MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA

 

 

October 30, 2008

 

 

 

The Board of County Commissioners of Brevard County, Florida, met in special session on October 30, 2008 at 9:00 a.m. in the Government Center Florida Room, Building C, 2725 Judge Fran Jamieson Way, Viera, Florida.  Present were:  Chairman Truman Scarborough, Commissioners Chuck Nelson, Helen Voltz, Mary Bolin, and *Jackie Colon, County Manager Peggy Busacca, and County Attorney Scott Knox. 

 

 

The Invocation was given by Pastor Stephen Gross, Walk About Ministries.

 

 

Commissioner Chuck Nelson led the assembly in the Pledge of Allegiance.

 

 

Jacqueline Satterthwaite, representing Volunteers of America, stated she is a Veteran in the United States Army; she became homeless in April 2007; she was fortunate enough to be able to get shelter through the VOA Transition Facility in Cocoa; and she lives at the Patriot Arms Apartments.  She noted she has lived there for approximately 18 months; she is soon going to be leaving; she is also a participant in the Homeless Veteran Reintegration Program; and she was fortunate to get a very good paying job on the Space Center this past October.  She advised that the VOA has been a very good program for herself; she lost her husband one year ago; and she cannot say enough for the support that the VOA has given her. 

 

Larry Miller, representing Volunteers of America, expressed appreciation to the Veterans Administration; stated he spent 15 years living on the street; he did not want to die on the streets; and thanks to Volunteers of America, he has his pension now from the VA.  He expressed appreciation to the Daily Bread, and to the Board for caring about homeless people.

 

Mitchell Stever, representing Volunteers of America, stated he is a representative and a resident of the VOA in Cocoa; he has regained his composure, his confidence, and his self-esteem; everyone at the VOA helps each other out; and the VOA solves each others problems internally and try not to get any judicial authorities involved, unless it becomes really bad, which has not happened.  He stated he was on the streets for approximately seven years; he will not forget where he was; if he sees another homeless person, he will talk to them as a person and let them know about the VOA , and what help they can get.

 

John Farrell, representing Daily Bread, stated he has worked with homeless people now for approximately eight years in different capacities; by the counts he has seen, there are somewhere between 2,000 and 3,000 homeless in Brevard County today, with approximately 500 beds dedicated to them for specific purposes; and for the average person there are no beds available.  He stated it is estimated there are about seven percent of the people in Brevard County  that are not homeless, but need some assistance in putting food on their table; last year

 

PUBLIC COMMENT (CONTINUED)

 

the Daily Bread fed an average of 226 people every single day; two thirds of those are not homeless, but fit into that other category he was eluding to; and this year the Daily Bread is seeing an increase of 10% to 15% of homeless people it is feeding.  He noted a good percentage of those are either disabled and most of them mentally disabled, or veterans; others are down and out today; and others are homeless by election, and so on.  He stated this has been one of the most discussed problems that he has heard in the last ten years; he hopes it does not stop here and that something now happens and gets into the doing mode to help solve the problem; and suggested the Board set up a combination committee of County government, private citizens that are concerned, and those in the private sector. 

 

Mr. Farrell stated there are business that will help; for every problem there is a solution if the County seeks it; suggested that the groups not only study the problem, as many others have; stated the City of Melbourne is doing a study on the issue; and Congregations for Community Action is working with him on another study.  He noted he has seen lots of studies over the last ten years; and he wants to see some action.

 

Glenda Busick stated everybody knows about homeless people, but no one does anything, except for those kind people that try to do a soup kitchen here and there; there is none in Palm Bay; she has met homeless people who have medical problems and there is no medical insurance for them; and they cannot work.  She noted they go to drugs or alcohol because they are sad and depressed; there is nowhere for them to go; she tried to help a homeless person by getting them a tent at Wickham Park; but the County charges for people to have a tent at Wickham Park.  She stated there is nowhere for anyone to go that does not have any money; even if they work they have to pay for their food; she is very discouraged because she came one year ago to the County Manager’s Office; and different County staff told her it was not the time to do something, so she went away. 

 

Ms. Busick noted she came back and the Board was kind enough to consider this, but she is disappointed because maybe it is going to talk about it some more, and the poor people will not have a place to put their tent; the County needs to start somewhere; it cannot wait another three months, six months, one year, or when administration changes or the County’s budget changes; and someone has to step forward.  She stated this is a first step, but she does not have much hope; and requested the Board set up a committee and do something soon.

 

Commissioner Nelson stated this is a starting point to begin to understand the magnitude of the problem; not everyone fully understands what those issues are; but if everyone can work together then there are solutions that can be found; and that is the way he sees this as a starting point. 

 

Jan Lindsey, representing Volunteers of America, stated she works with the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program; she is the job developer and out there on the streets looking for work; the County is dealing with people that are homeless; and they do not have drivers licenses, or any paperwork indicating who they are and where they came from.  She stated it is a long process in order to get them to where they have credentials in order to be able to find a job; some veterans have not been working for years; they are trying to get back on their feet and be citizens of the community; they are trying to be taxpayers; and it is very difficult.  She noted hopefully there are going to be some solutions that come out of this Program.

 

 

 

            Overview – Ian Golden, Community Planning and Resource Manager, Housing

           

Ian Golden stated estimates are indicating that almost 30% of homeless adults were foster care youth; the changing economy is forcing communities across the Nation to address the growing number of homeless individuals and families; an increasing number of families are finding themselves in crisis with no idea about how to access services that they have never needed before; and more families are finding themselves one paycheck, one car repair, or one illness away from homelessness.  He noted the working poor are utilizing more service than ever before and decreasing the assistance available for those who are on the streets; more than half of those visiting soup kitchens are these type of families trying to make ends meet; the chronically homeless only make up about a quarter of those that were surveyed; and these are the individuals who can choose to live on the fringe and will access services, but have no desire to reenter society.  He stated a large percentage are those who have a mental illness or a substance abuse issue, but they do not have the skills or supports necessary to change their situation; these are many of those who end up in the emergency rooms, hospitals, and Circles of Care; and they also end up in the Jail. 

 

Mr. Golden noted the third largest group of those surveyed are the veterans; almost 20% of the homeless surveyed in Brevard County have children; and these are families who have either fallen off the edge because of bad choices, or been pushed by circumstance.  He stated the most disturbing aspect of this is the vast disparity between the number of families who are on the street and the number of family shelter beds that are available in the community; and there is an even greater gap for individuals who are looking for a shelter bed.  He stated there are emergency shelter beds, which are very short term; there are transitional housing beds, which are longer term, but have program requirements; they are specific to types of population; and there are cold night shelter beds, which are only available on nights where the temperature drops below 40 degrees.  He stated over the course of today’s workshop, there will be issues that face the Nation, State, and Brevard County; the systemic issues will be discussed; and they will be looking at the root causes of homelessness for many individuals and families, the availability of services for this extremely vulnerable population, and how the economy and other issues are compounding the problems that face Brevard County.

 

 

Dr. James Wright, Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Central Florida, stated he was asked to say a few words about national economic trends and what they might portend for the homeless problem nationally and locally; and economic times are very difficult and are going to get worse before they start getting any better.  He provided an overview of the national unemployment situation; noted unemployment is important mainly because of all of the national economic indicators available, it is the unemployment rate which drives the poverty rate with a lag of about six months; and of all the national economic indicators, it is the poverty rate that is most closely associated with the rate of homelessness in a community.  He stated when one sees unemployment figures starting to creep up that means that poverty figures will start to creep up shortly thereafter and with that will come an increase in homelessness as well; and depicted a chart showing the unemployment rate in the Palm Bay, Melbourne, and Titusville Metropolitan Statistical Area from January through August 2008. 

 

HOMELESS WORKSHOP ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION (CONTINUED)

 

Dr. Wright stated current guesses are that by the end of 2008, January 2009 figures might be somewhere around 8% or 8.5%; probably will not turn around until the third or fourth quarter of 2009, and possibly not until 2010; traditionally, rates of unemployment in Brevard County have been a bit higher than the corresponding rate for the Nation as a whole; and locally, it could see 9% or 9.5% unemployment, and possibly even 10% unemployment before this current economic run is over.  He explained the National poverty numbers and rates from 2000 through 2007; stated there are 37.3 million in poverty as of 2007, the largest number in a decade; the child poverty rate now stands at its highest level since the Depression in the early 1980’s; the poverty rates are based on poverty thresholds established by the federal government; and they vary according to family size.  He stated the poverty rate is typically taken as the four-person poverty rate, two adults, two children, which is just around $20,000 per year for a family of four.

 

Dr. Wright advised of the National Bankruptcy filings from 2006 through 2008, and new foreclosures for August 2008 for the top ten States; stated currently, Florida is averaging just over 1,500 home foreclosures per day; and by July 31, 2008, Statewide foreclosure filings totaled 385,458.  He stated 30% to 40% of U.S. homeowners now owe more on their home than the home is worth, i.e., possess negative equity; foreclosures force families into the rental market, which tightens vacancy rates, drives up rent, and squeezes more low income renters into homelessness; in Central Florida, 54% of low income families are paying more than half their monthly income in rent alone; and among low-income renters, the figure is 60%.  He noted shelters around the country are now reporting that 8% to 10% of persons seeking shelter are homeless because of a recent foreclosure; soup kitchens are reporting more people in line for free meals and less food on the shelves than any time in recent memory; on any given day, there are 750,000 homeless people in America; and over the course of a year, 2.5 million to 3.5 million people will experience at least one episode of homelessness.  He stated recently, the Workforce Central Florida web page listed 957 available positions and 42,829 available candidates for those positions.

 

Rosa Reich advised that last month, Brevard County received from the Department of Children and Families a Challenge Grant Award through the Continuum of Care Coalition for $96,000; that money will be going to four agencies for self-sufficiency activities, for example, the Women’s Center and the Salvation of South Brevard; they will be using the funding to pay for child care so women can go back to work and get an education; and they will be using it for financial management classes, buying textbooks, and anything that requires to get somebody out of the shelter, back on their feet, and into their own place.  She stated the other Grant is the staffing grant; the funding comes to Brevard County as a contract for it to be the lead agency of the Continuum of Care Coalition; and part of that funding the County has used to help people in the community to pay the first and last month’s rent, and utilities to help people get out of shelters and off the streets into permanent housing.

 

Dr. Jack Sidoran, 18^th Circuit Administrator, Florida Department of Children and Families, advised DCF is interested in all families, particularly interested in children; approximately 200 children are homeless; the food stamp issuance has increased by 34% in the last 12 months; and more people need more help.  He stated DCF’s position is that it is under serving people; to the extent it can do something to facilitate that service it wants to be able to do that; DCF is looking for community partners throughout Brevard County; and DCF has several levels of partnership.  He noted  it  can  help people understand how to use the system at different places

 

HOMELESS WORKSHOP ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION (CONTINUED)

 

or it can find a central location for people to come in and make application for the food stamps; although it is up 34% in 12 months, DCF would like to be up to the extent that it is able to serve everybody; the dollars are there to serve everybody; and the issue is being able to get people to understand how to apply, apply timely, and then to move those dollars out into the community. 

 

Dr. Sidoran stated the second piece is the number of food stamp households; there is a 24% increase in the number of households between September of last year and September of this year, so more households are being reached; and he believes it could be better if there were the community partnerships he hopes this forum will help develop.  He advised medical benefits are a tough issue; those benefits have increased by 15%; 15% more people have Medicaid now than they did in September of last year; Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) is cash assistance to people; and food stamps have a certain restriction and can only be used for certain commodities.  He stated direct cash assistance can be used for any purpose; it is up 9%; there are certain restrictions with TANF dollars that reduce or mitigate against additional participants; that was revolved around looking for work, being very active in some kind of personal development; and some people are very good at that, and other people need some help with that.

 

Dr. Sidoran stated if DCF can help folks who are not looking for work to start looking for work, the dollars can be increased; it is not that the money is not there; it is that the procedure and the process that everyone needs to be involved in is not as sophisticated as it probably could be; and DCF is very concerned about being able to get this money out into the community.  He noted DCF’s responsibility is to distribute the dollars; it has some outreach opportunity, but it is limited; DCF is all about getting those dollars out there; and it will work very hard to make sure that happens.  He stated the fact there are 200 children that are homeless is of great concern; the continuum of need is out there; and he believes something can be done about it.

 

Commissioner Nelson stated United Way of Brevard is proposing a food stamp coordinator position.

 

Frank Barger, Director of Community Impact with United Way of Brevard, stated United Way of Brevard has been working very closely with Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida; it is utilizing a system in Orange County currently that uses a coordinator and a huge volunteer base to provide access points that are non-traditional, taking access points during non-traditional business hours, in the evenings, over the weekends, to other areas or to specific areas in their community to increase food stamp utilization.  He advised United Way of Brevard’s Board of Directors, along with staff, has just recently completed a priorities project, looking at what it is going to work on over the next five to six years; one of those items is to specifically work on hunger and homelessness; United Way of Brevard’s hunger objective is not only to increase the amount of food that is being brought in through the various food drives, but to increase food stamp utilization by $10 million over the next five years; and it has agreed to fund a coordinator position similar to the arrangement in Orange County, to utilize the base of volunteers and to create new non-traditional access points for individuals that are eligible to participate in the program.

 

 

 

 

HOMELESS WORKSHOP ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION (CONTINUED)

 

Mr. Barger stated any organization that is interested in participating, whether under the United Way umbrella as a partner agency or outside of that umbrella, his organization would like to talk

to them about how they can become engaged in what United Way of Brevard is working with, with Second Harvest Food Bank.

 

James Whitaker, CEO/President, Circles of Care, Inc., stated Circles of Care used to have 30 case managers, but now it has six; there is a wealth of great services in Brevard County, independent, religious-based, etc.; he does not believe there is now a central point of all of that data that is updated weekly of what everybody does and how it is being done; and the libraries may be a great place to do this.  He noted it is going to take everybody getting together; food stamps is one aspect of this; and what can be done and cannot be done in mental health is another aspect.

 

Dr. Sidoran advised the three things that are needed include computer, telephone, and fax machine to receive the application documentation; these are all federal dollars; that is why the community points of contact are so critical; and the frustration can be reduced if the number of community partners is increased.

 

Joe Robinson, Executive Director, North Brevard Charities Sharing Center and Continuum of Care Member, stated regarding 2-1-1 Brevard referrals, 73% of all contracts received one or more referrals; and 8,850 referrals were made to 771 programs.  He advised of the ten programs receiving the most frequent referrals, including the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, Community Action Agency – Palm Bay, Community Action Agency – Cocoa, Salvation Army – South Brevard, Catholic Charities Family Emergency Assistance, Crisis/Help/I&R Lines – Other Counties, South Brevard Sharing Center – Palm Bay, Tropical Storm Hanna Resources, South Brevard Sharing Center Client Services, and Salvation Army – North.  Mr. Robinson explained the 2-1-1 call volume comparison for years 2006-2007, and 2007-2008; the numbers are increasing; and explained a chart depicting 2-1-1 basic needs requests for FY 2006/2007 through FY 2007/2008, including electric bill payment assistance, emergency shelter, food, gas bill payment assistance, material goods assistance, mortgage payment assistance, rent payment assistance, residential housing options, transportation, and water bill payment assistance.

 

Dr. Sidoran stated the issue of mental wellness and how to go about dealing with those kinds of issues needs to be addressed.

 

Mr. Whitaker advised DCF and the prison system have been working for the last couple of years with those coming out of prison; once someone goes into prison or jail, they lose their Medicaid immediately; there is a program the federal government started where people can be sent and trained to enroll people in Medicaid; and they do not have to be working at DCF to do that.  He stated that is what partnering is about; he is seeing a few people now that are coming back that already have their Medicaid restored the day they come out; it helps them with food stamps and everything else; and those are the kind of things that networking helps.  Mr. Whitaker advised Circles  of Care unfortunately sees people going and coming out of the system; the vast majority

 

 

 

HOMELESS WORKSHOP ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION (CONTINUED)

 

of the people it sees are not volunteers; there are a few walk-ins; most people do not say they need to get themselves checked into a Baker Act unit; and they have other priorities.  He stated many  of  the  walk-ins  are  sometimes  for  medications,  which   are   very   difficult   and   very

expensive, and requires follow-up, lab testing, and that kind of thing; most of the people are brought to Circles of Care by law enforcement or local police; a few of them come from the courts; and the vast majority come from emergency rooms. 

 

Mr. Whitaker advised at one time, emergency rooms were approximately 20% of Circles of Care’s referrals; they are approximately 51% of its referrals at this time; if someone has an alcohol, drug abuse, or mental health problem and do not have any income, generally, Circles of Care is a first reactor to that; depression, child abuse, and family arguments are increasing; and a lot of that has to do with the economy.  He stated Circles of Care is now seeing more people who are near poverty or near losing their homes; they are starting to look for alternate places to live, friends they can go live with, and for a lot of them, they have never had this happen to them before; homeless people generally do not want to come to a psychiatric facility because Circles of Care has to ask a lot of questions; and Circles of Care is a crisis organization for the most part.  He advised it does two to three-day detox and 3.5 length of day stay for mental health; it has a small 10-bed for 28-day alcohol and drug abuse treatment, which carries a waiting list; that program was funded with some dollars that the Legislative Delegation has gotten Circles of Care over the last three years; but the funds have been used this year, so he does not know how that is going to affect what his Organization does with that Program.  He stated Circles of Care provides a good service, but does not provide a complete service; the Organization is seeing more people that had insurance, and they either do not have it now or they have less of it, and it is costing them more. 

 

Chairman Scarborough stated there are all these overlapping issues; when there are hard times, people begin to become depressed; they may want to drink more and there may be family violence; so there are multiple system collapses.  He advised there may be people who have a tendency to have one thing after another; pretty soon there is the collapse of a human being; a human being is a person who can get up in the morning and say, “Yes, I believe I can, I can go out there and be myself”; that person has lost that; and he would like to see a systems analysis done.  He inquired are there systems analysis from the individual perspective as opposed from the institutional view.

 

Dr. Wright responded unfortunately there is a lot less of that kind of analysis than perhaps Chairman Scarborough would like or that he might think; Brevard County has an approved ten-year plan doing homes; there is one in Central Florida; there are probably 15 active in the State of Florida; and 300 or 400 of them are now active around the Country.  He stated all of them have been directed by HUD to think systemically, and how to help homeless people access mainstream services as opposed to how to build a separate system of services specifically for homeless people; some of them have been relatively successful; the most successful are those that are driven by aggressive political leadership; and without that, nothing happens.  He advised there is also the systemic problem of the turf battle; people have institutionalized homelessness as a social problem; while that is good in some senses and inevitable in other senses, it also has put a lot of homeless service entities in the business of organizational preservation; in the process they create structures that not only allow the problem to continue, but  require  that  it  continue,  in  part  because  they do not think systemically about the person

 

HOMELESS WORKSHOP ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION (CONTINUED)

 

embedded in a set of institutions; and they think about the programs, providing this service to this person, and additional monies and staffing.

 

George Taylor, Disabled American Veterans, Titusville Chapter, stated even though old Veterans Administration (VA) law says that money goes to the State to where the veteran came from, the money does not go to where the veteran is; the funds do not get to where the population is; in Viera, the VA budget is short before it starts; and veterans coming from the north exceed more of the VA budget in Viera as they use the system for prescriptions, so it is taking away from all of the systems that the Viera VA is trying to build for the veterans here.  He advised the new VA Hospital that is coming is a big asset to help offset that, but with a 27% increase in retired veterans to Florida and the funds for VA not being directed to where the veterans are, it is an offset that puts more of veterans to the system; he tries to get the veterans first into the system for their medical treatment; they need therapy as they come from a combat zone; the funds are not there in the VA to give veterans an appointment except maybe once every 90 days; and sometimes the system does not allow them to get in for several months.  Mr. Taylor stated meanwhile the veterans are forced to go to the hospital if it is for medical reasons, or to Circles of Care if they are under Baker Act; certain things have been adopted through the VA which puts the homeless veteran priority high; he has been a homeless representative in Brevard County for 19 years; he came from the woods; and the VA spent six months on him and did an excellent job.  He noted his trade was setting tile and carpet, but some veterans do not have that; the Coalition in the north end of the County has come a long way regarding the veterans; he wishes those services could be duplicated to the south end; and he believes there is in excess of 1,200 veterans that are homeless in Brevard County.  He advised some of the studies the VA has done, Brevard County is second to New York City and third to San Diego; hopefully more partnerships can come from such studies to help the issue; and there are some very good solutions in the study.  He stated there are 15 or 16 Afghanistan or Iraq veterans in the County parks; and if he or VA representatives can find and get to them, they are eligible through the VA and they have a priority.

 

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

 

Little Mike, Woods Camper and Homeless Liaison for Walk About Ministries, stated the homeless appreciate the services and assistance provided to them; they would like to know which services are provided so they can receive assistance; law enforcement in North Brevard has been very kind to the homeless overall; and the homeless are human just like everybody else.  He noted the homeless are regular people who want to be a good benefit to society and live life like everyone else; and expressed appreciation to the Board for its time.

 

Pastor Stephen Gross, Walk About Ministries, stated 99% of the men he has dealt with will not take more than they need; the homeless need is going to escalate; no one has mentioned the domestic violence that has happened to wives, husbands, and children; when finances are strained, husbands and wives are strained; and the children are exposed to it, which brings on post traumatic stress disorder for children.  He noted the arrests and conviction rate for domestic violence is increasing; in North Brevard, there are eight recognized gang units; avenues of prevention need to be reviewed also; and the motto at Walk About Ministries is to give individuals a hand up, not a hand out. 

 

HOMELESS WORKSHOP ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION (CONTINUED)

 

He stated the law enforcement in North Brevard has been great with the homeless, but there are times when things are done in the wrong way; there is violence against the homeless and it is never reported; the news media does not help and needs to change their thinking; and the community is misinformed and uninformed.  He noted until that changes, the problems they are trying to contend with right now are going to stay; there needs to be a way of getting information out; the various organizations and ministries want to help, but they do not have the facilities or finances; and it all comes back down to being misinformed, uninformed, and prevention.

 

Commissioner Nelson stated he would like to work with Ian Golden, Heidi Denis, and Rosa Reich to come up with a list of all of the different areas they have talked about and the ideas that were presented today so staff can get back to each representative present today and provide them with the framework that they could begin to work from.

 

Chairman Scarborough stated some of the things that are going to come forward are from Commissioner Voltz’s Senior Workshop; after that there is going to be a group that is going to have at least two proposals, maybe more, dealing with what the County can do immediately for senior issues; perhaps the representatives can meet across the hall and come up with issues as part of a legislative package and things the County can do Countywide; and Representative Tony Sasso can join them as well. 

 

Commissioner Nelson suggested that copies of this be sent to the Legislators with a cover letter; stated if they will take the time and listen to what was said today or even parts of it, they can have a better understanding about what those issues are; it is not just here, it is throughout the State and throughout the Nation; and he would include the federal representatives because they are part of that solution.

 

Representative Tony Sasso advised he will be happy to participate as well.

 

Commissioner Colon stated the community, even the working poor and the homeless, do not want a handout; they want a hand up; the homeless are abused; they could be former doctors, former teachers, former attorneys, could be former commissioners, and could be anyone; and people judge them and do not know what happened to that person that made them completely collapse, spiritually, physically, and mentally.  She advised Commissioner Nelson is grabbing the bull by the horns and not letting go with this; the commitment is there; she is thankful to Commissioner Nelson that he has done this Workshop as it is crucial; and that commitment is there even for those Commissioners who are not going to be here after November 2009.

 

Mr. Grasso suggested if the County is going to build shelters, it should put some security in there as it is a place where more atrocities are committed against the homeless than people realize.

 

Commissioner Bolin stated to everyone who has been a speaker here today, the good news is that the Board is listening; she has learned a great deal today that she did not know; the information has landed on fertile ground; and she appreciates what they have provided today and will work forward.

 

 

HOMELESS WORKSHOP ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION (CONTINUED)

 

Commissioner Nelson stated staff will be across the hall to meet with the representatives and assist in developing some of those Legislative issue concepts.

 

 

The meeting recessed at 11:50 a.m. and reconvened at 12:05 p.m.

 

 

County Attorney Scott Knox advised the item was pulled from the agenda in order to do some legal research; he did such research; and does not have a problem with the item.  He stated there are certain restrictions that would be required to put in the lease; and he has told the County Manager what those are.

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Colon, to approve the allocation of $494,000 for the development of affordable rental housing through Community Housing Initiative, Inc.; and authorize the Chairman to execute the contract, contingent upon approval of the Board, Risk Management, and the County Attorney.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

Chairman Scarborough stated the Board had a split 2:2 vote previously; the purpose was not to readdress the entire issue, unless it desires; he is going to assume, as far as practical matters, that the Board is ready to vote; and he will entertain a motion at this time.

 

Commissioner Voltz stated the only question she heard about Berman Hopkins Wright & LaHam was the fact that the Firm had been here for too long; if that was part of the criteria for doing the bid then that is one thing; but it was not part of the criteria; and for the Board to turn that Firm down now because it was said it had been here too long, is erroneous.  She noted if the Board wants to put that in further bids, then it can do that, but doing it right now in the process is wrong.

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to reject the proposal of the number one ranked firm, Cherry Bekaert & Holland, LLP; authorize the Negotiation Committee to negotiate with the number two ranked firm, Berman Hopkins Wright & LaHam, with a cost proposal; and direct the Negotiation Committee to bring the cost proposal back to the Board to have the opportunity to accept or reject such proposal.

 

 

Commissioner Nelson stated during the period of time between the Board meeting on Tuesday, he had a chance to review the scoring sheets and the issues; he has the same concerns that Commissioner Voltz has; somehow that became a defacto consideration; and if the Board wants to make that a condition of a future RFP then it can do that, but not have it as a factor this time around; so he will support the motion.

 

 

DISCUSSION, RE:  EXTERNAL AUDIT SERVICES (CONTINUED)

 

Commissioner Colon stated she will not be supporting the motion.

 

Chairman Scarborough stated he believes longevity can be both a benefit and a detriment; he would assume that there were other things that came to play and he was not privy to the full discussion; therefore unless there is something beyond this issue that does not seem to be anything that could be a positive or a negative dependent upon a particular perspective, he is going to have to assume that he is incapable of second-guessing the Selection Committee; so he will be voting against the motion.

 

Chairman Scarborough called for a vote on the motion.  Motion carried and ordered; Commissioners Scarborough and Colon voted nay.

 

 

Chairman Scarborough stated throughout the discussion, he does not think there was ever any disparaging remarks about the work performed; so he believes the Board will be well served by continuing that Firm; and it is just his concern with the nature of the discussion.

 

Commissioner Colon stated the Selection Committee did an excellent job; and one of the things that is key to realize is that with either Firm, the County would be well served.

 

Chairman Scarborough stated in the past, one Commissioner would serve on the Selection Committees; he understands it is an additional burden; and suggested perhaps that could be done in the future.  He noted periodically if a Commissioner in the future wants to be on a Selection Committee then perhaps he or she can do that; and it is a fascinating process that he believes Commissioners would benefit from being a part of.

 

Commissioner Nelson stated Chairman Scarborough’s point is well taken; this particular function is something that needs that highest level; he would have hated to have been the staff member involved in the Selection process; and the make up is something that the new Board will revisit.  He noted having a Commissioner and going back to more of the elected officials making that decision as opposed to placing it on staff might be a better way to go; and the second discussion is about the issue of length of service and do they rotate; that is a worthwhile discussion as well because he can see the pros and cons of it; and the Board needs to have that discussion.

 

Chairman Scarborough expressed appreciation to the Firms for participating.

 

Wayne Cooper, representing Whittaker Cooper Financial Group and Cherry, Bekaert & Holland, stated it is a long process; to respond to the comment that the only thing the Selection Committee heard bad about the prior Firm is that it has been the auditor for 30 years, is not true; the Selection Committee looked at all the criteria and benefits of each of the Firms that submitted a proposal; and it chose his Firm.  He noted it is also likely that the Board has limited the competition in Brevard County because people are going to look back, see what was done, see that the Board selected someone from outside the County, and went back to a different selection criteria.  He stated the County is going to be in the same position it was before; and the Firm is going to charge whatever it wants because it does not have competition.

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to approve Condominium Lease with Michael L. Moore for housing for the Legislative Delegation Coordinator, for the period December 1, 2008 through May 31, 2009, at $1,800 per month, including all utilities.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.  (See page                      for Condominium Lease.)

 

 

Commissioner Nelson advised early voting is extremely heavy; absentee ballots issued were over 70,000 at last count; the prediction was 60,000 ballots for the entire election; and over 40,000 ballots have been returned already.  He stated Supervisor of Elections Bert Childress is doing a very good job; his staff is on top of it; all of the offices of the Supervisor of Elections have voting machines set up; and they are open until 7:00 p.m.

 

Commissioner Colon stated the early voting is open until 7:00 p.m. through Saturday.  She inquired what is the final amount that the Firm is going to charge the County.  Chairman Scarborough responded it is under competitive negotiation; it goes to the Negotiating Committee; it comes back with a number at that time; and at that particular time, then the Board again will have the opportunity to accept or reject.  He stated he does not think it is beyond the scope of the Board that it could say on the public record that certain things were said at certain meetings regarding numbers; it would hope that the Negotiating Committee review the tape of the Commission meeting to see the comments that were made or something to that nature; and he does not think it would be inappropriate.

 

 

Chairman Scarborough stated the Board appreciates Commissioner Nelson working this out in Washington, D.C. next Monday, being up there with the lobbyist from FPL and Walter Wexler with new initiatives on seeing how KSC can become one of the new energy research centers for the universe.

 

 

Commissioner Voltz stated there is a lot of good information for the Health Care Workshop; present will be the CEO’s of the hospitals to discuss the individual health care issues that they see in their hospitals; Dr. Greer will have a presentation in the morning; some community people will be coming in to advise what is going on in the community health wise and what the solutions are; and potentially the new Surgeon General or another female doctor will be present who deals with community healthcare issues.

 

Chairman Scarborough stated part of the Agenda will be the County’s Legislative issues; Lobbyist John Thrasher will be present for that; there will be proposed initiatives, both Legislative and local for senior issues; and issues regarding the Homeless Workshop.

 

REPORT, RE:  HEALTH CARE WORKSHOP (CONTINUED)

Commissioner Colon advised she will not be present at the Health Care Workshop.  She expressed appreciation to Commissioner Nelson for the Homeless Workshop.

 

 

Commissioner Colon inquired about the Growth Management Coalition and how it is coming along.

 

Commissioner Nelson advised Commissioner Bolin is on the Growth Management Coalition as well; it has given an opportunity to go back and look at some issues; it has been able to talk about bigger picture issues instead of fighting over annexations, although recently the issue of West Melbourne and Melbourne has come up; and what the Legislature did is unconscionable to set the County up in this kind of position, but it will deal with that.  He stated Phil Laurien now attends the meetings from the East Central Florida Regional Planning Council; and the Coalition is incorporating the green print concepts and natural area concepts.  He noted last week there was a meeting at the Agricultural Center related to the flooding issues that occurred as a result of Tropical Storm Fay; the County knows about the flooding that occurred in a lot of the communities; what is less known is the amount of flooding that occurred in the agricultural properties and the part that the St. Johns River Water Management District may have played or not played in that whole process; and this was the first time he heard the District openly say that the County is in flood control.  He stated for a long time the District kind of got out of that mentality; but clearly at this meeting it restated it is in flood control and it is flood management; so when those properties show up green on all the maps, the irony is that by having those flood control programs means that other parts of the County can be developed; and there is a criticism that there is so much money off the tax rolls, yet it actually provides the ability for those other lands to be utilized for other purposes.  Commissioner Nelson noted the County somehow has to get that mindset of land off the tax roll is a bad thing, and make it more reasonable that if that land was not off the tax roll, one could not develop in parts of West Melbourne because the property is going to flood; so give credit where credit is due and not just continue to beat up the fact that the County is not getting taxes because it will get higher taxes off the properties that are left.

 

Chairman Scarborough stated Hank Fishkind came in years ago and did an analysis; many of the units that were being built were not basically bringing in enough tax revenue to pay for the services that were provided; he is not going to say Brevard County does not need affordable housing because of the homeless; that is a humanitarian issue; but no one should tell him that that increases the tax base as it does not increase the tax base, it creates a burden on the County’s other revenue sources. 

 

 

Chairman Scarborough stated he has some schools that are being rededicated; if any Commissioner has any school rededications in their Districts, rather than asking for a motion just  for  North Brevard, he would like approval of Resolutions for the rededication of schools; on

 

November 6, 2009 there is a rededication at Titusville High School and he wants to take a Resolution from the Board recognizing the significance; and if there is any Commissioner who needs a Resolution, perhaps there can be a generic motion approving rededication Resolutions for any schools that are being rededicated at this time.

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to authorize Resolutions to commemorate the rededication for any schools in Brevard County that are being rededicated at this time.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.  (See page                        for Resolution No. 09-294A.)

 

 

 

Upon motion and vote, the meeting adjourned at 12:35 p.m.

 

 

 

 

 

ATTEST:

 

                                                                          __________________________________   

                                                                          TRUMAN SCARBOROUGH, CHAIRMAN

                                                                          BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

                                                                          BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA

______________________

SCOTT ELLIS, CLERK

 

 

 

            (S E A L)