September 14, 2004

The Board of County Commissioners of Brevard County, Florida, met in regular session on September 14, 2004, at 5:35 p.m. in the Government Center Commission Room, Building C, 2725 Judge Fran Jamieson Way, Viera, Florida. Present were: Chair Nancy Higgs, Commissioners Truman Scarborough, Ron Pritchard, Susan Carlson, and Jackie Colon, County Manager Tom Jenkins, and County Attorney Scott Knox.

The Invocation was given by Commissioner Ron Pritchard, District 2.

Chair Nancy Higgs led the assembly in the Pledge of Allegiance.

REPORT, RE: BYRNE GRANTS

County Manager Tom Jenkins advised staff has received notifications from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement about the awarding of Byrne grant dollars, specifically one for the serious habitual offender program, which is a juvenile tracking program. He stated the Chair needs to sign the document to acknowledge and accept the grants staff applied for; and suggested blanket permission for the Chair to sign the documents as they are received.

Motion by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to authorize the Chair to sign all documents regarding applications, awards, and acceptance of Byrne grants. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

REPORT, RE: DEBRIS COLLECTION PLAN AFTER HURRICANE FRANCES

County Manager Tom Jenkins advised he invited Euripides Rodriguez, Solid Waste Management Director, to give the Board a quick briefing on the debris collection plan they have in place as a result of Hurricane Frances.

Solid Waste Management Director Euripides Rodriguez advised the Solid Waste Department has divided the County into two areas; they activated two Contracts for debris removal; the North area was assigned to Ash Britt; and the South area was assigned to Crowder Gulf. He stated a number of municipalities have activated their Interlocal Agreements, which means they have asked the County to take care of their collections; and those municipalities are Cape Canaveral, Indian Harbour Beach, Indialantic, Melbourne Beach, Melbourne Village, Palm Shores, Satellite Beach, Titusville, West Melbourne, and the Port. He stated there are six cities that decided to contract separately from the County and are taking care of their own collections, so the County will not be responsible for coordinating the collection within their boundaries; and those are Cocoa, Cocoa Beach, Malabar, Melbourne, Palm Bay, and Rockledge. Mr. Rodriguez advised they started the efforts on Sunday, and have been adding vehicles as they go along; they currently have 103 vehicles under Contract; he was informed that tomorrow they expect to get another 20 vehicles; and they will be adding more as the days progress to meet the requirements of picking up all the debris. Mr. Rodriguez stated to give the Board some idea of how much debris they have out there, during Hurricane Frances, the calculations are that they have the same amount of debris that they would normally generate in a ten to eleven-month period; it is not going to be possible to pick up that much debris in a couple of weeks; and the effort is estimated to take approximately six weeks and two sweeps throughout the entire County and municipalities involved. He stated the first sweep, which is the heaviest sweep, will take approximately three to four weeks to cover the entire area; the County has been divided into sections; and they have been assigning teams to the sections as they become available. He stated the majority of the municipalities have been assigned a team; staff presented a map to the Commissioners that they are going to be using to keep track of the zones; each page is equivalent to one zone; and they will be informing the Board and the cities as they go along which zones they are covering and which zones are finished so they can keep the public informed of what is happening. He stated they are trying to do a little more public relations than they have done in the past in order to keep the public informed of what is happening; the contractors are required to inform him on a daily basis what areas have been covered, individual streets covered, etc.; they have a wall full of maps to keep track of the individual streets as they cover them. He stated any complaints or questions of any nature of which streets have been covered and which have not been covered, they can tell, by a glance at the maps, if they have been covered or not; and if they have not been covered, then they can send a team back to cover them. Mr. Rodriguez stated the priorities as far as debris collection is concerned are health issues, safety issues, such as debris blocking sidewalks that children use to go to schools, and debris blocking stormwater facilities that can cause a problem later. He stated they want to know about those and take care of that debris first to avoid problems of flooding as much as possible. He stated facilities are currently open for yard waste, and they have been open since Hurricane Charley, from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.; residents are encouraged to bring debris to the sites; there is no charge for residents bringing debris to Mockingbird facility in Titusville, Central Disposal Facility on Adamson Road in West Cocoa, and the Sarno facility off Sarno Road in Melbourne; and they are working on opening a drop-off center at Palm Bay Regional Park, which is expected to open this week for citizens to drop off debris.

Commissioner Scarborough stated the North area got a little more debris from Hurricane Charley; and he was advised by some residents that Waste Management had not made green waste pickup since August 13, which preceded Charley. He stated there are problems with debris from Hurricanes Charley and Frances sitting out there; and the County is moving beyond Waste Management to other contractors, but in the future there needs to be a better plan, if the contractor is not able to handle it, to have backups installed so they do not have to go through having mobilization. He stated August 13 and adding four more weeks means several months of having the material sitting around; he lives in Titusville; and the City has cleaned up the debris from Charley and is finishing pickups of debris from Frances; so there is a profound difference in some of the operations throughout the County.

Mr. Rodriguez stated they also have debris on the floor from Charley of about 20,000 cubic yards; and he talked to Waste Management last night. He stated he is going to ask Waste Management to finish the Charley job; they are going to start Thursday to finish collecting the 20,000 cubic yards to fulfill their requirements under the Contract; and he also informed them that the County requested they start their normal operating hours and routine, in other words, pickups of garbage, yard waste, and recycling back to their normal schedules. He stated taking into consideration Hurricane Frances, they will try to focus on certain areas and cover as much yard waste as possible, containerize the yard waste, and bag yard waste; and he made it clear that the County desired and required that the clam trucks assigned to the Contract be kept on the normal Contract, so those are going to be on the streets also.

Chair Higgs thanked Mr. Rodriguez for putting forth a huge effort; and stated the Board appreciates his work.

REPORT, RE: ANNEXATION BY CITY OF COCOA

Commissioner Scarborough stated he heard some people from Canaveral Groves, in the area to be annexed by the City of Cocoa, might have gotten information that they were supposed to be here this evening; and inquired if anyone was present. Hearing no response, he noted they must have gotten word that the Board covered the issue last Friday at the emergency meeting and took action to proceed legally and respond to Department of Community Affairs. He stated if people have any questions, they can call his office or Commissioner Pritchard’s office.

REPORT, RE: BUILDING PERMITS

Commissioner Pritchard advised he is getting calls from a variety of contractors who are trying to turn permits and waiting for the anticipated vote on the 21st on the school impact fee; but the problem that many are having is that Land Development staff is overwhelmed by the amount of permitting documents that are being brought to them. He inquired if Mr. Jenkins could look at the operation and maybe add a body or two to alleviate some of the backlog that is currently happening.

REPORT, RE: COST OF HEALTH INSURANCE

Commissioner Pritchard advised Jack Callinan of the Budget Review Committee is working with the Committee on a way to provide medical coverage and save the County a considerable amount of money by looking five years into the future when health care coverage expenses are going to be astronomical; and he is here to make a brief presentation to the Board.

Jack Callinan, Vice Chair of the Citizens Budget Review Committee, inquired if it is Mr. Jenkins’ feeling that the quality of information coming from his Department is a benchmark of how his Department is performing; with County Manager Tom Jenkins inquiring what Department, and Mr. Callinan responding any of them. Mr. Jenkins stated generally yes. Mr. Callinan stated he does not want to belabor the issue, but he reviewed the material that was sent out on August 30; and after the first and second pages, most of the graphs should not have been presented. He stated they presented comparisons that cannot be presented; they are apples and oranges; so his preference would be to talk to Mr. Jenkins or Mr. Whitten and work with them; and if not, he will come to the Board. He stated Brevard County health insurance cost is spiraling out of control; and by 2010 it could be over $70 million and retiree health insurance could be over $9 million. He stated the burden on the taxpayers has escalated with new impact fees, communication service taxes, etc.; cost of the County borrowing money could increase because of federal requirements for retiree subsidy reporting; and health insurance costs are rising at an annual rate of 12.5% and will continue at this rate for the foreseeable future. He stated certain Board members have not adequately addressed health insurance problems over the last five years with the sense of urgency necessary to affect the Board’s current direction; certain Board members are reluctant to take action that could be considered controversial in an election year; they prefer the current approach in which all decisions and policies are intimately woven with the current year’s budget recommendations; and there is no accountability if they do it that way. He stated certain Board members are so concerned with County employees’ financial health, they are not taking the appropriate action to insure that future health insurance needs are more employee friendly; they believe the County retirees are impoverished and cannot afford to pay a greater share of their health insurance cost; but the fact is Brevard County’s 2003 median household income is $41,807; and half of the people make above it and half make below it. Mr. Callinan stated Brevard County’s 2003 per capita income is $22,885; Brevard County’s active employee average income for 2004 is $34,536 as presented by the County staff at the August 16 meeting; and Brevard County’s retirees’ average Florida State Retirement System income is $9,598, which does not include the Florida State health insurance subsidy, Social Security, and other retirement pensions, savings, investment programs, or individuals of the household. He stated most of the comparisons he saw showed individual average going against U.S. national median household incomes; somebody has to really look at that; it is pretty clear; and the above data states it and strongly suggests that individual Brevard County employee average income is greater than the County median household income. He stated it also strongly suggests that the retired Brevard County employee’s median household income is greater than the median household income of their private sector counterparts. Mr. Callinan stated many years ago there was more or less an understood agreement between the private sector and the public sector; it was a covenant; and when he grew up as a young man going out into the world, everybody knew what the covenant was; they go to work for the government sector, earn 10 to 20% less but get good health insurance benefits, when they leave, their retirement benefits put them pretty close to what they would have had with the private sector; and they got job security. He stated apparently in Brevard County that whole thing is twisted around; it looks like the public sector employees are earning more than their comparable private sector employees; and it looks like the retirees are earning almost as much as the needy private sector employees; so there is a problem that has arisen here; and something has to be done to address it. He stated the Board cannot have a covenant everybody agreed to then change the deal around; and the objective is to develop an approach that would result in cost savings while protecting the lower-income active employees and retirees and shifting to a need-base subsidy such as using a three-tiered system for retirees based on household income. Mr. Callinan stated the County pays two-thirds for the lowest eligible retirees, one-third for the intermediate eligible retirees, and nothing for the highest paid retirees; eligibility and percentages of subsidy should be made based on the years of County employment; and typical is 4% a year for 25 years to get 100% eligibility toward the two-thirds. He stated some may say 5% and make it 20 years; he does not think it is a big deal; and it is whatever the Board wants to decide. He stated supplementing the Health First Medicare HMO pharmacy program is the same as other plans; the reason he suggested that is because that program is the cheapest; and the weakness in it is the pharmacy. He stated the Board can bring up the pharmacy; since it is so cheap, it can afford to put a little more money into it and do something to supplement the pharmacy by getting more people moving into that; and it could use a system similar to Health First for active employees where higher income employees pay a higher rate. He stated those are recommendations that evolved because they could sense the Board was concerned with the retirees and active employees who are earning low incomes; so they made recommendations to move into this type of approach, which would mean that those people not earning much money would be protected. He stated the way it is now, the Board is asking the private sector employees who are earning less money in many cases than their counterparts in the public sector to subsidize them for something they do not have; and that is a tough thing to ask.

Commissioner Pritchard inquired if Dale Young with the Citizens Budget Review Committee had anything to add.

Chair Higgs inquired if this is the procedure the Board wants to go through, as usually it does not do Reports this way; with Commissioner Scarborough responding since it is not a long Agenda, he does not have a problem, but normally the Board does not get into discussions on substantive issues under Reports. Commissioner Pritchard stated it is not a substantive issue tonight; and the reason he asked them to comment is because of what he is going to be saying about the recommendation that came from the Employee Benefits Insurance Advisory Committee. Chair Higgs inquired if it is okay to proceed. Commissioner Scarborough stated Frank Abbate is not here tonight. Commissioner Pritchard stated it is not something the Board has to make a decision on tonight, but it is something it needs to be aware of. Commissioner Scarborough stated he is afraid it will be a disjointed discussion.

Dale Young advised he would echo what Mr. Callinan said; this is an issue that the Board needs to get its hands around; there is no election for two more years so it can deal with it now; and it is going to get totally out of control unless the Board faces it. He stated some of the things he read in Mr. Abbate’s recommendations show that the County is not ready to tackle it yet; the County employees have some of the best benefits in Brevard County; and it is one of the reasons people work for the County. He stated the Board needs to put those health benefits on par with the private sector; there would be substantial increases in employee contributions if the Board did that, but the cost is approaching 12% per year; and the employee contribution does not come close to 12%. He stated the Board needs to face it because five years is not a long period for the cost to double.

Commissioner Pritchard stated the reason he asked Messrs. Callinan and Young to come forward tonight is because he spent three years on the Citizens Budget Review Committee, and many things they looked at never seemed to come to fruition within the County operation; what they are looking at now in terms of insurance cost is a horrendous issue; and it is affecting the entire business community and the public sector. He stated the Employee Benefits Insurance Advisory Committee made a recommendation that would increase employee contributions and save the taxpayers a million dollars; and it is something the Board needs to consider over the course of this year and following years because it is going to face a substantial increase in insurance premiums that will not be offset by torte reform, which will be part of the November election. He stated it is something the Board needs to look at to make sure it provides good benefits because employees deserve that; but on the other hand, it represents the taxpayers and it is important that the taxpayers be given a fair shake also. Commissioner Pritchard stated he is bringing it to the Board’s attention because he thinks it needs to have a workshop in November or whenever to deal with the issue of insurance coverage and how it is going to provide coverage at a reasonable cost to the employees and the employer. He stated that is why he asked Messrs. Callinan and Young to come tonight; there are many other things that need to be discussed; he has been gathering a significant amount of information on it; and it is not his intent to overburden the employees and the employer, but it is something that the Board needs to address.

REPORT, RE: MENTAL HEALTH COMPONENT AT DETENTION CENTER

Commissioner Pritchard advised he received an email from Commander Greg Futch of the Brevard County Detention Center talking about an innovative program dealing with mental health issues at the Detention Center; and he asked Mr. Futch if he would mind coming to the meeting and giving the Board a brief presentation on what he is proposing to do with the psychiatric care as part of the mental health component at the jail.

Chair Higgs stated she assumes it is the same email they all received regarding the budget change; with Commissioner Pritchard responding it is the same one.

Commander Greg Futch advised they have identified the fact that they have deficiencies with the mental health program at the jail; and they looked at a way in which they could provide a comprehensive plan of coverage without coming to the Board and asking for additional funds. He stated they put together a model that will do that; and the associated costs for it would be taken from their medical program, which has been for the last several years privately contracted, and would be changed, and the savings used to fund the mental health model they want to put in place. He stated the model would have a PHD level director, two licensed master level mental health counselors, and one licensed eligible master level counselor; in addition, it will have a case manager or court liaison who will continue to work with Circles of Care and provide continuum care for inmates once they leave the jail. Mr. Futch stated they can provide the funding for that with the savings from the medical conversion; and the other provision is the $122,000 that the County funds Circles of Care directly for psychiatric care. He stated the Sheriff and Circles of Care are sending letters to the Budget Director asking for the conversion and asking the Board for its support as well.

Commissioner Colon stated, since Commander Futch is here, she wants to take the opportunity to thank him for sending work program folks to the comfort site; she does not know if they would have been able to do without them; they started off with a lot of volunteers at the beginning; but folks had to go back to work and they were down to minimal staff; so their help was appreciated. She stated they were wonderful and respectful; they gave citizens words of encouragement, which was quite unique; Richard and Charlie and all the folks that are on the jail staff and all the inmates who came to help out were nice; and it was nice to see taxpayers’ money at work. She stated they took pride in what they were doing and felt they were making a difference; they did make a difference because the lines were almost half a mile long in the Palm Bay area for ice and water; and she does not know what they would have been able to do if Mr. Futch did not send them down to help. She thanked Mr. Futch on behalf of the community for the work they all did at the comfort site.

Mr. Futch stated he is glad to hear that and can assure Commissioner Colon they enjoyed it immensely.

RESOLUTION, RE: PROCLAIMING AMERICAN PHARMACISTS MONTH

Commissioner Pritchard advised Cathy Pestos, president-elect of the Florida Pharmacy Association is here to accept the resolution on behalf of the pharmacists; and read aloud the resolution proclaiming October 2004 as American Pharmacists Month.

Motion by Commissioner Pritchard, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to adopt Resolution proclaiming October 2004 as American Pharmacists Month in Brevard County, and urging citizens to acknowledge the valuable services of pharmacists to provide safe, affordable, and beneficial medication therapy management services and products. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See page for Resolution No. 04-210.)

Cathy Pestos advised the Florida Pharmacy Association is a State professional organization for pharmacists and those who support pharmacy; she is a member of the Brevard County Pharmacy Association; and that is who she is doing this for. She thanked the Board for recognizing the importance of pharmacists as members of the health care team; and shared a saying from her friend, “the most expensive medication is the one that doesn’t work.” She stated the way to make medication work is talking to the pharmacist and making sure they know everything there is to know like the correct time of day to take the medication, if there are drug/drug or drug/food interactions, or the side effects. She stated it can be as simple as taking Zocor or Lipitor once a day; that may be what the label says, but it is important to take it in the evening between supper and bed time because that is when it works the best. She stated it does not work as well in the morning, so to get the most cholesterol lowering effect, it needs to be taken in the evening rather than the morning; and that is where one gets the most bang for the buck. Ms. Pestos stated whether they pay $3.00 or $100 for medication, if they do not take it right, it does not work; and they have wasted their money. She stated they have been here several times to get the National Pharmacy Week proclamations, but now it is a month; so in recognition of it being the first annual American Pharmacists Month, the Association is sponsoring a national toll-free consumer hotline where people can call in and talk to a pharmacist about their medication. She stated those days are October 5, 12, and 19, and the hotline will be open from 8:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m., and the number is 1-877 2MY MEDS or 269-6337. She applauded the APHA for doing that; and emphasized that it is important to get to know the pharmacist who gives you your medication. She stated consumer research has shown that patients who know their pharmacist’s name ask the most questions and use their medications more appropriately; and recommended people introduce themselves to their pharmacists and know more about their medications.

Chair Higgs stated that is good advice and maybe SCGTV could scroll the phone number to call the pharmacist hotline.

REPORT, RE: ROADEO COMPETITION

Commissioner Carlson advised the Board talked about solid waste earlier on a negative note, but the Board appreciates the job they have done and are doing; she wanted to bring up a lighter side; and that is the Brevard County Solid Waste employees who competed in the ROADEO where they take large equipment and maneuver them through specific courses at the State level. She stated John Holmes placed first in the tractor-trailer division; Ron Haines placed first in the compactor top gun equipment division; Mike Adkinson placed first in the top gun mechanics division; Jerry Brush placed third in the bull dozer competition; and Mike Johnson placed third in the front-end loader competition. She stated she understands it is not an easy thing to do; there is a lot of heavy duty competition Statewide; there are significant courses; and congratulated the Department for their successes.

REPORT, RE: FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION CAPACITY FUNDS

Commissioner Carlson advised she received a letter from Mayor Richard Kaplain, Chairman of the Florida Metropolitan Planning Organization Advisory Council (MPOAC) because she is the appointed person who sits on the MPOAC, which is the State level MPO; the letter was written to Jose Abreu, Department of Transportation Secretary regarding the latest change in Department of Transportation’s funding investment policy where 75% of all available federal and State capacity funds for roads would be allocated for the Strategic Intermodal System, and the remaining 25% would be allocated to other arterial programs for regionally significant State arterial roadways, thereby diminishing the authority of local governments and MPO’s to select transportation projects to address other vital metropolitan area needs. She stated the letter requested the Department of Transportation suspend implementation of the latest funding investment policy for a period of one year and begin negotiations with MPO’s and local governments to develop fair and reasonable funding investment policy parameters. She requested staff make sure copies of the letter are sent to all the MPO members.

Chair Higgs requested Commissioner Carlson summarize the impact of the change in policy to the road sin Brevard County, what it means in terms of what the Board is going to be able to meet; and where the 75% of the dollars will go. Commissioner Carlson advised the 75% will go to the Strategic Intermodal System, which is a Statewide plan. Chair Higgs stated the roads in Brevard County would only be I-95 and SR 528; so the impact is on the local roadways that are State roads and people should understand that 75% of the State dollars can only be used on the Intermodal System and the rest of the State Roads in the County are going to fight over the 25%. Commissioner Carlson stated it is important to note the policy decision is contrary to the action taken by the 2004 Florida Legislature, which rejected related legislation in response to concerns expressed by MPO’s and local elected officials. She stated the Board wrote letters ad notified its legislators that it was not a good thing; and the terminology of “regionally significant” is still out there for definition and has not been truly defined. She stated that is going to impact Brevard County.

REPORT, RE: RECOVERY FROM HURRICANES

Commissioner Colon stated she wants to take a moment to focus on some things that are going on in South Brevard right now; throughout Brevard County, 233,000 families are still without electricity; in the Palm Bay area, that means on Friday it will be almost two weeks they have been without electricity; and tempers are rising, as to be expected. She thanked Public Works folks who were helping with the recovery; stated they have been incredible and are working 14-hour days; there are volunteers arriving at 6:30 a.m. and leaving at 8:30 p.m.; and the strength of those folks has been incredible. She stated it is happening throughout the community; some people might think it is because of a paycheck, but it is not about a pay check to those folks; they are doing it out of compassion in their hearts for the community; and people have to be out there to see it. She stated if people are not out there looking at what they are doing, then they do not have a clue; if they are in air conditioned offices and have air conditioning at home, they do not have a clue of what those folks are going through; and it has been tremendous. She stated folks in manufactured homes that were damaged still do not have power; and suggested people get in touch with the County because they have been trying to make runs with ice and water to different areas. She stated they made deliveries today to Holiday Park and Lamplighter, then found out Palm Bay Estates is without electricity and needed ice and water; and requested if anyone knows some folks in those areas, they need to notify the County because there is so much work to do and limited amount of people to do it. She stated if anyone knows people who lost their jobs because of the hurricanes, they need to contact the Job Link because there are temporary jobs available. Commissioner Colon stated to make matters worse, there are people who do not have electricity and on top of they have lost their jobs; those numbers are quite large; on Monday at Brevard Community College campus in Palm Bay FEMA will be having a meeting with the community, basically for those whose homes and businesses were damaged because of the hurricanes; the Environmental Department will be there to handle concerns about well water; and the Solid Waste Management Department will be there also. She stated the South Brevard comfort site will be open from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. until Friday; and hopefully everybody will be back up and running by then. She stated school started yesterday and shelters have been closed; they were able to use the churches, but they no longer can do that, so now they are in the South Brevard Senior Center, which also had a lot of damage; but there is a part that is functioning well as a temporary shelter for those with special needs who still need a place. Commissioner Colon stated there were moms who could not give their children baths; the children are going to school; there are two sites, one at Palm Bay Community Center and the other at the comfort site, but they have to bring their own towels and soap; and it may sound silly, but those are things that are so important. She again requested people to check on their neighbors and find out if they need help or information; and thanked everyone who helped, those who worked long hours, law enforcement agencies, fire departments, and volunteers. She stated they are exhausted with no sleep and may have short tempers; it is happening throughout the community because they are exhausted; those are good guys and ladies who are ready to drop; and hopefully the County will see the light at the other side of the tunnel and Friday will be able to get back to normal. She requested everyone help those who are not as blessed, like those who have air conditioning.

Chair Higgs thanked all who helped the community in this recovery week; stated there is a lot left to do and plenty of work; she hopes everyone will take the opportunity to help their neighbors; and not only will it help those who need it, but people will feel better about doing it.

AGREEMENT WITH ROBERT E. WHITMORE, M.D., RE: DISTRICT 18 MEDICAL
EXAMINER

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to execute Agreement with Dr. Robert E. Whitmore as Medical Examiner for District 18 from October 1, 2004 through September 30, 2007. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See page
for Agreement.)

PUBLIC HEARING, RE: PUBLIC COMMENTS ON REVISED TENTATIVE
FY 2004-05 BUDGET

Chair Higgs called for the public hearing to consider the revised tentative FY 2004-05 budget for Brevard County; and instructed the Budget Director to announce the percentage increase in the tentative aggregate millage over the aggregate rolled back millage rate.

Budget Director Dennis Rogero advised the aggregate rolled back millage rate is 6.7572 mills; the aggregate tentative millage rate is 6.9598 mills, which is a 5.98% reduction over the current fiscal year and 3% over the FY 2004-05 aggregate rolled back millage rate.

Chair Higgs called for public comments on the revised tentative County Budget; and advised there was one card for the State Attorney’s Office to answer questions if necessary, so public comments are closed.

PUBLIC HEARING, RE: FY 2004-05 TENTATIVE MILLAGES

Chair Higgs called for the public hearing to consider the tentative millages for FY 2004-05. She stated her concern is where the Board is with the communications services tax and where the Florida Power & Light Company franchise contract renegotiations are, and moving forward with this budget in terms of those allocations, what is in the budget and what would be needed to allocate those funds.

Assistant County Manager Stockton Whitten advised currently the budget projects communication services tax at approximately $2.5 million; allocated in the budget is approximately $510,000 for previously approved commitments by the Board; and they have not recognized the Florida Power & Light Company revenues as a result of any new agreement; therefore they are not recognized as revenues nor expenditures in the tentative budget.

Chair Higgs advised she talked to Florida Power & Light Company and it seems the Board will get a revised agreement in about a week; staff can go forward and put that before the Board for the necessary public hearings; and the Board can achieve that probably by the start of the fiscal year. She stated she is interested in the Board talking about how the allocations are going to be made, whether it does it tonight or at the final budget hearing. Commissioner Carlson suggested the final hearing as she is not prepared to talk about a couple of different things.

Commissioner Pritchard stated he agrees with it coming back at the final hearing where there may be more of the public in attendance. He stated he has some concerns about some of the items that are in the budget; and he is opposed to the communication services tax as well as the Florida Power & Light Company franchise increase because it only comes back to the people who end up paying the additional costs. He stated for the first time in many years the Board is at the 3% over rollback, which is what Capit was all about; even though some people may see a slight reduction in their property taxes, now the Board is going to hit them with the other taxes; and the problem is they are saving a few dollars in property taxes but are paying a lot more with the communications tax and franchise fee; so the bottom line is they are going to pay out more money. Commissioner Pritchard stated the Board needs to review some of the items it previously discussed; last year under CBO he remembers talking about the Merritt Island Youth Football and Cheerleading League for $10,000, and Rockledge Youth Football and Cheerleading League for $16,875; and as he recalls, the Board said it would do it last year, but this year it would bring it up again and have another discussion on it. He stated he is also concerned about the insurance premiums; the Employee Benefit Insurance Committee that was formed from members of the County has recommended a plan that will save a million dollars; and there are other line items such as TRDA, which is a five-year commitment at $200,000 a year for a total of $1 million. He stated one of the concerns he has is that NASA has allocated $6 million this year of which $2.5 million is going to business incubators in Florida and New York; next year it will have another $6 million earmarked but not passed at this point; and it is questionable as to whether or not the dollars would be available for the business incubators. He stated there are smaller line items like Brevard Tomorrow at $40,000, and a few others; many of those he does not believe belong in the public funded sector; if the public wants to fund some of those things, it would probably choose to do it out of its own pocket instead of out of the public trough; so those are items that need to come back and be discussed at the next budget hearing. Commissioner Pritchard stated he would like to know if the Board would implement the employee recommendation on the insurance plan to save $1 million, TRDA at $200,000, the football programs at $27,000, Brevard Tomorrow at $40,000, and a few others that he will email to Mr. Jenkins to find out what that would do to the millage rate, how much would it be reduced, would it end up being at a lesser percentage over rolled back, and what kind of effect will it have ultimately. He stated it is the taxpayers who are paying for all of those things; it is a stressful time for them; everyone has suffered some type of hurricane damage; and the deductibles for most have far exceeded the amount of damage; so it is tough to ask someone to pay more money when they have to come up with $1,000 or $2,000, or $10,000 to offset the cost of hurricane damage and their deductibles. He stated this is a time when the Board needs to be fiscally responsible because the taxpayers are not only getting hit by the weather, they are getting hit by the County.

Commissioner Scarborough stated tonight the Board will pass the millage on and the final hearing is when it actually sets the millage; the TRIM notices went out and people had an opportunity to know what the proposed millage is; and inquired if the Board does not get the renegotiated agreement back from Florida Power & Light Company in time, where would it place its discussions on the final budget a week from tonight. Mr. Jenkins stated it is unlikely the Board will have the agreement by the final hearing, but there is every indication that it is reasonable to expect it will occur. Mr. Jenkins stated the Florida Power & Light Company renewal agreement is a reduction from 6% to 5.9%, so it is not an increase to consumers, and is actually a reduction; and he does not think it will be in place by October 1st, but it can be done in the month of October. Commissioner Scarborough stated under the law the Board must pass a balanced budget; with Chair Higgs responding it is forecasting the revenues of many things such as fines, fees, and forfeitures. Commissioner Scarborough stated he appreciates that, but his problem is that the agreement is something that is independent. Chair Higgs stated not any more than the others. Commissioner Scarborough stated he can take that to a point. He stated he has not been briefed on the Pineda; $2 million was going to be put into that and use the gas tax; but on the last page the Pineda project is $22 million; and inquired how can he make a $22 million project out of $2 million; with Commissioner Carlson responding that is why she asked for a postponement and wants to go into it in more detail to show the Board what they have done to bring various dollars together to make that a reality. She stated what is reflected in the budget is basically what the $2 million would look like in the budget along with other dollars that would be brought into it. Commissioner Scarborough stated if the Board puts $2 million into the Road and Bridge fund from General Revenue that would take care of the gas tax, free it up, and make the Pineda work; with Mr. Jenkins responding yes.

Commissioner Carlson stated there is a lot more to it that she would like to explain; it is on the agenda for the next meeting; and it talks about all parties in the process, including Department of Transportation, The Viera Company, and all the folks who are coming together to try and make that happen. She stated unfortunately with the Florida Power & Light Company agreement not being there, it makes a difference in looking at the totals of $6 million and not just looking at the $3 million; and it makes it a little more difficult to deal with all the other issues. She stated the only question she had, just to confirm and clarify the postponement of this discussion, is based on the information; she said the Pineda, but it is her understanding that those things were reinstated by the Board previously and are already in the budget; so those are not up for discussion any further as far as she understands. Commissioner Carlson inquired if it is the understanding of everyone that the Board made a motion for various positions that it reinstated, such as the Economic Development Commission dollars and the BCA dollars.

Commissioner Scarborough stated anything the Board does can be undone if it came to a crisis; he has a problem with the Florida Power & Light Company agreement that would provide a couple of extra million dollars to the County; however, when it adopts a budget, it is supposed to be a balanced budget. He inquired if the Board should do one budget and perhaps a tentative budget that it agrees upon as a Board that would come into being at such time as that is passed because otherwise it is based upon a contractual agreement that is not yet voted on.

County Attorney Scott Knox stated the best way to answer that question is the Board can make the assumption that it is going to get that extra $2 million from the Florida Power & Light Company agreement, and instruct Mr. Jenkins and his Departments to come up with a contingency plan that would allow the Board to adjust the budget at mid-year to delete a certain amount if it does not have that revenue coming in as it anticipated. Commissioner Scarborough stated he was thinking of something a little different such as allocating the $2.5 million to Reserves with a commitment to allocate from the Reserves if and when it happens. Mr. Knox stated there are a lot of different ways the Board can structure it.

Chair Higgs stated when the Board first talked about the tentative millage, she was concerned there were not the votes to go forward; she made it clear at that time she felt the needs at the jail were essential to fulfill; if they do not fulfill that at a certain level, she does not know how she can support a budget; so the Board needs to figure that out between now and Tuesday. She inquired if it wants to work through it at a workshop prior to the final hearing or just do it at the final hearing.

Commissioner Scarborough stated he does not have a problem taking care of the jail needs and said that for everybody; that is one of the primary concerns; it is amazing that as he was going to church, someone said, “well, I see you were able to find the money to build a new jail”; and he said, “what do you mean”; and the person said, “the communications tax”; and he told the person he was talking about $1 million in one case and $10 million in the other case, and it is not the same. He stated there is a lot of presumption about what is and what is not; and the Board is talking about the capacity to run a safe jail not only for the inmates but also for the people who have to work there.

Chair Higgs stated she is talking about recurring personnel costs and not about building a new jail; it has to be done in the budget; she is not sure how it is going to balance all the needs the Board talk about when it talked about the communications tax without some allocation in regard to the Florida Power & Light Company franchise fee increase to the County; and she is concerned that they need to work it harder within the Board because she would hate to see them get to Tuesday night and not be able to get something that three of the Commissioners can agree to. She stated she does not mind going ahead tonight, but if the Commissioners want to meet prior to the final hearing, they can think about that.

Commissioner Pritchard inquired if Mr. Ellis had something to say.

Clerk of the Courts Scott Ellis advised the Clerk’s Office is on a different budget cycle with the State; one of the issues that Clerk’s Finance Director Mike McDaniel submitted to County Budget Director Dennis Rogero, is to strike the $470,000 transfer to the Clerk for Information Systems for next year; and he is not sure if that has gotten in the budget yet, but it shows up on the tentative budget.

Assistant County Manager Stockton Whitten advised it does not show up; they got that the other day; they are trying to figure out if that was what the Clerk was suggesting or recommending his staff do; but it is not in the numbers that have been presented to the Board. Commissioner Pritchard inquired if that will show as a $470,000 increase; with Mr. Whitten responding it would be a reduction in the General Fund transfer. Commissioner Pritchard stated so it would be a $470,000 increase in the General Fund by not showing it as a reduction. Mr. Whitten stated it is a mix between General Fund dollars and the additional court fees as a result of Article V so they would have to go back and tell the Board what is Article V funding and what is General Fund funding.

Commissioner Pritchard stated no one is opposed to making sure the jail is staffed properly, operating safely, and that everything there is professionally run and that is why he appreciates Commander Futch’s innovative ideas that he has shown since he arrived. He stated he knows that during the Sheriff’s race, there were certain issues that were brought up by the candidates; and one of them was to provide more creative facilities for inmates as well as creative programs, all of which seem to be ways to reduce the cost of doing something safely and responsibly. He stated he is concerned with saying it is broken and the Board needs to throw x amount of money into it when it does not really have a handle as to what the proposed savings may be by the addition of innovative programs.

Chair Higgs stated Commissioner Pritchard can ask Commander Futch if he does not need all the personnel he requested. Commissioner Pritchard stated Chair Higgs is talking about personnel. Chair Higgs stated she is concerned about the costs that are in the budget that the Board talked about; and if it is going to be able to take that out, then it should do that now. Commissioner Pritchard inquired if Chair Higgs wants to bring in the two candidates for Sheriff and see what they are proposing and what cost savings it might mean; with Chair Higgs responding no. Commissioner Pritchard stated they said they have certain proposals that would be cost effective. Chair Higgs inquired in his professional opinion, is Mr. Futch able to decrease the number in the budget that he requested; with Mr. Futch responding no. Chair Higgs inquired what is the number of personnel; with Mr. Futch responding 107. Commissioner Pritchard inquired if that is based on discussions he had with the candidates for Sheriff; with Mr. Futch responding no. Commissioner Pritchard inquired if the programs they have may be able to reduce the number of personnel; with Mr. Futch responding he does not know; he heard talk not about programs but different ways to provide housing to reduce the overcrowding; but it is important to understand that 107 staff members were based on running the current facility and the annex with necessary staffing levels. He stated if the Board is talking about a Quonset style building or low-cost buildings to help with the overcrowding situation, it has to staff those buildings; it cannot put any more inmates in the facility as it currently exists; so he has not heard a lot about programs, but is sure they are talking about that. He stated programs are important; inmates enjoy getting out and helping the public because it is an opportunity for them to do something with their time; and he wants to bring in more innovative programs, training programs, and things that not only will allow inmates to have something to do with their time, but help staff in terms of controlling inmates and giving them leverage and things to take away in terms of bad conduct. Mr. Futch stated to provide innovative programs, they have to have staff to monitor and supervise; and the numbers he presented have that component in place, in other words, training programs where they bring in people to provide educational training and technical training, GED training, etc. that have a demand in the work place so when they leave the jail they have the opportunity to get placed in a job that they had some training in. He stated again that requires staff to supervise; and they looked at that when they looked at the staffing level. Commissioner Pritchard stated at the last Public Safety Coordinating Council meeting, Public Defender Russo brought up the issue of faster adjudication and how the judges will need to modify their judicial procedures so that they can have quicker action with potential of reducing the jail population. He stated he forgot what the average inmate stay is, but it was said about 23 days; previously it was 22 days; that extra day now increased the population by 180 plus people; so if they can reduce x number of people, it would be his opinion the number of staffing would be associated with that would also be diminished somewhat. He stated they are operating at this level because of the high level of the jail population, which averages 1,400 a day, so he needs x number of guards and civilian staff capable of managing the population; but if the population decreases through faster adjudication or other types of programs, perhaps mental treatment in offsite facilities, then the deputy population would drop correspondingly. He stated his point with Chair Higgs in wanting to move forward with hiring x number of deputies is that he is not sure that through innovative programs of the new Sheriff coming in and working with Mr. Futch that there may not be ways to do things that will be beneficial to all and cost less to the County. Mr. Futch stated it is reasonable to assume that they might not need as many people if they had a lower population; but if the Board reverts back to the study that was done a year and a half ago, it suggested 60 officers for the main jail were needed; that did not include the criminal justice solutions group and did not include the annex or relief factors; and that was just for the main jail. He stated when doing staffing proposals, they look at post assignments; those post assignments are not based necessarily on the population of inmates, but rather how many actual physical posts exist in the jail and how many people are needed in certain positions to run that jail, whether they have 50 inmates or 100; and the number of staffing is not going to change a whole lot. He stated there are national averages that tell how many officers or what ratios are needed of officer to inmates, but again those numbers differ depending on the type of facility; so it is a complicated thing to look at. He stated he is not suggesting there are not other innovative ways that could possibly do that; but he has not seen a whole lot of them based on the facility as it exits and how it has to be staffed.

County Manager Tom Jenkins advised two items for the jail are unfunded, $200,000 for medical contract and $94,800 for the inmate catastrophic medical; and inquired if Mr. Futch is anticipating getting those in the new proposal.

Chair Higgs inquired if the Board wants to schedule a meeting other than the final budget hearing for discussions or is it okay with the final budget hearing; with Commissioner Scarborough responding he does not think anything else would be accomplished by the workshop; and questions can be presented to staff before the final hearing.

Mr. Jenkins advised the budget that was submitted to the Board still has not officially changed; it includes the recommendations from the Employee Insurance Advisory Committee; so the budget is based on that recommendation. He stated there have been subsequent discussions about altering those recommendations, but those recommendations are actually in the budget. He stated the second thing he wanted to bring to the Board’s attention is that as a result of Hurricane Charley and more recently Hurricane Frances, they can anticipate they are going to be paying 12.5% of some very sizable additional costs they have incurred as a result of the hurricanes. He stated that is going to be a new ingredient that they will have to insert into the budget to address those costs, otherwise the Board will deplete its reserves by those amounts, which is not its goal. Chair Higgs inquired how much has been allocated to go to increasing the reserves; with Mr. Jenkins responding all the Departments are collecting the additional costs as a result of the hurricane responses; he does not have that yet; Mr. Whitten and he were speculating somewhere in the area of $1.5 million impact to the budget; but he does not have that complete figure. Chair Higgs stated maybe she did not ask the right question because she knew that answer; and inquired how much does the County have in the budget going to increase the reserves; with Dennis Rogero responding about $1 million.

Chair Higgs advised if the Board is going to proceed tonight to the next hearing, it needs to approve III.A.3. She stated she hopes the Board understands where she will be at the final budget hearing; and if the Board cannot resolve the issues, she cannot support a budget.

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to adopt the tentative millages for FY 2004-05 as follows:

4.1278 mills General Fund
0.6641 mill Library District
0.2313 mill Mosquito Control District
2.2035 mills Fire Control MSTU
0.6473 mill Recreation District 1 MSTU
0.5918 mill Recreation District 4
0.0179 mill TICO Airport Authority
1.1076 mills Law Enforcement MSTU
0.6598 mill Road and Bridge District 1 MSTU
0.3282 mill Road and Bridge District 2 MSTU
0.4576 mill Road and Bridge District 3 MSTU
0.4053 mill Road and Bridge District 4 MSTU
0.5697 mill Road and Bridge District 5 MSTU
0.4509 mill Road and Bridge District 4 North Beaches MSTU
0.1739 mill Road and Bridge District 4 South Merritt Island MSTU
0.0886 mill Merritt Island Recreation MSTU
0.1020 mill South Brevard Special Recreation District
0.2500 mill Environmentally Endangered Lands
0.1905 mill Beach and Riverfront Acquisition
0.8417 mill Port St. John/Canaveral Groves Recreation Facilities MSTU
0.8000 mill North Brevard Special Recreation District
0.7114 mill Merritt Island Recreation MSTU
0.4980 mill South Brevard Special Recreation District.

Clerk of Courts Scott Ellis inquired if the Board is adopting all the tentative millages in one motion; with Chair Higgs responding that is the motion. Mr. Ellis stated the Parks and Recreation Referendum millages are not listed on the Agenda, which goes to r., Port St. John/Canaveral Groves Recreational Facilities MSTU. Chair Higgs advised the Agenda Report lists all the millages; and that is what is before the Board. Mr. Ellis stated the Parks Referendums with new construction that increased values, have vastly increased revenues and out-raced the debt service; for example, less than half the .6 mill revenue for South Brevard would be necessary to service the debt. He stated the question is a legal one that Mr. Knox would have to work on with bond counsel because it is handed out as .5 mill for debt service and .1 mill for operating; but the debt service is actually much lower than that. Chair Higgs directed the County Attorney to get with the Clerk and give the Board a memo on those points.

Commissioner Scarborough stated Finance Director Steve Burdett brought up the issue as to Port St. John; he raised that with Parks and Recreation Director Chuck Nelson; and inquired if Mr. Nelson touched base with Mr. Burdett. He stated Mr. Nelson was concerned about the numbers not being the same; he got a heads up from Mr. Burdett on that and did communicate with Mr. Nelson; and Mr. Nelson’s information and what he was putting together had a different angle to it. He stated he is not disputing the memo, but it should be given to Mr. Nelson to respond because there are some elements to it; and the Board needs to understand the dynamics.

Chair Higgs advised the motion by Commissioner Pritchard includes not just III.A.3.(a) through (r), but the additional items that were on the Agenda Report as well. Commissioner Pritchard stated the motion he made is based on the Agenda Report, which includes the Parks and Recreation millages even though the Agenda stops at Port St. John. Chair Higgs stated that is in place, and the Board will get a memo from Mr. Nelson.

Chair Higgs called for a vote on the motion. Motion carried and ordered; Commissioner Colon voted nay.

PUBLIC HEARING, RE: ANNOUNCEMENT OF RECOMPUTED FY 2004-05 AGGREGATE
TENTATIVE MILLAGE

Chair Higgs instructed the Budget Director to announce the recomputed tentative aggregate millage for FY 2004-05.

Budget Director Dennis Rogero advised the FY 2004-05 aggregate rolled back millage rate is 6.7572 mills; the aggregate tentative millage rate is 6.9598 mills; it represents a 5.98% reduction compared to the current fiscal year; and it is 3% over the FY 2004-05 aggregate rolled back millage rate.

PUBLIC HEARING, RE: TENTATIVE APPROVAL OF COUNTY BUDGET FOR FY 2004-05

Chair Higgs called for the public hearing to consider the tentative approval of the County Budget for FY 2004-05.

Commissioner Pritchard stated he will move approval of the tentative County budget with the understanding that “tentative” hangs heavy with him; and the reason he is moving the item is to get it off the table and into final discussion for next week. Chair Higgs stated she will second and also emphasizes “tentative”. She stated last April the Board was concerned about coming to the last hearing with things hanging; she tried to get the Board to agree to an additional workshop and discussion; but it will go to the last hearing not where she thinks some of Commissioners wanted to be.

Motion by Commissioner Pritchard, seconded by Commissioner Higgs, to grant tentative approval of the County Budget for FY 2004-05, which includes $654,734,945 for County agencies, $96,736,848 for Charter Officers, and $73,956,939 for Dependent Special Districts.

Commissioner Pritchard stated he will prepare a list and present it to the County Manager so he can come back with more information that the Board can address in terms of whatever the millage may or may not become. He stated even though the budget is at Capit, which is 3% over the aggregate rolled back millage rate, and it is what the voters supported, there are some items that he is still concerned about; and during the next few days he hopes they will resolve some of his concerns.

Chair Higgs stated she remembers vividly that people were unhappy when the Board came to the last hearing and everything was not smoothly in place; she would agree she is tentative and not happy with everything; and they will have an interesting meeting next week, but that is fine. She stated she is in the same place now and may be in a different place by then; but she wants to make sure they all know where they are on the budget.

Chair Higgs called for a vote on the motion to approve the tentative budget. Motion carried and ordered; Commissioner Colon voted nay.

EMERGENCY ORDER, RE: VULNERABLE STRUCTURES ON THE BEACH

Assistant County Manager Peggy Busacca advised the Emergency Order relating to vulnerable structures on the beach was developed by County Attorney Scott Knox; and staff has received one request for property at 6965 S. Highway A1A, which the Board can see from the pictures is clearly undermined by the erosion that occurred because of Hurricane Frances. She stated the Code requires that in order for beach renourishment projects or dune restoration projects with sandbags to commence, a public hearing has to be conducted; however, because of the emergency nature of this, staff is requesting the Board consider waiving the requirement for a public hearing.

Chair Higgs inquired if it is for a period of so many days; with County Attorney Scott Knox responding it can do it until the Declaration of Emergency no longer exists, which is extended now until September 22, 2004.

Commissioner Carlson inquired if the Board is only talking about Item A., because the other three items require determination by the Board; with Chair Higgs responding it is talking about A right now. Commissioner Pritchard stated if the Board is only talking about A, he will move to waive the requirement.

Chair Higgs stated she can support waiving the requirement if the Board is going to comply with staff’s use of the Olson Report as they are talking about; and if they require that the maintenance, both landward and seaward of the shoreline project also be a part of that. She stated the condition is three feet of sand over the tubes to comply with the perpetual maintenance requirement.

Commissioner Carlson stated she would agree with that; she was looking at addressing each one individually, but that is fine; and when they get to D, she has a specific request. She inquired if the suggestion from the Chair includes what she is talking about in terms of the perpetual maintenance issue. Commissioner Pritchard stated he thought the Board was just talking about A. Commissioner Carlson stated she was addressing what the Chair said that she could deal with the motion on the floor if they comply with the Olson Report. Chair Higgs stated she can agree with A, if and only if, it meets the Olson Report. Commissioner Carlson stated that is the existing study the County would be using, and she has no problems with that. Chair Higgs inquired is that the motion. Commissioner Pritchard stated the motion is to waive the requirement; and he did not mention anything about the Olson Report. Commissioner Carlson stated that is the existing report that staff can use; and inquired if Ms. Barker would explain it.

Interim Natural Resources Management Director Virginia Barker advised they have a report from Olson Associates that went area-by-area through the County and looked at the height of the dune and the kind of sand material there as well as erosion patterns in the past; so for each given area of the County, staff can predict that a 15-year storm event would result in a certain amount of bluff recession. She stated if they can see a major habitable structure is closer to the bluff line than what their study shows and one erosion event could eat the bluff overnight, then that is definitely a vulnerable structure.

Chair Higgs stated that gives an objective criteria from which staff could operate. Commissioner Carlson stated it helps justify the waiver for a temporary time. Ms. Barker stated it would help people not having to find engineers overnight to do some modeling.

Ms. Busacca advised staff is aware of Mr. Gonzales’ request; they are not aware of any others that could come forward in the next week or so; and staff would like to use the Olson Report so if someone else is in the same situation, they would not have to come back to the Board, but would have the objective criteria by which to say yes, they meet the criteria and can go ahead and do whatever they need to do to get the structure stabilized.

Commissioner Pritchard inquired if it would all be done at the expense of the homeowner or property owner; with Ms. Barker responding the actual shore protection would be done by the property owner; and what staff is trying to do is save the property owner the expense and time of hiring an engineering professional to do modeling when staff has a report that gives them that answer already. Commissioner Pritchard stated some of the familiarity he has with some of those reports is that they are extremely subjective of what somebody thinks and not necessarily what actually works; and inquired if the Olson Report falls into the category that it is a reliable report. Ms. Barker stated the report was done by Dr. Kevin Bodge; he is one of the leading coastal engineering experts in the State of Florida; and he is a senior coastal engineer at Olson Associates. Commissioner Pritchard stated he understands that, but a lot of times those things are done because they are funded and someone creates something that becomes a standard and a new way to make something more difficult for someone who simply wants to do something. He stated he runs across that all the time; so he is just wondering whether it is something that has seen its day and what they need to do now is let the person pile up some sand and get on with his life, or is the Board going to create so many hoops that the property owners have to jump through that they are not going to be able to do it. Chair Higgs stated the Board is trying to take away the hoops to give an objective standard that would allow Mr. Gonzales as well as others in the same situation to move forward. Commissioner Pritchard stated that is based on a report; and he is questioning the necessity of the report. Ms. Busacca stated in the event the report does not show that it meets the criteria, then a public hearing could be scheduled; and this would simply allow someone who could not get to the September 21 meeting to be able to move forward.

Ms. Barker stated the last attachment of the report has a graph that applies to the specific dune area where Mr. Gonzales’ property is; the uppermost diagonal line is the no-project line; Mr. Gonzales’ property is in an area of the South Beaches where there has been no shore protection project; so with a 15-year return interval storm, the bluff recession would be 7.3 feet in Mr. Gonzales’ area. She noted Mr. Gonzales only has about two feet between the corner of his house and the edge of the cliff; he can put sand or sandbag systems there designed by coastal construction contractors or an engineer to protect his structure, as long as it meets the conditions the Board sets that are listed in B from the Code, to minimize adverse impacts to the neighbors, the turtle nesting, and the dune functions, etc.; so it is still Mr. Gonzales’ responsibility to design what project he wants and how much sand he places; and this emergency order is to determine whether he is eligible to protect his structure or not. Commissioner Pritchard stated the concern he has is the validity of the Olson Report in that there are a lot of reports out there designed mostly to provide income for someone who developed it, and it becomes a standard and more of a way to say no than anything else. Ms. Barker stated the Olson Report allows staff to say yes. Commissioner Pritchard stated it says yes to a standard that was developed; and he is questioning the standard. Chair Higgs stated the standard in the Code says to get a professional licensed engineer. Commissioner Pritchard stated he knows that, and the Board is saying in lieu of that, use the Olson Report; and he is questioning the Olson Report, which he intends to find out more about and see where it falls in the scheme of things. Chair Higgs stated the Board can just say no tonight; with Commissioner Pritchard responding it could say yes because he is not opposed to letting someone do something; but he is opposed to using a standard that he may consider or maybe others consider to be just another way for Mr. Olson or whoever to earn an income in 1989. Commissioner Pritchard stated he moved to approve A; and inquired if there is a second to the motion. Commissioner Carlson stated she seconded it with the inclusion of the Olson Report because that was her intent. Commissioner Pritchard stated he would keep it in there just to get things moving.

Chair Higgs advised the motion is to waive the requirement until September 21, which is the length of the Emergency Order and include the use of the Olson Report; and called for a vote on the motion. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

Chair Higgs advised B is to determine if a consistency determination letter to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection shall be conditioned upon the criteria contained in Section 62-4213(b); and there are things the Board may want to do under B so staff will be able to determine that the criteria is met. Ms. Barker stated the Board does not have to alter B, but has to decide whether it wants all of those criteria to apply, or some of them, or none of them. Commissioner Pritchard inquired if Mr. Olson has an opinion; with Ms. Barker responding she did not ask Mr. Olson’s opinion. Chair Higgs stated she talked to Mr. Gonzales and his contractor and thinks they can meet all those requirements and are willing to meet those requirements. She stated they want to be able to move forward in a timely manner so that they can do the work; and B seems to be fine.

Motion by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Higgs, to approve B, determine if a consistency determination letter to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection shall be conditioned upon the criteria contained in Section 62-4213(b), (1), minimize adverse impacts to the naturally functioning beach and dune system; (2) minimize adverse impacts to adjacent properties; (3) be designed and constructed to not impede public access to or along the shore; (4) avoid any adverse impact to marine turtles or their nesting habitat; and (5) any application for a consistency determination letter authorized under the Ordinance shall constitute an applicant’s consent for the County to record a notice of the conditions incorporated into the consistency determination. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

Chair Higgs stated C is whether to require a cash bond or just Code Enforcement in the future; and inquired what is the possibility, under the current situation, of being able to immediately get a cash bond; with Ms. Barker responding she has not asked Mr. Gonzales; the Property Appraiser’s records show that it is a recent purchase in June for just over a million dollars; so he
has a lot invested in the property. Commissioner Pritchard inquired what would the purpose of a cash bond be; with Ms. Barker responding the difficulty in those systems is maintaining sand seaward of the system so that they do not harm the neighbors’ properties and do not interfere with turtle nesting. She stated in order to maintain that sand, Mr. Gonzales will have to continue to bring truckloads of sand following most erosion events; so the bond would insure that he replaces eroded sand to make sure that the geo-tube bags do not interfere with neighboring properties, turtle nesting, or recreation.

Commissioner Colon inquired if staff has been out there to assess the problems and to help out the folks who are devastated right now. She stated dealing with government bureaucracy is not exactly what they are looking forward to; and inquired since there is a deadline, has staff visited the area or is it getting calls. Ms. Barker stated she did a post storm damage assessment on Monday and Mike McGary continued that assessment on Tuesday; it was a spot check so they did not see every property; however, Mr. Gonzales is the only phone call they have received. Ms. Barker stated the only structures she saw that were in jeopardy had been in jeopardy for a number of years; some of them have been uninhabited since the 1999 storms; so there may be a couple of other people in the same situation, but it will be a small handful.

Commissioner Scarborough stated the County has not used the word “cash bond” that often; he cannot recall too many times where it did require cash bonds; and requested staff identify when a cash bond is required. Ms. Busacca advised cash bonds are alternatives for sidewalks and some other things in a site plan, but to her memory it is usually an alternative and is used very rarely. Commissioner Scarborough inquired why is the County concerned to the extent that it wants a cash bond. Chair Higgs stated when the Board was trying to come up with a plan for The Villagers, it was working on a cash bond as part of it; and if someone does not abide by all the criteria, the cash bond would be called to maintain the sand. Ms. Busacca stated the Code says cash or other bond in an amount representing the cost of maintaining or restoring the sand cover. Commissioner Scarborough stated he does not know if Mr. Gonzales would be willing to enter into some type of agreement that would provide, in lieu of the cash bond, that the County would have the ability to go on the property and preserve the dunes; and if they fail, after notice through Code Enforcement, the County would have the ability to do the repairs and place a lien on the property. He stated right now they have expenses and to come up with a cash bond on top of that is onerous; if the County had additional security to look to a lien in addition to doing the repairs, it would take care of the County if it won the Code case. He stated the problem with the Code is sometimes at the end of the Code thing they have something sitting out there that is not that strong. Mr. Knox stated the short answer is yes. Commissioner Scarborough stated he would hate to have someone who suffered a loss to have to come up with a cash bond at this time. Ms. Barker stated the Code lets the Board do that; and what the Board would be doing is directing staff to issue a consistency letter to Department of Environmental Protection that allows the State to issue a permit for the structures. She stated paragraph (5) says, “any application for consistency determination letter authorized under this Ordinance shall constitute an applicant’s consent for the County to record a notice of the conditions incorporated into the consistency determination. Such a notice shall only be recorded after Department of Environmental Protection permit based on the consistency letter issued. The conditions incorporated into the consistency determination may be enforced against the applicant and successor in interest to the applicant in the same manner as prescribed in Section 62-4202.”

Chair Higgs stated so the Board’s desire is to tell staff to proceed without the posting of a bond as long as they include that in the recordings.

Motion by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to approve C, not to require a cash bond, but include in the notice of conditions incorporated into the consistency determination and recorded in the public records. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

Chair Higgs advised D is to determine if the Board wishes to require dune restoration and revegetation, including perpetual maintenance, both landward and seaward as a component of any shoreline project.

Commissioner Carlson stated the Code says “may”; and requested staff explain the ramifications of putting “shall” for perpetual maintenance given the case that Hurricane Frances has done to their property; and if they can have that perpetual maintenance and what benefit the “shall” would have. Ms. Barker stated the way the Code is written, the Board has an option anytime one of the proposals comes to it to decide it if wants to require perpetual maintenance or not; and staff can go through the normal public hearing process to change the Code to say “shall” so that it always applies, but that was not the intent.

Chair Higgs stated right now the Board just needs to determine that the perpetual maintenance is required; it was one of the big issues the Board dealt with; and she wants to continue to have that perpetual maintenance as part of the agreement. She stated it is an emergency situation; the Board is moving forward with everything that is in the Code except the professional engineering; so it should be left in the conditions.

Commissioner Pritchard inquired what is the thing Mr. Gonzales would be perpetually maintaining; with Ms. Barker responding Mr. Gonzales found a system called the Endless Sandbag System that uses a geotextile fiber fabric to layer one or two feet of sand at a time and build a stacked wall protected by the fabric, with sand placed seaward and above the fabric. Commissioner Pritchard inquired if he would be required to maintain sand on the fabric based to the height prescribed by Mr. Olson; with Ms. Barker responding no, he would be required to maintain sand seaward and above the structure of at least three feet in depth to protect the turtle nesting pursuant to criteria B(4), which the Board approved. Commissioner Pritchard stated perpetual is a long time; he heard the sand may affect the neighbors; and inquired if the sand washing and blowing from the structure would affect his neighbors and how can sand on a beach affect the neighbors; with Ms. Barker responding it is not the sand that would affect the neighbors, it is the fabric wrapped sand that can deflect waves and increase the pace of erosion on neighboring properties if sand is not maintained seaward of the fabric. Commissioner Pritchard stated he cannot see how the Board can require someone to do something like that when he has the forces of nature constantly working against him. Commissioner Carlson inquired why does he live on the beach. Commissioner Pritchard stated a lot of people live on the beach. Commissioner Carlson stated it is his property, so he needs to take care of it. Commissioner Pritchard inquired where would he place the barrier, on his property or sovereign land; with Ms. Barker responding on his property. Commissioner Pritchard inquired if it is done with any other type of construction in any other location or is it strictly a beach issue; with Ms. Barker responding with most shoreline hardening projects, one of the biggest concerns is impacts on neighbors; staff wants people to be able to protect their private properties, but not at the expense of their neighbors’ properties; so it is a delicate balance of trying to allow him to protect his property while minimizing potential impacts to the public beach and his neighbors. Commissioner Pritchard inquired if the impact might be the waves bouncing of his barrier that could cause erosion on the next person’s property; with Ms. Barker responding yes.

Chair Higgs inquired if there is a motion to direct staff that D is applicable.

Motion by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to approve D, to require dune restoration and revegetation, including perpetual maintenance both landward and seaward as a component of any shoreline project. Motion carried and ordered; Commissioner Pritchard voted nay.

Motion by Commissioner Pritchard, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to adopt Resolution waiving certain public hearing and modeling requirements pertaining to the protection of vulnerable structures in imminent danger of collapse as a result of erosion caused by Hurricane Frances, as amended by the Board. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See page
for Resolution No. 04-01E.)

EMERGENCY ORDER, RE: TEMPORARY LIVING QUARTERS, NON-CONFORMING
STRUCTURES, NOISE STANDARDS, AND SURVEY REQUIREMENTS

Assistant County Manager Peggy Busacca advised the Emergency Order has several issues for the Board to make a decision on; the first is temporary living quarters during construction of a residence; and staff received a few requests from people who had significant damage to their homes and may want to put in a temporary residence so they can repair their homes. She stated currently temporary residences are required to be on property that has a minimum of one acre and can only be put on after a permit has been issued for construction of a new home; and staff is looking for direction as to whether the Board wants to continue to limit it to one-acre properties. She stated since there will not be a permit for a new home, but rather a permit for repair of an existing home, staff requests that be authorized.

Chair Higgs inquired how many homes are affected and uninhabitable; with Ms. Busacca responding her guess is just in Barefoot Bay, about 20 mobile homes; so there may be 20 people who would like to live on their relatively small lots, perhaps in an RV or something. Chair Higgs inquired if it would apply to anybody doing reconstruction on a home in all kinds of neighborhoods; with Ms. Busacca responding yes, so it could be several hundred.

Commissioner Scarborough stated the Board used to and maybe still does allow trailers while building a home; it had people who would live in the trailer for a lifetime until they planned to get around to building their home; and it would be tragic if in one of the existing neighborhoods that became an unending situation where a neighbor had to endure a different type of environment and maybe actually not lead to conclusion. He stated he is not saying anybody in Barefoot Bay would do that, and a neighbor would be sympathetic for a while, but if it drug on and on, how would the County handle the parameters of that. Ms. Busacca stated staff is suggesting, if the Board wants to do it, it would consider a time frame of 12 months or something the Board considers to be adequate. Ms. Busacca stated the time frame would also include at the end of that time the County would expect the homeowner would be finished with repairs and the temporary structure would be gone. Commissioner Scarborough inquired what if they took a shorter time frame, and at the end of that time frame, the Board would handle them on a case-by-case basis; and stated maybe somebody needs six months, but after that each one that is not completed would be brought before the Board. He stated what may be good in one place may be totally unacceptable in another place because of a failure on the part of the homeowner. Ms. Busacca stated the Board has handled temporary trailers in that way before. Commissioner Scarborough stated the Board discussed it in detail.

Chair Higgs inquired if there are some applications of FEMA small trailers in a number of communities being considered; with Ms. Busacca responding yes, but it will be two or three weeks for those to arrive. Ms. Busacca stated she would not be surprised, for the amount of roofing repairs that need to be done, if people have to wait several months before they see a roofer. Chair Higgs stated the Board has to be concise in what it allows so it does not become a wholesale situation.

Commissioner Carlson stated she was going to bring up the case of time limitation and if necessary, bring in some proof of hurricane damage, like they would do for insurance purposes. She stated it could narrow the numbers that way; but the Board may want to consider the minimum one-acre requirement. She stated in District 4 they do not have a lot of trailers that received damages; they have homes that were annihilated; and that was the issue she was looking at.

Commissioner Colon stated insurance companies are encouraging some folks to relocate to Orlando because that is where they can place them; some folks do not want to be away from their homes; this is happening in the community; and a lady is getting an attorney to fight that because her insurance company is saying it cannot find her a hotel or apartment because everything is taken. She stated the Board could put a time limit of six months and tell the folks if it goes longer, the Board could reconsider; and it is the kind of thing the Board needs to do to try and help the community and not make it harder for them. She stated there are going to be folks who are going to abuse it unfortunately that happens; but helping those folks in a unique situation would be something the Board should do.

County Manager Tom Jenkins stated there is a probability that FEMA might be providing a sizable number of temporary trailers. Commissioner Colon inquired if it will take a month for the trailers to get here.

Commissioner Pritchard inquired about the issue of one acre; with Commissioner Carlson responding that is what the Code says currently. Commissioner Pritchard inquired if the Board is talking about six months, would it be any size property; with Commissioner Carlson responding that is what the board is trying to figure out right now. Commissioner Scarborough stated he is not inclined to limit it to one acre because somebody may have something less; and there is a degree of sympathy in the neighborhood as long as it does not become a perpetual change. Chair Higgs stated people in a lot of neighborhoods will be fairly tolerant for a month or two; as it strings out very long, they will find it an adverse impact on their neighborhood; so the Board needs to be careful not to go too far. She stated she does not disagree it should try to help people, but it should not harm neighborhoods in order to provide interim help.

Commissioner Colon stated by the same token, as leaders of the community, the Board has to also try to protect those rights; she has seen people upset because other people in line to get ice and water were in their way, so she can imagine something like this; but she is willing to take the heat for it because it is the right thing to do. Commissioner Carlson stated if there is not a huge number of those, the Board could take them case-by-case, which would alleviate the question. She stated when she saw the last EOC report of the estimated number of basically demolished homes, it was not a huge number, less than 50 she believes. Chair Higgs stated the Board is not saying demolished; with Commissioner Carlson responding that is right, 50% damaged. Mr. Jenkins stated if a person lost a roof, he could not live in the home; and if he has over an acre, he can apply for it so it is only a problem for people with lots under an acre. Commissioner Pritchard stated some people did not lost their roofs but lose their ceilings because the roof leaked; and it is only a matter of repair on the roof, but major renovation inside the house. Chair Higgs suggested 90 days; with Commissioner Pritchard responding it is not enough time because it will be a problem just getting a contractor. He stated right now contractors are booked; they are taking the more profitable jobs and trying to squeeze in the smaller jobs after hours and on weekends; and if the Board waived the minimum one-acre and granted six months time, that would be reasonable.

Motion by Commissioner Pritchard, to waive the minimum one-acre requirement for a temporary residential structure for a period of six months for repairs to residences damaged by Hurricane Frances.

Commissioner Scarborough stated if anybody at the end of six months needs a continuation, it will be brought before the Board and people be told to make a reasonable effort because after six months it is not carte blanche and could change. Commissioner Pritchard inquired why not authorize the Building Department to make that determination; and stated it could be the same inspector who would approve the final product. He stated in six months it would be cut off and the building inspector would go out and see what the progress is and make a determination whether another couple of weeks or a month is needed. Commissioner Scarborough stated the problem is there is an exception to one acre; it is getting into something more profound; he does not know if staff wants that responsibility; and inquired if Ms. Busacca could comment on it. Ms. Busacca stated it would make it difficult for staff because if someone is trying to repair the roof himself that is a different situation than a contractor; and it may be a case where they feel something is possible and yet the individual does not.

Chair Higgs stated the Board is not establishing limits on set-up and size; and inquired how will that be handled; with Ms. Busacca responding staff will not allow it in the right-of-way, so it would have to fit on the lot; in addition, they could require it to meet setbacks in the zoning classification, but it might be difficult especially with smaller lots. Chair Higgs inquired how would septic and electric be handled; with Ms. Busacca responding septic tanks or sewer connections would be required as well as electrical connections. Chair Higgs stated setting up next to a neighbor’s house as long as it is on their own property can get tense on a 50-foot lot. Mr. Jenkins commented if a person has a 60-foot lot, he is already next to his neighbor anyway.

Chair Higgs stated a 75-foot lot could also cause the structure to be under the bedroom window of a neighbor. Ms. Busacca stated the Board could allow RV’s parked in driveways on smaller lots and utilized as a residence, which is currently not permitted. She stated they are allowed to have RV’s, but it cannot be used as a residence currently; but it would be a smaller structure on a smaller lot. Mr. Jenkins stated not everybody has an RV, but FEMA is going to bring in trailers. Ms. Busacca stated her understanding is the mobile homes that FEMA plans to bring in are about 200 square feet, so they are not large; and FEMA also told staff they may be bringing RV’s as well. She stated they are not sure what FEMA is going to do, but 200 square feet is smaller than some RV’s. Chair Higgs inquired if the rules have to be waived to allow the FEMA- size mobile home; with Ms. Busacca responding yes. Chair Higgs inquired how would that be defined; with Ms. Busacca responding it could say the temporary housing that FEMA provides.

Commissioner Carlson inquired if FEMA is providing a mobile home for each individual or would they cluster them and have multiple people using them; with Ms. Busacca responding they have done it both ways if the community allows it on individual lots, and in other communities they have put them in larger areas. Chair Higgs stated some will go in RV parks.

Motion by Commissioner Colon, seconded by Commissioner Pritchard, to allow FEMA temporary homes for six months and RV’s for six months in driveways. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

Commissioner Pritchard stated the next issue is replacement of nonconforming mobile homes.

Chair Higgs inquired if the Board can deal with looking at the Codes on some of it and deal with manufactured and mobile homes in a way that is inconsistent with stick-built houses; with County Attorney Scott Knox responding that is a complicated question, and there is no easy yes or no. Chair Higgs stated the Board dealt with it before in Canaveral Groves; with Mr. Knox responding it is more complicated than saying yes or no, so he would have to go back and dig out that opinion. Commissioner Colon stated the Board does not have to reinvent the wheel if it make phone calls to its neighbors who have been experiencing the same thing a little longer. She stated it is a unique situation; the Board has to make some concessions; she is willing to deal with the aftermath; and it is a responsible thing to do.

Commissioner Pritchard stated what the Board has is nonconforming mobile home parks for whatever reason; the idea behind having nonconforming categories is that sooner or later, through attrition, they are going to go away; and if it allows them to rebuild as nonconforming mobile home parks, it will be 20 to 30 years further down the road from where it had hoped they would have gone away. He stated he has empathy for people who had a home there and now do not, but he wants to look at what is the overall goal of the community and is it to continue with having a mobile home park that is nonconforming and will continue to be nonconforming for another perhaps 30 years.

Commissioner Carlson inquired if the owners of the mobile home parks could make them conforming, but some of them have chosen not to do so; with Ms. Busacca responding the owners of five of the parks staff identified have not provided a dimensional drawing that would allow them to replace the units; in many of those very old parks, they actually have units and lots that are smaller than they can purchase a mobile home today; so they literally cannot replace a mobile home with a like unit. She stated the older mobile home park owners have said rather than reduce the number of units in their parks, they would allow the existing stock to deteriorate. Commissioner Carlson inquired if they tried to replace units because of Hurricane Frances, could they get another mobile home on the lot; with Ms. Busacca responding no, and what they would end up with is fewer number of mobile homes; and in this instance, some park owners have chosen not to go through the dimensional drawing because they have no intention of replacing those smaller units.

Commissioner Pritchard stated the newer mobile homes are more like manufactured homes that come in on a platform and do not have wheels; and they are built to hurricane standards. Commissioner Carlson stated the older mobile home parks do not have the proper lot sizes so they are nonconforming. Commissioner Pritchard stated they would have to have larger lots and fewer units. He stated it appears the property owners have taken the route they would like to see the usage go away, and who knows what they are going to do with their properties; and it might be opportune for them, but he is concerned about the people who were living there, where they are now, and where they might go.

Commissioner Carlson stated nonconforming structures were made part of the Code and Comprehensive Plan for that very reason; if something catastrophic occurs, those nonconforming structures are not allowed to rebuild; and even though it sounds inhumane, that was the intent of the language. She stated the problem is now the Board is trying to apply it in a circumstance where it had a hurricane or other catastrophic scenario; and if it lets them put something back, it is not going to fit; so they have a problem anyway. She stated the Board is left with a more common sense approach, which is not to adjust the nonconforming factor because it cannot until the owner of the property redesigns the property to fit less units on the property of the size they are able to address. Commissioner Pritchard inquired if the Board is putting the burden on the property owner; with Commissioner Carlson responding they are the ones who have to conform. Commissioner Pritchard stated he is not disagreeing, just trying to clarify it in his mind. Commissioner Carlson stated once they conform, they can put as many back as they want, which would bring the people back into their homes; but they would not be able to put as many as they had before. Commissioner Pritchard stated they may choose not to put as many.

Commissioner Scarborough stated dealing with nonconformity issues is a matter of bringing things about; but what concerns him, and he does not know particular factual cases, but the Board is dealing with people; they are human beings out there; and the Board needs to be careful with this one because nonconformity is supposed to go away over time. He stated over time is one thing; and inquired, if a person is suffering a lot of tragedy in his life, how would the Board work through the person’s problems as well as the property problem; and advised it needs to be careful with this one.

Commissioner Carlson stated based on what the Board has in front of it, it gives it a general statement that there are 77 nonconforming mobile home parks; it does not say where the damage is and whether the nonconforming mobile home parks are in need of some sort of change; so it will be nice to have that information in front of the Board before it addresses the whole thing. She stated it might not be as big as it thinks. Chair Higgs stated they are nonconforming based on zoning and the Comprehensive Plan. Ms. Busacca stated they can be nonconforming based on design, lot size, density, Comprehensive Plan designation, and a whole list of issues.

Commissioner Pritchard stated he would like to see the five that do not have the dimensional drawings necessary come forward to the appropriate agency in the County and see what they would like to do. Chair Higgs inquired if Commissioner Pritchard is willing to think those with dimensional drawings would be allowed to replace units. Commissioner Carlson stated they would then be in conformance because they would re-dimension their property to allow bigger mobile homes. Chair Higgs stated 11 of the nonconforming parks are located on the beach, and five of them do not have dimensional drawings; and inquired if the Board is going to allow six of them to replace units; with Commissioner Pritchard responding that is not exactly what he is saying because he wants to know, of the 11 nonconforming parks, what type of damage have they suffered. Ms. Busacca stated she does not have that information this evening because it has been too soon; but they can put that information together and get it back to the Board to discuss at the next meeting. Commissioner Pritchard stated he would like to do that because two issues concern him; as Commissioner Scarborough mentioned, the Board has people involved and on the other hand it has nonconforming issues; and for all it knows, perhaps the people are ready to do something else and perhaps the property owner is also; so until he gets more of an opportunity to hear what the situation is, he is not comfortable taking a position at this point.

Commissioner Carlson inquired if there are programs provided by FEMA, through loans and things like that, for folks who have been in mobile homes that have some sort of destruction to them, to upgrade them through loans and things like that to upgrade the quality of their living structures so they do not have to go back to a mobile home. Ms. Busacca stated she does not know about FEMA requirements for upgrades; but she knows they have been working with the Red Cross to assist them as they find mobile homes that are not livable and people have nowhere else to go. She stated she cannot tell the Board what the FEMA requirements are.

Commissioner Pritchard stated the construction of older mobile homes lends itself to rapid deterioration; the type of particle board that is used swells and dissolves; the other factors are mold; and once they get mold in a structure, that is a huge problem. He stated he does not think it has to be 50% of the value because it can be something inherently small like mold that they cannot get rid of and cannot occupy the structure again; so there are a lot of issues he has questions about.

Chair Higgs stated the item will be brought back with additional details at the next meeting. She inquired about the noise from generators.

Ms. Busacca stated she hopes it is a relatively short-term problem and hopes everyone has electricity by the weekend. She stated a number of people have called about their neighbors’ generators and the noise standards on two issues: (1) loud and raucous; and (2) decibel performance standards. She stated staff is asking the Board if it would like to say for the duration of the emergency that Code Enforcement will not enforce the noise standards.

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Colon, to authorize Code Enforcement not to enforce the noise standards during the emergency caused by Hurricane Frances.

Chair Higgs advised she received a call about a diesel generator next to someone’s bedroom window; diesel generators generate not only noise but fumes; and the neighborhood is extremely unhappy with that.

Commissioner Carlson stated the Board can say when Florida Power & Light Company provides the Board with a full service report, that is when it will end the abatement.

Commissioner Scarborough inquired if the Board wants to say excluding diesel generators. Chair Higgs stated it is a health issue for some people consuming the fumes from a diesel generator; and she is not an expert on that, but knows how unhappy the people are. Commissioner Scarborough inquired how far do diesel fumes permeate; and stated it may be okay for someone who lives in a grove someplace by himself. Chair Higgs stated she was talking about a neighborhood and does not know how far fumes permeate, but knows how unhappy the people were. Commissioner Pritchard stated the Board is splitting too many hairs; he had an email today from a man who had a generator placed outside another person’s bedroom; that person was in Orlando and did not want the food to go bad; but meanwhile his neighbor had his windows open and could not sleep because of the noise from the generator. He stated the best thing the Board can do is exempt the loud and raucous noise standard until the electricity comes back. Chair Higgs inquired if there could be a time period. Commissioner Carlson stated it could be this weekend; and if people have power they do not use the generators. Chair Higgs stated loud and raucous is okay because that would not potentially be a health hazard created by fumes. Ms. Busacca stated if the Board only exempts loud and raucous, staff still has the decibel performance standards that could apply. Commissioner Pritchard inquired if that is 65 decibels; with Ms. Busacca responding it is 60 during the day and 55 in the evening. Commissioner Pritchard inquired what does a generator put out; with Ms. Busacca responding that is not her area of expertise. Commissioner Pritchard stated loud and raucous and decibel levels have to be suspended until electricity is restored to the houses; and if it is an issue about fumes, staff can send Code Enforcement out on that.

Motion by Commissioner Pritchard, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to waive loud and raucous and decibel level standards until electricity is restored to houses that lost power during Hurricane Frances. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

Chair Higgs requested people not put generators under neighbors’ bedroom windows and try to be compassionate on both sides.

Ms. Busacca stated the final issue is replacement of mobile home accessory structures; staff is going to be setting up what they hope is rapid permitting so people can get their carports and screened rooms put back up; if they require surveys, that will be a substantial amount of time; and staff is proposing as long as the structures are put back where they were originally placed, the survey can be waived; but they would not recommend certifying they are in the correct place in the event they are in the wrong place in a neighbor’s yard or whatever.

Chair Higgs inquired if there could be a disclaimer that the County is not taking responsibility that the person may have violated the Code by allowing him or her to go forward and replace the structures. Commissioner Carlson stated they can get a temporary CO for six months until they get a survey. Ms. Busacca stated she does not know how the Board would feel having them removed after they are put back up. Chair Higgs stated the Board could allow them to go forward without a survey but that the County is not responsible.

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Pritchard, to allow replacement of mobile home accessory structures without surveys, subject to the County not being responsible for any violations. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See page
for Resolution No. 04-02E.)

APPROVAL, RE: TEMPORARY LOAN FROM INSURANCE FUND

County Manager Tom Jenkins advised there were extensive personnel working during Hurricane Frances; the County is in the last month of the fiscal year; and requested permission to borrow money from the Insurance Fund on a temporary basis until they sort through the hurricane in order to make payroll and pay immediate bills.

Chair Higgs stated she will pass the gavel to Vice Chair Pritchard and make the motion because she watched those people work and they were terrific. Chair Higgs passed the gavel to Vice Chair Pritchard.

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Pritchard, to approve a loan from the Insurance Fund on a temporary basis to make payroll due to additional expenses for personnel who worked during Hurricane Frances, and to pay immediate expenses. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

Upon motion and vote, the meeting adjourned at 7:48 p.m.

ATTEST: _________________________________
NANCY HIGGS, CHAIR
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA

_____________________
SCOTT ELLIS, CLERK

(S E A L)