MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA

October 1, 2002

The Board of County Commissioners of Brevard County, Florida, met in regular session on October 1, 2002, at 9:02 a.m. in the Government Center Commission Room, Building C, 2725 Judge Fran Jamieson Way, Viera, Florida. Present were: Chairman Truman Scarborough, Commissioners Truman Scarborough, Randy O'Brien, Nancy Higgs, Sue Carlson, and Jackie Colon, County Manager Tom Jenkins, and County Attorney Scott Knox.

The Invocation was given by Pastor Richard Lord, Park Avenue Baptist Church, Titusville, Florida.

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

APPOINTMENT, RE: SOUTH MAINLAND LIBRARY BOARD

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to appoint Loretta Surface to the South Mainland Library Advisory Board, from October 1, 2002 to December 31, 2002. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

REPORT, RE: SAMPLE OF THE ARTS

Commissioner Carlson stated the Sample of the Arts display in the foyer is the Brevard Museum of Science and History.

Ann Lawton stated the Brevard Museum is located at 2201 Michigan Avenue in Cocoa; it is across the pond from Brevard Community College, Cocoa Campus; the most recent project that will open this weekend is an exhibit called Tutankhamun, Wonderful Things from the Pharaoh’s Tomb; and commented on the exhibit, mission of the Museum, and comparing cultures. She stated she is retiring at the end of the year; the Board of Trustees has just hired a new Director named JaNeen Smith, who comes from the Civil War Medical Museum in Frederick, Maryland; and advised of Ms. Smith’s background, experience, and local connection.

Chairman Scarborough expressed appreciation to Ms. Lawton for all that she does. Ms. Lawton distributed newsletters.

UPDATE, RE: SUMMIT BETWEEN COUNTY AND CITY MANAGERS

Commissioner Colon stated she and Mark Ryan met with Brevard Community College (BCC); BCC is very receptive and excited about the meeting taking place; and BCC is trying to work out the details of having the meeting televised. She stated because there are so many municipalities, the Mayor and City Manager of each municipality would be at the table along with the five Commissioners and the County Manager; everyone else who is invited would be in the audience; and she is thinking of inviting the School Board, although they would not be able to participate in the dialogue. She stated they are planning for December; they are trying to get some sponsors so it can be an all-day event; and Henry Hill was part of this, but since he is leaving, it may be a bit difficult. She stated anyone wanting to provide input should contact her, Tom Jenkins, or Mark Ryan.

REPORT, RE: REVIEW OF APPRAISALS OF GLEASON PROPERTY AND MELBOURNE
RECYCLERS FACILITY

Chairman Scarborough stated everyone should have received an email from Bob O’Connor of Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) in response to the Board’s offer to assist with additional appraisals on the Gleason property; FDLE has some expenses and has concluded it could proceed without the full cost of the appraisals; this would be less expensive; and FDLE has requested the Board’s assistance.

Commissioner O'Brien stated the Board said it would do that; it could go to the level of a review, but not get another appraisal; someone could review the two appraisals for compliance with State law and the rules and regulations of the transaction.

Motion by Commissioner O'Brien, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to authorize review of the appraisals of the Gleason and Melbourne Recyclers Facility properties.

County Manager Tom Jenkins stated the Board would be authorizing FDLE to do the review. Chairman Scarborough stated FDLE wants the Board to pay the expense. Commissioner Colon inquired if anyone knows how much it is; with Chairman Scarborough responding Mr. O’Connor did not give a number, but it will be less than what the Board already committed to.

Commissioner O'Brien stated his motion is to authorize payment to FDLE for the review. Mr. Jenkins stated it will be paid from the Solid Waste Fund.

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

ANNOUNCEMENT, RE: CONFERENCE CALL

Chairman Scarborough stated he will need to participate in a conference call at 9:45 a.m.; it is a MyRegion activity; and he should not be gone long.

RESOLUTION, RE: PROCLAIMING FIRE PREVENTION WEEK

Commissioner O'Brien read aloud a resolution proclaiming the week of October 6 through 12, 2002 as Fire Prevention Week.

Motion by Commissioner O'Brien, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to adopt Resolution proclaiming the week of October 6 through 12, 2002 as Fire Prevention Week. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

Commissioner O'Brien presented the Resolution to Public Safety Director Jack Parker and Chief Michael Taggart. Chief Taggart thanked the Board for recognizing Fire Prevention Week; stated fire prevention is only celebrated one week a year, but it is an ongoing project throughout the County; and through the efforts of the Board and its support of the Department, the County has one of the best records on safety in the fire prevention area. He stated the Board’s continued support is always welcomed and appreciated.

RESOLUTION, RE: PROCLAIMING BREVARD COUNTY 4-H WEEK

Commissioner Colon read aloud a resolution proclaiming the week of October 6 through 12, 2002 as Brevard County 4-H Week.

Motion by Commissioner Colon, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to adopt Resolution proclaiming the week of October 6 through 12, 2002 as Brevard County 4-H Week. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

Amy McMullen, 4-H Coordinator, expressed appreciation to the Board for the Resolution; and introduced those 4-H County Council officers who were present. She stated 4-H wants to recognize the Board’s support of the program; 4-H is a three-way partnership of federal, State and local government; and without the Board’s support 4-H would not be able to operate at the County level. She presented a plaque and a cake to the Board.

Patrick Watkinson, President of the 4-H County Council, expressed appreciation to the Board for its support; advised this is the centennial of 4-H; and they hope to work closely with the Board for the next 100 years.

Chairman Scarborough stated one of the things the Board is most proud of is the quality of the young people in the community.

FINAL PLAT APPROVAL, RE: LAKES OF VIERA EAST

Motion by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Colon, to grant final plat approval for Lakes of Viera East, subject to minor changes, if necessary, receipt of all documents required for recording, and developer obtaining jurisdictional permits. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

FINAL ENGINEERING AND PRELIMINARY PLAT APPROVAL, RE: SUMMER BREEZE
PLANTATION

Motion by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Colon, to grant final engineering and preliminary plat approval for Summer Breeze Plantation, subject to minor engineering changes as applicable and developer obtaining jurisdictional permits. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

PRELIMINARY PLAT APPROVAL, RE: OCEAN KEY TOWNHOMES

Motion by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Colon, to grant preliminary plat approval for Ocean Key Townhomes, subject to compliance with recommendations by review agencies and all other applicable policies, ordinances, laws, and regulations; and developer obtaining jurisdictional permits. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

CONTRACT WITH THE VIERA COMPANY, RE: GUARANTEEING INFRASTRUCTURE
IMPROVEMENTS FOR WICKHAM ROAD, LAKE ANDREWS DRIVE, AND NAPOLO
DRIVE

Motion by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Colon, to execute Contract with The Viera Company guaranteeing infrastructure improvements for Wickham Road, Lake Andrew Drive, and Napolo Drive. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

UNPAVED ROAD AGREEMENT WITH RICHARD AND BONNIE BRYANT, RE: LONESOME
DOVE LANE

Motion by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Colon, to execute Unpaved Road Agreement with Richard and Bonnie Bryant for Lonesome Dove Lane. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

CONFIRMATION OF REPLACEMENT REPRESENTATIVES, RE: NORTH MERRITT ISLAND
DEPENDENT SPECIAL DISTRICT BOARD

Motion by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Colon, to confirm the appointments of Anthony J. Falanga and Ivan Inmon as the replacement Group 3 and Group 6 representatives on the North Merritt Island Dependent Special District Board. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

PERMISSION TO ADVERTISE PUBLIC HEARING, RE: ORDINANCE AMENDING ZONING
REGULATIONS RELATING TO HOME OCCUPATIONS

Motion by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Colon, to grant permission to advertise public hearing to consider an ordinance amending Chapter 62, Article VI, Section 1155 relating to home occupations. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

EASEMENTS WITH FLORIDA GAS TRANSMISSION COMPANY, RE: PHASE VI CAPE
KENNEDY LATERAL LOOP EXPANSION

Motion by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Colon, to approve Temporary Construction and Utility Easements with Florida Gas Transmission Company for installation of pipeline on County-owned property in Section 26, Township 23S, Range 35E, for Phase VI Cape Kennedy Lateral Loop Expansion. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

APPROVAL OF AMENDMENT TO AGREEMENT AND ONE-YEAR EXTENSION WITH
REPRESENTATION PLUS, LTD., RE: INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC RELATIONS AND
SALES REPRESENTATIVE

Motion by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Colon, to execute Amendment to Agreement with Representation Plus, Ltd. for international public relations and sales representation; approve one-year extension with the Representation Plus, Ltd. and authorize the County Manager to execute the option to renew; and authorize the TDC Executive Director to execute a separate agreement with the two new cooperative partners, Daytona Beach Area Convention and Visitors Bureau and Seminole County Convention and Visitors Bureau. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

AGREEMENT WITH DEPARTMENT OF STATE, DIVISION OF LIBRARY SERVICES, RE:
LIBRARY SERVICES AND TECHNOLOGY GRANT

Motion by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Colon, to execute Agreement with Department of State, Division of Library Services, for Library Services and Technology Grant in the amount of $63,800 to continue the Family Literacy Program which began in April 2000; and approve the Budget Change Request. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

RESOLUTION AND LEASE AGREEMENT WITH SPACE COAST CHAPTER OF THE
NATIONAL TECHNICAL ASSOCIATION, INC., RE: USE OF GIBSON COMMUNITY
CENTER

Motion by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Colon, to adopt Resolution and execute Lease Agreement with Space Coast Center of The National Technical Association, Inc. for use of Gibson Community Center, from October 13, 2002 through October 12, 2003. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

RESOLUTION AND LEASE AGREEMENT WITH BREVARD ALZHEIMER’S
FOUNDATION, INC., RE: USE OF GIBSON COMMUNITY CENTER

Motion by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Colon, to adopt Resolution and execute Lease Agreement with Brevard Alzheimer’s Foundation, Inc. for use of Gibson Community Center, from October 13, 2002 through October 12, 2003. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

SUBGRANT AGREEMENT WITH FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY AFFAIRS, RE:
EQUIPMENT FOR FLORIDA STRATEGY

Motion by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Colon, to execute Subgrant Agreement with Florida Department of Community Affairs for specialized response equipment for Fire/Rescue’s Special Response Team, with such Team being available to respond as a regional team to large-scale events. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

REAPPOINTMENTS, RE: BREVARD COUNTY EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES AUTHORITY

Motion by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Colon, to reappoint Philip Nohrr, Roberta Bechtal, Joy Gilliland, William Potter, and Pamela Gatto to the Brevard County Educational Facilities Authority, with terms expiring on December 31, 2003. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

AMENDMENT 1 TO GRANT AGREEMENT WITH OFFICE OF TOURISM, TRADE, AND
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ON BEHALF OF HELICOPTER ADVENTURES, INC., RE:
CHANGING START AND COMPLETION DATES

Motion by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Colon, to execute Amendment 1 to Grant Agreement with Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development on behalf of Helicopter Adventures, Inc. and TiCo Airport Authority extending project start and completion times; and authorize the County Manager or his designee to execute future time extensions in order to meet State grant guidelines in a timely manner. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

SUBGRANT AGREEMENT WITH FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY AFFAIRS, RE:
FY 2002-03 EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PREPAREDNESS AND ASSISTANCE GRANT

Motion by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Colon, to execute Subgrant Agreement with Florida Department of Community Affairs for FY 2002-2003 Emergency Management Preparedness and Assistance Grant and Emergency Management Performance Grant; and authorize the County Manager or his designee to submit any additional changes, documents, or amendments required for the Grant Contract. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

APPOINTMENTS, RE: BREVARD WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT BOARD

Motion by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Colon, to appoint Emil Miller, Wuesthoff Health Systems; Brian Duffey, Lockheed Martin Space Operations; and Dr. Anthony J. Cantanese, Florida Institute of Technology, to the Brevard Workforce Development Board. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

REAPPOINTMENTS, RE: CITIZEN ADVISORY BOARDS

Motion by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Colon, to reappoint Jay Schenck as the at-large appointee to the Titusville-Cocoa Airport Authority, with term to expire July 7, 2004; and Frank Kinney as the District 4 appointee to the Titusville-Cocoa Airport Authority, with term to expire July 14, 2004. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

APPROVAL, RE: BILLS AND BUDGET CHANGES

Motion by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Colon, to approve the Bills and Budget Changes as submitted. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

PUBLIC HEARING, RE: RESOLUTION VACATING RIGHT-OF-WAY (FOURTH STREET)
IN PLAN OF TOWN OF PINEDA - GEOFFREY SCOTT THOMPSON

Chairman Scarborough called for the public hearing to consider a resolution vacating right-of-way (Fourth Street) in Plan of Town of Pineda as petitioned by Geoffrey Scott Thompson.

Commissioner Carlson stated the applicant and the objector communicated; but she does not know what the outcome was.

Thomas Shine stated originally there was an objection to the vacation by Dr. Saladino; but since that time Dr. Saladino has agreed to withdraw his objection and allow the Board to vacate Fourth Street.

Dr. Carl Saladino stated he was prepared to make an argument against the vacation; but they have come to an amicable agreement. He thanked Commissioner Carlson for taking time to meet with him yesterday; and stated it was informative.

There being no further comments heard, motion was made by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner O'Brien, to adopt a Resolution vacating right-of-way (Fourth Street) in the Plan of the Town of Pineda, as petitioned by Geoffrey Scott Thompson. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

PUBLIC HEARING, RE: REVISIONS TO MERIT SYSTEM POLICIES II, IV, V, IX, XI, XII, AND
XIII

Chairman Scarborough called for the public hearing to consider revisions to the Merit System Policies II, IV, V, IX, XI, XII, and XIII.

Commissioner O'Brien stated he likes the change that adds permanent part-time employees, who gain full-time status with the County, shall be placed on a six-month probationary period.

There being no further comments heard, motion was made by Commissioner O'Brien, seconded by Commissioner Colon, to approve revisions to Merit System Policy II, Pay Plan; Policy IV, Appointments; Policy V, Probationary Periods; Policy IX, Leave; Policy XI, Employee Performance Evaluations; Policy XII, Disciplinary Actions; and Policy XIII, Employee Grievances and Appeals. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

PUBLIC HEARING, RE: REQUEST FOR DETERMINATION OF VESTED RIGHTS FOR
RAWLAND D. MELLIN’S PROPERTY

Chairman Scarborough called for the public hearing to consider a request for determination of vested rights for Rawland D. Mellin’s property.

Rawland Mellin submitted a picture of a home to the Board and the Clerk; and stated he bought the home in 1979, but in October 1982 when he was in the Pacific Northwest, the house burned down. He stated he came back and maintained the property; now, because of health reasons, he needs to retire and wishes to rebuild the home; but there is a problem because the property is .7 acre. He requested vested rights so he can rebuild his home and retire.

Commissioner Higgs distributed a map showing the property in relation to flood zones; and stated the issue is not flood zones today although this is a very precarious location. She stated the giving of vested rights is outlined in the Code; it is based on an act or omission by the County on which the owner acted in good faith; and in this case, she cannot glean anything the owner has done in reliance on the County’s act or omission. She stated an illegal parcel was created; it is .65 acre, which is not a legal parcel; and while it was recorded, it did not go through zoning. She stated the parcel was divided off a larger legal parcel; and she cannot see where vested rights have been established because the County did nothing. She stated the applicant purchased the property via a contract for deed or other agreement; they then went to the Clerk and put it in the public records; but it did not go through the County in terms of dividing up the parcel or getting the proper land uses; and for more than 20 years it has continued to be in that condition with no action by the applicant to legally clarify the parcel’s establishment. She stated she cannot support a vested rights determination; she does not know if there were any building permits or not, but it is not a legal parcel; and nothing has been done to give it status.

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to deny request of Rawland Mellin for vested rights determination to allow a building permit to rebuild a home destroyed by fire on a lot substandard to the minimum size requirements in a GU zone based on no evidence of errors or omissions by the County. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

Chairman Scarborough stated the Board has to follow very strict criteria with vested rights; and requested staff discuss with the applicant any other options.

PUBLIC HEARING, RE: ORDINANCE AMENDING ZONING REGULATIONS RELATING TO
PARCELS OF LAND DIVIDED BY PUBLIC RIGHT-OF-WAY

Chairman Scarborough called for the public hearing to consider an ordinance amending Zoning Regulations relating to parcels of land divided by public right-of-way.

Commissioner Carlson inquired if this is just clarification. Planner Ryan Rusnak stated this is a short ordinance; Section 62-2116 addresses parcels of land divided by a public right-of-way; a literal reading of the Code does not allow that to be applied to private rights-of-way; and the change allows a remnant parcel on the opposite side of a right-of-way to be included with the larger piece to be considered one lot. Chairman Scarborough stated that is being done with the public roads; so there is no reason not to do it with the private road. Mr. Rusnak stated this is a very short ordinance to add the words “or private” after the word “public.”

Commissioner O'Brien inquired if it is a private road, why is the County interested in what is occurring there. Mr. Rusnak responded there are sometimes situations; and the Land Development Office estimates that 35% of subdivisions are platted with the use of private rights-of-way. Commissioner O'Brien inquired why is the County sticking its finger into this pie if it is private right-of-way and private land. Planning and Zoning Director Mel Scott stated the County is involved in the site plan and subdivision review process. Commissioner O'Brien requested examples of some private rights-of-way. Mr. Scott stated in Indian Landings in the South Beaches, they decided to develop the property, which had a canal; they wanted the larger pieces of property on one side of the road to be able to cross the road to get to the canal; remnant parcels fronted the canal; and with the proposed ordinance amendment, they will be able to do that so they can have a dock on the remnant parcel on one side of the right-of-way and cross over that private right-of-way onto their property. Commissioner O'Brien inquired if they could not do it otherwise; with Mr. Scott responding not before the Code change, because the current Code allows this to occur if there is a public right-of-way, and the change will allow private rights-of-way to enjoy the same type of scenario. Commissioner O'Brien inquired if it is a private road on a private property, why does the County care if the road is going through the middle of someone’s property. Mr. Scott stated it is a private subdivision utilizing a private road, but the County is involved in the site plan and subdivision review.

Commissioner Higgs stated it still has to be built to the County’s standards, whether it is a private or public road. Commissioner Carlson stated it seems silly not to already have that in the Code. Commissioner O'Brien inquired if they do not already have that right; with Commissioner Higgs responding no.

There being no further comments heard, motion was made by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to adopt Ordinance amending zoning regulations relating to parcels of land divided by rights-of-way. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to recess as The Board of County Commissioners and convene as the governing body of the Barefoot Bay Water and Sewer District. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

PUBLIC HEARING, RE: RESOLUTION AMENDING BAREFOOT BAY WATER AND SEWER
DISTRICT BOARD RATE RESOLUTION

Chairman Scarborough called for the public hearing to consider a resolution setting rates for the Barefoot Bay Water and Sewer District Board.

Water Resources Director Richard Martens stated the change in the Rate Resolution for the Barefoot Bay Water and Sewer District does not affect the water and sewer rates but changes the miscellaneous charges. He stated they are seeking to modify a portion of the Resolution to conform to the policies and procedures the County has been using in the North Brevard Water System for many years; and the biggest change has to do with how long the County would wait and the notices that would go out to customers who do not pay their water bills on time. He stated they would extend the period from 30 days to approximately 41 days, and would provide two separate written notices that the bill is due and the last date for paying the water bill before the water would be turned off. He reiterated this is consistent with what has been done in the north end of the County; and it has two other minor issues, one is allowing golf courses and other major users to pay for reclaimed water under a separate agreement as opposed to a flat rate gallonage. He stated it also provides a mechanism to reserve wastewater treatment plant capacity in the same method as is done in the rest of the County. He stated he made a presentation on the change to the Barefoot Bay Recreation District Board of Trustees; he plans to meet with the Homeowners Association on Tuesday night to provide a summary of the changes; and written notice will be provided in the water bills a month prior to the change taking effect to make sure everyone is informed of the changes and policies.

Commissioner Higgs stated the changes are consistent with the way the County operates its other utilities; there are approximately 4,800 customers in the Barefoot Bay Water and Sewer District; and of those, there are only about 30 problems a year in terms of disconnect. Mr. Martens advised that is 30 per month. Commissioner Higgs stated that is a very good rate and the policies are consistent; there have been no objections; and when Mr. Martens appeared before the District, it was a televised meeting, so there is fairly widespread knowledge of the changes.

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner O'Brien, to adopt a Resolution amending the rates for the Barefoot Bay Water and Sewer District.

Commissioner O'Brien inquired if the Board can get a list and numeric accountability for the reasons why people are paying their bills late; and advised of a scenario where a person may have gone into a hospital for three or four weeks, still be under medication, and be unable to sign a check or look at the bill. He noted many senior citizens go on long vacations; and advised last year he went on a four-week vacation, and when he returned found bills that were 27 days old. He suggested tracking why people are paying late in an attempt to find a better resolution than just a time limit and cutoff.

Commissioner Higgs stated they are the same policies for all of the County’s sewer customers, so if there is going to be a study, it should be across-the-board. Commissioner O'Brien stated Barefoot Bay is different in that it is senior citizen living, and is not a typical cross section of the population. Mr. Martens stated the County can ask the question, but there is no requirement for the people to give an explanation; and one thing they have observed in Barefoot Bay is what Commissioner O'Brien was talking about. He stated the previous system did not allow a lot of flexibility in receipt of the mail and returning the bills; in the summer months a larger portion of the Barefoot Bay customer base goes north; there is an increase in delinquent payments when the bill has to go to someone’s summer home; and staff can collect the information and report back. Commissioner O'Brien inquired about paying a flat monthly rate, such as the plan FP&L has; with Mr. Martens advising the County does not have such a plan. Commissioner O'Brien stated it might be a convenience to the Barefoot Bay residents; with Chairman Scarborough suggesting staff look into that.

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

Motion by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Colon, to adjourn as the Barefoot Bay Water and Sewer District, and reconvened as the Board of County Commissioners. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. The meeting recessed at 9:41 a.m. to allow Chairman Scarborough to participate in a conference call, and reconvened at 10:01 a.m.

POLICY BCC-24, RE: ACQUISITION OR EXCHANGE OF PROPERTY

Chairman Scarborough stated the next item concerns the acquisition or exchange of property; the Board has discussed this a number of times; and he met further with some members of staff.

Commissioner Carlson stated the Board needs to discuss when the Board’s authorization is needed to go forward and what that implies; and requested staff present the key issues it has concerns about.

Public Works Director Henry Minneboo stated one of the big concerns is often when doing a major project it is necessary to obtain an easement; and under the present guidelines, staff would have to come back to the Board to undertake that project; and it could mean a significant delay to the health, safety, and welfare of the public, and could be a time consuming element taking six to seven weeks. He stated if they did not have some assurances they could obtain the easement, or if it was denied for some reason or another, it could shut down a whole job to the point where they would have to remobilize. Chairman Scarborough inquired how much does it cost to stop in the middle of a project. Mr. Minneboo stated the projects they oversee are $100 million projects; and it could cost $200,000 to $300,000 sometimes because of demobilizing, remobilizing, and costs for traffic control devices. He stated on construction jobs it is not possible to anticipate everything that transpires; many of the ditches through subdivisions were not obtained through deeds; they require the people, when they build a new house, to dedicate that portion of the ditch to the public; and if they have to come back to the Board every time to do that, it could delay someone with a construction loan on a project two months, which is a significant issue. He stated it happens all the time because they are trying to clean up the ditches located within subdivisions; and it is a significant issue. He stated they are different in the road building business from anyone else; they do not have the privileges of saying they do not like the road where it is and suggesting it be put somewhere else; after it has gone through the process and they have to build or widen the road, they do not have any choices; they cannot pick another site or pick another road; and they will have major problems with this, which will be costly to the public.

Chairman Scarborough stated he sees the problem; if he owned a restaurant and needed more parking, he would not need it four miles away, but would need parking next to his restaurant; it would limit him tremendously; so even business people understand the problem. He stated it is not possible just to go out and buy cheap property; it is necessary to buy what is needed to accomplish a purpose; and widening a road or expanding parking for a restaurant are not that dissimilar. He stated it is the business purpose of the operation; and if it is necessary to do the project, the options become very limited. Mr. Minneboo stated in the road business, it is difficult; and Chairman Scarborough pointed out a good illustration.

Commissioner Higgs inquired if there is specific language staff is asking to be put into the policy; with Mr. Minneboo responding staff does not have specific language, but would like to modify the language to provide some kind of flexibility; and if the Board concurs, staff will get language as quickly as needed.

Commissioner Colon stated she understands the complexity of the issue; but she does not want to give Public Works an open checkbook, especially in these times; so staff needs to be sensitive to that because the Board has to be accountable. She stated she understands there are time constraints, and would support where Mr. Minneboo is coming from; but there has to be some kind of accountability so the information comes to the Board. She stated many times Mr. Jenkins comes to the Board to say something took place that was an emergency, and is being presented to the Board after the fact. She stated she would at least like to see it even if it is after the fact, not that it would do any good because the land would already be acquired; but at least there would be a record so if there was controversy, the Board would be able to show the land that was purchased and from whom it was purchased; and it is a matter of perception. She stated she does not mind as long as it comes to the Board after the fact so there is that communication and there is public information.

Commissioner Higgs stated if there was a notification period within a certain time period and with some dollar limit that might be approved by the County Manager, that is something the Board could entertain; but she cannot do it without specific language. She if she is given the details within certain parameters, she is willing to look at that.

Mr. Minneboo stated the Board has never given Public Works an open checkbook; the Board has been as tough on Public Works as anybody can be; staff has tried to provide the most information it possibly can; but it is constantly in litigation. He stated dealing with eminent domain is a significant issue; they are constantly dealing with the courts with issues relating to acquisition of land; and they are not sure the Board needs to know every specific thing, but if that is the Board’s desire, staff will provide that. He stated they are not asking for an open checkbook, and will give the information as it has in the past.

Chairman Scarborough stated this is not just a road issue; there was an issue with Parks and Recreation last week with encroachment on adjoining property; and there should be an opportunity to get the full analysis as part of the agenda package.

Commissioner Carlson stated if the Board is going to do that, which means it will have to come back again, it might want to look at the CIP. She stated the CIP is the five-year plan; and inquired if that information about the negotiation and acquisition of property in regard to the CIP needs to be clarified. She stated the County Manager makes the assumption that if the Board accepts the CIP, the negotiations and acquisitions can go forward; and inquired if that is how it has been done in the past. Mr. Jenkins stated once something is approved in the CIP, staff goes forward with the project; but with the new policy, it would need to come back to the Board. Commissioner Carlson stated the Board needs to make sure it is clarified; and inquired how donations will be handled. Chairman Scarborough stated with a donation, since there is no payment for it, an appraisal is not needed; and there could be methodologies to accept donations.

Commissioner Higgs stated the Board needs to accept them as part of the official record. Chairman Scarborough stated there may be a desire to have it as a concluded transaction more rapidly if someone is pulling a building permit. John Denninghoff of Public Works stated they frequently get donations to clear a cloud on a title; other times it is a ditch going through a property, and the owners wish to get rid of the liability associated with the ditch; and in other cases it is disposal of a piece of property that has been inherited, where the person inheriting it has no interest in the property and does not believe it to be of value to them, so they wish to donate it to the County. He stated typically when they received such a request, staff sends notice to various departments to evaluate the property to see if anyone is interested; and assuming a department is interested, under the old process, they would begin evaluating the property on a more thorough basis, including for example, an environmental assessment, title search, and survey, which would have associated expenses. He stated typically the expenses are rather limited; and the question would be how far can staff go on a donation basis for a piece of property that would potentially have value to a County department.

Commissioner Higgs suggested those parameters be outlined as part of the policy so the Board can discuss them. Mr. Jenkins stated staff will provide some proposed amendments that would allow for some of those. Commissioner Higgs inquired if there is a need for formal action; with Chairman Scarborough responding there was an understanding with the County Manager that this would come back to the Board, but that staff would start utilizing the policy even though it has not been concluded; and as the Board discusses it, it is being expanded by the dialogue. Mr. Jenkins stated Item E says, determination of value of the property to the County will be determined by the analysis of the benefits and the need for the acquisition or trade.

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to approve Policy BCC-24, Acquisition or Exchange of Property, with the understanding it may come back for further revisions. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

DISCUSSION, RE: REZONING APPLICATIONS AND FUNDED SCHOOL CAPACITY
IMPROVEMENTS

Attorney Richard Amari stated their expert Fran Pickett is present as requested by the Board; and they are here to answer questions in connection with consideration of this issue.

Zoning Official Rick Enos stated the purpose of this consideration is to look at the current policy on dealing with rezoning applications, particularly residential rezoning applications that expect to generate some additional demand for school capacity; the Board’s policy is when reviewing a rezoning application, the Board looks at the current school capacity to see if there is any available capacity; and this issue came up because of the zoning application Mr. Amari is representing, where he presented information that the School Board had approved funding for new school capacity. He advised the Board has not yet developed a policy on how to deal with funded capacity that is not yet constructed; so the Board has set aside time during this meeting to consider that issue in general, prior to reconsidering the specific zoning action later this week.

Ed Curry, representing the School Board, stated at the present time the plan is to replace the relocatable portable classrooms with permanent structures; so the discussion is around what will be the permanent building capacity of a school site when the portables are replaced with permanent construction; and that is what they are trying to achieve in the next year and a half.

Chairman Scarborough inquired if the school capacity issue passes as an amendment to the State Constitution, what would that mean to the School Board and the capacity issues; with Mr. Curry responding he does not know; they are waiting for some direction from the Department of Education (DOE), but DOE cannot tell them at the present time; so they are waiting to see what passes, and then will look to see the impact to the School District. Chairman Scarborough inquired if that would compel many portables to meet the constitutional requirement until additional classrooms could be built; with Mr. Curry responding that would be the short-term solution to the problem of reducing class size. Mr. Curry stated if the amendment passes, they would need to replace the relocatables over time with permanent capacity. Chairman Scarborough stated whatever the Board does could be drastically changed in response to the School Board’s response to the constitutional amendment; with Mr. Curry concurring.

Commissioner Carlson inquired with the permanent construction of the portables, what does that do to the status of a given school in terms of its permanent capacity and infrastructure capacity. Mr. Curry responded they are replacing the portables, which are not necessarily acceptable to the public, with permanent classroom buildings; but as far as infrastructure such as food service and media centers, since at the present time they are taking care of the students, replacing portables with permanent capacity will not cause them any more discomfort than they have today, although that is not solving the inequity problem. Commissioner Carlson inquired is it really solving the overcrowding issue and the inequity of not having the basic infrastructure needs there for a larger population that is being established by making the portables permanent; and if a particular school is already overcrowded, does it change the status of it or not. Mr. Curry responded the overcrowding deals with student stations, so it does not change the status; and he calculates the 20% overcrowding capacity issue based on permanent classroom student stations. Commissioner Carlson stated because they are being made permanent does not mean there is not an overcrowding issue; there is still the same problem as when they started; and they are just being made permanent because of the health and safety issues that have arisen from the fact that they are portables.
Mr. Curry stated there may be an overcrowding issue in the cafeteria, media center, or library, which do not carry student stations, so if there was an overcrowding definition, it would be dealing with overcrowding of classroom spaces only.

Commissioner Higgs stated the School Board has a Certificate of Participation (COP) issue that has been negotiated and is on the approval list. Mr. Curry advised it has been approved and funded; and he has the money and is moving forward with the process. Commissioner Higgs inquired if with few alterations it will be implemented in two or three years. Mr. Curry stated he will have all the work completed except for one school by August 2003; they are changing Palm Bay High School because they are considering a different function; and probably additional classrooms will be funded separately from the COP’s, but that is the only major change. Commissioner Higgs inquired if when the School Board sends information on the schools, it sends student stations; with Mr. Curry responding that is correct. Commissioner Higgs inquired if the student stations include the portables today; with Mr. Curry responding the County gets both pieces of information, permanent student stations and relocatable student stations. Commissioner Higgs inquired if once the Board builds the new building, will it be permanent student stations; with Mr. Curry responding that is correct, and the portables should drop off on a one-to-one basis. Commissioner Higgs inquired if the student stations would be filled by the young people who are already there; with Mr. Curry responding that is correct. Commissioner Higgs stated the number the County gets will be reflective of the new building and the students who are already there; with Mr. Curry responding the membership and the capacity data will be the same.

Commissioner Carlson inquired if the legislation that required putting permanent structures requires that the District not be allowed to add portables again; with Mr. Curry responding no, the District can continue to add portables forever, but they have to be of a new construction type and they have begun that process by purchasing ten new type-4 portables, which are legal forever. Chairman Carlson inquired are those similar to the ones being made permanent at different locations currently; with Mr. Curry responding they are smaller in size, are a 30 to 40-year unit that does not have many architectural features, but they are functional. Commissioner Carlson inquired if what is being built now are permanent structures; with Mr. Curry responding that is correct, they are permanent, not relocatable structures. Commissioner Carlson inquired if the ones Mr. Curry is talking about coming online are relocatable; with Mr. Curry responding no, they are 186 permanent building additions. Commissioner Carlson stated she is talking about the other ten; with Mr. Curry advising the other ten are portables that can be picked up and moved around.

Chairman Scarborough stated the Board had a joint meeting with the School Board; he walked away with the feeling he wanted more direction from those who are directly involved in education; and he does not try to figure out educational quality issues because he is torn. He stated on one side they are being asked to go to a smaller class size, and everybody agrees with smaller class sizes; but inquired if the libraries and media centers are overcrowded, has the quality of education been lessened. He stated within this educational discussion, it would be helpful to the Board if it had additional direction from the School Board as to what it envisions as educational policies; when talking about concurrency or any other issue of growth management, it should be with the long-range goal of improving quality of life for citizens; but it is defined in multiple ways in education. He stated they are looking at the number of students impacting a media center or something of this nature as opposed to the whole area of quality of education; and some advice from the School Board would be helpful. Mr. Curry stated every five years the District is required to do an educational plant survey; the study is brought to the School Board with a recommended funding package; and the last one was approved in March 2002, which identified the District’s needs including those that will accommodate growth and resolve inequities. He stated the total value of that recommendation was $367 million; at the present time there is funding for less than $22 million; so basically the unfunded by the State is close to $350 million, which is why they applied for and received from the State a waiver that says over the next five years the District can spend the monies it has to do whatever it wants. He stated the decision to go forward with the COP initiative was the first initiative to do what the District needs to replace portable classrooms.

Commissioner Colon expressed appreciation to Mr. Curry for coming to the Board to explain this issue; stated the decisions the Board makes create a huge impact in the schools; and that is why communication is critical. She stated she has been trying to get some feedback about whether the School Board would be able to appoint someone to serve on the Local Planning Agency (LPA); the Board wants to create that partnership; politically the School Board and staff probably do not want to get involved in controversy; but the reality is the Board is about to set policy, and she would be more comfortable making decisions with the feedback from the School Board. She stated the dialogue is critical, although she knows it is a bit uncomfortable; and she wanted to get feedback in regard to the question that was sent out to the School Board about having someone as part of the LPA. Mr. Curry stated he and the School Board Attorney will be presenting a recommendation to the School Board on its options relative to being a voting member; he has a feeling he is probably going to be the appointee; and that issue should be totally understood and approved by the first of the year, maybe sooner.

Commissioner Higgs stated the Board needs to focus on the particular issue in terms of how it is going to deal with rezonings and Comprehensive Plan issues that come before it; the Board’s authority and ability to act are not in regard to concurrency, but in regard to the Comprehensive Plan; so the Board needs to be careful that it is dealing with Comprehensive Plan issues only and not with actual building permit or concurrency issues. She stated there is a difference the Board needs to be careful about; the Comprehensive Plan talks about the ability to provide the necessary infrastructure; it is not talking about class sizes or things like that, but there is a reference to school sizes; and the Board has talked about adequate school stations. She stated the Board needs to be careful about getting wrapped up in the constitutional amendment or other things; it needs to narrowly focus on how to handle the planning issue; and to do that, the best bet is to look at the existing Comprehensive Plan as to what the School Board has funded at this point. She stated the School Board has a COP plan that it is implementing; Mr. Curry indicates that with the exception of one school, it will be completed in the Summer of 2003; and that is what the Board should use as its planning horizon. She stated going beyond that gets the Board into concurrency or falling in that direction; and the Board is not lawfully able to do that that, although she supports concurrency and has previously urged that, but without the support of the cities, the County cannot do that. She stated the Board can go to the planning; it has been successful in court in regard to the application of that; so it has to look at what it needs to do in the Comprehensive Plan if there is any increased language. She stated the School Board’s funding is in place; that should be used in the Board’s planning; that helps with part of it; but she is still concerned about how to deal with the numbers concerning what will be the impact to the new school of choice on Merritt Island High School; and those numbers are harder to predict, although there has been a prediction by an expert and a prediction from the School Board. She stated the Board needs to focus on those issues; and replacing the portables does not get past the student station issue, although it is meaningful to the quality of the schools.

Commissioner Carlson stated that is her concern; she is trying to look for justification to move off the current policy; but she is not seeing anything based on what the School Board is recommending in terms of altering where children go to school. She stated in the Suntree area, Suntree and Ralph Williams Elementary are both overcrowded; based on what she heard from Fran Pickett and the recommendations of the School Board as to redistricting, children are going to Sea Park and Holland Elementary Schools to take up unused student stations; but that still does not do anything to the overcrowded schools that exist. She stated she is having a hard time in terms of the timing; and inquired when is it known that a school is going to be built and that children are going to be going to that school, and will not be in an overcrowded situation for more than a year or so. She stated Suntree has been stuck with overcrowded schools for quite a few years now; when they opened their doors, they were overcrowded; but there is still choice and other things in place that the School Board is not interested in changing. She stated she hears parents saying the school is still overcrowded, and requesting the Board not allow development to keep occurring if the schools are still overcrowded. She stated some understandable plan of attack is needed for those areas that have overcrowded schools so the Board can best apply its planning strategies to that, working hand-in-hand with the School Board to make it all make sense; right now she cannot fit the pieces together well enough to have it make sense; and inquired if there is any issue with the current policy, and is it the best policy or does it need to be changed. Mr. Curry commented on the complexity of the planning process; advised he spoke to the Board approximately 17 months ago; and stated there are options available when there is an overcrowded situation. He stated the first thing that can be done is to cap the enrollment of the school, which is difficult. Commissioner Carlson inquired if that has been done in some places; with Mr. Curry responding yes, in a few schools. Mr. Curry stated other options would be boundary changes and adding or deleting classrooms; and that is being done by adding permanent space to the schools and new construction. He stated programs can be relocated; special programs may be offered where there is excess capacity; but again that is a hard issue. He stated special programs can be eliminated that penalize the school district for their utilization of space according to the space standards; that is like a special education program for ten children that is in a classroom with capacity for 20; that is penalizing 50%; and it is difficult because the population is not where one wants it. He stated another option is multi-track extended school days; and floating teachers is also a very exciting activity at the school level. He stated the last thing is to build new schools; and those are the things they look at every year when they are trying to figure out what to do with the population expected to be coming to the schools in August. He stated the Student Accommodation Plan is actively started in October and November based on the October head count; all the decisions are made public by April so parents know where their children are going to go to school; when a school is under construction, they do a major boundary change in the area; and that occurs right after Christmas. Commissioner Carlson stated the County has been communicating for years on the future land use and that sort of thing; and inquired what proactive measures does the School Board take to look at the map where residential communities are obviously going to be defined and purchase property before the residential properties are developed. Mr. Curry stated over the past several years, the School Board has not been proactive in the area of acquiring property for anticipated growth in neighborhoods. Commissioner Carlson inquired has that ever been considered, given the over-capacity issues that are being discussed; with Mr. Curry responding not at the present time, but it will have to be considered as the School Board goes through its capital planning project. He stated there are some very serious problems in the West Melbourne area; there is not a lot of land available to purchase; and the School Board will have to come back with some kind of plan. Commissioner Carlson inquired if Mr. Curry would agree the land would be available now in an area where there is an expectation for residential development versus waiting for the residential development to occur and then looking for a school site. Mr. Curry stated there is a very positive situation in the Viera area because land is available and has been identified; there is land the School Board owns in the Palm Bay area where it could build schools if needed; but in North Brevard, there is little land, if any, that could be used for future growth. He noted there are some pockets in the Melbourne-West Melbourne area where there has been some difficulty.

Commissioner Colon stated it is not just a matter of land, but how much it costs to build the school; and that is what some do not understand. She stated people think the land is the issue where developers have been willing to give the land, but that is not the issue; the point is it costs $10 to $15 million to build a school; and that is why today’s discussion is critical. She stated there are developers who are trying to come before the Board to rezone; they have been sharing that some schools will have extensions; and it is important for this discussion to take place. She stated when she spoke to the people at Merritt Island Redevelopment Agency, she told them she was not quite comfortable because she had not heard from the School Board about solving the inequities; and she wants to give Ms. Pickett an opportunity to speak about what she found so there can be better understanding, although Ms. Pickett may not have been aware of the fact that these were going to be replacement portables.

Fran Pickett stated it is her understand the County’s zoning applications are not based on student stations available at a site, but on permanent student stations at a site; and if she is incorrect, she needs to be corrected because there is not a problem if it is based on student stations available because portable student stations are student stations. She stated her understanding is that the County’s planning is based on permanent student stations, so by converting portable student stations to permanent student stations, it is increasing significantly the permanent capacity of the school. She inquired if that makes sense; with Commissioner Colon responding yes, but by the time the school is opened, the school is already at full capacity, so how is that solving anything. Commissioner Colon stated the Board is not trying to stop growth, but to do smart growth; and outlined the example of the San Filipo Apartment complex in Palm Bay and Columbia Elementary. She inquired if the formula that is being applied makes any difference concerning the issue Ms. Pickett had before the Board, and does it change anything. Commissioner Carlson stated the point Ms. Pickett was making in terms of making a difference in the permanent numbers is that if the Board is looking in its Comprehensive Plan, it says 940 permanent stations and it is overcrowded by 120%; there are portables that are taking up that 20%, but by making them permanent, that number increases to approximately 1,020 permanent stations; and it gives the impression it is no longer overcrowded when it really is because it is pressing the current infrastructure. She stated it is a way to get around the permanent sort of thing; however it does not alleviate the fact that more portables can be added, which still adds to the problem of overcrowding. She stated she understands trying to qualify the permanent nature of the schools in terms of the classroom setting; they are working off a permanent number based on the Comprehensive Plan, which is 940; but the Plan has not been changed, and it is still based on 940. Ms. Pickett stated the Board needs to recognize when the State provides a report on overcrowding, it does not take into consideration some core capacity issues that the Board is talking about; so as far as the State is concerned, capacity requirements have been met if there are student stations. She advised one of the issues that is generated by student stations is auditoriums; if there are no auditoriums in the County in new schools, technically the core capacity, i.e. auditoriums, is not adequate; but the State is not going to make the District build auditoriums. She stated if lunchrooms are crowded, it is solved by having four lunch periods; so the State does not actually tell the District it is overcrowded because of core capacity, which gets into more issues.

Mr. Curry stated Tropical Elementary School is one of the schools being talked about; it has 809 permanent student stations and another 167 student stations in 8 portables for a total of 976; it has a membership of 847; so it is overcrowded because it only has 809 permanent student stations. He stated when he builds additions, they will add 200 more student stations; therefore, the permanent capacity will go to 1,009 in 2003 and out for the next three to four years. He stated the District can look for the school to continue to have available permanent capacity to deal with the projections put forward for the next five years; and that applies to all the schools.

Commissioner Higgs stated she understands those numbers; that makes sense in terms of how the math works; and inquired how does the math work on Melbourne High School where, according to COP projections, there will be building to get a total of 1,997 student stations.

Discussion ensued on Melbourne High School, and new and old COP issues.

Zoning Official Rick Enos stated the two projects were from a previous COP. Mr. Curry stated they rolled the old COP’s into the new one, so those projects would not be included, and Melbourne High was renovated with COP dollars. Mr. Enos stated on page 15 are the schools that have been approved under the 2002 projects; and the top two projects are from a previous COP, and have already been done.

Commissioner Higgs stated there are 2,300-plus students at Melbourne High; even with the improvements that were previously done, there is great difficulty with the infrastructure; and inquired what measurement could the Board use in addition to student stations to give the real picture. She stated her son goes to Melbourne High School; she sees people everywhere there; and she understands the issues. She stated there are children in a variety of schools starting lunch at 10:30 a.m. who will probably be real hungry by the end of the day; and inquired what is a meaningful statistic the Board can use to get at those issues. Ms. Pickett responded no School Board member or Facilities Department employee would say they have solved the high school problem; the first step in solving Merritt Island High School’s problems was opening the Edgewood School of choice; she has children at Satellite High, and that school has not solved its problems; and there is a proposed new high school at Viera that is yet unfunded. She stated it is necessary to look on a case-by-case basis at schools and the funded improvements and see whether they relieve overcrowding; and if the Board’s standard is permanent capacity, it can use the same thing. Commissioner Higgs stated that is the only standard the Board has right now; but what she is asking is whether there is meaningful criteria that she can fold into the student stations to get at the infrastructure issue, and is there something the Board does not know that can be measured. Ms. Pickett stated Orange County has done an extensive study of what it calls program capacity; Brevard County has done some of that; Mr. Curry has a handle on some of those issues and can tell why schools are underutilized; and if the Board chooses, it could apply those program capacity standards instead of student stations. Commissioner Higgs inquired if program capacity would get to the issue of cafeterias and libraries; with Ms. Pickett responding yes, but then it would conflict with the Legislature, which is trying to use objective numbers. Ms. Pickett advised the Legislature is saying the buildings should be utilized to the ultimate benefit of the taxpayers who have spent money on the buildings; a high school should be used at 95% capacity; a school on block scheduling may have classes that are four block periods a day, and a classroom is empty for one period a day, so that would only be 75% capacity; and the State does not recognize that. She stated the State says a teacher should be moved to the room during the empty period because that is responsible spending of taxpayer money. Commissioner Carlson stated if that was the case, there would be year-round school. Ms. Pickett advised the Educational Plant Survey has a table in the back showing what the impact would be of year-round school; and they could pass a rule next year that says no new schools until everything is year-round, although they are not going to do that. Chairman Scarborough stated when the Board met with the School Board, at least one member suggested that as an option; the trouble is some of these things can be discussed in a technical sense, but put in a political environment, all of sudden is it disrupting families, and there is a totally new dimension. Ms. Pickett stated the State has not mandated that, but does limit the ability to build new student stations based on 95% or 90% utilization; since Brevard County is under waiver, it is allowed to use the buildings differently; but when the waiver expires, it is going to be harder. She stated the State allows five-year projections, and allows building out to that five-year number; and that is what the whole plan is about; but Brevard County wants to build in different places than the five-year plan says is needed, so it was able to address the elementary schools thoroughly, and almost every portable on elementary campuses will go away. She stated high schools and in the future middle schools will be a problem because they have not funded those improvements yet; but they are in the five-year plan.

Commissioner Higgs stated there was an article in the newspaper about Florida being a donor state in regard to transportation issues; for every dollar it sends to Washington, it gets 87 cents back; and inquired if Brevard County is a donor county in regard to schools. Ms. Pickett responded no; the two-mill money stays in the County, and for the other portion of the tax levy, the County gets back more from the State than it gives. Commissioner Higgs inquired if that is Mr. Curry’s estimation; with Mr. Curry responding yes. Commissioner Higgs inquired if Brevard County is not a donor County; with Mr. Curry responding he does not believe so. Ms. Pickett stated high property tax counties like Collier County are donor counties; but there is an equalization formula; and Brevard County is on the receiving side of that.

Chairman Scarborough stated Commissioner Higgs commented the Board needs to look at what it is doing; and he takes exception to that. He stated the gubernatorial race is hovering around many educational issues; a number of statistics show that Florida is near the bottom of the list; the Growth Management Act was amended by the Legislature to require joint planning; and there is a constitutional amendment that is going to throw the world into chaos if it passes. He stated he cannot deal with these issues in a rational sense knowing the world around him is going to change; and with that in mind, the Board should hold everything in abeyance until there is a better idea after the November election of the direction the State plans to take, and after there is more joint planning with the School Board. He stated the Board will need to respond to the School Board’s direction in a fuller sense after that occurs; there are things before the Board today; but it would behoove the Board to hold everything in abeyance until after November 5, 2002. Commissioner Carlson inquired if that means staying with the current policy; with Chairman Scarborough responding affirmatively. Commissioner Higgs stated the current policy is it is either there or it is not, and does not take into consideration what may be. Chairman Scarborough stated option 3 is the current policy, and it says only existing school design capacity, and does not get into what may be because that all may change in November. Commissioner Carlson stated she agrees; with Commissioner Colon advising she supports the current policy. Commissioner Carlson stated until the Board gets more information, she does not see any reason to change the way the Board is applying the policy when doing rezonings in terms of increased density; and it is based on the Comprehensive Plan now. Chairman Scarborough stated the Board can always change it in November, which is just a month away. Commissioner Higgs stated the Board has staff working to make some refinements and improvements in the Comprehensive Plan that it will consider down the road. Commissioner Carlson stated she does not know how long the Board had this policy in place, but option 2 is to put together binding development plans for folks who want to add capacity to a particular school, making sure the building permits will not be issued until the additional capacity is available; and that is stringing people along. She stated the Board needs to find out exactly what it is in for once November comes, and then define it after that point. Chairman Scarborough stated staff needs to be involved, but it could be that this is a totally different educational policy; people are responding to terrible statistics being shown in the media; they are not going to stand to have an awful State as far as educational capacity, and will demand more; and it is going to revolutionize a lot of thoughts. He stated they are to implement the overall good of education for young people; and this is a part of the formula.

County Attorney Scott Knox stated if the Board is going to send this back to staff, there are several statutory options that have not been discussed that may be available; and the Board might want an analysis of those options. Chairman Scarborough stated staff can provide a memo and give more information.

Commissioner Higgs stated she does not think the people of Florida want to be 49th of 50 states; and the Board is in a position to assist the School Board if it would institute impact fees for schools. Chairman Scarborough stated that is not in the memo. Commissioner Higgs stated the Board is talking about a broad policy; and she would be willing to put the issue of school impact fees back on the agenda. She noted the School Board never requested the Board do that; but it is within the power of the Board to help in building more classrooms and make it a better situation; so she is going to put that back on the agenda. She stated she is happy to go along with not addressing this until after November; but even in November, the Board may not know how it will all shake out; and if the Board is serious about building schools and making education better, it needs to step up to school impact fees.

Commissioner Carlson inquired if there was some charge against school impact fees being constitutional, and what is the status of that issue. Commissioner Higgs stated they removed the moratorium. Planning and Zoning Director Mel Scott advised school impact fees are valid. Commissioner Carlson stated she understands that, but normally the Board would go to the School Board to ask if it would be willing to do that; but the Board has the authority. Commissioner Higgs stated the Board has the full authority on all impact fees, and does not need a super-majority vote. Commissioner Colon inquired if Commissioner Higgs could wait until after November to bring the issue forward regarding impact fees; with Commissioner Higgs responding it will take her some time to get an agenda item together.

Chairman Scarborough stated the Board will have staff reports prepared and circulated, so when this comes to the Board after November, it will have a heads up; and if the Board wishes to conclude this matter it may want to proceed with option 3, to not change the policy at the current time.

Motion by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Colon, to approve Option 3, no change to current policy and continue to consider only existing school design capacity when considering rezoning applications. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

Planning and Zoning Director Mel Scott advised there has been a request by people with interest in this item to table the item for two weeks.

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to table consideration of exempting first floor parking for single-family homes from provisions of the Zoning Code for two weeks. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

AGREEMENT WITH CIRCLES OF CARE, INC. RE: BAKER ACT SERVICES

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to execute Agreement with Circles of Care, Inc. to provide Baker Act Services from October 1, 2002 through September 30, 2003 at $1,251,223. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

WAIVER OF SURVEYS, RE: FARM AND GROVE REALTY, INC., EDWARD C. TIETIG, AND
THE TIETIG-4 LAND TRUST PROPERTY CLOSINGS

Motion by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Colon, to waive survey requirements for properties owned by Farm & Grove Realty, Inc., Edward C. Tietig, and the Tietig-4 Land Trust. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

APPOINTMENTS, RE: LOCAL HEALTH COUNCIL OF EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Colon, to appoint Robert A. Klaus, Dianne Marcum, and Brian Lynch to the Local Health Council of East Central Florida. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

Motion by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Higgs, to recess as the Board of County Commissioners and convene as the governing body of the Barefoot Bay Water and Sewer District. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

EASEMENT AGREEMENT WITH BAREFOOT BAY RECREATION DISTRICT AND
BAREFOOT BAY WATER AND SEWER DISTRICT, RE: TOWER GUY WIRE
MAINTENANCE

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to execute Easement Agreement with the Board of County Commissioners and Barefoot Bay Recreation District, to operate an antenna tower on the District’s property. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Colon, to adjourn as the Barefoot Bay Water and Sewer District, and reconvene as the Board of County Commissioners. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

DISCUSSION, RE: RATE IMPACTS OF UTILITY REVENUE BOND REFINANCING

Water Resources Director Richard Martens stated the Board approved the sale of some Utility Revenue Bonds on August 27, 2002 in anticipation of approximately $300,000 in savings; and on September 9, 2002 the sale was completed, and they realized a savings of approximately $420,000 a year in debt service payments. He stated the Board asked for a report on the impacts of the refinancing on the Department’s water and sewer rates; the $420,000 equals approximately 2.1% of the service fee revenues; in terms of the average water/sewer customer in the County that equates to approximately 64 cents a month; however, because the bonds were sold based on the current financial situations and the sale of the bonds to the ultimate buyers will not happen for several more months, it is not advisable to change the County’s rate structure at this time because there would be disclosure requirements; and changing the ratio of revenue to expenses may also impact the amount of savings. He stated the County’s Financial Advisor Mr. Moore is present today if anyone wishes to have the specifics.

Commissioner Carlson stated there is a savings of $420,000 per year; and inquired are the bonds paid off in 2011; with Mr. Martens responding 2014. Commissioner Carlson inquired what is the standard procedure once the bonds are paid off for those dollars. Mr. Martens responded these were 30-year bonds; the County is 18 years into the bonds; and his whole life in Brevard County has been with those bonds, so there is no procedure. He stated running the numbers out, when the bonds are paid off, the debt service will probably equal approximately a debt service payment that they are making now; and $8 million a year would equal approximately 20% of the revenue. Commissioner Carlson inquired when the County has retired the bonds, what will that leave in terms of discretionary dollars; with Mr. Martens responding it would be approximately $8 million a year if the rates are left alone. Commissioner Carlson inquired if there are specific projects that sewer lines could be run to in areas where there are septic tanks; with Mr. Martens responding there are areas that have expressed interest in receiving water and sewer lines extended to them that have not been able to fund them. Commissioner Carlson stated she was thinking of public benefit from the savings of not having to pay the debt; and if those dollars could be used to run sewer where there are currently septic tanks, that would protect the Lagoon. She stated there are a lot of issues with the Lagoon that the County has not been able to deal with because it has not had the money; and inquired if there is any planning in that regard. Mr. Martens stated the policy of the Board is that benefited properties pay for their own improvements; so there is no plan to take utility funding and use it to extend service in areas not currently served. County Manager Tom Jenkins advised that is primarily because everyone else paid for his or her services. Commissioner Carlson stated she was trying to think of a way to benefit the public good by helping with the septic tank issues the County has been having for years and years in regard to the Indian River Lagoon projects and things like that. Mr. Jenkins stated existing customers would be paying for sewer lines in someone else’s neighborhood; it would be necessary to look at capital project needs; Mr. Martens is paying cash as much as he can for capital projects; and he would continue to look at projects within the existing system or he might be in a position to lower rates.

Motion by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Colon, to accept the report on rate impacts of utility revenue bond refinancing and take no action to implement reduction of fees paid by customers. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

AGREEMENT TO EXTEND EXISTING CONTRACTS WITH CLEANNET OF CENTRAL
FLORIDA, RE: JANITORIAL SERVICES

County Manager Tom Jenkins stated this is to extend the custodial Contract while staff brings the RFP back to the Board.

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Colon, to execute Agreements to Extend Existing Contracts with CleanNet of Central Florida, Inc. until October 31, 2002. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

APPROVAL, RE: COST OF LIVING AND MERIT INCREASES FOR FY 2002-03

Motion by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Colon, to approve the methodology as proposed in the FY 2002-2003 budget for awarding cost of living and merit increases to permanent non-bargaining unit personnel, effective November 23, 2002, at 2% or 35 cents per hour, whichever is greater, for COLA, and 1% or 20 cents per hour, whichever is greater for merit increases for employees who have a satisfactory performance evaluation score of 2.50 or greater; authorize the Human Resources Director to adjust minimum pay grade by 2% and maximum pay grade by 3%; and allow employees eligible for merit increases be given the option of receiving it or comparable annual leave of 21 hours annually awarded during the first pay period in January on an annual basis. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

GRANT-IN-AID AGREEMENT WITH OFFICE OF THE STATE COURTS ADMINISTRATOR,
RE: CIVIL TRAFFIC INFRACTION

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to execute Grant-in-Aid Agreement with the Office of the State Courts Administrator for up to $23,907 for expenses currently approved in FY 2002-03 relating to the Civil Traffic Hearing Officer Program. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

CITIZEN REQUEST, RE: LANIADO DRIVEWAY

County Attorney Scott Knox stated there have been negotiations and plans have been prepared, which are now in the process of being revised by Mr. Spielvogel’s client.

Laraine Scoma, representing the Flora Beach Homeowners, stated this has been an ongoing situation for two years; the Board voted unanimously to have the dangerous driveway closed off in April; but negotiations did not even begin until August because Mr. Laniado was unable to be contacted to inform him of the decision of the Board. She stated they have been living with the dangerous driveway; the Board has seen photos; and her concern is that Mr. Laniado has not done a good job with the construction. She stated staff has given him a number of allowances with the development; he was off by five feet on the rear property line, and staff gave a variance; so now there is a big building on a smaller parcel. She stated Mr. Moia advised he did not hold their feet to the fire when he gave their CO over the fact that their sidewalk that runs along Harris Boulevard is actually encroaching on public right-of-way; and she has spoken to Assistant County Attorney Eden Bentley. She requested staff bring the site plan into focus to compare the previous dimensions with what they are now because Mr. Laniado’s building is not all on his own property. She stated they cannot just close the driveway because it is going to be on his property, and it would be trespassing, which is against the law; so they are in negotiations. She stated every time they come in with some kind of agreement, Mr. Laniado comes back for more things. She advised they have proposed to give him a secondary driveway instead of the one-way driveway onto Harris Boulevard, when that is closed; and they thought everything was okay and that he was going to agree. She stated she was assured that things were going well; but Mr. Laniado’s latest correspondence through Mr. Spielvogel was that he thought it was going to be a two-way driveway, so now he is not happy. She stated the paperwork shows staff may recommend in answer to that. including waivers of parking and landscaping; Mr. Laniado has not met the landscaping requirements as there is no landscape buffer onto Harris Boulevard; and commented on spillover of neon lighting into homes. She stated he wants the right to reopen the Harris Boulevard entrance if DOT closed the new driveway, reserving the County’s right to take appropriate action if DOT revokes it; and the driveway is not even closed yet, but Mr. Laniado is already back to reopening it. She stated Mr. Laniado was not happy with all the costs for legal fees; so he wants his attorney’s fees paid by the County; Assistant County Manager Peggy Busacca requested a figure and advised she did not know how the staff would react; Ms. Busacca told Mr. Spielvogel the County would not recommend in favor of indemnification; and inquired how much more is the County going to give Mr. Laniado. She inquired why the Board is afraid of Mr. Laniado suing the County; and why did it not close the driveway and let Mr. Laniado sue. She stated Mr. Laniado does not live here, does not pay taxes here, and does not vote here; he is a totally disinterested party and an absentee landlord; but she lives there right at that corner. She stated last week there was almost a head-on collision; children go to the bus stop and have to deal with the dangerous corner; Mr. Laniado is using County decisions against the Board because it does not want to be sued; but the Board also does not want to lose a life at this location.

Attorney Leonard Spielvogel, representing Mr. Laniado, stated his client went through the process, obtained site plan approval, and in reliance on the fact that there was an access on Harris Boulevard, which is a County street, entered into at least one Lease Agreement with a tenant, which requires a second entrance. He stated they need a second entrance to the center; and described problems with trucks making deliveries or picking up waste. He stated the County is not afraid of being sued, so that is not an issue. He stated he came into the representation because the Board had acted to close the access on Harris Boulevard; his client was not given notice; and when Mr. Laniado was informed, he engaged his services. He stated he has been negotiating with Assistant County Attorney Eden Bentley, and has been acting in good faith; his client agrees to the access on A1A being one-way only; and explained how that was his problem because he described the new access as being mirror image, and no one contradicted him until last week. He stated when he was told no, that DOT wants it limited to one-way, his client was agreeable; but there are concerns about being able to move the traffic within the project. He stated in reference to landscaping and parking, they meet the County’s requirements; but with the new access on A1A, one or two trees will be eliminated; and he is concerned about violation of the Landscaping Ordinance. He stated closing the access on Harris Boulevard and opening the new one on A1A may mean losing one or two parking spaces, which means they will be below the County requirement; and he wants to be sure the County will waive the requirements as far as the number of the parking spaces. He stated he has a concern that if DOT at a later date closed the A1A access, that they not be precluded from opening up the Harris Boulevard access, to maintain the contractual obligations to the tenants. He stated that is a reasonable request; everything he and Ms. Bentley agreed to will have to go back to his client, just as it has to go to the Board; and that takes time. He stated good traffic management would dictate that if a cut was put in the median on Harris Boulevard, that would solve the problem; that would not necessarily be acceptable to the people in the subdivision; but that is good traffic management according to his traffic consultant and the County. He stated as long as they can open the access on A1A, they are willing to close the Harris Boulevard access to accommodate the people in the subdivision; and DOT is willing to allow that to happen. He stated no one is stalling; it is a matter of time to accomplish things; and they are moving in that direction.

Commissioner Colon inquired if Mr. Laniado is agreeing to close the access on Harris Boulevard; with Mr. Spielvogel responding that is correct. Commissioner Colon stated there is more discussion in regard to the second entrance from A1A , and Mr. Spielvogel expressed concern over the Landscaping Ordinance; and inquired if this is something staff handles administratively or does the Board have to give direction today. Assistant County Manager Peggy Busacca stated the intent was when this agreement came forward, it would include an agenda item for the Board to waive the parking spaces that would have been deleted and allow the landscaping, as modified, to be approved. Commissioner Colon stated Mr. Spielvogel is also talking about the future and if DOT does not allow the A1A entrance, that puts the issue back in danger. She stated she would not want to have to open that can of worms in the future; and inquired is that a deal breaker. She stated she knows the decision cannot be made today; this is just a discussion; and everything needs to be squared away by the attorneys; but she would like to have an idea about where Mr. Spielvogel and his client are coming from. Mr. Spielvogel stated they need a second entrance in order to meet the obligations to the tenants and to move traffic within the project; he does not know that DOT will ever change its mind, but if at some future date it decides to close the A1A entrance, then they will need to see about opening the Harris Boulevard access. He stated at that time he would come back to the Board; it is a possibility, although he thinks it is unlikely; but if it happened, he would come back with his traffic consultant and show the Board why opening up Harris Boulevard and cutting the median to allow proper traffic flow would make good traffic sense. He stated he would like to think that would not happen; and commented on the new layout requiring relocation of a power pole. He stated it is expensive to move an FP&L pole, and takes a long time to get the approvals; and he spoke to Attorney Bentley to see if they could move that entrance enough to avoid the power pole relocation because the County will bear the expense.

Commissioner Colon inquired again if it would be a deal breaker; and stated it is a gamble she does not want to take. She commented on liability if someone is killed at the location; stated everyone is aware of the danger; and the County would be negligent to allow the entrance and exit to exist from Harris Boulevard. She stated they want to do whatever it takes to be able to work with Mr. Laniado in regard to the entrance and exit from A1A. Mr. Spielvogel stated silence can be taken as acquiescence; he does not agree there is a dangerous situation on Harris Boulevard that cannot be remedied by cutting a median and following good traffic practice; he is not aware of an imminent danger on Harris even as it exists today; and inquired if there are people violating the traffic laws by going the wrong way on a one-way street, has anyone called the Sheriff’s Department; with Commissioner Colon responding yes. Mr. Spielvogel inquired if the sheriff has gone out there and given tickets. Commissioner Colon stated all those things have happened; she is not ready to go into that issue because it is very lengthy; and the Board already voted unanimously to close the access from Harris Boulevard. She stated she wants to be fair to Mr. Spielvogel’s client and do everything in the Board’s power to accommodate Mr. Laniado; but Harris Boulevard access is not even up for discussion. She stated they will have to continue the discussion on A1A; they are not getting anywhere today; and she just wanted to bring it to the Board’s attention. She stated the Board will not be taking action today; but the residents wanted to have an opportunity to speak.

Chairman Scarborough inquired when was the previous vote taken; with Commissioner Colon responding April. Chairman Scarborough stated he would like to have this put on the agenda even if it does not come back as a formal item; April is a long time ago; and inquired if there is a time when this can be concluded. Ms. Busacca stated she spoke with Attorney Bentley, who was hoping negotiations would be concluded this month and an agreement would come to the Board in November. Chairman Scarborough suggested scheduling it for the first week in November, and if it is not concluded, it can be defined why.

SPEED HUMP REQUESTS, RE: AINSWORTH AVENUE AND BUTTONWOOD DRIVE

Commissioner Higgs stated she pulled the items, not because she is opposed, but at some point the Board needs to look at the issue of how it is handling speed bumps. She stated each of the items costs over $4,000; she does not know any of the MSTU’s that are not in need of additional funds for paving and other projects; and requested staff do a report for the Board on how it might have those people who want this enhanced level of service pay for it, rather than it coming out of the MSTU.

Commissioner O'Brien stated he understands but the charge is for health, welfare, and safety of the public; on the Buttonwood Drive item, of 126 lots, 95 indicated approval of the speed hump installation; and looking at the map, one can see why there is a serious problem. Commissioner Higgs stated she thought Commissioner O'Brien was against speed humps; with Commissioner O'Brien responding he is, but in this case, because the streets coming into it do not intersect but come as a dead-end configuration with no stop signs coming into Buttonwood, there is a good case for speed humps.

Chairman Scarborough stated Commissioner Higgs talked about a change of overall policy; that should start at the petition level because there is the assumption they would be paid for; and if the Board wants to change the policy, it should be prospective. Commissioner Higgs stated she has no problem with that and supports the items.

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Colon, to approve installation of speed humps on Ainsworth Avenue in Port St. John at an approximately cost of $4,637.20, and approve installation of speed humps on Buttonwood Drive at an estimated cost of $4,637.20. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to direct staff to report on ways to handle the speed hump cost differently, including, but not limited to, the individuals requesting the speed humps paying for them. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

Commissioner Higgs stated she fully appreciates the safety issue; but if streets are deteriorating, there is no money to pave them; so it is a difficult balancing act.

REPORT, RE: SCHOOL IMPACT FEES

Commissioner Higgs inquired if it was understood that staff would help write the report on school impact fees. Commissioner Colon responded yes, and it will not come back until November 2002.

WARRANT LIST

 

Upon motion and vote, the meeting was adjourned at 11:34 a.m.

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TRUMAN SCARBOROUGH, CHAIRMAN
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
ATTEST: BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA

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SCOTT ELLIS, CLERK

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