.

 

9:00 AM Meeting called to order on August 3, 2010 at Board Room, Board Room, Viera, FL.

 

Attendee Name	Title	Status	Arrived
Robin Fisher	Vice Chairman/ Commissioner District 1	Present
Chuck Nelson	Commissioner District 2	Present
Trudie Infantini	Commissioner District 3	Present
Mary Bolin	Chairman / Commissioner District 4	Present
Andy Anderson	Commissioner District 5	Present

.

Invocation by:  Pastor Mark Van Bever, Lockmar Baptist Church

.

Pledge of Allegiance:  Commissioner Andy Anderson, District 5

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

The Board approved the minutes of May 27, and July 8, 2010 Workshop Meeting Minutes; and May 27, 2010 Zoning Meeting Minutes

 

.

RESOLUTION, RE:  DECLARING FLORIDA WATER PROFESSIONALS WEEK

 

Commissioner Fisher read aloud a resolution declaring Florida Water Professionals Week.

 

The Board adopted Resolution No. 10-129, declaring Florida Water Professionals Week.

 

 

A representative from the Florida Water & Pollution Control Operators Association (FWPCOA) expressed appreciation to the Board for the Resolution, and also for saving the water and protecting the environment.

 

.

 

RESOLUTION, RE:  ENDORSING A PLAN TO LOCATE AN INTERNATIONAL SCIENCE CENTER IN BREVARD COUNTY

 

Commissioner Nelson read aloud a resolution endorsing a plan to locate an International Science Center in Brevard County.

 

The Board adopted Resolution No. 10-130, endorsing a plan to locate an International Science Center in Brevard County; a Center that supports continuing technological research and collaboration for space, earth, and ocean science; a Center that would enable government agencies, private industry, universities and colleges, and international space agencies to work together for common goals while educating the public and all visitors to Brevard County's Space Coast about the scientific achievements happening around the globe.

 

 

Ron Morgan expressed appreciation to the Board for its continuing support for the International Science Center initiative; expressed special appreciation to Commissioner Fisher for his fast efforts in coordinating the plan with Washington, D.C.; and expressed appreciation to Space Florida, Florida Tech, TRDA, EDC, and Brevard Workforce Development, for their invaluable support.  He stated the Center will be dedicated to serving the science and technological industry; and the Center will feature the incredible new science that become available every day.

 

.

.

REPORT, RE:  ITEM WITHDRAWN FROM AGENDA

 

Scott Knox, County Attorney, advised Item V.B., Ordinances Amending Ordinance Nos. 09-36 and 09-37, Re:  Department of Community Affairs v. Brevard County, DOAH Case No. 10-1158GM, EAR Based Amendments (Part 1) and Farmton (Part 2), needs to be withdrawn from the Agenda, as staff has determined the proposed Ordinance amendments might have an adverse impact on the Platt Amendment, which is going forward to the Department of Community Affairs; and staff believes it is prudent to remove the item from the Agenda.

.

 

REPORT, RE: ACCUSATION BY MR. MATT NYE AT THE JULY 22, 2010 BUDGET WORKSHOP

 

Commissioner Fisher stated at the July 22nd Budget Workshop, Matt Nye came to the podium and said, "You folks slandered me"; stated he reacted and asked Mr. Nye who he meant by, "You folks"; and stated Mr. Nye indicated that he wrote a letter to the editor of the Hometown News.  He stated he knew that he had not personally, on his letterhead, wrote a letter to the editor of Hometown News to personally slander Mr. Nye; and he took exception to Mr. Nye's comment.  He noted the one thing that Mr. Nye did not say was that he personally wrote a letter to the editor trying to slander he, and Commissioners Nelson, and Bolin, for a decision they made; stated what Mr. Nye indicated at the podium is that he wrote a letter slandering Mr. Nye; the public should understand that Mr. Nye wrote a letter to the editor; Hometown News then sent his office an email asking if he wanted to respond to Mr. Nye's letter; and at that point, he asked staff for additional information.  He stated he forwarded his comments to his Chief Assistant Aide that were some of his thoughts, and asked her to forward them onto Hometown News; in a response to a request from Hometown News, which said, "Hello, Hometown News has received an editorial submission about current topics of the Commission.  Before we slate this letter to the editor for print, we would like to give you the opportunity to respond."  He reiterated the request came from Hometown News for his office to respond.  He continued, “My deadline is Friday, November 20th at 9:00 a.m.”  He advised he, in return, forwarded some of his thoughts to his Chief Aide, who then forwarded the email of thought to Hometown News; and stated that is how everything happened.  He stated Mr. Nye indicated to the Board on July 22nd as if he had personally sent the letter to try to personally slander Mr. Nye, but he did not do that; for the record, his response to Hometown News was, “We supported and made the motion that we go out for the RFP and agreed to take the immediate savings and hire a consultant to study the long-term needs of the County.  Since we were still under contract until August, 2010, we would have been paying $250,000 over the next nine months for phone services this year.  Plus would have had to use taxpayer’s dollars to pay the consultant $150,000 to study our systems.  The combined cost was $400,000.  This was an immediate saving.”  He stated it is very important to the discussion that the County was under contract until August, 2010; and noted the exchange with Hometown News happened in November, 2009.  He continued, “We were able to modify our contract cost by piggybacking off the School Board’s recently detailed RFP process.  We just saved the County $1.2 million over three years, and that is a verifiable number.  The number that Mr. Nye is quoting is not supported by any facts.  He had a chance to produce the facts at the meeting and did not.  Nor did he produce any facts to save the School Board any money when he had the opportunity.”  He noted the School Board had just gone out to bid, and Mr. Nye’s company could have tried to work with the School Board at that time.  He continued, “We saved the County money today and did not have to spend or borrow $2 million for capital purchases for a new phone system with no guarantee that we would have any savings.”  He advised, at that point in time, the Board had not paid a consultant, and no one came to the Board with any exact numbers of how much the County would save.  He continued, “Citizens in District 1 are not interested in the County Commission having the newest technology when it comes to our phones.  They want reliability and they want us to stop making unnecessary purchases.  We will be taking the next 24 months and doing a complete study of the County’s long-term needs when it comes to phone and data service.  We will not be spending money on speculations and unproven opinions of sales people who want us to use their company like Mr. Nye wants us to.”  He stated he wants to go back to his original statement because in the context that he took Mr. Nye’s accusation at the podium, it was that he wrote a letter to Hometown News on his letterhead to try to slander Mr. Nye; that is not true; he responded to an email that came to him from Hometown News; and he wanted to make sure that it on record. 

.

 

REPORT, RE:  MERRITT ISLAND YOUTH FOOTBALL SEASON

 

Commissioner Nelson stated he attended the Merritt Island Youth Football opening; there are 400 kids participating this year; and it is the largest registration the organization has ever had, made up of both cheerleaders and football players.  He stated it was a great opening at Mitchell Ellington Park; and he looks forward to seeing some football games this season.

.

 

REPORT, RE:  COMMENDING REVEREND DAMES

 

Commissioner Infantini stated she would like to commend Reverend Dames for stepping up and helping out the school children that were on their way to a track meet, but were met with a fire; Reverend Dames made sure the children were housed; and he appreciates what he did.

.

 

REPORT, RE:  PHONE CONTRACT

 

Commissioner Infantini stated the whole situation with regard to Matt Nye was that he was trying to save money; she had other telephone companies approach her after the whole debate took place, explaining how rather than going out and receiving a consultant, and renewing the three-year contract that was about to expire with AT&T, millions of dollars could be saved if the Board went out for a Request for Information (RFI); and it would not have cost the Board anything, rather than hiring a paid consultant because phone companies offered to come forward and analyze the situation in the County and let it know what it needs.  She stated she believes the County could have saved millions of dollars in the long run, which it could use right now to fund lifeguards, firefighters, and veterans; and she just wanted to clarify from her perspective. 

.

 

REPORT, RE:  GRAND OPENING OF HOBBY LOBBY

 

Chairman Bolin advised she attended the grand opening of a new store in Viera called, Hobby Lobby; while cutting the ribbon, she almost got trampled by all the people wanting to get inside the store to shop; when she drives by the shopping center, the parking lot is full, which is a good sign; and she is pleased Hobby Lobby came to town.

.

 

ITEMS TO BE PULLED FROM CONSENT AGENDA

 

Chairman Bolin advised Item III.A.2., Permission to File Injunction, Re:  John J. Phillips, Jr. and Shelly A. Phillips, will be pulled for discussion.

 

 

PERMISSION TO FILE INJUNCTION, RE:  JOHN J. PHILLIPS, JR. AND SHELLY A. PHILLIPS

 

John Phillips inquired if County Attorney Scott Knox had researched a question to him in October 2009, regarding the legality and research of landlords paying Code fines incurred by tenants; and stated if Attorney Knox does not have that answer, he would like a report in writing.  Attorney Knox replied, staff was asked to go to the Attorney General to inquire whether the County could do that or not; and an answer of yes was received by staff two days ago from the Attorney General.  Mr. Phillips read aloud a portion of Chapter 162, stating, "By adopting Chapter 162 as a County enforcement procedure, the County becomes bound by limits of said Statute, and it would prohibit Article I, Section 18, of the State Constitution to enforce its ordinance by any other manner except that described in Chapter 162."  He advised the case of the City of Tampa v. Braxton states, "Penile statutes must be strictly construed in favor of the one against whom the penalty is to be imposed." He further read a portion of the another case, "The mere ownership of land upon a tenants personal property does not give the landlord custody of the tenants personal property"; and stated he could not go on his tenant's property because it is not his property.  He stated what Code Enforcement has done is unfair; and he feels as though his rights have been violated. 

 

Terri Goodwin stated the problem with the subject property began four years ago; she has lived on her property for 25 years; and it is a nice community.  She noted Mr. Phillips lives in Titusville, but he also has a home in Scottsmoor; some people think the area is rural, but it is not; there are some very nice homes in Scottsmoor; she and her neighbors have complained for over four years; and she thinks it is also an environmental hazard because the property looks like an oil spill.   She stated she knows Mr. Phillips, is friendly to home, and used to work in the same office area together; she is not being hateful, as she is the kind of person that wants to fix a problem; and the problem is now getting old.  She stated she represents a group of neighbors who do not even drink his or her own water anymore, and have to have water delivered because of the potential hazards on the subject property; the front yard has been cleaned up; the mess has been moved to the backyard; the fences around the property are eight feet tall; and she is sorry for the neighbors behind the subject property.  She noted the tenant on the subject property is Mr. Phillips' son; he is still on the property; she is familiar with the landlord/tenant laws; and Mr. Phillips is allowed on the property.  She stated she is asking the Board to do its job; she is a nice person; enough is enough; and she is not trying to be vindictive, but she deserves to have her neighborhood nice, just like the Commissioners'.

 

Commissioner Fisher stated he would like staff to explain the situation with Mr. Phillips.  He noted the last time Mr. Phillips was before the Board the decision was delayed with the understanding that Mr. Phillips would go through the eviction process with his tenant; and inquired if that happened.  Bobby Bowen, Code Enforcement Manager, replied no, that did not happen.  Commissioner Fisher inquired if an eviction has been filed in the County Courts; with Mr. Bowen responding no. 

 

Mr. Bowen advised the Code violations for both 5920 Palm Street, and 1155 Titus Avenue, date back to 1997; he would like to point out to the Board that the number of cases Code Enforcement had against the property, Mr. Phillips complied with, without any hearings or fines; and there are approximately seven or eight of those previous cases that were not recurring or repeat violations.  He stated Code Enforcement has been to both properties; one or two cases have been unfounded; there have been a total of approximately 20 complaints; and to date, Mr. Phillips owes the County $6,100 in administrative costs and fines as a result of going to numerous hearings and being assessed through the Special Magistrate process over the years.  He displayed some photographs to the Board depicting what the subject property looked like on March 30th, after an anonymous complaint was made on March 29th; and stated the responding Code Enforcement Officer took pictures of both the right-of-way and the property in question.  He point out one photograph shows tires, transmissions, and other various kinds of debris in the right-of-way, creating a hazard to the motoring public on the rather narrow road that is Palm Street in Scottsmoor; the property remained in that condition for several months until recently Public Works cleaned up the right-of-way as a result that department received; the public had to be protected from potential hazards, and the County's interest had to be protected against potential lawsuits.  He noted the subject property is prime for mosquito breeding when rain gets inside the tires; there are also a number of propane tanks on the property; also on the property is a pot that one would cook with sitting in the road right-of-way, along with a number of other items such as, tools, lawn furniture, the grill to a vehicle, a shop-vac, a ladder, and other household items.  He noted another picture shows a fence leaning up against the side of the house; in 2005 there was a permit to erect a fence; the fence was erected; at some time it was taken down and is now leaning against the house; and as a result of the fence being gone, numerous additional Code violations can be seen in the side yard, and a vehicle parked at the corner of the back of the house that has not moved in the last seven or eight months.  He advised all of the photographs were taken from the right-of-way where any ordinary citizen can stand and take photographs; what concerns him today is that the fence is back up, but he does not know if the violations in the side yard have been corrected or not; and he suspects they may have not.  He explained, another photograph household furniture can be seen in the right-of-way, a vehicle in the right-of-way with the grill missing, which is the grill that is laying on the ground, and the vehicle does not have an engine in it; there is a gas tank in the back of the pick-up truck without a current tag; and all of the items in the photograph were cleaned up by Public Works at the taxpayers' expense.  He advised as of yesterday evening at 5:30 p.m., he was at the subject property; the debris has been cleaned up; there are a few minor issues remaining, such as a 55 gallon drum full of tree limbs, a tire changer sitting out in the open, some rusted barrels, a small trailer in the right-of-way with no tag, facing the wrong direction, but the old jeep is now gone; and there are still some minor issues, but he is still concerned with putting the fence back up.  He reiterated that over the years there have been at least 20 complaints; based upon the history of both locations he is not certain if the situation has been corrected; the property looks fairly good today; but he does not know what it is going to look like next week or next month; and his recommendation to the Board is to pursue the requested injunction.

 

The Board granted permission to the County Attorney to file an injunction against John J. Phillips, Jr. and Shelly A. Phillips, property owners of 5920 Palm Street, Scottsmoor (Mims Mailing Address), for continuing violations of Brevard County Code Section  94-48, Maintenance of Property; Section 114-28(b), Overgrowth of Grasses and Weeds; and Section 94-311 - 314, Junk/Inoperable/or Abandoned Vehicle (s). 

 

.

 

FINAL PLAT AND CONTRACT APPROVAL, RE:  IVANHOE AND VIDINA DRIVE SUBDIVISION, 08SD-00787 - THE VIERA COMPANY

 

The Board granted final plat approval for Ivanhoe and Vidina Drive Subdivision, 08SD-00787, subject to minor changes, if necessary, receipt of all necessary documents required for recording, and developer obtaining all other necessary jurisdictional permits; and executed Contract with The Viera Company. 

 

.

 

CONTRACT FOR SALE AND PURCHASE WITH RODNEY R. FRAZIER, RE:  TWO (2) ONE-ACRE PARCELS LYING WEST OF THE CENTRAL DISPOSAL FACILITY

 

The Board executed Contract for Sale and Purchase with Rodney R. Frazier for two (2) one-acre parcels lying west of the Central Disposal Facility in Section 24, Township 35, Range 17.  A Phase I Environmental Assessment and Survey will be performed on the property prior to closing, per Land Acquisition Policies and Procedures.

 

.

 

CONTRACT FOR SALE AND PURCHASE WITH GITTINGS HOLDINGS, LLC, RE:  PROPERTY NEEDED FOR THE BARNES BOULEVARD WIDENING PROJECT

 

The Board executed Contract for Sale and Purchase with Gittings Holdings, LLC for property needed for the Barnes Boulevard Widening Project located in Section 22, Township 25 S, Range 36 E; and waived the Phase I Environmental Assessment and Survey requirements, per Land Acquisition Policies and Procedures.

 

.

 

ACCEPTANCE, RE:  OSM-1, LLC SANITARY SEWER EASEMENT

 

The Board accepted Sanitary Sewer Easement from OSM-1, LLC, for property located in Section 34, Township 25 S, Range 36 E.

 

.

 

ACCEPTANCE, RE:  SIDEWALK EASEMENT FROM APAC - SOUTHEAST, INC. IN FAVOR OF BREVARD COUNTY FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF A SIDEWALK ALONG THE RIGHT-OF-WAY OF U.S. HIGHWAY NO. 1

 

The Board accepted Sidewalk Easement from APAC-Southeast, Inc. for construction of a sidewalk along the right-of-way of U.S. Highway No. 1 for the proposed development of the APAC, Phase I, located in Section 19, Township 26 S, Range 37 E.

 

.

 

FACILITIES RELOCATION AGREEMENT WITH FLORIDA POWER AND LIGHT COMPANY (FPL), RE:  RELOCATION OF TRANSMISSION POLES FOR THE S. WICKHAM ROAD WIDENING PROJECT

 

The Board executed Facilities Relocation Agreement with Florida Power and Light Company (FPL) for the relocation of transmission poles that will be in conflict with construction efforts on S. Wickham Road Widening Project. 

 

.

 

AWARD OF BID NO. B-4-10-102 TO HINTERLAND GROUP, INC., RE:  CONTRACT FOR THE RE-CONSTRUCTION/REHABILITATION OF THE M-20 LIFT STATION

 

The Board awarded Bid No. B-4-10-102 to Hinterland Group, Inc. for the re-construction/rehabilitation of the M-20 Life Station, at a total price of $213,250; and granted approval for the Chairman to execute Construction Contract.

 

.

 

APPROVAL, RE:  BUDGET CHANGE REQUESTS

 

The Board approved the Budget Change Requests as submitted.

 

.

 

APPROVAL, RE:  PERMISSION TO ISSUE ANNUAL SUPPLY BIDS, QUOTES AND PROPOSALS (FY 2010/2011) AND/OR NEGOTIATE COMPETITIVE AGREEMENTS

 

The Board granted permission to solicit competitive bids, quotes, and/or negotiate competitive agreements and award to the lowest, responsive, and most qualified supplier; solicit competitive proposals, establish selection committees, and award contracts and/or open purchase orders with the best-ranked proposer; exercise renewal options upon evaluation of supplier performance, and recommendation from user departments/offices to establish the continuance of the contract is favorable prior to extension of the agreement; and authorized Chairman to execute contracts and contract renewals over $100,000 in annual value.

 

.

 

APPROVAL, RE:  EXECUTION OF CONTRACT WITH THE STATE OF FLORIDA, DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY AFFAIRS, FOR COMMUNITY SERVICES BLOCK GRANT

 

The Board executed Agreement with the State of Florida, Department of Community Affairs, for the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) in the amount of $243,910; approved a cash match of $4,879; and authorized the Chairman to execute future modifications and amendments, contingent upon the approval of County Attorney and Risk Management. 

 

.

 

APPROVAL AND AUTHORIZATION FOR CHAIRMAN TO EXECUTE AGREEMENT TO EXTEND INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT WITH THE CITY OF TITUSVILLE, RE:  ONE-YEAR EXTENSION FOR COMPLETION OF THE DOWNTOWN URBAN PARKS PROJECT

 

The Board executed Agreement to Extend Interlocal Agreement with the City of Titusville for a one-year extension to complete the Downtown Urban Parks Project. 

 

.

 

RESOLUTIONS AND SUPPLEMENTAL JOINT PARTICIPATION AGREEMENTS, RE:  TRANSIT CORRIDOR GRANTS FOR S.R. 520 AND S.R. A1A FIXED ROUTE BUS SERVICE

 

The Board adopted Resolution Nos. 10-131 and 10-132, and executed Supplemental Joint Participation Agreements (JPA) in the amount of $509,666 each for Transit Corridor Grants for S.R. 520 and S.R. A1A Fixed Route Bus Service; and authorized the Chairman to sign any follow-up documents (upon Risk Management and County Attorney approval) and budget changes. 

 

.

 

AWARD OF CONTRACT UNDER RFP #1-10-20, RE:  GROUP HEALTH BENEFITS

 

The Board approved the award of Contracts with CIGNA and Health First Health Plan, the term of the Contracts to be five years beginning January 1, 2011, as recommended by the Employee Benefits Insurance Advisory Committee (EBIAC); and authorized the Office of Human Resources/Employee Benefits to negotiate and execute all agreements necessary to place coverage, effective January 1, 2011, and to execute future renewal options during the term of this agreement. 

 

.

 

APPROVAL, RE:  SPACEPORT COMMERCE PARK MODIFICATION OF RESTRICTIVE COVENANTS

 

The Board approved modifications to the Spaceport Commerce Park Restrictive Covenants; executed Restrictive Covenants Modification Agreement; and requested current property owners to execute the Modification Agreement with the County. 

 

.

 

APPROVAL, RE:  PURCHASE OF EQUIPMENT FOR FLORIDA HIGHWAY PATROL (TROOP D) IN THE AMOUNT OF $8,249.21 USING STATE FORFEITURE FUNDS IN ACCORDANCE WITH FLORIDA STATUTE 932.7055(5)

 

The Board approved the purchase of equipment for the Florida Highway Patrol (Troop D) in the amount of $8,249.21 using State Forfeiture funds in accordance with Florida Statute 932.7055(5); and authorized any necessary budget amendments.

 

.

 

AUTHORIZATION, RE:  DISTRIBUTION OF $2,523.00 IN STATE FORFEITURE FUNDS TO THE CITY OF CAPE CANAVERAL IN ACCORDANCE WITH FLORIDA STATUTE 932.7055(5)

 

The Board authorized the distribution of $2,523.00 in State Forfeiture funds to the City of Cape Canaveral in accordance with Florida Statute 932.7055(5); and authorized any necessary budget amendments.

 

.

 

APPOINTMENTS/REAPPOINTMENTS, RE:  CITIZEN ADVISORY BOARDS

 

The Board appointed Pam Rogan to the Wickham Park Advisory Committee.

 

.

 

APPROVAL, RE:  BILLS

 

The Board approved the Billfolder/Budget Change Requests, as submitted.

 

.

 

PUBLIC COMMENT, RE:  RICHARD RENICK -  TURTLE CONSERVATION AND CONSERVATORY

 

Former Senator Richard Renick stated he lives in Dade County; as a senator, he represented from Coral Gables, through Key West, from the mid-'60's through 1982; and conservation has always been the area he is most concerned with.  He stated as the Chairman and Past Chairman of Natural Resources, he is before the Board today as he voice representing the un-voiced, which is the Turtle Conservation and Conservatory; it is his understanding that part of the Conservatory, or all of it, will be stricken; and he would like the Board to reconsider and continue the program that helps so many school children, as well as tourism.  He stated he would like the Board to consider the impact on the turtles if the Turtle Conservation and Conservatory was eliminated.

.

 

PUBLIC COMMENT, RE:  GERALD STORRS - OCEAN RESCUE BUDGET

 

Gerald Storrs stated he is concerned about the proposed elimination of the full-time lifeguards; going back to 1988, there was a task force developed by the County that recommended full-time lifeguards; but it did not happen; and no one seemed to know what happened.  He advised in 2001, the same thing happened in which a committee was established to do a study on the lifeguard service; it was determined full-time lifeguards were needed; and most anyone familiar with lifeguard services realizes that it is a year-round job for all states with beaches.  He stated he knows it is a disastrous situation when there are too few lifeguards, as was proved during the period of 2005 to 2007 when there were 19 drowning deaths; full-time lifeguards were finally hired; since then, there has been one drowning death from 2008 until now; and he is concerned the County is going back to the death beach formula.  He stated two lifeguards for 40 miles of beaches seems absurd; he does not see how that territory can be adequately covered; and the only thing the Board could do would be to add a full-time clerk to schedule the drowning deaths.

.

 

PUBLIC COMMENT, RE:  JOSEPH MCDOWELL

 

Joseph McDowell he is the Executive Director of Links of Hope; and read a brief statement.  "First I want to thank you and the Community Action Board for awarding grants to his agency for the last five years.  Those grants have helped us fulfill our mission to build stronger families and prevent child abuse.  During that time period we have served approximately 11,000 individuals in Brevard County.  In the current fiscal year, most of the funds that we have received have been used to support our program at the Brevard County Jail, which includes seven GED classes, four parent education classes, and three anger management classes.  One of the chief concerns of officials at the County Jail is a recidivism rate of 70 percent; at last report, only one of the 79 inmates who have gotten their GED while in jail have returned to jail; and this means not only improved individual lives, but increased tax payers instead of tax users.  We believe our efforts have improved your bottom line.  I am sure that the efforts of other agencies who have received CBO grants have yielded similar positive results.  It would be a wise investment on your part to continue funding Community Based Organization grants at some level and trust your Community Action Board to make prudent decisions about which agencies can best utilize those funds."

 

.

PUBLIC COMMENT, RE: JOSHUA SHEPHERD - BREVARD COUNTY PROFESSIONAL FIREFIGHTERS

 

Joshua Shepherd stated represents more than 450 Brevard County Fire Rescue Union members and their families.  Stated today the Board is charged with setting the tentative millage rate; in an election year that can be a very difficult step to do what is necessary to keep government running; with housing values continuing on a steady downward path, it is clear that General Fund revenues have suffered; governments have cut services, and decreased manning and equipment; and as a result, the citizens have seen the degradation of the quality of life in Brevard County.  He stated in order to maintain what little services remain and keep the infrastructure in tact with paved and drivable streets, preparedness for future disasters, protection for beach goers, parks and recreational activities to keep children off the street, and provide for the safety and protection of the citizens, government must be funded; he is not asking for anything on behalf of the Fire Rescue Department or members of the organization; the County's firefighters willingly, and without provocation, self-imposed a wage freeze in their last contract to help save money; and with that, the firefighters have seen their insurance benefits eroded and has listened to Tallahassee talk about reductions in their retirement benefits.  He stated he is asking that the Board do the right thing for the firefighters, their families, and the communities; he is asking the Board to not degrade any further the quality of life in Brevard County; the Board must do what is right and increase the millage too offset the drastic housing value reductions; and it must be pointed out that in no way is it a tax increase, but it simply gets the County as close as possible to what was collected last year.  He stated a higher millage rate on lower property values only serves to keep things level and keep what services remain, intact.  He commended the Board on its dedication and service to the community; stated the Board faces another daunting task; and as the budget comes into focus, he does not envy what the Board has to go through today. 

.

 

PUBLIC COMMENT, RE:  ANNE FRAME - CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES

 

Anne Frame stated eight years ago she stood before the Board of County Commissioners as a representative of the graduating class of the Citizens Academy; and she is grateful she took the time to take the course, because it taught her a lot about what make the County work.  She advised today she would like to speak about the employees of Criminal Justice Services, where she has volunteered since 2002; in these tough economic times when tough economic decisions are being made, everyone needs someone to speak for them; there are groups such as, Friends of the Library, and Friends of the Police Sheriff's Department, but now she is speaking as a friend of Criminal Justice Services.  She stated the administrators, probation officers, registration personnel, lab techs, community service specialists, and the office personnel are all dedicated workers; they register offenders adjudicated by the courts; they assign them to serve at non-profit agencies; they provide testing to stem the tide of alcohol and drug abusers; they provide supervision for persons waiting to be sentenced; and they are all hardworking, dedicated, men and women who deserve to be recognized for their dedication to their jobs.  She stated the employees of Criminal Justice Services are worried that their jobs are in jeopardy because of the decision to outsource their services to a private company; the employees are citizens of Brevard County who have given many years to their jobs; and now, possibly 25 of them will be facing unemployment.  She stated after many years in that department, she is asking the Board to re-thinks its decision and to allow the department budget analyst to reexamine the budget, so that Criminal Justice Services can keep all of its employees working.

.

 

PUBLIC COMMENT, RE:  TYLER FARNHAM - OCEAN RESCUE

 

Tyler Farnham stated he is one of the instructors for Legacy Junior Lifeguards at the Pier, which is a six-week program that builds future leaders with character; when the Board allowed the lifeguards to be full-time in 2008, the Ocean Rescue Program changed from night to day; there are now career minded people working as lifeguards; there are nine, full-time permanent captains, six lieutenants, and he does not want to see all of that go away; and they are career mined professional lifeguards that want to remain on the beach year round.  He noted in the off season there are days when there is not a large population of visitors on the beach, but for the few that are there, they love having the protection of the lifeguards; and to take it back to a seasonal program is a scary thought, and he feels it is important to keep full-time lifeguards.

.

 

PUBLIC COMMENT, RE:  DEREK SWAR - OCEAN RESCUE

 

Derek Swar stated he was raised and resides in Satellite Beach; the County has come a long way; it has a very rich history; and he is honored to stand before the Board and rewrite history from this chapter forward.  He advised he is the President of the Brevard County Lifeguard Association (BCLA), which is a chapter of the United States Lifeguard Association, and is a non-profit organization; and BCLA has adopted the Board's mission to contribute to the community and increase the quality of life for all Brevard County residents.  He noted this season, the BCLA put together a free junior lifeguard event, enrolling 50 kids; the kids were taught about CPR, safety, and dangerous ocean conditions; people donated rash guards to the kids; and he would like the Board to keep the program going.

.

 

PUBLIC COMMENT, RE:  JOHN C. D’AMICO - INTERSECTION OF HOLLYWOOD BOULEVARD AND HENRY AVENUE

 

John C. D'Amico, City of West Melbourne Councilman, stated the last time he appeared before the Board was two years ago concerning the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Henry Ave.; it was a major problem that confronted West Melbourne; he met with Commissioner Infantini, along with the Board of Directors from Hollywood Estates; he also has had meetings with the County's Engineering Department; and Commissioner Infantini had a major impact in getting the job accomplished.  He stated the intersection was a genuine safety hazard; many accidents occurred in the area; the road and intersection is now completed; and he has never seen traffic flow so smoothly. 

.

 

PUBLIC COMMENT, RE:  SCOTT MORGAN -  INTERSECTION OF HOLLYWOOD BOULEVARD AND HENRY AVENUE

 

Scott Morgan, West Melbourne City Manager, expressed appreciation to the Board for its support of the public works improvement at the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Henry Avenue; and also thanked Mr. Tipton and his Public Works staff for doing a great job; and the City is very pleased with the outcome.  He noted the project was finished early, which was important with school beginning soon; and the management of the contract was well done.

.

 

PUBLIC HEARING, RE:  PROPOSED TENTATIVE FY 2010-2011 AD VALOREM MILLAGES

 

Howard Tipton, County Manager, stated the presentation outline covers variables impacting the budget development, FY 2011 proposed efficiencies, sustainability and future concerns, understanding of the Truth in Millage (TRIM) timeline/process, and proposed millages for FY 2011.  He stated there have been many variables impacting the budget development this year, such as a drastic reduction in the available revenues; it has an impact on service levels; but it also has created some opportunities for streamlining operations, and how to work in this new environment.  He stated the decreasing revenues also impact the funding capacity; in particular, it is funding capacity for debt, and for cash flow; both areas are very important to understand; there are cost saving initiatives that are entering the fourth year in terms of hiring freezes, salary freezes, and fleet reductions; there are unfunded State mandates that staff continues to watch this year; as has been discussed, the County has done well in terms of dodging the State bullet; but that is primarily because the State really did not make the hard decisions on its budget, which it is going to have to do next year when it deals with a $5 billion, or $6 billion deficit; and the concern is that it is going to come down and hit the counties and the cities.  He stated staff has been focusing on public safety and the core services, as has been discussed by the Board; there is also concern about limited balance forward/cash availability; and the County is using the cash it has on hand to help fund the operating expenses for today, which means it is not available as the next year begins.  He advised, service level impacts include deferred repair and replacement to equipment and facilities; limited funding for road projects; and direct impact to citizens, such as limited accessibility to facilities, elimination of some programs and services, and reduced and/or eliminated funding for outside agencies.  He noted some of the proposed efficiencies for next year continue to move forward; some service deliveries are being consolidated; the departments of Public Works, Utilities, and Solid Waste are being consolidated, along with Housing and Human Services and Criminal Justice Services; and there is an item on the Agenda today for the consideration of outsourcing for the misdemeanor probation and pre-trial services.  He stated another proposed efficiency for FY 2011 is centralizing of services, such as land acquisition, purchasing/contract management, construction management, and financial support; additionally, staff is looking at rolling out some of the investments in technology; the pavement management system in Public Works has been discussed; the Utilities Department has the lift station pump technology, which is designed to run more efficiently, saving on power costs and making equipment last longer; also discussed has been flattening and streamlining departments, focusing on people, processes and procedures; ultimately, it is a smaller government structure, with four fewer departments and 200 fewer positions; and the County is at 2001 staffing levels, which is a 17 percent decrease since a peak in 2006.   He further stated, going forward, the property valuation outlook as has been discussed, is that the Property Appraiser has pegged a decline in property values at 12.79 percent; all other values for the other property tax related funds that spread across the County in different areas range in declines of 8.5 percent to almost 14 percent; at the last meeting, the Property Appraiser shared information that the year 2012 may be as high as 17 percent, 2013 may be a decrease of 10 percent, 2014 may be a decrease of seven percent, and 2015 bottoms out.  He stated sustainability and future concerns for the budget are State budget challenges; with Medicaid, when the County can receive a bill for $1.5 million that it did not expect because the State is telling the County that the usage for Medicaid is higher than it had budgeted, it has tremendous impacts on the way the County has to budget and the way it has cash on hand.  He advised, other sustainability and future concerns include limited balance forward and reserves; the Board has Embraer, which is coming to Brevard County, which will bring jobs; but part of the economic incentive that was offered, when the bill comes due, which is next fiscal year, it will come out of reserves.  He noted there have also been increases in health insurance, and the Florida retirement rates; it is minor this year, but next year much higher rates are anticipated; there have also been increases in technology needs, going forward from intelligent transportation systems, to PC replacement and server replacements; and lastly, the funding of a capital program is critical for overall sustainability. 

 

Alphonso Jefferson, Budget Director, stated he would like to take the Board through the Truth In Millage (TRIM) process, and inform the Board of important dates staff has to meet associated with noticing taxpayers of proposed millages.  He explained the PowerPoint presentation slide in front of the Board is a summarized timeline of the process; by August 4th, staff has to be able to notify the Property Appraiser of what the proposed millages are for Brevard County; it is a Florida Statute requirement; and today is when the Board makes the decision on the proposed millages.  He stated essentially, TRIM is a notice to taxpayers; it notifies them of various things associated with potential taxes for the coming year; what the taxpayers see from the Property Appraiser is not a tax bill; and it is essentially a notification to taxpayers and provides various types of information associated with that as well.  He stated some other important dates on the time frame is September 14th, which is the first public Budget hearing, when there will be a tentative hearing on the millages; and there is a September 28th public hearing as well, which is the final public hearing on the budget.  He advised they are very important dates that have to be adhered to in order to finalize the budget by October 1st.  He stated on August 24th, the Property Appraiser mails out the TRIM notices; it is important to understand that the TRIM process is very date-driven; and there are timelines that must be met associated with the process.  He stated once the decision is made today on the proposed millages, staff will be working feverishly to get all the necessary documents done so they can be hand delivered directly to the Property Appraiser in order to meet the associated August 4th date.  He stated Column 1 on the TRIM notice focuses on the current year information, such as the current millage rate, current values, and other things taxpayers like to know; Column 2 deals with exemptions and taxable value for 2011; Column 3 deals with rollback information for 2011; it shows the taxpayer what the rollback information would be associated with Brevard County; Column 4 is the notification for the proposed millages for 2011; it is the millages that the Board made a determination on, and it is what all taxpayers are notified on; and once the decision is made today, the Property Appraiser will mail out the TRIM notices by August 24th to all taxpayers.  He advised the 2010 current operating millage rate the County is in is 5.4720 in the aggregate; the FY 2011 proposed operating millage rate is 5.5288, which reflects the Board's decisions on Library ad valorem rate and Law Enforcement MSTU rate; and the FY 2011 rollback operating millage rate is 6.3545.

 

Commissioner Infantini stated when she left the meetings in which Mr. Jefferson was in attendance, it was agreed to raise the law enforcement MSTU; and many Commissioners agreed to raise the library ad valorem; but she believes at prior meetings, the Board also said it did not want the aggregate millage to increase.  She stated the proposed budget looks like a .0568 increase in mills over all the aggregate; she believes the Board had given direction to County staff to not increase the aggregate; she knows certain Commissioners will argue it is not increasing the taxes as long as revenue is not raised; however, other Commissioners would argue that an increase in millage is an increase in tax; she is surprised to see the increase in the aggregate because that was not her understanding when she left the meeting; and she never intended that by increasing those millage rates, that it would increase the aggregate. 

 

Chairman Bolin stated it was determined that if years go by without doing any further cuts, that is what it would be; and that is her understanding of the statement, that if there were no other cuts to compensate for what was rolled back. 

 

Mr. Jefferson stated to address the library item first, staffs understanding was that making any necessary changes to the libraries was associated with the aggregate; based on making those particular changes, the aggregate should not change for the libraries; and that is what staff presented to the Board.  He stated with the law enforcement MSTU, the direction was to increase the law enforcement MSTU; there was no direction associated with the aggregate staying the same; the direction was to increase the law enforcement MSTU; and that is the process that staff followed. 

 

Commissioner Infantini stated she never saw the Commissioners actually change direction on the aggregate; not once did the Board discuss increasing the aggregate; the Board just discussed increasing the MSTU to take into consideration so that the 31 deputies would not be lost; she reiterated she never once saw any discussion on increasing the aggregate; but she was a participant in numerous discussions in which three Commissioners said they would not increase the aggregate; and she would like to decrease the amount that has been allocated to the General Fund to account for the increase in the aggregate, because she is not voting to increase the aggregate millage.

 

Commissioner Fisher stated he believes the motion was that the libraries were to be held harmless in the budget process; and the only way to do that was to roll up the millage.  He stated there was a unanimous vote on the law enforcement MSTU that if the Board was going to fund the Sheriff's 31 deputies, the only way to do that was through a MSTU increase; it was not deducted and taken from another area to fund the Sheriff; and if Commissioner Infantini does not want to fund the Sheriff, then the Board can go on record as not wanting to fund the Sheriff so that he can figure out a way to fund his 31 deputies.  Commissioner Infantini stated she just wants to stick to what the three Commissioners agreed to, which is that they were not going to increase the aggregate; when one millage is increased, it does not necessarily mean that another cannot be decreased, it just means a little more from another spot.  She stated she never once agreed to what increasing the MSTU meant, and she did not hear any Commissioner state they wanted the overall aggregate increase, they just wanted that particular one increased, just as with the MSTU for the library.

 

Mr. Tipton stated in terms of the libraries, staff held the aggregate the same, and also made adjustments in other areas of the budget to accommodate the libraries; but his understanding was that for the law enforcement MSTU, the Board would be rolling back to accommodate that; and if he misunderstood that, then he apologizes.  He noted it would mean an additional approximate $1.6 million out of the existing budget to fund that.

 

Commissioner Nelson stated at this point it is a moot question, as the Board is going to be discussing all of the millages; and it needs to move forward.

 

Vince Lamb stated he and his family have lived in Brevard County for 40 years; for the first 37 years he never attended a County Commission meeting; he knew many of the Commissioners through community activities; he believes good people were elected to the Commission who would look after his interests; and for the most part, the Commission made the right decisions, and Brevard County has remained a desirable place to live.  He stated when he used to travel throughout the County over the past weekend, the restaurants were usually busy, the hotels posted no vacancy signs, and his friends who work in residential real estate are enjoying a recovery in unit sales; and while unemployment is still high, Brevard County seems to be experiencing a recovery.  He inquired if the Board stops maintaining roads, close community centers, reduce beach lifeguards, and the many other things proposed in the budget, will Brevard County lose its attractiveness to residents and visitors; and inquired if the quality of life is sustained, along with public safety, will people relocated to Brevard to fill empty residences and stabilized the property values.  He stated recovering from a recession locally or nationally, involves building a positive attitude; when people feel the economy is improving they are more inclined to buy cars, home improvements, and real estate; if the proposed budget is approved, residents and visitors will observe frequent reminders that local government does not recognize the beginning of a recovery; and for the first time in his life he is opposed to a tax decrease.  He stated he and his wife have investment properties as well as a residence; if the millage rate is left unchanged his tax bill will be $1,000 lower than the previous year; while he hates to forego a tax reduction, retaining public safety and quality of life in Brevard is more important to him; and if a tax break requires not maintaining the roads, closing community centers, he prefers to pay the same amount as last year.  He stated the future of Brevard County is up to the Board, as it must understand that if it allows the property tax revenues to fall by 12.5 percent several years will be required just to return to the 2010 level; the damage to economic development and tourism may require decades to recover; and he requested the Board approve the rollback millage rates to preserve the quality of life in Brevard County. 

 

Jack Robertson stated he is the past Commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars; he is in support of all veterans, especially the veterans in Brevard County; Brevard County has 90,000 veterans; Orlando has 100,000 veterans; and St. Lucie County has 60,000.  He noted there is only one veteran service office for all of Brevard County, for 90,000 veterans; Orlando has four veteran service offices; St. Lucie County has three veteran service offices; and the only veteran service office in Brevard County is part-time.  He stated there are Iraqi veterans who are supposed to return from Iraq; there will be a lot of veterans coming back to Brevard County; there is only one service officer to help those veterans; two years ago Brevard had two service officers; now the County only has one, part-time officer; and it does not make any sense.  He stated he is not asking the Board to keep the current service officer position, he is asking it to increase it; the vets have earned the right to file their claims to get the help that they need; and there needs to be a service officer to do that. 

 

George Taylor stated the Board has a big task ahead of it; everyone in the room is doing his/her part; but there are some drastic issues that depend on the Board's recommendation to guide the County to a better place.  He noted the statistics on Brevard's veterans have been given to the Board several times; through research in the last couple of weeks, he was dumbfounded to find the facts that he found; he has been a veterans advocate since the early 1990's; and the veterans who fought for the country deserve the best help they can get.  He stated he is before the Board today as a disabled veteran; he has had malaria 17 times; he has multiple disabilities with lung disease and cancer; and if it was not for the County service officer, he would not have gotten help.  He noted surrounding counties have multiple locations of veteran service offices to help provide services to veterans; Brevard County only has one office half-staffed; Volusia County has five locations; and Volusia County alone did 14,000 claims with five locations and brought $172 million to the community.  He stated with everything needed in Brevard County to protect lifeguards, to protect the services that are needed in these hard times, the veterans need the County service officer; without the service officer, 6,200 claims would be jeopardized; and the 8,000 claims in the office today has already put $74 million tax free revenue in the County last year.  He requested the Board to do whatever is needed to protect Brevard County's veterans, as there will be thousands more coming at the end of the month.

 

William Gary stated he is the President of the Harry T. and Harriette V. Moore Cultural Complex, Inc.; and stated he spoke in support of the Parks and Recreation budget at the July 22nd Board Workshop.  He stated it is proposed that the Moore Memorial Park be closed except on weekends; that is totally unacceptable; citizens have been working hard in the north part of the County to bring in students and visitors to the park; some funding has been acquired through the State to make some improvements; and work is being done to get more tourists to the area.  He advised during the Moore Festival there were over 750 students and teacher who attended some educational programs; there is currently a summer arts program; partnerships have been established with the University of Central Florida History Department, which has made a documentary about civil rights in Central Florida; many more things are being planned for the park; and he is asking the Board to consider the cultural and educational benefit of the budget cuts that have been proposed, and that it keep the funding level as it was last year.  He stated there have been many people who have shown an interest in what is being done at the park that it would be devastating to undergo budget cuts at this time; and he would appreciate the Board keeping the millage rate at the 2010 level to keep the programs in place.

 

Reverend Vernor Clay stated Brevard County is one of the most exciting places to live; Brevard has overcome many obstacles; and it is far ahead in terms of technology and science, and even in its recreational areas because of peoples' interest in what Brevard does and who it is.  He noted many people today have asked the Board to consider not decreasing, but at least maintaining, the integrity of services and programs in the community; and stated he is begging the Board to not go backwards, but to maintain the services the County currently has.  He stated he is proud to serve on the Parks and Recreation Board of Advisors in North Brevard County; it is hard to maintain all of the services; and he is honored to give the Board recommendations on behalf of the residents.

 

Al "Gunner" Dudley stated he is a member of the American Legion, VFW, Disabled American Veterans, and many other veteran organizations; and stated the County cannot afford to lose its veteran service officer.  He noted the officer does more than file claims, he goes around and gives classes to different veterans organizations; there are many veterans returning to Brevard at the end of the month; and the services office is needed, as it brings a lot of revenue to the County.  He stated he has no problem paying the same taxes as he paid last year; but the veterans services cannot be lost.

 

Doug Sphar stated last weekend his community had a neighborhood picnic; at one point the conversation centered on the County's budget woes; it seemed that everyone was impacted either personally or via friend or family; one central idea emerged, which is revenue neutrality; and everybody seemed amenable to pay what they paid last year.  He noted at an earlier workshop, Mr. Tipton presented a chart that indicated the County could roll the millage to 6.3545 mills without having to declare a tax increase; this is because millage is multiplied by declining property value to generate the tax that is paid; if the Board rolled the millage to between 6 and 6.3 mills, it could then legally declare it has slightly cut taxes, and Mr. Tipton could have additional revenue divided between departments; and some important services and functions could be restored and a major healing provided to distressed departments.  He stated given the road budget scenarios he has heard, roads will not be repaved in the lives of his grandchildren; by proposing to carry forward the 2009 millages the Commission will be endorsing almost a 14 percent tax cut; a tax cut of that magnitude in conjunction with declining revenues from other sources is not responsible government; and he does not enjoy paying taxes any more than anybody else, but it is hard to make a case that Floridians are burdened by taxes.   He noted according to the Tax Foundation, Florida is the 45th lowest state in business tax burden, and the 36th lowest state in tax burdened individuals; after looking at the Tax Foundation's chart, he sees why people swarm to Florida from Ohio, New York, and New Jersey; and it is not just for the beaches and the sun.  He stated other jurisdictions in the area are doing the responsible thing in rolling back millages; Orange County, Palm Bay, Cocoa, and Titusville are rolling back millages to account for reduced property valuation; and the Disney Corporation is not complaining.  He stated he is asking the Board to vote for revenue neutrality by rolling back the millage to at least 6 mills; and stated it is the right thing to do.

 

Dorothy Walsh stated she is present as a Brevard County resident and the daughter, sister, friend, niece, and granddaughter of veterans.  She stated the Florida TODAY has reported that by the end of the month, most of the troops are going to be back from Iraq; inquired who will help the troops re-adapt; most of them will be coming back to Florida; and stated the troops will be told they will have to wait five or six years before their claims are processed, because Brevard County does not have the people to do it.  She stated she has been a Brevard County resident for five years; she has watched the County grow; she has watched the money being spent; and she loves Brevard County, but with the recession looming, the County is at a crossroads where it has to lose its lifeguards and support for veterans, and it seems there is no level of accountability.  She stated she would like to ask the Board to please save the veteran service officer position, and give back the veterans a little bit of what they have given to Brevard County. 

.

Barbara Kurtz stated she has lived in Brevard County for 33 years; she does not have children in school, or even grandchildren; she rarely uses the library; but she wants those services along with all of the others to remain intact; all of the services need to be maintained for everyone, young and old alike; and she supports raising the millage to a level that compensates for the past year's decline in property values.  She stated raising the millage will not raise her tax bill; but it will mean better services and fewer potholes.

 

Jill Dunham-Cesario stated she is the Executive Director of the Space Coast Center for Independent Living; and the agency has been in business since 1972 serving individuals with disabilities in Brevard and Indian River Counties. She advised the Board's CBO dollars supports the agency's transportation program; this year, the agency received $30, 458 from CBO, which pays for 62 percent of two drivers' salaries; the total budget for the program is $238,646, which means 88 percent of funding for the program comes from other sources.  She noted the current ridership levels is 4,184 total trips, 13 total consumers, and 915 trips to rural areas that are off the SCAT bus route.

 

Dana Sloan stated he represents the Space Coast Center for Independent Living; because the agency could not meet the needs going on in Brevard County over the past two years, the agency has been pushing to expand its Need A Ride program; the program has doubled in the last 18 months, and CBO dollars were used as leverage to try and pull off the funding to do that; the agency's intent during the hard times was to expand even further this fall, by looking at other grants; but the problem is the agency needs the seed money to use to leverage other places; and the agency's records are public information, as it is a non-profit agency.  He stated the money the agency uses from the CBO comes back to the Board; the agency gets a $12 million to $15 million return on the Board's $980,000 budget; and he would like to ask the Board to roll the millage and do whatever it necessary to continue funding to the agency.

 

Chip Hanson stated he is speaking for not only the veterans, but all of Brevard County; he wants the Board to come together as one, not just for each Commissioner's Districts, but for the benefit of the County; and the Commissioners need to stand up and show what they are made of.  He stated he is the Chaplain for District 8 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, District 12 of the American Legion, and Chapter 123 of the Disabled American Veterans; he was in the Marine Corps. as a combat veteran from 1967 to 1969; he knows what it is like to come back to a country and not have anybody to be there to show the way; and he would hope the Board will not lead the way in the State of Florida by not giving $60,000 to start all over again. 

 

Al Diaz stated he supports the veterans of Brevard County and Fire Rescue; the veteran service officer does more than work with veterans, as he is working with the family of veterans also; and inquired what kind of message is being sent to the men, women, and children who stay behind.  He stated the families need help, but the only way to get help is through the veterans service officer; and he would like to ask the Board to not turn down the veterans or Fire Rescue. 

 

Peter Harding stated he is a service officer with the Disabled American Veterans; he is a 30-year veteran of the Air Force; and he is 100 percent disabled.  He stated he spent two years in Vietnam; he was also in Desert Storm; yesterday he read that the Department of Veterans Affairs is proud to announce that it is funding a study on the illnesses of Desert Storm, from 20 years ago; and that is the kind of system the veterans have to work with.  He stated a disabled veteran who is applying for disability with the Department of Veteran Affairs will have a two-year wait before the claim is adjudicated; it is a strict system; the VA is protecting itself by making the system so difficult that a veteran cannot be successful without the help of a professional; the professionals in the County are the veteran service officers; and there are not enough of them to begin with, and the Board is considering cutting them.  He stated there needs to be additional veteran service officers in Melbourne, Palm Bay, and Titusville to serve the community; he works at the DAV Titusville Chapter on Thursdays as a service officer; he starts at 11:00 a.m. accepting people in the door; he does not get time for lunch; the office is supposed to close at 4:00 p.m., but he is normally there until 5:00 p.m., as he is turning people away; and the veterans he sees has problems and they deserve support.  He stated the homeless veterans, primarily, are a burden; they get services from the county system and jails; it that can be turned around, that person can bring in $36,000 per year if successful in a claim; that is just for one homeless veteran; and two homeless veterans can pay the salary of the person the Board is thinking of cutting. 

 

Bill Breyer stated he is an Army Infantry veteran; he served with the 8th Infantry Division, and the 508th Airborne Battalion, which was part of the 82nd Airborne Division; and he has also been volunteering with George Taylor at the National Veterans Homeless Support Group.  He stated for many months now, he has been going out into the woods on search and rescue missions for the homeless veterans; he has a lot of personal experience with the needs of the homeless veterans as well as ordinary veterans that are a little better off; and there are thousands of homeless veterans in Brevard County, not to mention the other statistics about the 90,000 veterans in Brevard County, alone, compared to other counties.  He stated as the Board deliberates the veteran service staffing, he wants it to remember that there is no higher calling than to wear the United States Military uniform for the United States of America; and as the Board goes forward with the very difficult deliberations, he asks it to remember that.

 

Chuck Bogle, Space Coast Fire Chiefs Association, stated he is present to encourage the Board to look at going above the current rate to fund some of the necessary programs to help keep the community vibrant and attractive to people coming to Brevard County; as the Board is aware, the Association is present on behalf of the First Responder fee, which is a vital program in regards to providing advanced life support to the citizens of Brevard County; and he appreciates the Board's support as it continues through the budget process. 

 

Reverend Glenn Dames stated there seems to be a phantom aggregation of people who are attempting to choke the very life out of Brevard County; some of the Commissioners have succumbed to the phantom aggregation of people whose desire is to take Brevard County back to a place where most people do not want to be; and he is imploring the Board to not listen to that which is invisible or phantom, but to look at it as real.  He stated at the last meeting, what was real had on green shirts; at this meeting, what is real has on yellow shirts, blue shirts, and suits and ties; what is real are the people who are saying they want the Board to at least keep services at the level they were in 2010; the citizens understand about trimming fat, but whatever the Board does, he would ask that it please do not take lives of the children, veterans, fire fighters, or first responders; the people have a voice; and the people will start allowing their voices to be heard to those looking to be elected on August 24th. 

 

Antonio Rovira stated with a fixed annual income he is present to exercise the need for the Board and its staffs to realize that nothing is free in the world; if the millages have to be increased, or maintained, then so be it; the budget should increase the sales tax to seven percent; it would be paid by all, not just property owners; and accountability of all monies received by the County is a must.  He stated Merritt Island, an unincorporated area, is a substantial contributor of taxes through the County; and the citizens need to be informed on how their tax dollars are better spent.

 

Suzanne Valencia stated the Board is going to cut 200 jobs with the current proposed budget; inquired how many of those people are the main providers for their whole family, how many of those families are going to be without health insurance, how is it going to increase the Medicaid cost, and how many of those people are going to face foreclosure; and stated she is speechless that the Board would even think of cutting jobs in Brevard County when there are so many people unemployed.  She stated it is a downward spiral the Board is proposing; the Board can increase her taxes as much as it wants; she is on a limited budget, as are so many other people; but the Board cannot send the County down the tubes; and it must increase the millage.

 

Jim Durocher stated he is representing the Audubon Society, and is also a REAC member with the EEL Program, which from what he can see from the inside is one of the best organizations he has ever seen.  He expressed appreciation to Chuck and Robin for being visionaries on the Board and doing the right thing so far in leading the way to the right path; the most productive people in Brevard County are in the audience; and inquired how many man hours have been wasted trying to get everybody together to understand what needs to be done for Brevard County.  He stated one positive thing that has come out of the budget process is that the Board has united the people in the organizations in the County; everyone has come together to try to get the Board to do the right thing; and stated the Board can cut what it can, but the citizens are willing to pay for safety, services, parks, and quality of life in Brevard County.

.

Pastor Bernard C. Wright stated the Board has an unenviable task; but he would like to commend the Board in advance for whatever decision it makes because it will have to bear the brunt of whatever decision it makes.  He stated he represents the children; it must be understood that at one time everyone was a child; and somebody took the time to do what was necessary to help children to get to where they are.  He stated two of the major detriments of society are crime and ignorance; if programs are cut in the Parks and Recreation department, the children will go to the streets, which will increase crime; if there are not the educational programs within the facilities, it will foster more ignorance; and if something is not done, crime and ignorance will be the downfall of the community.  He stated people are telling the Board they are willing to bite the bullet; they are willing to pay additional monies; and all they are asking is that the Board listen to the people of the community.

 

Ernest DeSantis stated after hearing the other speakers, he feels like either the citizens are crazy for not wanting property taxes to go down, or they are kind and generous people because they feel that it is necessary to give up their time and money when necessary in order to keep Brevard County a great place to work and live.  He stated decreasing services is just going to make the property values go down even lower; he feels everyone is connected somehow; and what the Board does to the least of the citizens, it does to all of the citizens.  He stated he is willing to pay the same amount of taxes he paid last year; the services are important; stated he wrote to two of the Commissioners and he is hoping they will realize that services cannot be cut; and he is willing to pay in order to keep what he has, and even more if he has to. 

 

Mary Hillberg stated she agrees with the previous speakers; she wants her millage rolled back; and she wants to pay what she needs to pay, as nothing is free.  She stated she knows the Board is good at what it does, but it needs to unite and come together for the good of the people.

 

Bill Hillberg stated he cannot elaborate on anything the previous speakers have said; and he was especially proud to hear what the veterans had to say, as he is a 22-year Navy veteran himself.  He noted a couple of weeks ago he was concerned because he did not think there was an agreement among the Board on what a rollback is; it seemed to him that the Commissioners were determined in their own minds what should be done; but there was a difference in what the definition of what rollback was; one of the things that has impressed him during the budget meetings  is the unity of the people who have spoken before the Board; and he hopes the Board does the right thing.

 

Scott Weintraub stated he supports the Sheriff's Office, Fire Rescue, veterans, and most of all, the Ocean Rescue; in 2007 there were 10 drownings in Brevard County; in 2208 Ocean Rescue went from a seasonal operation to year-round; the number of drownings was reduced to three drownings; and in 2009 there was one drowning.  He stated the biggest money maker for the County is tourism; people come to world famous Cocoa Beach, as it is advertised all over the country; cutting the lifeguard service is going to cause a drop in tourism; people are going to prefer Daytona Beach because it has lifeguards; many tourists visit the beach during the winter; and it is a proven statistic that people will die if there are no lifeguards.

 

Tom Redmond stated over the years he has served on many boards; at the last meeting, Commissioner Nelson commented that he has a problem saying the County cannot afford to save a life; it is the truth; and inquired how the Board can even consider discussing cutting lifeguards.  He stated when soldiers come back to the states they should be given something to at least be able to maintain the quality of life in Brevard County; the firefighters and deputies are not being asked to give less; the veterans should not be given less; and requested the Board do the right thing today.

 

Don Hughes, City of Satellite Beach Fire Chief, stated he agrees with the previous speakers; on the issue of the millage rate, the Board is dealing with an issue that some is unpopular; speaking on behalf of the municipal fire departments and the County fire department, core services is a continuous operational response to emergencies; if the Board does not approve a millage rate necessary to support, he believes the emergency response will be derogated; and if the County does not move forward with what it needs to do on the millage rate, public safety is going to be compromised.  He stated he leaves the Board to make the right decision; leadership is about doing what is right, and not always necessarily what is popular; and the Board's responsibility is to do what is right. 

 

Commissioner Fisher stated it is heartwarming and amazing how the communities come out and rally for the issues that important to them; the Board is in such a difficult budget crunch situation; and it is being forced to make some tough decisions, but thank God all those decisions to not have to be made today.  He stated he knows there are several departments the Board has not heard from yet, such as Emergency Management, Utilities, Solid Waste, Planning, and First Responder; the libraries did not get a chance to present their presentation at the last Budget Workshop; and there are many different things the Board still has to discuss.  He stated the decision the Board makes today does not mean a whole lot other than it is going to have a whole lot of more decisions to make; but if the Board makes a decision today, which is not an increase by any means, it is a State revenue neutral; it is what the Board's goal would be today; and over the next month or so he is going to ask staff to break down each one of the programs from a millage standpoint to see what the cost would be, and set a millage based on that. He stated at this point in time, he would like to make a motion that the Board go ahead and roll up to the 6.3545 mills; and then over the next month and half, the Board can really dive into the budget situation and decide which programs it is going to fund or not fund.  He advised he wants the audience to understand that the Board is not promising anything by doing the roll up; it just means the Board will listen to all the departments; the Board will get all the fact and then will made a decision at that point in time what the County can fund and what it cannot fund; and he appreciates everybody for coming, because he too feels the programs are important to the quality of life. 

 

Commissioner Infantini stated she appreciates all the residents in attendance; she apologizes for the fear that the Board has placed in the residents as far as talking about cutting one program or another; she was not given the opportunity to provide any input, even though she as a Masters Degree in Accounting; and she would have thought that her input would have been sought.  She stated she analyzed the budget step-by-step, department-by-department; if the Board would re-prioritize it would not have to raise the millage; she appreciates everyone offering to have their millage increased, or left the same, or rolled back, but that does not have to be done if the Board re-prioritizes; and stated by re-prioritizing spending, the millage can be left exactly how it is and not have services cut, which could mean the Veterans Services Officer would not be eliminated.  She noted at the last meeting, she and Commissioner Anderson supported keeping the Veterans Services Officer position, if not increasing it; and stated she does not know why there is not a Veterans Service Office in Palm Bay, as it is the most densely populated area.  She stated she is encouraging the citizens to stop encouraging the Board to throw money at the situation; the Board just needs to re-prioritize, just as the citizens do with their own budgets; and asked the citizens to stop encouraging the Board to keep the millage rate higher. 

 

Commissioner Nelson stated the first three items Commissioner Infantini mentioned are not even in this year's budget; and he has no idea what that had to do with any of the conversation the Board just had.  He stated the reality is if the Board wants to fund First Responder, it will be $1.4 million; then Parks and Recreation or Libraries will take a $1.4 million cut; and that is the hard fact.  He stated for Commissioner Infantini to indicate the citizens can get everything they have argued for and nothing will get cut, is just ingenuous; it is not the truth; and the reality is that the Board has reached a point where it has a tough choice to make.  He stated he is going to second Commissioner Fisher's motion because it is the only way the to continue the discussion and actually have options to address some of these things; there are certainly some cuts the Board can make that would be appropriate, but it is not going to cut the Veterans Service Officer; and the lifeguards need to be left along because it has been proven that there are not drowning deaths when the lifeguards are on the beach.  He reiterated the reality is that the Board has to continue the services; if community centers are closed, the kids are still going to go; but the difference will be that no one will be there; and they are going to vandalize the facility, ending up in the court system.  He stated he also cannot believe the Board would consider closing the Harry T. Moore Cultural Center two days per week; it is uncalled for; and as a community, they all have to do better.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated he will reiterate what he said at the last meeting, which was that he has had more sleepless nights in the past months than he has in a long time; he had hard times in the private sector after 9/11, when he was the manager at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Center, and had to layoff over 100 employees; he had a lot of hard decisions to make when he was on the City of Palm Bay City Council; but being a County Commissioner is probably one of the hardest jobs he has ever had.  He stated he did not know what he was going to do; he does not want of layoff employees; everybody knows he has a soft spot in his heart for law enforcement and Fire Rescue; and it goes without saying that he supports the veterans, as he is a veteran himself, along with his son who is on active duty.  He stated for him, it all goes back to one simple thing; during his campaign he visited 10,000 homes; he looked a lot of people in the eye and assured them he would not raise the millage rate; stated perhaps he was short-sighted; maybe he thought the economy would recover a lot quicker than it has; but unfortunately it appears there is a double dip recession. He stated as much as he wants to support the rollback, he has not been released from his word by several thousand people who look him in the eye every day when he goes shopping, and they do not understand it, but maybe the other residents can educate them.  He stated he believes the Board can to a better job of funding public service with its current funding, but that is a philosophical debate that the Board has quite often; and at this time, he has no other choice but to stand by his word to those thousands of people that he would not roll the millage up.  

 

Commissioner Fisher stated a couple of meetings ago, the Property Appraiser put out a chart that said, "If you continue down this trend and do not do anything with your millage, it will take you years to get back to where you are today, but not only that, you will not have enough dollars to fund your Sheriff, Property Appraiser, Tax Collector, and Supervisor of Elections."  He noted those are Constitutional Officers the Board has to fund; and if the Board keeps going down this trend it will not be able to do that.  He inquired if staff can give him an indication of some of the things the Board has done, because it has been implied that this is the first year it is on this side of the cutting thing, which is not true. 

 

Mr. Whitten stated the program cuts are some of the same cuts that were mentioned today; in the 06-07 budget, the tax revenues that were collected for operating purposes were $231 million; in the proposed budget, the tax revenues are proposed at $161 million; over the course of the last four years, that is a $70 million decrease in the taxes that are collected; and as the Board can understand, there are a lot of program and service reductions that are associated with a $70 million decrease in the tax collections.

 

Commissioner Fisher noted there has been cutting going on; there is not going to be any huge windfall by keeping it at revenue neutral; he does not know how the Board can make a decision today on anything in the budget; if the Board says it will keep the millage the same, then what it is also saying is that it is not interested in what is going to happen to Emergency Management Services, Utilities, Solid Waste, or others; the County has insurance and liability issues; there is still so many presentations to hear from other departments; and that is why he wants to b clear with the audience that the Board need to keep hearing from them because currently, in this situation, all the Board is doing is setting a millage that it can still back down from later; and the Board is just setting the millage so it can continue to have conversations and listen to the people as to what they want it to do. 

 

Commissioner Infantini stated she would like to point out that all of the budget discussions, and the millage, were supposed to be set by July 27th, but due to vacation schedules, the Board did not finish having its workshops; it did not set the millage; the Board should have set the millage already; and if the Board does not lock into the millage rate now, she is afraid more will have to be spent in taxes.  She noted she has yet to see any governmental body take a tax increase and not spend virtually every bit of it; and she encourages the remaining Commissioner who has yet to weigh in, to vote not on the current motion, and then make a motion to set the aggregate rate as last year's rate. 

 

Commissioner Fisher stated he hopes the Commissioner that has not weighed in yet understands she is not voting yes or no to anything; all she is saying is that she is going to continue to listen to the people until it is time to set the real budget.

 

Chairman Bolin stated obviously she is fully aware of the situation, which means she has put probably above and beyond consideration into the situation.  She stated for the four years she has been a Commissioner, she has never seen so much community involvement; it is so heartfelt to see people involved in government; but the voice she is hearing the most is from young gentleman in a yellow t-shirt with his young child here; that he would come and bring his infant with him to show his support for his position, she admires him; and she thanked him very much for being present.  She stated she has never had so many emails and conversations; what she is hearing from people is that they want to pay the same as they paid last year, and to rollback.  She noted the definition of rollback is an option to be able to work forward on a budget; the Board needs to understand that even if the rollback is done, there are cuts to be done; the Board cannot just rollback and have a balanced budget; and there has to be further cuts.  She stated the general public has said what is important to them are the core services; the County cannot afford to go into jeopardy because there are no lifeguards; First Responders are needed to save lives; and so because she has been listening, she is going to be voting for the rollback. 

 

..

 

ORDINANCES AMENDING ORDINANCE NOS. 09-36 AND 09-37, RE:  DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY AFFAIRS v. BREVARD COUNTY, DOAH CASE NO. 10-1158GM, EAR BASED AMENDMENTS (PART 1) AND FARMTON (PART 2)

 

The Board reached consensus to withdraw Item V.B. from the Agenda.

.

 

ORDINANCE, RE:  TEMPORARY PAIN MANAGEMENT CLINIC MORATORIUM

 

Morris Richardson, Assistant County Attorney, advised the County Attorney's Office prepared the proposed ordinance at the urging of the County Commission several weeks ago; and also at the request of the Brevard County Sheriff's Office.  He stated, essentially, the ordinance is a 180-day moratorium against licensing any new pain management clinics, such as prescription pill shops, until two state laws can come into effect; one in October and one in January that are going to apply some regulation oversight; and also until local law enforcement can give input on what they need in order to help regulate what it sees as a growing prescription pill abuse problem.

 

The Board adopted Ordinance No. 2010-13, pertaining to pain clinics, pain management clinics, and cash only pharmacies, enacting an emergency moratorium on the issuance of business tax receipts for the operation of "pain clinics", "pain management clinics" and "cash only pharmacies" in Brevard County for a period of one hundred eighty (180) days; setting forth findings, purpose and declaration; providing for definitions of "pain clinics", "pain management clinics", and "cash only pharmacies"; providing for exemption; providing notice waived for severability; providing for conflicting provisions; providing for area encompassed; providing for inclusion in the Code; and providing for an effective date.

 

.

 

APPROVAL, RE:  FY 2010-2011 BREVARD COUNTY HOME CONSORTIUM CONSOLIDATED ACTION PLAN AND FY 2010-2011 ANNUAL CDBG ACTION PLAN

 

Commissioner Infantini advised the Item was on the Consent Agenda at a previous meeting; she had asked to have it tabled to this meeting; and she only wanted it tabled in case there was public comment or the potential for it not being approved.

 

The Board approved the Brevard County FY 2010-2011 HOME Investment Partnership (HOME) Consortium Consolidated Action Plan and Brevard County's FY 2010-2011 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Action Plan; authorized the Chairman to execute the required certifications and SF-424 Application for Federal Assistance Form (CDBG & HOME) Program); authorized the County Manager or his designee to execute the CDBG and HOME Program Grant Agreements and the Disbursement Agreements with the four HOME Consortium member cities upon approval from HUD; authorized the County Manager or his designee to sign contractual agreements for projects identified in the Action Plan after approval from Risk Management and the County Attorney's Office; and authorized the Housing and Human Services Department, Facilities Construction Department, or Parks and Recreation Department as construction managers, to use competitive bids, and to secure contractors to carry out the proposed projects.

 

.

 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT, RE:  ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT RECOVERY BOND ALLOCATIONS

 

Stockton Whitten, Assistant County Manager, stated on April 20th the Board directed staff to allocate bonds to Legacy Southeast, Embraer Aircraft Holding, and Lighting Science Group, in the amounts of $4.1 million, $5.7 million, and $18.8 million; the Board set a 45-day timeline for those companies to provide the County Manager's Office with proof of financing; if no proof was provided after 45 days, the bond allocations were to be reallocated among the three companies; and staff is here today to have the Board acknowledge the reallocation.  He noted, as it stands today, only one company has actually provided proof of their ability to gain financing, which is Embraer Aircraft Holding; and the recommendation is that the bond allocation in the amount of $28.6 million be allocated to Embraer. 

 

Doug Dombroski expressed appreciation to the Board for two proposed projects in Melbourne, which are the Embraer project and the Legacy Southeast project; in particular, he is present today on behalf of the Legacy Southeast project, to let the Board know that the City of Melbourne does support that project; and the developer is here today to ask for an extension on time to get all of his financing together.  He stated he would like to remind the Board of the current economic climate the County is in; lending for hotels in this day and age is pretty much all dried up; what has been seen around the stated in discussions with other Florida redevelopment officials is that projects that are moving forward are really partnerships between the local governments and incentives from the federal government, along with conventional financing; and he hopes the Board will take that into consideration.  He noted the intent of the recovery zone bonds for stimulus is for projects that are not easy to finance; the Legacy Southeast project is the highest project the City has committed; the City portion of the TIFF for that project as well; and the City has entered into negotiations with the sale of city-owned land for the project, as well.  He stated the developer is making progress in making the project a reality; the developer has secured $10 million to $12 million in new market tax credit dollars, along with the City TIFF for the project; there currently are discussions with the Florida Community Loan Fund; the developer has also applied for Enterprise Florida funding through the Brownfields Grant Program for job creation; and the developer has also had discussions with private financing.  He stated there has been a lot of progress made since April, when the Board did a warranty allocation; he does not know of any major, successful, city that does not have a hotel near downtown; and he would like to see on in Melbourne. 

 

Peter Flotz stated since April 20th, when the Board awarded his company the $4.1 million, he has not stopped working on the project; he would proposed to the Board that the day in April when he left the Board, Embraer could have told the Board that morning that it could secure financing; there is a large difference between what Embraer is doing and what his company is doing; and if the Board is measuring the two against each other, he cannot win.  He stated he does not necessarily want to win, but he just wants the allocation that he received; and he is hoping that if the other company cannot use its allocation, that he can get part of that, as it does help, but it does not solve. He stated his company continues to seek the bonding needed; Mr. Whitten has had conversations with the investment bankers; counsel has been brought in from Miami and New York to help put together a community development district, and to also help underwrite the bonds, where the company is volunteering to tax itself additionally, in order to underwrite the bonds more securely.  He stated he will continue to work, but he is asking the Board for more time, although he does not know how long.

 

Commissioner Anderson inquired what is the Board up against as far as requirements to ensure the allocations go through properly.  Mr. Whitten replied there has been some discussion with regards to whether or not the deadline for issuing the bonds has been extended; to his knowledge, it has not been; and the timeline staff is working under is to get the bonds in place by the end of this calendar year.  He noted he also failed to mention that Lighting Science formally withdrew its request.  Commissioner Anderson stated a request came in from Harris Corporation; and inquired if Mr. Whitten can explain to the Board.  Mr. Whitten stated he had a conversation with a gentleman from Harris regarding to Harris looking at a possible expansion of some existing property; the conversation took place on Friday, well after the deadline the Board imposed on the other companies; but Harris did indicate that it may have an interest in looking at the bond allocations also. 

 

Commissioner Fisher inquired if Mr. Flotz has any commitments at all in place right now; with Mr. Flotz responding he has hired the investment bankers, who have brought on bond counsel and CDD counsel; but he does not have a signed term sheet yet.  Mr. Flotz stated Mr. Whitten is alluding to a comment he made last week; Public Law came out of the Senate and was signed by the President 10 days ago; he is waiting for final copies of the bill to come out; there were amendments in the bill that changed the final due date for the bonds, from December 31, 2010 to December 31, 2011; the reason for that is because it is a new kind of bond, the investment bankers are still learning about it; and the Governor's office is now asking counties to hand back money they have not used so that they can go through a reallocation cycle; and the State is going to take people that used the bond money and ask them if they need more.

 

Commissioner Infantini stated the Board needs to make a decision as to whether or not it wants to go back out and do a whole offering, because if Harris is now in the mix as well, then that will dilute how much would go to Embraer, and possibly dilute Legacy Southeast's allocation; if Mr. Flotz could find more funding it could clench the project for him; and she thinks his project would be beneficial to the City of Melbourne, but at the same time she does not want to hold up Embraer's project.  She stated if Embraer would be so kind as to renegotiate its agreement with Brevard County regarding the $1.6 million, it would be wonderful. 

 

Commissioner Anderson inquired by postponing and giving other entities a chance to look at the allocation that Lighting Science Group did not use, how does it affect Embraer and what it has in place right now.  Mr. Whitten replied he will address the issue of the extension of the bond allocations; he has spoken to the County's federal lobbyist, Eddie Pauley, and he will read the Board the latest email, "I know we spoke this morning, but earlier this afternoon I did get confirmation from that the recovery zone bonds were not extended when the unemployment bill passed.  That said, there are a couple of bills pending over in the Senate that has an extension of the recovery zone bonds included, so there may be some hope of an extension at some point this fall".  He noted some point this fall does not give enough time to issue bonds.

 

Commissioner Nelson stated he believes the solution the Board came up with when the allocation was made was pretty clear; it involved everyone; and he struggles to go back and start changing the circumstances.  He stated if the Board is going to work with the business community, they need to be able to count on the Board and what it said it was going to do; he would struggle not to follow that original direction; he would love to see Mr. Flotz's project downtown, but by the same token, if the Board creates a standard that says it is not over until it is over, he does not know how the community can deal with that from a business perspective; and he hopes what the Board will see is an allocation because it was successful in using all of the dollars so that it could then allocate those dollars that may come to the project.  He advised he is inclined to stay with the original Board direction and let everyone give it their best try; Embraer was successful in doing what it needed to do; and the Board will see where it goes from there, because he also does not want to hurt the Board's credibility with the business community. 

 

Commissioner Infantini inquired if the Board can go forward with the portion that it agreed to give to Embraer, reallocate the Lighting Science portion to the hotel project, which may facilitate and expedite their ability to secure funding.  Mr. Whitten stated Mr. Flotz is only asking for $4.1 million; what the Board originally allocated to Lighting Science was $18.8 million; he is not aware that Mr. Flotz is asking for anything above the $4.1 million. 

 

Mr. Flotz stated his original request was for $8.5 million; when he sent in the update 45 days out, he had also asked for additional allocation at that time because he thought it would be helpful towards his funding; the 45 days the Board voted on had nothing to do with the real world, it only had to do with a date that worked on a calendar; every investment banker he met with had that deadline in mind, and yet was unable to achieve it, whereas the larger, publicly traded companies that are working in the same field can raise the money today without it; and it is a real challenge for him and his company.

 

Chairman Bolin inquired what would be the consequences if the Board gave Mr. Flotz more time; and inquired if the Board would still be able to move forward with the bond to Embraer.  Mr. Whitten replied, the question is if the Board is giving Mr. Flotz time on the $4.1 million.  Chairman Bolin advised it would be for the $4.1 million.  Mr. Whitten stated Mr. Appleton, from Embraer, will have to address the Board; it would mean that the Board would allocate $24.5 to Embraer as opposed to $28.6 million; that is not a response he can give to the Board; and Mr. Appleton will have to react to that proposal.  Chairman Bolin noted the statement from Mr. Pauley mentioned the money possibly being extended, but it is not a sure thing; and the Board has to deal with the facts as they are today.  Mr. Whitten stated that is correct; Mr. Pauley's comments were that there was hope for some extension in the fall; and if it is not extended, then the Board is hard pressed to actually do a bond deal in that short amount of time. 

 

Chris Appleton, Embraer Aircraft Holding, stated Embraer presented proof of financing in June; Embraer has the ability to finance the entire bond allocation given to Brevard County; there was a limit set of 45 days; after the meeting on the 20th, he spoke to the banks and asked them to be patient and wait the 45 days, which they did; and now it is 104 days out from April 20th. He stated the banks have been very patient, but he can only hold them off for a certain period of time before he has to let them know which direction the allocation is going to go in; Embraer would certainly appreciate receiving the entire allocation; he knows it was something that was agreed upon during the last Commission meeting; Embraer has met every deadline and every obligation all the way through; and he was hoping the Board would approve the Agenda item at this meeting.

 

Commissioner Infantini inquired with all the interest Embraer will save if it receives all of the additional funding, would it be willing to renegotiate the $1.6 million that the Board has promised to pay it.  Mr. Appleton stated the same question was brought up by Commissioner Anderson at the April 20th meeting, and Chairman Bolin indicated that Embraer was something the Board needed to honor; it was a contract that was agreed upon; and it was a critical portion of Embrarer's decision to come to Brevard County.  He added it is part of Embraer's business plan.  Commissioner Infantini stated she is only referring to the additional savings; she was not trying to renege on any contract, but thought since Embraer would enjoy substantial interest savings and the cost of marketing the bonds because of the nature of them, that it would be willing to share part of the savings with the County, knowing it is going through a great deal of economic struggles.  Mr. Appleton stated there is a bit of a difference between interest rates and the incentives that were negotiated with the County; the timing of the cash is the key; and the bonds come slowly over time, which does not fit with Embraer's business plan. 

 

Commissioner Anderson inquired if staff knows of any reallocations that have been turned back, or if the County is even in the running to get a reallocation of some more.  Mr. Whitten advised he has not heard of anything.  Commissioner Anderson inquired if Mr. Whitten knows how it will work.  Mr. Whitten replied no one knows how it will work, but the Board will also recall that it authorized staff to look for those opportunities; and staff will continue to look for more opportunities to get more bond allocation to the County, but he does not think the rules are set with regard to when that process occurs because the deadline is not until December 2010.  

 

Commissioner Anderson stated he believes the Board has to honor the decision it made; he was just trying to help out another company, and he meant no offense to Embraer; and he is okay sticking with the Board's original decision in how it decided to reallocate those. 

 

Motion by Commissioner Anderson, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to acknowledge the final allocation of Recovery Zone Facility Bonds (RZFB); and directed Embraer Aircraft Holding, Inc. to be assigned all of the bond allocation awarded to the County in the amount of $28.6 million.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

.

 

PERMISSION TO AWARD TO LOWEST, QUALIFIED BIDDER, RE:  LEACHATE TANK INTERIOR COATING PROJECT AT THE COUNTY’S CENTRAL DISPOSAL FACILITY IN COCOA, FLORIDA

 

The Board granted permission to the Solid Waste Management Department and Purchasing Services Office to award to the lowest qualified and responsive bidder construction of the Leachate Tank Interior Coating Project at the Central Disposal Facility.

 

.

 

SITE PLAN APPEAL, RE:  BELLWOOD CONVENIENCE STORE (09SP-01017) - SHYAM VIRANI, AS PETITIONED BY JERI PERRY AND CLELIA THOMAS

 

Robin Sobrino, Planning and Development Director, stated she is pleased to announce that the petitioner for the appeal and the property owner are currently in discussions; and they have asked that the appeal be tabled to the August 26th meeting.

 

The Board tabled consideration of Site Plan Appeal of Bellwood Convenience Store (09SP-01017) - Shyam Virani, as petitioned by Jeri Perry and Clelia Thomas, to the August 26, 2010 meeting.

 

.

 

AUTHORIZATION, RE:  EMERGENCY OPERATION AND INVENTORY OF SAN SEBASTIAN WATER COMPANY

 

Dick Martens, Utility Services Director, stated a couple of weeks ago, the Board authorized the County Attorney to file a petition with the Court to have the County appointed as a receiver on a water company that had issued a notice of abandonment.  He advised that he and Commissioner Infantini met with half of the customers last week; one thing heard loud and clear from everyone is that they would like the water to stay on; there are approximately 50 customers; and 10 of those customers do not have another choice, whether it is that they built their drain fields in the wrong place, or their lots are too small for both a septic tank and a well.  He stated there was not a well reception to the concept of a co-op, in which the homeowners would own it themselves; in the meantime, he has contacted three private utility companies, inquiring if they would be interested in taking over the system; he has not yet heard back from any of the three private companies; and he and County Attorney Scott Knox has been talking about some other ways to handle the situation.  He stated his appraisal of the situation currently is that although everything is running now, there are several key components in which the redundant key backup components have not been maintained for lack of funding; the system is in such high risk that even from a single lightning strike it could go offline and the residents would be without water for days; and so there is some need.  He noted as contained in the Agenda Report, he is requesting an authorization for a loan from the Utilities reserves in the amount of $20,000, secured by either property or some other mechanism through the companies, certainly repaid to the utility by the future revenues of the system; $5,000 of the $20,000 would be needed immediately; and in the next several months there are another $5,000 worth of work that will need to be done.  He further stated he did not submit a recommendation for the interest rate on the loan; normally, when loans from reserves are done internally, the aggregate rate is used of the current investments, which right now is under one percent; at one time, the MSBUs were using the commercial paper rate; prime rate is three percent; and he would suggest the Board provide guidance on what interest rate it would want to attach to the loan.  He noted is occurred to him after the Agenda Report was submitted that even though he has the receivership from the court, he is probably going to need some specific authorization from the Board to take to the bank; to handle the checkbook he will need signature authority; he would suggest that authority be for himself and for either  Attorney Knox or Assistant County Manager Mel Scott, as an alternate signatory, in order to be able to write checks and keep the process moving.  He summarized by saying there are a lot of issues to face about the long-term solutions; and it is not completely out of the question that there could be some local ownership, but it will take some time to flesh out who might step up and how this might be organized, and to give the private sector time to step in and see if there is another company that would like to take over the system.

 

Commissioner Infantini expressed appreciation to Mr. Martens and his staff for doing an excellent job; staff attended an evening meeting, staying until 8:00 p.m., with folks that were not always excited to be there; stated Mr. Martens did a very good job; and for a very small investment, the residents will be able to keep their water running.  She noted since many of the individuals have no other alternative but to use the water, she would like to approve the request.

 

Commissioner Fisher stated he would like to make sure that within the motion, the Board is going to secure the $20,000 loan with equipment and land.  Mr. Martens advised the loan will be secured; right now, there is a parcel of land, along with some equipment that certainly has value; staff has not yet completed the title search to make sure that the physical property is unencumbered; and if that is unencumbered, he believes that would be the best way to secure the loan; and if it is encumbered, then before moving forward with depositing any funds in that account, Attorney Knox and himself will come up with a plan to secure it.  Commissioner Fisher stated he is fine if the County is in second position because of some existing financing, as long as there is a recorded note somewhere.  Mr. Martens stated he does not think there is any financing; but there may be some other litigation going on in relation to the subdivision. 

 

Attorney Knox stated two things the Board may want to include in its motion are the interest rate, if the Board wants one; and he believes Mr. Scott would be the better alternate signatory on the checkbook.  

 

Commissioner Infantini stated she will amend her motion to include a one percent interest rate, and to include Mr. Scott as an alternate to Mr. Martens for check signing authority.

 

The Board authorized the Utility Services Department to provide a secured loan from Utility Reserves to the San Sebastian Water Company of up to $20,000, with an interest rate of one percent; authorized the continuation of operational services provided by Accurate Utilities, Inc.; authorized staff to engage a firm to provide accounting services for the initial repair and operation of the San Sebastian Water Company while an inventory of assets, liabilities and system requirements, and investigation of future ownership and operational options is conducted; and authorized Utility Services Director Richard Martens, and Assistant County Manager Mel Scott check signing authority.

 

 

.

 

APPROVAL, RE:  ADDITIONAL ADVERTISING FUNDS TOTALING $718,000 TRANSFERRED FROM THE 4TH CENT TOURISM DEVELOPMENT TAX AND THE TDC CAPITAL FACILITIES FUND TO THE TDC PROMOTION AND ADVERTISING

 

Rob Varley, Tourism Development Office Executive Director, stated the TDO is modifying its request; TDO has opted not to request $350,000 out of the baseball funds; after doing some math on that, it was realized that 50 percent of it has to be paid back the following year; and it would just cut into TDO's $350,000 the following year.  He noted the TDO is requesting $400,000 out of Capital Facilities to be put into active reserve for TDO to handle any loss of market share due to the perception of oil on the beaches; the problem is that the perception is out there; and it needs to be dealt with.  He stated an example of why the money is needed is because the TDO was actually seeing an increase in room occupancy and room revenue up until June; then suddenly in June, there was a significant drop in room occupancy; when the Harry Potter exhibit opened at Universal Studios in Orlando, it took business away from  Brevard County as well as Daytona, Sarasota, and several other beaches; and that is what he is alluding to when he says the Board needs to protect its market share. 

 

Bob Baugher stated he is the TDC Marketing Chairman, and he also belongs to the Cocoa Beach Hotel Association; he would like to reinforce what Mr. Varley has said; it is all about market share; tourism is alive and well in the United States; he just returned from a trip to Newfoundland; and when he told people he was from Florida, everyone asked him about the oil on the beaches.  He stated the money can be spent wisely in advertising; it is a buyer’s market; and he thinks the Board can keep the market share from slipping any more.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated the oil issue is clearing itself up through the national media; half of the focus has gone to Louisiana; it concerns him is if the Board is reacting to the oil issue or new attractions in Orlando; he is uncomfortable stating the money is not being spent right now, but it is there in case it is needed; Brevard County is always a disaster away from needing funding, whether it is a fire or hurricane. 

 

The Board approved $400,000 from the TDC Capital Facilities Fund to the TDC Promotion and Advertising Fund 1441 to be used for advertising to promote Brevard County as a vacation destination; and authorized the necessary budget changes.

 

.

 

ACCEPTANCE, RE:  RESULT OF RFP FOR PRE-TRIAL SERVICES AND MISDEMEANOR PROBATION SERVICES AND SELECTION COMMITTEE RANKINGS

 

Steve Stultz, Central Services Director, stated the Board previously approved the advertisement for RFPs to solicit offers to provide pre-trial and misdemeanor probation services; and the Board also approved doing a comparison as to whether there is a cost savings to outsourcing those functions.  He noted the RFP was advertised and opened on June 8th; the Board approved Selection Committee consisted of Judge Adkin, Assistant County Manager Stockton Whitten, Criminal Justice Services Director Shauna Heffernan, Isabel Kennedy, Jail Intake Manager, Public Defender J.R. Russo, and Wayne Holmes from the State Attorney's Office.  He advised a total of seven proposals were received from seven different firms; the Selection Committee met and heard presentations from all seven of the firms; and before the Board today is the final rankings from the Selection Committee.  He stated at this point, staff is asking for direction as to how to proceed.

 

Representative Clay Cox stated it was one year ago when PPS (Professional Probation Services) first brought the notion of privatizing the County's misdemeanor and probation services; PPS was thrilled when the County moved forward with an RFP; and PPS is honored to respond.  He pointed out that many people on probation and pre-trial have a finite amount of resources; the amount of money that the provider is charging the offenders matters greatly; PPS's probation fee did not change when told during the RFP process to re-think its fee structure so that pre-trial services, as required by State law, could be provided for free; PPS stepped up and said it would do that, but kept its probation fee at Florida's Statutory minimum of $40 per month; and that matters a great deal in that a competitor fee is $55 per months, versus the PPS fee of $40 per month.  He stated when looking at the average number of people on probation, there are 2,371, as provided by the County; over the five-year course of the contract, that is $2.1 million that probationers and pre-trial folks will pay on their fines to the County versus to a private company provider; and it is actually more than that because when someone fails to pay because they are paying so much of a probation fee that they get behind on their fines, they end up back in jails costing the taxpayers even further.  He stated he just wanted the Board to be aware of that fact, and he hopes it will be helpful in the deliberations.

 

Chairman Bolin inquired if staff can offer more insight on the $15 more per month towards the County fine, per the materials given to the Board by Mr. Cox.  Assistant County Manager Stockton Whitten replied for most of the costs, there are statutory, or administrative, limits placed on those fees; and what Mr. Cox was referring to was that PPS's cost proposal was at a lower fee, or amount,  than the number one ranked firm.

 

Dennis Moon, representing JCS (Judicial Correction Services, Inc.), stated JCS took a look at pre-trial as a whole, and how to operate pre-trial; the current rate of supervision in the County is approximately $60; JCS was asked to come up with a way to fund pre-trial services at no cost to the County or to the individuals on pre-trial; the way to do so is that JCS decided to reduce the County's cost of supervision from what it currently is, to $55; the additional $10 would fund pre-trial services at no cost to the County or the individuals who are placed on pre-trial; and typically what JCS charges throughout the State is $45, but JCS does not do the pre-trial services portion in a lot of counties throughout the State.

 

Commissioner Fisher inquired what happens to the employees that are currently in the department; stated JCS is at $55; PPS is at $40; and inquired what a current employee loses today by the County privatizing.  Mr. Moon replied that was another reason JCS came to the Board with a higher cost, because it wants to try to retain as many employees as possible; currently, the average staff level throughout the State of Florida is 200 active probation cases per employee; the County has a current staffing level of 40 full-time employees with 2,700 cases when including pre-trial; and JCS needs to try to find a way to employ anywhere from 20 to 30 of those 40 individuals, trying to keep the salary ranges competitive with what they currently have, as well as offer them the same types of benefits.  He advised that is why there is a difference in the supervision cost, because there was already such a high level of staff to try to retain.  Commissioner Fisher inquired if Mr. Moon is saying JCS can efficiently run the department on between 20 and 30 employees, versus 44; with Mr. Moon responding affirmatively.

 

Commissioner Fisher inquired if the Board dropped its employee level down to 30 people, how much of a savings would it be, and could the County run the department on 30 employees.  Shauna Heffernan, Criminal Justice Services Director, replied in the department's proposed 2011 budget, staff has proposed four eliminated positions that have been frozen for the fiscal year; three of those positions would be probation officers, which would bring the department to a level of 25 probation officers; but there is also support staff as well; and that is manning two locations at the jail, pre-trial release, and at the Rockledge location, which primarily services probation.  Commissioner Fisher stated he is trying to figure out how the two private companies can do it on 30 employees, but the County does it with 44 employees; and inquired if the two private companies are that much more efficient than the County. 

 

Mr. Whitten stated some of the expenses the County has, such as FRS, and some other benefit expenses, the private companies do not have, or they have it at a lesser cost; for the County, staff's analysis is that it has the requirements that are placed on it as an FRS employer; and the County has other costs that are associated with having staff on that the private companies will not have. 

 

Chairman Bolin inquired what level of staffing PPS is looking at.  Mr. Cox advised on the actual project itself, PPS is looking at 34 employees it wants to offer employment to in Brevard County; PPS also wants to offer employment to the remaining six employees, dispersed throughout the State of Florida, such as for electronic monitoring and house arrest, or offer them employment in other states if they are willing to transfer.  He noted PPS is a Fortune 500 company that does business on the probation side in seven different locations; the County's employees that go to PPS are going to receive 401(k) benefits, stock purchase, and the finest healthcare plan that is offered anywhere in the world that includes vision and dental, there is also a savings account available for child care; and PPS will offer each employee a 10 percent pay increase from what they are currently making.  He stated $40 per month is plenty of money to do the job; PPS has been in business since 1992; PPS is more efficient; PPS knows what it is doing and has it down to a science; and PPS employs technology in the area of computer science, electronic monitoring that allow for a razor thin margin in the cost side, and make money on the plus side.  He stated as PPS has been saying for the past year, it will make good on its promise to offer employment to each one of the folks designated as a probation or pre-trial employee. 

 

Commissioner Infantini inquired if PPS will be able to offer probation services at  more than just one location, or just keep it at the Rockledge location.  Mr. Cox replied geographically, Brevard County demands at least two to three locations so that folks can report effectively; PPS tries to set offenders up to succeed; a lot of the offenders do not have drivers licenses; and PPS is also open on Saturdays and evenings so that people do not have to miss work to report to the probation office.  Commissioner Infantini stated that was something that was mentioned to her a long time ago that part of the problem was that the County sets people up for failure when there is only one location with a limited number of hours; and she likes the idea that it is only going to be $40 per month instead of $55. 

 

Commissioner Anderson inquired what is JCS's proposal for the number of locations.  Mr. Moon replied currently, there are two locations proposed based on what the RFP asked for; JCS operates in six counties throughout the State; most of the counties have multiple locations; JCS has the experience it takes to convert from county to private sector, as it has done it before; and in Osceola County, JCS has been in operation for quite a long time, as well as Volusia County.  He noted once JCS goes in and takes an assessment of the situation, it would make sure it was doing what was in the best interest of successful terminating all the people who get placed on probation.   Commissioner Anderson inquired of the current County employees that are not picked up by JCS, is there a program in which those employees are offered alternate employment.  Mr. Moon replied JCS has never run into that problem; when JCS took over Osceola County it took over 92 percent of the staff; it just depends on how many employees apply; JCS gives everyone the option of applying; and a lot of people may not wish to continue working in the industry; but JCS would be more than willing to look into that.  Commissioner Anderson inquired if the rate of pay would be the same for those employees rehired by JCS.  Mr. Moon responded the pay is very competitive; some positions may have to be reallocated, such as drug technicians, but it is very similar to the current pay. 

 

Commissioner Fisher inquired if the Board decides to go with the privatization, is it signing any kind of agreement that there will be two locations in the County, and that the pay will be a certain amount; and inquired if there is any assurance on those issues.  Mr. Stultz replied the RFP indicates the private companies have to have at least two locations; and depending on how the Board wishes to proceed today, staff will proceed with final negotiations in execution of contract that will be brought back to the Board.  Commissioner Fisher inquired if there has been any conversation on what would happen if the services were kept in house and look at the numbers with less employees; and inquired if there has been any dialogue on bringing the two companies to the Board and letting the Board make the decision, or was it just the recommendation of the Committee to see which way the Board wants to go.  Mr. Whitten replied the motion of the Committee was to bring the Board the ranking and have the Board make the decision; and it just so happens the Board ends up with the top two ranked firms here today engaging in dialogue.  He advised, obviously because of a revenue situation, the Board was already looking at cuts in Criminal Justice Services; it is also a combination of Ms. Heffernan right now, for probation, is at $60 per month; one firm is suggesting $40 per month; the other firm is suggesting $55 per month; when talking about an apples-to-apples comparison it is a combination of Ms. Heffernan shrinking down in terms of staff and perhaps that monthly fee going up; and the issue for the County would be the amount of staff that would be needed to carry out the services.

 

Commissioner Nelson stated when the Board had the previous discussion there was some concern expressed by the judicial in the court system about the process; and inquired, while the Board invited them to participate, have they weighed in on whether or not they actually support the concept.  Mr. Whitten stated he is not sure he can speak for the court system.  Commissioner Nelson stated the question, before the Board does anything in the way of adopting a contract, is that it needs to find out if the court system still supports the concept; the court system sent a judge to say the courts were concerned with the concept of privatization; and while they participated, it does not mean they support it.  He stated he does not know how the Board determines that issue of whether or not the court system believes it is viable and will have the desired outcome. 

 

Commissioner Fisher inquired if a decision needs to be made before the next budget cycle; and inquired if it is possible to have the top two firms make a presentation to the Board, and at the same time, if there are judges who have concerns, they could also be expressed at that meeting.  Mr. Whitten stated that is the decision of the Board; the Committee deliberated and brought back the ranking; and now it is up to the Board to decide how to proceed; but nothing prohibits the Board from hearing presentations by the top two firms. 

 

Commissioner Infantini stated she would hate to think all the Board is doing is academic exercises and having people respond to RFPs  with no intent to fulfill them; at some point, the Board should stick to its word and do what it thinks is best, after allowing the judge to weigh in. She stated the Board has to come up with cost saving ideas; and until the judicial system comes up with some other ideas to save some costs without reducing certain types of services, this seems like the most effective way to do so.  She stated PPS looks like they will be able to keep on most of the staff at a higher rate of pay; while they will not enjoy the benefits of the FRS, they would still be able to enjoy the benefits of a 401 (k) plan, which is what the rest of the working world does; and she would make a motion to just accept PPS at this time.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated he sees both Commissioner Infantini's and Commissioner Fisher's side; he would like to see a presentation from both firms; he is not ready to just select PPS quite yet because he is the one who always complains about choosing backup bidders on other contracts; and he would like to see the presentations in order to be able to justify any decision he makes. 

 

The Board tabled consideration of the Selection Committee's ranking of proposals received for the Request for Proposals advertised to provide Pre-Trial Services & Misdemeanor Probation Services that are currently provided by the Criminal Justice Services Department, to a future Board meeting in order to hear presentations by the top two firms of Judicial Correction Services, Inc. (JCS), and Professional Probation Services (PPS).

 

.

 

APPROVAL, RE:  ENDORSEMENTS OF INSURANCE CHECKS FOR HOUSING AND HUMAN SERVICES DEPARTMENT’S HOUSING PROGRAM

 

The Board authorized the Housing and Human Services Director to endorse insurance checks for payout of damages for homeowners receiving assistance from Brevard County Housing and Human Services Department's First Time Home Buyer, Repair, Rehabilitation, and Replacement Housing Programs.

 

MOVER:            Chuck Nelson, Commissioner District 2

SECONDER:     Robin Fisher, Vice Chairman/ Commissioner District 1

AYES:                Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

.

  

AUTHORIZATION, RE:  SPACE COAST STADIUM CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS

 

Stockton Whitten, Assistant County Manager, advised the Item is the annual request from the Washington Nationals with regards to repairs at Space Coast Stadium; the process for the last two or three years has been that the Board sends the request to the TDC (Tourism Development Council), and the TDC in turn provides the Board with its recommendation; and this year’s recommendation from the TDC is funding up to $316,000.  He noted in the Board's packages are the 35 items that were requested from the Nationals in priority order; and as the Board can see, staff has taken the liberty of estimating the costs for the first seven items.

 

Bob Baugher stated he wanted to be sure the contract obligations to the stadium can be filled; the request is not a cut from what the Nationals received last year; and he thinks the request is adequate in these difficult times. 

 

Commissioner Anderson inquired how the stadium improvements are prioritized; and stated he is sure things that are safety concerns to the general public at placed at the top of the list.   He stated the Nationals do not have a representative present today; he gets nervous when they ask for all of the items; he does not know what is critical for them, except player safety, obviously; and he does not want to take a chance on damaging that relationship with the Nationals.  He inquired if the Nationals fine with what County staff has prioritized.  Mr. Whitten advised he can tell the Board that the Nationals are fine with the prioritizing because staff and a Nationals representative meet together to come up with the list of priorities; and the list is a combined listing of the priorities.  He noted the issue may be the funding that is put towards completing the listing; and as the Board will recall, every year the list is longer than the dollars that are allocated to fund the list.   Commissioner Anderson inquired how the allocation of $2 million would work if the Board were to go over and above and fund any other items on the list; and inquired if the Board would have to pay it back by 50 percent next year.  Mr. Whitten replied, the 4th Cent Tourist Development Tax is approximately $1.2 million; $783,000 is for debt service; the Board's first obligation is to pay the debt; and after that, it is to fill that $2 million bucket; and whenever that goes below $2 million, 50 percent of whatever is left over after the Board pays the debt, is required to go to that $2 million fund.  He stated each year, the Board discusses approximately $600,000 for the Capital Improvements to the stadium because the County has been fortunate enough not to have to take those out of the $2 million account; and each year, the Board talks about $600,000 that is split between the National’s capital request and promotion and advertising for the TDC. 

 

Commissioner Fisher stated in looking at the prioritizing, it does not add up to $316,000.  Mr. Whitten explained if the Board goes down the entire list, the Nationals have done estimates to the bottom of the list, which is approximately $943,000; in theory, the Board could dispense all of it out of the $2 million account; and again, each year, the Board has had the fortune of funding the improvements for the Nationals out of the County's annual 4th Cent revenues, and not having to touch the $2 million account.

 

Chairman Bolin stated every year the Board usually sets the amount; the amounts on the list are all estimates; and the Board had the experience last year of an estimate did not come in correctly and the project could not be done because it would have gone over the maximum the Board was going to be able to spend. 

 

The Board authorized staff to proceed with all design and construction for capital improvements at the Space Coast Stadium; authorized the County Manager or designee to authorize bids and awards or use of continuing contracts for all materials, services, and equipment necessary for the expedited completion of these projects; and approved all necessary budget changes to increase the Stadium CIP budget. 

 

.

 

APPROVAL, RE:  AMENDMENT TO DONATION AND CAPITAL CONTRIBUTION FRONT-ENDING REIMBURSEMENT AGREEMENT FOR FIRE STATION 48

 

The Board approved an amendment to the existing Donation and Capital Contribution Reimbursement for Fire Station 48 between the County and The Viera Company; and authorized the Chairman to execute the amendment upon approval by Fire Rescue and the County Attorney's Office. 

 

.

 

AUTHORIZATION, RE:  TILLMAN, LENNEAR v. BREVARD COUNTY, JACK PARKER

 

The Board authorized the County Attorney's Office to file appropriate motions to affect the final dismissal of the lawsuit pending against the County regarding jail overcrowding.

..

ADJOURNMENT

Upon motion and vote, the meeting at adjourned at 12:49 p.m.

 

 

 

 

ATTEST:                                                                                                                                

                                                                        MARY BOLIN, CHAIRMAN

                                                                        BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

                                    _                                  BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA

SCOTT ELLIS, CLERK