” he said.