March 18, 2003

The Board of County Commissioners of Brevard County, Florida, met in regular session on March 18, 2003, at 9:00 a.m. in the Government Center Commission Room, Building C, 2725 Judge Fran Jamieson Way, Viera, Florida. Present were: Chairperson Jackie Colon, Commissioners Truman Scarborough, Ron Pritchard, Nancy Higgs, and Susan Carlson, County Manager Tom Jenkins, and County Attorney Scott Knox.

Chairperson Colon advised she would like to share a few words; our country is in a unique circumstance; as of tomorrow it will probably be at war; and speaking for herself, it is important to show support for our men and women who are on the front lines in Iraq. She stated it is very scary, but people of faith will be praying for them; her yellow ribbon is to show support for the men and woman of the armed forces; and she will wear it at every meeting to let the people in Brevard County know her support for the men and women who work for the County, friends, church members, and community members who have left for the service. She stated she will be out with her American flag and yellow ribbon, and people will either honk support or call her names; but she will not apologize for her faith and for supporting our troops. She stated her dad worked in a factory; anyone who spoke ill of the United States, he would say to them in broken English, go back to where you came from; and that is why she feels she only speaks for herself, but it is important to show support. Commissioner Pritchard stated he will be with Chairperson Colon if she will let him know the time and place. Chairperson Colon thanked Commissioner Pritchard for his support.

The Invocation was given by Commissioner Susan Carlson.

Commissioner Truman Scarborough led the assembly in the Pledge of Allegiance.

REPORT - STEVE HARR, RE: CLOSING OF TRAUMA CENTER

County Manager Tom Jenkins advised the item is actually a two-phase presentation; the first being Jack Parker, Public Safety Director, and Dr. McPherson, Medical Director of the County’s Emergency Medical Services, who will give an overview of the request.

Public Safety Director Jack Parker advised there is a letter before the Board that staff would like it to consider sending to the Orange County Commission that is in the process of dealing with an issue of the possible closure of the Orlando Regional Medical Center (ORMC) trauma center.

Dr. McPherson stated it would probably be more appropriate for him to comment after Mr. Harr’s presentation.

Steve Harr, Executive Vice President of Orlando Regional Medical System, stated he cannot count the hours the management team and physicians of Orlando Regional Healthcare System have spent over the last few months to try and address and resolve the issues they are facing with the struggles of continuing to support the provision of Level 1 trauma services in Central Florida at Orlando Regional Healthcare System. He stated the most recent problem is neurosurgery coverage; as of Friday, they were able to knead together neurosurgery coverage for the month of April, so the impending closure of the trauma center that was anticipated effective April 1 has been deferred. He stated because of the challenges they are facing, they notified the State Department of Health that they are requesting formal permission to terminate the Level 1 trauma center in accordance with Florida Statutes in six months. He stated they have every desire and commitment to continue offering Level 1 trauma services and are anticipating they will be working very hard over the next few months with local and State elected representatives to see if they can continue providing that service; however, they needed to provide notification in accordance with Florida Statutes. He noted it is their sincere desire to be able to rescind that notification, but they had to begin the notice in order to comply with the Florida Statutes. Mr. Harr stated Orlando Regional Healthcare System is a private 501(c)(3) tax-exempt hospital system located in Central Florida, Orange, Seminole, and Osceola Counties; their main facility is Orlando Regional Medical Center (ORMC) in downtown Orlando; they receive no public funding; there is no tax district providing subsidized funding; and the only source of funds they have is from payments for services they provide to patients from patients, Medicare, Medicaid, or private insurance carriers. He stated Orlando Regional has been providing Level 1 trauma services since 1983; last year they saw 10,000 patients for evaluation; approximately 3,500 were significantly injured enough that they required admission to their facility; about 20% of the patients they serve are pediatric patients under the age of 15; and in addition to being a Level 1 trauma center for adult services, they also provide the same level of service to pediatric patients regardless of how old they may be. He stated about 80% of the patients they treat suffer from injuries due to blunt force trauma; that means impacting a solid object, generally in the form of falls or auto accidents; about 20% suffer from penetrating trauma, which is a knife injury or gun shot wound; but the vast majority of patients they see are ordinary people who had the unfortunate experience of being involved in a significant auto accident. Mr. Harr advised their primary service area is Orange, Seminole, Osceola, Lake, and Sumter Counties; and they serve as a secondary service area for Brevard and Volusia Counties, which are fortunate enough to have Level 2 trauma centers. He stated despite the Level 2 trauma center in Brevard County, they still see about 5% of the patients from Brevard County; and usually they are patients who are airlifted directly to their facilities because of the significance of their injuries. He stated the problem they are facing today is very complex; it is not necessarily a hospital issue, but by virtue of the fact that it is a challenge that is facing physicians, it becomes a hospital issue; and they are trying to cope with it. He stated the immediate issue they are facing is manpower in subspecialty of neuro-surgery; over the last three months they lost three neurosurgeons; that means they have gone from ten or eleven physicians providing Level 1 trauma support down to eight; and eight physicians covering trauma means 30 days in a month they work four days each to support trauma calls. He stated trauma call for a neurosurgeon can be exhaustive; it is very time consuming; and one of the neurosurgeons he talked to shared with him that over one 24-hour period he had 27 consultations; and most neuro-surgeons when they are on-call get little or no sleep during that 24-hour period, which means the next day their productivity is minimal. He noted they cannot go to the office and schedule surgeries because they do not know if they will be physically able to provide that level of service; so providing one day of trauma call makes them nonproductive for the second day. Mr. Harr stated unfortunately the pay levels the physicians receive for covering trauma services are very low; and physicians have been facing the issue of declining reimbursement for Medicare and Medicaid patients. He stated what complicates trauma call coverage and payment to surgeons is that many injuries are due to automobile accidents and covered through auto insurance, but the State has a relatively low minimum level of insurance coverage that people must retain for personal injury protection, which is $10,000; and many people are insured at that level. He stated a very severely injured person who needs to be airlifted to a trauma center needs to be seen by a general surgeon, neurosurgeon, and orthopedic surgeon, needs to spend many days in intensive care and days in regular parts of the hospital, and possibly has to go to a rehabilitation facility; and that $10,000 does not go far, which leaves many surgeons in a situation where they receive little or no payment for the services they provide by virtue of being on call. He stated another neurosurgeon shared with him that out of 15 patients he treated, he only received payment for one; so the payment level to neuro-surgeons is very low. Mr. Harr stated another issue that is facing surgeons today is the medical liability crisis; the average premium for a neurosurgeon as of January 1, 2003, went from $45,000 a year to about $155,000 a year; they have to pay $110,000 more a year to maintain the same level of malpractice insurance; so if a surgeon is on call four days a month, out of commission four days a month recovering from the trauma service, that eliminates eight days a month of his private practice; and for three productive weeks he has to come up with $3,000 a week just to meet the cost of the increased malpractice insurance premium. He stated the insurance is making it extremely difficult to attract and bring practitioners to Florida; they are not evil or greedy people; they are people who are working very hard and devoting a lot of their time and talent to provide a much needed community service; and like the rest of the people, they have to make mortgage payments, pay college tuitions, and support their families. He stated if they have an opportunity to go to California and earn a high figure or come to Orlando and earn a much lower figure, after four years of college, four years of medical school, and five to seven years of residency, and significant debts, Florida would not be on the top of their list; so as they see people retire or leave the community, the ability to replace them is substantially compromised. He stated it is a complex solution that involves a number of issues; they need physicians in order to provide trauma services; they need physicians who are willing to work in the trauma centers and provide the services patients need; they need a sustainable solution to fix the entire trauma system; and more importantly, they need cooperation of local, regional, and State governments because it is not a service the private sector can provide on its own any longer. Mr. Harr explained slides of physicians’ support payments that ORMC is making to support the provision of Level 1 trauma services in Central Florida, and expenses incurred supporting physicians. He stated physicians are either employed or are paid to provide trauma call coverage amounted to $5.5 million last year; physicians they employ, they incur expenses for their malpractice insurance premiums of about $900,000; and for physicians they do not employ, in order to convince them that it made sense or entice them to provide Level 1 trauma coverage, they agreed to indemnify them for any lawsuits they may be named in as a result of care they provided to Level 1 trauma patients up to $1 million for any single event. He stated they estimate that amounts to an expense, in the form of increased premiums for malpractice insurance and settlements they enter into on those physicians’ behalf, of about $3.5 million a year; so in total that is about $10 million a year in support of physician costs, which does not cover any of the expenses the hospital incurs supporting the capital expenses, staffing requirements, and everything necessary to be in a position as a hospital to respond to any respond to any patient condition that might present itself at any time of the day 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. He stated it does not cover the cost of keeping two operating rooms staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week; operating a trauma center is very expensive and a complicated endeavor; and it is significant to note that ORMC is the only hospital in Orange, Seminole, Osceola, Lake, or Sumter Counties that has a trauma designation of any level. He stated in Brevard County there is only Health First Holmes, and in Volusia County there is only Halifax; so out of seven counties, they only have three facilities that have taken on the burden of providing trauma service. Mr. Harr stated they are fortunate that Health First is providing that service in Brevard County because hospitals are not standing in line asking for their opportunity to provide support for Level 1 trauma; and it is very difficult, complicated, expensive, and challenging. He stated they are currently looking for additional assistance from the State and local governments to provide funding for the incremental expenses they anticipate they are going to incur over the next 12 months kneading together cost schedules for various surgical and medical specialties that are necessary to support trauma services. He stated for the short term, the immediate problem is neurosurgery, but it takes more than neuro-surgeons to run a trauma center; it takes general surgeons, orthopedic surgeons, emergency department physician staff, anesthesiologists in-house 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and in many instances radiologists, plastic surgeons, and micro-vascular surgeons available in the hospital or immediately available to respond to an acute injury. He stated for the longer term, they believe the solution to Orlando Regional Healthcare System’s problems is that it needs to begin the process of employing physicians and hard to fill sub-specialties, more specifically neurosurgeons. Mr. Harr stated there was a critical article in the Orlando Sentinel over the weekend that pointed out the problem could have been solved if Orlando Regional Healthcare System had hired some surgeons last summer; but the problem is hiring the surgeons is not an option if there is no funding available from some place to support the cost of keeping them. He stated an economically unviable private practice that the physician is trying to maintain does not become economically viable if Healthcare turns it into an employment situation for the hospital; those guys are very expensive; so it is a complex situation and is not a situation that is reasonable to expect anybody to solve. He stated they are looking for help from their local government and consideration from Brevard County government; they are also looking for help from the State; and they are not sure what the answers are, but there are a number of opportunities and issues where they can potentially make some changes that could be beneficial and would help improve the situation not just for ORMC, but all the trauma facilities in the State. He stated one issue is the concept of providing medical liability insurance reform; the current premium levels that physicians are paying are untenable; there has been some talk to the idea of providing sovereign immunity for physicians; but sovereign immunity for just trauma will have little benefit because if only 20% of the physician’s practice is dedicated to supporting trauma services, he still needs to purchase malpractice insurance for the remaining 80% of his practice. He noted the likelihood that the premium will be reduced because of the limited sovereign immunity is remote; if that was going to influence premiums, the fact that ORMC is currently indemnifying the physicians would have already made an impact on their premium rates; and it has not yet. He stated sovereign immunity for just the physicians without the hospitals does not accomplish much because in any lawsuit, both the physician and the hospital are named; if there is any guilt found with either party, the hospital seems to have the deep pocket; so there needs to be sovereign immunity for both the physician and the hospital. Mr. Harr stated another thing that would be beneficial is legislation to increase the minimum policy limits for personal injury protection for automobile insurance in the State of Florida; and it has been $10,000 for a long time and it does not go very far in the current health care environment. He stated there is probably going to be a need for some sort of funding source from regional, State, and local governments that recognizes it is a community service being supported by very few facilities; and there needs to be some help from government to make sure the service is continued. He reiterated that Orlando Regional Healthcare System and ORMC feel strongly that the ongoing provision of Level 1 trauma services is extremely important; and they are dedicated to that fact and are working hard to do everything they can to continue to provide that service.

Commissioner Scarborough stated there is a proposed letter the Board is considering to the Chairman of Orange County Commission Richard Crotty which states, “The elimination of Orange Memorial Trauma Center will most likely result in the elimination of Health First trauma center in Brevard County”; and inquired what is the difference between Levels 1 and 2 and why what happens in Orange County will impact Brevard County. Mr. Harr stated the difference between Levels 1 and 2 trauma centers are relatively modes; the physician or someone from Health First can better explain it; but they effectively relate to coverage requirements. He stated they are expected to keep a neurosurgeon in-house 24 hours a day, 7 days a week as a Level 1 trauma center; and a Level 2 center is expected to have the prompt availability of neuro-surgery coverage, but the surgeon does not have to be in the hospital. He stated Level 1 is also obligated to provide services for pediatric patients, which is not a requirement of Level 2. Commissioner Scarborough inquired how does the closing of the trauma center at ORMC lead to a closure in Brevard County of Health First’s trauma center; with Mr. Harr responding it is speculative and he would defer to the physicians and hospital representatives if there are any here. He stated emergency medical services personnel will evaluate patients on the scene and triage them to the appropriate facility based on the nature of their injuries; if it is a Level 1 trauma, they go through a scoring criteria in the field; if it is a trauma patient who meets the trauma criteria, they are going to attempt to deliver that patient to the nearest available trauma center; and if ORMC leaves the trauma system, the nearest remaining centers will be Health First in Brevard County and Halifax in Volusia County, as well as Lakeland Regional in Polk County. He stated that will lead to an increase in referrals, volume, and activity to the remaining facilities, which would overload them and create the same kind of difficulties in Brevard County that they are struggling with in Orange County.

Bill Ellis with Health First advised the closure of ORMC’s trauma center would be problematic; it has about 10,000 patients a year with 3,500 serious cases; and if they are brought to the nearest open trauma center, it could result in thousands of additional patients at Health First Holmes Regional trauma center. He stated if that is the case, it would overload Holmes Regional to the point where they would not be able to meet the criteria to serve that many patients. He stated adding to the crisis is Halifax in Daytona talking about closure; and Health First has not talked about closure, but it is monitoring the situation in Orlando and Daytona. Mr. Ellis stated it is a critical situation; and coverage by physicians is getting more and more difficult.

Commissioner Carlson inquired if there is a capacity issue with trauma centers where they cannot continue to keep bringing people to a center if the center does not have capacity or physicians to treat them; with Mr. Ellis responding they have to be delivered somewhere else, but Health First does everything it can to respond to the need, but if it reaches a point where it cannot take any more patients, it would have to divert people somewhere else like Lakeland or Halifax if it is open. Commissioner Carlson inquired if they have capacity limitations and have to say no to the next helicopter coming in, where is the overburden, and how do they get over capacity if there is a capacity limitation.

Dr. McPherson, speaking as Medical Director for Brevard County Fire Rescue and a number of EMS agencies, and also as Holmes Regional Medical Center’s Chairman of the Emergency Department, advised the patients are going to be caught in the middle, flying from center to center trying to figure out if they are closed or over capacity, or hovering on the ground with a gunshot wound a mile away and having to go to a distant center, and that golden hour of survivability from significant trauma is going to be diluted. He stated in Brevard County the same issues impact the physicians trying to provide care at Holmes Regional; it has 2.5 neurosurgeons, not 8 to cover 30 days; and it has ear, nose, and throat and facial plastic surgeons who are struggling to keep up with the trauma in Brevard County and Indian River County. Dr. McPherson advised the Emergency Department ICU is currently at capacity; the problem with a trauma patient is it is difficult to go trauma red; and if Holmes is at capacity, Halifax and Lakeland will also be at capacity, and it might get to the point where Parrish and Canaveral Hospitals would get the local trauma patients. He stated the physicians at Holmes are very concerned about their ability to take on further patients; and if a helicopter is close and ready to land, there is an ethical decision to be made where there are no ICU’s available and a bunch of people are in the waiting room. He stated physicians at Holmes would like to help as best they can and support Orange County in this time of crisis; and Holmes EMS is about to go on diversion, as the systems are very busy and to capacity with their own patients.

Chairperson Colon advised some of the issues discussed were liability insurance legislative reform, increase to PIP insurance, and funding; those are things that go beyond the proposed letter; and suggested a recommendation to the legislative delegation that something needs to be done and not just a letter to Orlando.

Jack Parker advised the letter to Orange County is the most important thing right now; and he appreciates ORMC but gives a lot of credit to Health First, which has managed its trauma center flawlessly. He noted trauma centers throughout the State have problems, but the trauma center in Brevard County is managed extremely well; Health First is able to handle the fiscal challenges; and there are not the problems other trauma centers have had, which is a credit to Health First. He stated the trouble is something happening somewhere else could have a direct impact on the trauma center in Brevard County; as Mr. Ellis alluded, even if there is some way to preserve the trauma center it is going to be maxed out to where no other trauma patients can be served; and their concern is they are going to be busy serving Orange County citizens while Brevard County citizens will not get the same level of care.

Commissioner Higgs stated the Board recognizes the service provided in the trauma center by Health First; and her comments are not directed to Health First; however, she wants to comment on what was published in the Orlando Sentinel on March 16, 2003. She stated the complexities of the healthcare problems are being recognized here today, but one aspect highlighted in the Sentinel has not been recognized; and that is the salaries of the chief executive officers. She stated the CEO of ORMC receives $755,784 a year; that is more than twice the salary paid to the CEO of Jackson Memorial, which has 34% more beds; there are 12 vice presidents, six of whom make more than $300,000 including benefits; and the article quotes Chairman Crotty saying, “wow”; and Commissioner Ted Edwards had a similar response saying, “that is shocking.” Commissioner Higgs advised, according to the Sentinel, of the four major hospitals with Level 1 trauma centers, Shands, which is a teaching affiliate with University of Florida, pays its CEO $13,000 more; the other two paid significantly less, Jackson Memorial pays $325,000, Tampa General pays $460,380, and the President of the United States makes $400,000, which is much less than the President and CEO of ORMC made in 2000 before he received a 62% salary increase in 2001. She stated trauma centers are important; as Mr. Parker referenced, Brevard County has a very effective trauma center medically and fiscally; but her concern is jumping into this issue without a full array of facts. She stated Brevard County will be affected by the closing of ORMC’s trauma center, but without all the facts, she is concerned of responding to the issue during a Report item; the letter says the Board believes that Orange County should take leadership; and the Board should not jump into the issue of whether or not Orange County should provide funds because it does not have all the facts. She stated when items are brought to the Board they should reflect fully the diversity and complexities of the issue; and without that, she is concerned about taking a position; and the letter says Chairman Crotty should exert some leadership, and she thinks he has done that.

Commissioner Pritchard stated the Board keeps talking about regionalism; here it has an issue that is of regional concern, yet it is attempting to say that is their problem; however, it is our region and our problem; and salaries are not the issue. He stated Disney’s Eisner makes a lot of money and many more millions in bonuses for operating Mickey’s world, which is great; baseball players who can hit a round ball with a round stick make millions of dollars a year; so he does not care what the director of a trauma center earns or what a physician earns because they are entitled to every penny they get. He stated he has been on the streets, wrapped people up, shipped them off, and hoped they arrived at the appropriate location; and from his experience, he can say that the trauma network is an important component of the healthcare system because without it people may die. He stated the Board should look at where it is going to draw the line and how is it going to do it; one way is tort reform; and it has to stop the out-of-control litigious society that thinks somebody is valued at $75 million, of which attorneys get 40 to 50%, and that person may or may not be worth that kind of money. Commissioner Pritchard stated the County has juries that make decisions based on emotion instead of facts; malpractice insurance rates are out of control because of it; it has physicians who cannot afford to practice medicine and are leaving Florida to go elsewhere and practice; so what the Board needs to do is not only focus on improving the trauma network, which could be done through a regional trauma tax district to increase the funding for services, but has to do something about out-of-control juries and tort reform. He stated people need to be compensated for their injuries and need to be responsible; PIP insurance at $10,000 is ridiculous and should be $100,000; and gave a scenario of a hypothetical minor medical problem causing undue MRI’s, etc. because doctors want to make sure they cover all the bases that could possibly lead to the problem. He stated there is no reason to burden the medical community the way it has been burdened; tort reform is needed; and that should be part of the letter.

Commissioner Carlson stated the letter may not be adequate. Chairperson Colon stated saying Orange County should take a leadership role is not appropriate because it has done so. Commissioner Carlson stated the third paragraph says, “The physician representatives of the medical staff at Holmes Regional are recommending that HRMC ceases to function as a means it stays a local trauma center or is that an oxymoron. Mr. Parker stated it would cease to exist as a trauma center, and things would be done the way they used to at local hospitals. Commissioner Carlson inquired if ORMC goes under, would that bring everybody else under based on the trauma network model; with Mr. Parker responding potentially, but there is an assumption that Health First could do something to keep the doors open; however, closing ORMC will have negative impacts; and the people who do the actual work are going to recommend that it cease to exist.

County Manager Tom Jenkins inquired if staff should agenda the PIP issue and recommendation on medical liability issue for further discussion.

Commissioner Scarborough stated Mr. Parker made a comment that local hospitals would handle the trauma centers; however, they would not be staffed to the level that Holmes is; so people coming into Parrish Hospital would not have the level of trauma care if Holmes ceases to exist as a trauma center.

Dr. McPherson advised the medical staff at Holmes feels it may not be able to exist to provide care to their trauma patients; they would have to have a critical mass of physicians to meet their trauma designation by the State as a Level 2 trauma center; so they may cease to provide enough care and trauma transfer protocols in Brevard County would be to take patients to the nearest receiving facility. He stated if ORMC and Holmes are not functioning as trauma centers, then Parrish and Cape Canaveral physicians would have to try and manage trauma services; and there would be a decrease in the level of care for various reasons, primarily because there are not the multi-specialists, plastic surgeons, and neurosurgeons available.

Commissioner Scarborough stated if he had an accident on I-95 and ORMC and Holmes close their centers, he would have to go to Tampa General or Jackson Memorial in Miami, which would be a long helicopter flight. Dr. McPherson stated there is a limitation to air medical capabilities in the region as well to farm out patients; and all the centers in Brevard County do an excellent job taking care of patients and have taken care of trauma patients before, but not at the level as a functional State designated trauma center, which is very systemized. Commissioner Scarborough stated he heard concern about the closure of the center in Orlando and repercussions in Brevard County; the majority of the letter addresses that; he agrees the Board should not relinquish and ask Orange County to take leadership because it is a sovereign county, and has its own legislative delegation and elected officials; so the last paragraph should read that the Board shares the concern and would like to work with Orange County in finding solutions. He stated some of the solutions are not issues that should come before the Board such as torte reform; the President addressed it in his State of the Union message; the legislature is involved; results are what is needed to keep trauma centers in the region; and that can be expressed in the letter with copies sent to the legislative delegation.

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to authorize the Chairperson to send a letter to the Orange County Commission expressing concern about the closure of the trauma center at Orlando Regional Medical Center (ORMC) and that the Board would like to work with the Commission in finding solutions; and copies of the letter be sent to the Brevard County Legislative Delegation.

Commissioner Higgs inquired if Dr. McPherson is the physician representative of the medical staff at Holmes Regional; with Dr. McPherson responding he is on the medical executive board representing the Department of Emergency Medicine but is not the medical staff president. Commissioner Higgs inquired if Dr. McPherson is representing that the trauma center at Holmes will be closed; with Dr. McPherson responding no he is not; he is saying the physicians have made the recommendation that they will have extreme difficulty handling the overload capacity from Orlando and may not be able to continue to practice in that situation. Commissioner Higgs stated in the first paragraph of the letter where it says, “most likely result in the elimination of Health First’s trauma center in Brevard County” might be a little strong; and it might be better to say “could result”. She stated she does not want to send out a panic letter; it is a regional issue; and to say “most likely” might not be as accurate as it should be. She stated the letter can say “could have negative effects.” Mr. Ellis stated they are monitoring the situation; should ORMC close, they would continue to monitor the situation and may have to make decisions after that; and closure is one of those options. He stated at this time he is not telling the Board if ORMC closes, Health First would close also, but it will be in jeopardy. He suggested the Board address tort reform and PIP at a different time.

Chairperson Colon inquired if Mr. Ellis is comfortable changing the word to “could”; with Mr. Ellis responding that is fine. Commissioner Higgs inquired if that would be okay with the maker of the motion; with Commissioner Scarborough responding yes. Chairperson Colon called for a vote on the motion as amended. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

Commissioner Pritchard stated he would like to see a letter sent to the State and federal delegations talking about the issue of regionalization of a trauma network, tort reform, PIP, and all the root causes of the problems being experienced in the medical community. Chairperson Colon inquired if it would be better to get a report from staff and see what the Commissioners feel about it; with Commissioner Pritchard responding that would be fine.

Chairperson Colon thanked Mr. Harr for bringing the issue to the Board’s attention; stated the Board is concerned; and if there is anything it can do to help, he could come back.

REPORT - TIM FRANTA AND JOHN SATROM, RE: STATUS OF UNMANNED
SPACE LAUNCHES

Commissioner Scarborough advised Tim Franta and John Satrom from Florida Space Authority and Astrotech are here to make a presentation to the Board about unmanned space launches. He stated a lot has been heard about Columbia and the Space Station, but while that is being discussed, people forget what is going on with the expendable vehicle launches to Mars, etc.

Tim Franta, Director of Business Development and International Affairs with Florida Space Authority, expressed appreciation for the Board’s assistance and sadness about the loss of Senator Futch and the crew of Columbia; and noted Commissioner Scarborough shared with him that those in the business discuss things over people’s heads and forget the basics. He stated Brevard County is one of the best places to launch geosynchronous orbits, which are the orbits that communications satellites go to at the same spot above the earth so that the direct television dishes can point to them. He stated Brevard County is also the best place to launch lower earth orbits like GPS satellites; the Shuttle high inclination orbits are great also because they can launch within 120 degrees from the Cape; and the orbit of the International Space Station is a high inclination orbit. He stated they cannot launch polar orbits from Brevard County; usually the military or weather services use those; and they go from California and Alaska. Mr. Franta stated Brevard County has great geographical advantages because it is relatively close to the equator; they get more velocity the closer they are to the equator; and it has a large relatively uninhabited area, the Atlantic Ocean, to launch materials over. He stated his presentation will be very quick, but there are things going on in the world that Brevard County needs to be aware of; this year China is going to be the third space faring nation; it is going to launch two men into space by the fourth quarter of the year; Brevard County has the unique distinction of being one of only two places to launch man into space; but that will change by the end of the year and it will be one out of three. He stated China also has a new fleet of vehicles to compete with the United States; one of its goals is to make space flight a business service; and it will impact what the State and federal governments are going to do to attract more business. He stated it has launched four vehicles and the fifth is to be manned; and it is going to be significant. He advised the satellite market is improving; Economic Development Commission told the Board in the last few years that the market was flat; it is very flat and is desperately flat; but the good news is that 2002 was the bottom of the satellite market with the lowest number of satellite orders, and they are on the verge of recovery. He noted satellite orders have picked up; and that is good news for the launch industry and satellite processing business. He stated there is data from the FAA that supports the trend going back up. Mr. Franta stated their competitor Arianespace, the French commercial arm of the French Government that launches the Ariane, is in a weak position; it had five problems out of the last 14 flights of the Ariane V; they ordered the next five rockets, Ariane VG; and they are too large to launch one satellite and too small to launch two satellites, so it is not cost effective. He stated the French are in a very bad position right now; they suffered significant financial losses in 2002 and are expecting to have significant losses in 2003; and their members have to vote on whether they are going to pay for the losses. He noted the last time they voted, they sent a report back saying they need to look at why they are losing money and why they are subsidizing American launches; so their partners are not happy and their bosses are upset with them. He stated the breaking news last week was that the French Space Center cut 400 jobs; that is one-fourth of its workforce; last year they launched 12 rockets; and this year they are going to launch six; so there is some decrease on that side. He stated the bad news for them comes from America’s successes; fortunately, in August and November, they launched two vehicles successfully; the Lockheed Martin Atlas V and Boeing Delta IV; the Delta IV has flown twice; so as the Ariane V is having problems, the United States is succeeding with two vehicles; and that is good news for Brevard County. Mr. Franta stated Lochkeed and Boeing promoted their own products; however, Brevard County, Florida, and the United States have distinct advantages to all the other spaceports; and some of the items the State is going to promote are that it has the safest launch range on the planet which is attractive to customers; it is the environmentally friendliest launch site; and that is significant because many satellite users and payloaders have stockholders who demand to be environmentally responsible. He stated if Brevard County can make the argument it has the environmentally friendliest launch site that may make stockholders launch from here. He stated Brevard County has the only first world launch location; the other places, the French Guiana and Kazakhstan, are not fun to go to. Mr. Franta stated since 9-11, their sites have been protected by the U.S. military and have a certain level of protection other sides do not get; payloads, customers, plans, designs, and hardware are protected by U.S. law; and if something happens here, they can take someone to court, which does not happen in Kazakhstan. He stated another great advantage is they can view launches and host guests here; it is a royal class tourist destination; and probably most important to the contractors and subcontractors is that there is technical and academic support close by. He stated they can get tech-writers, launch processors, and things of that nature, so it makes Brevard County the best place in the world to launch rockets from; and it is something they are going to promote. He stated despite Columbia and grounding of the Shuttle fleet, this is going to be one of the busiest years at the Cape; that is something that has not been reported in the news; there are two Mars missions in May and July; two inter-planetary missions back to back; and there are 19 unmanned launches scheduled this year of which they have done one. He stated the workforce on the unmanned side is extremely busy; Astrotech will be processing some of the satellites; the international space station hardware is still being processed; the space shuttle orbital major modifications are still proceeding; and that work was previously done in Palmdale, California, and is now being done here in Florida. Mr. Franta stated NASA has set return to flight plans in motion; it is give and take, but preserves the workforce; it does have people working towards a goal; and a lot of work is going on despite everything that has happened. He stated they are in a good position to start marketing Florida, Brevard County, and the United States; they are the world’s premiere launch site; the State is going to help pursue that; and they look forward to the County Commission providing assistance. He stated when they see payloads from Spain or Italy and they have to make a choice whether to launch from French Guiana or some place, the Space Authority is willing to work with the TDC and Economic Development Commission; and they would request the Board to adopt a resolution saying to come launch their satellites from Brevard County. He noted in the next year the Board would see them more often requesting its support to get a specific payload here.

Chairperson Colon inquired if the information has been made available to the television reporters so it can get out to the public as it is wonderful news and the community needs to know of the tremendous opportunities; with Mr. Franta responding yes.

John Satrom, General Manager of Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, showed slides of Astrotech’s complex; advised they have been in operation in Brevard County since 1981; every commercial satellite launched from Cape Canaveral since 1985 has gone through their facility; and even though they are a little known business, they play a major role in the space program in Brevard County. He stated it is totally a commercial enterprise and totally privately funded; their revenue and capital expenses benefit the County directly; they have grown by leaps and bounds over the years; they opened in 1984 with the expectation of supporting commercial launches on the space shuttle; however, with the Challenger accident in 1986, they shifted the whole launch paradigm from commercial missions off the shuttle and onto expendable launch vehicles; and as a result, they had to alter their facilities to support that. He stated the Atlas V and Delta IV are the new expendable launch vehicles jointly funded by commercial and the U.S. Air Force to launch government and commercial payloads; and in order for Boeing and Lockheed to support the larger payloads for those rockets, they had to take a step back and make a very large capital investment in their facilities to support their new mission. He showed a slide of the expansion project; stated it started four years ago with contract negotiations with Boeing and Lockheed, which stepped up to support their business on an ongoing basis for the next decade; and with the support of the City of Titusville, the County Commission, and Florida Space Authority, they were able to pull together the private investments to build the facility. Mr. Satrom advised it was approximately a $31 million investment on a company with annual revenues below $10 million; so it was a substantial investment on their part and definitely an investment going forward because they knew they would be here for a while. He stated it is critical to the space program that they did it; what they found now that they have finished the facility is that the government is looking at closing out some of its older facilities on the Cape and transitioning that business to a commercial facility in the vicinity of the City of Titusville; and that will help his company, the government will save on capital investments, and it will increase revenues of commercial companies. He stated they have doubled their employment; and they are seeing a 200% increase in their property taxes as well, which will benefit the County. Mr. Satrom explained the slides on the two ELV launches that went off last year, noting they were processed through their facility; and stated the two spacecraft came from outside of the country to the United States launch site rather than to French Guiana to be launched on the Ariane. He stated currently they have four spacecraft for a Chinese customer at their facility and the Hellas Sat 1 for their Greek consortium; so they are starting to see a lot of activity from overseas being brought to the United States for launch; and it is the result of not only the efforts and investments of the United States government, Lockheed, and Boeing, but the local community making this a good and stable launch site. He stated it is important for the overall community supporting space operations; it has become an international business and a stable part of the economy for Astrotech; and the more they are able to support those types of things, the more operations they will bring off the Cape and into the community to help everyone.

Commissioner Scarborough stated the Florida Space Authority made some things happen; there were massive investments for redoing launch facilities at the Cape; Boeing and Lockheed initiated financing through Florida Space Authority; and Brevard County participated in making those wheels turn, and also participated with the Legislative Delegation and Florida Space Authority. He stated he was at Astrotech and saw the product; one would think it was a rocket, but it was just the nose cone in the building; they had a logistical problem getting it to the Space Center; and again the County with Florida Space Authority was involved. He stated people do not realize some of the things the County is doing with the space program because it does not discuss it fully, but he thought it was important at this juncture, when people believe the space program is closed down because of Columbia, to advised that they have 19 launches and are going to Mars and other places, which is exciting. He thanked Messrs. Franta and Satrom for their presentations. Mr. Satrom invited the Commissioners to their facility to see what they are doing. Chairperson Colon stated the Board appreciates the good news.

REPORT, RE: NORTH COURTENAY PARKWAY COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT
STANDARDS

Commissioner Pritchard advised in 1995 the North Courtenay Parkway Citizen Resource Group, some of the members who are now on the North Merritt Island Special Dependent District Board, compiled a report and called it the North Courtenay Parkway Commercial Development Standards; but nothing happened with the report was nothing. He stated it did not go anywhere; the County has all the input from very concerned people who live on North Merritt Island and none of it was implemented; and in a meeting last week with the North Merritt Island Special Dependent District Board, they concluded that they need to reexamine the report and perhaps implement some of the recommendations. He requested the Board authorize convening another panel, not the entire membership of the North Merritt Island Special Dependent District Board because they are charged with other responsibilities, but some of the people who are on that board and want to be part of the panel to revisit the report and make recommendations to see how far it can be carried into the implementation stage. He requested permission to convene a panel to address the report and look into the future of North Merritt Island.

Motion by Commissioner Pritchard, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to authorize Commissioner Pritchard to convene a panel to be a sunshine group to address the North Courtenay Parkway Commercial Development Standards Report and provide recommendations to the Board. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

REPORT, RE: HOUSE BILL 1217, TITUSVILLE-COCOA AIRPORT AUTHORITY

Commissioner Pritchard advised House Bill 1217 is going to be rewritten; it is an amendment that deals with TiCo Airport Authority; there are several recommendations that are going to be made with the revision to the House Bill; and he wanted the Board to be aware of the recommendations he is suggesting and give it ample opportunity to review the recommendations and if there are questions towards the end of the meeting, they could answer those and pass a motion to send a letter supporting the amendments to the Legislative Delegation so it would have the Board’s support. He stated the amendments give the Board better opportunity to have more control over its appointees; it is an interesting board because several Commissioners make appointments, but once they are made, it is out of the Board’s jurisdiction and falls under the State guidelines; so once a member is put on the Authority it is about all the Board can do according to the State legislation. Commissioner Pritchard stated he is not looking to change that part, but it talks about at least one District 4 appointment would reside within the City of Cocoa; under the redistricting, the City of Cocoa is no longer in District 4; so that line does not need to be included. He stated another issue is to include an at-large noncommercial tenant of the Airport District; the idea is those people are affected by the rulings of the Authority and should have a voice on the Authority; so if it is all right with the Board, he would like, during the course of the day, for Commissioners to review the amendments and at the end of the meeting revisit the issue with a motion to support or at least see where the Board would like to go with it.

Chairperson Colon inquired if those are the only changes; with Commissioner Pritchard responding they are the only ones that are stricken or underlined. Commissioner Carlson inquired what is the timeliness of this issue as it seems like a lot of material to go over and make an intelligent decision; with Commissioner Pritchard stating it is only the first page and a half that have the lines he is looking to change. Commissioner Carlson stated it is confusing because the first page has multiple sections and until she understands what she is reading, she probably needs to get more explanation.

Assistant County Manager Stephen Peffer advised the sole purpose of the change is to consolidate a number of bills that have occurred over the last number of years, so the reason the Board sees strike-throughs and underlines is that the bills are all coming together. He stated one of the purposes for doing that is so that all the legislation that deals with the Airport Authority could be found in one part; so it is misleading that the Board sees all those underlines that are not new language.

Commissioner Carlson inquired if there is a way to get an underlined copy that shows only the additions so the Board does not have to go through all of it.

Commissioner Scarborough stated he does not have difficulty voting in favor of this today; previously in District 1 they had a situation were one appointee would come from the City and one from the County; the City wanted to and obtained the green light from the Legislature that one of those appointments shifted to the City; and while it is going to more city participation in District 1, Districts 2 and 4 have moved in the opposite direction with the strike-throughs and there is no requirement for the Cities of Cape Canaveral, Cocoa Beach, or Rockledge. He noted the Board needs to be careful with the dynamics of its relationship with the cities before it takes action on this issue. Commissioner Pritchard stated Commissioner Scarborough is right about Titusville; and that is in the first paragraph. Commissioner Scarborough stated it was a City initiative. Commissioner Pritchard stated Titusville wanted a seat at the table; this provides that; but in District 2 it says at least one would reside in the City of Cape Canaveral or Cocoa Beach, which is stricken; and the reason is this is an Airport Authority and does not have a direct effect on Cocoa Beach or Cape Canaveral but has an effect on the District. Commissioner Scarborough stated he concurs with Commissioner Pritchard philosophically, but in conversations with the cities, he found they are sensitive to the Board doing things that impact their cities without asking them first; and he would feel more comfortable if a letter could be sent to the mayors of those cities to see if there is as problem before the Board takes action. He stated Chairperson Colon has taken the initiative to work with the cities; some of it is just communication; and this is a communication issue, so if the cities say okay, it is okay with him.

Chairperson Colon recommended Commissioner Pritchard put it on the Agenda for April 8, 2003 and by then the letters would have been sent out and returned with feedback.

Commissioner Pritchard stated that would be fine; the philosophy is it does not matter where you live, your plane is at the airport; the majority of people on the board are pilots and have aircraft operation experience; and regardless of where they live, they do not have planes in their backyards because they are at one of the three airports.

REPORT, RE: RETURN OF FEDERAL FUNDS

Commissioner Pritchard advised of a memo sent to the Board from the County Commission on the Status of Women that states, “it is unbelievable that Florida State Legislators voted to return federal funds with no strings attached for breast cancer awareness, feeding the poor, and cleaning up oil spills in the groundwater because no office was available to process it, yet the House Speaker has proposed $600,000 for an office to transmit recorded phone calls to citizens touting their legislative accomplishments.” Commissioner Pritchard stated to return funds because they do not have a way to distribute them does not seem like the way to run a shop; and he hopes there is more to it than what he received as information in the memo. He stated he wanted to bring to the Board’s attention that anytime it has an opportunity to take funding which was specifically identified for breast cancer awareness, feeding the poor, and cleaning up oil spills, the least it can do is find an office so it can distribute the funds.

REPORT, RE: NURSERY RHYMES

Commissioner Pritchard stated most people do not know that most nursery rhymes have their foothold in history; Humpty Dumpty was not an egg on the wall, it was about one of the kings of England who fell and lost his power; and read the following fable: A mouse looked through a crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife opening a package; what food might it contain? He was aghast to discover that it was a mouse trap. Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed the warning, “There is a mouse trap in the house, there is a mouse trap in the house.” The chicken clucked and scratched, raise her head and said, “Mr. Mouse, I can tell you this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me; I cannot be bothered by it.” The mouse turned to the pig and told him, “There is a mouse trap in the house.” “I am so very sorry Mr. Mouse,” sympathized the pig, “but there is nothing I can do about it but pray; be assured that you are in my prayers.” The mouse turned to the cow, who replied, “Like wow, Mr. Mouse, a mouse trap; am I in grave danger, Duh?” So the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected to face the farmer’s mouse trap alone. That very night a sound was heard throughout the house, like the sound of a mouse trap catching its prey. The farmer’s wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see that it was a venomous snake whose tail the trap had caught. The snake bit the farmer’s wife. The farmer rushed her to the hospital. She returned home with a fever. Now everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup’s main ingredient. His wife’s sickness continued so that friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig. The farmer’s wife did not get well, in fact, she died, and so many people came for her funeral the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide meat for all of them to eat. So the moral is the next time you hear that someone is facing a problem and think that it does not concern you, remember that when the least of us is threatened, we are all at risk.

REPORT, RE: SAMPLING THE ARTS

Commissioner Carlson advised Janice Kershaw is here to talk to the Board about the SA Arts, formerly known as Very Special Arts; and it has been promoting the creative power and people with disabilities for 15 years in Brevard County. She stated what the School System started as a small festival for about 400 special needs children in the Melbourne Auditorium has now grown into a 2-day festival involving many facets of the community as well as additional programs throughout the year; and today the program serves 6,000 people with disabilities in the schools and community.

Janice Kershaw thanked the Board for its support of the cultural grants program; stated those funds are important for leveraging support in the community for programs; and thanked the Board for the opportunity to spotlight their programs. She stated the Board may have seen the art work from BSA Arts in the Government Center lobbies, libraries, parks, and Commissioner Colon’s Office; but the most visible event they do is the hands-on art festival. She stated this is their 15th annual festival at F. Burton Smith Park on April 10 and 11, 2003 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.; and invited everyone to come out and see what they are doing. She stated one of the unique aspects of the festival is how community partnerships have been formed through this event; many of the community agencies, like ARC Brevard, use the festival as a community inclusion experience for some of its clients, and Space Coast Burn Institute brings youth out of Rainwater Center for leadership and team work; and those students help run arts activities for children with disabilities, so even for a day or two they take their minds off their situations and turn to helping others. She noted it has been very illuminating and educational for them. Ms. Kershaw stated other activities they do throughout the year are training for artists, educators, caregivers, and integrating arts into their programs; they put local artists to work during residencies teaching people the arts and doing special events; and there are two fun projects they will be doing this year. She stated one is having about 100 different students have an artist teaching them fiber art work; they are creating scarves that will be mailed through Patrick Air Force Base to the troops; so they are doing their part to show support for the military. She stated the second project is a community sculpture or assemblage of different shapes they have been taking throughout the community to have painted; it started at the Hope Center in December, and recently was at Merritt Square Mall as part of the Brevard’s Team for Kids and Seniors; and many people in the community are contributing their art work on a piece of the sculpture, which will be assembled at the festival. She noted hopefully from there they will be able to take it around the community to show it off; and a lot of people are taking real pride in what they have accomplished. She stated their program is a very small operation; about two-thirds of their budget is in-kind contributions; and that shows the level of support for the program.

Chairperson Colon stated she would like to find out how things are going with the School Board; it has been working very hard on meeting some of the requirements of the State, which had March deadlines; and inquired how are things going; with Ms. Kershaw responding they are watching the legislative session and what is going to happen with the budget; the class size amendment presents some challenges; and they are waiting for the outcome to see if they will have the flexibility to do what they need to do here. She noted there is no doubt it is going to be a tough year. Chairperson Colon stated a workshop is being planned in the near future with the School Board members and the Board to see what can be done. Ms. Kershaw stated they will look forward to that. Commissioner Carlson suggested people visit the booth in the lobby that talks about the SA Arts which is a very important program for the community and is well supported. She stated Ms. Kershaw and her crew have done a very good job.

REPORT, RE: PROJECT IMPACT

Commissioner Carlson advised she asked Mary Bolin, Coordinator of Project Impact with Emergency Management Department, to make a presentation, and she brought with her City Manager of Cape Canaveral Bennett Boucher.

Mary Bolin advised on Monday they are going to have the National Oceanic and Atmospheric demonstration at the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) at 9:00 a.m. to give a synopsis of two initiatives they have been working on with Brevard County. She stated they called last fall and said they had two initiatives they would like to do in Brevard County; the first was the risk analysis and hazard assessment of the coastal community; and she told them it would be fine because Brevard County has 72 miles of coast. She stated the second is an ecological initiative to see if a big storm comes into the area, what effect the pesticides that may be in the area would have on the St. Johns River watershed; and she told them that was fine but before she brings it to the Brevard Prepares Steering Committee, she would need to ask questions. She asked if they would do all the work and they replied yes; is it going to cost the County anything and they replied no; so she invited them to come down. She stated the benefit of the risk analysis project is in September they would be able to have it on GIS and also accessed to the internet so all citizens can reach it; and the other will be a fact sheet they will prepare for Brevard County as far as pesticides and situations that may occur in Brevard County. She noted the fact sheet will be understood by civilians and residents of Brevard County. Ms. Bolin presented disaster preparedness brochures to the Board that Brevard Prepares Steering Committee selected and decided to purchase and distribute in Brevard County; and stated they have magnets on the back so they can be put on refrigerators and be readily accessible.

City Manager of Cape Canaveral Bennett Boucher, Past Chair of Brevard Prepares, advised in 1998 all 15 cities and the County got involved in pre-disaster planning; they all had to prepare pre-disaster plans and worked together to implement and put online many programs and projects that are a benefit to the cities and County as a whole; and he is proud to see the success of what they have accomplished over the last five years. He stated the pre-disaster plans have not sat on the shelves; they have been proactive plans and implemented; and Brevard County is well prepared for any emergency that would face the community. He stated they have great talented professionals in Brevard County who really care and work together; and this is one program that the cities and County have really worked together on for five years. He thanked the Board for its continued support of the program; stated he and Ms. Bolin went to Tallahassee to review the pre-disaster plan with a team of officials from Atlanta and the State; and during the review they stressed that it is important for the plans to enumerate programs and projects that they want in their communities because if there is a declaration of disaster the post-disaster federal funding is going to be tied to the pre-disaster plans.

Chief Rock, Co-chair of the Local Mitigation Strategy (LMS) Group and Brevard Branch Busters, advised last month Brevard Branch Bust increased 20% in pick up of yard debris; and that is a significant event, should a hurricane impact the area, because 20% of yard debris has been removed. He stated another branch bust is scheduled for later this year; and they hope to enjoy even greater success. He stated the participants in such endeavor include a broad range of private industry such as Florida Power & Light Company, Northrop Grumman, and Shutter Outlet along with all municipalities in the County; they sponsored how-to seminars to insure the public was well informed; and with the assistance of Chairperson Colon and Mr. Baldenado, 10,000 disaster preparedness guides written in Spanish were distributed to residents in Brevard County. Chief Rock stated another project underway is the production of a disaster preparedness video, which can be shown to local businesses, defining the merits of proper disaster planning; and an employee who is properly prepared is an exceptional employee who has all the resources available and knows exactly what to do in times of disasters. He stated the SCGTV production team is partnering on the project; and it will be an award-winning project when it is completed. He stated they sponsored fire-wise workshops on February 12 in Palm Bay and February 13 in Titusville; fire-wise workshops are designed to teach citizens how to properly maintain their yards and brush in an effort to mitigate or eliminate hazards from wildfires; and that was a result of a tremendous working relationship with the Department of Forestry, Brevard County Extension Service, City of Palm Bay, and Parrish Medical Center. He stated the LMS Group has been very effective and will continue to do great work as the years go by; and they appreciate the support of the County, cities, and private industries that have come together to make Brevard County a safer and happier place in which to live.

Commissioner Carlson advised she was on the LMS, not at the beginning, but took over for Helen Voltz; and they have come so far since 1998 that it is incredible. She stated Project Impact, which is now Project Prepares, was something that she found at the National Association of Counties meeting and asked Emergency Management Director Bob Lay if it could be done at home and he said yes; and that is how it started. She stated now they are so well prepared because they have the County regional perspective with all the cities and everyone working together cooperatively; it has been an excellent example of how they can do something for the community as a whole and prepare for the inevitable; and they have done a great job. She noted Mr. Bennett’s leadership has been exceptional, and she appreciates all they have done.

Ms. Bolin stated next Wednesday is an elected officials conference; Director Craig Fugate from the Florida Division of Emergency Management and other speakers will be there to talk to all elected and appointed officials in Brevard County about how to prepare and survive a disaster; and all Commissioners are invited. She noted it will be March 26, 2003, at 9:00 a.m. in the Government Center Commission Room.

REPORT, RE: NACO TRIP

Commissioner Carlson stated she told the Board the last time that she would bring back a report on the NACO trip she took recently; and distributed a power point to the Commissioners, but not the Clerk. She stated she will email the item in its entirety to the Commissioners and hopes they will read it. She stated she is on the steering committee for environmental energy and land use at the national level of counties; and distributed documents from the public opinion strategies to the Board, but not the Clerk. She stated Rob Autry did a presentation for the steering committee on how environmental issues are playing on the national level; and she will send along other documentation she gathered at NACO that Commissioners might find interesting. She stated it is a power point just like with Project Impact; she found out about that by going up there; and she has always been the only Commissioner who goes on those trips to find out what is going on outside of the community and State. Commissioner Carlson stated she talked to Volusia, Indian River, and St. Lucie Counties; all their Commissioners go up there during certain times of the year; and this Board ought to consider doing that because they are being very effective, especially Volusia County that is bringing back a lot of money from the federal government because they are going up there and lobbying and have a federal lobbyist, which she finds very interesting. She stated Brevard County does not have a federal lobbyist, but it has a State lobbyist; it might be missing out on some things; and if at all possible, she would like to get a report from County Manager Tom Jenkins, if he would communicate with Volusia County and find out exactly what kind of money they have been able to bring back from the federal level, that perhaps Brevard County might better address by looking at either a lobbyist or different ways it can use staff or the Board to see what it can do. She stated she was up there two days and gathered a ton of information; unfortunately with only one person up there, she had a lot of steering committees she wanted to touch on. She stated she brought back a lot of information and would like to distribute all that new information and let staff look at it and see what they think it might be worth to the Board and the County.

REPORT, RE: ST. JOHNS RIVER SUMMIT

Commissioner Carlson stated the St. Johns River Summit took place in January; and distributed the news release on what the summit was all about to the Commissioners, but not the Clerk. She stated it was basically to bring the river communities up and down the river, which is 310 miles long, together to find out what the key issues are, whether it is water quality or other environmental concerns, economic concerns, and issues that have things to do with the St. Johns River and its length, etc.; and what she got is basically the news release, a view the TODAY Newspaper put in an editorial, which she thought was interesting, and a letter to Commissioner Colon as Chairman of the Board requesting a local official be appointed to the St. Johns River working group. She stated the working group is evolving from the summit; all this has evolved from the American Heritage River Initiative, which was an initiative that was defined and designed when President Clinton was in office to look at 14 specific rivers throughout the United States, one of which was the St. Johns River; and to basically determine its health, wellbeing, and community impact. She stated she has been on the American Heritage River Steering Committee for the last four and a half years; it now evolved into the summit, which happened in January; and from that about 1,000 different community leaders came together and talked about the significant impacts to the River and where they want to see things happen in terms of water quality and other things. She stated it evolved into defining a working group, which is the steering committee that she is on evolving into the working group that is taking the information it got from the summit and putting it into a strategic plan for the restoration of the St. Johns River, much like the Everglades Restoration Plan, working hand-in-hand with the St. Johns River Water Management District. She stated she would like to get the Board’s blessing to go forward and continue on working with the St. Johns River Restoration working group and will bring back the plans and things that will be coming down the road as they are decided to keep the Board up-to-date. She requested a motion to put her on the working group, which Mayor John Delaney has been running.

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Higgs, to appoint Commissioner Susan Carlson as the Board’s representative on the St. Johns River Restoration Working Group. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

Commissioner Carlson advised the St. Johns River Riverfest 2003 is an inaugural event that will occur all up and down the entire St. Johns River; in Brevard County they will be celebrating on May 17 and 18, 2003; and many different types of events will occur here. She stated there will be biking in the Palm Bay area; F. Burton Smith park will have an environmental fair, bass tournament, casting contest, and a lot of things for families to enjoy; and hopefully they will take part in the events. She stated she will send out reminders as the date gets closer.

REPORT, RE: LAKE GEORGE WATER QUALITY ENHANCEMENT PROJECT

Marguerite Engel with St. Johns River Water Management District advised the Lake George Water Quality Enhancement Project on North Merritt Island was identified by Brevard County as a means to reduce stormwater polluting loading, improve water quality in the Indian River Lagoon, and alleviate residential flooding problems; the project consists of routing existing pumped agricultural runoff from a 629-acre area into two stormwater treatment ponds by means of conveyance channeling and piping and a wetland treatment area; and St. Johns River Water Management District agreed it was a worthwhile project and chose it as one of the recipients for its cost-share funding program this year. She stated on behalf of the St. Johns River Water Management District, she would like to present the Board with a check for $200,000 for the Lake George project.

Motion by Commissioner Pritchard, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to accept a check from the St. Johns River Water Management District in the amount of $200,000 for the Lake George Project. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

Ms. Engel advised it is a symbolic check, and it will be reimbursed to the County after the project is completed. She stated the project funding the County has received since 1996 for numerous projects, including the $200,000, is $820,000; the District provided $70,000 for artesian well plugging and $144,000 for alternative water supply and conservation; and those are cost-share projects so the County contributed at least 100% of those amounts if not more. She advised the County has committed $1 million for the Lake George project; the District has spent $10.7 million for land acquisitions including Pine Island, Inlet Grove, and Buck Lake; and it appreciates the Board’s proactive approach.

PRESENTATION, RE: FLORIDA ASSOCIATION OF CODE ENFORCEMENT
CERTIFICATE TO JOE HAUSER

Chairperson Colon advised Joe Hauser from Code Enforcement has made a wonderful achievement; The Florida Association of Code Enforcement (FACE), in conjunction with the University of Central Florida, developed a four-level curriculum for certification of code enforcement personnel throughout the State; and in 1999, Brevard County began an aggressive training program aimed at refining the skills, practices, and professionalism of its Code Enforcement staff through continuing education and technological advances. She stated the goal is to certify all Code Enforcement officers at the professional level; and Code Enforcement Officer Joe Hauser became the first to receive his FACE professional level certification. She asked everyone to join her in congratulating Mr. Hauser on this major achievement; and presented a certificate and pin to Mr. Hauser from the Florida Association of Code Enforcement. She read the certificate as follows: “This certifies that Joe Hauser has completed all three levels of code enforcement certification as prescribed by the Florida Association of Code Enforcement, Inc. and is certified as a Code Enforcement professional.”

RESOLUTIONS, RE: COMMENDING YOUNG WOMAN AND WOMAN OF THE YEAR

Commissioner Carlson advised the Commission on the Status of Women has recognized the woman and young woman of the year for the past ten years, and this year it partnered with Florida Tech to celebrate Women’s History Month and solicited nominations through the media and members of the CSW; the award winners were selected for their outstanding volunteerism in the community and school; the young woman was selected from three nominations that were received; and the woman of the year was selected from ten nominations received. She read the resolution commending Katherine Rodby as the 2003 Young Woman of the Year.

Motion by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to adopt Resolution commending Katherine Rodby for her selection as 2003 Brevard County Commission on the Status of Women Young Woman of the Year, in recognition of her role in volunteerism within the community. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See page for Resolution No. 03-074.)

Commissioner Carlson presented the Resolution to Ms. Rodby who thanked her parents, school, and friends who supported her, and the Daughters of the American Revolution for nominating her for such an award; and stated she is very honored.

Chairperson Colon stated not only is Ms. Rodby smart, but she is a beautiful young lady; and her Principal from Holy Trinity is glowing with pride. She also recognized Ms. Rodby’s mom.

Commissioner Carlson read aloud a resolution commending Mary Helen Anderson for her selection as Woman of the Year.

Motion by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Pritchard, to adopt Resolution commending Mary Helen Anderson for her selection as the 2003 Brevard County Commission on the Status of Women Woman of the Year in recognition of her role in volunteerism. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See page for Resolution No. 03-075.)

Commissioner Carlson presented the Resolution to Ms. Anderson who thanked the Board and noted she accepts the award on behalf of all the volunteers who have helped so much.

Chairperson Colon stated Ms. Anderson is 89 years old and gorgeous; and inquired what is her secret; with Ms. Anderson responding keeping busy.

PRESENTATION OF CERTIFICATES, RE: EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

Human Resources Director Frank Abbate advised 812 attendees participated in 48 different workshops for a total of 2,532 hours of training in the Employee Development Program in 2002; and 13 employees completed the program successfully. He stated it is a three-phase program; with workshops in time management skills, communicating for results, conflict resolution skills, basic writing skills, and advanced writing skills provided in Phase 1; measuring customer satisfaction, motivational skills, leadership challenge, continuous improvement awareness, and team building in Phase 2; and supervising, performance reviews and discipline, grievance handling, caring for our own, managing risks effectively, hiring process, EEO environment, budget training, and managing diversity in Phase 3. Mr. Abbate advised a number of participants took exams after each phase; and 13 of those are here today to receive Certificates of Professional Development. He stated four individuals achieved a score of 90% or better on all phases and will receive their certificates with honors; and interestingly, all four employees came from the Library System this year. He stated Joanne Destler is from Suntree Library; Jose Gonzalez is from Merritt Island Library; Deborah Harris is from Satellite Beach Library; and Cindy Leist is from Suntree Library.

The Board and audience applauded the employees on their accomplishments.

Mr. Abbate advised the other individuals who will also receive Certificates for the Employee Development Program are Mike Dugan from South Area Road and Bridge, Mark Herold from Code Enforcement, Cheryl Hurren from Land Development, Erin LeClair from Solid Waste Management, Jennifer Lyons-Carter from Suntree Library, Helen Miranda from Facilities, Edward Misleh from Water Resources, Andrea Villanueva from Merritt Island Library, and Rebecca Wedekind from Suntree Library.

The Board and audience applauded the employees on their accomplishments. Mr. Abbate advised they will present the certificates and take pictures outside.

RESOLUTION, RE: RECOGNIZING TEACHER OF THE YEAR

Commissioner Pritchard advised he read the Florida TODAY a few days ago, which had a wonderful editorial, and felt it was fantastic that Coleen Hughes is the first physical education instructor ever chosen as Brevard’s teacher of the year. He read, “simply put, physical education for young people is as important now as never before because more kids are out of shape than ever before. Schools alone can’t solve the problem of overweight children as bad habits often begin at home, and academics must remain schools’ primary purpose, but physical education classes matter too; and that is why we are glad to see the contributions of a P.E. instructor recognized with the choice of Hughes as teacher of the year.” He stated he spoke to Commissioner Scarborough because the school Ms. Hughes is located at is in his District; and he was kind enough to give him the honor of recognizing her achievements. He stated Coleen Hughes is the Brevard Teacher of the Year for 2003; she is a physical education teacher at Space Coast Junior/Senior High School; and there were eight finalists for the award. Commissioner Pritchard advised her husband John is an Assistant Professor at Brevard Community College and operates a competitive swim program; her children are doing well; Michael is in the Navy; Laurie attends Brevard Community College; and Katie is a freshman at Florida Atlantic University. He stated Ms. Hughes worked, took care of her family, and went to school to get her degree. Commissioner Pritchard read aloud the resolution commending Coleen Hughes as Teacher of the Year.

Motion by Commissioner Pritchard, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to adopt Resolution recognizing and congratulating Coleen Hughes as Brevard County Teacher of the Year for 2003, wishing her success in the Regional Finals in May 2003, and expressing gratitude for her dedication and commitment to the students of Brevard County. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See page for Resolution No. 03-076.)

Commissioner Pritchard presented the Resolution to Coleen Hughes who thanked the Board for recognizing her today; and stated her first job was at District 1 Recreation Center on Kiwanis Island teaching gymnastics and summer life guarding and teaching swim lessons at Merritt Island High School pool, so Brevard County gave her the first opportunity to experience the accomplishments of teaching. She stated she considers herself a hands-on and passionate person; her commitment of making sure that the message of how important physical education is reaches every student as well as the community; and she strongly feels physical education increases student academic achievement and is immensely important to preparing students to be physically, mentally, and emotionally successful. She stated throughout her teaching career, there were many enduring experiences that influenced her commitment to teaching; one of the most memorable experiences was being the director of the after-school program funded by a federal grant for at-risk students; she was responsible for writing the application for the District approval, creating the entire activity program, preparing staff members and parents for instructions, and having a safe environment with structured supervision. Ms. Hughes stated the children have choices in moving activities while providing academic remediation and other alternatives; they also provided field trips to see the Marlins play baseball, the Harlem Globetrotters in Orlando, football games at the Citrus Bowl, and a three-day camp out at Water Mania, which was quite an adventure. She noted most of the students who went on those field trips had not been out of the City of Cocoa; and their behavior on all those trips was exceptional. She stated it was a wonderful and successful program. She stated through two more grants from the American Heart Association Tobacco Prevention Education and the Brevard Schools Foundation, she was able to implement technology into her physical education program; she bought stationery bicycles, laptop computers, printers, a projector, and $6,000 worth of heart rate monitors that allowed students to access their heart rates and work within their individual limits while tracking their own cardiovascular progress. Ms. Hughes advised another memorable area of achievement is her before-school fitness club for girls; and the club focused on total wellness while emphasizing goals, confidence, self-esteem, and overall fun. She stated as for the community, in the last 20 years she has run a quality goal-driven technique-oriented learn to swim program, which in the last four years she has called “Swim America”; and there is no better reward than the expression on a child’s face or parent’s face when the child demonstrates individual capabilities after accomplishing a skill. She stated students need a positive and engaging physical activity; and physical education provides needed physical activity in the school day to give students an advantage for learning and therefore help increase student achievement and maintain a healthy lifestyle. She advised current research has made a strong connection to help them with the resolution of the problem of declining physical education in our nation’s schools; with the pressure on schools to perform in standardized tests, it is imperative to recognize that a quality physical education program is essential to the learning process; movement prepares the brain for optimal learning; and students need to be at their optimal learning capacity daily in order to comprehend and retain the skills and strategies needed to be successful on the FCAT and in the classroom. Ms. Hughes advised she is honored to be the representative of all the exceptional and dedicated teachers in Brevard County who continuously show their commitment and enthusiasm to the teaching profession for the continued success of all the youth today; and her message to her fellow teachers as well as the general public is that education is a dynamic enterprise that recognizes a strong sense of vision; and it is dynamic because it is constantly changing. She stated they need to adapt to those changes and be proactive in finding ways to continue to promote student success in light of all the pressures. She stated with more parents working and more children home alone than ever before, the need to develop safe and enriching after school and/or before-school activities have never been greater; and that dilemma is a national concern, which grows on a daily basis. She stated it is her contention that with the cooperation and participation of parents, teachers, policymakers, and business and community leaders, they can develop safe and enriching before and after-school model programs that will promote lifelong physical activity among all young people throughout Brevard County.

Commissioner Pritchard advised the Principal of Space Coast Junior/Senior High School, Larry Graves, would like to offer his congratulations to Ms. Hughes.

Larry Graves advised he has been fortunate in his career as a school administrator to have supervised five different finalists for Teacher of the Year, and finally they have a Teacher of the Year; and she is near and dear to his heart because she is a dynamic person and because he started in this District 31 years ago as a physical education teacher and is elated that they have finally recognized a P.E. teacher for her dedication and contributions to the school district. He stated Coleen Hughes is a fine teacher, but she is also a wonderful human being, and he is very proud of her.

RESOLUTION, RE: FDOT HISTORIC MARKERS FOR COCOA VILLAGE

Commissioner Pritchard stated most resolutions are for individual effort, but this is for a community effort; and asked John Hirsch and Deborah Vanderslice of the Historic Cocoa Village Tourism Association and Welcome Center to come forward. He read a resolution requesting the Florida Department of Transportation erect its brown historic signage on U.S. 1, I-95, and State Roads 3 and 520 designating Cocoa Village as a designated historic site.

Motion by Commissioner Pritchard, seconded by Commissioner Higgs, to adopt Resolution requesting Florida Department of Transportation to erect historic signage on U.S. 1, I-95, SR 3, and SR 520 designating Cocoa Village as a historic site. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See page for Resolution No. 03-077.)

Commissioner Pritchard presented the Resolution to Mr. Hirsch and Ms. Vanderslice. Mr. Hirsch advised they have a welcome center in Cocoa Village which opened in November; it came from the Cocoa Village Tourism Association, which is approximately two years old; and within three days of opening, they found out everybody needed a map, so they produced a map. He stated they still kept getting questions about where the Village is, so in January they contacted Florida Department of Transportation and found out they needed a resolution from the Board for the signs. He stated they have a registration book; they distributed over 1,800 maps in the Center, and two people per map is 3,600 visitors in three months, but there are some people who do not need a map, so they estimated over 4,000 people come through the welcome center. He noted they have extended the stay in Brevard County from two to four days; and they have seasonal people who live here and find out there is so much to do in Brevard County, from the King Center to Merritt Island Refuge and the Zoo. He stated they partnered with the Zoo; and there are so many activities in Brevard County that people have to stay longer to enjoy them.

Deborah Vanderslice thanked the Board for the Resolution; stated the signs are long overdue; it will help people traveling down those corridors to know there is something at the Village and discover a wonderful thing. She stated the welcome center is completely self-sufficient; they receive no help from the City, Chamber, or TDC, but it does not stop them from promoting the entire County, and they are all volunteers. She invited the Commissioners to come into the welcome center.

Commissioner Carlson inquired if they have color and laminated maps that can be hung on the wall in the Commissioners’ offices; with Mr. Hirsch responding they make the maps at the welcome center and give them to Carol Sellers for her art students to work on or anyone who wants to do the coloring; and he can deliver some to Commissioner Carlson if she would like to have them. Commissioner Carlson stated she was not talking about coloring the maps, but she has seen in various centers artistic maps that are colored and laminated and hung on the walls. Ms. Vanderslice stated they can get one for Commissioner Carlson.

ITEMS PULLED FROM CONSENT AGENDA

Chairperson Colon advised a citizen pulled item III.A.5., Unpaved Road Agreement with Timothy L. Miller, Re: Garvin Lake Drive Extension C.

Commissioner Pritchard pulled Items III.B.2, III.B.7, III.B.8., and III.B.9.

Chairperson Colon stated Item III.A.5. will be heard right after the break and Items III.B.2, 7, 8 and 9 will be heard at the end of the meeting.

APPROVAL, RE: CREATION OF FLAG LOT AND EASEMENT LOT

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to approve creation of a flag lot and easement lot accessing South Tropical Trail for a total of four lots, as requested by Donald McNair. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

FINAL ENGINEERING AND FINAL PLAT APPROVAL, RE: SANDPIPER COVE AT
AQUARINA

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to grant final engineering and final plat approval for Sandpiper Cove at Aquarina, subject to minor changes if necessary, receipt of all documents required for recording, and developer obtaining appropriate jurisdictional permits. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

CONTRACT WITH THE VIERA COMPANY, RE: IMPROVEMENTS IN HERON’S
LANDING, PHASE 2, UNIT 6B

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to execute Contract with The Viera Company guaranteeing improvements in Heron’s Landing, Phase 2, Unit 6B. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See page for Contract.)

CONTRACT WITH THE VIERA COMPANY, RE: IMPROVEMENTS IN WINGATE
ESTATES, PHASE 3

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to execute Contract with The Viera Company guaranteeing improvements in Wingate Estates, Phase 3. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See page for Contract.)

UNPAVED ROAD AGREEMENT WITH LINN AND LOUISE WALTERS, RE: REYNOLDS
ROAD EXTENSION B

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to execute Unpaved Road Agreement with Linn and Louise Walters for construction of Reynolds Road Extension B in the existing County right-of-way in compliance with Section 62-102 of the Brevard County Code. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See page for Agreement.)

BINDING DEVELOPMENT PLAN AGREEMENT WITH MARK H. BRADY, RE: PROPERTY
LOCATED WEST SIDE OF SOUTH TROPICAL TRAIL

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to execute Binding Development Plan Agreement with Mark H. Brady for development of property located on the west side of South Tropical Trail. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See page for Agreement.)

BINDING DEVELOPMENT PLAN AGREEMENT WITH KLEBECK GROCERIES, INC.,
RE: PROPERTY ON EAST SIDE OF CITY ACRES ROAD, SOUTH OF U.S. 192

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to execute Binding Development Plan Agreement with Klebeck Groceries, Inc. for development of property located on the east side of City Acres Road, south of U.S. 192. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See page for Agreement.)

PERMISSION TO ADVERTISE PUBLIC HEARING, RE: ORDINANCE AMENDING
CHAPTER 62, ARTICLE IV, RELATING TO CONCURRENCY EVALUATION

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to grant permission to advertise a public hearing to consider an ordinance amending Chapter 62, Article IV, Land Development Regulations, relating to the concurrency evaluation procedure. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

PERMISSION TO CONTACT PROPERTY OWNERS, RE: RIGHT-OF-WAY NEEDS AND
QUITCLAIM DEED CONVEYANCE FOR ORCHID TREE DRIVE, COTTONWOOD
DRIVE, AND CREPE MYRTLE DRIVE

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to authorize staff to contact pertinent property owners to explain the need for right-of-way obtainment covering cul-de-sacs at the north and south terminus of Orchid Tree Drive, Cottonwood Drive, and the west end of Crepe Myrtle Drive, and approve acceptance of Deeds if property owners are willing to convey the right-of-way. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

RESOLUTION, RE: APPROVING NO PARKING SIGNS IN SNUG HARBOR VILLAGE

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to adopt Resolution providing for installation of on-street signs stating “No Parking on Streets Between 12:00 midnight and 7:00 a.m.” at the entrance into Snug Harbor Village in Micco. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See page for Resolution No. 03-078.)

AGREEMENTS WITH ORGANIZATIONS, RE: GRANT AWARDS

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to approve the recommendations of the Community Action Board, and execute Agreements for grants with Prevent of Brevard of $15,000; Space Coast Center for Independent Living of $12,815; South Brevard Women’s Center of $11,875; and Space Coast Early Intervention Center of $10,310. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See pages for Agreements.)

AGREEMENT TO AMEND AND EXTEND LEASE AGREEMENT WITH TITUSVILLE-COCOA
AIRPORT AUTHORITY, RE: NORTH AREA PARKS OPERATIONS OFFICE AND
MAINTENANCE AREA

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to execute Agreement to Amend and Extend Lease Agreement with Titusville-Cocoa Airport Authority for lease of space for North Area Parks Operations Office and Maintenance Compound. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See page for Agreement.)

RESOLUTIONS, RE: REQUESTING F.I.N.D. GRANTS FOR PARRISH, KELLY, AND
RIVERWALK PARKS

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to adopt Resolutions requesting financial assistance under the Florida Inland Navigation District (FIND) Waterways Assistance Program for Parrish Park Boat Ramps, Kelly Park Boat Mooring, and Riverwalk-A Family Park Nature Center; authorize the Parks and Recreation Director to execute the Grant Agreements; approve Budget Change Requests to establish project accounts; and approve temporary loans from the General Fund if the grants are approved. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See pages for Resolutions Nos. 03-080, 03-081, and 03-082.)

AMENDMENTS TO AGREEMENT TO DONATE LAND WITH THE VIERA COMPANY
AND A. DUDA & SONS, INC., RE: VIERA REGIONAL PARK

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to authorize the County Manager to execute Amendments to Agreement to Donate Land with The Viera Company and A. Duda & Sons, Inc. for Viera Regional Park; and to execute future Amendments if necessary. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See pages for Amendments.)

AMENDMENT #1 TO LEASE WITH BANANA RIVER, LLC., RE: EEL’S OFFICE

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to execute Amendment #1 to Lease for Business Premises with Banana River, LLC, for the EEL’s Office at $38,579.04 annually. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See page for Amendment #1.)

ACCEPTANCE OF DONATION, RE: PROPERTY OWNED BY NORMAN LAMONTE’S
ESTATE

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to accept donation of Norman Lamonte’s property located on Pine Island in the Indian River Lagoon Blueway Project, and pay for necessary title work and environmental site assessment through the EEL Program; waive County’s survey requirement for acceptance of donation; and authorize the Chairperson to sign any necessary documents for transfer of title. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

APPOINTMENTS, RE: RECYCLING CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to appoint and/or reappoint Bette Danse, Bonnie Decaro, Mike Schaffer, and Amy Tidd to the Recycling Citizens Advisory Committee, with terms expiring August 31, 2003. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

REALLOCATION OF FUNDING, RE: WATER RESOURCES FY 2003-07 CIP BUDGET

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to approve reallocation of funds within the Water Resources 2003-07 CIP Budget for projects approved in the current budget requiring adjustment as outlined in Exhibit A; and authorize budget actions required to implement the projects. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See page for Exhibit A.)

CHANGE ORDER NO. 1 AND FINAL PAYMENT TO HM2 CONSTRUCTORS AND
FABRICATORS, INC., RE: NORTH BREVARD WTP CHEMICAL FEED SYSTEM

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to approve Change Order No. 1 and final payment to HM2 Constructors and Fabricators, Inc. for North Brevard Water Treatment Plan (WTP) chemical feed systems, decreasing contract amount by $13,369 for unused amount of contract allowance to new total of $185,331. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See page for Change Order No. 1.)

AGREEMENT WITH CITY OF MELBOURNE, RE: COLLECTION OF WASTEWATER
SERVICE FEES

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to execute Agreement with City of Melbourne for collection of County wastewater service fees. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See page for Agreement.)

RECLAIMED WATER MAIN CONSTRUCTION AGREEMENT WITH THE VIERA COMPANY,
RE: SOLERNO BOULEVARD

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to execute Reclaimed Water Main Construction Agreement with The Viera Company for construction of a reclaimed water transmission main in the Solerno Boulevard right-of-way, and authorize appropriate budgetary actions to include the project in the Water Resources Department’s CIP. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See page for Agreement.)

RECLAIMED WATER MAIN CONSTRUCTION AGREEMENT WITH THE VIERA COMPANY,
RE: WICKHAM ROAD

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to execute Reclaimed Water Main Construction Agreement with the Viera Company for construction of a reclaimed water transmission main in the proposed Wickham Road right-of-way extension. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See page for Agreement.)

TASK ORDER #98-002-24 WITH POST, BUCKLEY, SCHUH & JERNIGAN, INC., RE:
ENGINEERING SERVICES FOR NPDES STORMWATER PERMITS

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to approve Task Order #98-002-24 with Post, Buckley, Schuh & Jernigan, Inc. to provide engineering services for the NPDES stormwater permits for wastewater treatment facilities in the amount of $34,720. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See page for Task Order #98-002-24.)

RESOLUTION, RE: REQUESTING LIBERTY AEROSPACE, INC. BE APPROVED AS A
QUALIFIED TARGETED INDUSTRY BUSINESS

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to adopt Resolution requesting Liberty Aerospace, Inc. be approved as a qualified targeted industry business and the necessary commitment of local financial support to the qualified targeted industry tax refund program be waived and matched through the County’s ad valorem tax abatement program. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See page for Resolution No. 03-083.)

RESOLUTION, RE: AUTHORIZING TAX EXEMPT COMMERCIAL PAPER LOAN FOR
ROADWAY AND LANDSCAPING EQUIPMENT

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to adopt Resolution authorizing a tax exempt commercial paper loan for the purchase of Roadways and Landscaping Department equipment for District 1; authorize the Chairperson and County Attorney to sign necessary loan documents; and authorize staff to make necessary budget changes. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See page for Resolution No. 03-084.)

MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING WITH BREVARD WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
BOARD, INC. AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION OF FLORIDA’S SPACE
COAST, RE: COORDINATION OF JOB LINK POSTINGS

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to execute Memorandum of Understanding with Brevard Workforce Development Board, Inc. and Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast providing a process between the parties for posting of new jobs. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See page for Memorandum of Understanding.)

APPROVAL OF REVISED POLICY BCC-58, RE: NAMING OF COUNTY FACILITIES

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to approved revised Policy BCC-58, Naming of County Facilities, establishing criteria for selecting or changing the names, with no changes. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See page for Policy BCC-58.)

APPROVAL TO PURCHASE OFF STATE CONTRACT, RE: COMMVAULT GALAXY
ENTERPRISE BACKUP SYSTEM

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to approve purchase of CommVault Galaxy Enterprise backup system off the State Contract. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

REQUEST FROM SHERIFF, RE: TRANSFER OF FUNDS FOR JAIL MANAGEMENT
SYSTEM

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to approve transfer of $985,808 from Fund 1416, that were transferred to the Board in FY 2000-01 and held in trust for the Sheriff’s Office in accordance with Governmental Accounting Standards Board Pronouncement 34. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

SETTLEMENT OF CLAIM, RE: CLAUDIA HAMMILL AND PAUL HAMMILL CASE

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to authorize settlement of all claims regarding the lawsuit of Claudia Hammill and Paul Hammill for a total of $25,000 including attorneys’ fees and costs. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

APPROVAL OF SPECIAL MASTER RECOMMENDATION, RE: CODE ENFORCEMENT
CASE AGAINST NORRIS AND MARSHA STREETE

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to accept the special master recommendation and dismiss Code Enforcement Case No. 02-3755 against Norris and Marsha Streete, as evidence presented showed no violation of the private lake Codes. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

ACKNOWLEDGE RECEIPT, RE: FINAL ORDER IN BREVARD COUNTY v. CITY OF
PALM BAY AND DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY AFFAIRS

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to acknowledge receipt of the final order in the case of Brevard County v. City of Palm Bay and Department of Community Affairs regarding annexation of 21 acres converted from agricultural use to commercial use, as the County did not prevail. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

APPOINTMENTS/REAPPOINTMENTS, RE: CITIZEN ADVISORY BOARDS

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to appoint and/or reappoint William Johnson and June Baker to the Suntree/Viera Public Library Advisory Board, with terms expiring December 31, 2003. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

APPROVAL, RE: BILLS AND BUDGET CHANGES

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to approve the bills and budget changes as submitted. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See pages
for List of Bills and Budget Change Request.)

The meeting recessed at 11:25 a.m., and reconvened at 11:30 a.m.

UNPAVED ROAD AGREEMENT WITH TIMOTHY L. MILLER, RE: GARVIN LAKE
DRIVE EXTENSION C

Chairperson Colon advised the citizen who pulled the item has left the meeting.

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to execute Unpaved Road Agreement with Timothy L. Miller for construction of a road in Garvin Lake Drive Extension C right-of-way. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See page for Agreement.)

PUBLIC HEARING, RE: ZONING RECOMMENDATION - OLD CATHOLIC CHURCH IN
AMERICA

Chairperson Colon called for the public hearing to consider the recommendation of the Planning and Zoning Board, made at its public hearing on October 7, 2002, and tabled by the Board of County Commissioners on November 7, 2002, December 5, 2002, January 21, 2003, February 6, 2003, and March 6, 2003, as follows:

Item 1. (Z0210302) Old Catholic Church in America’s request for a conditional use permit (CUP) for a church in an SR zoning classification, removing the existing CUP for a residential social service facility, on 1.57 acres located on the southwest corner of Florida Avenue and Dairy Road, which was recommended for approval by the P&Z Board.

Attorney Richard Torpy, representing the Old Catholic Church in America, presented a document to the Board, but not the Clerk; and stated he asked for five minutes to have the opportunity to review the document presented to the Board by Mr. Tsamoultales last week, which deals strictly with the issue of value. He stated each time they have been before the Board, there have been no objections or very minimal objection to a church; and most of what was raised has been site specific questions. He stated Mr. Tsamoultales argued that Mr. Benson’s letter says putting a church next to his property is going to devalue his property; and that is the basis for which he is requesting the Board deny the CUP. He stated the second paragraph of the letter does say the placing of a church will devalue the property, but it also says based on all known facts; and it is his opinion that the best measure of damages associated with the proposed adverse influence is the cost to cure. He stated the cost associated with providing adequate and reasonable buffers from the adverse condition would be the best measure of curing the damages associated with the proposed conditional use; Mr. Benson’s actual opinion is that although it could devalue property, there is a cure; he goes on to say the cure is a permanent buffer or wall; based on his information the wall would cost approximately $28,000; and his client has consistently and in the binding development agreement agreed to build the wall; therefore, there is no damage. Mr. Torpy advised there are three reports—(1) from Ms. Lawandales that makes a comment about negative impact on value, (2) a letter from Mr. King that makes a comment on value; and (3) Mr. Benson’s letter; and if Mr. Benson is an expert and says it can be cured; the evidence before the Board is that any negative impact is cured by a wall, and they have agreed to put up the wall at their expense; therefore, there is no negative impact. He stated the other document the Board has is staff’s report, which is in support of the CUP; no evidence of value is contained in the staff’s report; and there is no new information the Board has except what he is going to give it now. He presented white books to the Board, but not the Clerk; stated the front page is a summary; and the opinions of the three individuals hired by the Tsamoultaleses on value are just that, hired opinions. He advised he went through the Brevard County Property Appraiser’s actual statistics on value; the thin book contains the printout tabbed for the Board of 44 properties, all within one mile of the subject site and adjacent to or abutting churches; of those 44, only three depreciated in value; and the average of those three was approximately $5,366, which could have been caused by anything. He stated the ones that increased in value went up over $20,000. He noted the second white book is even more telling and is not an opinion, but fact; he is submitting it into evidence today; it is about 12 churches from around the County that they picked at random; and it represents an additional 139 properties adjacent to or abutting churches. He stated only nine of them went down in value; the average decrease was $6,900; the ones that increased in value went up $22,900; so out of 180 properties only 12 actually went down in value. He stated those are real statistics; the facts are County staff is in support of the CUP; the only real objections are site specific issues; and they have agreed in a binding development agreement to take care of those site specific issues and more important consistent with what Mr. Tsamoultales’ own expert says, the cost to cure is the cost of the wall. Mr. Torpy stated they are curing the problem by putting up a wall at their expense; if Mr. Benson’s opinion is read, logically there is no deprecation of value; and it is just an objection from the neighbors, the Tsamoultaleses. He stated he wants to correct one thing he said last week because it is incorrect; he said Mr. Tsamoultales’ opinions were no different than his; he is used to them speaking as lawyers; but that is not true, and he wants to correct the record on that because Mr. Tsamoultales happens to be the adjacent landowner so he has the ability to give an opinion that at least legally has more substance than his representing a body; but he does want the record to be correct on the issues of value and thanked the Board for the opportunity.

Attorney Nick Tsamoultales advised he is not sure what Mr. Torpy is trying to establish with the voluminous paperwork that he provided to the Board, but he should acknowledge that real estate in Florida is unique and every piece of property is different. He stated Mr. Torpy made comments about dollars; he is talking about percentages as well; he does not know what the dollars mean in terms of the comments Mr. Torpy made; and regarding Mr. Benson’s letter, he addressed a church because that is what was before him in his evaluation, and what is before the Board as well; and he does not think the Board can expect anything except an evaluation based upon the facts that were presented to Mr. Benson. He stated regarding the wall, that is not the only negative impact created by the proposed plan; and the Board can determine with no evidence that generally a project of this intensity would create a reduction in the value of his property. Mr. Tsamoultales stated the Codes provide obligations on the part of the applicant, that he does not think they have met; there has been no evidence other than staff’s comments; and in the memo he gave the Board it will read that staff’s comments in some cases, as well as approval of the Planning and Zoning Board, could be overcome by evidence he presented to the Board. He stated no evidence has been presented by the applicant; the Code requires the Board to do certain things; and without the applicant giving the Board information, it cannot carry out its requirements. He stated the Board has an obligation; the applicant has an obligation; and if the applicant does not meet his obligation, then the Board cannot carry out its obligation and is left legally with the inability to do that. He requested the Board deny the application. Mr. Tsamoultales stated in Dade County v. Blumenthal and all the other cases that subscribe to that concept, undisputed lay testimony is sufficient basis to support a denial of a zoning request; and this is not a zoning request, but the other cases deal with other matters as well. He stated in this case the Board has both lay testimony and expert testimony, not from the applicant, but from those who oppose the application; both are undisputed; and that is the basis upon which the Board can deny the request. He stated he believes Mr. Torpy will agree that a homeowner can give testimony regarding the value of his real estate and it is valid testimony; and he will also agree that real estate in Florida is unique. He stated regarding the documents that were presented to the Board, it cannot deal with those as they apply to the parcel; and it has to deal with the facts, testimony, and the evidence that was presented. He thanked the Board for putting up with as much as it has in this matter; stated if he offended anyone throughout the course of it, he apologizes; it is quite an emotional issue for him and his wife; and he would like to submit documents to the Clerk so it can be made part of the record.

Chairperson Colon inquired if Mr. Torpy has a copy of the documents; with Mr. Tsamoultales responding yes.

Commissioner Higgs stated the Board has looked at this item over a series of weeks; it is interesting to see the evolution of communication and evidence that has been presented; it has looked at everything, from the corporations involved to the property; but what it needs to focus on is the compatibility of the land uses to the west side of Dairy Road. She stated as she looks at the Future Land Use Map as well as the existing development to the west of Dairy Road, in the unincorporated area of the County where it has jurisdiction, the land use there is predominantly and strongly single-family residential; the zoning on the parcel that is under the application is single-family residential with the ability to do some residential uses under an existing CUP, which would be removed, but it would still be a residential use; and all along the area of influence are residential properties. She stated to the east of Dairy Road, directly across from the property in question, is single-family residential although there are some churches, but the predominant use is single-family residential; and when she tries to evaluate it in terms of the use of the property and compatibility of the uses regarding hours of operation to the number of people using the property, there is incompatibility in regard to the hours of operation and use with the predominant use of residential in the area. Commissioner Higgs stated she received a report from an MAI appraiser; there is a specific reference in the CUP in regard to the weight of the appraiser’s opinion in these cases; and inquired if Mr. Knox or Mr. Enos could clarify for the Board that particular issue in terms of diminishment of property value.

Zoning Official Rick Enos advised Section 62-1901(c)(1)(c) speaks to the specific standard regarding the substantial diminution in value; that is one of the considerations the Board must look at in evaluating CUP’s; the provision states, “The proposed use will not cause a substantial diminution in value of abutting property, residential property. A substantial diminution shall be irrebuttably presumed to have occurred if abutting property suffers a 15% reduction in value as a result of the proposed conditional use. A reduction of 10% of the value of abutting property shall create a rebuttable presumption that is substantial diminution has occurred. The Board of County Commissioners carries to show as evidence by either testimony from or an appraisal conducted by an MAI certified appraiser that a substantial diminution in value would occur. The applicant may rebut the findings with his own expert witnesses.” Mr. Enos stated the Board has an appraisal from Mr. Benson who is an MAI appraiser; essentially he states that the impact would be $28,000 on a property, which is appraised at $160,000; and that would equal 17.5% of the value.

Commissioner Higgs stated in trying to look at the information that has been submitted this morning, it is hard to evaluate some of it; the Board has seen increases in property values throughout the County in recent years; sales values on the whole have increased; and whether there is evidence that those increases are a result of the general increase in value or some other factor is hard to evaluate at this point. She stated based on the evidence that has been presented, including that by the Benson & Company as well as by Lawandales Planning Associates and the other, which is on the record, it is her opinion that the Board should move to deny this request.

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded for discussion by Commissioner Scarborough, to deny the request of Old Catholic Church in America for a conditional use permit for a church in SR zoning classification located at 3005 W. Florida Avenue in Melbourne.

Commissioner Scarborough stated the appraisal does not have a problem saying there was diminution in value; the issue that Mr. Torpy raised is the methodology in determining that; and according to the Ordinance, if there is something in excess of 15% reduction in value, the presumption is irrefutable. He inquired, if it is irrefutable, then would the last sentence that says, “The applicant may rebut the findings with his own expert testimony,” not apply, or is that still applicable because one expert can dispute another expert as to overall value.

County Attorney Scott Knox advised if the only evidence the Board has is that it is a 15% reduction or more, then it is an irrebuttable presumption and cannot be rebutted; nobody can present evidence in rebuttal; and if there is any evidence presented that the value of the reduction was something less than 15%, then it is rebuttable.

Commissioner Scarborough inquired why would the opinion of the MAI hired by the persons in opposition be taken over an MAI hired by the applicant; with Mr. Knox responding from the Board’s standpoint, all it needs is an MAI and it does not make a difference whose it was. Commissioner Scarborough stated it says the applicant may rebut the findings with his own expert witness; what the Board has is a great deal of information dealing with properties surrounding churches; and inquired if that would be considered expert witness testimony as the Ordinance reads; with Mr. Knox responding it is Mr. Torpy presenting evidence from the Property Appraiser’s office. Commissioner Scarborough stated he understands that, but would it not rebut because it is not an MAI; with Mr. Knox responding he does not think the Board has opinion testimony and it is just Mr. Torpy presenting factual data of what the record shows. Commissioner Scarborough stated he has a problem because it says “with his own expert witness”; the data was taken from the Property Appraiser’s records; he has looked at different appraisals over the years; and the issue always becomes what do you use as comparatives. He stated there is a real art in an appraisal doing comparatives; the applicant has failed in the rebuttal both in bulk manner in which it was done and there was not an analysis; and secondly, it has to be an expert witness and assuming that since the level has been raised to an MAI, an MAI would have had to be present or given an opportunity; so that is why he seconded the motion.

Chairperson Colon called for a vote on the motion. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See page for Zoning Resolution.)

Commissioner Carlson inquired if the Board will get the findings of fact.

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to direct the County Attorney to prepare an order of finding of fact and return it to the Board within 30 days.

Chairperson Colon stated the order will not be a public hearing; with Commissioner Higgs responding that is correct.

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

PUBLIC HEARING, RE: REQUEST FOR DETERMINATION OF VESTED RIGHTS BY
MML VENTURES

Chairperson Colon called for the public hearing to consider a request by MML Ventures for determination of vested rights. She advised the applicant’s attorney Rick Torpy advised his client is out of the country and wanted to know if the item could be continued.

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to continue the public hearing to consider a request by MML Ventures for a determination of vested rights until April 8, 2003. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

The meeting recessed at 11:58 a.m. and reconvened at 1:00 p.m.

PUBLIC HEARING, RE: ORDINANCE CREATING PARKWAY DRIVE WATERLINE MSBU

Chairperson Colon called for the public hearing to consider an ordinance creating Parkway Drive Waterline Municipal Service Benefit Unit (MSBU).

Peter Karas advised the quality of the water is very bad; they drink it, cook with it, and wash with it; and it is unbearable. He stated it will be a tremendous improvement if they can get city water. Mike Mesaros stated he will be moving to Palms West; he has friends there; and he supports getting city water. Chris Perry stated the quality of the water will be improved by city water; and it may be difficult to come up with an amount to assess homeowners, but from the standpoint of health with saturation of septic systems, the wells that exist now are a concern. He stated there will also be fire hydrants and water available for emergency vehicles. Joan Wickline stated several months ago she understood they needed 75% of the residents approving the MSBU to get city water; they worked very hard to get that; and it was not easy because some people have not built on their lots yet, some do not live there year round, and a lot of them work out of town. She stated she asked why it was assessed the way it was and County staff said they looked at all the options and she had to trust them to know what they were doing, and it was the best way to do because there are some very small lots and some very large lots on the street. She stated she could pay her portion of the assessment from the clothes she ruined from laundering not to mention the bottled water they have to purchase for drinking; and they would appreciate being included in the MSBU. She stated she understood Melbourne is trying to update its system with a loop, which they will use part of for Parkway Drive; but looking at the long-term, it is essential that they get city water at this time.

Commissioner Carlson stated the Board sent it back for staff to look at a weighted average on the cost to put in the waterlines; and requested an update on the pros and cons of that.

Roadways and Landscaping Finance Manager Greg Pelham advised there are two methods that were used for weighted average; one took in the square footage, front footage, and per lot basis to allocate the cost at basically one-third of the cost for each scenario; and the pros to that are it does help equalize the cost across all the affected properties, but the drawback is the front footage calculation. He stated some lots have 25 feet of front footage and others have 200 feet; and such a wide disparity tends to allocate more cost to someone with a lot of front footage. He stated the last column on the spreadsheet is the weighted average using square footage on a per lot basis; and on that calculation they took half of the cost and allocated it to each property owner on a per lot basis and the other half based on square footage of the lots they owned. He stated the pros to that are a good equitable way to allocate the cost and not put all the burden on one particular finding such as square footage; and the drawbacks are by doing it on a per lot basis for half the cost and square footage for the other half, the smaller property owners tend to see their share increase quite sizably in some cases and the larger lots see their share decrease a substantial amount.

Commissioner Carlson stated if it went back to just square footage, the advantage would be a more equitable distribution; and inquired if they had to choose between square footage only or square footage and lot average, what is the determining factor because some individuals are not planning to develop their property to the greatest extent, but the Board has to look at future development. Mr. Pelham stated under the square footage method, it does take into consideration future potential of subdividing larger lots, therefore placing the heavier burden of the cost on the owners of larger lots. He stated under the weighted average method, it lessens that slightly, but does not take into consideration how many lots can be subdivided and future development of those lots. Commissioner Carlson stated it sounds to her that square footage, what they originally analyzed, is more equitable than weighted average; and she has no problem going with the square footage of the lots only.

Commissioner Scarborough inquired if the square footage is how the people were polled; with Mr. Pelham responding yes. Commissioner Scarborough stated if the Board went any other way than square footage, it would have to re-poll the property owners.

There being no further comments or objections heard, motion was made by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to adopt an Ordinance of Brevard County, Florida; creating the Parkway Drive Waterline Municipal Service Benefit Unit; incorporating the terms and provisions of Chapter 98, Article II, Code of Ordinances of Brevard County, entitled “Special Assessments and Bonds,” to authorize the acquisition and construction of certain capital improvements within such improvement area and the imposition of non ad valorem assessments within such improvement area; and providing an effective date, calculated on a square footage basis. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See page for Ordinance No. 03-14.)

PUBLIC HEARING, RE: RESOLUTION VACATING PUBLIC UTILITY EASEMENT
(BALMORAL WAY) IN BALMORAL BAYTREE PUD, PHASE 3, TRACT J -
DiPRIMA CONSTRUCTION CORPORATION

Chairperson Colon called for the public hearing to consider a resolution vacating a public utility easement in Balmoral Baytree PUD, Phase 3, Tract J as petitioned by DiPrima Construction Corporation.

There being no objections heard, motion was made by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Higgs, to adopt Resolution vacating a public utility easement (Balmoral Way) in Balmoral Baytree PUD, Phase 3, Tract J, as petitioned by DiPrima Construction Corporation. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See page for Resolution No. 03-085.)

PUBLIC HEARING, RE: RESOLUTION VACATING RIGHT-OF-WAY (SECOND STREET)
IN PLAN OF TOWN OF PINEDA - DONALD AND JULIE HERNDON AND WILLIAM
AND CHRISTA WOJAHN

Chairperson Colon called for the public hearing to consider a resolution vacating a right-of-way in Plan of Town of Pineda as petitioned by Donald and Julie Herndon and William and Christa Wojahn.

There being no objections heard, motion was made by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to adopt Resolution vacating right-of-way (Second Street) in Plan of Town of Pineda as petitioned by Donald and July Herndon and William and Christa Wojahn. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See page for Resolution No. 03-086.)

PUBLIC HEARING, RE: ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTION 86-36, VACATION OF
ROADS, RIGHTS-OF-WAY, AND EASEMENTS

Chairperson Colon called for the public hearing to consider an ordinance amending Section 86-36, Vacation of Roads, Rights-of-way, and Easements, to clarify the Board’s authority to initiate vacatings of roads, rights-of-way, and easements.

There being no objections heard, motion was made by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to adopt an Ordinance of Brevard County, Florida, amending Section 86-36, Code of Ordinances of Brevard County, Florida, to allow the County on its own motion, to consider the vacation of roads, rights-of-way, or easements; providing for information to be submitted; providing for conflicting provisions and repealing Sections 246-31, 246-32, and 246-33, Code of Ordinances of Brevard County, Florida; providing severability; providing for area encompassed; providing for inclusion in Code; and providing for effective date. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See page for Ordinance No. 03-15.)

PUBLIC HEARING, RE: ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 62, LAND DEVELOPMENT
REGULATIONS RELATING TO CARGO TRAILER SALES OR RENTAL

Chairperson Colon called for the first public hearing to consider an ordinance amending Chapter 62 relating to cargo trailer sales or rental.

Commissioner Carlson advised Mr. Prada brought this issue to the Board and wanted to be conforming to the regulations; unfortunately it might not be the case; and requested Mr. Scott explain the issues.

Planning and Zoning Director Mel Scott advised this is the first of two public hearings on cargo trailer sales in BU-1 zoning classification permitted with conditions; Mr. Prada owns a gas station along Fiske Boulevard; the design of the principal structure is set back deeply on the property; therefore, the use, other than a gas station, would need to store the products in front of the primary structure. He stated the ordinance as crafted would allow cargo trailer sales to be introduced into the community commercial zoning classification, but puts forward many performance-based qualifiers; and it would require storage of the cargo trailers behind the front building line. He stated there are frontage requirements along the road; and the conditions in place were established with an aesthetic goal in mind. Mr. Scott stated permitted with conditions in BU-2 does not permit cargo trailer sales along R 520; and the intent was the same as staff is trying to accomplish with the proposed ordinance, that there are certain roadways where they do not want more intense visually apparent uses to be located. He stated what makes it challenging is that they can sell new and used cars in BU-1 as well as motorcycles, so the argument is why not cargo trailers; the notion is there is a difference in size and character; and the spirit of the ordinance as written insinuates to a certain degree that the very intense looking car dealerships in BU-1 may be slightly more intense than they would like to see in BU-1; so there is some insinuation of that as well.

Commissioner Carlson stated they talked to Rockledge because there is a lot of city property around the subject property; and inquired what were the comments from the City; with Mr. Scott responding their comments were they would not allow this to happen in their like type commercial zoning classification; and voiced a desire to have the ordinance go forward as presented, but if some of the conditions would go away, they would not be in favor of the ordinance.

Commissioner Pritchard advised on February 24, 2003, the LPA voted 8 to 2 to reject the ordinance and allow the sale as a permitted use with no conditions in BU-1 zoning classification; and requested an explanation. Mr. Scott stated the spirit of the discussion that won the day in that 8 to 2 vote was the argument he presented; the majority of the LPA members, when faced with the fact that car sales can occur in BU-1, were hard pressed to see a difference in this issue; and that was the point that drove the vote against the ordinance. He stated the LPA did vote to have it permitted without any conditions. Commissioner Pritchard inquired if a car, van, and trailer were looked at in the same vein as not being something obnoxious; with Mr. Scott responding that was the view of the LPA. Commissioner Pritchard inquired where did the conditions with minimum half-acre lot and site must abut public right-of-way come from; with Mr. Scott responding primarily from internal discussions with staff. Mr. Scott stated they were hoping to insure the introduction of this use was going to be out of sight from a roadway; and those conditions accomplish that goal. Commissioner Pritchard inquired if those conditions were rejected by the LPA; with Mr. Scott responding that is correct. Commissioner Pritchard stated there is something ironic about the applicant in that the way the ordinance was written, it would have excluded him; with Mr. Scott responding that was the ironic part.

Commissioner Carlson stated Mr. Prada was the one who brought it up because he wanted to conform; staff tried to figure out a way that might work for him to do what he wants to do on the property; but it is almost impossible based on other Codes. Mr. Scott stated staff recognized there was a property owner who purchased BU-1 property along Fiske Boulevard where he cannot sell cargo trailers; he came in and said he had a desire to sell a product and knew the Code does not allow him to sell it; and staff told him about the process and several public forums at which he could discuss it. He stated that point was made to the Board through the legislative intent and permission to advertise; it also went to the LPA; and this is the fourth or fifth time the Board has seen it. He stated it is clearly the Board’s pleasure whether it wants to accommodate the property owner or say he cannot sell cargo trailers from the property. Commissioner Pritchard stated they can sell cars under BU-1. Commissioner Carlson stated this action came forward based on a Code violation; many times the Board tries to assist individuals who have Code violations and did not realize they were in violation, to try and work with the Code; Mr. Prada brought this to the Board’s attention; and staff has been attempting to do something to give him some conformance, but it has not worked so far.

Lee Prada advised he purchased the property in 1994 and leased it to make the payments and cover expenses; it is an investment; the building is 1,500 square feet with two bays; he could sell cars, or have a mechanic’s shop or a gas station; selling trailers is no different than selling cars; they are new trailers and small; gas stations have rented trailers, U-hauls, etc.; and inquired what is the difference between selling and renting trailers. He stated it is environmentally friendly; and there will be no repairs, merely electrical connections and hitches. He stated the property generates $24,000 a year; last year he paid $839 in taxes; he renovated and beautified it by putting brick on the building and adding other things; and now it is assessed at a higher price, increasing the taxes by $200. He stated he has to do business to cover the expenses; it is a clean business and an asset compared to what could be there; and across the street to the north is a garage. He stated he had it vacant for nine months after renovations because he did not want a mechanical shop, tire shop, etc.; the first renters had a nursery, but could not make it because the rent was too high, so it eventually folded. He stated a gentleman approached him about trailer sales; he has a DMV dealers license; he thought it fell under selling cars, but when he went to get his occupational license he was rejected; and that is when the problem started. He stated the property will never meet the regulations on setbacks and screening; and requested his property be grandfathered in and if the building is damaged beyond 50%, he would have to upgrade it to the Code.

*Chairperson Colon’s absence was noted at this time.

Commissioner Pritchard stated he is trying to understand what the Board is talking about; someone mentioned the City of Rockledge, but this affects the County; and Rockledge has the ability to enhance its Codes to what it wants in the city. Mr. Scott stated the property is not in the City limits. Commissioner Pritchard stated he is just qualifying the issue; however, the conditions do not exist for car sales, motorcycle sales, lawn mower sales, or cars for hire; and inquired if the trailers are fully enclosed; with Mr. Prada responding yes.

*Chairperson Colon’s presence was noted at this time.

Commissioner Pritchard stated the LPA voted 8 to 2 to reject the ordinance.

Commissioner Carlson stated this is the first of two public hearings, so unless anyone has a better suggestion, it can move to the second hearing; and if there is additional input at that time, the Board can address it.

There being no further comments or objections heard, motion was made by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Higgs, to move ordinance amending Chapter 62, Land Development Regulations, relating to sales or rental of cargo trailers to the final public hearing. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

PUBLIC HEARING, RE: ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 62, ARTICLE XII, COASTAL
SETBACK AND CONTROL LINES

Chairperson Colon called for the public hearing to consider an ordinance amending Chapter 62, Article XII, relating to coastal setback and control lines.

Clay Schuett advised he is here to answer any questions or respond to any opposition; and Hank Wilhide with Dune Erosion Control is also here.

Natural Resources Management Director Conrad White advised in January the Board discussed whether or not it would give any variances to the County’s imposed 25-foot coastal setback line that is 25 feet further westward than the State’s line; and the Board asked staff to amend the Ordinance such that the only time it would consider a variance is when the beach experiences natural accretion. He stated the Ordinance has been amended to reflect that sentiment and henceforth the only time any variance could be given to the setback line would be if the beach had natural accretion. He stated the second issue the Board has wrestled with is how to allow homeowners experiencing severe erosion to provide some protection to their homes; it is in the area south of Patrick Air Force Base where the Comprehensive Plan is very restrictive and says, “there shall be no hardening”; and the proposed amendments would, under strict and specified circumstances, allow that for homeowners who can demonstrate imminent danger or danger resulting from a 15-year storm event certified by a professional engineer who has experience with coastal erosion, the Board, in a public hearing, could approve writing a letter to the State saying a specific project would meet its conditions and local approval. Mr. White advised coastal construction requires a State permit; Brevard County does not issue permits; but the State requires the Board’s approval prior to issuing permits; so the way it is structured creates the scenario by which the Board could, not shall, approve those under certain circumstances. He stated staff tried to capture the Board’s direction from two prior meetings and brought it back at this time; and it is a singular ordinance, which could move on from here.

Commissioner Higgs stated the ordinance does protect the dune system and allows homeowners to protect their properties as well as protect the beach environment.

There being no further comments or objections heard, motion was made by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to adopt an Ordinance of Brevard County, Florida, amending Chapter 62, Article XII, Code of Ordinances of Brevard County, Florida, relating to coastal setback and control lines, specifically amending Section 62-4201, definitions and rules of construction to amend the definition of “emergency”; defining the new terms “imminent collapse” and “vulnerable structure”; amending Section 62-4202, penalties, by providing for additional means of enforcement; amending Section 62-4209, variances, by allowing variances to be heard only if accretion has occurred; amending Section 62-4212 prohibited structures and activities seaward of coastal setback line, to allow additional exemptions; amending Section 62-4213 permitted structures seaward of coastal setback line, by adding provisions for consistency letters and conditions under which such letters may be approved; deleting the definition of “approval”’ providing for the interpretation of conflicting provisions; providing for severability; providing for area encompassed and an effective date. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See page for Ordinance No. 03-16.)

PUBLIC HEARING, RE: REQUEST BY GLEN HOUSTON FOR DETERMINATION OF
VESTED RIGHTS

Chairperson Colon called for the public hearing to consider a request by Glen Houston for determination of vested rights to establish eight one-half acre mobile home lots within a Residential 1 Future Land Use Map designation of one acre minimum lot size.

Glen Houston, representing himself and his mother Vivian Pearson, who lives in Fort Pierce, Florida, and has a financial interest in the vested rights determination, advised they are trying to reestablish eight half-acre lots, which was done by Resolution on August 4, 1986, but for some reason the owner at the time did not record the correct documents to make that legitimate. He stated before he purchased the property, he researched various County resources such as the Official Records, Property Appraiser’s records, Code Enforcement, etc., and found information, which he relied upon, that led him to believe the property consisted of eight lots with a mobile home on each lot. He stated before he bought it, he called the Building Department because there was a Code violation; and he was told all he had to do was get a permit to satisfy the lien on the property and go before the special master. He stated after he purchased the property, he went though the permitting process and received a call to come and pick up the permit; but when he got there, he was told the property did not meet the Future Land Use Map; and they recommended he file for a small scale Comprehensive Plan amendment. He stated it later came to light that the small scale plan amendment would not resolve the issue unless he obtained an approved subdivision plat, which would be very costly and difficult because of the configuration of the property; so at that time it was suggested he file for vested rights. Mr. Houston stated he heard today that every property is unique; this one has a lot of uniqueness; and requested the Board consider that the property was purchased relying partly on the information obtained from various County Departments, and at no time did they let him know that trailers would not be allowed on the property; there have been eight separate addresses issued by the Address Department; the Property Appraiser has eight separate addresses listed; there were eight separate power poles installed by Florida Power & Light Company; there are eight certified septic tanks approved and installed; and the minutes where the Resolution was adopted says there were four existing lots and they added four more. He stated he found some permits from the file and gave them to Mr. Corwin this afternoon; he worked diligently on this situation; and according to the special master on July 15, 1999, there was a Code violation that did not create a problem to public health, safety, and welfare. He stated he spent a lot of money repairing and maintaining the fence on the north side of the property, which was an issue with Barefoot Bay according to the 1986 minutes; and he worked with them on that. He stated he acted in good faith and exhausted every remedy recommended or suggested by staff; and to address staff’s concerns, he agrees to the following: (1) construct a concrete apron off Fleming Grant Road; (2) plant a six-foot vegetative buffer on the south side of the property; (3) repair and maintain the fence between his property and Barefoot Bay; and (4) in the future if the vested rights is granted, any mobile home that becomes irreparable will be replaced with a doublewide mobile home or modular home. Mr. Houston requested that the money he spent on application fees and waivers be applied to the $1,733 vested rights application fee; and noted he is not asking for anything more, just to keep what he had.

Commissioner Higgs inquired if staff has determined that building permits were issued on the site; with Senior Planner Todd Corwin responding four building permits were issued in December 1986; and the zoning action that gave the property TR-2 zoning was in August, 1986. Commissioner Higgs stated they were given addresses, power poles, septic tanks, and building permits; it would seem the homes that are there would meet the criteria for vested rights; the applicant indicated a willingness to agree to certain conditions regarding the fence, buffer, apron, and replacement of the mobile homes; and inquired how would those conditions be included in the motion; with County Attorney Scott Knox responding they could be made conditions of the approval.

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Pritchard, to grant vested rights to Glen Houston, subject to Mr. Houston constructing a concrete apron off Fleming Grant Road, planting a six-foot vegetative buffer on the south side of the property; repairing and maintaining the fence between his property and Barefoot Bay; and in the future, if any mobile home becomes irreparable, to replace them with doublewide mobile homes or modular homes. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

Commissioner Pritchard advised Mr. Houston requested consideration that the fees he paid be applied towards the vested rights application fee. Planning and Zoning Director Mel Scott advised the $1,733 fee covers the cost of multiple hearings and research by staff on behalf of Mr. Houston, etc. Commissioner Pritchard inquired what fees were Mr. Houston referring to; with Mr. Corwin responding he applied for a small scale plan amendment at $919. Mr. Scott stated that application was made about two years ago; and the item was advertised, heard and considered by the Board on about six occasions over the course of a year and a half. Commissioner Carlson inquired if the small scale plan amendment will go forward after this; with Commissioner Higgs responding he does not need it as the Board established his vested rights.

STAFF DIRECTION, RE: LICENSING FOR INSTALLING PLASTIC BOAT DOCKS

Bea Polk read a letter from her son, who was unable to attend the meeting, as follows: “I received License Board letter rejecting any change in their stand on our request to be allowed to move forward with Marine 2 contract license to install plastic docks. I’m disappointed in their action; however, based on their previous actions, I’m not surprised by the recommendation of the letter. The License Board has continued to recommend that I work for a current licensed contractor for at least two years. I remind the Commissioners that the License Board has never been able to give me a contractor with any plastic dock experience. I have also pointed out that even if I did work for a wooden dock supplier for two years, that contractor is under no requirement to sign off on my experience. I have supplied, as attachment to this letter, a record of commendation from the U.S. Air Force. We have a tax we have received. In fact my company, TCD, has worked with several Department of Defense contractors, and we continue to be very successful with our technology. How many of the current dock contractors have actual contracts with the Defense Department? Remember, we are talking about plastic docks, which are radically different than wooden docks. They are not nailed together on sides, but built as a unit in our plant. So in this vein, the License Board would have me apply my product to a contractor, then teach the contractor how to install it, then the same contractor would sign off to me being competitive in the field with a better product he cannot attain because I plan to compete with him. The idea is laughable on my side and his. I will also remind the Commissioners that Brevard County is not the entire world. I will simply go and take this project to another county. These actions do not bother me in the least. I’m a businessman who really do not care about local politics. Believe it or not, I’m trying to bring manufacturing jobs to the County, which I grew up in and where I came back to start my business. We will simply manufacture docks in another county, license technology to established manufacture, as I own the technology. I can assure that the plastic docks will not be manufactured in Brevard County or sold to this County. Apparently Brevard County does not need or want environmental products or jobs. Let me get on to the next issue. I don’t know why the License Board, anyone employed by Brevard County is interested in my parents’ dock. Why has the County had the dock inspected? Why are there emails back and forth with Department of Environmental Protection and Brevard County? Why did my parents’ dock ever become an issue in my license applications? This is simply harassment. Public employees ought to be servants of the people. They are not allowed to use their office to pursue personal agendas. It’s been an unfortunate appearance that when I pressed for the County Commission for review of an initial rejection from the License Board, this Board and some members of the Board took it upon themselves to involve the County Building Inspector and Department of Environmental Protection. And by the way, if you actually read the emails and documents from Department of Environmental Protection, you will find that Department of Environmental Protection actually supported our efforts to bring an environmentally friendly product to market. There could be some other explanation to these actions; however, I demand to see the emails and other correspondence from Mr. Massey and (unclear) from June last year until now. I am also requesting that Department of Environmental Protection emails and correspondence in this matter with any employee or officer of Brevard County. If I find that anyone contacted Department of Environmental Protection from this County, I will review this find with you and I expect you to take appropriate actions. There can be no justification for servants of the people to act in anything but a professional manner. As an elected official, you should hold your employees and yourselves to a higher standard. If you do not trust me, I will look forward to your written response.”

Ms. Polk stated she was told the County was never involved, but even the part he has in here, that the Department of Environmental Protection responded to permitting existing dock; the dock was up at least a half a year before they applied for a license; it is their personal dock; and the only reason they had anything to say about it is because it was over a thousand feet. She stated she talked to a guy who said they did not need a permit. She stated they came out and measured it; they found out they had a boat shed that had been up there when they bought the property; but the State said they cannot have two so they arranged to take it down and remove it. She stated they were very nice and called them three or four times; they moved it and they appreciated it because now it is right with the dock; so they did everything. She stated at first there was a push from here; the fee was $700 and she agreed to pay that; they came back and put it down to $200, and apologized because how many other docks are not in compliance; but she got the idea that everyone wants to blame the neighbor, and the neighbor did write letters. She stated it was all right with her dock; she agreed on that; but to take it with her son’s business and use it is just unprofessional; all they are asking is to have a license to use new technology that no one they can find in the County can teach; they would have to teach them with no idea when they will get their license; so, as her son said, they will take it somewhere else if the Board does not want it. She stated she would like to have it in this County because it has been her home since 1959 and where she raised three children, and has grandchildren and great grandchildren. She stated she has been to many county commission meetings, but this is the first time she has seen what went on with this; she would like to talk to Mr. Massey and asked him, but he said he would not talk to her.

Chairperson Colon advised Ms. Polk her time was up, and also that she would prefer not to have employees’ names mentioned at the meetings. She stated comments may be directed at the Departments, but not the persons. Ms. Polk stated that is okay, but sometimes in life something has to be done; she has done nothing to that man and did not even know him until she met him this morning.

Susan Canada stated the Board has a chance for a business with a good business record; it is a quality company; they do not just turn out quantity, they turn out quality; and the company is well known throughout the State. She stated Brevard County has a chance for new technology and it is something new; responsible people run the company; they are not here asking for tax abatement, handouts, or anything; and all they are asking for is a business license to go ahead and work. She stated it is an innovative company; Brevard County is focused on technology; and inquired what would have happened if when the Space Center was going in, someone said it really had not been tried before so keep it out of here, and where would Brevard County be now if that had happened.

Permitting and Enforcement Director Ed Washburn advised the Board has the recommendation from the Contractor Licensing Board; and it also has a memo Mr. Repperger gave the Board with three options, which are essentially the three options the Contractor Licensing Board looked at to handle this issue.

Commissioner Carlson stated the recommendation in the letter from Nick Witek, Chairman of the Contractor Licensing Board, says, “Our solution is simple. Use a licensed engineer or contractor with the proper experience and background until Mr. Polk serves his time in the field, and gains the knowledge needed to install his product properly.” She inquired if he runs a business, can he hire a contractor with the proper license to install his product; and he would have control over that contractor, then after two years it would give him the license to do what he needs to do in his business; with Mr. Massey responding Mr. Polk can do that. Commissioner Carlson stated she does not see what the issue is; he can educate the licensed wood dock contractor to install his product, but there is no issue of taking away the technology, which always seemed to be a concern to Ms. Polk; and inquired if Mr. Polk understands that. She stated he is a businessman and must know that all he has to do is hire a licensed contractor; he would have to train him to install it; but that person would have the license required by the County to do business in the County. Mr. Massey stated those options were presented to Mr. Polk, and he declined to take it. Commissioner Carlson inquired if Mr. Polk declined to hire someone with the proper license; with Mr. Massey responding yes, or go into a business venture with someone who was properly licensed based on his aspect of new technology. Commissioner Carlson stated as a business person, Mr. Polk could get around that by hiring someone and give that person the materials to install the dock; he can train that person on how to install the dock and still continue in business in the County; and it does not seem like it is rocket science. She stated there are a lot of ways to protect technology with copyright, patents, laws, and rules; if he is in the business of putting in docks, all he has to do is hire someone with a license in the County to put in his product; and he would have to train that person because there is no one out there trained to put in those kinds of docks; and inquired why would he have a problem with that; with Ms. Polk responding they would like to keep it in the family. Ms. Polk stated they paid the fee to the County and have been waiting for months just to take it; she read through some of the documents from other counties that say he ought to take a test; and he is going to take the test. Commissioner Carlson stated he does not have to take the test if he hires someone who has taken the test. Ms. Polk stated she cannot tell the Board what her son would do, but if someone has a business, that person would like to control it; and if he hired someone and trained that person and he leaves, that could be a problem. Commissioner Carlson stated but Mr. Polk is the only one who produces the product. Ms. Polk stated if her son does that and someone pays the person more, he would leave and they would be without a contractor; and that is why they want to keep it in the family. Commissioner Carlson stated it does not make any sense.

Commissioner Pritchard stated he understands that Mr. Polk agreed to take the examination and the Contractor Licensing Board agreed to waive two years of the four-year requirement because of his education, but is holding him accountable for two years of installation experience; and inquired if there is a practical part of the exam for marine contract 2 license which includes installing a dock; with Mr. Massey responding yes. Commissioner Pritchard inquired how is that part accomplished; with Mr. Massey responding he cannot explain it because staff is not privileged to look at the exams or the references that are offered for those exams. He stated it is a two-part test; and one is business and law and the other is practical experience. Commissioner Pritchard inquired if the practical is installing pilings, piers, and all components to build a dock or is it done on paper; with Mr. Massey responding it is done on paper. Commissioner Pritchard inquired if it is just another written exam; with Mr. Massey responding that is correct. Commissioner Pritchard stated some trades have a practical exam, such as electrical journeyman who has to actually wire something to show they can do it right; but in this category, they do not have that; and inquired if the practical part of the exam is written, why would it take practical experience to show that person can pass the written exam, and would it show the written exam would give the person the experience to install a product. Mr. Massey stated if a person takes the State exam for general contractor to do residential developments, which require installation of docks or seawalls, the State will not let that person take the exam, per Florida Statutes, without the experience; and the Ordinance follows the Florida Statutes on the experience side.

Commissioner Carlson inquired what happens if there is new technology and nobody knows how to test for it; how does that come about in terms of testing and licensing procedures; how do they create another exam for a different product that has never been tested before; and what does the State do in that situation. Mr. Massey stated the State follows the same guidelines the County does; and Mr. Polk, when he first applied, was offered several options to gain experience before he took the exam. Commissioner Carlson inquired if he invented the technology, what would happen; with Mr. Washburn responding regardless of the material being installed, be it plastic, concrete, or wood, they look at the methodology or experience required to do the installation; it is not whether the material is plastic, it is the installation and going into the floor of the Indian River. Commissioner Carlson stated she can understand that, but as Ms. Polk said it is put together in a manufacturing environment and brought in as a major piece, then installed; so it is different than throwing a piling into the ground. Mr. Washburn stated there are plastic pilings; the dock at Ms. Polk’s house has plastic piling that goes into the floor of the Indian River; so the Contractor Licensing Board’s position is that they need the experience to do the installation of a dock regardless of the material the dock is made out of. He stated the attorney did give two or three options for issuing the license, if Mr. Polk did not agree with the Contractor Licensing Board.

Commissioner Pritchard stated he is having a problem with a written practical exam; and unless the exam shows the person doing something, then he does not see where it is an effective part of the exam. He stated he has sunk a few pilings, and there is a lot to it; the precision that is required is more demonstrative than something that can be written; and he understands having the necessary requirement to be eligible to take the exam, but what he does not understand is how they can have a written practical exam on something like a marine contractor’s license. He stated the exam does not have any type of practical application other than to open the exam book; and a person can have knowledge of how to jet a piling, blast, and do what is necessary attained through other means, but in reality does not have the finesse to do it properly. Mr. Washburn stated that is precisely why the Contractor Licensing Board said he cannot test until he has the experience in place to allow him to take the test; and it is insuring that a person has four years of experience in dock building working under someone who has a license, or gives that person two years of credit for education, but still requires two years of hands-on experience installing docks before the person is eligible to take the two-part test. He stated a lot of people can pass a test; a long time ago he took a real estate test and passed it; but he would not know everything about real estate if he had to work in that field until he had someone help him through the process. Mr. Washburn advised the Contractor Licensing Board’s point is that it needs the person to show it he has experience in the business before he is allowed to take the test. Commissioner Pritchard stated there is no practical side of the application where whoever administers the test would go out and look at a dock the person helped install; police and firefighters have training and testing facilities; there is a physical and written phase of the training; and they do not just open a book and write down how to put out a fire, they go and put out a fire, which is part of the testing process. He stated it is not what gets them to the point of being able to take the test, it is the entire process of which the test is a part; and that is the part he is having a problem with. He stated he is not saying there is anything wrong with having requirements for licensing; and in fact, he is encouraging an even higher requirement by having a practical aspect of the exam for marine contractor instead of just having someone with a license write off somebody saying he has been with the company two years and does a good job. He inquired how does the Licensing Board verify that; with Mr. Washburn responding he will talk to the Contractor Licensing Board about the process. Commissioner Pritchard stated right now there is no practical aspect of the exam, so it puts him on the Polk side of the fence; and if they do not have a way to show a person has experience by actually performing, and all the person has is a piece of paper with several questions, and if he or she gets through that portion of the exam, then he has a problem accepting the position of the Licensing Board because he does not think the position is strong enough to make that determination. Mr. Massey advised when an applicant applies for a license in a certain trade, that person must supply three letters of experience from contractors in that field to attest to his or her experience of how long he or she worked for those persons. Commissioner Pritchard inquired if those come from three contractors; with Mr. Massey responding yes.

Chairperson Colon inquired what are the wishes of the Board; and noted one option is to take no action. Commissioner Pritchard inquired what is meant by no action; with Mr. Massey responding option 3 is to leave the Ordinance as is where plastic docks would be covered under the Ordinance as written, requiring four years experience; and plastic docks would be included with wood and concrete docks. Commissioner Higgs stated the Licensing Board substituted two years for Mr. Polk’s education; with Mr. Massey responding education can account for two years of experience.

Commissioner Pritchard stated he will support one of the Contractor Licensing Board’s recommendation; he was picking on staff for not having a practical exam only because he thinks it is appropriate; but there has to be some criteria for marine contractors. He stated the Contractor Licensing Board is made up of professionals; in its estimation four years is required for experience and it is willing to reduce two years for education; so he will support that. He stated Mr. Polk can hire a marine contractor to get him through the next two years.

Chairperson Colon stated there is no action by the Board to change the Ordinance, so it will be left as is.

CANCEL AUTHORIZATION, RE: CODE ENFORCEMENT ACTION AGAINST RONALD
D. COLE AND RONALD D. COLE, JR.

Motion by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Higgs, to cancel the authority for the County Attorney to file an appeal of the Code Enforcement special master’s order regarding Case No. 02-1743, Brevard County v. Ronald D. Cole and Ronald D. Cole, Jr., as the special master revised his opinion and ruled that the property cannot be used as multifamily. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

BOARD DIRECTION, RE: NON-CONFORMING LOTS IN EAST MIMS

Commissioner Scarborough advised historically the Board looks at the three-step criteria for vested rights, but there is also a fourth step that says, “existing single-family residence utilized as permanent residence and established prior to the Comprehensive Plan adoption on September 9, 1988 even if inconsistent with the Zoning Code may be considered for vested rights.” He stated some of the homes in East Mims were built in the 1930’s, 1940’s, and 1950’s; there are programs to rebuild homes in depressed areas and not demolish them; and granting vested rights will allow the County to proceed with that program. He stated there are about 24 homes on the list; the issue has to come back for a public hearing; but he would like to approve it and in the process, if other persons want to be part of the program, they be allowed to be added to the list and not have to come back to the Board.

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to grant the administrative processing of vested rights applications for nonconforming lots in East Mims, with active applications for residential home replacement and/or rehabilitation; and authorize adding other persons who want to be part of the project to the list. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

REQUEST FOR WAIVER OF PERIMETER BUFFER REQUIREMENT, RE: BIRCHWOOD
FOREST SUBDIVISION

Commissioner Scarborough advised historically the Board has waived the 15-foot perimeter buffer when it is along a road right-of-way; and to be consistent with its prior actions, unless a Commissioner wants to ask questions or thinks in a different manner, he will move approval.

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to grant a waiver to Section 62-2883, eliminating the 15-foot perimeter buffer requirement on the east side of the proposed Birchwood Forest Subdivision along Carpenter Road. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

FINAL ENGINEERING AND PRELIMINARY PLAT APPROVAL, RE: BIRCHWOOD
FOREST SUBDIVISION

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Pritchard, to grant final engineering and preliminary plat approval for Birchwood Forest Subdivision, subject to minor engineering changes as applicable, and developer responsible for obtaining appropriate jurisdictional permits. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

REQUEST FOR WAIVER OF PERIMETER BUFFER REQUIREMENT, RE: OCEAN
ESTATES TOWNHOMES

Kay Blahauvietz with Allen Engineering, representing the developer Gary Kaya, presented a handout to the Board, but not the Clerk; and requested waiver of the 15-foot perimeter buffer. He stated the first page of the handout highlights the five lots, which are zoned RU-2-15 and will be replatted as ten single-family attached lots. He stated the zoning to the north, northeast, east, and south are all RU-2-15; to the southeast is RU-2-30; and to the west is RU-2-10 except for Lot 6 which is RU-1-7; however, the owner agreed to the waiver request they received previously on the rear setback. He stated the property is part of Avon-By-The-Sea Subdivision, which was recorded in 1921 for about 1,000 lots; it is typical of what is seen in Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral; six lots were replatted a few years ago; and now they want to put in townhomes. He stated the lots are 100 feet deep; making a tract in the front will violate Section 62-2887, design of lots, which requires frontage on a public or private road; and it would eliminate that frontage. He stated additionally, in the front and back it would take 30 feet in addition to the 50-foot setbacks, leaving 30 feet for the building; and requested the Board allow them to have the landscape buffers and easements rather than tracts.

Motion by Commissioner Pritchard, seconded by Commissioner Higgs, to waive requirements of Section 62-2883, thereby eliminating the 15-foot perimeter buffer tract on all sides of Ocean Estates Townhomes along Ridgewood Avenue, permit the buffer within the easements on the lots and not in a separate tract, with developers proposing to provide a 15-foot landscape easement on all sides of the development. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

CONTRACT FOR SALE AND PURCHASE WITH TRUSTEES OF THE ESTATE OF
EMIL BUEHLER, RE: VALKARIA/GRANT FIRE STATION SITE

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Pritchard, to execute Contract for Sale and Purchase and Addendum with the Trustees of the Estate of Emil Buehler for the Valkaria/Grant Fire Station site, and authorize the Assistant County Attorney to sign the IRS Form 8283 acknowledging donation at the time of closing if required. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See page for Contract.)

STAFF REPORT, RE: RESIDENTIAL FENCE HEIGHTS

Jessie Fleming advised he talked to Planning and Zoning Director Mel Scott who is going to present an item that will take care of not only his problem, but the problem in Port St. John, Merritt Island, and other unincorporated areas; and encouraged the Board to take action to direct staff to amend the Ordinance. He stated there is another item on Code Enforcement; and there needs to be something done there also.

Planning and Zoning Director Mel Scott advised he will talk about the current fence regulations and circumstances which pervades the Port St. John community; but in doing so, it is important to recognize the fence Ordinance applies Countywide, and there are many circumstances that exist Countywide. He stated that is always a challenge with the Code when attempting to do a one size fits all and addressing the dynamic and varied circumstances that exist Countywide. He stated Mr. Ward has handed out a packet that contains photos, which he will use to illustrate his point; the first is a sketch showing a corner lot; the Zoning Code sees to insure that corner lots have two front lots as far as the fence requirement goes; and typically 99.99% of the codes across the country seek to have fences not exceed four feet high in front yards. He stated the Brevard County Code addresses corner lots that way and has a four-foot high fence requirement. He stated the second page of the handout has four photographs; the GDC community of Port St. John is one that was laid out anticipating there would be sidewalks installed throughout the Subdivision; however, the secondary street network of Port St. John, as is the case in many neighborhoods, are fairly safe for pedestrian travels. Mr. Scott stated if the County were to have fences as shown on page 1, which technically are not complying with the Code because they are six feet high within the 15-foot side yard setback, but the area of grass, which is outside the property line, serves to act as a kind of side yard buffer, he believes the County would be able to, if it is the pleasure of the Board and if the Board can look at the first page of photographs and say it is something that is acceptable and it is an acceptable community look, staff would go back and adjust the Ordinance to allow, once a corner lot has identified its driveway, that the six-foot high fence could be constructed within the side yard setback, so long as the fence does not go beyond the front building line. He stated there should also be something in the Code that would address communities that have sidewalks so they do not have the walled-off effect of a six-foot high fence abutting the sidewalk. He noted those are the types of remedies staff has identified at this point. Mr. Scott advised on the last page of the handout, the Board will see a road in Port St. John that has a sidewalk and a four-foot high fence; that is in essence where staff has come in analysis and evaluation of the fence constructed by Jessie Fleming; but again, the changes affect the County as a whole. He stated if it is the pleasure of the Board, staff can return with a legislative intent and draft ordinance, and continue the discussions once they have crafted the language.

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Pritchard, to direct staff to return with a legislative intent regarding amendments to the residential fence height and setback requirements. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

PERMISSION TO ADVERTISE PUBLIC HEARING, RE: ORDINANCE AMENDING
ZONING CLASSIFICATIONS FOR OUTDOOR RESTAURANT SEATING

Motion by Commissioner Pritchard, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to grant permission to advertise a public hearing to consider an ordinance amending BU-1 and BU-2 zoning classifications to allow outdoor seating areas for restaurants, adhering to specific conditions. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

APPOINTMENTS, RE: COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to appoint Commissioner Nancy Higgs to represent the Board on the Community Health Centers Board of Directors; and authorize the County Manager to designate the second appointee. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

APPROVAL OF GRANT APPLICATION AND BUDGET CHANGE REQUEST, AND
EXECUTE AGREEMENT, RE: VIERA REGIONAL PARK ATHLETIC FIELDS

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to authorize submittal of a grant application to Major League Baseball’s Baseball Tomorrow for development of youth baseball/softball fields at Viera Regional Park; authorize the County Manager to execute the Grant Agreement; and approve a Budget Change Request to establish a project budget. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See page for Budget Change Request.)

PERMISSION TO ADVERTISE PUBLIC HEARING, RE: EXCHANGE OF PROPERTY AT
W. W. JAMES PARK WITH DOUGLAS AND ANGELA SISSON

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Pritchard, to authorize Parks and Recreation staff to advertise a public hearing to consider exchange of .2 acre at W. W. James Park for .2 acre owned by Douglas and Angela Sisson to allow the referendum project to proceed as designed; waive Phase I audit and title commitment; and authorize staff to prepare the documents for the public hearing and the access easement for the Sissons. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

ASSIGNMENT OF OPTION TO PURCHASE AGREEMENT WITH THE NATURE
CONSERVANCY, RE: NATIONAL HERITAGE FOUNDATION PROPERTY

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to execute Acceptance by Assignee of an Option Agreement for Sale and Purchase with The Nature Conservancy for property owned by the National Heritage Foundation, Inc. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See page for Agreement.)

(NOTE: This item was discussed later in the meeting.)

APPROVAL, RE: ADDITION TO 2003 LEGISLATIVE REQUESTS

Commissioner Scarborough advised this item works back into the item discussed this morning; it is very complex; and requested more comprehensive report to review the issues and think of a way to make it work. He stated tort reform was discussed this morning; it is going to bring out an enormous number of people on a very controversial issue; and the Board needs to consider the issue, but needs to be careful that it does not become engaged in a dialogue that could totally consume an entire meeting with no authority to do anything to effect a change. He noted the Board does have a right to be involved in the discussion in a broad sense. County Manager Tom Jenkins advised it was fiscal driven; with Commissioner Scarborough responding he understands that, but sometimes people have to pay for things; and if the Board finds it is significant to have a trauma center, perhaps if the rest of the State falls apart, maybe this region needs to physically reach out. Commissioner Scarborough stated the Governor is taking certain postures that are indicating the State will not be taking historic responsibilities; and as that occurs, it must be important for the Board to understand that perhaps some of the burden will shift to local governments. He stated some of the shifts may not occur just to a single county but to multiple counties; he is not opposed to doing things to prevent the people of Brevard County from being harmed by the loss of a trauma center; and if it requires going in a new direction or thinking in different terms, he is not afraid of doing that.

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Higgs, to table adding requests to oppose legislation to increase the Health Care Responsibility Act cap and shift trauma center costs to counties (SB 696) until April 8, 2003. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

Commissioner Carlson stated as a point of added information on tort reform, the Tiger Bay Association is having a meeting tonight or tomorrow night on tort reform; they will have a group of professional panelists, attorneys, etc. to discuss tort reform.

Chairperson Colon advised that meeting was held last night. Commissioner Carlson stated it will be interesting to find out some details of that meeting if the Board is going to be restating this issue.

Commissioner Pritchard stated he had several questions about Item VI.B.4. Chairperson Colon inquired if Commissioner Pritchard wanted to vote against it; with Commissioner Pritchard responding he did not say anything and that is assumed as a for vote; he was busy flipping pages when it was heard; and inquired if he has to make a motion to bring it back for discussion because he has several questions he wants to ask and did not get an opportunity to do that.

Chairperson Colon advised staff can be asked to come back; and the Board will take it up later.

STAFF DIRECTION, RE: SURFACE WATER PROTECTION ORDINANCE

Commissioner Pritchard advised the report says, “whether canals are public or private, staff is of the opinion no significant difference in impacts to the resource”; and inquired if those in the construction profession, like members of the Construction Advisory Board, had an opportunity for input, whether they had any ideas what they might consider to be a significant difference as to a canal being private or public, whether it would affect their ability to construct because of setback requirements, whether there are other issues that might fall into play if a canal is designated one or the other, and whether there was any other input besides those of the Natural Resources Management Office. Natural Resources Management Director Conrad White responded staff did not go to the Construction Board for input. Commissioner Pritchard stated there could be a significant impact on those that are building wharves, piers, houses, etc.; and he would like to know what their input might be.

Sherry Williams with Natural Resources Management advised the issue comes up quite often during the one-stop permitting and construction of pools and decks in people’s yards on canals; and staff had a lot of discussion with pool contractors regarding different setbacks between a private versus a public canal. She stated staff is proposing to eliminate the word “private” because right now they get a ten-foot setback on a private canal versus a 15-foot setback from a public canal; and if it is a manmade bulkheaded canal, by eliminating the word “private”, they can enjoy the same privileges that people now enjoy with their own private canal. She stated it makes treating canals the same whether they are public or private. Commissioner Pritchard stated it is not detrimental; it is a benefit to the community; it is an enhancement; and it is a benefit to the contractors and homeowners.

Motion by Commissioner Pritchard, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to authorize staff to proceed with amendments to the Surface Water Protection Ordinance regarding private and public manmade canals, and advertise a public hearing to consider the ordinance. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

OPTIONS, RE: IMPLEMENTATION AND ENFORCEMENT OF NON-NATIVE
INVASIVE PLANT SPECIES REGULATIONS

Natural Resources Management Director Conrad White advised last year the Board adopted amendments to the Land Clearing Ordinance that requires the removal of non-native noxious plants at the time of development; currently, staff reviews developments greater than an acre; they also review commercial, industrial, multifamily, and subdivision developments; but the problem the County is facing has to do with the small single-family lot developments. He stated staff has been relying on the Building Code inspectors to look at the Ordinance and enforce the provisions; however, there seems to be a timing issue; the Building inspectors do not get there until the lot is almost completely developed in terms of landscaping and putting in sod; so it is inappropriate for people to come in and use heavy equipment to remove Brazilian pepper trees, which is essentially the biggest problem with exotic plants. Mr. White advised he understands the Building Department requires people who come in for single-family lot developments have to sign an affidavit saying they will remove Brazilian peppers, but the problem is there is no follow up on that; in addition, the Building inspectors look at the landscaping to insure compliance, but they are not fully trained to look at the botany aspects of what is being put in the ground. He stated there are several options for the Board’s consideration; one is to fully fund an inspection program with three additional staff that would not only do the inspections for removal of non-native and invasive plants, but also insure the compliance with the landscaping Code; and a second option is to hire an additional staff person because staff is currently doing reactive enforcement of the Ordinance and sends someone out when they receive a complaint. He stated a third option is to rely on the present process, which is to enforce the Ordinance as they have staff to do the work, if the homeowner who signs an affidavit that he/she will remove the invasive plants does not do it. Mr. White stated funding for the additional staff would come from increasing the permit fees; presently the fee is $63 for a single-family home; and the proposal is to increase that by $30 to fund the three positions.

Chairperson Colon inquired if that is the $140,000. Commissioner Pritchard stated it is $140,751 that could be funded by raising landscaping and land clearing fees for single-family homes. He stated the report says the contractors are required to certify that non-native, noxious, invasive plants have been removed before a certificate of occupancy (CO) is issued; and inquired how is the CO issued; with Permitting and Enforcement Director Ed Washburn responding the CO is issued when the building is completed and landscaping is in, but they do not check to see that all non-native species have been removed. Mr. Washburn stated the problem with doing the inspection of invasive plants at the time of CO, is that the sod would be down and they would have to bring in heavy equipment to remove those plants if necessary, and the homeowners want to move into their house as soon as it is completed. Commissioner Pritchard stated he has scars to prove they would not need heavy equipment to remove Brazilian peppers; and what he is getting at is there is an inspector who comes out for the CO and look at a variety of disciplines to insure the house complies; and he does not see why that person cannot look and say the Brazilian peppers are gone or are not gone. He stated when they go out to look at property, they will be able to tell what is or is not there; there is an extensive list of invasive non-native noxious plants, many of which he would not know if he fell on them; and he assumes the homeowner would be in the same category. He stated he does not know how many plants are buried or covered by sod; he does not know how many are going to pop up later because of birds and whatever else distribute seeds; and he does not see why they need to have more people to do inspections and why the person who is doing the CO cannot do that. Mr. Washburn advised the Building inspector looks at the building; Land Development people look at lot drainage and that type of thing; and people will have to be trained to do that and will take longer to perform the task.

County Manager Tom Jenkins advised when he asked Mr. Washburn a similar question, his response also addressed the issue of holding up a CO because of five plants in the yard.

Commissioner Carlson inquired at what point is the preliminary ground work done that can identify those plants, and when does Natural Resources come in because the inspectors do not know about those plants; with Mr. Jenkins responding Natural Resources does not go out to the site, and that is the dilemma. Mr. Jenkins stated Mr. Washburn said the best time to do that is at the beginning of the process and not at the end because if they wait until the end, they are sitting there with a house that has been built and telling the owners they cannot get their CO and cannot move in.

Assistant County Manager Peggy Busacca advised the County already has Building inspectors who are well over the average recommended for number of inspections they do daily; and they are not trained to do this type of work. She stated it would be preferable to do inspections for non-native plants while the land clearing is going on.

Chairperson Colon stated even if that is the case, someone has to go in and remove those plants; it is not going to cost $30 and will be a lot of money; so she has no intentions of supporting the ordinance because it is going too far.

Commissioner Scarborough inquired if the affidavit is signed at the beginning or the end of the project; with Mr. Washburn responding when they pick up the building permit. Commissioner Scarborough stated when they look at the lot is when they decide where to put the house pad; that is when the lot clearing is done; and his feeling is if they sign an affidavit, those people are responsible not only for making sure the pad is in the right place, but for the noxious plants as well. He stated he does not expect staff to tramp through the lot and identify every single bush, but with a little education, they can identify pepper trees and if there is a false affidavit, which can be enforced, not only against the property owner but also the contractor who gave the County the false affidavit. He stated the County could require the contractor who gave a false affidavit to post bonds in the future to protect the homeowner; and inquired why should the County penalize everybody with additional fees for a couple of people who do not run by the rules. He stated pepper trees are either there or they are not when they first go to the site; the people doing the site work can give the affidavit; there are ways to identify and get rid of peppers; and all staff has to do is provide video tapes and have that information available. Commissioner Scarborough stated some people make things extremely difficult; there are all kinds of things going on when someone is building a house; there have been some horrific things happen with major construction problems that failed to be caught; and people have been left with junk because of it. He stated the invasive plants removal is not one of those issues that concerns him as much as other issues; it can work; and the County can penalize the persons who are giving false affidavits in a manner which will stop those false affidavits in the future; and that is the possibility of how it could work.

Marjorie Derrick recommended full implementation of the Ordinance; and stated she has an idea to solve the problem of having enough inspectors to do the job. She stated over the last year and a half she has been giving programs around Brevard County on the subject of invasive plants and the federal government’s response to the problem; their main idea is that no one agency or department can handle the problem alone; if it is going to be solved, it is going to have to be approached on a broad base; and the key word is cooperation. She recommended partnerships be formed between local governments and private organizations; it could be the solution to the enforcement problem and not enough inspectors; and requested the Board table the issue and officially approach local conservation organizations, Garden Clubs, etc. and ask for their members to come forward and volunteer to be inspectors on behalf of the County. She stated the only cost to the County would be training them and the pay off will be full implementation of the Ordinance. Ms. Derrick stated if the Board does not get enough response from those groups, it would be fully justified to look at other options; those organizations represent thousands of people; the Sierra Club alone has over 1,000 members; and there are the Audubon Society, Florida Native Plant Society, Earth Savers, and others, which is a lot of potential to draw on. She stated it is the kind of approach the federal government sees as part of the solution to the exotic plant problem; in Florida the problem is huge; millions of acres in the State are inundated; in fact, with Hawaii, Florida leads the nation in the exotic plant problem. She stated Michael Finn, head of the Exotic Plant Control Project at Highlands Hammock State Park said billions of dollars a year are spent in Florida alone to combat these noxious plants; and if Brevard County could keep its Ordinance in tact, it would be a real contribution. She noted volunteer inspectors might be the way to do it.

Commissioner Scarborough suggested the item be tabled and worked some more. Commissioner Pritchard stated rather than inspectors, he would prefer to see people with chainsaws cutting the peppers down; it is incredible to see the amount of pepper trees in Brevard County; and there are much less to the south because they have pepper busting programs. He stated Brevard County does not have a pepper busting program and needs one; it is probably the most terrible tree; but he is not in favor of having volunteers going through neighborhoods telling people what plants need to come and go, as it could be over zealous. He stated he is in favor of not implementing this action and to deny it.

Chairperson Colon stated there is a Commissioner suggesting the item be tabled, and another recommending denial. Commissioner Carlson stated she will second the motion to table. County Manager Tom Jenkins stated if the Board is not going to do it, he questions why it wants to table it and bring it back. Commissioner Scarborough stated he would like to see it work. Mr. Jenkins stated staff is going to require the affidavits. Commissioner Scarborough stated people learn new techniques; and gave a scenario about stem walls. He stated the Board needs to have a means of encouraging people who are doing land clearing; there are not a lot of people in that field; if they become knowledgeable in taking the peppers out, it will be second nature; and it will then be extremely rare, when staff goes out to inspect, to find a pepper on less than an acre. He stated the affidavits may work, but they need more affirmative action, education, and getting people involved. Mr. Jenkins stated staff can do that, and would not need any further Board action to do the education and affidavit. Commissioner Scarborough requested staff provide the Board with a report on how it is working.

Commissioner Carlson stated she wants to see it work also, but does not think the Board needs to take action at this time. She stated the Marine Resource Council (MRC) has a pepper busting program; and perhaps staff needs to bring it into the fold of County government and utilize their capabilities to seek out the less than one acre homesites as a designated inspector or whatever they want to call it. She stated there are a lot of folks who can do it; and it is an example of how to create a conduit. Mr. Jenkins stated staff can do that without further Board action. Chairperson Colon stated it could save $140,000; she is in favor of that; and if it can save the citizens money also, she would be in favor of that as well.

Commissioner Higgs stated it would not be an inspection of existing homes; it is inspection of homes being built; and the Ordinance requires at the time of construction those things occur; so any volunteer inspectors would be coordinated through the Building Department. She stated when talking about the affidavit, it is talking about somebody at the time of building giving the County a statement that they have rid the property of those plants; she does not want people to misconstrue what the Board is talking about; it is talking about the time of construction that those be eliminated; so what the Board will get back in the report is how it is going to enforce the Ordinance and perhaps an alternative to increasing the fees. Mr. Jenkins stated staff can send the Commissioners a report; and if anyone has questions, staff can handle those individually or bring them up at a Board meeting. She stated she is totally supportive of the Ordinance and implementation of it; there are other ways to do it besides increasing fees; but if the County cannot find a practical way of doing it, then she is willing to consider an additional fee to cover the costs. She stated it is a good Ordinance and a wise thing to do.

Commissioner Pritchard stated he is opposed to the Ordinance and thinks more people should be looking at it; during the clearing process, whoever determines what the elevation grade is going to be can also point out the invasive plants that need to be removed; and it is incumbent upon the homeowner the same as it would be to have the rest of the house built properly. He stated he had discussions with Jim Egan of MRC many times and is in the process of coordinating with him to have a pepper busting event; and he cannot tell the Board enough about the damage those peppers do, especially with the mangrove shoreline. He stated mangroves are nurseries and those peppers kill mangroves; the County does not have an aggressive pepper busting program; it does not have crews on the causeways destroying those trees; and it needs to have a program and lead by example. Commissioner Pritchard stated the Board is asking homeowners and developers, or telling them they have to remove those plants, but it is not doing anything about the rights-of-way and other public lands. He stated the Board should lead by example and have a crew go to a certain area and when that area is done, go to another area with full equipment needed to eradicate the pepper tree problem. He stated Brevard County is lucky not to have kudzu, which could be coming this way; it is an invasive plant that can be a nightmare; pepper trees are easily transported by birds and is invasive and kills other good plants; so he would like to see the Board initiate some type of aggressive pepper tree eradication program and do its lands first.

Commissioner Higgs stated Mr. Jenkins should explain the policy the Board passed and what staff is doing because there is a program for eradication of peppers on lands owned by the County. Mr. Jenkins stated the Ordinance was passed some months ago and basically states at the time of development, if there are noxious plants, they have to be removed; so any time the County pulls a building permit, regardless of what it is for, it has to be in compliance with the Ordinance like the citizens are required to do. He stated the Board did not require citizens to clear their undeveloped lands; and the County would like to lead by example as stated by Commissioner Pritchard, but unfortunately, it would need another $3 million added to the Parks and Recreation’s budget to do that.

ACCEPTANCE, RE: REVENUE MONITORING REPORT FOR YEAR THAT ENDED
DECEMBER 31, 2002

Commissioner Scarborough advised he gets briefed by Finance Director Steve Burdett on these types of items; Mr. Burdett prepared something for him that he will pass to the Commissioners; the significant thing is the blue line that shows revenues and the yellow line that shows expenditures; and back in 1998, the blue line exceeded the expenditures. He stated basically when the County spent down the funds that were uncommitted fund balances, it was its savings account; in 2002 the yellow line exceeds the blue line so the unreserved fund balances from 2001 to 2002 shrunk by that same measure; and that is indicated in some of the things that are going on that he wanted to share with the Commissioners. He stated everybody has problems; it is not unique to Brevard County; but the chart is a good depiction of what is going on.

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to accept the Revenue Monitoring Report for the year that ended December 31, 2002.

Commissioner Carlson stated what is shown is interesting; she is not sure what the Board wants to do about it; over the last two years property taxes were increased, but it is still showing spending more than bringing in; and in 2002 it really spent more than it had. She stated she is not sure what that means in terms of how it is dealing with the budget, but it looks like the Board needs to talk to the Finance Department.

Chairperson Colon stated it is not the Finance Department as much as it is the Commissioners and what they have been approving since October 1, 2002. Commissioner Carlson stated that is right, but if it gets itself in a position like that, it should be made aware of it by the County Manager; with County Manager Tom Jenkins responding the Board has been made aware of it on repeated occasions. Commissioners Scarborough and Colon indicated that Mr. Jenkins has advised the Board on the position of the budget. Commissioner Carlson stated the Board sees it on a quarterly basis, but not on a trend basis. Mr. Jenkins stated he communicated that to the Board on numerous occasions during the last budget cycle; and the issue was brought out repeatedly that the Board has to be real sensitive to not spending more than it brings in.

Commissioner Pritchard stated the memo written to the Board on February 21, 2003 says, “Franchise fees for the first quarter of FY 2003 exceeded the collections for the same period of FY 2002 by 19.5%. The Board’s general fund received $9.3 million of franchise fees in FY 2002. The current budget anticipates receiving $8.1 million for the year.” He inquired, considering an increase of 19.5% for the first quarter in franchise fees, what does the budget forecast look like now. Mr. Jenkins stated over the course of the years, when looking at the multiple revenue sources, some are up and some are down; the franchise fees is in a positive mode; there may be others in a negative mode; and they generally balance out. He stated in this case, if the County were to come up with an additional million dollars, the first preference would be to return it to the reserve account to replenish it from the affects of the chart the Board just looked at; however, the other concern is what is going to happen to the counties as a result of this legislative session; and if State government passes $5 million of costs to counties, it is going to have to find a way to pay for it and that presents a serious concern and the biggest concern for next year. He stated the State is talking about increasing county retirement contributions for employees by $3 million in one year; so that is where the million may go.

Commissioner Higgs inquired if cash forward is used as the balancing factor in the annual budget; with Assistant County Manager Stockton Whitten responding yes. Commissioner Higgs stated while it is not shown as a tax revenue, it is revenue in terms of the budget so the budget is balanced each year; with Mr. Whitten responding that is correct. Commissioner Higgs stated it may be misleading to some people who may look at different columns and feel it was not balanced. Mr. Jenkins stated if the Board looks in the budget document that is published annually, there are a number of trends in it; they cover a wide range of fiscal issues that affect the County in terms of trends; and it is a typical five-year pattern as a rule. Mr. Whitten noted it is the first portion of the budget document.

Chairperson Colon stated she talks to Messrs. Jenkins, Whitten, and Rogero, as each Commissioner does on a regular basis regarding spending and so forth, and the Board has been kept abreast of the numbers and expenditures; and she has often talked about the fact that the Board needs to be careful with spending. She stated when the Sheriff’s Department was before the Board, there were things that were justified, but there are times when the Board has to say no because there is no money; and Mr. Jenkins has said that. She stated there were times when she asked Messrs. Whitten and Rogero at what point do they tell the Board not to spend; and their reply was they cannot do that because the Board is their boss. She stated it is uncomfortable for her to put them in that position, but they have been keeping the Board abreast of expenditures and how things were not looking good.

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

REQUEST FROM JIM EGAN, RE: XERISCAPING AND COUNTY ORDINANCES

Jim Egan stated, in reference to the Board’s previous discussion about invasive species, the Marine Resource Council (MRC) would be eager to play a roll in terms of the County’s efforts to remove invasive species. He stated they applaud the efforts that have been made so far, but there is more that can be done; the County needs to do more; and the MRC would like to help the County in that goal.

Mr. Egan advised he has a power point presentation specifically about xeriscaping and the problems they face without traditional lawns. He stated a quarter-acre lot with lawns in front and back takes 4,500 gallons to irrigate to one inch of water; one inch of water is recommended, but people will do more or less; and if watered only once a week, it takes 234,000 gallons of ground water a year. He stated some may say it rained and they did not have to water that time; however, only one in four watering systems installed have a wet weather cutoff; so that would be 200,000 gallons as a minimum, assuming watering once a week. He stated if lawns are watered every evening, it would consume 1.6 million gallons of water a year; if watered every evening with 2 inches of water, it would be 3.3 million gallons of ground water a year for a quarter-acre lot. He stated by lowering the water table, it basically removes the ability of root systems to penetrate to ground water levels; plants will dry out and have a tendency for wildfires; about 50% of the water that is sprayed will evaporate; and if half the water gets evaporated, the salinity that is present in the water will percolate down and have twice the salinity it started out with in some areas, particularly along the barrier island where the groundwater has doubled in concentration more than ten times so there are places in which ground water is 20 times the salinity that it was prior to development many years ago. He stated in a good percentage of the County, if salinity were to double one more time, it would be too salty to irrigate lawns they currently have. Mr. Egan stated he did a typical species on site on a typical type of home they see a lot on the beach side; there is just a paucity of species and a tremendous presence of exotics and worst, invasive noxious plants; and xeriscaping is an answer to some of those problems. He stated the yard he is showing the Board is a yard that is native planted, but it does not need to be native planted to be xeriscaped; people can have cactus and aloe or whatever they want; xeriscape is all about low water usage plants; and basically they could have zero water use. He stated the native plants only survive because they can deal with heavy rains, lack of rains, and sandy soils; there are non-native plants that are also drought tolerant; and the idea is to combine the two. He stated those plants do not need the tremendous amount of nutrients, fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides that anyone who has a lawn know they have to go through to keep their grass alive and put a lot of chemicals in the system; ultimately all that ends up as runoff that impacts surface waters; and native plants are less susceptible to diseases. He compared pictures of a typical yard and a yard with 40 native plant species, including 16 native wildflowers, 14 wildflowers and plants critical to survival of native butterflies, songbirds, and hummingbirds, three rare native wildflowers, and two wildflowers that are on the endangered species list. He stated he chose the lot as an example because it has been cited by Code Enforcement three times for excessive accumulation; it is his house and yard; he loves lawns, but does not have a well; so he decided to work hard and give an example to his neighborhood of what they would want to do. He presented copies of the Ordinance to the Board, but not the Clerk. He stated the Ordinance is very vague; if a person has an untended growth of weeds, undergrowth, other dead or living plant life, including trees upon any lot that may reasonably become inhabited by rats, mice, rodents, snakes, may furnish a breeding place for flies, mosquitoes, endangers the public health or welfare, may adversely impair the economic welfare of adjacent property is considered to be a public nuisance; and it does not make any exception for xeriscaping or native planted yards. He stated when his yard was cited, the remedy was mow it; meanwhile, he would have mowed species that are on the State’s endangered species list; so to comply with the initial recommendation, he would literally have to destroy endangered species. He stated what it boils down to is that people are used to seeing yards with grass; as soon as people see a yard without grass, they think weeds; some of what people think of as weeds growing in typical lawns, such as a small white daisy that grows in lawns, is Spanish needles; it is a butterfly garden plant; and when people see it on a lot that is xeriscaped, they call it a weed and the person is told he has ten days to mow the yard. Mr. Egan stated fortunately staff is trying to be good about it; they try to confer with Natural Resources and have them come down and say yes it is a xeriscaped yard or try to make exceptions to it; but the current ordinance does not provide for those things; and suggested looking at the public nuisance Ordinance and putting in a provision that says, “Living xeriscaping plants and natural growth of native vegetation will not be considered excessive accumulation.” He stated the example he showed of his yard does not have piles of anything; there is nothing dead; there is mulch, native wildflowers, native shrubs, and native trees; but it is the native wildflowers growing through mulch that created the problem. He stated the Code Enforcement inspectors are not native plant experts; they just saw there were weeds growing through the mulch; and even when he told them they were not weeds, that was not enough; and it is very disturbing to him because he got two notices that his yard was a public nuisance. Mr. Egan stated he is trying to create an attractive thing as an example to his neighbors to say when the time comes that the groundwater is too salty for grass, and the time is coming, there is an attractive alternative; but instead he had a sign posted on his yard telling people he is a public nuisance. He stated he consulted with the Native Plant Society and Natural Resources, he found he is not the only one and it is not an unusual thing; it is the Ordinance that catches people up; but it does not happen when somebody has a lawn and there are native plants around it. He stated as soon as the lawn is missing, then the mindset is different; if there is no lawn, then it must be weeds; and that is a mistake because people who are trying xeriscaping is ahead of the game.

Chairperson Colon stated she does not know how bad Mr. Egan’s yard looks, but what might be beautiful to him might not be beautiful to his neighbors; and suggested a report from staff on the possibilities of xeriscape. She stated she does not rule anything out as far as getting feedback from County staff.

Commissioner Scarborough made statements about excessive accumulation, living plant life, and adversely affecting or impairing adjacent property as contained in the Ordinance; and stated there is a possibility of having it read in a very broad sense. He stated he does not have a problem addressing Mr. Egan’s concerns because the Board needs to be cognizant that it could be talking about living things that have a strange benefit. He stated it is one thing to read there are rats, rodents, and those things, but there may be some counter balance that needs to be considered. He stated the Board tried to deal with maintaining as much of the native landscape as possible and not having all lawn, but Mr. Egan has gone the full route of trying to put indigenous native plants in his yard that do not require water; and the impact is that his neighbors say it is subjective to what is and is not, they are used to green lawns, so there is something wrong. He stated the Board has tried over the years to encourage people not to cut everything down and to keep plant material around; and what Mr. Egan is trying to do is augment even further with more native plant materials. He stated there will be a lot of questions on this, but he is not unwilling to look at it.

Commissioner Carlson stated she is not unwilling to look at the public nuisance Ordinance either; the material from staff says, “its xeriscaping not zeroscape,” and talks about the fundamentals, planning, design, and creating practical turf areas. She inquired if the County has a xeriscaping ordinance or does the landscaping Ordinance have a portion that deals with xeriscaping specifically and criteria for inspection of complaints. She inquired if there is anything that staff could look at and say it qualifies or does not qualify. Sherry Williams with Natural Resources Management Office stated the landscape Ordinance does not have a section that deals with xeriscaping; when asked a question, staff has gone back to the seven principles of xeriscaping and water-wise publication; the landscape Ordinance encourages preservation and planting of native species; and they get more landscape points if they use natives versus non-natives. She noted there is nothing in the Ordinance that deals only with xeriscaping or how it should be designed or look. Commissioner Carlson inquired if there is a way to reference the seven principles of xeriscaping and water-wise publication in the landscape Ordinance; with Ms. Williams responding Natural Resources plans to look at the landscape ordinance in the future and reevaluate it; it needs to be brought up to date in a lot of places; and xeriscaping would be an aspect of what they would look at to incorporate in the Ordinance. Commissioner Carlson inquired what is the time line for that; with Ms. Williams responding they have not established a time line yet.

Chairperson Colon stated she does not mean to be disrespectful, but what she has seen in the pictures, it looks like a Code Enforcement violation for not cutting the grass. Mr. Egan stated he has other pictures to show the Board. Chairperson Colon stated what she has does not look good to her. Mr. Egan stated that is how the property looked when it was cited; and he has current pictures. Mr. Egan stated he originally mulched it with the most expensive mulch, eucalyptus; it is not dyed because dyed mulch is water soluble and can enter the ground water; when he was first cited, he went back and used pine wood chips so they could tell it was mulch; and he got cited again anyway. He stated one of the shots gives an example of his yard versus the lawn next to it; on the shots of four individual plants, they include some endangered species such as a native poinsettia, and the State wildflower; but those are all considered to be weeds by the Code Enforcement inspector. He stated the top photo is a white daisy-like plant known as Spanish needles; they are valuable for butterflies; and everyone considers them to be weeds because they grow up through the lawns.

Commissioner Pritchard stated the pictures Mr. Egan just provided compared to those taken by Code Enforcement, shows a vast improvement. Mr. Egan stated when Code Enforcement inspectors came out in February, the whole yard was mulched with the most expensive mulch that is not dyed so it does not look like anything; he had tremendous sympathy for them because they came in February after the cold weather, and he was in the middle of removing melaleuca trees off the County right-of-way in front of his house; and the previous owner left him with 12 full-size melaleuca trees and 3 full-size Brazilian pepper trees. He stated his neighbors have not touched a single tree; he has been working hard to drop all those trees single-handedly; at that point he said he did not want it to be unattractive; he is trying to show his neighbor something desirable; so he went back and re-mulched using pine bark so they could tell it was mulched, but he was cited again. Commissioner Pritchard stated the photos by Code Enforcement were taken February 24; and inquired when were Mr. Egan’s photos taken; with Mr. Egan responding that is the current state of affairs, and it was that way the second time he was cited. He noted he was cited in February and again in March. Commissioner Pritchard stated the photos show a definite pattern to what is happening, whereas the other photos look like he did not get around to do anything with his lawn for the last couple of years. He stated he is not picking on Mr. Egan because beauty is in the eye of the beholder; several years ago a newspaper article said one person had a house and let his lawn go to natural Florida vegetation; and even if his neighbors may complain, it is beautiful. He stated he never saw a more overgrown weeded eyesore in his life; the condition of the lawn was unbelievable; the house matched it with boarded up windows, etc.; so a lot of times when people say they are going to have the Florida yard, what it means is they are not going to mow it and will just let it grow. He stated that is fine for a house in the center of 20 acres, but when it is in a neighborhood, people expect a certain level of beauty; comparing the lawn next to Mr. Egan’s from his pictures, it is more attractive; and if he is going to let it go and claim it is a natural vegetated Florida yard, that is not going to be acceptable in a residential subdivision. He stated when he has something that shows the mulch, patterns, and borders and that there is some care taken with what he has done, that is a different issue; and that is the type of xeriscaping he is talking about, not someone who does not want to mow his lawn any more. Mr. Egan stated he had to go to the ultimate to make it look attractive; when they first cited him and it was less attractive, it was still mulched at a tremendous cost; the eucalyptus mulch covered the entire property at a cost of $600 to $800, just for the mulch; and it was all his backbreaking labor spreading the mulch. Mr. Egan stated they came in February when most of the flowers die off; and he was in the middle of removing melaleuca trees, so there were bark and branches laying around. He stated they can always zero in on a particular thing they do not like the looks of; the Board will notice that the shots are close ups of some spots and do not give the overall impression; but what it comes down to is people expect to see a lawn and judge the non-lawn yard by standards that the lawn yard would not be able to meet. He stated if they have any plants growing of a certain height, dead vegetation, places that need maintenance, suddenly it is a violation because there is no lawn; and because there is a lawn next door, nobody would think of giving that person a violation for the same types of behavior. Mr. Egan stated unlike the bad example where someone just does not care, if a person has a lawn and stops mowing it, the grass will continue to grow; if there is no grass except for native grass and there are no native plants, it does not happen by accident these days, even in developed areas, but they have to work in order to maintain that yard with the desirable native species; and the Board could make that distinction between the two—the bad neighbor and someone who is trying to look to the future in terms of when they do not have fresh ground water to use so lavishly to keep the dream lawn going.

Chairperson Colon inquired how expensive is it going to be, as Mr. Egan just said he spent $600 to $800 for mulch and did not blame Code Enforcement, and actually sympathized with them when they saw his lawn. Mr. Egan stated if a lawn turns yellow and dies off, the owner is not given a violation; the same thing should happen with native planted yards; when they go through a drought, things die off or do not look 100%; and doing things like xeriscaping in an attempt to tell them what to do, it is a shame that the County would cite them. He stated he would have to hire a lawyer to fight this if not for the fact that at the last minute they decided it was xeriscaped after all; and inquired how many homeowners are going to go to that length, and how many who have been talked into it by the State xeriscaping program and attempted to do just what they recommended to reduce water usage and fertilizer impacts will be willing to fight to do it. He noted he had to fight to do it.

Commissioner Carlson stated Mr. Egan is trying to project the xeriscaping image; it takes him a lot more money up front because what he is trying to do is get over the societal perception that the green lawn is all there is; and until people get over that perception, they will never get anywhere with xeriscaping. She stated until they incorporate the idea that xeriscaping can be accepted lawn care practice in subdivisions where it is put in the covenants or whatever, it is not going to go anywhere; people will say no, it has to be green lawn; but the lawn next to Mr. Egan’s yard was a hit and miss as far as grass goes; and it was mowed, yet it did not look real good. She stated because of societal perception, it is going to take a long time to get there; they will really have to work at it; and that is why Mr. Egan is spending the money he would not have to if society as a whole understood that it was good and positive for the environment to do xeriscaping.

*Commissioner Scarborough’s absence was noted at this time.

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to direct Natural Resources Management Office, Agriculture and Extension Services Department, Code Enforcement, and the County Manager to recommend to the Board criteria it could incorporate into the Code to allow people who want xeriscape to understand the objective criteria by which they will be evaluated and allow Code Enforcement to feel comfortable that they are doing the proper application of the Code. Motion carried and ordered unanimously; Commissioner Scarborough being absent from the room.

Commissioner Pritchard stated the criteria should not allow people to use it as an escape from mowing their lawns.

The meeting recessed at 3:22 p.m., and reconvened at 3:33 p.m.

*Commissioner Scarborough’s presence was noted at this time.

CITIZEN’S REQUEST, RE: FUNDING FOR MAX BREWER BRIDGE REPLACEMENT

Richard LeAndro stated some people heard his tirade at the MPO meeting about home rule and the process the Board should do to fund the Max Brewer Causeway; and he mentioned there is no money in the federal and State governments and the federal government has higher responsibilities and duties right now than to fund the Max Brewer Causeway. He stated it is ironic that the day after he said that, the Florida Capital News had a letter that said there will be no money for the Max Brewer Causeway; and he ensured every Commissioner received a copy of it. He stated there is less than $53 million in excess funds in the State to take care of over $2 billion in projects; the County’s Lobbyist Guy Spearman sent the Board a letter dated March 4 stating basically the same thing that there is no money available; so it is incumbent on the Board to get all the information possible on seeking a bond while the interest rates are the lowest since 1952 for replacement of Max Brewer Causeway. He stated it should get information on bonding, specifications, interest rates, and years to pay it off; and suggested it be paid off by tolls on the Causeway. He stated some people do not like tolls, but in his opinion, the fair way to pay off something is to let the people who use it pay for it. Mr. LeAndro stated the next morning after he had a letter in the Florida TODAY, someone called him and asked why they should have to pay to get to work at Kennedy Space Center; he had to pay tolls his entire life; and wherever people go in the State or country, somewhere they will have to pay a toll to use the roadway. He stated it costs about $7.00 to go to Tampa; people have to pay a fee to go to Playalinda Beach across the Max Brewer Causeway; he has a commercial fishing license and if he goes to the Wildlife Refuge, which he and everyone else owns, he has to pay $150 for a permit to fish there. He stated there is no free ride; the nation is in serious budgetary trouble and so is the State and County; and sooner or later the Board is going to have to exercise home rule, which is part of tort reform, and take responsibility to find funding to pay for things that are needed.

Commissioner Pritchard inquired how did the County become the owner of the Max Brewer bridge; with County Manager Tom Jenkins responding the State gave it to the County. Commissioner Pritchard inquired is it because the State was feeling good; with Mr. Jenkins responding many years ago the State did a classification of roads on what was County and what was State roads; and it made Max Brewer Causeway a County road at that time. He noted it was a unilateral decision on the part of the State. Commissioner Pritchard stated he understands the bridge is classified as a 4 and the SR 528 span is classified as 48; and using the State’s criteria, 4 is much worse than 48, yet the County cannot seem to get funding from anyone other than Brevard County because it is a Brevard County bridge. He inquired if a $30 million bond is Mr. LeAndro’s estimate or someone else’s; with Mr. LeAndro responding the original estimate of October 1998 came from the State through a consultant at $22 million; since then, because of increases in costs, it escalated to $26 million; and in his humble opinion, having worked in construction many years with Florida Power & Light Company and watching bridges be installed, he would say the cost would be more like $30 million because a lot of things are not considered in the present form that has to be considered with a new bridge. Commissioner Pritchard stated when looking at an option of bonding a bridge, how much traffic is on the bridge has to be determined to find out how long it would take to pay it off and what the benefit cost would be; and inquired if anyone knows how much traffic is currently on the Max Brewer bridge; with Transportation Engineering Director John Denninghoff responding about 5,000 trips a day. Commissioner Pritchard inquired if they were charged $1.00 for each crossing, how long would it take to pay off the $30 million at 2% increase; with Mr. Denninghoff responding in order to do that, they would have to do a toll study that would estimate how much less traffic would result by placing a toll as compared to what it has today when it is free, and project traffic growth over the lifetime of the bonds if they are paid off with tolls. Mr. Denninghoff advised it is an involved study that would cost between $100,000 to $150,000. Mr. Jenkins inquired if the toll would be charged coming and going or just one time. Commissioner Pritchard stated he was looking to get educated on this issue to see what the story may be; it seems like a horrific cost to be borne by the County when looking at its access to Playalinda Beach, and another way to get to US 1 north of Mosquito Lagoon and to the north end of the Kennedy Space Center; and to spend $30 million on that and $150,000 for a study seems like a tremendous expense.

Commissioner Scarborough stated some times he was very optimistic that progress was being made; Congressman Finney had a half-hour visit with the Governor; last year the County received $3 million from the federal government due to Congressman Weldon’s efforts, and $3 million from the State; and now the State is playing a game with the County even with the best efforts of the past Speaker of the House, Guy Spearman, and other people. He stated the Board may need to do a full analysis; Mr. LeAndro may be right on the money issue; if the Board went to the singular option, it may become problematic whether there are sufficient funds to amortize a $30 million bond issue; so it would be prudent to do a full analysis at this time, including options of closing the bridge, going to different funding methodologies, refurbishing with County money, getting money from the federal government as Congressman Finney does not want to back away from the County, and all the pros and cons. He stated the County is currently talking about putting $1 million into the bridge to keep it patched; and inquired what are the benefits of doing that, how long does a million dollars buy, and if that was done, could the County come back and redo the million dollars or can it be spent on a methodology that would be utilized if it did have to fall back to refurbishing. He requested a decision and analysis of all the options and all the possibilities where the County needs to go; and inquired can the County do a bond issue, could a bond be part of the formula, and are there legal restrictions. He stated he heard that under State law tolls cannot be placed on existing roads, so there are legal questions that need to be addressed.

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to direct staff to do a full analysis of all options where everything is considered, even if the Board does not go in that direction. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

ASSIGNMENT OF OPTION TO PURCHASE AGREEMENT WITH THE NATURE
CONSERVANCY, RE: PROPERTY OWNED BY NATIONAL HERITAGE
FOUNDATION, INC. (CONTINUED)

Chairperson Colon advised the Board already voted on this item, but Commissioner Pritchard had some questions.

Commissioner Pritchard stated things were happening too fast, and he has a lot of questions he wants to ask about this item; the purchase price is $440,000; the donation value is $440,000; yet the 2002 taxable and market value of the property is $87,500; and inquired if he is missing something.

Parks and Recreation Director Charles Nelson advised the Property Appraiser controls the $87,500 number; the appraisals that staff have supported the $440,000 number; he does not know where the Property Appraiser’s number came from, and perhaps it is a question that should be directed to him; but the appraisals staff had done, which are State level appraisals, clearly indicate support for that value. Commissioner Pritchard stated it is a huge discrepancy. Mr. Nelson stated unfortunately it is not uncommon; that happens in a lot of land acquisitions, not just this one; on a variety of land acquisitions, they see that discrepancy; and he cannot explain it. Commissioner Pritchard inquired if The Nature Conservancy acts as the County’s broker; with Mr. Nelson responding no, it acts as the County’s agent. Commissioner Pritchard inquired if it is done by contract to act as the County’s agent to locate properties; with Environmentally Endangered Lands Coordinator Ann Birch responding no, it is not the County’s agent, it is the contractor; and there is a difference. She stated The Conservancy has contracted with the County to do acquisition services; and the Selection and Management Committee for the EEL Program selects the lands that will be acquired through the program, and the Conservancy goes out and gets contracts on those lands. Commissioner Pritchard inquired how much money do they get from the County; with Ms. Birch responding the contract amount, which is about $188,000. Mr. Nelson stated it was the alternative to hiring staff to perform the same services. He stated during the Beach and Riverfront Program, staff was hired to provide that service; and based on that experience and the time it took, it was felt that it was more appropriate to contract for the service than it was to hire staff. Commissioner Pritchard inquired if it was less expensive; with Mr. Nelson responding yes. Commissioner Pritchard stated one issue he has is the opportunity cost; it says that the taxes will be decreased by $1,474; and inquired if the property is assessed at $87,500, taxed at $1,474, and the purchase price is $440,000, what would the ad valorem loss be, and would it be four times $1,474; with Ms. Birch responding she is not qualified to make that determination. Commissioner Pritchard stated in essence what the Board is looking at is maybe $8,000 off the tax roll; and he is trying to get an understanding of how the process works and how The Nature Conservancy fits into it; with Mr. Nelson responding when he said agent, he meant to say representative, not a real estate agent.

Chairperson Colon stated there was nothing wrong with those questions; and she would have asked the same questions to get a better understanding of exactly how it worked. She stated the Board already voted on this item, so no further action is necessary at this time.

REQUEST FROM SHERIFF, RE: APPLICATION AND ACCEPTANCE OF F.I.N.D. GRANT
FOR BOAT, MOTOR, AND TRAILER FOR AGRICULTURE/MARINE UNIT

Sheriff’s Finance Director Deborah Barker requested the Board consider approving a grant opportunity to purchase a boat for the Agriculture/Marine Unit. She stated it was on the Consent Agenda and pulled for questions; and she will address those questions.

Chairperson Colon inquired how much is the matching funds; with Ms. Barker responding $20,000, half of which the Sheriff will put up from State Forfeiture funds, so they are requesting $10,000 from the County General Fund, contingent upon approval of the Florida Inland Navigation District (FIND) grant.

Commissioner Pritchard stated he pulled the item although he does not have a problem with the $10,000 expenditure for a $40,000 boat, but frequently the Sheriff’s Office comes to the Board for $10,000, $20,000, $40,000, or $200,000; and it is usually for matching grants. He stated he has to believe that over the course of years of doing business, the Sheriff would have a handle of how much money he would generally need for different grants in the upcoming year. He stated he understands that previous budgets had a contingency fund for grants and the Sheriff used that money with Board approval, but it was already budgeted; but he guesses the Finance Office wanted a better handle on grant application funds so the ability to have a contingency fund for grants was taken from the Sheriff by the Board, and that is why it is in the situation it is in now. He stated the Sheriff has a budget from the County for x amount of dollars; but it does not reflect the $10,000, $20,000, $80,000 or whatever amount Ms. Barker comes back for; and inquired why is the Board doing that and saying the Sheriff has a budget of $45 million when he really has $46 million. Ms. Barker stated the explanation is correct; several years ago they had monies afforded to them for a grant match escrow account of about $167,000; that was negotiated in the budget process and held in escrow on the Sheriff’s books for grant match; but when they came across a grant, they would still bring it to the Board for approval; however, those dollars were in their budget so if the grant was approved, they could tap those funds and not ask for additional dollars at any incremental time. She stated the Sheriff’s Office is proactive in grants so the Board will see them come before it asking for matching funds; and that was negotiated during the budget process that the Sheriff would not have a grant escrow account and she would come before the Board each time to discuss the grant and negotiate the dollars. Commissioner Pritchard stated as the Board gets into the budget process this year, it is something that can be reviewed; and if appropriate continued; that was the reason he pulled the item; he has no problem with the purchase of a boat for the Marine Unit and in fact would like to see more deputies patrolling the waterways to get rid of some of the tourist law enforcement agencies who come here using the waterways as a training ground and not accountable to the County, but harassing the boaters and issuing citations based on nothing and losing most cases in federal court. He stated it costs the citizens at least two days out of their lives to travel back and forth to deal with a ticket they were given by someone who is a maverick at best; so if the Sheriff can get more of his people on the water and less of those people, it will be better for Brevard County. Ms. Barker stated they can discuss that during the budget process.

Chairperson Colon inquired how much money has the Sheriff come and requested since October 1, 2002, and is it over $200,000; with Ms. Barker responding not in grant match, but in grant programs, yes. Chairperson Colon stated the overhang was over $200,000; with Ms. Barker responding it was not the match amount. Chairperson Colon inquired if the match was $100,000; with Ms. Barker responding she does not remember what it was; however, generally grants are 25% match, and that grant went to other agencies as well. Chairperson Colon inquired if Ms. Barker sees more grants coming up; stated the Board is in March and have more of the year to go; and requested Ms. Barker get those numbers to the Board so it will have an idea how much it has matched. Ms. Barker stated she can tell the Board what they will be looking for the rest of the year because they are proactive and try to use grants as an optimum. Chairperson Colon stated she could show Ms. Barker a chart the Board was given earlier regarding expenditures and how it has gone way up; that is what she has been referring to about being careful; the Board would like to help every department not only the Sheriff’s Department, but it has told them to tighten their belts. She stated she is not talking about homeland security because that is something the Board must comply with; but the extras that all departments are requesting are being denied.

Commissioner Carlson stated she asked the same questions Commissioner Pritchard did the last time about a reserve account, but did not get the same response; and inquired if the Sheriff has a way to reserve money for grants other than the Board having to associate it with a grant escrow account. She inquired if the Sheriff can do that as a line item in his budget, set it aside, and prioritize it; with Mr. Jenkins responding yes, he can if the Board is interested in doing that, which means it would have to raise taxes or take it from its contingency fund. Commissioner Carlson stated what she means is if the Sheriff can set aside a reserve account in his budget; with Mr. Jenkins responding he can, but everything else is allocated to salaries, equipment, and other line items; so it would be an additional line item in his budget if the Board desires to do that. He stated staff has left it in the Board’s budget as opposed to putting it in the Sheriff’s budget; however, the Board has the flexibility to put it in the Sheriff’s budget, but it will take additional dollars or reduction of its contingency fund by that amount. Commissioner Carlson stated if there was a limitation of $250,000 on matching grant dollars in the Sheriff’s budget and was made part of the budget process, then they would not have to come to the Board every time they want nickel and dime things; and they can decide which grants are important and what their priorities are and not the Board’s priorities.

Chairperson Colon stated if the Board gives the Sheriff a certain amount of money to match grants and it runs out, that is it, and the Board will not give him any more money as it has said to other Departments; and he needs to decide where his priorities are. She stated she is supportive of the Sheriff’s Department, but when the Board asks everyone to tighten their belts, that includes the Sheriff; what bothers her is this is just March; the Board has discussed different ways to balance the budget, and its bosses are asking it to be very careful of how it spends the money; and that has to be across-the-board. She noted she is not shooting the messenger and feels bad that she has to come to the Board each time; and inquired what are the wishes of the Board.

Motion by Commissioner Pritchard, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to authorize the Sheriff’s Department to apply for and accept a grant from the Florida Inland Navigation District to purchase a patrol boat, motor, and trailer for the Agriculture/Marine Unit; and approve $10,000 as part of the matching funds from the County’s General Fund Contingency. Motion carried and ordered; Commissioner Colon voted nay.

Ms. Barker stated they always bring it back to see if it is a grant the Board is interested in working with; and if approved, they bring back a budget adjustment and renegotiate it at that time.

Parks and Recreation Director Charles Nelson advised Parks and Recreation applied for grants from FIND; historically what it has done when there are multiple grant applications, is ask the Board to prioritize those; and since his Department has three and the Sheriff has one, this may be the opportunity for the Board to prioritize the grant applications. He stated he would be okay with the Sheriff’s boat being No. 1 because it is a $20,000 award from $500,000 in FIND grants; and recommended No. 2 be Parrish Park Boat Ramp at $200,000; No. 3 be Riverwalk a Family Park at $140,000; and No. 4 be Kelly Park. He noted he has an additional funding source he could go to if the FIND grants are not approved; and recommended approval of the order and authorization to transmit them to FIND.

Motion by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Pritchard, to approve priorities for grant applications as recommended by the Parks and Recreation Director, and authorize transmittal of the applications to Florida Inland Navigation District.

Commissioner Pritchard inquired what is the reasoning behind the prioritization; with Mr. Nelson responding there is funding and permits for all the projects; the one that is most critical is the boat launching facility at Parrish Park; and it is a renovation project and needs to keep that space available. He stated the nature center does not have another funding source; there is money to do the project, but he would like to get some money to replace some of it because it is a larger expenditure than he thought. He stated if the Kelly Park project drops out, he could go to a boating source to do it because it is a boating-related project.

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

RESOLUTION, RE: SUPPORTING STATE LIBRARY OF FLORIDA, DIVISION OF HISTORIC
RESOURCES, AND MUSEUM OF FLORIDA HISTORY

Commissioner Pritchard advised the memorandum from Library Services Director Catherine Schweinsberg says, “this issue deals with approving and forwarding to the Legislative Delegation a resolution in support of maintaining the Division of Libraries, including the State Library of Florida, in its entirety.” He stated the backup memo says, “Librarians throughout the State say this is being done as a cost-cutting measure. Now it has come to light that millions of dollars will be given to Nova University for the transfer of books, maintenance of the collection, and for staff.” He inquired where is the cost saving, and why is it going out of State control, being transferred to a University, yet millions of dollars are following it that so it can be administered by the University. Library Services Director Catherine Schweinsberg responded that is why the librarians are opposed to it. She advised $5 million are designated in Governor Bush’s proposal to be given to Nova University over the next four years to go along with the transfer of the collection. Commissioner Pritchard stated he understands what Ms. Schweinsberg is saying, but is missing something because he cannot see where it is a cost saving to the State when $5 million is going to Nova. He stated he does not have a problem with Nova and is an Alumni of that University; but he questions the cost saving.

County Manager Tom Jenkins advised the librarians throughout the State are opposed to the transfer, and the resolution is asking the Governor and Legislature not to approve the transfer.

Commissioner Pritchard stated he understands that, but it does not sound like a cost saving measure; and when he reads something like that, he wonders what is really motivating what is going on; and since he does not know, he will support the request.

Motion by Commissioner Pritchard, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to adopt Resolution supporting the State Library of Florida, The Division of Historic Resources, and the Museum of Florida History; and requesting the Governor to reconsider the proposal and the Florida Legislature to refuse to implement that portion of the Governor’s proposed budget. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See page for Resolution No. 03-079.)

SECOND AMENDMENT TO TASK ORDER #6 WITH THE NATURE CONSERVANCY,
RE: LAND ACQUISITION ASSISTANTS

Commissioner Pritchard requested staff explain the amendment to the Task Order with The Nature Conservancy.

EEL’s Coordinator Ann Birch advised the Second Amendment is an extension of an existing Task Order to hire two people with The Nature Conservancy under the existing Contract, to work exclusively on acquisitions of small parcels within the Brevard Coastal Scrub Ecosystem, Florida Forever Project. She stated they will work exclusively on small parcels with the State; the State acquires the parcels at 100% of the acquisition cost; and the County is only paying for two staff members.

Commissioner Pritchard inquired if it is $76,000 for two staff members; with Ms. Birch responding yes, for the year. Commissioner Pritchard inquired about figures on taxes lost; with Ms. Birch responding there are no figures, but it is in progress. Commissioner Pritchard stated he wants to represent to the public what the cost of doing things are; and it is misrepresented when the County says it is assessed at $87,000, selling price is $440,000, and the County is losing $1,400 in taxes when it really is closer to $8,000. He stated it should be fairly represented; and he does not see that in this item. Ms. Birch stated staff does not have the information yet; and in speaking with Planning and Zoning Director Mel Scott, they are working with Fishkind & Associates to get the model underway.

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to execute Second Amendment to Task Order #6 with The Nature Conservancy for land acquisition assistants. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See page for Second Amendment.)

AUTHORIZATION TO APPLY TO DISNEY WILDLIFE CONSERVATION FUND AND
NATIONAL FISH AND WILDLIFE FOUNDATION, RE: GRANT FOR INVERTEBRATE
SURVEY

Commissioner Pritchard stated this is to fund a year-long invertebrate survey; it is $19,700 for in-kind services from EEL staff, partial salary of one technician, and $2,000 for supplies; and inquired why is the survey needed.

EEL’s Coordinator Ann Birch advised informal surveys of invertebrates on EEL’s sites were conducted in the past; and what they discovered were several new species, either new, un-described, or discovered occurring in Brevard County. She stated typically insect species are associated with particular plant species; and the County will be able to better manage its sanctuaries when they know what they have there. She stated to quote E.O. Wilson, “the little things that run the world”; that is what invertebrates are; and there is quite a bit of bio-diversity within the insect world that is unknown. Ms. Birch stated at the Enchanted Forest Sanctuary there is a display on invertebrates and bugs; it is probably the most looked at exhibit; children and adults are very intrigued with insects; and this survey will let staff know better what is in the sanctuaries so they can manage the plant communities as well as the fauna and provide an educational aspect to that. Commissioner Pritchard stated years ago he read a story of what happens when a mosquito is taken out of the environment, and it was amazing the way it worked; but earlier the Board talked about more inspectors to look for invasive plants; now it is looking to do other things; there seems to be a continued effort to do things; and at some point it needs to reel back in a little and say maybe this time it cannot do this one. He stated he is looking at the way money is being spent and every now and then the Board needs to draw the line; and that is why he will oppose this item. Ms. Birch stated it is in-kind services; with Commissioner Pritchard responding that in-kind service can be used for other things.

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to authorize submittal of applications to Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation for support of a year-long invertebrate survey within EEL Sanctuaries; and authorize the Parks and Recreation Director to execute any necessary grant agreements. Motion carried and ordered; Commissioners Pritchard and Colon voted nay.

AUTHORIZATION TO PARTNER WITH BREVARD ZOO, RE: INSTITUTE OF MUSEUM
AND LIBRARY SERVICES GRANT

Commissioner Pritchard requested an explanation of the item.

EEL’s Coordinator Ann Birch advised it is a grant that is being submitted through Brevard Zoo and the University of Central Florida (UCF), and Brevard County’s EEL Program proposes to be partners in it; UCF will be funding graduate students to look at a regional conservation approach on the six counties, including Brevard County; and it also incorporates an educational component. She stated they will have educational suitcases for teachers and students to use at the Zoo as well as the Enchanted Forest Sanctuary and the new center on the Barrier Island when that opens next year; the majority of the funding will be through the granting agencies; and Brevard County’s portion would be in-kind services.

Commissioner Pritchard stated the report says the EEL Program contribution is $6,800, which is the manager’s time and $800 in travel costs for meetings, etc.; UCF would give $45,000, and the Zoo $17,000, and $167,056 from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) for a total of $306,640. He stated he realizes the County’s contribution is in-kind, but that could be used for other services; and this is one of those items he would not be in favor of because he would like to see the money spent in other areas that are considered more critical.

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to authorize EEL Program to partner with the Brevard Zoo and University of Central Florida in an Institute of Museum and Library Services grant to provide funding for graduate students to ascertain the need for protected areas in a six-county region of East Central Florida and for educational programming and materials to be used at the Zoo and EEL sanctuaries, specifically the Enchanted Forest Sanctuary and Barrier Island Ecosystem Center. Motion carried and ordered; Commissioner Pritchard voted nay.

BINDING DEVELOPMENT PLAN WITH VERONICA ESTATES, INC., RE: PROPERTY
LOCATED NORTH OF CANAVERAL GROVES BOULEVARD AND WEST OF
GRISSOM PARKWAY

Ronnie Lawhon, President of Veronica Estates, Inc., advised the item was pulled from the Agenda; however, since then she has spoken to Commissioner Scarborough and Planning and Zoning Director Mel Scott to figure out what she needed to do to correct the problem. She stated she had to add a 6th condition to the Binding Development Plan to say that all wetlands that are not part of the 80 single-family subdivision shall be incorporated into a conservation tract.

Commissioner Scarborough advised this was a zoning item; the conservation language was not in the BDP, and Mr. Scott was not able to take care of it in a timely manner, so the item was pulled; but now the Board has an opportunity to include it. Planning and Zoning Director Mel Scott stated staff is in favor of that caveat, as it is a good, sound clarifying language to the proposed BDP.

Commissioner Higgs stated it is final approval of the BDP; and inquired if it was discussed at the public hearing. She stated she wants to be sure it was discussed at the public hearing, otherwise it would have to be re-advertised. Mr. Scott stated the clarifying language was a consent item, and it does not match exactly what was discussed in the public hearing, but is an improvement. Commissioner Scarborough requested staff provide copies to all Commissioners.

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Pritchard, to execute an Amendment to Binding Development Plan #10097 with Veronica Estates, Inc. for property located north of Canaveral Groves Boulevard and west of Grissom Parkway, to include that all wetlands that are not part of the 80 single-family subdivision shall be incorporated into a conservation tract. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See page for Amendment.)

PUBLIC COMMENT - BEA POLK, RE: MARINA PARK

Bea Polk read parts of a letter from Department of Environmental Protection to the Mayor of Titusville, as follows: “We have received numerous inquiries recently concerning the City’s possible development of lands at Marina Park within the City of Titusville. As you are aware, the City of Titusville received these lands by dedication No. 23535 from the Board of Trustees on November 20, 1963. This dedication include a restriction which states that these lands will be used for public purpose only, including park recreation purpose under the supervision and management of the City of Titusville. It being understood and agreed that the grantee named herein is not permitted to grant private concessions or lease for facilities built on or to be built on such land. The dedication is subject to termination by the Board of Trustees should this restriction be violated. Any change of the use of this property would require prior action by the Governor and Cabinet sitting as the Board of Trustees. We are requested to be notified of any proposed facility.” Ms. Polk inquired if the Board is going along with the City to the State or is it going to fight to keep the land as recreation under the referendum. She stated she talked to an attorney in the Governor’s Office who said she needed to know what the County was going to do before the proposal gets to the Governor; and she wants to know so she can call that attorney and tell him whether the Board is willing to give up part of the land or will stay and fight for it to stay recreation.

PUBLIC COMMENT - SUSAN CANADA, RE: MARINA PARK

Susan Canada advised she read through minutes of other meetings taken place in the City and County years ago pertaining to Marina Park and Vectorworks; in 1996, Sam Ackley stated, “Let’s get Vectorworks city revenue bonds. They are going to be having over 100 employees”; and lately she has heard the same thing, but not from Sam Ackley. She stated at that time in 1996, Vectorworks had 22 employees; on September 30, 2002, the occupational license for Vectorworks stated 24 employees; the 100 employees they were going to hire in 1996 were not there; they are not there now; and she does not think they will ever be there. Ms. Canada stated the Board is talking about more taxpayers money to support Florida Forever, EEL’s, parks, and such; and inquired what is the point of doing that if the State has land the taxpayers helped to fund that the State later dedicates to cities and cities turn around and either lease, rent, sell, or do joint use with private enterprise. She stated it does not seem fair and is like a vicious cycle; and the money could be used better for homeland security and other things that are not fitting into the budget.

REPORT, RE: EXPOS AND INDIANS MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL GAME

Commissioner Pritchard stated last week he had the privilege of living a childhood dream to some extent; he got to throw out the first pitch at the major league baseball game between the Expos and Indians; the Indians was his favorite team when he was growing up; but the Expos is his favorite team now because they are here and call Brevard County home. He stated because he believes in doing his homework the day before, he had his wife Donna catch while he threw a couple of pitches to her; the first pitch did not reach her and he was concerned about that happening in front of all the people in the stands; however, it did not and from the pitcher’s mound he threw a strike.

Chairperson Colon stated she sympathizes with Commissioner Pritchard because when she had to throw the first pitch for the Mets and Marlins game, her office begged her husband to make sure she practiced because they did not want District 5 to be embarrassed.

REPORT, RE: SUPPORT THE TROOPS RALLY

Chairperson Colon advised on April 12, 2003, at Veterans Memorial Park in Palm Bay, there will be a support the troops rally sponsored by the City of Palm Bay beginning at 4:00 p.m. She stated everyone is invited to attend and they can call her office or the City for more information.

PUBLIC COMMENT - RICHARD LeANDRO, RE: MAX BREWER BRIDGE

Richard LeAndro advised a consultant for the County did a survey that noted 7,000 cars daily average go over the bridge; at the MPO meeting, Bob Kamm said it is expected to be 10,000 cars a day; yearly 2.5 million cars go across the bridge; and his concern is the condition of the bridge. He mentioned the tour bus situation, a Rinker concrete truck weighing more than the weight restriction on the bridge, and a boater nearly getting wiped out by a slab of concrete while fishing under the bridge. He stated in his opinion the bridge should be shut down; if someone gets seriously hurt, it will be the County’s responsibility; and he would like to take the Commissioners out there to show them what is going on at the bridge. He stated he could take a hammer and knock out a chunk and they would be able to see the water; that is the condition of the bridge; it should be shut down at least to truck traffic; but he would recommend shutting it down completely to all traffic. Mr. LeAndro stated the City of Titusville shut down the pavilion and pier at the foot of the bridge because it felt enough fear that the people may go out there to watch a launch and crowd around the pier that could collapse; the City would have shut down the bridge a long time ago; and the County should shut it down. He stated there are two other routes to Kennedy Space Center; if it is inconvenient for people to go to a safer route, that is their problem; and he does not want to be charged with the liability of someone getting here and there, a tour bus or whatever falling in the river, and the environmental damage to the river, which is in bad enough shape as it is.

Commissioner Higgs suggested the County Manager get staff to give the Board a report on whether the situation is one that needs to have immediate action. Commissioner Scarborough stated that will be part of the overall report the Board requested earlier. He stated he talked to Mr. Jenkins and Mr. Denninghoff; and the report is going to cover all contingencies such as who has authority to close the bridge, liability, and the whole matrix of all the questions and issues. He stated it is easy to jump into this and look at this issue or that issue; Mr. Knox issued a memo that will probably be integrated into the report, about the authority to close and liability; but the Board needs a report that puts together as a matrix of questions and answers, otherwise it is not going to be able to handle the situation in an intelligent manner. He stated there are many issues; everything Mr. LeAndro said is correct; and the report will give the big picture. Commissioner Higgs inquired when can the Board expect the report; with Mr. Jenkins responding in two weeks.

Chairperson Colon stated Commissioner Scarborough has been diligent and working closely to keep an eye on the bridge; and she has been hearing about it for two years.

Commissioner Scarborough stated even if the bridge is closed, there will still be chunks of concrete falling out; Roy Bridges and NASA took a strong position on the need for the bridge to be open; there is federal property out there; and he does not know if the Board can say this is the issue or that is the issue because it is an extremely complex issue with intercoastal traffic, liability, ability to close, multiple funding, etc. He stated it is recognized as a problem at the highest level of the State and federal governments regardless of their willingness to fund it; Congressman Tom Finney spent half an hour with the Governor addressing the bridge; and people do not get that much time with the Governor, yet that is what was discussed. He stated he would like to believe the only thing the Board needs to understand is it is in a horrible budgetary situation; as it walks through the matrix, it is not just to look at one thing, read one page, and say that is the answer; it needs to read the whole thing and see the whole thing, then it will see the complexities of what it is dealing with and why it is not just a County problem but a NASA problem, National Wildlife Refuge problem, and a problem for the Governor because he did not veto a bill and now the money that was appropriated by the Legislature is gone. He stated there are numerous issues and a lot of people who can be called into question if there is a disaster; the Board is not sitting alone because this bridge has been worked on all levels of government very actively; and it continues to be worked. Chairperson Colon stated she wants the community to know that Commissioner Scarborough has worked this issue for two years; with Commissioner Scarborough responding he is just one of many who has done it.

 

WARRANT LISTS

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

ATTEST: _________________________________
JACKIE COLON, CHAIRPERSON
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA

____________________
SCOTT ELLIS, CLERK

(S E A L)