MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA

 

 

January 18, 2007

 

 

 

The Board of County Commissioners of Brevard County, Florida, met in special/workshop session on January 18, 2007, at 9:00 a.m. in the Government Center Commission Room, Building C, 2725 Judge Fran Jamieson Way, Viera, Florida.  Present were:  Chairperson Jackie Colon,  Commissioners Truman Scarborough, Chuck Nelson, Helen Voltz, and Mary Bolin, County Manager Peggy Busacca, and Deputy County Attorney Shannon Wilson. 

 

 

 

Deputy County Attorney Shannon Wilson requested the Board adopt a resolution granting a waiver to VFW Post 8191 to allow a 57-foot flagpole and display of multiple flags; and stated the Board is required to take action within 15 days of its previous action. 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to adopt a Resolution granting waiver to VFW Post 8191 to allow a 57-foot flagpole and display of multiple flags.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Chairperson Colon inquired about the procedure for placement of resolutions on the agenda; with Agenda Specialist Sally Lewis advising most resolutions come from the Commission offices, but on the January 23, 2007 Agenda there is one from the University.  County Manager Peggy Busacca advised there are presentations on January 23, 2007, but not resolutions.  Chairperson Colon advised there have been resolutions that were not from any Commission District.  Ms. Busacca advised there are some that are staff-related. 

 

Commissioner Nelson expressed preference to have resolutions come through the Commission offices so there is a chance to prepare and become familiar with the resolution; and stated staff can either identify a Commissioner and contact that office, or if there is no Commissioner, it could come through the County Manager’s office. 

 

Commissioner Voltz advised resolutions on the agenda have the District number indicated. 

 

Ms. Busacca stated Ms. Lewis will coordinate, but most of the time resolutions will continue to come to the Commissioners’ offices.  Commissioner Nelson stated a Department Director can contact a Commissioner concerning resolutions.  Ms. Busacca stated Ms. Lewis will make sure that happens.   

 

Chairperson Colon explained the difficulty of not having the Districts indicated.  She suggested people attending the Board meeting in support of tax abatements also fill out a card so they do not have to wait all day; and advised she has discussed this with Economic and Financial Programs Director Greg Lugar, who spoke to the EDC.   

 

Ms. Busacca inquired if the Board desires to have something under Resolutions for tax abatements; with Chairperson Colon responding no. 

 

 

 

Chairperson Colon stated she requested Mr. Denninghoff give an update on the meeting last night concerning the Palm Bay Road widening; and advised Commissioner Voltz and Commissioner Bolin attended the meeting. 

 

Transportation Engineering Director John Denninghoff stated last night was the public meeting in Palm Bay that had been advertised; in attendance were the Palm Bay City Council, various members of the County Commission, the West Melbourne City Council, and representatives from FDOT, staff, the MPO, and Melbourne staff; and the topic was the widening of Palm Bay Road and the potential for delay.  He stated they were able to announce to the public last night that they have made tremendous headway on all of the interlocal agreements and the refund agreement with FDOT; three cities and the County have been able to join forces; and the City of Palm Bay will borrow approximately $15.6 million to loan to FDOT, which would be repaid starting in four years.  He stated this will allow the project to go to bid in June 2007; the bids will be opened at the end of June; and assuming they get bids under the maximum allowable amount of $52 million, the project will move forward.  He stated if it goes over that amount, they are in a back to zero situation and will have to start trying to figure out how to deal with the problem at that point.  He stated the nice thing is the County was able to work with the three cities to come up with an agreement that would allow the borrowing of the money and sharing of the cost of borrowing the money.  He stated the cost is expected to be close to $3 million; the County would pay 50%; the City of Palm Bay would pay 25%; and the Cities of Melbourne and West Melbourne would split the remaining 25% equally.  He stated the County’s liability would be $1.5 million; it would be paid in equal installments on a quarterly basis; the payment to FDOT would be in February or March; and the County will start making payments in April 2007.  He stated the preliminary figures are that the County would be paying approximately $58,000 each quarter for six and one-half years; and they estimate they will be able to make the payment through Transportation dollars without having to go to the General Fund.  He stated they will be able to do that without delaying any already committed transportation projects.  He stated the previous local share that the County committed to would have been approximately $2.6 million; that also went up to approximately $3 million; the County has already paid half of that in advance in right-of-way acquisition and design costs; and the additional $400,000 was set aside previously in the Constitutional Gas Tax Bond proceeds several years ago, so the County can cover the additional cost without having to shuffle any funds or projects or delay anything.  He stated while they are successful in being able to do that, they are on the edge of having to make some harder choices; and if the bid does not come in under $52 million, they will be faced with tough choices. 

 

County Manager Peggy Busacca requested Mr. Denninghoff comment on the timing of the documents.

 

Mr. Denninghoff stated they originally hoped to have all of the documents prepared for the Board for this meeting; but they do not have all the documents in hand yet; some of the dollar
figures are still being worked out; they thought they had to have the documents executed by January 20, 2007; however, they do not have to have it until the end of the month, so they hope to have it to the Board on January 23, 2007.  Ms. Busacca stated it is possible the document will not come until the last minute.  Mr. Denninghoff stated they just got a draft of the interlocal agreement with Palm Bay; he and Deputy County Attorney Eden Bentley have reviewed it and combined their comments; and the agreement will have to be revised a little bit.  He stated they still need information from FDOT in order to have the final agreement between the County and FDOT; if they cannot get everything together in time for the January 23, 2007 meeting, they will bring it to the Board on January 26, 2007 at the joint meeting with the School Board; and if they cannot make that, they will need to have a special meeting because it is critical to have the executed agreement before the end of the month.  He stated Palm Bay will have to close on its loan for the $15.6 million and write a check to FDOT; and at that point, everything will go on nicely.  He stated the MPO will have to take some action; it is unclear right now whether or not it will have to take action prior to the execution of the documents; and the reason this is important is that ultimately the money that will be repaid from DOT to Palm Bay for the principal on the $15.6 million loan is going to come from federal dollars in out years, which would normally be directed by the MPO as to how it would be spent by DOT.  He stated in order to commit that money, DOT needs to have the MPO commit how it is going to spend the money; the MPO is an independent body from the Board; but the County has five seats and Palm Bay has three seats; and they are working to be able to convene the MPO. 

 

Chairperson Colon stated that should not be a problem if they know the deadline is January 30, 2007; and commented on the MPO calling members to give notice so the members can hold that date open on their calendars.  Mr. Denninghoff stated that is being worked on; the challenge is to make sure there is a quorum; and if they cannot get a quorum, then they would not be able to conduct the business.  Chairperson Colon inquired did they learn of that yesterday or did the MPO know of the possibility of having to meet.  Mr. Denninghoff stated it first came up day before yesterday; yesterday they tried to find out what day might be best for that; and there have been a number of phone calls made on that, but he is unaware of the status.  He stated MPO Director Bob Kamm is on top of it; and commented on meeting in Deland this afternoon, resolving the question, trying to buy more time from DOT, and potentially not having to go through the process.  He stated they have been looking at dates to try to figure out which one would be potentially the best one to do that; and they have to have at least ten MPO members present to conduct business.  Chairperson Colon advised Secretary Downs is impressed by the cooperation by all the jurisdictions.  Mr. Denninghoff stated the State did not think the County and municipalities could move this far this quickly.  Chairperson Colon stated it shows the cooperation; and when they get together, they can accomplish anything.  Mr. Denninghoff stated originally, there was a major fly in the ointment, but FDOT resolved that last night; if there had been any cost overruns that went over the $52 million limit, the expectation was that the local governments and agencies involved would have to cover the cost, which would be an open-ended situation; if it went up to $62 million, the County would have to spend another $10 million in addition to the cost of the loan; and he has not often been at meetings where they have been able to come together as successfully as they did this time.  Commissioner Colon suggested sending letters of thanks to the Governor, Secretary, and staff.  Mr. Denninghoff stated there was a lot of help from all levels of government.  Chairperson Colon stated they want to make sure they do not miss any of the behind the scenes people because there was a lot of work that went on.  Mr. Denninghoff stated he is happy to have been part of it; and it involved tremendous effort on the part of many people. 

 

 

 

Chairperson Colon advised of a breakfast honoring Dr. Martin Luther King in Palm Bay; and stated there was a speaker, Devon Harris, from the movie Cool Runnings, which was about the Jamaica Bobsled Team.  She stated the march was on Monday morning; commented on seeing former Commissioner Nancy Higgs; and advised of a nine-year old speaker named Antonia Bannister. 

 

 

 

Commissioner Scarborough stated the Board had a workshop dealing with financial needs and capital projects; he visited with Finance Director Steve Burdett; if they go back to three or four years ago, the County was not having a surplus at the end of the year and was having a negative balance; and so capital reserves were decreasing.  He stated the chart shows the County had astronomical increases in its cash reserves; perhaps the County does not need to carry as much surplus forward because it is beyond what any bonding agency would want; and the County probably has sufficient cash reserves.  He stated Mr. Burdett was talking about $20 million, so that is sufficient to handle many of the County’s problems.  He stated the third issue is that by doing some more transfers from General Revenue into Road and Bridge, the Board could borrow against gas taxes, which do not have the limitations under Florida law on borrowing; that would give the County additional borrowing capacity; it has additional reserves; and requested Ms. Busacca invite Mr. Burdett to come to the Board to address these issues, perhaps at a workshop.  He stated when they did the original road projects, they allocated everything but $14 million; and if the Board had additional borrowing capacity, he would hate to go forward with other adjustments. 

 

Chairperson Colon stated she is meeting with Ms. Busacca and Mr. Burdett regarding this issue, and needs feedback from the Commissioners; they are trying to bring it before the Board; but they want to clean it up so it is in plain English.  She stated she does not want to react to the information Mr. Burdett provided until she figures out the numbers; she is sure the rest of the Commissioners feel the same way; and she does not want to be telling her bosses that there is no money, and then find out there are some dollars there.  She stated it is uncomfortable because the Board had talked about trying to stick to the 3%; the Board was told the dollars were not there, and if it wanted to do roads, it would have to do certain things; and if there is a surplus, then the Board needs to realize that.  She stated it is not recurring, so the Board needs to be careful because that is when it could run into problems. 

 

Commissioner Scarborough stated one issue is the Board has built up savings to the point that Mr. Burdett believes there may be as much as $20 million in savings that could be expended one time; since there are surpluses, the Board may not have to continue to carry surpluses which would be reoccurring; and the reoccurring creates the secondary problem of the borrowing limitations; by doing some transfers, they could have more road projects because there are no limitations no gas tax dollars; and they need to have Mr. Burdett and Mr. Whitten present to discuss this. 

 

Commissioner Bolin stated she also had a presentation from Mr. Burdett, and she concurs.  She stated she would like to be able to have a workshop or discussion on the issue because she has a lot of questions. 

 

County Manager Peggy Busacca stated staff is asking for approval next Tuesday for a workshop on February 15, 2007 to discuss this item. 

 

Commissioner Nelson stated he got some information from Mr. Burdett; the key is how much is cash flow and how much is truly surplus because in some cases, he indicated delayed projects, which means that money will be expended at some time.  Commissioner Scarborough stated the Board needs to know those.  Commissioner Nelson stated that is the key to the whole discussion. 

 

Chairperson Colon stated that question was asked and answered; that is when she got nervous because Mr. Burdett said that had already been accounted for, so once they realize that the referendum and all those responsibilities were accounted for and there was still a surplus, then she needed a clearer understanding before getting excited.  She stated the Board just wants to see the information; and on February 15, 2007, there will be a workshop.  Ms. Busacca advised that is assuming the Board approves it on Tuesday.

 

 

 

Commissioner Nelson stated he and Commissioner Bolin were pleased to go to the East Coast Regional Planning Council meeting yesterday for the first time; they were welcomed; and it was a good meeting.  He stated they received a preview of the regional process that is going to be rolled out next weekend on WMFE and on Channel 6; and those shows will be made available to local governments to be played on cable if the Board chooses.  He stated there are some concepts of the MyRegion process that he may have issues with, only because he does not necessarily fully understand them; and commented on dealing with growth, generating discussion, not voting for one of the four scenarios, and need for planning.  He stated if the County does not do planning, someone will do it for the County; the Board needs to take a look at that; and the show will be on television in the next weeks, so everybody needs to avail himself or herself of the opportunity to find out what is going on. 

 

 

 

Commissioner Bolin stated she went to Ocala for the second part of the Florida Association of Counties training for new Commissioners; and commented on the training and meeting Commissioners from other areas of the State.  She stated it was amazing to see the range of people; she tried to seek people whose counties were close to Brevard County in terms of needs, size, and issues because those are the people she can call up any time to brainstorm about problems and solutions without having any problems with Sunshine laws. 

 

Chairperson Colon stated when they get together with other jurisdictions, they realize they are not in this alone; Brevard County thinks it is the only one experiencing this kind of growth or dealing with budget issues; but when they get together with other counties, they are all dealing with the same issues.  She stated Florida is a beautiful state; everyone is moving here; and commented on MyRegion and making changes by being part of the process.   

 

Commissioner Voltz stated she will be at the MyRegion meeting next week, which will be telecast during the week.  Commissioner Scarborough inquired if Commissioner Voltz is on one of the panels; with Commissioner Voltz responding none of the Commissioners is serving as panelists and she is not sure whom they are having as panelists.  She stated she will be in the audience listening to the feedback from residents and the information that has been compiled. 

 

Chairperson Colon stated it is important to go to neighboring counties to see what they are doing because they can learn from the mistakes of others.

 

 

Tuck Ferrell stated he has been working on different initiatives with others in the community and has been going to some of the goal setting things like they had in Palm Bay a couple of weeks ago; and he wanted to bring up the quality of life and the community as they relate to roads and connectivity because those are critical parts of the community.  He stated it was refreshing to hear that there might be some more money because transportation is an important part of the quality of life issue; and a group is working on the St. Johns Heritage Parkway initiative.  He stated a lot of them worked on getting U.S. 192 four-laned to get connectivity; and commented on jobs, growth in the community, and getting people to their workplaces.  He stated he has worked in a lot of other counties; he is a retired commercial appraiser; connectivity is critical; and the St. Johns Heritage Parkway will be in almost all the Districts as it connects to help with the process.  He stated the Palm Bay connection from Emerson to Ellis is one of the big ones, from the airport to Palm Bay because there is a huge population center down there that has to travel to a job base; the Chamber of Commerce mentioned there are at least 27,000 people just in the greater Melbourne area around the airport and industry, so that is 27,000 cars; and they are having to come in a circuitous route as many of them live west of I-95.  He stated road efficiency is important; they need  north/south and east/west corridors because traffic is getting to be a problem.  He advised he has a ranch on U.S. 192; if he tries to get to Palm Bay in the morning, he might be waiting at Emerson Road for 45 minutes just to get through Minton Road; and if the County works on traffic efficiencies, it will be helpful.  He commented on speaking to the airport, working with other property owners on the 30 to 40 miles where the Parkway is planned, working to widen roads and provide connectivity, inability to stop people from moving to the County, and growth in Brevard County.  He stated helping the situation with the roads would be important; and commented on going to MyRegion meetings, transportation, consultants from Washington coming to Palm Bay, and working with the EDC.  He stated the goal is for the County to prosper and be in good health; a lot of them are working in the economic community and with the Chamber of Commerce; and they are interested in roads and in retaining jobs in the County.  He stated not having efficient roads tends to drive people away; and they have to do much to keep the job base and the economy growing.  He commented on keeping the unique high-tech community; and stated he appreciates what the Board has done and what it is trying to do with goal setting. 

 

Commissioner Voltz stated the majority of items that MyRegion has identified as being the most important items for the central region are things the County has already addressed; and she was proud of the County, staff, and the Board when she saw the list and realized they have already addressed the issues that people are struggling with.

 

Chairperson Colon stated sometimes they think they can learn from others, but find out that others are learning from them; former Orange County Chair Linda Chapin also commented about Brevard County; and during the summits others have been surprised that Brevard County started on things several years ago.  She stated she thought Orange County would be way ahead of Brevard County, but Orange County was impressed with what Brevard County has been doing in the community and in the team effort.  She stated it is staff that makes it happen; and the Board is grateful to staff. 

 

Ms. Busacca stated Kimberly Prosser sent a noting asking if the Board wants to show the MyRegion shows on Space Coast Government Television or if it wants a link on the website; with Commissioner Voltz and Chairperson Colon responding affirmatively. 

 

 

 

County Manager Peggy Busacca stated the workshop was first set as a 9:00 a.m. workshop on goal setting and 1:00 p.m. workshop on strategic planning; but they have been advertised together, so if the Board finishes early, it can move right into strategic planning.  She stated she provided information to the Board to initiate discussion for goal setting; and commented on continuing prior goals.  She stated the Board established public safety, transportation, growth management, quality of life, and maintaining quality staff as goals at the beginning of 2006; there is still work to be done on the goals; and suggested the Board discuss whether it wants to specifically say the goals include public safety, transportation, growth management, quality of life, and some additional goals that seem to be evolving, such as economic stability in dealing with the potential of changes with NASA.  She stated during the last workshop the Board talked about facilities; that is going to continue to be a very large issue; and she spent some time yesterday with the users group from the Courthouse, which is ready to come forward to advise of the need for additional court space for up to two judges by December 2008.  She stated in addition to the judges, they estimate that approximately 20 more people come with each judge, including Public Defender, State Attorney, and Clerk’s staff; they are required under Article 5 to maintain adequate facilities; and that may eventually become a priority. 

 

Commissioner Scarborough commented on the land swap with Viera for property on the other side of the parking lot; stated Commissioner Voltz brought up the idea of potentially building there; and inquired if there is a possibility of swapping that piece of land for something adjacent to the Courthouse.  He stated while the other location is close, it would probably involve someone getting in his or her car to go to the Courthouse; and suggested looking at property to the south.  He stated the Board needs to look at all kinds of options; and it is wrong to build where someone has to get into a traffic pattern when they could be in close proximity and walking through a covered courtyard when it is raining, or something like that.  Ms. Busacca stated they will bring back options.  Commissioner Scarborough stated the Board will be looking at what Commissioner Voltz suggested; someone wanted to leave an open atrium; and they may be able to build around and still maintain an open atrium component.  He stated people want to be in the location where they will have direct access to where they are going. 

 

Ms. Busacca stated one of the issues that has been identified is that within five years, 30% of the staff will be eligible to retire; the Board has been supportive and there are excellent benefits; the Board has worked hard to make sure salaries are meeting needs; and that will be a priority this year.  Ms. Busacca stated they are looking at expanding training efforts; and requested the Board approve that as a priority because without the County being an outstanding place to work, it would not be possible to provide services to the public because there would not be staff to do it.  She stated the Board’s efforts have gone a long way to doing that; the money invested in the Executive Leadership Institute is paying huge dividends; and there are directors who have told her they were ready to leave the County, but the fact that the Board has given them leadership training is keeping them here.  She stated it is a relatively small investment for a County this size, but it is keeping highly trained professional staff in the County because of it.  She stated providing priorities to the Legislative Delegation has already paid off; Leigh Holt has advised that every Legislator has signed on to support the EOC request; and the Legislators are saying it is a priority.  She stated Ms. Holt advises the Delegation has made tremendous efforts on behalf of the Board’s priorities; and Ms. Holt has been able to accomplish more in a week than she did in the last Legislative Session because there are priorities, so it has been effective.  She stated she is hoping the Board can do the same thing here, looking at the efforts already being done on a local level for priorities; and staff is available to answer questions or provide input. 

 

Chairperson Colon commented on the Sunshine Law; and inquired if the Legislature made the law for everybody else but the Legislators.  Deputy County Attorney Shannon Wilson advised the court system has limitations as well in terms of having to comply with the Sunshine Law; but there are parts of it that the Legislators have to comply with, although they have their own version of it.  Chairperson Colon stated she is not saying whether she is for or against it; but she wants to be able to explain it; and commented on the law applying to local governments but not the Legislature, benefits of Legislators being able to talk freely among themselves, Commissioners having to wait for a meeting to take care of things, and difficulties associated with compliance with the Sunshine Law.  She stated she is happy to hear the Legislature is taking on all the different issues for Brevard County.  

 

Commissioner Voltz stated transportation has always been a priority of hers; the St. Johns Heritage Parkway is a big part of the Board’s transportation goals; and while the Board has identified $20-plus million to purchase the land for the parkway, it has no money to build it for the next 30 years.  She stated the Board needs to look at where it will go from here; the Board has identified where it wants some of the money to go; and inquired if it does not have money to build the road, what has the Board accomplished.  She stated they can tell the citizens that there is money for right-of-way, but the road is never going to be built; but she does not think that is where the Board wants to go.  Commissioner Bolin stated she would hate to say the road would never get built.  Commissioner Voltz stated she is just saying that for the next 30 years, there is no money to build the road; there are many developers along the road who will do their part; but she has no clue how much it is actually going to cost.  She stated she does not know if the Board will be able to identify at any time within the next few years what its part is going to be; if that is a priority, then the Board needs to look at every aspect of potential funding for construction of the roadway; identifying money for the right-of-way is a first step; but if the County does not have the money to pave it, it is going to be in trouble. 

 

Chairperson Colon stated there were six years of renourishment of the beaches; after the six years, there were millions of dollars that were supposed to be identified; and at that point the
Board can make a commitment that those dollars would go to making sure the right-of-way and studies and all of that are being taken care of.  Commissioner Colon inquired when this is coming back, noting the Board did part of it during budget allocations for transportation.  Ms. Busacca stated staff is developing that information; Transportation staff is probably ready to give priorities; but the Facilities issues will take a few weeks; and they will schedule a workshop within the next month.  Chairperson Colon stated it is important for the Board to see the progress and discussions that have been taking place so it can have a better idea of what will be under its jurisdiction; there are many municipalities involved; and the Board needs to look at that.  She stated the road has already been identified; Mr. Denninghoff has maps; and the project is so huge that it will encompass Districts 3, 4, and 5 in the future, so planning is important.  She stated some people get upset because they say they are not finished with what is in District 5, and the Board is already looking at District 4; but that is called visioning and planning.  She stated they need to look at this now, because by the time they decide to look at it for District 4, it will be too late because a developer will have put in a subdivision; and these kinds of discussions need to happen now.  She stated they do not have the dollars; and that is why it is critical that they look at the mechanisms to be able to fund it; and commented on incorporation, State not providing dollars to finish the parkway, and bringing partners into the mix.  She stated when the Board has the workshop to prioritize transportation, it should also have maps and talk about where they are in the process.  She stated a lot of meetings have taken place in the last few months; and the Board needs to be updated. 

 

Commissioner Bolin stated she was looking at getting the right-of-way now; and commented on the history of the Pineda and the cost to correct the problem later down the road.  She stated she would rather invest $20 to $40 million to get the right-of-way; she would rather have that in the County’s pocket because it will be needed; and if anyone wants to argue, she would point to the Pineda.  Commissioner Voltz stated that is a great example. 

 

Commissioner Scarborough stated under his report, he mentioned Steve Burdett’s memorandum; if the Board approved the transfer, it would have the ability to borrow the Local Option Gas Tax; and in excess of $30 million would become available immediately.  He stated it is critical to get into the memorandum before the Board begins to say no to projects; otherwise, it is going to get a fragmented bonding and prioritization.  He stated the Board needs to know how much money it has available; and inquired if the Board will have a meeting before it does the road discussion; with Ms. Busacca responding yes.  Commissioner Scarborough stated he does not want to get it in reverse and then find out there is money, so they have to go back and redo. 

 

Commissioner Nelson stated he agrees with what Commissioner Scarborough is saying; until they figure out the amount of money that is available to do things, it is almost impossible to prioritize; and they know they need to do things with roads and comprehensive planning, but the question is how to get there.  He stated the danger is they will start drilling down to specific projects as opposed to looking at how to structure the budget and how much money is going to be made available; and inquired if they will tell the Departments and Constitutional Officers to live within their existing revenue stream, and then see how much money is available for projects this year.  He stated the Board has the ability to take Mr. Burdett’s information and look at next year’s projected revenues and then look at projects.  He stated he agrees with Commissioner Bolin that the Board needs to do right-of-way acquisition because once those properties are
gone, they are gone; and it is expensive to go back and try to fix it.  Commissioner Nelson stated at some point in the future, they are going to have to go to the citizens and ask whether they want to fund these things; the Board has to come up with the credibility that it has done everything possible to make that happen; and if it does not, the citizens will do the same thing they did on the on-cent sales tax, which is to vote no.  He stated the Board does not have the money, but has the ability to take what it has and do a good job with it; and the Board can tell the citizens it has done the best it can do, but if it is going to go further, it will need the help of the citizens.  He stated his preference would be to talk about how to structure the budget this year so the Board will have that information when it starts talking about priorities.  He stated when they left the capital meeting, he was depressed because after adding up roads and facility needs, they were approaching a billion dollars worth of improvements; and there has to be some sort of prioritization.  He stated the Public Defender is anxious to get new facilities, to the extent he was willing to sue the County to get them; and inquired how all that factors in.  He stated he is not comfortable that the Board has a good handle on it yet.  Ms. Busacca stated she agrees; staff looks at statutory requirements; and because there are requirements under Article 5, that is a high priority.  She stated there is a federal lawsuit for the detention center, so that is a high priority; and those are the first priorities.  She stated in terms of second priorities, they have come to the Board to show where it will get the most bang for the buck.  She stated it may be possible to move people around in the facility by leasing facilities rather than having to purchase because it may be more advantageous; staff will come back to the Board to explain how that was done; but then the Board can say that is not a priority. 

 

Commissioner Nelson stated he would love to see that in advance so there is a chance to mull it over; there are County agencies in the facility, which has become a court complex; the courts have expanded and will continue to expand; and the State Attorney’s and Public Defender’s offices will also expand.  He stated they are going to start pushing out County agencies; even if they develop in the courtyard area, there is not enough parking for the existing facility, so if they add more cars, he does not know where they are going to go; and requested the information be provided in advance.  He stated the worst-case scenario would be to try to do it real time; they all have ideas about what works; but they do not have information about costs and those kinds of things.  He stated the Board has always had a schizophrenic relationship with the Charter Officers because they can appeal their budgets and are not always forthcoming with information; and suggested asking them to participate in creating a solution.  He recommended focusing on where the issues are and who the problems are; stated the Sheriff has needs and will want all the extra money the Board can find; however, if the priorities are roads, then the Sheriff will need to understand that the Board is not going to be able to support him this year.  He stated the Sheriff can go to Tallahassee and try to get additional money; but the citizens are going to know that the Board tried to do the right thing, and the Sheriff will have to deal with his constituents because he is also an elected official.  He commented on accountability and the Charter Officers being as an important a part of the budget process as the Board. 

 

Chairperson Colon stated it is a matter of priorities; and commented on employees, law enforcement, firefighters, funding, and priorities.  She stated she would love the Board to get to the point that it was able to help everyone; but the Board has to stick to its priorities.  She stated if there is a surplus, it is scary; it is like having a champagne taste with a Coca Cola pocket and then all of a sudden having the money for the champagne; and everybody is going to say the Board has the money and they want to have it, which is scary because the Board will have to
say no because there are priorities.  Chairperson Colon stated the Board needs to stick to that; it does not say the Board is not supporting the Constitutional Officers, Charter Officers, or Department Directors; and the point is the Board is trying to do the best with what it has.  She commented on expectations, Board being comfortable, dividing and conquering, sending the wrong message, and discussions of strategic planning and goals. 

 

Commissioner Bolin stated as far as facilities, she acknowledges the fact that they need more room; but she wants to feel comfortable that they understand that the Board will provide them space but not the Taj Mahal, because the Board has County employees in buildings that have roofs that leak.  She stated it is necessary to spread resources out; the Board will do everything possible to give the required facility space that is needed, but it may not be luxurious; it will be basic and functional; and the Board also needs money to get County workers into facilities.  She stated she wants to be careful to be sure everyone understands.

 

Commissioner Nelson stated he has learned the folks want the Board to focus; and he does not think the Board can go wrong by focusing on solving some specific problems.  He stated the Board has to come together as a group to address the problems; they cannot be everything to everybody all the time; and this is the year to pull things together and deal with some big issues.  He stated one of the things that is unique about District 2 is that it has a lot of State roads, so it does not have much of a road program; his constituency is going to be asked to fund roads throughout the County that do not necessarily impact them; and he thinks they are okay with that as long as they believe the Board is working in the right direction and is not scattered.  He commented on taking a more holistic look at road issues and focusing and addressing problems over time in a way that makes sense.

 

Commissioner Voltz stated $13 or $15 million was identified in last year’s budget that the Board could have potentially cut that would not have cut services; Commissioner Nelson mentioned the need to be careful in how much they ask to increase those budgets; and commented on a request that she pulled off the last Agenda for $125,000 to market libraries, which was unnecessary.  She stated the Commissioners do not know what is in the Department budgets; they assume they have identified things that are the Board’s goals; and they need to be careful what they put in the budget because the Commissioners do not see every line item and how money is being spent, yet the Board is responsible for those dollars.  She stated going back to the St. Johns Heritage Parkway, Commissioner Bolin is right that the Board has to identify the dollars for the right-of-way because of what happened on the Pineda; and she is glad the Board has focused on that and put the money there.  She stated when looking at priorities, she would suggest that as a number one transportation priority because it affects not just the three Districts, but there are people from Districts 1 and 2 that drive on roads in South Brevard, so the road is very important.  She commented on reasonable budget, what the Board is spending money on, focusing on needs, and goals. 

 

Commissioner Scarborough stated one of his greatest frustrations is fragmentation; and commented on building libraries, moving forward with the community center, parking, and trails.  He stated there may be the ability to use the community center as a hurricane shelter at a cost of $750,000, while a new hurricane shelter with all the amenities would be $5 million; and commented on making things work at lesser expense with greater savings.  He stated what scared him with the discussion the Board had with each user group was that the Public
Defender has a right to have facilities, but the question is whether the Public Defender’s facilities have continuity with the Clerk, State Attorney, and Judiciary needs; and inquired if they are being put in the right location.  Commissioner Scarborough stated every time someone has to get in the car and drive to a location, that is wasted time and somebody in the taxpayer system is paying; and that is where the Board has its primary role.  He stated the Board says yes, something has a priority, but everyone should understand that they are not islands to themselves in the community; and everybody has to try to make things work for everybody.    

 

Chairperson Colon stated one of the things that is important today is to have that kind of honest discussion about the process and the goals so the Board can be sure that staff and the Directors have a good understanding of the priorities; roads are very important and a priority; but the Board has not give enough focus on the quality of life of citizens in the community.  She commented on responsibility for youth in the community, sense of the community, roads as a priority, and ramifications on the family of someone being arrested for drugs.  She stated the average person is struggling; she is not talking about problems in the inner city, but about teachers, attorneys, and doctors being arrested; and sometimes they think it is someone else’s problem and someone else should be taking care of it.  She stated she is not talking so much about putting dollars into the system; sometimes they think that by throwing money at a problem, it will be fixed; and she is not talking about bigger government by any means.  She stated she is talking about strengthening families; she is talking about things that do not cost any money such as the SCGTV channel where there could be discussion about strengthening families; and that would not cost a penny, but would say to the community that the Board cares.  She stated roads are not the only priority; what is going on at home is also a priority to her; and because there has been so much on the Board’s plate, the issue has not been brought into the discussion.  She stated Together in Partnership has been effective, and has been able to give data back to the Board; but then people are just meeting and asking who is looking at this as a priority.  She stated the Board is discussing the future of the County and the goals; and there should be some section where it is telling the community it understands what is going on.  She commented on support, being able to come before the Board to speak about programs that are available, talking to the community about 211, and how they want the County to look when it grows up.  She stated she wants a community that truly cares not just about how to get to work but also what is going on behind closed doors; and she is not talking about investing millions of dollars.  She noted Commissioner Voltz is part of the CBC; she probably has hundreds of testimonies that have come before the CBC about what is going on in the community; and commented on what the Board is doing to address the problem.  Commissioner Voltz stated they are making a difference in Brevard County with the CBC.  Chairperson Colon stated those are the kinds of things she would love for the community to be able to hear; she would like to say the Board is on top of the issue; and while the people might hear the Board talking about roads, there is a Commissioner on the CBC.  She stated Commissioner Voltz is participating on the CBC, and each of the Commissioners serve on boards that are important; and it would be good to share that with the community.

 

Commissioner Bolin inquired what the full definition of that board is; with Chairperson Voltz responding it is Community Based Care, which is privatization of DCF. 

 

Chairperson Colon stated it came about because DCF was not doing the greatest job; the State let the local folks take the baton and run with it; and Brevard County did that. 

 

Commissioner Voltz stated everybody in the State is looking at Brevard County because it is doing such a tremendous job on the CBC with Dr. Patricia Nellius; and commented on the knowledge Dr. Nellius brought to the group.  She stated they are definitely making a difference, not just to kids in Brevard County, but all over the State. 

 

Commissioner Colon commented on law enforcement, listening to public comment on the campaign trail, and talking to the community; and stated Commissioner Bolin and Commissioner Nelson should inform the Board of things they heard while campaigning.  She stated she has town meetings in her District; they would like to talk about law enforcement because on TV they are seeing a lot of crime in Brevard County; and suggested having someone from law enforcement address the community so people will know what is being done and will not be scared.  She stated this is the only outlet the community has; and requested the Board start thinking along those lines of things it can be doing.  She stated the community is getting concerned because it is not hearing about those things; but the Board will be bringing the experts to share that kind of information with the community so they can see the Board is doing something about it.  She stated she is concerned that when there is something on the Agenda that has not been identified in the budget for FY 2006-2007 and it says dollars in FY 2007-2008; and Department heads and Constitutional Officers say not to worry about this year as they have identified certain dollars and will take care of it.  She inquired how they should handle it; who will be paying for it in later years; and advised they are running into a little bit of a problem.

 

Commissioner Voltz stated on the Agenda Report, it says cost/benefit; and she always looks to see if future dollars are identified and asks if it will be in their budget next year without an increase.  She commented on being careful to look at those particular things, one-time amounts of money, continuing funding, focusing on cost/benefit, and identifying things in the quarterly budget. 

 

Ms. Busacca stated staff will be providing that to the Commissioners. 

 

Commissioner Bolin stated grants are wonderful, but can also be deadly; they help to get the County a service, but after a certain time period the money stops; and then the County has to absorb that cost.  She stated as far as grants, her approach is that if it is a service the Board is going to do anyway and it can get matching grants to help achieve it, then the long-term maintenance of it is justified; but if it is something that is a luxury for two or three years and is not a high priority in the fifth year when the County has to pay for it, she does not want to get into the situation of providing a service that everyone loves, and then the long-run cost in the fifth year is something the County cannot do. 

 

Commissioner Voltz commented on working under a grant and having it suddenly end and her job end as well. 

 

Commissioner Bolin commented on grants that achieve a product and then end versus ones that are ongoing and the Board has to pull back.  Chairperson Colon stated those are things the Board wants to be able to look at. 

 

Commissioner Nelson stated it would be helpful to give Ms. Busacca direction in terms of how to put the budget together this year and what the Board expects to see; and inquired if the Board is
going to tell staff that the money it got last year is the money it will get this year, which is a cut because costs have gone up.  Commissioner Nelson stated that will give Ms. Busacca the opportunity to bring up needs and explain the difference; and that in effect creates a sum of money based on the new assessments and construction that would be available to the Board to consider for roads and other needs.  He stated if Ms. Busacca does not have any direction, things will bog down; and suggested the Board say it is going to live within the same revenue stream and allocation as it had last year, with an explanation of any increases.  He noted some departments are so small that annualizing salaries creates the need to fund that.   

 

Ms. Busacca stated she appreciates any direction she can get; she needs to understand what Commissioner Nelson is talking about because they do the funded and unfunded changes; and inquired if all changes would be unfunded until the Board looks at them.  Commissioner Nelson responded yes; the Board has done a good job of catching up; during the 1990’s it was difficult because things were held in check; a lot of expenditures did not necessarily come to the Departments; and the Board, in terms of salaries and some other issues has softened a little bit.  He stated insurance and indirect costs have gone crazy; those are issues the Board is going to have to deal with; and in his past life, he went from zero dollars to over a million dollars in indirect costs over a three-year period with no additional funding, so that was a million dollar cut.  He suggested starting at the baseline budget of the same; and if there are other increases they cannot control, those could be built into the budget.  Ms. Busacca stated she is asking for Board direction; the Board has given direction to move as much of the Fire Rescue assessment as possible above the line into the MSTU; and if that continues to be the Board direction, it would be helpful.  She stated short of Board direction, she will take the Board’s priorities, and when Directors come in and say they have budget changes, she will look to see how they fit into the Board’s priorities; if the change does not fit with the priorities, it will be an unfunded change, but if it does, it will be a funded change; and the Board has identified those and last year some of the Board agreed and some did not.  She stated if the Board  wants to do it another way, it is going to be a more difficult process; the book the Board will have to go through will be thick with requests; and the Board will have to go through every one of those and vote yes or no.  She stated the Board will be a long time in budget meetings because it will not be talking about the big picture any more, but line by line. 

 

Commissioner Voltz stated she is in the process of going through the budgets for the last five years; and commented on budget messages, identifying each Department’s requests, and salary increases.  She stated she does not approve marketing libraries, but the Board approved it; with Ms. Busacca advising that is because it was a reduction from what the Board was spending.  Commissioner Voltz stated when the public sees the County is spending $125,000 to market libraries, it does not care what it did before or how it was in the budget; the public sees it as government waste; and sometimes the Board does not know what is in the budgets and sometimes it does not understand it.  She stated she knows that Library Services got a 21% increase this year because they are building libraries, but the Board does not know what else has been included in there.  Ms. Busacca stated that is because they start with a zero base budget, except for salaries and insurance; every change is on a separate piece of paper; and those are provided in two books, one for funded changes, which are included in the proposed budget, and the other for not funded.  She stated every time there is a change from the previous year’s budget, there is one page that describes it; and she understands the laboriousness of going through the pages because she goes through them with the Departments and the Budget
office; and she knows how many hours that takes.  She stated the information is available; but it is so voluminous that it is difficult to trudge through.  Commissioner Voltz inquired about things that are shown as Florida Statute required, but yet unfunded; and inquired how can it be required and not funded.  She stated it may not be required but the Board is funding it; and the priorities do not seem to be there.  Ms. Busacca stated if they are talking about providing space to Charter officers, that is required; but the County does not always have to give all the space the Charter officers ask for.  She stated the County could say they have to live in their current facilities for another year; and that is a trick in the way they do things.  Commissioner Voltz stated the fact that the County has to provide a facility is what is required; but if someone does not understand the whole process, it appears there are things that are required that are not being funded while other things are being funded but are not required.  Ms. Busacca stated the Board made it clear that Transit Services was a priority last year; more was added to budget than was in the proposed budget; and that is a mandate and part of the Board’s priorities. 

 

Attorney Wilson advised there are also different levels of requirements; with the Public Defender, there are guidelines that mandate the square footage the Board is supposed to supply but is not supplying; and that is why Mr. Russo feels he has a basis for a legal challenge.  She stated there are other provisions in the Statutes that do not provide guidelines on how much the County has to provide, so there is a kind of sliding scale of what the law may require the County to provide or it may say it has to simply provide this; and the Board may provide something even though it is not the optimum that someone would seek. 

 

Commissioner Scarborough stated Commissioner Nelson touched on his concern, which was the salary issue; the Board has done a tremendous amount of moving salaries up; but he was on the Board one time when there was a bad year, the Board froze salaries and had a hiring freeze, and everything went dead.  He stated his concern is as soon as they do what Commissioner Nelson is suggesting, then they are going to have to build back in the factor because the Board gives annual salary increases; the County is a service institution; it has to have people to work; and if they go to a hiring freeze, it may be a change of trend. 

 

Chairperson Colon stated she does not think that is what Commissioner Nelson is saying.  Commissioner Nelson stated there is a basic level of service that next year would look like this year; it will cost more money because of salaries; and commented on past years when the Board decided to give increases, but some Departments did not get additional money.  He stated he is not saying that is the answer; he would like the basic level of service next year to be the same as this year; and then the Board can look at the things that are most critical that would be additional services.  He stated he is not saying the Board is going to draw a hard line; the service should be the same; but the Board needs to focus on new things; and commented on not knowing where money was spent because it was in small incremental pieces that add up to sizable numbers. 

 

Chairperson Colon stated it is a matter of perception; last year before she approved the budget, she was clear that there were tough decisions to make; there were salary increases the Board as a whole wanted to do; and her question is always how they are going to pay for it and whether they are ready to make the tough decisions because the money has to come from somewhere.  She stated if there is money coming from here, then the Board has to cut over there; and it is not the way the Board wants to do business.  She stated the community is
hurting; the people are getting hit with outrageous insurance premiums; they are having to tighten up or go to their savings accounts; and they are struggling.  Chairperson Colon stated in the meanwhile these people are reading in the newspaper that the Board is going above the cap; that communicates that the people need to tighten up but the Board  does not have to; and that is the message coming from the Board.  She stated the Board should be able to understand and feel the people’s pain; and if it feels that pain, it should be feeling some kind of pain itself and not increase.  She stated that decision should not be made in August or September; it has to be discussed now so the Budget staff, the Directors, and the Charter Officers understand the message.  She stated it is wonderful to want to give pay raises, but they are not able to do it this year; that is really what the Board is trying to say; and the message has to be clear to everyone who is affected by the budget and not pick and choose.  She commented on sending the wrong message; and stated Commissioner Nelson is not saying to freeze everything or cut everything.  She stated Commissioner Nelson is very knowledgeable about how the budget system works because he has been on both sides; and it is good for the Board because there is a sensitivity there.  She stated Commissioner Nelson now wears a Commissioner’s hat; and there is a reality check because now he sees the kind of things that are expected by his bosses.  She stated it is very important to send the message to the community; the people are hurting and struggling; and therefore the Board needs to tighten up too and make hard decisions.  She stated if permitting is not at the level it was in the last year and a half, they need to ask the Departments that are being affected whether they still need the personnel now that demand is gone; and if they say they are at a comfort level, she cannot have them comfortable because her bosses are not comfortable at home.  She stated they have to tighten up a bit more; and it is not just one Department but every Department that is affected by the fact that the industry is lower.  She stated those are the tough decisions that have to be made; and inquired if there should be some cuts in those Departments that are depending on the permitting revenue now that the industry is not at an all time high.  Ms. Busacca stated Permitting and Enforcement Director Ed Lyon advises there are eight positions that will not be funded this year; and he has gone on to say that if in a certain amount of time, things do not pick up, them they may have to talk about additional positions.  She stated the eight that are being cut were all vacant positions; the Directors are doing a good job of managing their budgets; and the Budget Office watches to make sure those budgets are being managed.  Chairperson Colon stated it is not just one Department; and commented on looking at positions that are politically correct, fear of outpour from the community, and hard decisions.  She stated if the Board is really going to try to tighten up, some serious discussion will have to take place; staff will have to step up to the plate; and there will have to be teamwork.  She commented on the pain she feels as a Commissioner knowing the kinds of things the Board has to deal with; stated that is the only way the Board can do it; and it is not that the Board  is trying to give people a hard time, but Commissioner Nelson has hit it right on the head, and it is being echoed by the rest of the Board . 

 

Commissioner Bolin stated she concurs that the campaign trail is still fresh in her and Commissioner Nelson’s memories; and commented on people’s belief that there is still fluff in the budget.  She inquired about 30% of staff being gone within five years; with Ms. Busacca advising that number will be eligible to retire.  Commissioner Bolin stated she is concerned about keeping the staff the County has and getting them market value salaries to make sure they are compensated for the work they are doing; but if a position is not needed, that frees up money to make sure that staff is adequately compensated in the budget.  She stated she likes what Commissioner Nelson is saying about looking at it as it is this year and then working in
anticipation of the increases that will be given to staff; they can then see where they are, mull it a bit, and then use it as a basis; and that is the way she would like to go at it.

 

Chairperson Colon requested an explanation of the Cody Study and the intention of the Board because of the concern regarding making sure the County is keeping good folks.  Ms. Busacca stated the Cody Study did an analysis of jurisdictions the Board chose to see if the County was about average when it came to pay; last year the Board fully implemented that; 48% of the staff were identified as not meeting the average and were given an increase; so the Board has worked to address the issue of pay.  She stated they still had to do some tweaking, which continues to this day as they were moving forward on identifying issues.  Chairperson Colon stated the intent was not to give everyone a raise; it was to identify key positions that needed to be compensated; and it opened a can of worms because people were under the impression that everyone was supposed to be getting a raise; but the County does not have the dollars to do that.   

    

Commissioner Nelson stated it is not a question of whether the employees deserve the pay and continuation of increases; it is a question of where to get the money from; and that really was the issue.  He stated he is not suggesting freezing salaries or positions; and it is really just a question of how the Board  is going to identify where to get the funds.

 

Chairperson Colon stated Commissioner Nelson was very clear on what the message was; it is important because it sets the tone of the meeting today; and the fact that Ed Lyon and other Directors are also looking at the issues says they are on board.  She stated she is having to make some tough decisions; no one wants to do away with positions; but the Board cannot keep employees just because it wants to; and it has to make sure that it is accountable for their job, their performance, and so forth.

 

Ms. Busacca stated the Board mentioned quality of life and that people are hurting financially; when the Board said it wanted to help with transit as gas prices were going up, it identified that ridership went up, so services were expanded; and even though the Board put more money into transit, it was intended to assist people who were hurting.  She stated sometimes the Board is very receptive and money does help people; the Board appropriately identified when it does help; and that expansion of transit has gone a long way toward helping people who were not going to be able to get to their jobs otherwise.         

 

The meeting recessed at 10:58 a.m. and reconvened at 11:11 a.m.

 

Commissioner Nelson stated the Commissioners did not talk about specific goals individually, just generally; but comprehensive planning is a significant issue for District 2.  He stated there are a lot of unincorporated areas in District 2; there are also developed areas that have adjacent fringes that are coming in; so there are a lot of small area plans.  He stated Commissioner Scarborough has the same issue; and he would like the Board to give that a very high priority to the extent of expanding some funding and staff for that purpose.  He stated as the Board may recall, it got caught with a small area study that had not been completed, which caused a zoning to be held up; and that put the Board in a precarious position of having to make a decision that may have been contrary to what the study said, which was uncomfortable and unfortunate.  He stated he asked Ms. Sobrino to give him some information on what she has on her plate and
what needs to be done, because in the Merritt Island West and Cocoa areas small area studies are going to be needed; and they cannot be done with existing staff.  Commissioner Nelson stated one of the priorities would be updating the Future Land Use Map using the small area studies, and with appropriate staffing; and it is not something that can be done with consultants.  He stated the citizens want to talk with staff; they want to know that person is not going to drive back to Orlando; they want someone who has a feel for the community; and as they go through the process, he will be making everybody’s life miserable because it is important to beef up that section of the Planning Department to deal with this issue. 

 

Commissioner Bolin inquired if there is a shortage at this point in the Department.  Commissioner Nelson stated they have Ms. Sobrino’s memorandum that indicates some small area plans have not been completed; some are in a holding patterns waiting for staff to become available; there are some he has not told Ms. Sobrino about, but there is interest from the community in doing some planning; and the Future Land Use Map has not been universally updated in some time.  He noted they have done nips and tucks, but not an overall review. 

 

Planning and Zoning Director Robin Sobrino stated that is correct; currently the Mims Small Area Study is in the pipeline in order to be available prior to the expiration of the moratorium in the North Brevard area, so that needs to be completed by the middle of March; there is also the Grissom Parkways Small Area Study that had been in process, but has been put on hold due to staffing issues; and the North-North Tropical Trail and South-North Tropical Trail Studies in District 2 were also on hiatus because of staffing issues.  She advised staff will be getting those done right after finishing the Mims study; and the Board has also already authorized the East Merritt Island Small Area Study, so that will be next as well.  She commented on previous Small Area Studies such as the Barnes to Pineda Study in District 4 along U.S. 1 and the Broadway to Camp Road Study in District 1; and stated those were presented to the Board.  She stated there was still some community concern; and the Board requested they revisit them with the community, so they still need to do that.  She stated small area studies are becoming a valuable way of doing business because the Future Land Use Map is done in such a broad-brush scale, that the studies enable staff to examine the areas more closely.  She stated the approach in 1988 when the Future Land Use Map was adopted was that it was service based; it looked at where the services were available such as in the Merritt Island area; and as a result, those areas were painted at a Residential 30 density allowance, because it was known there was water and sewer available.  She stated that is an issue throughout the County; the allowances on the map are rather generous; and staff reminds people that the map designations are not an entitlement, but just a maximum allowance for consideration, and that the Board considers other issues when considering a request for density.  She stated since 1988, in Merritt Island, they realized that 30 units per acre was out of scale with what was being developed there; and so they did a right sizing of that area.  She stated most of the undeveloped Residential 30 or developed properties that were not developed at the maximum density of Residential 30 were rolled back to a density allowance that was more consistent with the community; and they would like to have that opportunity continue in other areas of the County to right size so that property owners and developers do not come in with expectations that are out of whack with existing development trends. 

 

Commissioner Nelson stated he appreciates all the work that Ms. Sobrino has done on this; the Board wisely invited citizens into the process by creating and utilizing the small area study; and
the people like it.  Commissioner Nelson stated on Merritt Island any time those kinds of issues come up, the people want to do a small area study; and that is better than everybody buying t-shirts and fighting at the zoning meetings.  He stated the studies get the issues out in the open with the public, so it is a productive way of doing it instead of the destructive way that it was done in the past; and he appreciates Ms. Sobrino helping with that. 

 

Commissioner Scarborough stated he has only gotten complimentary calls from the Mims area; they got all the technical data; but they also asked what people like best about Mims and what they think they need.  He stated the people said with the development of trails, Mims can be a trail hub throughout the region and they can look to become closer linked to the lagoon; there were a lot of constructive comments on how they evolved; and there was a very positive tone that when the technical data comes in, it will support a community feeling as opposed to just being a technical staff document.

 

Commissioner Nelson stated the Comprehensive Plan is made up of nine or ten elements; but the Board needs to focus on land use because that is what most people think the Comprehensive Plan is.  He stated he realizes it is much broader than that; but he does not think they need to try to undertake redoing the entire Comprehensive Plan at this time.  He stated they just need to look at the future land use element and bring it in line with what the community wants; and some of the citizens have said the Residential 30 density has scared them.  He stated even though it is not an entitlement, a developer sees that, comes in, and asks for some pretty extensive uses; and on Merritt Island even R-15’s are objectionable.  He stated they are going to focus on just the one element and try to get it squared away; and they will deal with the rest later as needed; but he does not want to undertake the entire Comprehensive Plan. 

 

Commissioner Voltz stated Ms. Sobrino mentioned quite a few small area studies in the process; and inquired if they have been prioritized.  She stated she knows there are some in Districts 1 and 2; but she does not know if there are any in other Districts; and inquired if they are prioritized as they come in.  Ms. Sobrino responded they are generally done first in, first out.  Commissioner Voltz stated this is not an entitlement; and inquired if there is anything written that a developer can see if he comes in and sees RU-2-15; with Ms. Sobrino responding there are administrative policies that precede the Comprehensive Plan volumes; and in those policies some standards are set forth that help to clarify to the decision makers as well as the public what goes into making a land use decision, particularly as far as compatibility.  Ms. Sobrino stated it explains that what might be considered and approved may be very different than what is on the map; but the word “entitlement” is not used as they use the term “maximum allowed.”  Commissioner Voltz stated maximum allowed makes it seem that they may be allowed to do that; and if she had a piece of property and the Future Land Use Map said four units to the acre, her mind would start rolling about how many houses she could put there and the cost.  She stated staff tells the applicants what is allowed or what they could potentially ask for, so they ask for it; but when it comes before the Board, the Board says no way.  She advised of people asking for the maximum because staff told them it was a good thing to ask for; it has happened a number of times; and people are getting the idea they should ask for the maximum allowed.  Ms. Sobrino stated it is standard practice when a customer comes into the office looking to change density to bring out the Comprehensive Plan; there is a meeting with a planner where the planner gives them the benefit of their understanding of the dynamics of the neighborhood; if the map says 15 units to the acre, the planner can tell them what the zoning
and prevalent development in the area are; and the planner will suggest the applicant may want to consider x units to the acre.  Ms. Sobrino sated sometimes the person will leave saying they will follow staff’s advice; but some will say because the map says a certain density, that is what they will go for and let the Board say no.  Commissioner Voltz stated she appreciates that information because someone coming in needs to know that they are not entitled to the shown density.  Ms. Sobrino advised there is no Residential 30 on the map except a small bit in Merritt Island.  Commissioner Voltz inquired about the acreage; with Ms. Sobrino responding she will check on that.  Commissioner Voltz stated 30 units per acre is way out of line; and it does not matter whether it is Merritt Island where there is a lot of growth or in Micco where it is limited.

 

 

 

Chairperson Colon advised of a newspaper article about a Commissioner in Palm Beach County. 

 

Commissioner Voltz stated she got phone calls from the Palm Beach Post and the Sun Sentinel, asking when Mr. Logan asked for his rezoning, if the Lee brothers were involved in the process and did the Board look at the zoning because it was near I-95.  She stated the questions were incredible; she does not know who the Lee brothers are; they asked a number of questions about Mr. Logan and the parcel; and she did play dumb, she was dumb on the subject.  She stated she did not know what they were talking about; she was at a total loss; and they called her three or four times.  

 

Chairperson Colon stated she recalls there was a gentleman who was very upset at a Board meeting approximately two and one-half years ago; Commissioner Higgs was still on the Board; and she asked the Board to help here because the growth that is about to happen in South Brevard is out of control.  She stated she has folks who were trying to do “let’s make a deal”; they said if they did not get what they wanted, they would go to Palm Bay; and it was approximately two or three years ago right before Commissioner Voltz came on board.  She stated she remembers asking the Board to help watch this area carefully because things were out of control; one gentleman was very upset because she said the most the Board could give him was one unit per five acres; and that was not good enough for the gentleman, so he went flying out the door and slammed the Chamber doors.  She stated when she looked at the aerial, she was thinking whether it was that gentleman who was so upset; she made some phone calls to certain attorneys asking if it was one of their clients; and it is scary because the Commissioners do not have a clue who anyone is affiliated with.  She stated it is almost like they are guilty by association; and that was alarming.  She commented about elected officials being on the take; and stated one of the things the Board takes great pride in is the fact that everything is out in the open. 

 

Commissioner Voltz stated from what she understands Mr. Logan has cut his ties with people who were associated on the whole deal because somebody gave a Commissioner a large parcel of property on Micco Road so that he would approve a deal in Palm Beach; that is how the whole thing happened; the parcel they were talking about happened to be not too far from Dan Logan’s property near I-95; and Mr. Logan was horrified because he has nothing to do with this.   

 

Chairperson Colon stated the only reason she brought it up is because it is a perfect example of the fact that what the Board sees is all the data and the application; it goes by that information and the testimonies; they get the community together to see who is in favor and who is not; and they try to make the best decision based on whatever is in front of them.  She stated if the Board had approved the property affiliated with the story, people would have thought the Commissioners were in cahoots; that is not fair because there is always more to the story; and the article was quite scary.       

Commissioner Voltz stated it was scary to have the Palm Beach Post and the Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel calling her as if she was somehow involved. 

 

Chairperson Colon stated the Board was talking about goal setting; there was a meeting in her office to talk about safety nets of appraisers and appraisals and how they are being done in the community; after the controversy that went on in the past, they try to do everything within their power to have all kinds of safety measures so they do not have to go through that again.  She stated they have the kind of scrutiny where they have two appraisers; they moved Parks and Recreation so it is under Land Development; and they discussed also having the EEL’s Program under Land Development.  County Manager Peggy Busacca advised Parks and Recreation is under Land Acquisition.  Chairperson Colon stated that is important because people are criticizing whatever purchases are taking place because of who is overseeing the Department and how it is being taken care of; and suggested the Board discuss the issue at a future date, make sure everyone is going through Land Acquisition, and make sure all the same measures are applied.  She commented on some Directors not working with appraisers on a regular basis and having all Departments under Land Acquisition and following the same procedures.  She stated the Board does not have to make a decision today, but she wanted to bring it up as food for thought. 

 

Commissioner Scarborough stated they had the AG Ventures item, which is McIntosh Highlands; it was an EEL’s item; he met the other day with members of the environmental community as well as folks from Clerk of Courts Scott Ellis’ office; and there are some concerns about the methodologies used in the appraisal.  He stated they may be coming forward; and recommended everyone be briefed on those appraisals and talk to members of the environmental community who support EEL’s.  He stated they were about to purchase half of a PUD, which presented some profound problems because they would be bound to the PUD unless they could get a rezoning; and they could not get the rezoning without the cooperation of the other owner of the property.  He stated if the Board acquired the other remaining parcel, it would have control; and extrapolated out, they came back with a number of approximately $30 million for the total acquisition for control.  He stated The Nature Conservancy is trying to acquire it; but looking at the total numbers, that is approaching almost half of the EEL’s funds.  He stated the EEL’s Selection and Management Committee may not have been aware of the nature of the purchase because once it says it would like to purchase a property, it does not know the impact on the whole program.  He stated the EEL’s supporters became concerned with how this could play out; the County Attorney’s office weighed in on this; if one buys a portion of an interest in a company, it would normally have a profound discount; but in this case the property was not discounted.  He commented on methods of appraisal, Clerk of Courts Scott Ellis’ historical opposition to the EEL’s Program, constructive dialogue with both sides, and concept of how to make the program work and preserve the Board and EEL’s from
embarrassment.  Commissioner Scarborough stated he is glad the issue was brought up; they may need to proceed with another appraisal on the full parcel; and before anything comes back to the Board, the full implications of the cost of the purchase should go back to the Management and Selection Committee.  He advised the total numbers may be $30 million; and EEL’s has approximately $70 million; and it is either going to be working well for the County or it is going to be something that divides the community. 

 

Commissioner Voltz stated the issue is on the Agenda on Tuesday, January 23, 2007; after having a meeting with the audits and EEL’s staff last week, she has asked that it be pulled; they did not get anywhere about how to handle the process; and if it remained on the Agenda for Tuesday’s meeting, they would not get anywhere.  She inquired if Mr. Ellis has agreed.  Ms. Busacca advised she emailed Mr. Ellis and tried to phone him, but has been unable to reach him or get a response.  She stated the Board has not given specific direction if it wants to continue the policy of every Charter Officer being able, as a courtesy, to put any Agenda item on or whether it wants to let them know ahead of time that the Board would like to make sure everyone has all the information; and the Board may say it would rather not hear an item at this time because of inadequate information.  She noted the Board may not want to do that with this item because it has not established a policy; and there is no policy about this issue to her knowledge. 

 

Commissioner Scarborough stated he does not know where the conversation may go, but it would give the Board an opportunity to understand some of the problems, even if it does not take action.  He expressed concern that there may be some scenarios operating and at the end of the day the Board may question how it got there; and if the Board listens and talks, it may give it a better opportunity to come back at a later date and consider some options. 

 

Commissioner Voltz commented on the meeting held in her office; and stated EEL’s Program Manager Mike Knight felt they were on a witch hunt, and he could not grasp what information they wanted or what problems they had.  She stated they had a problem with the whole process of acquisition and the appraisals; they talked about that; but then they went to other issues.  She stated Mr. Knight was very frustrated, and said if they were doing something wrong, they could change it; but Mr. Knight is not sure exactly what they are asking for.  She noted the auditors sent a report, and Mr. Knight responded to it. 

 

Commissioner Scarborough inquired if the issue is the purchase on Holder Road; with Commissioner Voltz responding yes.  Commissioner Scarborough stated a lot of people think the audit report is what delayed the process with AG Venture, but it was the County Attorney’s Office and the Planning staff that advised the Board could not buy half a PUD; the only way he can engage the entire Commission in dialogue is to listen, discuss, and hear; and then the Board can accept or reject different contentions.  Chairperson Colon stated Commissioner Scarborough is right; she wants to know if there are any ideas or things the Board can be doing; that is where she was coming from in terms of new policies, moving to another department, or whatever the case may be; and she is willing to learn.  She stated sometimes it is not what someone says, but how they say it; and the Board will discuss this issue on Tuesday.  She stated she understands Commissioner Voltz believes there is so much more involved that maybe the Board is not ready for the meeting; but if it was removed from the Agenda now, the Board would be criticized for that, so it is like they cannot win.  She stated the Board will do its
best to listen on Tuesday; hopefully it will be in the right spirit; and if anyone has any ideas
about how to protect taxpayers’ dollars or any mechanism they may suggest, the Board will be all ears.  She stated the Board does not claim to know all the answers; but she does not like to be accused of being in cahoots with someone; and that is what she was explaining before.  She commented on Directors being given huge levels of responsibility, mechanisms to have experts overseeing, having clear discussion, and staff being prepared with technical answers.  She stated she had a meeting in her office to try to get feedback from people in the industry and appraisers to try to get an understanding; it is a very complex formula they go by, which depends on the market and what happened; and it is way above her head.  She inquired how the Board can expect Directors to do that; if something goes wrong, all of the responsibility is on that person; and it is not the way they should be conducting business.  She commented on EEL’s being the only one not under Land Acquisition, allocating dollars to get someone else in place, and having necessary support people to deal with more work.  Commissioner Scarborough commented on EEL’s having plenty of money, and the purchase paying for itself. 

 

Commissioner Bolin stated the Board probably has to hear the item on January 23, 2007; but she would prefer to have it in a workshop arena so the Board could discuss it.  She advised she had the two entities come to have a discussion with her; it is over her experience at this point; and she needs the other Commissioners to be able to discuss it intelligently.  She stated the workshop format is more user friendly for questions than a formal Board meeting; she has several questions; and she would like to discuss it in depth versus sitting at a formal meeting.  Commissioner Voltz stated she suggested that. 

 

Chairperson Colon stated the Clerk put this on the Agenda; and commented on coming up with a policy, being prepared for discussion, and delaying issues until the Commissioners can be educated.  She stated they do not want to stop anyone from having access to the Board; but this issue is quite complex; and she wants to be able to have that kind of discussion.  She requested Ms. Busacca inquire if the Clerk can bring the item to a workshop; and stated she hopes it does not become property rights against the environment because that is not what this is about.  She stated the Board is trying to figure out how it can have a mechanism that will protect taxpayers’ dollars; and that is what the Board is really looking at. 

 

Commissioner Nelson stated he had a chance to talk to Mr. Ellis, the auditors, and Mr. Knight; the problem is an appraisal is an opinion even though it is based on years of education and training; the County was chasing appraisals uphill until 2005; every time the County had an appraisal, the owner would not sell for that amount; and the County was unable to purchase land.  He stated now the County is on the flip side of that; it is coming down the mountain; and people are using the appraisals and the last comparables where property was purchased at higher prices, when the perception is that land values have come down.  He stated that is going to be a problem; and they need the market to stabilize over a period of time for it to straighten out.  He stated philosophically the Clerk thinks the County needs to slow down on acquisitions because the pricing is coming down, there will be comparables, and appraisals with catch up.  He stated from the environmental side, the community is saying the County cannot risk losing the property; and that makes for a miserable experience for the Board, which will have to say it is a great value to own it, even if it is going to cost more than waiting and losing it to some other use.  He stated the Board will get to hear Mr. Ellis and hear Mr. Knight; but in the end it comes down to stability of the market over time to fix the problem; and then appraisals will not become the issue. 

 

Commissioner Scarborough stated there were some questions about the technical methodologies; normally when he buys property, he has control over it; but if he buys a piece of property, does not have control, and has to deal with another owner, that value should be discounted. 

 

Discussion ensued on historical valuation and AG Ventures issue being unique.

 

Commissioner Voltz stated all the Commissioners got information from the Clerk’s office and the audit; Mr. Knight responded; but they have not had the opportunity to see a response back to Mr. Knight.  She stated when everyone was in her office Mr. Knight asked for the response, but the auditors were unwilling to give it to him; and that is not fair to Mr. Knight. 

 

Ms. Busacca stated that is happening in several departments; there are three or four departments where the Clerk’s staff seems to have a moving target; and Mr. Lusk has attempted to get a formal procedure like they have with the internal auditors the Board hired.  She stated because they do not yet have a formal procedure with the Clerk’s Office, they have spent an extraordinary amount of staff time; and they are still not convinced they have provided the information because the issues seem to evolve.  She requested the Board help staff work through that issue with the Clerk; and commented on the amount of staff time being spent, lack of productivity for both sides, and frustration.

 

Chairperson Colon stated if the Clerk would allow them to have a workshop versus a formal meeting, as has been suggested, it would be a more productive meeting; they can bring up the other items of concern; and the Board wants to be clear that it wants to work as a team.  She stated it is not the Board of County Commissioners against the Clerk of Courts; they are a team; and the objectives are pretty much the same, to look out for the taxpayers’ dollars.  She stated how they are getting there is the question, but both sides want the same thing; and they need to be clear on that. 

 

Commissioner Voltz stated there were many accusations; but without having a response from the Clerk, it is difficult for Mr. Knight to answer any of the accusations.  She stated she is glad they are going to be talking about this; it is a problem; it wastes staff time; and it is not that they should not look at the audits and respond to them appropriately, but it has to stop somewhere. 

 

Commissioner Scarborough stated he is most concerned about getting locked into buying half of a PUD that will spend almost half of the EEL’s funds on one parcel without the Management Selection Committee understanding the impact of getting another appraisal.  He stated there are going to be philosophical differences in the community; and that may be what makes it a strong community, because it allows for rich dialogue.  He stated the Board has to decide if it wants to get another appraisal and whether it wants to have some other entity with more expertise involved besides EEL’s.  Commissioner Voltz stated the Board is just talking about the process.  Commissioner Scarborough stated it is a simple process; Mr. Ellis said it is a good idea; and if the supporters of the EEL’s Committee say it is a good idea, the Board has won.  He stated he hopes at the end of the day that is what will happen and they will have a viable EEL’s Program and responsibility to the taxpayer; and commented on the Sarno Landfill.  He stated he likes the idea of having a workshop.  Commissioner Voltz stated if they do not come together, they still need to move on with the Program.  Commissioner Scarborough stated he thinks both
sides will come together easier than most people believe because most people want a responsible County; and he does not think there is anyone on any side of the political spectrum who does not want responsibility and money spent well. 

 

Commissioner Voltz stated the workshop is an excellent idea; that is the only way to put an end to what is going on; and they should do the process right, save taxpayers’ dollars so they can buy whatever lands they need to buy, and move on with the process. 

 

Ms. Busacca stated she will schedule that.  Commissioner Voltz recommended Ms. Busacca contact Mr. Ellis and ask him.

 

Chairperson Colon stated the Board is holding a workshop on February 15, 2007 strictly about the surplus; the Board is eager to find out what the trend has been; and commented on being open to recommendations, Commissioner Nelson’s expectations from the Board, no intention of allowing adversarial positions, and hearing what others say.

 

 

Bob Seemer, Executive Director of Electronic Training Solutions, Inc., stated the Board is entering a phase in the process that will help the Board make fact-based decisions on operations and will help the County Manager in prioritizing and providing feedback on performance; and it will be an exciting phase.  He stated if Commissioner Bolin or Commissioner Nelson need additional information or would like more detailed insight into the mechanics of the process or any of the activities currently underway, he would be happy to spend some one-on-one time with them.  He presented a PowerPoint presentation; and stated as they discussed last year, there are a couple of key elements to the Strategic Plan.  He stated the Strategic Plan translates the vision of the Board and the County Manager, who represent the citizens, into very specific and measurable goals and objectives; and the plan has four goals and ten objectives, which are all clearly measured, with accountability in place for their success.  He stated the other element that they are incorporating is that the Strategic Plan not only has tactical and detailed action plans at the department level, but they are also reflected in the budget, showing how and how much it will take to implement the actions.  He stated there are seven steps in the process; early last year they confirmed the vision and the County-level measures of success; and they had several meetings and presented that in workshops.  He stated they determined the current situation and got feedback from various departments, Commissioners, etc.; and they developed the goals and objectives.  He stated the next process was to align Departments and partners to the goals and objectives; and this is where they ran into a lot of discussion and a lot of new work because in many cases a lot of the activities and outcomes were not currently being tracked.  He stated Commissioner Nelson may remember some of the discussions in Parks and Recreation and also in Emergency Management about focusing on measures and setting targets, and then how to align with what the County Manager and the Board are trying to accomplish; that work was fairly strenuous; but as Mr. Rogero will discuss in a few minutes, it is very critical to the creation of a good budget.  He stated the plans and the budget then are finalized; and at the beginning of the new fiscal year, the Strategic Plan will be executed.  He advised of meetings conducted with various Departments to determine the status of their detailed action plans and to continue to define the mission critical services and
measures used to track performance in that area; and stated that work is continuing.  Mr. Seemer stated they made a lot of progress, but there is a still a little way to go; and commented on the cycle being ongoing.  He stated the key element is to review what the Board says it is going to do and evaluate how well it is accomplishing its goals and objectives.  He noted there are four goals and ten objectives; the goals are pretty well set and will have a longer life than the objectives; and the objectives are shorter in term, and as they improve performance in one objective, it may drop off as a priority as the Board and the County Manager begin to focus on other areas.  He stated the four goals focus on citizen satisfaction, managing growth, increasing workforce satisfaction, and governmental efficiency; and within each of the goals are multiple objectives.  He stated each objective has measures that are currently being tracked or are still being populated and baselined; and each of the measures and objectives has a champion.  He stated Assistant County Manager Don Lusk would be the person to talk to about how each of the Departments are doing in terms of customer satisfaction; and in terms of achieving targets or processes being effective, he would talk to the County Manager who would have an inventory of those processes and how each is performing.  He displayed a chart showing the four goals and the ten objectives and the Departments; and stated using the matrix format and checkpoints, one can see how each Department can significantly impact each objective.  He commented on using the matrix to see where each Department is focusing attention and to find important elements of their budget request, reviewing progress of Departments, and matrix as an alignment and focusing tool.  He stated the matrix will help each Department Director prioritize his or her efforts and think hard about where to spend their time and resources in their people’s development; before the holidays they set up a series of meetings with each Department to review progress against tactical plans to see what issues they are running into and how they are coming in determining what their key services are and how they measure success for those services.  He stated the most difficult aspect of the process is to nail down the mission critical services and how each Department Director measures success; but they have made great progress and are almost done with that.  He stated what will happen next is to merge the planning process and budget process so that when the budget is developed, they will be developing the Strategic Plan and its priorities at the same time; and at the end of the development process, the result will be a budget and a strategic plan.  He stated Mr. Rogero will give an update on the value of the integration.    

 

Budget Director Dennis Rogero displayed a slide showing how the budget will be impacted by the integration with the Strategic Plan; and stated the first item is that departmental goals and objectives will be more clearly aligned to the County’s priorities.  He stated using the Budget Office as an example, improving effectiveness of key services is one of the checkmarks for many agencies; one of the Budget Office’s key services is being a support agency to help Departments get what they need in order to get done; and he will be realigning his goals and objectives to focus more on those sorts of aspects.  He stated the vision has words like building, preventing, protecting, and getting things done; and he will be realigning his office’s goals and objectives and office philosophy to match more closely some of those assistances that can be provided to other Board agencies.  He stated the second item is department performance measures will represent and be better aligned to each Department’s mission critical services; this is a continuing genesis of improving performance measures; since he came on board ten years ago, the Board has focused on improving and refining performance measures; and they have brought in consultants from the University of Central Florida.  He stated they benchmarked with other agencies; and now Mr. Seemer has come in, which he sees as a continuing
improvement of the process and an evolution of performance measures, taking them from measuring activities more toward what is being accomplished and outcomes.  Mr. Rogero stated they will go from concentrating on how many miles of road they are paving to how the traffic flow has increased or become more efficient; by providing his office with a FEMA coordinating position, he anticipates better response to the Board’s needs for monitoring reports, more detail, more analysis, and things like that.  He stated the resource allocation decisions can be better linked to expected performance improvements; and this is an important component.  He commented on program change requests, agencies wishing to improve or expand services, cost avoidance analysis, and an example involving providing of another Purchasing Agent.  He stated they are finalizing the strategic planning process procedures by modifying budgeting guidelines to incorporate the strategic planning process; and that feeds into the third item, communicating integrated procedures to the Departments and providing training.  He stated they have just released the budget training calendar for the next two months and will be working with Mr. Seemer and the information he has gathered as they finalize the syllabi for those training sessions. 

 

Chairperson Colon stated staff has been very excited about the ideas and the whole mechanism; it is a benchmark approach; and it has been extremely educational.  She stated they have been able to look at things outside the box; it has been extremely helpful; and they have gotten a lot out of it, from the feedback the Board has gotten from the Directors.  She stated they want to continue to build on that; the dollars have been well spent; and they will be able to see the fruits of all their labors in the future.  She expressed appreciation to Mr. Seemer.  

 

Mr. Seemer stated he knows the feedback he has gotten from staff is that at first the process was a little painful, but then it was educational; and what they have been trying to move towards is application.  He stated as they apply it, they are beginning to see that they can be held better accountable for what they need to accomplish, their performance can be measured a little more objectively rather than subjectively, and if they need resources, it is up to them to convince the Board with facts that they have a good case.  He stated it has been very beneficial. 

 

Commissioner Voltz inquired where do they go from here, and is Mr. Seemer’s Contract with the County finished or is there something else he needs to do.  Mr. Seemer advised the Contract expires at the end of the month. 

 

County Manager Peggy Busacca advised they anticipate the first thing would be to begin to change the budget forms so that the Board gets the information about what the dollars are accomplishing; that is what Mr. Rogero was describing; and that is the first change the Board will see.  She stated Mr. Seemer will be watching out and will be available if the County gets into trouble; but the formal relationship with him will end at the end of the month.

 

Commissioner Voltz inquired if it has been a year; with Mr. Seemer responding yes.  Commissioner Voltz expressed appreciation to Mr. Seemer for his efforts.

 

Mr. Seemer stated with all his clients he tries to phase out and turn over the expertise and management responsibility to the client; they are at that point now, with the exception of some monitoring; but as he lives in the County, he can also monitor from a citizen standpoint.

 

Chairperson Colon stated Mr. Seemer has a vested interest as he is from the community; his expertise has been used throughout the country and all over the State; and the County is blessed to have feedback from someone who lives in the County.   

 

Commissioner Nelson stated the good news is he has not seen anything that the staff has not been doing for some time in terms of trying to increase citizen satisfaction with government,   effectively managing growth, increasing the workforce satisfaction, and increasing government efficiency; those are things that County government has been doing all along; and they have reached a point where they have a template they can use and can now internalize it.  He stated they have great staff; they are more than capable of taking this and running with it; and they will be able to see continued improvement being done within staff’s abilities for the future.  He stated that would be the direction he would like to see the County go, taking the template and moving on with it. 

 

Chairperson Colon stated that was the focus all along; it feels good when they get the feedback that they were on track; and she has confidence in staff.

 

Commissioner Bolin stated Mr. Seemer offered his services to the new kids on the block; and inquired if she needs to meet with him before the end of the month or will they go into overtime expense. 

 

Chairperson Colon stated Mr. Seemer is a busy man; and she is sure he will be watching the County closely to be sure it does not all fall apart.  Mr. Seemer stated they should keep an eye on the School District as it is doing some great things. 

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to execute Amendment No. 1 to Project Agreement 69-4209-6-1652 with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service for reimbursement of repairs to a failed culvert on Sisson Road in District 1.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.  (See page
                        for Amendment No. 1.)

 

 

 

Commissioner Voltz stated it was brought to her attention that Crosswinds Youth Services needs to put in a road to access its new building; Tom Goodson is willing to give over $50,000 of his services; but the County or someone has to pay for the asphalt, which would be approximately $23,000.  She inquired if Mr. Osborne has gotten anywhere with that.  Road and Bridge Director Billy Osborne advised that is in District 2; in order to pay for the asphalt, he would have to take it out of District 2 MSTU funds; and he has not had an opportunity to discuss that with the District 2 Commissioner.  Commissioner Voltz requested the issue be put on the Agenda and that Commissioner Nelson look at it; it would be $23,000 for the asphalt with
Goodson Paving doing the rest; and Goodson Paving is donating over $50,000 for that part of the project.  Commissioner Nelson stated there is a meeting on January 24, 2007, and if the timing works out, they can add it to the discussion. 

 

Chairperson Colon stated one of the things the Board has always considered is whether something is good for the entire public, and not just one organization, so it is a delicate issue.  She stated she is glad the road is not in District 5 because every penny has to be accounted for, so no matter how much they want to help, it goes by the criteria of whether it serves the public good.  She stated she loves Crosswinds; the organization does incredible things for the community and the young people; it goes back to the partnership about helping the youth; and it is a matter of looking at the bigger picture. 

 

Commissioner Voltz stated if District 2 MSTU cannot come up with the money, she would potentially look to see if there is any money in Contingency to do the road; it is a one-time thing; and someone in the community is donating quite a bit of money.  County Manager Peggy Busacca advised the Board has over $300,000 in Contingency. 

 

 

Upon motion and vote, the meeting was adjourned at 12:20 p.m.

 

 

 

                                                                        _____________________________________

JACKIE COLON, CHAIRPERSON

                                                                        BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

ATTEST:                                                         BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA

 

 

 

_____________________

SCOTT ELLIS, CLERK

   

          (S E A L)