MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA

 

 

December 7, 2006

 

 

The Board of County Commissioners of Brevard County, Florida, met in special/workshop session on December 7, 2006, at 3:00 p.m. in the Government Center Florida Room, Building C, 2725 Judge Fran Jamieson Way, Viera, Florida.  Present were:  Chairperson Jackie Colon, Commissioners Truman Scarborough, Chuck Nelson, Helen Voltz, and Mary Bolin, County Manager Peggy Busacca, and County Attorney Scott Knox. 

 

 

The Invocation was given by Rob Medina, Commissioner’s Aide to Commissioner Colon.

 

Chairperson Colon led the assembly in the Pledge of Allegiance.

 

Commissioner Voltz advised the School Board is requesting the Board change the meeting date; one School Board member cannot make it on December 19, 2006; she feels the Board should move forward with the nineteenth; and there are still four members attending. 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to deny the request of the School Board to change the date of the joint meeting and keep the original date of December 19, 2006 at 3:15 p.m.

 

 

Commissioner Nelson inquired why the member could not attend; with Commissioner Voltz responding it is only one member; but the meeting has been rescheduled several times.  Commissioner Scarborough stated he thought this is the first scheduled meeting.  Commissioner Voltz clarified when trying to schedule the meeting, the School Board continually pushed back the date. 

 

Chairperson called for a vote on the motion.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

Lobbyist John Thrasher noted there is a lot going on in Tallahassee with the new Governor; he and Legislative Delegation Coordinator Leigh Holt have been working on the priorities for Brevard County that the Board has narrowed down; and he is looking forward to a very productive session.

 

 

Chairperson Colon requested to have Steve Kohler from Space Florida speak first on the County’s Space and Technology priorities; stated there is a shuttle launch today; and Mr. Kohler needs to leave as soon as possible. 

 

 

Steve Kohler expressed his appreciation to the Board for placing Space and Technology as one of its priorities; stated he understands the importance due to the economic impact it has on Brevard County; and given the newness of Space Florida, he would like to spend a couple of minutes highlighting how it is structured and its perspective on Space and Technology.  He stated the establishment of a Commission by Governor Bush produced a report document that highlighted the need for reorganized space interest, with respect to aerospace and space economic development interests from a Statewide perspective; it resulted in the Space Florida Act, which in effect, created Space Florida; as a result of that creation, a new Board of Directors was named in August 2006 and activated in September 2006; and there is an obligation by Act to submit a strategic business planning document by March 31, 2007.  He noted as a new organization it is developing its priorities; three of those are business development and finance, education, research, and development, and workforce development and spaceport operations; within Space Florida there are several subcommittees; and in addition to the work of the subcommittees there is a statutory obligation to focus on and to work with some of the Statewide agencies and the major agencies at the federal level such as NASA, United States Air Force, and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).  He advised it is also focusing on pursuing and leveraging some of the “Constellation” initiatives; Constellation is NASA’s namesake for its vision going forward post shuttle; one of those initiatives was the identification and capturing of the Crew Exploration Vehicle Program (CEV); and the goal is to penetrate the supply chain interest and to replicate that process with future Constellation initiatives including Commercial Orbital Transportation Services Program (COTS), the Lunar Land Effort, and others that may come forward.  He stated Space Florida wants to leverage the efforts locally and integrate as much as possible; it will pursue opportunities to grow the local economy as well as the regional and Statewide economy focused around space and aerospace; this is all in recognition of the impact potential of the shuttle closing down after 2010; there is time to react and adjust so the impacts can be minimized; and it is conducting some internal swot analysis within the business development, spaceport subcommittees, and education to properly benchmark where Florida is relative to the emerging markets around the Country.  He noted this will enable the organization to be more agile to pursue the large government-sponsored space interests and some of the emerging commercial opportunities; at the same time, there has to be a focus on the future with respect to education; specific strategies are being discussed for broadening the impact and the access for young people for moving levels of interest into math, science, and engineering disciplines to produce the engineering talent needed to accommodate the future needs; and the next scheduled board meeting is February 12, 2007.

 

Commissioner Voltz inquired because of the change in Congress, does Mr. Kohler see any potential cut in funding; with Mr. Kohler replying like everyone else he is anticipating what impact that might have; he suspects the vision that the Bush Administration unveiled recently may continue to have its support in a bipartisan way across both sides of the aisle in Congress; the real question is how the budgetary resources are allocated; and one example of where things were trending was the COTS experience.  He noted Space Florida is trying to become as diversified as it can; and it wants to accommodate and  encourage  some  of  the  non-government  supported efforts and mitigate any negative aspects.  Mr. Thrasher advised the Board, Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Delegation all worked together to bring this Legislation to fruition; and it will benefit the whole State of Florida. 

 

 

 

Virginia Barker, Environmental Management, advised due to progress made in the Mid-Reach Permitting and Design Project, the Legislation is no longer necessary; when the Legislation was drafted the County was in a much different place than today; and at that time, the County was working with the Army Corps of Engineers to initiate the General Reevaluation Report to look at what could be done for restoring the beaches.  She noted at that time the design for mitigation of near shore rocks was marine mattresses with giant boulders on top to be placed right in the surf zone; staff was very concerned about safety and how to protect the County from liability; currently staff has been working with the agencies and with a Canadian firm to develop an entirely new kind of mitigation that would be articulated mats placed in 15-foot water depths; and it does not have the permits in hand yet, but it is fairly close.  She advised moving forward with the new mitigation process.

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to direct staff to remove Beach Mitigation Liability Protection from the Legislative Package because it is no longer necessary.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

 

Mental Health and Community Solutions Chairman Wayne Holmes, advised in 2003 he reported the need for more mental health/Baker Act beds and substance abuse beds; the Commission has supported the request the last three years as priority to the Legislative Delegation; it continues to be a priority; but last year no additional dollars were given for Baker Act beds.  He noted the County continues to be in a crisis mode; the fewer resources that the County has, the more problems are going to occur with the court systems, the jails, and police officers having to take the lives of citizens who are out of control and threatening others; it needs to continue to put the pressure on the Legislature year after year until it gets solutions; and he is again requesting the same part of his original request that continues to be unsolved.  He stated progress has been made with the jail, the mental health court, and the drop in centers; the beds are a core issue that is not going to go away; and unfortunately, the Legislature continues to fail to address it.  Commissioner Voltz advised she sits on the Housing and Human Services Board; the organization made the Baker Act beds as one of its top three priorities; and she will continue to push for the beds because she knows how great the need is.  Chairperson Colon noted some of the latest statistics show the average amount of dollars taxpayers pay per person is approximately $20,000 and a federal jail is approximately $35,000 per person; seeing the numbers help everyone realize how important it is to get the mentally ill the right kind of help because they do not belong in the jails; she is glad it is one of the County’s priorities; and she assures everyone the Board is committed to the issue.  Commissioner Voltz noted it is helpful when one of the Board’s priorities is also one of the Florida Association of Counties priorities. 

 

 

 

Human Services Planning Board Chairman Dr. Patoski advised several years ago the Agency for Healthcare Administration who funds the program, was also responsible for running the program; locally they had a contractor who was a medical service provider that provided the human service; a couple of years ago the State cut the budget for Medicaid non-emergency transport; and the Agency for Healthcare transferred the program to the Department of Transportation.  He stated it is currently run by the Florida Commission for the Transportation Disadvantaged; the problem that patients are having has been going on for the last couple of years; it is happening to the elderly and young children; and people are not getting the human services that they need.  He noted in the past, the drivers were trained ambulance personnel that would come into any facility and take the patients wherever they needed to go to receive services; it was “from bed to bed” type service; and now with the new service through TMS it is “curb to curb” service.  He advised patients have to be sitting out on the curb for two hours before their appointed time and will be dropped off at the curb of the facility they are going to; they do not have any medical trained personnel; and they often use taxicab drivers, people that are not medically trained.  He stated he practices long-term care and geriatrics, covering about 20 different facilities; he receives daily complaints from the patients; and commented on patients being dropped off at the wrong location, dropped off late for appointments, dropped off early before office’s are open and having to spend an hour in the rain, drivers never showing up in the two-hour waiting window, drivers being insensitive to the special needs of patients, mothers not being allowed to accompany young handicapped children, drivers smelling of alcohol, handicapped persons not being properly contained within the vehicle, etc.  He noted it is a dangerous situation; the complaints are daily; patients on dialysis cannot miss an appointment or it is life threatening; and some patients have written letters refusing to use the transportation service saying they would rather face the health consequences.  He stated he met with Byron Underwood from the Department of Transportation, Dave McDonald from TMS, and Jim Liesenfelt from Brevard County Transit Services Department in an effort to remedy the situation; one of the results that came from the meeting was TMS was going to make a form for Doctors to fill out stating medical attention is necessary within 24 hours; but it has been over a month and still no form.  He noted some recommendations from the boards affiliated with Healthcare were to document the appropriate driver training and certification, use of proper equipment to conduct the transportation such as internal restraints for wheelchair patients, procurement of resources to provide proper coverage for Brevard County, and establishing a standby vehicle for stranded patients; the situation is atrocious to say the least; and requested the Board’s support on the issue. 

 

Legislative Delegation Coordinator Leigh Holt advised the County could ensure the citizens voices are being heard by making this one of the Board’s five priorities; it will elevate the focus on it; she likes that the Healthcare Boards have offered solutions; and it gives the Board something to work toward.  She noted she also likes that it is not all about money; and it is about quality of service, changing policy, and looking at the right company to head the transportation service.   County Lobbyist John Thrasher advised telling the Delegation when the Board meets with them next week; they need to know this is a very important issue to each of the Board members; everyone stressing the importance of the issue and working together as a team can certainly make some changes; and it is also one of the Human Services for the Florida Association of Counties top three priorities as well.  He noted it is a Statewide issue that needs to be addressed.  Chairperson Colon stated she has had citizens come to her office in tears over this issue; and the citizens have a voice through the Board.  Commissioner Nelson noted he too has heard the horror stories; the system is broken and it must get better; it use to be better and it can get better again;  and the Board will send the message to the Legislators that it

has to be dealt with.  He advised privatization can be good when it works well; but just privatizing for the sake of burying people off in a different area just does not work; it is an important issue; and it certainly is important to him.  Chairperson Colon noted sometimes folks do not know who they need to speak to; but if they team up and have better communication with the Delegation things can be fixed.  Leigh Holt stated the Delegation has received the letters of complaint; she has already had four of the seven Legislators talk to her about it; and they are ready to deal with this issue.  Commissioner Voltz advised she has heard all the horror stories as well through the Florida Association of Counties; it is heart wrenching to hear; and it needs to be a priority for all Delegations. 

 

 

 

Transportation Planning Office Director Bob Kamm advised the transportation priorities represent a combination of items that have been developed by the Association of Counties as well as the Brevard MPO; he would like to highlight a couple of points that are underlying, particularly the ones that are coming from the Association of Counties; one of the items listed is requesting the Legislature consider targeting additional discretionary general revenue funds for supplemental budget purposes to address the delay or elimination of various projects due to cost increases; and the cost of construction materials for highway projects such as steel, concrete, and aggregate has gone up 300% in the past two years and the budgets have stayed the same.  He noted what is happening is DOT at the State level is going to have to delay and move out projects because there is just not enough money to do them; and the suggestion here is if there is general revenue available, that the Legislature consider supplementing the Transportation Trust Fund to allow at least some of these projects to stay on track because the cost impacts have been so critical.  He stated this is not just a Florida issue; it is a national issue; it is affecting the budgets at the County level; and unfortunately the Legislature over the past few years has been reticent in granting local governments additional authority to generate revenues to deal with cost increases such as this.  He advised there are other elements in the Association of Counties and the League of Cities legislative issue, to look at some of these local funding options; some of those have been discussed in previous years and may be coming forward; and due to the unprecedented cost increase, is the suggestion of looking at general revenue to perhaps supplement the DOT budget.  He noted the second part of the Agenda of the legislative list, concerns more local projects; this is a direct verbatim transfer from what the MPO adopted from their meeting in November into the Board package here, because the projects that are addressed are essentially County projects, by enlarge the St. John’s Heritage Parkway.  He stated there was a meeting in the middle of September with the Delegation; they have worked at a staff level with Melbourne Airport, City of Palm Bay, and with County staff to come up with comparable recommendations that all of the jurisdictions can carry forward to the Delegation; the Delegation is going to be hearing one message from the major partners in the Parkway project; but this is not all of the actions that need to be taken on the Parkway.  He advised Mr. Knox has developed a draft ordinance to encourage donation of right-of-way for the Parkway; the Board will be considering it on the December 12, 2006 Meeting; and the action is very much outside of the box to look for other ways to at least secure right-of-way.

 

Mr. Thrasher noted he and Ms. Holt met with the Deputy Secretary of Transportation Kevin Thibault; Mr. Thibault has a tremendous understanding of the local area and the needs; they specifically zeroed in on the issue of the Florida East Coast Railroad (FECR); and he is in negotiations  and  discussions  with  FECR  on  behalf  of  the  County  to  resolve the issue.  He advised FECR has a lot of issues along the State of Florida; Mr. Thibault is prepared to use some of that leverage with some of the other issues to unlock this particular issue; it was a very positive conversation; and Mr. Thibault strongly supports Brevard County.  He advised they also discussed the St. Johns Parkway; he feels the Board needs to prioritize the segments; there are no silver bullets in transportation; and it is a very complicated issue.

 

Chairperson Colon inquired if it was possible to have the Federal Lobbyists as well as the County Lobbyists in the discussions regarding the $800,000 that was discussed at the MPO; with Mr. Thrasher responding in the affirmative.  Chairperson Colon requested County Manager Peggy Busacca send them the information.  Mr. Thrasher pointed out Melbourne Airport also has a Federal Lobbyist; there are three lobbyists that they can use the resources of to collectively work issues at the Federal level; and it is part of the reason why they are seeking common language to give to the lobbyists so they are all working towards the same purpose.  Chairperson Colon advised informing the Lobbyists, Senator Martinez’ Office, Senator Nelson’s Office, and the various committees that the Palm Bay Parkway is now called the St. Johns Parkway so everyone knows it is the same project; and suggested maybe putting it in parenthesis on all the literature.  Mr. Kamm noted the Brewer Bridge is in the program, but not being affected by the budget change; the estimated cost now is $55 million in Fiscal Year 2010; but it is in the program where it has been for two years now.  He advised he cannot say the same thing about the Palm Bay Road Widening Project; it was discussed at the MPO meeting last month, perhaps working with respective local governments to see what could be done to keep that project on schedule, perhaps even going so far as to supplement the DOT budget with some local funds; but as the Board will hear at the MPO meeting next week, DOT does not have the money available in December of 2007.  He noted the tentative work program will show the project moving out in Fiscal Year 2011; it shows at that time all of the money for the entire project so the issue of local funding will not be before the Board; but it is to be delayed.  Commissioner Voltz stated the Board cannot allow that to happen; the road is so over capacity; there are major potholes; and unless something is going to be done with the pavement now, the Board has to do everything it can to make sure it is not delayed until 2011.  Mr. Kamm replied the pavement is the responsibility of the County to maintain; with Commissioner Voltz inquiring why would the County spend the money to repave the road when it is going to be widened.  Mr. Kamm noted he agrees with Commissioner Voltz; the next MPO meeting will be held a little differently; the first hour will be for regular MPO business; and at 10:00 a.m. the official DOT work program public hearing will begin.  He advised Secretary Downs will review what they are proposing to do to adjust the program to meet the funding constraints that they are faced with; that will be the appropriate forum to voice any concerns; this is a tentative program; and it is not locked down at this point.  Commissioner Voltz advised if everyone was to drive down Palm Bay Road between five and six o’clock, they would do whatever they could to make sure the project goes through. 

 

Commissioner Voltz noted there is a problem going forward with the South Melbourne Beach Park because of the size of a sign from Honest John’s Fish Camp; she sent all the information to Mr. Thibault a month ago; and this could potentially hold up the entire project.  Mr. Thrasher replied he would follow up with Mr. Thibault.

 

 

Legislative Delegation Coordinator Leigh Holt advised the rest of the issues in the packet are the remaining issues that came from various sources such as Department Directors and the Stand Process; if there are any questions, she will be happy to answer them; many of them are repeat issues that staff has been working on for some time; but she does not think there is anything new or significantly different that the Board has not seen before. She noted staff will continue to work on them; but is very pleased to know where the focus is.  Chairperson Colon advised during discussions, the Board noticed that those are similar issues that are going on in other counties; they are not unique to Brevard; but everybody is already on board.  Commissioner Voltz advised Property Tax Reform is not on the County’s top priorities because it is already a Statewide issue; and taxes are a number one priority to the Board.  Commissioner Scarborough noted that when the Board had its conversation on prioritizing, it felt that if it is a Statewide issue its input was going to be much less; the County might be facing the economic impact of the loss of about 5,000 to 8,000 jobs with the ending of the Space Shuttle program; that can be devastating on the community; and those are the types of things it needs to keep to the forefront as its priorities because it is only Brevard County that is going to be impacted.  County Lobbyist John Thrasher noted something on everyone’s mind is the property insurance issue that is facing every single community, but particularly communities that have a coastline as long as Brevard County; the Governor Elect Crist is planning on calling a special session January 16, 2007 to begin to address this issue; he says begin because based on everything he has seen there is no silver bullet; and he hopes expectations are not so high everyone will be disappointed.  He advised this is one of those issues that is incremental; until it is solved it has an impact on many things in the State; affordable housing and affordable insurance is very important to the State of Florida; and those are issues that the State will be working on.  He congratulated Ms. Holt for prioritizing the items with the main interests of the County; and he looks forward to helping the County with the Space issue. 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to approve the 2007 Legislative Program as submitted, excluding Beach Mitigation Liability Protection.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

Commissioner Scarborough noted the economic growth has been very good for the County; and inquired if Mr. Thrasher had a prognosis for this year.  Mr. Thrasher replied the prognosis is not as good this year; housing starts are down; that funnels a lot of the money; and tourism is down a little bit.  Chairperson Colon advised hearing that should encourage the Board to stay within its means; it should warn everybody now this year they have to tighten up; and that commitment has to be from all of the Board members. 

 

 

Legislative Delegation Coordinator Leigh Holt advised at previous Commission Meetings there were motions to pass a resolution on property tax reform and a resolution electing water management boards; and staff has drafted resolutions for the Board to consider.  She stated the first one is in support of the Property Tax Reform; in the past the Board has supported different types of property tax reform; and she tried to capture all of those in this one resolution.  She noted there are many proposals for Property Tax Reform out at this point; there are five different work groups, there are five different studies that are due out in December or January that have to deal with Property Tax Reform; and the resolution is somewhat generic,  but  it  does  say the Board supports property tax reform and supports property tax relief in the next legislative session, if that is possible.

 

Commissioner Nelson advised he has a couple of issues; in the second paragraph, he feels it chastises previous Commissioners as opposed to addressing the issue; he thinks it should say rising property values impact new homes and then the part where that applies to Save Our Homes and the impact that had; and he does not want the focus to be on the taxing agency when it should be on the broken tax structure problem.  He noted his other issue is with the immediate tax relief the Board is talking about; it means they will be putting the budget together not knowing what that could be; and it could literally put the County in a position of having to cut services.  He stated the bottom line is that the structure is broken and it needs to be fixed; the Board should not get into telling the Legislators how to fix it at this point in time; but they should make sure the Legislators understand they would like to have a say in how it works so that there are no negative impacts.  He noted he just does not know how they are going to put a budget together not knowing what the number is; it is tough enough as it is; and he would like to see it say something about revenue neutral.  Commissioner Scarborough noted what is interesting is the people of Florida, while they do not like the idea of the Homestead having a separate category for owners and renters, they last November voted for two new categories; one is the veterans and the other is the seniors; if those new categories are enacted, that revenue has to be brought up from somebody else; and Representative Ralph Poppell made a comment that the problem with Save Our Homes is that it is doing exactly what it was suppose to do.  County Lobbyist John Thrasher noted his agreement with Commissioner Nelson; he thinks one of the jobs he and Ms. Holt should do, as this unfolds and these reports come out, is try to schedule another workshop with the Board in February, to discuss what it looks like the Legislature may be addressing; maybe at that time, the Board would have a little more specificity in terms of what policies it wants for him to advocate with the Delegation and with other members; and it may be premature to do until they hear what road the Legislature is actually going to travel on this.  Commissioner Voltz noted this was a very contentious issue at the Florida Association of Counties because no one wanted to cut spending; the citizens want the Board to be responsible with money but at the same time everyone wants property tax relief; she has been a proponent of the 3% tax cap for a long time; and she suggested when the quarterly updates come out, they look at every place where there is an increase so that at the final budget they do not get sticker shock.  She advised with those updates they would know and could determine each quarter where they need to go from there; and if it is cutting services, that should be a decision the citizens make.

 

Chairperson Colon noted she had requested Assistant County Manager Stockton Whitten to update the Board monthly on where the Board is in regards to the budget and the cap; sometimes items under the Consent Agenda were not approved in the budget; although the Courts have made it clear the Board does not need to adhere to the 3%, the Board is trying to use it as a benchmark for where they want to be conservatively; and this will prevent sticker shock at the end because they will be able to see monthly where they are.  She advised those types of items should not be under Consent at all, but instead New Business because at that point it will bring the percentage higher.  County Manager Peggy Busacca inquired if that is the Board’s new policy about Consent; and noted the Agenda Report has a box for fiscal impact in this budget year and the fiscal impact for the next budget year to inform the Board of whether or not it is increasing the budget; when staff does its quarterly budget supplements, well over 85% of that has already been approved by the Board; sometimes it is well over 95% of those changes;  and  what  has  not  been  seen  in  the  past  is that incremental decision the Board is making.  She advised because of the change in the budget and the fiscal impact, they will be able to see that and staff will be able to monitor it and provide it to the Board; where the trick is going to come in is when they talk about a percentage, because a percentage of both rollback is dependent on what are the valuations; and staff can make all of the assumptions that it wants about valuations but they are only as good as the paper they are written on that day.  She stated it would probably be easier to discuss something besides percent of next year above rollback because that number is honestly pulled out of thin air; and maybe it could say percent above this year.  Chairperson Colon noted 5% and 10% concerns her.  Ms. Busacca suggested talking in percentages above last year might be more comfortable.  Chairperson Colon noted because we are putting the fiscal impact, there is a little red flag to alert everyone that it is not part of the budget and to make the Board aware of the impact it will cause; she knows the Board gets that on a quarterly basis; and monthly is a little more work but it really pays off and will be a tremendous help.  Commissioner Voltz noted currently the cost benefit analysis shows whether or not it is included in the budget; and when it says it is included in the budget, she assumes it is the budget that has already been approved; with Ms. Busacca replying that is correct.  Commissioner Voltz noted if it is not included, it will say on there where the money is coming from; and to not have those items on the Consent Agenda will be a problem.  Chairperson Colon advised there is a big difference and more accountability when there is a report and it is brought to each persons attention; and she feels that kind of accountability is critical.  Commissioner Voltz noted she does not want to see a ton of stuff taken off the Consent Agenda that would really bog down the meetings.  Chairperson Colon noted anything that is in the budget will not be pulled; it is the 5% or 10% that she is talking about; and if it was not approved during budget time, she wants the Board to scrutinize it.  Commissioner Nelson inquired if staff has to change a project, typically at a Commissioner’s request, will they have to come before the Board and get it approved; stated he fears that it is creating a system that does become cumbersome; when Departments are living within their budget that is one thing; and when it moves outside that to contingency or reserves that is a whole different issue.  Chairperson Colon noted the Board will see how it goes and staff will be very good about letting them know if they are micro-managing; she has no intention of putting County staff through what she witnessed last year; the Board can see how it goes; and she is definitely sensitive to what Commissioner Nelson brought up. 

 

County Manager Peggy Busacca advised the wording Commissioner Nelson brought up could be added in. 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to adopt Resolution as amended, supporting legislative action to address long-term property tax reform and short-term property tax relief as discussed by the Board of County Commissioners on October 10, 2006.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

Ms. Busacca noted Mr. Thrasher had suggested a workshop on this issue for February; and inquired if the Board wants her to schedule it; with Mr. Thrasher replying if it is needed he will contact them. 

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, to adopt Resolution supporting election of Water Management District boards as discussed at the October 19, 2006 Board of  County Commissioners Meeting.  Motion died for lack of a second.

 

Commissioner Voltz noted she did not support it; and it would not pass.  Commissioner Scarborough advised everybody believes they should be elected.  Commissioner Voltz noted she agrees with Commissioner Scarborough; but the Florida Association of Counties is strongly against it because they feel like if it is an elected position it will become political.  County Manager Peggy Busacca advised an individual told her it is a pleasure to do the technical right thing instead of the politically correct thing; and they felt they had an opportunity to do that because they are appointed instead of elected.  Commissioner Voltz noted another issue that came up is the State Representatives are elected and they are the ones that appoint the Water Management Board.  Commissioner Nelson stated it raises other issues; the County has boards with some level of responsibility such as TiCo; TiCo wants to be elected too; and he feels it opens Pandora’s Box.  He advised the Board has been fortunate to have had from Brevard a representative on that board for as long as he can remember; that has been very beneficial; but that may change if you go to elected; and he has heard some complaints, usually around the time the tax bill comes in, but he has not heard a large cry with doing with them.  Commissioner Voltz noted she has; she has heard it for years that they should be elected; and it is taxation without representation.  Commissioner Scarborough noted he does not feel it is going to change but he is making the motion even if it does not get a second.  Commissioner Bolin noted she agrees as well. 

 

 

 

Emergency Management Director Bob Lay advised the community budget issue request deals with basically the size of the Emergency Operations Center (EOC); they have received adequate funding to repair and fix the things that are currently broken inside the EOC; but space is a huge issue; and they need to expand by at least 3,000 square feet.  He stated to do that the cost is approximately $2 million; the source of that, he would see coming through the legislature side of the house because they currently have about $45 million that is sitting up there; but because the County has a safe EOC, not a large EOC or a functional EOC, he does not think they will get any funding.  He advised he sees this as another means for trying to add that additional space; if there is a major disaster in the County this year or next year, the building is not going to be adequate to take care and house everybody; and requested the Board support this and let the Legislators work for them.

 

Motion by Commissioner Bolin, seconded by Commissioner Voltz, to approve a Community Budget Issue Request (CBIR) for support by Brevard County Legislation representation for expansion of the Brevard County Emergency Operations Center (EOC).  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Upon motion and vote, the meeting was adjourned at 4:33 p.m.

 

 

 

                                                                                                                                               

                                                                                  JACKIE COLON, CHAIRPERSON

                                                                                  BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

ATTEST:                                                                   BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA

 

 

 

 

SCOTT ELLIS, CLERK                             

 

 

 

             ( S E A L )