Back to the table? Stuart may reopen talks, or start new negotiations, for Brightline station

STUART — Just one week after the City Commission rescinded two Brightline-related agreements that put a new train station on life support, commissioners Monday said they'll consider renegotiating the deal or starting new negotiations with the railroad.

"For me, what I'm looking for from a deal with Brightline is that they would pay something that looks more like that original settlement agreement," Commissioner Christopher Collins said. "I would like Brightline to pay its half of that station.

"That would be my anchor point for the beginning of a negotiation with them," he said.

Collins is one of three commissioners who voted last week to kill the project.

Which agreement?

Collins may have been referring to either a 2018 lawsuit settlement or a legal agreement between Brightline and Martin County. He declined to clarify his comments publicly during the meeting and declined to comment after the meeting.

The 2018 settlement — which ended a lawsuit between Martin County and Brightline — states that "construction of the station is subject to the payment of 50% of the station construction cost by the county and/or municipality in which the station is located, if such payment is requested by Brightline."

The settlement commits Brightline to building a station in Martin or St. Lucie counties within five years of the start of passenger-rail service between West Palm Beach to Orlando, which began Sept. 22, 2023.

Possible new negotiations

"We're at the point of renegotiation," Commissioner Laura Giobbi said. Now, however, the city should be "negotiating new terms with Brightline."

Support and opposition

At least a dozen people showed up to the commission meeting Monday wearing bright yellow shirts to show their support for having a station in Stuart. A week ago, more than 100 people attended the meeting to show support.

Stuart resident Edward Lucente, who was not wearing yellow Monday, said he is a petition in support of the station.

"Despite the overwhelming popular support for the train station, the City Commission voted 3-2 to terminate the project," the petition says. "We believe that such a decision, with long-term implications for our town, should not be made without direct input from the residents."

Along with Collins, newly elected commissioners Giobbi and Sean Reed voted last week to rescind the agreements with Brightline.

Lucente plans to circulate the petition starting Tuesday, he said.

Martin County resident Gail Goldy thanked the new commissioners for their fiscal responsibility. She was disappointed there was no transparency, she said.

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"I did not see or read anything about the fiscal responsibility of the train station and whose shoulders it was going to land on other than the taxpayers," Goldy said.

"I want to applaud the commission for taking the time to realize that this was negotiated not with transparency and not in the best interest of the taxpayers," she added. "We need to renegotiate this."

For now, the commission is to discuss the station at its meeting Monday. It's unclear, though, how the commission might move forward and whether commissioners will vote on the item

Keith Burbank is TCPalm's watchdog reporter covering Martin County. He can be reached at keith.burbank@tcpalm.com and at 720-288-6882.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: A Brightline station in Stuart gains some new life in meeting Monday