December 4, 2001

The Board of County Commissioners of Brevard County, Florida, met in regular session on December 4, 2001, at 9:00 a.m. in the Government Center Commission Room, Building C, 2725 Judge Fran Jamieson Way, Viera, Florida. Present were: Chairman Truman Scarborough, Commissioners Randy O'Brien, Nancy Higgs, Susan Carlson, and Jackie Colon, County Manager Tom Jenkins, and County Attorney Scott Knox.

The Invocation was given by Commissioner Jackie Colon.

Commissioner Randy O'Brien led the assembly in the Pledge of Allegiance.

ITEM WITHDRAWN FROM AGENDA

County Manager Tom Jenkins stated Item III.A.1, Final Plat Approval for Isles of Baytree, Phase 2, has been withdrawn as the Mylar plat has not been received; and it will be rescheduled when staff gets it.

INTRODUCTION, RE: AGRICULTURE AND EXTENSION SERVICES DIRECTOR

County Manager Tom Jenkins introduced the new Director of Agriculture and Extension Services Jim Fletcher. Mr. Jenkins stated Mr. Fletcher has been the Agriculture and Extension Director in Madison County, Florida for a number of years; and his grandfather started the first hospital in Brevard County and was the County's first surgeon.

REPORT, RE: STERLING COUNCIL

Commissioner Carlson stated she provided each Commissioner with a packet concerning the Sterling Council; and requested Mr. Jenkins report on the things the County has been doing concerning the Sterling process.

County Manager Tom Jenkins stated staff had an opportunity to go to the City of Jacksonville to observe what they had done as part of the Sterling award process; and staff reported it was very informative and interesting. He stated there has been a Countywide strategic plan for several years; but now they are in the process of creating strategic plans for each department; and included in that is a complaint/request for service system and customer standards. He stated there were a number of measures staff was able to get hands-on to see how Jacksonville has done them; and they have brought that information back to the County. He stated the County is making good progress and is implementing a number of steps that are involved in the Sterling process.

Commissioner Carlson stated some of the goals the County can possibly attain include improving operational efficiency and productivity, improving accountability by identifying common goals and key measures, increasing citizens' and stakeholders' satisfaction and confidence in government, continuously reducing or maximizing the use of ad valorem millage, and improving bond ratings. She advised Jacksonville is the only government in the State that has received the Sterling Award; and the people who visited Jacksonville included city as well as County people. Mr. Jenkins advised a large number of cities participated.

ANNOUNCEMENT, RE: HOMELESS CONTINUUM OF CARE HUD GRANT

Commissioner Carlson stated she got an email from Lisa Rice regarding the Homeless Continuum of Care HUD grant that she received for $964,642; and offered congratulations to the group.

ITEM REMOVED FROM CONSENT AGENDA FOR DISCUSSION

Commissioner Carlson requested Item III.F.2, Acceptance of Investment Activity Report as of September 30, 2001, be removed from the Consent Agenda pending discussion of Item V.A., Approval of Options for Composition of the Investment Committee. She stated the Consent item has a recommendation from Public Financial Management; and if the Board does not wish to establish an investment committee, it may want to act on the PFM recommendation.

DISCUSSION, RE: DRUG COURT FUNDING

County Manager Tom Jenkins stated he just got word yesterday from Tallahassee that the Legislature found it necessary to eliminate funding for drug court retroactive to October 1, 2001; the County is already in a deficit situation because it funded October, November, and December; and the County will have to find a way to absorb those costs. He stated drug court is part of the overall court system, which Article V of the Florida Constitution says is the responsibility of the State; if the State is unable to continue to fund drug court, the County has no alternative but to terminate the program; and he is prepared to do so, but wanted to bring it to the Board's attention before doing that.

Commissioner Carlson stated the Commissioners received a memorandum from Mr. Jenkins concerning medical services at the jail, which indicated a shortfall of $721,000; and inquired if anything has been done about that. Mr. Jenkins responded when representatives of the Sheriff's Office came to visit him last week to inform him of the situation, two things had to occur, they had to select the company and negotiate; so the visit was more of a warning, and he does not have the specifics yet. He stated one of the things he suggested was to look at the terms and conditions to see if there is a way they can impact costs without sacrificing quality of care; there may be some conditions in the specifications that are raising costs; and while they are going to look at those things, he believes it is going to be a sizable increase. He stated they have been moving ahead to set aside a few dollars from last year's budget to make some minor modifications to the existing jail facility to improve the booking area and some other areas; that was in the area of several hundred thousand dollars; and that project could be put on hold until more is known about the medical contract. He stated once they get more specific information about the medical contract, he will bring the jail expansion project back to the Board to consider delaying the project to help pay for some of the medical costs; but he is still waiting for the final numbers.

Commissioner Higgs inquired if Mr. Jenkins is talking about eliminating drug court based on the proposed budget that the Legislature should adopt on Thursday; with Mr. Jenkins responding yes. Commissioner Higgs inquired if Mr. Jenkins knows of any other anticipated impacts; with Mr. Jenkins responding that is the only impact he knows the County will have; and it was saved on the Medicaid issue. Commissioner Higgs stated revenues from sales tax will not be what was anticipated. Mr. Jenkins advised they are still waiting on the longer term on the sales tax and revenue sharing to see what the impact will be; so that is still an outstanding issue. He stated the numbers are 90 days behind the actual collections; right now the only direct immediate impact is the lack of drug court funding; but there is a high probability that there will be a reduction in sales tax and revenue sharing. Commissioner Higgs inquired on the issue of drug court, will that be put into a budget amendment for the Board to consider; with Mr. Jenkins responding it would be permission for him to reduce the budget by the amount of drug court; it is necessary to find a way to absorb the first three months; and they will basically just discontinue the program and modify the budget accordingly.

Commissioner Colon inquired if the issue of drug court will come back at the next meeting so the Board can see the numbers, who will be affected, etc. Mr. Jenkins stated he can do that, if the Board desires; and emphasized this is not a reflection on the drug court program, but a matter of the State not choosing to fund it. He stated he does not know how the County can afford to fund a State program because it is in a deficit situation; this just materialized Monday; and he was hoping to get some indication from the Board so the County can quit incurring liability. He stated it can be delayed until next week, if the Board likes, so it can see the data. Chairman Scarborough stated he would like to delay it until next week so the Board will have the data because this is a major step. Commissioner Higgs inquired if that will be a full agenda item at the next meeting; with Chairman Scarborough responding yes, so there will be a chance to get all questions answered.

Commissioner O'Brien stated he hates to see the Board piecemeal any kind of budget changes; next week it will talk about drug court; the week after that it will discuss some other cut; and by piecemealing, the Board will never get the kind of answer it has to have, which might include some budget cuts. He stated he would rather see everything in one package so the Board can establish its priorities, shift around budget changes, and do what it has to do to save what it wants to save.

Chairman Scarborough stated yesterday it came out that the consumer spending jumped by 2.9% because of car sales; that is not going to continue indefinitely; the Clerk's Office is probably finding a lot of additional money coming in through the refinancing of mortgages; at first he thought this was going to be a bad year, but right now he does not know if this is going to be a bad year, or if next year is going to be the bad year; and this is a possibility unless people begin to travel and come back into the service sector in Florida in strong measure in the first quarter. He stated Mr. Jenkins is saying drug court is a State program, which the State cut; but he is 90 days behind in figuring out where he is going to be with the revenue sources. He stated if this year is not the bad year, but next year is, that would be easier because the Board has a balanced budget now; and when one tries to re-balance the budget, sometimes things are cut, and sometimes those things are things the Board really does not want to cut. He stated he understands what Mr. Jenkins is saying; but the Board does not know how bad this year is going to be.

Commissioner O'Brien stated there is an upside; Orlando Airport is saying that passenger numbers, since Thanksgiving, are now close to equaling those of last year; and Disney has been rehiring, which shows that its recovery is taking place. He stated that part of tourism is starting to recover; the Canaveral cruise ships are leaving 84% full, which is almost the standard; so, those kinds of tourist numbers are rebounding slowly but surely to where they were. He stated if that occurs, the County will see that this is just a sudden sinking of money for two months; and that is not as damaging as the Board thought it would be. He stated the downside is he read this morning that Rockwell is laying off 173 people; and if all the layoffs in the County are added up, they approach some pretty significant numbers, so that is where the County is getting hurt. Mr. Jenkins stated the Rockwell layoff primarily ties to the decline in civilian airline production; and advised of a conversation with the EDC President concerning how the County's high-tech economy is doing well. He stated tourism is suffering, and Rockwell is having its second layoff; but between the time that people spend the sales tax and when the State reports the numbers, there is a time lag; and when the County gets the count for September, it is going to be low for the last two weeks of September, but in October it will pick up significantly because of all the car sales. He suggested looking at revenue sharing and sales tax on an accrued annual basis, not month to month, but after a collection of months. He stated they have attempted to understand the benefits of doing a holistic approach; but they do not want to overreact and take steps that are not necessary to reduce services prematurely. He stated the strategy has been to watch carefully, but not overreact; and while there may be an initial dip right after September 11, given another 30 days, the arrows are going to go up for October. He stated that is why he is monitoring very closely; and if they have to make hard decisions at the appropriate time, he will recommend them. Commissioner O'Brien stated that is why he does not want to piecemeal; things could get better, not worse; but the Board will not know for quite a while. He suggested inviting Lynda Weatherman to come to the last meeting in December to bring the Board up to date about the unemployment numbers for 2001 versus the numbers for new job creation for 2001 and other economic indicators that will tell the Board the shape the County is in. He stated there are parts of the State that have been hit hard because of the industries there; but because of the County's high-tech side, it may be saved; and commented on unemployment numbers and need to find out where the County is economically.

Chairman Scarborough stated the Board needs to get a lot of economic data; Mr. Jenkins advises the Board will be looking at the EDC contract next week; and he would like to consider that under the circumstances of all the changes. He stated there are opportunities; he is hearing from the space sector that some things could be driven for Brevard County's favor; unfortunately a lot of things develop along political lines instead of economic lines with the shifting of direction of NASA; but when the Senate confirms the new NASA director, there will be a greater impetus to move things to Brevard County because it has been demonstrated over a number of years that there are cost savings to NASA to do more in Brevard County; and he wants the Board to be part of that discussion. He stated as the rules of the game change, the Board needs to know the rules and be able to direct its efforts in a new way.

Commissioner Carlson stated she sat on the EDC Board for a couple of years; there has been a lot of positioning for layoffs that occurred prior to September 11; and the only layoff that has occurred since then has been the Rockwell-Collins layoff.

Commissioner Scarborough stated he asked the County Attorney about transitioning of people from one committee to another; if one liaison to the EDC or TDC wants to meet with another, that has to be noticed; but it may be advantageous to do that to keep the continuity of thought processes. He stated the list of appointments will be faxed to the Commissioners soon; and he will read them at the next meeting.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Motion by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Higgs, to approved the Minutes of the October 9, 2001 Special Meeting. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

FINAL ENGINEERING APPROVAL, RE: HONEYMOON HILLS SUBDIVISIONS

Motion by Commissioner O'Brien, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to grant final engineering approval for Honeymoon Hills Subdivision, subject to minor changes as applicable and developer responsible for obtaining all necessary jurisdictional permits. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

FINAL PLAT APPROVAL AND ESCROW AGREEMENT, RE: GRAND HAVEN, PHASE IV

Motion by Commissioner O'Brien, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to grant final plat approval for Grand Haven, Phase IV, subject to minor changes if necessary, receipt of all documents required for recording, and developer responsible for obtaining all required jurisdictional permits; and execute Escrow Agreement with Pineda Partners, LLC and Colonial Bank for the project. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

INFRASTRUCTURE CONTRACT, RE: TROPICAL PARADISE

Motion by Commissioner O'Brien, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to execute Escrow Agreement with Charles Boyd Construction and Admiralty Bank guaranteeing infrastructure improvements in Tropical Paradise. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

RESOLUTION AND MAINTENANCE MAP, RE: CERTIFYING ORANGE AVENUE AS A
COUNTY ROAD

Motion by Commissioner O'Brien, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to adopt Resolution certifying that Orange Avenue, between Moody Terrace and Kennedy Street, is a County road; and authorize recording of the maintenance map in the Public Records. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

AUTHORIZE PAYMENT TO MICHAEL GIORDANO, RE: MALABAR ROAD WIDENING
PROJECT

Motion by Commissioner O'Brien, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to authorize payment to Michael Giordano in the amount of $2,146.50 as compensation for the removal of the Fireside Restaurant sign for the Malabar Road Widening Project between I-95 and Babcock Street. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

CONTRACT FOR SALE AND PURCHASE WITH LORETTA ROSE KAROL, JOHN RONALD
KAROL, AND EUGENE JOSEPH KAROL, JR., RE: PINEDA CAUSEWAY EXTENSION
AND REALIGNMENT PROJECT

Motion by Commissioner O'Brien, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to execute Contract for Sale and Purchase with Loretta Rose Karol, John Ronald Karol, and Eugene Joseph Karol, Jr. in the amount of $210,000 for property fronting Wickham Road, needed for the Pineda Causeway Extension and Realignment Project. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

OPTION TO PURCHASE, ACCEPT DONATION, AND EXECUTE AMENDED EASEMENT
AGREEMENT, RE: TRACTS A, B, AND C FOR CONSTRUCTION OF SOUTH SERVICE
COMPLEX

Motion by Commissioner O'Brien, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to authorize staff to exercise the option to purchase Tract B, and accept Tract C by donation from Town Center Partners, Ltd.; accept Warranty Deed and execute Modification and Spreader of Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions, and Modification of Utilities, Drainage and Sidewalk Easement Agreement with Town Center Partners, Ltd. for construction of the South Service Complex. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

PERMISSION TO PURCHASE OFF CITY OF MELBOURNE PURCHASE CONTRACT, RE:
SIGN MATERIALS

Motion by Commissioner O'Brien, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to grant permission to purchase sign materials budgeted for purchase in FY 2001-2002 off the City of Melbourne's Purchase Contract with Universal Signs & Accessories #B00-09-121, which will expire November 30, 2002. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

PERMISSION TO PURCHASE OFF STATE CONTRACT, RE: HEAVY EQUIPMENT

Motion by Commissioner O'Brien, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to grant permission to purchase off State Contract heavy equipment budgeted for purchase in FY 2001-2002, one vertical lift platform for a bucket truck. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

SPEED HUMP REQUEST, RE: ROBERT STREET

Motion by Commissioner O'Brien, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to approve installation of five speed humps on Robert Street in Port St. John. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

PERMISSION TO ISSUE, ACCEPT, AND NEGOTIATE REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL, AND
APPOINT SELECTION COMMITTEE, RE: BUS MAINTENANCE SERVICE FOR SCAT

Motion by Commissioner O'Brien, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to grant permission to advertise, accept, and negotiate Request for Proposals from qualified firms for the provision of vehicle fleet maintenance and repair management service for Space Coast Area Transit (SCAT); and appoint Selection Committee comprised of the Transit Services Director, County Manager or his designee, SCAT Manager of Operations, School District Transportation Department Representative, SCAT Operations Supervisor, and Purchasing Director or designee as a non-voting member. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

PERMISSION TO ISSUE, ACCEPT, AND NEGOTIATE REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL, AND
APPOINT SELECTION COMMITTEE, RE: SCAT DISPATCH, RESERVATION, AND
CUSTOMER SERVICE SOFTWARE

Motion by Commissioner O'Brien, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to grant permission to advertise, accept, and negotiate Request for Proposals from qualified firms for the provision of SCAT Dispatch, Reservation, and Customer Service Software; and appoint Selection Committee comprised of Transit Services Director, SCAT Network Supervisor, SCAT Customer Service Supervisor, Information and Communications Department Director or designee, SCAT Manager of Operations or designee, and Purchasing Director or designee as a non-voting member. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

PERMISSION TO ADVERTISE AND ACCEPT BIDS, RE: SCAT FY 2002 AND FY 2003
ACQUISITION OF REPLACEMENT BUSES

Motion by Commissioner O'Brien, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to grant permission to advertise and accept bids for SCAT FY 2002 and FY 2003 acquisition of replacement buses consisting of eight buses with an option for four additional buses in FY 2002, and four buses with an option for two additional buses in FY 2003. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

PERMISSION TO ADVERTISE AND ACCEPT BIDS, RE: SCAT FY 2002 ACQUISITION OF
VANS FOR VANPOOL PROGRAM

Motion by Commissioner O'Brien, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to grant permission to advertise and accept bids for SCAT FY 2002 acquisition of vans for Vanpool Program consisting of five replacement passenger vans and seven expansion vans. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

PERMISSION TO BID AND AWARD BID, RE: METAL SHREDDER RESIDUE AS
ALTERNATE LANDFILL COVER

Motion by Commissioner O'Brien, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to authorize the Solid Waste Management Department and Purchasing Division to bid and award bid to the highest, qualified, responsive bidder for Metal Shredder Residue for use as alternate landfill cover at Brevard County Central Disposal Facility. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

RESOLUTION AND LEASE AGREEMENT WITH UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT,
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE, RE: USE OF FACILITIES FOR NOAA WEATHER
RADIO TRANSMITTER

Motion by Commissioner O'Brien, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to adopt Resolution and execute Lease Agreement with the United States Government, National Weather Service, for use of County facilities for NOAA weather radio transmitter; and authorize the County Manager or his designee to execute any subsequent actions regarding the Agreement. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

RESOLUTION, RE: AUTHORIZING THE WOODLAND WATERLINE MSBU TAX EXEMPT
COMMERCIAL PAPER LOAN

Motion by Commissioner O'Brien, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to adopt Resolution authorizing the commercial paper loan for the Woodland Waterline MSBU; authorize the Chairman and County Attorney to execute necessary loan documents; and authorize staff to make necessary budget changes. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

RESOLUTION, RE: AUTHORIZING MOSQUITO CONTROL HELICOPTER PURCHASE TAX
EXEMPT COMMERCIAL PAPER LOAN

Motion by Commissioner O'Brien, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to adopt Resolution approving the commercial paper loan for the Mosquito Control helicopter purchase; authorize the Chairman and County Attorney to execute the necessary loan documents; and authorize staff to make necessary budget changes. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

RESOLUTION, RE: AUTHORIZING INFORMATION/TELECOMMUNICATION CAPITAL
ACQUISITION TAX EXEMPT COMMERCIAL PAPER LOAN

Motion by Commissioner O'Brien, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to adopt Resolution approving the commercial paper loan for the Information/Telecommunication capital acquisition; authorize the Chairman and County Attorney to execute the necessary loan documents; and authorize staff to make necessary budget changes. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

PERMISSION TO ADVERTISE PUBLIC HEARING, RE: AMENDMENT TO RAVE
ORDINANCE

Motion by Commissioner O'Brien, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to grant permission to advertise a public hearing on January 8, 2002 to consider an ordinance amending the Rave Ordinance. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

APPROVAL, RE: BILLS AND BUDGET CHANGES

Motion by Commissioner O'Brien, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to approve the bills and budget changes as submitted. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

APPROVE LIST OF CANDIDATES AND AUTHORIZE COUNTY MANAGER TO EXECUTE
CONTRACTS, RE: SPECIAL MASTER AND SPECIAL MASTER ALTERNATE
POSITIONS

Francis Herr stated he is a resident of Valkaria; and if he were to have a dispute with his neighbor, in an ideal world, he would want his defense attorney to be his neighbor's attorney too because he would know what is going on, understand the neighbor's position, and he would probably win the case; but if that occurred, it would not be following the rules and regulations. He stated the last words of the Pledge of Allegiance are, "and justice for all"; the Board's job is to insure justice for everyone; and it is doing a great job. He stated the Executive Branch of the United States nominates people to serve as justices, serving for extended periods of time in many cases; the Executive Branch only approves those nominations after the Legislative Branch has reviewed and considered the qualifications as well as the social and political aspects of each person; many issues arise during those interviews; and a lot of things are uncovered and learned about the justices. He stated in looking at special masters, there need to be checks and balances; and if a special master is to be approved upon recommendation, there should be some sort of interview process and some sort of checks and balances to insure the person being installed is qualified and will represent the County. He stated his attorney being the other litigant's attorney is not a good idea, nor is it a good idea that the prosecuting attorney in a trial court know everything that is happening in the defense attorney/client relationship; and with the current special master situation, given that Planning and Enforcement has insight into and understanding of the details of the cases being brought forward from both sides, there is a structural weakness there that errs on the side of the County, and not on the side of what is right and fair. He requested the Board look at that; and recommended the Board be actively involved in the selection process.

Commissioner Colon inquired if there is someone standing out as having a conflict of interest in Mr. Herr's case; with Mr. Herr responding he cannot point to a single conflict of interest; and what he is looking at is a mechanical defect in that the recommendations for appointments of special masters come from an office that also has oversight of and access to files that are cases coming before the special masters. Chairman Scarborough inquired what does Mr. Herr want the Board to do today; with Mr. Herr responding the special master should be removed from any sort of administrative or contract continuance from the Code Enforcement Department; and any special master coming for approval should be interviewed by the Board in open session so the Board can find out where his or her allegiances are and the reason for wanting to be a special master. Mr. Herr stated there are a lot of people in the County who are at a social-economic level where the only person speaking for them is the Board; and he is asking the Board to speak for them.

Curt Lorenc submitted paperwork to the Board but not the Clerk; and stated Code Enforcement's secretary is the secretary of the special master; Code Enforcement and the special master share a fax machine; and he does not think this is proper. He suggested someone from the County Manager's office who would have less conflict of interest. He stated Billy Osborne, who is Permitting and Enforcement Director, would be renewing the contract; in the past special master contracts were renewed by the Board; but there was a slight change in the renewal process; and now Mr. Osborne is able to renew the contracts. He stated Mr. Osborne derives services from building inspections; he also has Code Enforcement beneath him; they derive services from the special master; and the Board has Mr. Osborne renewing the contracts, which could be viewed as a possible conflict of interest. He stated Code Enforcement Director Bobby Bowen is the contract monitor; the County Attorney signing off on it is Terri Jones, who is the prosecuting attorney for Code Enforcement; and page four of his submittal outlines his comments on some of the problems. He stated presently the special master process has been in existence for six years; the Statute says that the special master has the right to make hearing rules; but there are no rules after six years. He stated if one goes on the Internet under the Florida Bar website, there are rules for all sorts of special masters; rules are needed for a simple uniform process that is fair, so everyone is aware of the process; and it is important to have rules. He stated today's Agenda item is asking the Board to allow Mr. Osborne's Department to select and reappoint the special masters; that is not the way it should be done; the Board has been given a bunch of resumes; but he does not think the Board can tell if a person is qualified just by looking at resumes. He stated it is important to bring the applicants to the Board to ask them simple questions such as why they want to be a judge and what their qualifications are; and it is important to have this and the renewal as a full agenda item before the Board so people can speak. He requested the Board direct the County Attorney to draft some rules for the special master, and for the process to be televised.

Commissioner Colon stated this is a process where a citizen is able to bring his or her case before the special master; there are going to be two sides; the County gives its side why it believes the citizen is not in compliance; and the citizen presents his or her side. She stated the special master is hired by someone who runs Code Enforcement; and the question is where is the fairness. She stated citizens will feel uncomfortable because they will not know whether the special master is going to be inclined to always side with the County or whether they are their own person; this did not make sense to her at first; but these people have brought up good points; and it makes perfect sense now.

Janis Walters stated hiring special masters who decide issues involving County Code violations should be a very serious and careful effort, not a matter of approving a list of people who answer an ad in the newspaper and having someone else pick one. She stated the Board cannot determine by looking at resumes whether a person would make a fair and equitable judge of Code Enforcement cases; local judges run for election; at the State and federal level, appointments to the bench are subject to hearings and approval by the legislative body; and local judges must be retained in office by the approval of the electorate. She stated the selection and retention of special masters should be no less public; and there should be an interview process during County Commission meetings for new candidates and a performance review for special masters up for renewal. She stated a special master has the power to issue orders with the force of law; in the performance of their duties these officers of the court should demonstrate competence with no hint of bias; their qualifications and performance should be reviewed by impartial persons outside the Code Enforcement process; and the criteria for annual contract renewal should not include how often Code Enforcement wins cases nor any hint of the possibility that this may be the case. She stated last year the contract for the special master was renewed by Mr. Osborne whose Department presents cases before the special master; and one could infer more than a hint of conflict of interest in this circumstance. She stated the contract for the special master should be reviewed; by paragraph 9 of that contract, the County shall be required to provide a Code Enforcement Supervisor to act as secretary to the special master hearings; and this is another potential conflict of interest as Code Enforcement presents the cases before the special master. She stated at present Pat Doyle is secretary to both the special master and Bobby Bowen who is head of Code Enforcement and monitor of the special master contract; and inquired if Pat Doyle is a supervisor. She stated when one person has a duty to both Code Enforcement as plaintiff and the special master as judge, there are endless possibilities for ex parte communications, whether deliberate or inadvertent and also for the contract administrator to exert undue influence over how the secretary's job is performed. She stated one man cannot serve two masters; the special master and Code Enforcement use the same fax machine; any information going to or from the special master is first seen by Code Enforcement personnel; and that may not always be appropriate. She stated it is inevitable that the special master process will be unfairly weighted against the respondents or defendants, the citizens of Brevard County; and each case should stand on its own merits not on the prejudice that seeps in whenever one party has unequal access to and power over the arbiter of the matter. She stated the special master selection and renewal process should be handled by the Board of County Commissioners in open session, giving the Commissioners a chance to interview the candidates, and the public a chance to comment on their experiences in the special master hearing and the opportunity to speak out against incompetent corrupt or biased special masters. She stated Code Enforcement, Permitting, and any other person or department involved in presenting cases before the special masters should not be involved in the selection, renewal, or administration of special master contracts.

Commissioner Carlson inquired what are special masters used for and what is their duty to the County. County Attorney Scott Knox responded they hear Code Enforcement violations that are brought before them by the Code Enforcement Department; and they make decisions on whether or not there is a violation. Commissioner Carlson stated this is not just for neighborly disputes and things of that nature, and is strictly by Ordinances and Code; and when they come to a particular case, the special master looks at all the data that has preceded that in terms of what has developed before the case has come in front of them. Mr. Knox stated it is like a mini-court hearing; they take evidence; and they make their decision based upon the evidence. Commissioner Carlson inquired if there is any conflict of interest in the way the County does things now; with Mr. Knox responding legally, no; but it could appear to someone that the fact that Code Enforcement is involved in the selection process might be a conflict of interest.

Commissioner Higgs requested Mr. Jenkins clarify the process, based on the agenda item, to select special masters. Assistant County Manager Peggy Busacca stated there will be a three-person selection committee; it will be put together by the Purchasing Department; it will be advertised as are all selection committees; and right now the three members will be Public Safety Director Jack Parker, Planning and Zoning Director Mel Scott, and herself. Commissioner Higgs inquired if the names on the agenda item will be the only names that will be considered or has it already been advertised; with Ms. Busacca responding those are the respondents who have met the deadline. Commissioner Higgs inquired if there are three names; with Ms. Busacca responding there are approximately ten to twelve names. Commissioner Higgs inquired if those are the people the committee would interview; with Ms. Busacca responding that is correct; it would be in an advertised forum; and the committee would make a recommendation to the County Manager, who in accordance with County Code would make the final decision.

Chairman Scarborough stated it can be quite time consuming and tedious if the job is done correctly; one of the things the Board could do is after the selection is made, it could be put on the agenda; and if there is any public comment at that time, it could be heard. He stated to put it on a regular agenda may work to the Board's disadvantage because sometimes there are time crunches, and it does not allow as much thoughtful process as the Board would like.

Commissioner Colon stated there are two different issues; she has no problem with the committee; and emphasized she is not criticizing Code Enforcement. She stated the citizens brought up a good point; perception is everything; if citizens are saying why go before the special master because there is already a perception that they are not going to be heard and that it is not going to be fair, she is uncomfortable because the citizens should always feel that the special master has no bias. She stated this is no reflection on Code Enforcement because this is the process the County has; and she would be more comfortable with the suggestions, to have a different department dealing closely with the special master instead of Code Enforcement, so there is no perception of bias. She stated the evidence would be from the citizen and Code Enforcement officers to the Department, which would then give it to the special master; and the Board should look at that. She stated she would not want the Board to go forward today, but to put this item on a regular agenda; ignorance is not good; and if she had gone forward without the benefit of the citizen input, she would have thought there was nothing wrong with the process; but the citizens have pointed out there is something wrong with the process. She stated the process of the Board making the selection is too complex; and she would be comfortable with Mr. Scott, Ms. Busacca, and Mr. Parker making this decision on the special masters, and it then coming to the Board for approval. She stated the second process is the one she has a problem with; and it needs to be away from Code Enforcement so that perception is not there.

Commissioner Higgs stated there are three different issues that need to be worked on before the Board makes a decision; and she would support a motion to table those so they can be worked out. She stated selection of special masters should be done independent of the chain of command to the Department, and should include two people who are attorneys because they are evaluating a judicial expertise, so some additional consideration of the selection committee is needed to include people with a legal background. She stated secondly the standard procedures need to be outlined for special masters and citizens who come to those hearings, so they are very clear, and people have an understanding of the procedures; one does not go into such hearings very often and does not develop expertise; but if there were standard procedures, that would be helpful. She stated third, she would agree that the special master process needs to be independent of the prosecution of the cases so the perception of fairness is very clear. She stated at the proper time she will be happy to make a motion to table this to allow the staff to work on these issues.

Mr. Knox stated Mr. Lorenc had a good point about the rules and procedures; there should be some standardized rules that everybody can follow; and an example is how to get subpoenas from a special master. He stated there is no rule set forth; the Statute says that can be done, but does not say how or what the process is; so there are some gaps to be filled in.

Commissioner O'Brien stated a standard written procedure would benefit everyone involved; at the same time there should be independence from the influence of any Code officer upon the special master; so the secretary may be appointed from the County Manager's office or somewhere else so the person is removed from communication and becomes the central focus when faxes or information in the agenda are put together for the special master. He stated the item before the Board today is a list of candidates for special master and special master alternative positions; and he does not know why the Board would not want to go forward with today's agenda item. He stated these people have been approved by a three-person panel that is independent of Code Enforcement. Ms. Busacca advised the committee has not looked at them. Commissioner O'Brien inquired if this is just approving them as candidates; with Mr. Jenkins responding that is the way the process is currently written, after the Board approves the short-list, it will go to the selection committee. Commissioner O'Brien inquired what is wrong with sending forward the list to the selection committee as no one on the committee is involved in the Code Enforcement process.

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, to table the list of candidates and authorization to execute contracts for special master and special master alternate positions to January to allow staff to work on some of the issues.

Ms. Busacca stated the Contracts will expire on January 23; so if the item is tabled to January 8, that will not allow enough time to go through the process and renew the Contracts; and an extension to the Contracts would be needed for the current special masters. Commissioner Higgs stated that will be part of her motion, to allow the County Manager to do an extension to cover the time period.

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner O'Brien, to table consideration of the candidates for the positions of Special Master and Special Master Alternate to January 8, 2002; and authorize the County Manager to extend the current Contracts to cover the time period. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

ACKNOWLEDGE, RE: ANNEXATION BY CITY OF PALM BAY

John Burgoon stated Commissioner Higgs spoke to his wife approximately one hour ago, and said this is a hearing about the annexation and not about the change to commercial; and inquired if that is correct. Commissioner Higgs stated it is not correct that she spoke to Mr. Burgoon's wife, although someone from her office may have done so, but it is correct that this is a discussion about the annexation. Mr. Burgoon stated on the southeast corner of Valkaria and Babcock Street is where there was an attempt to make the property commercial; he is sure the intent is to have this go commercial on the northeast corner; Commissioner Colon stood up for the citizens of Palm Bay and Valkaria who opposed the change; and the Board ended up going to bat for the people of Valkaria and South Brevard. He requested when this comes up again, the Board do the same as it did before.

Francis Herr stated he lives approximately 1,000 feet east of the property; and he appreciates the City wants to annex; but in conversations with City Council members outside Council Chambers, he has heard that one of their objectives is to annex all the land east of Palm Bay to the Indian River Lagoon; and that includes his property. He stated he does not want to live in Palm Bay; moreover, he does not want to ruin the character of the property, which is agricultural residential single-family dwellings. He requested the Board be aware of what is happening in that area, and watch out for Palm Bay and what it is trying to do. He stated at the last Palm Bay City Council meeting, which included the second reading of the Annexation Ordinance, one of the Council members said, in relation to the transfer station the County wishes to put west of the City, that it would ruin the residential character of the City; but his comment is the City does not care about maintaining the character of Valkaria, and will put in a commercial shopping district. He stated Palm Bay is still working without a plan, but it is still planning to go forward and annex land, engulfing that part of the County.

Curt Lorenc stated he was before the Board approximately a year ago on this issue; Palm Bay was annexing some of Valkaria; it annexed the one-acre parcel, and waited on the 20-acre parcel; and just recently the City annexed the 20-acre parcel. He stated the City tried to send its Comprehensive Plan up to DCA before it actually had the property, and DCA said the City could not do that; so the City's Comprehensive Plan is going back. He stated, in his opinion, the City acted badly on this issue; and he expects to be back before the Board in approximately six months for support on a 120 hearing.

Commissioner Colon stated her office has faxed all the information regarding this item to the City of Palm Bay, so there would be no confusion or lack of communication.

Commissioner O'Brien inquired at what point does Babcock Street Southeast become the property of the City of Palm Bay and its responsibility for maintenance; with Ms. Busacca advising Babcock Street is a State road. Commissioner Higgs advised the County does maintenance on Babcock Street. Commissioner O'Brien inquired if Palm Bay annexes on both sides of that street, at what point is the maintenance turned over to the City. Planning and Zoning Director Mel Scott stated traditionally that has been an issue that has been addressed with each city separately through joint planning agreements; staff has some preliminary groundwork established for Palm Bay's joint planning agreement, but it is not formalized yet; and that is typically the avenue the Board has used to address this issue. He stated where there are joint planning agreements, the cut-off has been 51% of the road frontage between two intersections. Commissioner O'Brien inquired if the City already has that; with Mr. Scott advising the annexation is not occurring with a joint planning agreement in place; the City is not annexing the roadway; and the City has no intention of maintaining Babcock Street with this annexation. Commissioner O'Brien inquired about denying the annexation; with Commissioner Higgs advising it has already been done. Mr. Scott advised the City has already done it; and the Florida Statutes provide very little ability for local governments to challenge annexations. He stated it has been staff's practice to bring these to the Board's attention; as a result of keeping abreast of the annexations, the Board has the ability to monitor proposed future land use amendments and comprehensive plan amendments that may accompany the annexation; and the Board is able to weigh in on those issues. Commissioner O'Brien stated the City is also annexing along both sides of Valkaria Road, but not taking responsibility for the maintenance of the road; eventually this could all be Palm Bay, but the County would still be responsible for the road maintenance; and that has been one of his concerns. He stated across the years the City of Melbourne has annexed many times; he recommended at some point the City would have to take over the road; and there is a Joint Planning Agreement with Melbourne, but not with Palm Bay. He stated the Board should seek some solution beginning now, although he does not know what the solution would be.

Commissioner Higgs inquired did the County seek a joint planning agreement with the City of Palm Bay and what is its status; with Mr. Scott responding some preliminary groundwork has been laid out; they are currently pursuing several joint planning agreements; the one with the City of Palm Bay has proven to be challenging because of the size of the City; and so, they decided many months ago to break the City into four quadrants to work on. Commissioner Higgs stated most joint planning agreements deal with a particular area, not with a global thing; the County is working with Palm Bay on some other issues; and inquired is it correct that the Florida Statutes give local governments very little standing in regard to an annexation. County Attorney Scott Knox stated for voluntary annexation, the area basically has to be compact and contiguous; and if it meets that criteria, then there is nothing the Board can really do about it. Commissioner Higgs stated Ms. Busacca said it is a State road, which is accurate; but inquired does the County maintain all of Babcock Street; with Assistant Public Works Director Ed Washburn responding the State maintains from U.S. 192 to Malabar Road; and the County maintains south of that. Commissioner Higgs stated she does not know that the County has any legal standing to reject this; but there are other issues in regard to the Comprehensive Plan; and she certainly intends to bring that back.

Commissioner Colon stated the County should have further discussions with the City of Palm Bay; and her office will be meeting with several Council members this week and next concerning the 160 acres west of Palm Bay in the unincorporated area. She stated the City of Palm Bay was notified about today's agenda item, because the City felt there was a lack of communication concerning the garbage transfer station; but she has a paper trail showing that was not the case. She stated she heard from certain City Council members that the City is probably looking at annexing Malabar Estates; the County should get some feedback concerning that because it is in the unincorporated area; and she would like to know the status of it.

Commissioner Carlson inquired is there any way the County can object to the annexation or continue the objection through the process. Mr. Knox stated the Board can object, but it does not have any legal impact; if the criteria of the voluntary annexation Statute are met, there is nothing the County can do to stop it; and in this instance, the annexation meets the criteria.

Chairman Scarborough stated a motion is in order to acknowledge the annexation and express particular concerns or objections. He stated a motion to that effect could be made, and staff could put something together for the Board to review at the next meeting. Commissioner Higgs suggested tabling the item and asking staff to prepare a letter to Palm Bay expressing the County's continued willingness to participate in some joint planning in this area, and expressing concerns about the annexation and the road issue. Chairman Scarborough inquired if the Board is required to acknowledge the annexation; with Mr. Knox responding the Board is not required to do anything. Commissioner Higgs stated the Board could recognize that it has been done, and ask staff to draft a letter and put it on the Consent Agenda.

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, to direct staff to prepare a letter for the Chairman's signature to the City of Palm Bay recognizing the annexation has taken place, expressing the County's continued willingness to participate in some joint planning in this area, and expressing concerns about the annexation and the road issue, and put it on the next Consent Agenda.

Commissioner O'Brien inquired if Valkaria Road to I-95 on Babcock is a State road; with Commissioner Higgs responding all of that is a State road, but the County maintains everything south of Malabar Road. Commissioner O'Brien stated the County maintains from Malabar Road south to the County line; and inquired if the County maintains it at County expense or with a contract with the State. Mr. Washburn advised it is done with MSTU funds as it is a County roadway from Malabar Road south; and Babcock Street north to U.S. 192 is a State-maintained roadway. Chairman Scarborough stated this seems to be detailed and maps are needed; and by the time a letter comes in, the Board could have those particulars described. Commissioner O'Brien requested definition about Malabar Road in terms of being a State or County Road. Mr. Washburn stated when the State functionally reclassified a lot of roadways, it gave the maintenance responsibility and the roadway to the County; so the County has the part of Babcock Road, south of Malabar Road to the County line, as well as a part that is north of U.S. 192 running through the City of Melbourne all the way to the bend on Babcock Street.

Commissioner Higgs stated the whole thing is defined as a State road but is County maintained; with Mr. Washburn responding it is not a State road in that section. Commissioner Higgs inquired why is the State doing the study from Malabar Road south as part of the State study; with Mr. Washburn responding because in that situation, the State will participate in the upgrading of that, the same as Palm Bay Road.

Commissioner Carlson stated when the joint planning agreements were discussed, the Agreement with the City of Melbourne does not talk about taking care of Babcock north of 192. Mr. Washburn stated they left out some of the major roadways that the County and the City would have to get together on if there was a transfer of ownership and maintenance of those roadways. Commissioner Carlson stated that would be the same scenario if the County asked Palm Bay to take on Babcock Street south of Malabar Road; with Mr. Washburn advising he is assuming it would.

Commissioner O'Brien stated if the State can tell the County to take over maintenance of Babcock Street from Malabar Road south, can the County tell Palm Bay to take over maintenance of Babcock Street from Malabar Road south when the City has annexed more than 51% of the properties along Babcock Street. Mr. Washburn stated that is a question the County Attorney would need to answer; it has been his experience that the State gives roadways to governmental bodies such as the cities, but he does not know that the County has ever done it. Mr. Knox stated he does not know the answer, and will have to check on it.

Chairman Scarborough stated the Board is going to have an opportunity to be better informed; these are very good questions; and these things need to be defined because they are going to recur.

Commissioner O'Brien inquired if the County is charged with the maintenance on a road on which Palm Bay owns more than 51% of the properties, and should the County continue using the General Fund of taxpayers in Titusville to pay for this road. Chairman Scarborough advised he heard it is funded by MSTU funds which come from the particular district. Commissioner Colon noted it also comes from gas tax.

Chairman Scarborough recommended getting all the facts together and doing a good job with the letter to Palm Bay; and he hopes that is constructive and will lead to an answer rather than conflict. Commissioner Carlson recommended the letter contain a request for a response.

Chairman Scarborough stated the Board is taking no action to acknowledge.

PUBLIC HEARING, RE: RESOLUTION VACATING PUBLIC UTILITY AND DRAINAGE
EASEMENT IN STUART TERRACE - ANDREW AND ELLEN PAVLAKOS

Chairman Scarborough called for the public hearing to consider a resolution vacating public utility and drainage easement in Stuart Terrace as petitioned by Andrew and Ellen Pavlakos.

Assistant Public Works Director Ed Washburn stated the applicant has asked this be continued to December 11, 2001, as the applicant needs to get additional proof of ownership.

Motion by Commissioner Colon, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to continue the public hearing to consider resolution vacating public utility and drainage easement in Stuart Terrace as petitioned by Andrew and Ellen Pavlakos to December 11, 2001. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

PUBLIC HEARING, RE: RESOLUTION VACATING RIGHT-OF-WAY IN MELBOURNE
HEIGHTS - JANET METZ, ROY VANINETTI, AND CHARLES STACK

Chairman Scarborough called for the public hearing to consider a resolution vacating right-of-way in Melbourne Heights as petitioned by Janet Metz, Roy Vaninetti, and Charles Stack.

There being no comments or objections, motion was made by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to adopt Resolution vacating right-of-way in Melbourne Heights as petitioned by Janet Metz, Roy Vaninetti, and Charles Stack. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

PUBLIC HEARING, RE: RESOLUTION VACATING PUBLIC UTILITY EASEMENTS IN
FAWN LAKE PUD, PHASE TWO - TIMOTHY ROY EDWARDS

Chairman Scarborough called for the public hearing to consider a resolution vacating public utility easements in Fawn Lake PUD, Phase Two as petitioned by Timothy Roy Edwards.

There being no comments or objections heard, motion was made by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Higgs, to adopt Resolution vacating public utility easements in Fawn Lake PUD, Phase Two as petitioned by Timothy Roy Edwards. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

PUBLIC HEARING, RE: RESOLUTION VACATING DRAINAGE AND UTILITY EASEMENTS
IN BRADLAND MANOR - HOMER AND DIANNA BURNETTE

Chairman Scarborough called for the public hearing to consider a resolution vacating drainage and utility easements in Bradland Manor as petitioned by Homer and Dianna Burnette.

There being no comments or objections heard, motion was made by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Colon, to adopt Resolution vacating drainage and utility easements in Bradland Manor as petitioned by Homer and Dianna Burnette. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

PUBLIC HEARING, RE: RESOLUTION VACATING RIGHTS-OF-WAY IN INDIAN RIVER
HOME SITES - RALPH D. MILLER

Chairman Scarborough called for the public hearing to consider a resolution vacating rights-of-way in Indian River Home Sites as petitioned by Ralph D. Miller.

There being no comments or objections, motion was made by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Higgs, to adopt Resolution vacating rights-of-way in Indian River Home Sites as petitioned by Ralph D. Miller. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

The meeting recessed at 10:16 a.m. and reconvened at 10:36 a.m.

DISCUSSION, RE: ANNEXATION

Commissioner O'Brien stated he talked to Billy Osborne and other members of staff during the break; and he also had a conversation with Mr. Knox concerning annexation. He stated the Board could direct staff to go forward and start creating possible solutions; it may be legislative and require going to Tallahassee; the Board may put it on a referendum for Charter amendment; or it may be an ordinance or policy of the Board; but he is not sure, and neither is staff about how to start solving the problem. He stated Mel Scott has worked on the joint agreements, which is one part of the solution; but a better solution is needed. Commissioner O'Brien stated he can made a motion if one is needed.

Chairman Scarborough stated it would be good; the Board is talking about Palm Bay and its position and concerns; but this goes beyond that to how the Board needs to address the global issue. Commissioner O'Brien stated Titusville is going to annex the airport and the area out there, but will leave some of the roadways as being County maintained, although they will be in the City. Chairman Scarborough stated they are trying to work out an agreement there.

Motion by Commissioner O'Brien, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to direct staff to develop solutions to provide that when municipalities annex County properties with County roads, such roads become city roads. Motion carried and ordered; Commissioner Colon voted nay.

PUBLIC HEARING, RE: ORDINANCE PERMITTING EXPANSION OF FARMERS' MARKETS
TO INCLUDE SALE OF SMALL ANIMALS AND LIVESTOCK

Chairman Scarborough called for the public hearing to consider an ordinance permitting expansion of Farmers' Markets to include sale of small animals and livestock.

Diane Davis stated there are three options before the Board today for a farmer's market with sale of livestock and small animals; and she opposes options 1 and 3, and would like some changes to option 2. She stated option 2 says, the sale of livestock and small farm animals excluding cats, dogs, and guinea pigs; and some people have been concerned about those particular animals. She stated "rabbits and chickens may be permitted in farmers' markets located within a productive agriculture zone or in an agriculture zone with a minimum lot size to be ten acres and the use to be located at a minimum on a collector roadway." She suggested the minimum lot size be increased to 25 acres, and the 25 acres be under the ownership of the person operating the farmers' market, although it may not all be zoned agriculture.

Commissioner Higgs inquired if Ms. Davis said a collector road; with Ms. Davis responding a collector road is a major road; it would be hard to find agriculture or productive agricultural property on a road like that; and she would suggest it say a public maintained road. She stated she has 200 acres; they are planning to put their facility on approximately 20 acres, which are zoned agricultural; and they have five acres of GU next to that and 150 acres next to that zoned heavy industrial. She stated their unit would fit on the 20 acres, but parking might have to be a larger area; and she does not want to see people parking on roads. She stated they want to be a good neighbor and provide a good service to the County; and while it is not always popular, they want to encourage agricultural pursuits. She stated they have seen animals turned in to the Humane Society; they would like to provide people with an opportunity to be able to sell those animals to someone who would care for them; and that is the intent. She stated their clientele will be mainly farmers; they would not be able to tell other people they could not come; but in her experience traveling around the State, these types of auctions are attended by farmers and their families as a family night out on Friday or Saturday night. She stated a State inspector will be there; they have the support of the 4-H Club and Clara Gunde; she knows some may have a concern about unwanted animals coming there and being sold to someone who does not want them; but if someone pays money for an animal, hopefully they will take care of them.

Commissioner Carlson inquired if there are licensing requirements for those who deal in buying and trading of livestock; with Ms. Davis responding not that she is aware of. Ms. Davis stated the State does send an inspector down to be sure the animals will be taken care of; and if they set up a farmers' market, they will have to have an occupational license and a license from the State; but someone bringing in a lamb to sell would not need a license. She stated she supports that because someone may only have one lamb, and would not want to pay $30 for a license to sell the one animal; and at the end of the 4-H projects, the lambs are auctioned off. Commissioner Carlson inquired if livestock includes horses; with Ms. Davis responding it does. Ms. Davis stated there are homes where children have an interest in getting a horse, and it is kept in the backyard; when the children grow up and move away, the horse stays there; and the people may not have that much interest or knowledge about caring for the animals. She stated they want to offer an avenue for people to sell an animal without paying a price to put an ad in the newspaper; many people do not want to bother with that because it is so expensive; but this will provide an avenue to sell the horse to someone who can get some use out of the animal.

Commissioner Colon stated she received letters from folks who are concerned; and inquired if the State inspector would come once a year to see the site. Ms. Davis responded the inspector would be at every auction; they assure that pigs are not being sold unless they have a certain inspection sticker; and they make sure every animal has food and water in their cages. She stated the animals are brought in the day of the sale; they are sold and taken home; and it is not like they will be kept onsite any time; but the inspector will be there throughout the auction to be sure they are cared for properly and that there is no abuse. Commissioner Colon inquired how often will Ms. Davis be having these auctions; with Ms. Davis responding they would like to have them once a week; but when they start it will probably be once a month or once every two months. She stated it will be mainly for farmers; and they are not sure how much interest there would be. Commissioner Colon inquired if Ms. Davis' auction would be the first in the County; with Ms. Davis responding yes. Ms. Davis stated there was concern that every flea market would expand to this use; but the conditions would not allow that and the property would have to be zoned agriculture or productive agriculture. She stated now sales are taking place; there is nothing on record to limit them or provide for conditions; and this would put something in writing. Commissioner Colon inquired how could the responsibility for the condition of the animals be put on the person running the auction. Ms. Davis advised at the auctions she has attended, there is a sign posted that they will refuse the right to someone to sell their animals if they are sick or in bad condition or something like that; no one would want to sell animals like that; and they would not want them there because they could expose the other animals to sickness. She stated horses have to have a negative Coggins test; other animals do not have to have any kind of veterinary check; and requiring a vet check for every animal would keep people from coming. She stated they are trying to prevent animals from being abused or dropped off at the Shelters; they are trying to encourage people to come and sell the animals; and one man's junk is another man's treasure. Commissioner Colon inquired if it is feasible to put that in the ordinance; and stated this is not just dealing with Ms. Davis; it is opening a can of worms; and once the Board approves this, anyone else meeting the criteria would be able to do this throughout the County. Ms. Davis suggested putting wording that no sale of sick animals will be allowed; and stated no one is going to want to buy a sick animal and she does not want sick animals around to infect other animals. Commissioner Colon inquired if there is a fee that Ms. Davis will be paid for people to come to the auction; with Ms. Davis responding they do not pay to be at the auction, but if they sell, then she would take a percentage of the sale, probably 10 to 20%. Commissioner Colon stated there should be something in writing such as a disclosure or something along the lines of that protection. Ms. Davis stated they could sign something that to their knowledge, their animals are not sick or diseased. Commissioner Colon stated she is not focusing on Ms. Davis; she is focusing on those folks who may be money hungry and will not care about the condition of the animals because there is money to be made; they may not be as restrictive; and that is her concern. Ms. Davis stated normally the animals do not go for very much money, so it would not be something someone would be able to make a lot of money on. Commissioner Colon stated she has shared her concerns with staff; and inquired if there is anything that can be added to make sure there is disclosure. Planning and Zoning Director Mel Scott suggested the Board focus on the land use relationship issues that might arise from this operation; currently in agricultural zoning classifications or on productive farms, people are able to sell produce or livestock raised on the premises; this amendment would allow such products to be brought to a parcel; and cautioned the Board to look at the land relationships that will potentially be affected by this ordinance and the transportation changes that might occur in certain areas. He stated livestock auctions can be quite popular; and the Board should also take into consideration the types of roadways that would be utilized to access these events.

Commissioner Carlson stated in the briefing they talked about integration into neighborhoods; and if the conditional use permit is allowed in AU, there is AU interspersed among all sorts of different residential zonings. Mr. Scott stated option 3 is possibly the most challenging one; Ms. Davis does not support that; and option 2, which has the support of Ms. Davis, does not include AU and is being recommended to go up to 20 acres as a minimum. He cautioned in option 2 there is only a requirement that it access a County-maintained roadway, as opposed to fronting a collector road at a minimum; and theoretically that could enable someone to transport animals through a neighborhood. Commissioner Carlson inquired what kind of enforcement issues may come from this sort of thing. Mr. Scott stated the County has not had much success in the past with any kind of provision that strives to limit the amount of time that something can occur; it is challenging for Code Enforcement officers to go out into the field and confirm whether or not an animal has been penned for less than 48 hours, for example; there is not the expertise in-house in Code Enforcement to verify the health of animals; so for those types of things, they will have to defer to the State standard, at least at the outset, if such provisions are inserted in the Code. Assistant County Manager Peggy Busacca stated if there are conditions about the health of the animal, Animal Services should have the opportunity to review those standards and bring them back because ultimately Animal Services would be required to do the enforcement of that portion of it.

Commissioner Higgs stated this is basically a zoning portion of the Code; and inquired if the operating restrictions and requirements could be set up in another section of the Code. Ms. Busacca responded she is sure that could be done, but those types of things would need input from Animal Services.

Mary Kofil, representing the SPCA of North Brevard, requested the term "small animals" be clearly defined as it lends itself to a problem going against the nature of the County wanting animals spayed and neutered before adoption. She stated the Shelter does cats, dogs, and rabbits before they are placed in homes; and the idea that undefined small animals would be available is a concern. She stated they are also concerned that this would be a method of disposal of small animals; people may think this is an easy way out; and there is concern that rabbit owners would sell the animals with the idea that they are being bought by people who care, but would be bought by breeders and for food. She stated they fear this may encourage breeders and the idea of backyard breeders; and people may think they can make a little bit of a profit by taking animals to the auction. She stated Ms. Davis talked about helping humane organizations; they do not need this kind of help; and the Shelters will gladly accept rabbits, dogs, cats, and all kinds of rodents for placement. She stated the need Ms. Davis mentioned is already being met for domesticated animals; they have never turned down animals when they had room to take them; and a clearer definition of small animals would be a big step.

Susan Canada stated one reason there are not many people in the audience is that they just found out about this item Friday night; she tried to call everyone, but they all had to work; so many sent letters. She expressed concern that Clara Gunde is supporting this; when an emu, peacock, or rabbit is taken to the shelter, it is either going out as a pet or will be humanely euthanized; and to sell those animals for food at an auction is deplorable. She stated she understands at the auction there will be emus, peacocks, and rabbits; the County is overrun with domestic rabbits; and commented on her work to teach members of 4-H Clubs to breed rabbits responsibly. She stated currently, especially in Cocoa Beach, Animal Services gets several calls for injured emus and peacocks; a month or two ago one of the officers was injured trying to get an emu near I-95; and to have more of these animals in the community would be a disaster. She stated currently emus are not selling much; but as emu food has increased in cost, several people have abandoned their emus; and commented on the difficulty in transporting such animals. She stated Animal Service is worried about the State coming down with budget cuts; it does not have enough officers to cover the domestic animals; and inquired how will they go out and inspect the livestock at these auctions. She stated when animals are brought in from other areas, no one is checking their health; that is one reason E-coli spread in England so quickly; and commented on inspection of animals coming into the County. She stated currently there is too much abuse; too many animals are uncared for; and urged the Board to adopt an ordinance to make shelters either adopt out to loving caring families with good references or euthanize the animals, but not give them out for feed.

Chairman Scarborough stated Mr. Scott and his staff have done an excellent job looking at the land use issues; but there are concerns about sick animals and the different atmosphere created by a farmers' market. He commented on health issues; stated they go beyond a land use capacity; and if this proceeds forward, he would like to see some people with the Health Department, Agriculture and Extension Services, and Animal Services get involved. He stated he does not want to find there is some disease spreading in the community because of the environment the Board created; a lot of issues are pretty far along with the land use; but on some of the others, the Board has not even scratched the surface. Commissioners Colon and Carlson agreed. Chairman Scarborough suggested deferring this and getting a report back with additional information. Mr. Scott stated this is not an area staff is familiar with; and suggested it be deferred for 60 days or more.

Motion by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Higgs, to continue the public hearing to consider an ordinance permitting expansion of farmers' markets to include sale of small animals and livestock to February 5, 2002.

Commissioner O'Brien stated a member of staff should also visit a farmers' market to know what they are doing; the Board has one concept in mind, and Ms. Davis has another; he has been to a farmers' market; and they are not as bad as everyone is trying to say they are. He stated a conscientious farmer would not bring a diseased animal to market because the other farmers would probably hurt him; and people who do animal husbandry are very knowledgeable about what they do. He stated some people have horses on their two-acre lots; when they want to get rid of those horses, this is the methodology to do that; and those horses are not sold necessarily for food, but as a commodity. He stated the Board should approach this from the view that this is a professional operation and should be run professionally; and he would like someone on staff to become knowledgeable because most of the County west of I-95 is still agricultural.

Chairman Scarborough stated that is a great idea; and recommend staff visit a farmers' market and also talk to staff that administers it in another County.

Commissioner Colon stated the Board is about to open Pandora's box; but she is confident that Ms. Davis will want the Board to do as much as it can to protect the animals that are going to be coming to the County.

Ms. Davis inquired if she may address the Board again; with Chairman Scarborough responding no.

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

Toby Granims stated she was told she did not have to submit a card, but wishes to speak. County Manager Tom Jenkins stated Ms. Granims is scheduled for a personal appearance on another item.

Ms. Davis inquired if she can come back at the end of the meeting and speak under public comment. Chairman Scarborough stated the Board is trying to get all the information together; and the best thing would be to work with staff because this will come back on February 5, 2002. Ms. Davis stated it is going to exclude her, so she will not have any interest because she is not on a collector road. Commissioner Higgs stated anyone can address the Board during public comment.

Motion by Commissioner O'Brien, to reopen the public hearing to consider an ordinance permitting expansion of farmers' markets to include sale of small animals and livestock. Motion died for lack of a second.

PUBLIC HEARING, RE: DETERMINATION OF VESTED RIGHTS FOR ALPHONSO AND
MATRICIA JENKINS

Chairman Scarborough called for the public hearing to consider determination of vested rights as requested by Alphonso and Matricia Jenkins. He inquired if there are any questions for the applicant; and none were heard.

Commissioner Carlson stated the Board has determined vested rights for others similar to this item.

There being no further comments, motion was made by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Colon, to grant request for determination of vested rights by Alphonso and Matricia Jenkins, to vest one lot against the density restrictions of the 10-year floodplain. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

PUBLIC HEARING, RE: ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTION 62-2883, REQUIREMENTS
FOR PERIMETER BUFFERING FOR RESIDENTIAL SUBDIVISIONS

Chairman Scarborough called for the public hearing to consider an ordinance amending Section 62-2883, Requirements for Perimeter Buffering for Residential Subdivisions.

Commissioner Carlson stated the Board may want to consider this item after Item VI.A.2, Permission to Advertise Ordinance Relating to Land Clearing.

Motion by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Higgs, to hold the public hearing to consider ordinance amending Section 62-2883, Requirements for Perimeter Buffering for Residential Subdivisions after Item VI.A.2. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

PUBLIC HEARING, RE: ORDINANCES AMENDING MSTU ORDINANCE NO. 86-40 AND
MSTU ORDINANCE NO. 83-26, LAW ENFORCEMENT MSTU

Chairman Scarborough called for the public hearing to consider ordinances amending MSTU Ordinance No. 86-40 and MSTU Ordinance No. 83-26.

There being no comments or objections, motion was made by Commissioner O'Brien, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to adopt an Ordinance amending the Brevard County Law Enforcement Municipal Serving Taxing Unit; amending Section 1 of Brevard County Ordinance No. 86-40 by excluding unincorporated areas within the boundaries of the Canaveral Port District; providing for severability; providing for an effective date. Motion carried and ordered; Commissioner Higgs voted nay.

PUBLIC HEARING, RE: REQUEST FOR AMENDMENT TO VESTED SITE PLAN FOR
AQUARINA

Chairman Scarborough called for the public hearing to consider a request for amendment to Vested Site Plan for Aquarina.

Commissioner Higgs stated there is a request to continue this item to December 18, 2001 so it can be considered with the others.

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to continue the public hearing to consider request for amendment to Vested Site Plan for Aquarina to December 18, 2001. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

PUBLIC HEARING, RE: ORDINANCE REPEALING UNIFORM APPEALS PROCEDURE
FOR LAND DEVELOPMENT SECTION

Chairman Scarborough called for the public hearing to consider an ordinance repealing uniform appeals procedure for Land Development Section.

Motion by Commissioner Carlson, to adopt an Ordinance of Brevard County, Florida repealing appeals provisions in Sections 62-102(b)(2)e; 62-102(d); 62-301, 62-302, 62-303; 62-304; 62-819; 62-737, 62-777, 62-1153(d), 62-1154(d), 62-2132(c), 62-2132(d), 62-2133(c), 62-2133(e), 62-2849(c), 62-2956(a)(8), 62-3204(f)(5), 62-3206(e)(9), 62-3207, 62-3319, 62-3665, 62-4034(a), 62-4034(b), 62-4426, 62-4806, Code of Ordinances of Brevard County, Florida; providing for severability; providing for area encompassed; providing for inclusion in Code; providing for effective date. Motion died for lack of a second.

Commissioner Higgs stated this repeals and puts in place an ordinance adopting a uniform appeals procedure; it only allows fifteen calendar days from the day of decision, which is fine for the applicant; and inquired if a citizen who finds the decision unacceptable and wishes to appeal is constrained by the fifteen-day provision; with County Attorney Scott Knox responding yes. Commissioner Higgs stated some decisions may be made that a citizen would not know about within the fifteen days; and inquired if there is any way to protect that option. Mr. Knox stated the time frame could be extended; but the problem is if someone decides six months after something has happened to appeal, and the person who had the decision made in his or her behalf has done some of the activity in reliance on the County's action, then the appeal period is meaningless. Commissioner Higgs stated she would like to continue this public hearing and the next to try to balance the issue; she understands the fifteen-day appeal of a decision; but she wants to know if there is some way to protect the citizens who may find out about the decision at a later date, and will have lost their rights to appeal in the fifteen days. She stated she would like to continue both items to see if staff can come up with a mechanism. Commissioner Carlson inquired if there is another way of looking at it besides extending the time period; with Commissioner Higgs responding she does not know, but a mechanism is needed to protect those people who may have a grievance against the decision. Commissioner Carlson stated there may be some terminology.

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to continue the public hearing to consider an ordinance repealing uniform appeals procedure for Land Development Section to January 22, 2002. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

PUBLIC HEARING, RE: ORDINANCE ADOPTING UNIFORM APPEALS PROCEDURE FOR
LAND DEVELOPMENT SECTION

Chairman Scarborough called for the public hearing on an ordinance adopting uniform appeals procedure for Land Development Section.

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to continue the public hearing to consider an ordinance adopting uniform appeals procedure for Land Development Section to January 22, 2002. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

APPROVAL, RE: OPTIONS FOR COMPOSITION OF THE INVESTMENT COMMITTEE

County Manager Tom Jenkins stated staff has provided, at the Board's direction, several options for consideration regarding the implementation of the recommendation from the financial advisor; the first option is the original proposal given to the Board several weeks ago, which is to have a Sunshine committee consisting of a Commissioner, the County Manager or designee, Clerk or designee, and two citizens appointees; option 2 is the recommendation of the financial advisor for a committee consisting of staff members and citizen volunteers and no County Commissioners; option 3 would be to have three County Commissioners serve as the investment committee; and option 4 will take the place of what used to be the Finance Committee, which would make it a staff function entirely in that he, as County Manager, would do that review with staff members. He stated the fifth option that has been submitted is to use a professional firm to be the advisor to the County Finance Department in its operation of the investment program as well as serving as a check and balance or quality control; and the financial advisor could report to the Board with recommendations and monitor the performance of County Finance. He stated there are five potential options; and there may be others that are mergers of the five concepts.

Steve Burdett, Finance Director, stated he would endorse option 2; and as to option 5, that is up to the Board, and he has no recommendation on it.

Chairman Scarborough stated when Mr. Burdett spoke to him earlier, he expressed concern about having citizen volunteers who had not previously managed portfolios. Mr. Burdett stated he would prefer to have someone who understands investments, trading, and the market; it is not very productive to bring in people to learn the process of investing; and it would be in the County's best interest to find someone on the outside who would be willing to volunteer time and who also has a good understanding of investments. Chairman Scarborough noted being a financial officer does not mean a person has managed a portfolio.

Commissioner Higgs stated there could be people who may not have actually managed a portfolio, but who have significant knowledge that could be useful; and there may be people in academia who have significant knowledge, but who have not managed a portfolio. She stated her concept of how this would work would be for the Board to have an approved investment policy, which it is currently working on; the committee would be established to oversee the implementation of the policy; and there would a professional financial advisor, either the current one or another, who would specifically see that the policy is implemented and that the trading decisions are made. She stated the Clerk's office possesses the funds and would do the actual transactions; but the financial advisor, using the Board's policy, would be doing the actual operation. She stated the committee would oversee and monitor that the investments are done with the policy and that the policies are in line with sound financial management. She stated there are significant dollars; the Board can raise some additional revenue for the County if it does a better job of managing it; so the committee and the financial advisor are important parts. Chairman Scarborough requested Commissioner Higgs speak to the options. Commissioner Higgs stated option 2 comes closest to what she has in mind, plus the recognition by the Board that a financial advisor would be the person directly responsible for the implementation of the policy and directing the day-to-day decisions about where the funds are invested; and the committee would monitor what the professionals are actually doing well. She stated the Board has the overall responsibility of setting the policy and being sure that everything is going; but under option 2 things would be managed by those people. She stated she does not have a problem with a Commissioner being on the committee; that has some value in terms of moving forward; and she could approve either options 1 or 2, but the financial advisor being involved in the day-to-day decisions is a significant part.

Chairman Scarborough inquired if Commissioner Higgs contemplates option 5 where there is investment advice as part of the option. Commissioner Higgs stated that is a given in terms of what she thought the Board would be doing.

Commissioner Carlson stated option 2 would have a committee that would identify things to be brought back to the Board and recommendations from the outside consultant to see where policies and procedures need to be changed; it would be an oversight committee; and it is necessary to have the outside financial advisor to do the periodic review to make sure the County is on target. She stated investments change daily; she does not want to cripple those who have to make those decisions on a daily basis; but the Board needs to be sure it has a proper understanding of who is making the decisions and what they are supposed to be. She stated the issue with Item III.F.2, Acceptance, Re: Investment Activity Report as of September 30, 2001, is that in the activity report, it talks about PFM allowing the operating funds to be invested in corporate notes, commercial paper, etc; but as of today, the Board has not approved the policy revision to allow investments in those instruments. She stated Commissioner Higgs mentioned they are working on the policy, but she does not know who is doing it. Commissioner Higgs stated staff is working on it, but they were waiting for this decision. Commissioner Carlson stated there was another comment in the report about the timing of the project expenditures currently being $6.5 million behind estimates; those funds could have been invested in higher yielding instruments if departments updated their cash flow reports on a regular basis to maximize the interest earnings available for projects; and recommended departments manage their cash flow schedules and provide timely information for reinvesting. She stated this is a serious long-standing issue that needs to be fixed; and hopefully the Board can aim the committee to look at recommendations for doing that.

Chairman Scarborough stated that is not an investment issue; that is a needs issue from the departments; and departments sometimes find that things change.

Commissioner Colon stated she agrees with having an outside advisor; the Board needs to have professionals regarding investments, trading, etc.; and the County does not have that in-house. She stated because decisions sometimes have to be made very quickly, she is concerned about tying the committee's hands under the Sunshine law; and inquired about it being a managing committee rather than being under the Sunshine.

Commissioner Higgs stated the committee's function is to monitor the investments; and the day-to-day decisions are the financial advisor's decisions, with the actual transactions occurring by the Clerk's office because it is the custodian of the funds. She stated the Board has the policy, which is recommended by the investment committee and the financial advisor; and the financial advisor would be the ones making the day-to-day decisions. She stated the committee would be a Sunshine committee overseeing what the financial advisor does in terms of whether the County is getting the maximum amount of cash into the investment; and it is okay for it to be a Sunshine committee because the actual day-to-day things are being implemented by the financial advisor under the policy and by the Clerk's actual handling of the funds.

Chairman Scarborough stated his concerns can be met with option 2; and commented on the need for a financial advisor, staff members, and citizen volunteers. He stated it is one thing to be an internal accountant or auditor and know how things work internally; and it is a totally different thing to understand the options in handling a portfolio. He commented on the experience of Orange County, California; stated return is only half the function; the intent is to have higher return with a good safe sound investment portfolio; and the Board needs to look at this in a holistic sense. He stated if the Board is going to go through this exercise, it should make sure it is not a lot of extra effort with little benefit.

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to direct staff to develop a Task Order for the financial advisor for direction of the investments of the County in terms of surplus funds. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to authorize formation of an investment committee composed of three staff members and two citizen volunteers with expertise in the area of investments.

Chairman Scarborough stated the expertise should be in portfolio management; with Commissioner Higgs responding not necessarily portfolio management as someone with expertise in investments may not be a portfolio manager. Commissioner Carlson stated that might not be broad enough if the Board is talking about the type of portfolio it has. Commissioner Higgs stated there are a variety of people with that expertise. Chairman Scarborough stated he cannot support that. Commissioner Higgs inquired how Chairman Scarborough wants to say it; with Chairman Scarborough responding a stockbroker may have investment management experience. Commissioner Higgs suggested public investment experience. Mr. Jenkins stated the Board is starting to limit the group from which it will select. Chairman Scarborough stated the Board should not do this unless it is going to get something from the process as staff has enough meetings to attend, and working under the Sunshine provisions is not going to be fun. Commissioner Higgs inquired how it can be defined better; with Commissioner Carlson suggesting public and private investment management. Chairman Scarborough stated portfolio management is what the Board is talking about; and the individuals need to be managing a portfolio similar to what the Board is talking about because this involves hundreds of millions of dollars. Commissioner Higgs stated she is worried the Board will not come up with those people; with Commissioner Carlson advising if it does not, it will have to come back. Chairman Scarborough stated if the Board wants to reach into academia, there are people around.

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

Commissioner Higgs stated the Board should bring back the policy issues that Commissioner Carlson talked about as well as those that were already discussed or the financial advisor included in the recommendation; and recommended those come back at the December 18, 2001 meeting.

ACCEPTANCE, RE: INVESTMENT ACTIVITY REPORT AS OF SEPTEMBER 30, 2001

Motion by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Higgs, to accept the Investment Activity Report as of September 30, 2001. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

Commissioner O'Brien stated the Board should instruct staff that if within six months, there is a serious problem about the Sunshine law, the County Manager will be allowed to put the item back on the Agenda and advise it is not working.

Commissioner Carlson stated the Board also needs to find out the time frame it is going to need to do the things it just directed. Mr. Jenkins stated staff will go to work immediately, and will do them as quickly as possible. He stated he would like the latitude to come back to the Board if there are problems of any kind.

Motion by Commissioner O'Brien, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to authorize staff to return to the Board if there are problems of any kind regarding the composition of the Investment Committee. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

RESOLUTION, RE: DENYING APPLICATION OF A. DUDA & SONS, INC. FOR RU-1-13
(SAWGRASS)

Commissioner Carlson stated this is consideration of a resolution denying the application of A. Duda & Sons, Inc. for RU-1-13; it is the Sawgrass issue; and the Board has a book outlining finding of facts. She stated she hopes it is as thorough as necessary based on Attorney Knox's preparation of it.

County Attorney Scott Knox stated he distributed a revised resolution; and advised of changes indicating the level of service policy for student stations has been in effect since 1988, correcting policy 8.15 to policy 12.7, and correcting a quote by Melissa Hoagland, changing PUD to RU-1-13.

Commissioner Carlson inquired if this was taken verbatim from the tapes; with Mr. Knox responding it was taken from the minutes of the meeting. He advised of correction of two typographical errors on pages 24 and 26.

Chairman Scarborough stated the Board asked for the findings of fact; and the public hearing is not to be reopened for additional information.

Melissa Hoagland expressed appreciation to the Board for its effort and conscientious review of this matter.

Motion by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Colon, to adopt Resolution setting forth the findings of fact and conclusions of the Brevard County Commission pertaining to A. Duda & Sons, Inc.'s application for RU-1-13 single-family residential on 84.348 acres east of St. Andrews Isles Subdivision and due south of Waterford Place. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

PERSONAL APPEARANCE - JOHN A. BAKER, RE: REQUIREMENT OF 300-SQUARE
FOOT FOR PRODUCE STAND

John Baker stated he is requesting a permit to get property rezoned; zoning requires a 300 square-foot structure for a produce stand; and what he has in mind was just a small camper-type thing that he could remove daily. He stated his property is adjacent to U.S. 1 and Glenn Road; this would not cause a problem; and requested the Code be amended to permit this.

Chairman Scarborough stated Mr. Baker would like the Board to consider a change in the Code; that could be easily undertaken by staff preparing a report; there are advantages and disadvantages; and staff will forward a copy of the report to Mr. Baker.

Commissioner O'Brien stated two years ago the Board talked about roadside vendors and agreed that they would have to meet the same parameters as someone opening a 7-Eleven or Circle-K in terms of setbacks, public facilities, etc; and he hopes the Board does not lose sight of that.

Chairman Scarborough stated staff will bring that to the Board's attention; and it will allow the Board to look at the whole issue. Commissioner O'Brien stated in Code Enforcement, the issue has gone around a few times; and some vendors have been within five feet of the sidewalk. Chairman Scarborough stated a lot of times people forget, when the Board makes a rule, it applies uniformly throughout the County.

PERMISSION TO ADVERTISE, RE: ORDINANCE RELATING TO LAND CLEARING

Mary Sphar stated the Board wanted staff to suggest language that would strengthen the existing Land Clearing Ordinance; and it wanted the subdivision buffering addressed, problems with erosion during land clearing and construction minimized, and language involving tree canopy improved. She stated she reviewed the proposed changes, and has found that although there are some new provisions that strengthen the existing Ordinance, some of the new provisions appear to be a step backward; and her main concern is the new language concerning saving large trees. She stated under the proposed language, the applicant can meet the preservation thresholds by either saving large protected trees, having a canopy equal to 20% of the area of the site, or preserving a total trunk area of 120 inches per acre; and this is not the way to strengthen the Ordinance. She stated all of the protected tree language needs to be kept; and requirements for canopy cover and/or preservation or total trunk area could be added. She stated in the current Ordinance single-family lots under one acre are not subject to the requirements for saving protected trees once a certificate of occupancy has been issued; this exemption is found in two places in the Ordinance; and it needs to be deleted. She stated new language about buffering, silk screens, and other preventive measures for erosion control are good in principle; and noted language on page 7 giving three property size categories would be improved by identifying only two categories, ten acres or less and more than ten acres. She suggested for ten acres or less, using the buffer width and silk screen height suggested for three to ten acres; and stated otherwise the new language is good. She stated the proposed ordinance is not ready to be advertised; it needs to be amended so that all of the proposed changes strengthen the ordinance; the requirements for erosion control need to be tougher for small lots; the exemption for protected trees for single-family lots needs to be deleted; the protected tree requirement should not be made options; and language about the percent of canopy and preservation of total trunk area should be considered only as additional requirements and not as options that would allow the removal of large trees. She stated the proposed ordinance needs more work; and urged the Board to direct staff to come back with improved language.

Kim Zarillo stated the change on page 6 of the November 29, 2001 draft is still grammatically incorrect; on page 7, she agrees that silk screen is a good idea, and would not propose to address classifications, but would prefer to ask that there be some reference to distinguishing those classifications; and on page 8 she would like it to be clarified that they be temporary geotextiles. She stated the title of the ordinance is Land Clearing and Tree Protection, but now every reference to tree protection is going to be eliminated; and it does not make sense. She stated on page 9, the old language separated the mainland in Merritt Island from the barrier island, which is important; although the new language increases dbh on the barrier island, she does not see a reason or need for that; and that is the first choice of whether to protect the trees. She stated the second choice is a canopy cover equal to 20% of the area of the site; the three conditions are given as three possibilities; but it is not necessarily possible to have a canopy on the barrier island because it could be a scrub area. She stated she does not see how the 20% was calculated; and it seems to be an arbitrary number. She stated number three, preservation of a total trunk area, implies a geometric calculation of an area; but it also says "or 120 inches"; so the method of calculation is important. She stated palms are not measured by dbh; and it should address the definition as in industry standards.

Motion by Commissioner Colon, seconded by Commissioner Higgs, to allow Ms. Zarillo additional time to speak. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

Ms. Zarillo stated on page 10, the strike-throughs include the removal criteria for the protected trees; it takes into consideration the visibility of a non-residential development; and that is important, but has been eliminated. She stated the choice of replacement criteria is eliminated, but should stay; and clearing up to the trunk of the tree is important. She stated relocation is eliminated, so is not a possibility; and some trees cannot be relocated, but others can be easily relocated if the owner wishes to go through the expense. She commented on follow-up inspection of relocated trees; stated relocation of trees is still left in there, although the option to relocate the trees as part of the ordinance has been struck; and it should stay in. She stated the people want good tree protection; and the ordinance needs more thought and more research.

Commissioner O'Brien stated on page 7 there is a chart using erosion control buffering, mainly silk fence opaque buffers; the silk screen height on a parcel more than ten acres requires a nine-foot high piece of fabric; and although air can transfer through it, he cannot envision building a nine-foot fence using a geotextile, especially the black woven type. Land Development Director Bruce Moia stated this has been used in some businesses on commercial property; they have used a nine-foot silk fence; they are subject to repair on a daily basis depending on whether there is heavy wind; and if there is wind, they usually perform their function and are repaired the next day. Commissioner O'Brien inquired if someone wants to build a Target or something on ten acres, does the County expect them to surround the entire site with a nine-foot silk fence; with Mr. Moia responding that is the proposal. Commissioner O'Brien stated there must be a better way. Mr. Moia stated to control the erosion on a ten-acre piece of property is going to take something pretty substantial, especially during dry periods and periods of extreme wind; and it will take the silk screen and additional measures that are proposed on the next page, including watering down the soil, seed mulch, or provision of a geotextile on a temporary basis. Commissioner O'Brien stated the reason for the height is to capture airborne dust particles; and inquired if on a ten-acre parcel with all the vegetation stripped off there is also concern about erosion runoff. Mr. Moia responded there are provisions in the Stormwater Management criteria for that type of event, so that is covered; but the County lacks language to address wind-borne erosion. Commissioner O'Brien inquired if the fence could be buried about a foot in the ground; with Mr. Moia responding it would have to do that also; and that is why the County is encouraging them to maintain the vegetative buffer, and if they cannot, to put in the silk fence to protect the surrounding area. Commissioner O'Brien stated when this first came up, the Commissioners were discussing developments going in and stripping many acres, then building the first house, and waiting for the buyers to come; and this is not addressing that concern. Assistant County Manager Peggy Busacca stated staff looked at it in two ways; first, there are no current requirements for preservation of trees; the Ordinance says certain trees are protected, but if someone wants to remove those trees, they can be replaced with a certain amount of additional new trees; and the proposal from staff is that mandatory tree protection would be included for the first time and have three options. She stated there would be preservation of certain size trees, the canopy cover, or the total inch of trunk; in addition to that, clearing would be done by phases; and each phase would have to be stabilized before the next phase could be cleared. She stated the requirements for wind-borne erosion, aside from limiting it by phases, will include watering, geotextiles, and/or silk fence, and buffers; and staff believes the mandatory tree preservation would result in less clearing on the entire site. Commissioner O'Brien stated one of the objections brought up this morning concerned geotextile use; he pictured it being laid down like sod; and inquired if that is what staff is trying to do here. Debbie Coles of Natural Resources Management stated Ms. Zarillo recommended it be a temporary kind of geotextile that would degrade over time; and that would be an acceptable use. Commissioner O'Brien stated the product used at the bridge construction at Port Canaveral was called Hold Grow; it is a spray-on type of erosion control that dissolves in sunlight after six months, but feeds the seedlings or plants while it is in place; and it is not a geotextile. Ms. Coles stated that is a method of seeding and mulching where the crystalline material included with the seeds degrades but also holds water enough for them to germinate even in dry conditions. Commissioner O'Brien inquired if the use of such a product is included in the ordinance; with Ms. Coles responding it was not specifically mentioned by product name, but can be added. Commissioner O'Brien stated as a methodology for erosion control, it should be included, giving the more generic name rather than the brand name; with Ms. Coles advising that would be hydroseeding. Commissioner O'Brien stated there is also a fabric that is rolled out that has litmus paper that holds moisture in, and works as a fertilizer.

Commissioner Carlson stated the County could do better justice to tree preservation by potentially putting the details of tree preservation in an ordinance separate from land clearing because there are certain elements of land clearing that are separate from just tree preservation. She stated she has seen some very nice tree and vegetation preservation ordinances; the critical habitat ordinance would blend into that at some point; but there would be a lot of clarity from just having a tree preservation ordinance, extracting those pieces of the land clearing ordinance and putting them in, and building upon model ordinances that are out there in the State. She stated she has looked at some of the Ordinances; and it may be worthwhile to look at them in terms of getting more specific rather than blending the two together because it is very confusing the way it is right now. She stated tree preservation and land clearing are two separate entities; land clearing deals with buffering, shielding, and all sorts of issues in regard to the elements; and it could be defined better with additional language, including some of the language that has been deleted in terms of relocation criteria and things like that. She inquired if staff has look at some of the tree preservation ordinances, and does staff feel this is the best way of going about blending land clearing with tree preservation. She stated the City of Melbourne has much stronger tree preservation conditions and a separate ordinance. She stated she has looked at other counties; some are specifically saying all trees shall be preserved unless located in a roadway, drainage facility, building pad, or utility easement; and that is stronger than what the County has put forward. She stated she would like to see stronger language that is more consistent with the cities within the County; and she would be interested in whether other cities like Titusville or Palm Bay have anything like that. Commissioner Higgs indicated Winter Park has such an ordinance. Commissioner Carlson inquired where is the buffering that is talked about in ordinance for perimeter buffering for residential subdivisions incorporated in the land clearing ordinance; and stated those in the land clearing ordinance are of a temporary nature. Ms. Busacca stated the intent is that staff believes if there is mandatory tree preservation, buffering would occur; if the average subdivision had to preserve 20% of canopy, it would most like be in the exterior, or in the event of an open space ordinance type subdivision, it would occur there; and staff did not see, based on the way engineering is typically done, that a subdivision would not end up with a buffer around it. Commissioner Carlson stated that is making an assumption; with Ms. Busacca agreeing it is. Ms. Busacca stated there is a 50-foot buffer required during the construction; and because it is required during construction, it would probably be maintained there as well. Commissioner Carlson stated she would not support advertising the ordinance until she sees a much cleaner rendition of land clearing, which very explicitly lays out tree preservation as an element or dividing it into two ordinances, and beefing up the tree preservation side of it. She stated she would rather see the best of the best, and then chisel down what anyone cannot live with.

Commissioner Higgs stated there is a start the Board can build on without going to the two separate things, although she is not necessarily against that; there are some good concepts in terms of tree preservation, which may be an improvement over what the County has; and saving a percentage of canopy may be a step forward. She stated some alternatives of that may be good; and she does not think 120 inches per acre is sufficient, but 220 inches might look good.

Chairman Scarborough stated he still needs to think about the ordinance.

Commissioner Higgs suggested deleing A.1 on page 8, which talks about single-family residences, and putting single-family in with number 2; and that would mean that single-family lots would be dealt with in the same way as other subdivisions. She stated that would be an improvement over where the County is now because at this time it excludes many lots that are already platted from even being involved in the ordinance. Commissioner O'Brien inquired how is the County doing that; with Commissioner Higgs if someone has more than one acre, they are included; and if they are less than one acre, they are exempted from the Ordinance. Commissioner O'Brien commented on having ten trees with a 12-inch diameter on a half-acre lot and trying to put a house and pool on the lot. Commissioner Higgs stated all of those need to be built in; but exclusion of the single-family lots weakens the land development procedures and preservation of trees. She stated inclusion of those in the draft is something the Board should look at; and if it also looked at the numbers on page 9 in terms of the actual implementation, it would significantly improve where the County is going. Commissioner O'Brien stated he is afraid of over-regulation; the ordinance will affect everything from Mims to Micco; and not everybody lives on large acreage lots. He stated he can understand having an ordinance that says a person cannot go in, mow everything down flat, build a house, and put some sticks in, calling them trees; but if the Board gets into less than one acre, it may be that the person could not build the nice house he or she would want to build. Commissioner Higgs stated that is why it is necessary to have it written in such a way that it takes into consideration the size of the lot; but if there are significant specimen trees on a quarter-acre lot, there should be some way of including that in what the Board should be doing. Commissioner O'Brien stated the Board can encourage that; with Commissioner Higgs stating Commissioner O'Brien does not want to do anything; and the Board needs to come up with ways to do it. Commissioner O'Brien stated the Board does not need to come up with ways to do it; eventually the County is going to come up with a way to do everything; and inquired when does government finally quit and let people enjoy their properties. He stated a quarter-acre lot is small; and if someone wants to build a house on it, but there is a tree, they will have to build around it. Commissioner Higgs stated there are ways of dealing with that, but there would still be some tree or canopy preservation.

Chairman Scarborough stated the Board will not be moving forward with an ordinance today; and he would like to get comments from the other Commissioners. Commissioner Colon stated the Board should not move forward; for the ordinance to take care of what the Board is trying to accomplish it should be called Land Clearing and Tree Preservation, so it will all be in one ordinance; and it needs to come back.

Chairman Scarborough inquired what direction staff would like from the Board; stated he does not think the Board is going to ask for the ordinance to be advertised; and the Board has indicated it would like staff to come back with some options incorporating the thoughts of the speakers today. He inquired if the Board wants to look at what Winter Park does or look at other ordinances; stated staff could give the Commissioners copies of some of the premiere ordinances in the State to review; and those can come back when the ordinance comes back for advertising. Ms. Busacca stated staff's understanding is that the Board wants to go with tree preservation; mandatory tree preservation would not necessarily permit someone to replace; currently there is replacement; and inquired if the Board wants to go with the mandatory conservation looking at specimen trees of a certain size, and perhaps addressing canopy cover as well. Chairman Scarborough stated it would be advantageous to provide a series of options for item that came up today. Commissioner Carlson stated she wants to see the minimum and maximum, what is the best and what is the least.

Discussion ensued on when the item should come back to the Board; with consensus reached to have it return at the last meeting in January 2002.

PUBLIC HEARING, RE: ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTION 62-2883, REQUIREMENTS
FOR PERIMETER BUFFERING FOR RESIDENTIAL SUBDIVISIONS

Chairman Scarborough called for the public hearing to consider an ordinance amending section 62-2883, Requirements for Perimeter Buffering for Residential Subdivisions.

Commissioner Carlson stated the only issue she was concerned about was how this ordinance and the land clearing would meld together.

Amy Mosher stated buffers for subdivisions are a great idea, and one which she supports; and the buffers serve to visually and aesthetically enhance an area; decrease noise blight, vibration, and pollution from dust; provide an amount of privacy for neighborhoods and subdivisions; and serve as wildlife corridors and seed banks for native plant species. She stated paragraph D sets out a minimum buffer requirement of 15 feet, which is better than no buffer, but it is still pretty small; and inquired how staff came up with that number, whether it could be raised to 20 or 25 feet, and whether land such as the Environmentally Endangered Land purchases could have more stringent buffering requirements. She stated if there is a 15-foot buffer, that leaves a 30-foot buffer between two subdivisions; but if there was a 25-foot buffer, that would leave a 50-foot buffer, which would provide a nice corridor and natural area.

Kim Zarillo stated she also wonders why 15 feet was chosen; described the size of the buffer in terms of rows of chairs in the Board room; and advised that would not be much screening. She stated it is a good idea to have a buffer; and suggested staff look at some other reference material and planning studies; and recommended a priority be given to natural vegetative buffers left in place and credits be given for that in landscaping. She stated the City of Gainesville has a good tree protection ordinance.

Frank Rockwell submitted paperwork to the Board, but not to the Clerk; and stated he lives in St. Andrews Isle in Suntree, and is a member and President of the Board of Directors of the St. Andrews Isle Homeowners Association. He read a letter from the Homeowners Association to the Board, as follows: "The Board of Directors of the St. Andrews Isle Homeowners Association unanimously voted to strongly support the amendment to Section 62-4062 of the County Ordinances of Brevard County by the addition of Subsection D requiring the establishment of a 15-foot natural buffer between residential subdivisions. This is especially important to the residents of St. Andrews Isle since the proposed Sawgrass 2 and 3 developments will directly abut the property of St. Andrews Isle. The proposed amendment will help to mitigate the following critical concerns: (1) Sawgrass residents compatibility with existing homes in St. Andrews Isle, (2) trespass by Sawgrass residents onto our property and private lake, and (3) lake liability issues." He stated this is not the first time he has been before the Board to discuss this; so he will not go into all the details about how this increases liability by 50%, etc. He stated the Homeowners Association strongly requests the Board adopt the ordinance; and commented if the Board desires to increase the buffer to 2,500 feet, they would be happy to let that happen. He stated this is a good step; it should be incumbent upon future developers to make sure there is a buffer between their community and existing communities; and in terms of laying down their site plans, they should take that into consideration in advance so the property they want to develop is still economically viable. He advised of disparity in the Code numbers given.

Commissioner Carlson inquired is buffering for residential subdivisions a stand-alone issue or is it something that can be incorporated in the land clearing ordinance.

Chairman Scarborough stated he is looking at two things; one is when someone does land clearing in terms of what happens during construction and the livability next door in an environmental sense; to some extent he can see this developing with greater distance as the incompatibility increases; and clarified the further apart the zoning classifications are, the further away the buffer should be. He stated that may be beyond the scope of the discussion; and inquired why should anyone encroach on someone else. He stated the more they are incompatible, the more they are likely to encroach; if the two properties are totally compatible, possibly 15 feet is fine; but where there are different size lots, smaller homes, and a different nature of development, he does not know if that has anything to do with the type of plant material or how they put up screens; and that may be a different thing. He stated that is not in this particular ordinance; and the Board can either address it in this context or re-advertise if it wants to go further.

Commissioner Carlson stated there are ordinances around the State for buffering; Manatee County has a great buffering ordinance that identifies areas, but is part of land clearing; and she would like to blend the two so they make the most sense.

Chairman Scarborough inquired where there are different size homes and lots or something substantially different such as multi-family, should there be greater distances. Commissioner Carlson inquired if Chairman Scarborough thinks it will stand alone. Chairman Scarborough stated part of the Board's job is to protect people's investments in their homes and property; and the compatibility issue protects them.

Commissioner Carlson inquired if the action is to consider the report so this will come back in a form ready to advertise; with Chairman Scarborough responding this ordinance is ready to be adopted today; but the Board can continue the public hearing. Chairman Scarborough stated if the Board makes too many substantial changes, such as he suggested, staff would have to come back with a new ordinance and re-advertise; and he does not want to do that. He stated he would like to see this stand alone because it could be built on in the compatibility issue, and someday have different measures for different levels of incompatibility. Commissioner Carlson inquired if Chairman Scarborough would rather leave the buffer at 15 feet instead of integrating different types of zoning incompatibility; with Chairman Scarborough responding that would take a different course of action; and he would like to see it come back for discussion on different levels of incompatibility with different levels of separation. Commissioner Higgs inquired if the desire is to continue the public hearing and direct staff to come back; with Chairman Scarborough responding no, he is willing to go ahead and adopt this now. He stated Commissioner Carlson said it should be merged into the other concept; but he hopes not, because he would like to see it build into other thoughts. Commissioner Carlson stated the Board can adopt this now so it will have something on the books, but staff should know the Board wants to look at other additional elements.

Motion by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Colon, to adopt an Ordinance of Brevard County, Florida, amending Chapter 62, Article VII, Code of Ordinances of Brevard County, Florida; specifically amending Section 62-2883 entitled General Design Requirements and Standards, requiring perimeter buffers for residential subdivisions; providing applicability in unincorporated areas; providing interpretation of conflicting provisions; providing severability; providing an effective date. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

Chairman Scarborough directed staff to provide a report, including whether other counties are looking at measures to address level of incompatibility.

PERSONAL APPEARANCE - TOBY GRANIMS, RE: SOUTH BREVARD HUMANE
SOCIETY

Toby Granims stated she came to speak about a petition she was given at her veterinarian's office approximately a months ago requesting help for the ones who cannot help themselves; it is in reference to the operation of the South Brevard Humane Society being assumed by Animal Control; and it says that Animal Control will focus on running an impoundment facility with little or no effort given to animal welfare. She stated it says Animal Control will turn the shelter into an impersonal pound, primarily holding stray animals and performing euthanasia and disposal. She stated since she saw the petition, she has spoken to two or three people from the County who told her that at least half of what was on the petition is not true; and they told her that there was a two-year contract with the Central Brevard Humane Society to run the South Shelter, but now the County wants to take it over again because it is not happy about staffing and management. She stated when animals get vetted out, if they have something in their blood that is terminal or contagious, then there is no hope; but there are many pets at the shelters that could be doing a lot for people including senior citizens; and advised of the case of a widow whose grief and depression were helped by adopting a dog from the shelter. She stated the cats, dogs, horses, etc. are living beings with feelings and emotions; and the suggestion that people should go to a pet shop is not good because a lot of purebred dogs are prone to hip displacement, tumors, and various other things. She stated the mixed breeds that come to the shelters are the healthier animals; and advised of the value in bringing a pet into a house to teach children a sense of responsibility. She advised of an incident in New Smyrna Beach in the 1980's where 27 horses that were starving were rescued, the arrangements she made for them to get pet nutrition-type medicines, and the community support. She stated someone mentioned volunteers; when she was in New Smyrna Beach, one of the volunteers was about to sit a big bucket of feed under one of the horses, but that is wrong because it is necessary to start out very gradually and then increase or the animals will get sick. She advised of a horse in Palm Bay which had an injured leg, but the owner failed to call a veterinarian; stated someone from Animal Control or the Humane Society went to look at the horse and got it veterinary care; and she saw the animal a few weeks ago, but does not know if it can walk. She recommended talking to volunteers to see what they know; and commented on problems with starving horses, wet hay, and colic. She stated these animals can bring so much love especially to older people; and advised of dogs that are taken to hospitals and nursing homes. She stated humane is the word that is most important; the animals need humane treatment; and when she saw the petition she was appalled, and has no idea where it started. She advised of people who were so happy with the first animal they adopted from the shelter that they adopted others; stated the animals at the shelters are fit and cannot have anything in their blood indicating they are contagious; so people know when they adopt, they are getting a healthy pet. She advised of an incident involving a dog that was sick, had a fever, and did not make it.

Commissioner Colon thanked Ms. Granims for coming to the meeting; stated it is obvious she is an animal lover; and the Board will do everything in its power to make sure the animals are protected. She requested Mr. Jackson comment. Ms. Granims requested if there is no final decision made about this by December 31, 2001, that the contract be continued. Commissioner Colon advised the Board already voted on it.

Animal Services Director Randy Jackson stated all of the shelters do extensive medical testing; there is a full-time staff veterinarian who does wellness checks on animals; there are medications to treat all sorts of respiratory problems and other things; and they do heartworm and other medical testing. He stated in making that transition in January, they plan on making quite a few improvements to the shelter as far as record keeping, computerization, and things of that nature; and advised of work done on the shelter already by a group of volunteers. He stated the volunteers have committed to continuing their efforts at the shelter.

Mary Peer stated she is present regarding the petition to reverse the decision made by the Board to have the shelter operated by Animal Services; the decision was due to many events that have occurred over the past year; and it was not made without careful consideration. She stated the petition paints a bleak picture of how the County will run the shelter; the petition was generated by a group of uninformed individuals who have not been a part of what has been occurring at the shelter; the person in charge of the petition was Teresa from Wickham Road Animal Hospital, who said she was told by Animal Services what was planned for the new shelter; but obviously none of that was mentioned in the petition. She commented on horror stories about County-run shelters, and what happened to Tiffany at the Humane Society; and stated when Teresa was asked if she heard about Tiffany, she said mistakes happen and that they have also happened at the Wickham Road Animal Hospital, but that corrective measures need to be taken to insure they do not occur again. She stated no one has taken responsibility for what happened to Tiffany at Central Brevard Humane Society South; and inquired if they do not believe a mistake was made, how will they correct it. She stated the people who generated the petition are interest in what is best for the animals, but need to be more informed and more involved in making sure the plans are implemented. She stated she hopes everyone speaking on the issue and the people who signed the petition will become a part of making this shelter the best that it should be. She stated it is easy to sign a petition without knowing the whole story and walk away; but if they truly want the best for the animals, they need to be willing to help make the changes. She stated it was said that a County-run shelter would not have the volunteers or donations the Humane Society receives; but she would like to think it does not matter who is operating the shelter for concerned animal lovers to get involved in helping the animals. She stated the Humane Society received tax dollars to help cover some operating expenses; the issue is the animals having to pay the price for human failure; she will be there to help the animals no matter who operates the shelter; and she hopes more people will come forward with that same intention. She stated it is obvious the previous speaker is totally uninformed about what has been going on in the past year; and she was one of the volunteers at the Central Brevard Humane Society, and will continue to volunteer with Animal Services because the main focus is the animals of Brevard County.

Virginia Sobredo stated she just learned this matter would once again be presented to the Board; the decision made for the County to resume management of CBHS was well thought out and discussed in detail; and the decision was based on all the facts and statements given by all the speakers at the meetings regarding this issue. She stated the County engaged in extensive research substantiating the need for the change and assuring proper plans for the future; but the petition shows a lack of research and is misleading to the public. She stated if she read the petition, she would probably sign it; she understands it was circulated with good intentions; but to circulate a petition without the necessary facts was irresponsible. She stated just a little research would show the programs, which the petition claims to be currently in place by CBHS, are not in place; and it is ironic that these are among the many programs the County will have in place. She stated a little research shows the County is striving towards a low-kill shelter that may be no-kill one day; but that will take positive involvement of the community; and she hopes those who truly want the best for the animals will embrace the change and be a part of it. She inquired if CBHS was operating the shelter effectively and abiding by its contract, addressing citizen concerns, acknowledging and resolving problems, improving policies and procedures, upgrading the record system, organizing new programs including expanded adoption programs, expanding education for employees and the community, creating innovative ideas for the future, appreciating volunteer work, minimizing euthanasia, and utilizing rescue groups, vet care, and foster families to the fullest, would this issue be before the Board today.

Scott Beckham thanked the Board for the action taken last month and for turning the animal issue around; stated he was one of the volunteers helping Mr. Jackson on Sunday; and it would be a grave mistake to consider reversing the Board's previous decision regarding the shelter. He commented on the petition not being completely factual; and stated if the Board reversed its decision based on partial facts, it would be setting the wrong precedent. He stated everyone knows what happened to his dog, and nobody has accepted responsibility; but that does not mean that the shelter should not move forward. He stated the primary concern is what is going to be the best for the animals; the past system did not work; there was no accountability or responsibility; CBHS continually refused to accept the fact that his dog was injured and needed medical care; and if the people knew the facts, they would not have signed the petition. He stated the Board needs to move on with the new plan for the shelter; it will not make everybody happy; he would have supported whatever decision the Board made last month; and thanked the Board for taking over the shelter.

Karen Nemschick stated Clara Gunde had the opportunity for the past 11 years to make the Humane Society a safe place for animals, but it has been out of compliance since 1992, and has not been a safe place for animals. She commented on Ms. Gunde's running of the shelter and failure to attend the last Board meeting; and the people are present because they are concerned about what will happen to the animals. She stated the Board agreed to take over the shelter and start fresh; this is what the County needs; and Mr. Jackson and the community volunteers have been working hard to accomplish the goals of long overdue changes. She stated they have visited different shelters and gathered information on the best way to run the new shelter; and Mr. Jackson has already implemented more changes in the last month than Ms. Gunde did in 11 years. She stated at the last Board meeting Commissioner Colon said she expected the public to be available to help; Sunday the volunteers went to the shelter and donated time and energy to help Mr. Jackson; and she respects the County for having the courage to stand up and make changes that are obviously overdue. She requested the Board not reverse its decision and allow the community the chance to make the changes.

Commissioner O'Brien inquired if someone put something on the Agenda that the Board had some intention of reversing its last motion; with County Manager Tom Jenkins responding no, this was a personal appearance. Commissioner O'Brien inquired what is this all about; stated the Board has not said it was going to reverse its action; and nothing of that sort is on the Agenda now or in the near future. Mr. Jenkins stated originally the personal appearance was filled out in a certain manner; since that time the first speaker got some additional information and changed her perspective; but that is what brought this all about.

Susan Canada stated this started because a petition has been going around throughout the veterinary offices in the community requesting the decision be reversed and to have the Central Brevard Humane Society step back into the position of running the shelter on Eau Gallie Boulevard; she spoke to Ms. Granims for several hours explaining that the petition had many false facts including allegations that the facility will be a pound with no adoptions; and many of the veterinarians passing around the petition have no information about the County currently running the North Animal Care Center (NAC), which does adopt out animals, medicate animals, have a foster program, use volunteers, and have a capable staff. She stated when she said this to the veterinarians with petitions, they did not care, and the petitions stayed, even when she offered to bring them to NAC. She stated right now there is a lack of information in the community; Mr. Jackson did a press release and has been on television; but more positive information on what the County plans to do is needed to dispel fears and false rumors in the community. She stated there should be something in the free press; and signs that volunteers are needed for different work events should be posted in grocery stores, pet shops, etc. She stated Animal Service is discussing a class to train those in rescue; and perhaps that could also include volunteers who would work at the shelter, so there will be properly trained volunteers. She stated nothing can bring Tiffany back to Mr. Beckham; but for other owners whose pets get out, one idea is for the County to put strays across a website each evening so owners can see if their animals are at the shelter. She stated perhaps Mr. Beckham would be willing to volunteer with the County to take pictures of the animals to put on the County website so these strays can be returned to their owners.

Mr. Jenkins stated on November 20, 2001 the Board authorized the County to take over the shelter at the end of December, but he failed to ask the Board for authorization to adjust the budget revenues and expenditures to reflect that transfer and to add the positions; this item was going to be put on next week's agenda; but if the Board wishes to close out the issue, it may do it today.

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Colon, to authorize staff to adjust budget revenues and expenditures to reflect the transfer of operation of the South Brevard Animal Shelter to the County and to add the necessary positions. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

PUBLIC COMMENT - DOUG SPHAR, RE: ST. JOHNS RIVER WATER MANAGEMENT
DISTRICT ANNOUNCEMENT ON WATER SHORTAGE

Doug Sphar stated he resides on Lake Poinsett, which is one of the St. Johns Chain of Lakes; the St. Johns River Water Management District recently announced that Central Florida may be afflicted by water shortages as soon as 2006; and advised of articles on the subject that appeared in the Orlando Sentinel and Florida TODAY newspapers. He stated the St. Johns River Water Management District said that the pending crisis did not apply to Brevard County; but there are unanswered questions. He stated the Orlando Sentinel article said Orange County needs additional water to accommodate the unbridled development in East Orange County; by coincidence Cocoa's wellfield is in East Orange County and the Taylor Creek Reservoir where Cocoa gets its surface water is partly in Orange County and partly in Osceola County; and these counties are eyeing surface water solutions, which sounds like the St. Johns River. He stated Florida could end up with the equivalent of the Colorado River, where over 100% of the water is allocated to various entities; and he does not think the County's neighbors are going to stand by quietly while Brevard County tries to preempt all the water in the river. He stated he was at a meeting where Wendy Spencer, Director of Florida's Parks, showed data and expressed concern that the District, in order to accommodate consumption permits, is establishing stream minimum daily flow levels that approach drought season levels, except this can happen any time of the year. He stated Ms. Spencer advised these minimum daily flow levels could adversely affect State parks; Captain Matthews, Manager of the Tosahatchee Reserve in East Orange County, has expressed his concern about further diversion of the St. Johns River and possible impacts to the reserve; and as a resident along the river and recreational user, he is also concerned. He stated the inland counties say they are looking at desalinization; but he does not think they will be piping raw seawater to Orange County for processing and disposal of the brine product; and suggested the Board guess where they might want to put their desalinization plants. He stated he is not saying there is a water crisis imminent; but there is a possibility the water might be receding a little; and he is not posing any solutions, but is saying the recent announcements of the District pose questions that need to be answered and factored into the County's planning process.

Commissioner Higgs stated it is interesting to see some of the issues being reversed that the County dealt with ten to fifteen years ago; those counties were worried about Brevard County coming to get water; and now it looks like those counties are looking to other surface water sources, so there needs to be monitoring.

Chairman Scarborough stated some of the things he and Commissioner Higgs have seen at the Planning Council meetings are interesting; people are moving into areas that many would think are totally unpopulated; but there are some massive developments occurring.

Commissioner Carlson stated they would like to discuss that at the American Heritage River Steering Committee level as well because it is a concern.

PUBLIC COMMENT - NELLY STRICKLAND, RE: WATER SHORTAGE

Nelly Strickland stated she has predicted the water scarcity for years, and now it is here; one big aquifer north of Orlando collapsed, which is what happens when water keeps being drawn out; and recommended preservation of water. She commented on the City of Titusville allowing second water meters for yard use only, wasting potable water when there is not going to be drinking water in the not to far off future, making money rather than water the priority, and plans of the City. She stated all the sources are going to run out; there is water at the North Brevard County line, but it is not an infinite resource; and with all the poor zoning the rainfall goes to the wetlands that have been filled, whereas they used to filter water back down into the aquifer. She commented on the size of the St. Johns River previously and at this time; and recommended a Countywide ordinance forbidding the watering of lawns. She advised of water conditions in Holland, people putting in green lawns, cost of water, need for ordinance to outlaw second meters, and the Titusville City Council.

PUBLIC COMMENT - DIANE DAVIS, RE: EXPANDING FARMERS' MARKETS TO
INCLUDE SALE OF SMALL ANIMALS AND LIVESTOCK

Diane Davis stated the Board made a motion to close the public hearing; she did not hear it; she has been at meetings when the Chairman asked the applicant to come back for rebuttal; and she would have liked to have been given that opportunity, but was not. She stated when she tried to tell the Board she was going to be excluded based on what was being presented, she was not allowed even to do that; and she feels cheated and that the Board was rude.

Chairman Scarborough apologized; and stated that this is a very complex issue. He stated the Board made no decisions today; therefore, there was an incapacity to move forward without obtaining additional information.

Ms. Davis stated she does not want staff to go out and jump all over the place when they do not know what the Board wants; she has been working on this for almost a year; and when staff is just told to go out and come back with something, it leaves staff not knowing what to do. Chairman Scarborough stated the Board gave staff some instruction. Ms. Davis stated she did not hear that; and if the Board leaves the collector roadway in, she is excluded. Chairman Scarborough stated that was not discussed. Ms. Davis stated she understands that; staff does not know what to do; when it comes back, there is going to be discussion; and it is not fair that staff does not have direction. Chairman Scarborough stated the Board does not create an ordinance for one person, ordinances are created in a universal sense that will be applied many times; and the Board has to do the right thing for people on all sides. He stated what the Board found out today is beyond the land use compatibility issues; there were some health concerns and animal concerns that were not addressed because the issue was not referred to those departments and persons who had that expertise; therefore, the Board decided to defer it to get that additional information; and when and how it comes back has yet to be determined.

Ms. Davis stated feels there is no point in going any further because the Board has decided against the request. Chairman Scarborough stated that is an incorrect assumption; this is a very unique item; new items were brought up today that had not been previously considered by staff, which did not have the expertise to deal with health, transport of animals, and transmission of animal diseases; and the Board needs that information to address the ordinance. He reiterated it is not Ms. Davis' ordinance; it is the people of Brevard County's ordinance; and whether Ms. Davis wishes to withdraw or not, it is the Board's intention to explore the issue. Ms. Davis agreed it is the County's ordinance; stated they wanted something in writing to protect everyone and had no problem with review by different boards; but she does not want staff to have to wonder what the Board wants; and she did not hear clear direction to staff.

Commissioner Carlson inquired did the Board give staff clear direction; with County Manager Tom Jenkins responding staff understands the issues the Board wants it to look at. Mr. Jenkins stated they will have to get technical input and talk to people who deal with animal and human health in order to address those issues; staff will come back with that information; and there were other suggestions the Board can look at incorporating.

Commissioner O'Brien stated there are a lot of people involved in this type of thing; and Ms. Davis could help herself and staff by communicating with Mel Scott and others who are involved in this specific part of the ordinance, getting a copy of the revisions before they come to the Board, and calling the Chairman to advise of items that are incompatible with what Ms. Davis wants and suggestions for changes. He stated sometimes changes that are suggested to staff before getting to Board level are noted within the ordinances. He stated if Ms. Davis finds something in the ordinance that does not sound right, she can direct a letter to the Board with specific suggestions to correct it; and specificity is very important in doing ordinances.

Ms. Davis stated she did that in the LPA meeting, but it was not passed on to the Board; and she wants to be sure when staff comes back, they have clear direction to provide the Board with information it can make a decision on.

Commissioner Higgs clarified with each item under a public hearing, an individual is allowed five minutes; when there is a specific zoning application or Comprehensive Plan change, the Board allows ten minutes plus rebuttal; and perhaps there is some misunderstanding of the procedures; but they are clear, five minutes per individual.

WARRANT LISTS

Upon motion and vote, the meeting adjourned at 1:16 p.m.

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ATTEST: TRUMAN G. SCARBOROUGH, CHAIRMAN
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA
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SCOTT ELLIS, CLERK

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