FORT PIERCE – A business/resident group formed to capitalize on the Hutchinson Island oceanfront area of Fort Pierce says it doesn’t wish to become its own separate city.
But the Hutchinson Island Organizing Committee (HIOC) says it believes failure now to claim the right to be recognized as “The Hutchinson Island” of Florida could forfeit a “valuable asset” in developing Fort Pierce’s economic base.
According to District 2 City Commissioner Michael Broderick, who represents South Hutchinson Island in city government, the island of residential, commercial and tourism sites is responsible for generating about half of the city’s annual property tax revenue…