The Board of County Commissioners of Brevard County, Florida, met in special workshop session on May 10, 1999, at 10:00 a.m. in the Government Center Florida Room, Building C, 2725 Judge Fran Jamieson Way, Viera, Florida. Present were: Chairman Truman Scarborough, Commissioners Nancy Higgs, Sue Carlson, and Helen Voltz, County Manager Tom Jenkins, and Assistant County Attorney Shannon Wilson. Absent were: Commissioner O'Brien and *County Attorney Scott Knox.

DISCUSSION , RE: DEPARTMENTAL VISIONING - COMMUNITY SERVICES GROUP

County Manager Tom Jenkins advised the Board asked each Department to put together a list of improvements they would propose to provide an optimal level of service for the future; and they discussed that and concluded that ten years would be an optimal period to phase something in. He stated they have a collection of each Department's visions divided by groups; the Board talked about each Department going through their visions; and staff is prepared to do that if desired.

Parks and Recreation Department

Parks and Recreation Director Charles Nelson advised staff put together a list of component pieces that ultimately create the vision for Parks and Recreation; their planning has been suspect as it has always been done on a funding and pay-as-you-go basis which does not help when doing long-range planning; and the vision provides for consistent and sustainable levels of service. He stated a major problem is treating major repairs and equipment on an emergency basis; and they do not respond until equipment breaks down versus planning for the normal useful life. He noted the vision will provide access to Brevard County's natural resources; and two major components are continuing beach access on sites acquired but not yet developed and boat launches. He stated it is an area the Board has struggled with over the last several years; and there are not adequate spaces for launching boats. He stated if the County does those three things, the spin-off benefits would be enhancement of tourism opportunities. Mr. Nelson advised Brevard County has a great diversity of resources that creates a unique setting; the County has done a great deal towards preservation of those resources, but it is not as good in the active areas; and that is the area that needs to be looked at because better and higher quality recreation facilities can attract a growing sports market and tourism, and provide higher quality facilities for local residents. He stated during the times there are tournaments or other major activities in town, the whole community will benefit from that tourism element. He stated to accomplish the visions there need to be more partnerships; Brevard County has intricate relationships with cities because of the special taxing districts; it has relationships through interlocal agreements with cities and the School Board; but each of those have room for improvement. He stated they have access to school facilities, but never discussed improvements to those facilities for after-school recreation uses; most principals allow the use of their fields but not the restrooms which are inside the schools; Volusia County has been successful in building restrooms on sites suitable to their school system; and principals are more receptive to those types of improvements. Mr. Nelson stated they try to put together a large number of items that would constitute the vision of being a quality service provider for leisure services and enhancing the quality of life for the residents of and visitors to Brevard County.

Chairman Scarborough advised of the accomplishments of the Port St. John community that chose to tax themselves; stated it is incredible what they have done with their money; and it is a premier community in Central Florida as far as recreational facilities are concerned. Mr. Nelson advised staff is working with three committees at this time, one in Merritt Island, one in North Brevard, and one in South Brevard, and talking about that; they know Port St. John was successful in getting its facilities because it put together a program and brought it to the community; and there is an interest in doing that in each of those locations. He noted it is more complicated in South Brevard because of the cities which have to buy into it, but it is not insurmountable. He stated the Space Coast Communities Sports Complex, formerly called the Off-Road Vehicle Park, is going to be one of the most impressive recreational facilities, not because it was expensive, but because it was well done and meets the recreational needs.

Commissioner Voltz inquired about a park for ATV's and other off-road vehicles; with Mr. Nelson responding FEC Railway Company is willing to talk to the County about it; he is working with members of the industry and local riders to put together a package to bring to the Board; and it should be ready in July. Commissioner Voltz inquired if there is any site in the south end of the County; with Mr. Nelson responding they identified some sites, but land ownership is more difficult to deal with. Commissioner Voltz inquired if the Platts have large sites where the Transfer Station is going to be; with Mr. Nelson responding they have some land, but they may not be interested; and Carlyle and Harold Platt own land near the Palm Bay Regional Park. Commissioner Voltz inquired about leasing the land; with Mr. Nelson responding the Platts would have to determine if it is in their best interest and what the dollar amount would be. Commissioner Higgs stated they may be more open to a lease than a purchase so they can maintain control and keep their options open. Commissioner Voltz stated she would talk to Harold Platt about that. Mr. Nelson stated Mr. Platt was not interested in selling the land by Palm Bay Regional Park because he plans to develop it, but he may own land somewhere else although he did not offer it.

Commissioner Higgs inquired about a cooperative effort with the School Board regarding the gym at Hoover School; with Mr. Nelson responding that is proceeding; they have their money together; and the agreement which will transfer the money is to go forward. He noted it will be about a $92,000 project.

Commissioner Voltz inquired about port-o-lets at school sites for soccer, etc.; with Mr. Nelson responding the schools are not anxious to see things that are temporary or port-o-lets which are notoriously turned over; but principals are becoming more receptive to community use. He stated for a school site they would want something more permanent. He stated another problem is the citizens want the school sites maintained to a higher standard than a typical playground; and the schools' concern is they do not mind the use, but are not in a position to maintain the facilities. Commissioner Higgs stated when bathrooms were priced for beach and riverfront sites, the lowest price was about $30,000, which is incredible. She noted restrooms are stumbling blocks for those programs; and there has to be a cheaper way to do it.

Mr. Nelson advised the solution to a lot of recreational crowding on Merritt Island is potentially solvable by using school properties; they are very aggressive already with the schools there; under certain conditions schools will let the County use large open fields, soccer fields, etc.; but they are more resistant when it comes to Little League complexes because it would take off pieces of their facilities that they cannot use, which causes them some concern. He noted there is opportunity to do a combination of both and be successful; and if they can work out those relationships with the schools, they would be ahead.

Commissioner Carlson advised Mr. Nelson gave a time line to 2010 and the costs for each year to provide that level of service for his vision; and inquired if there are numbers of the total amount for each year. Mr. Nelson advised it is difficult to project the numbers because there are so many choices for the Board to decide such as recreational use of causeways, tree planting program, etc. He stated they could work some of the others, but he would not know how to do it for the causeways which involves partnerships, and because each one is unique. Commissioner Carlson advised the Board needs to define its vision for parks and recreation which is closest to the people in terms of providing services, and identifies a level of service and quality of life in a community; and advised of her experiences on the Parks and Recreation South Sector Advisory Board, noting a wish list that never got to fruition because of budgetary constraints. She stated she would like to see details of ongoing funding mechanisms other than General Fund, and the number that can be consistently funded to improve the level of service over the next 20 years. She inquired about the $400,000 for capital equipment and what that means in terms of overall quality; with Mr. Nelson responding it is a ten-year replacement program to get rid of old equipment, but it would never completely achieve the goal for $400,000 a year, because at the end of five or six years is equipment typically needs to be replaced.

Commissioner Carlson advised another concern is keeping the integrity of parks and recreation facilities such as Wickham Park, by purchasing outlying parcels and making sure what is in the park is owned by the County and has no potential harm if it stays in private ownership. Mr. Nelson stated there are about 33 outparcels left at Wickham Park, which would cost approximately $150,000 to $200,000 to purchase. Commissioner Carlson stated it does not sound like a lot of money, but over the last ten years the County has not made headway in doing that; if it starts allowing commercial encroachment on Wickham Park, it will have all the problems that go with that; and it is the only regional park in the central part of the County. She stated it is over used right now; it needs to be protected; and she would like to see more of that. Commissioner Carlson advised there are numbers on salt water boating access improvements; ramps are crucial, but parks and recreational facilities are a huge reflection on the County; and as far as economic development, how many parks it has per capita makes a big difference. Mr. Nelson advised the boat ramp numbers are the most accurate as they have done significant review of that; and the others are best guesses which can be further refined. He stated on any given weekend the causeways are inundated, so they are being used for recreation; the problem is the cost; the sites are not designed for access and create problems in the lagoon; and it is not a managed recreational use, so on Monday mornings the places look terrible. He stated people coming into Brevard County and heading toward the beaches across the causeways do not get a good appearance of a community that cares; and they can do a better job in conjunction with FDOT and the cities to improve that. Commissioner Higgs inquired about FDOT enhancement funds; with Mr. Nelson responding that is a possibility that has been used successfully in other communities. He stated the best one he can think of is Courtenay Campbell Causeway between Tampa and Clearwater that used to be similar to Brevard County causeways; and they went through a process with the two counties, two cities and the State, and came up with the resources for improvements. Chairman Scarborough inquired if Assistant Public Works Director Ed Washburn said all the State projects that applied for enhancement funds this year would probably be funded; with Mr. Washburn responding the State is doing that, and the projects will be judged on June 3, 1999. Chairman Scarborough stated the County was extracting money from MSTU's and not doing other things to get enhancement funds; Brevard County will be successful unless it does something technically wrong, because there is money available; and encouraged staff to apply for those funds and double the money, particularly for those visible corridors to provide recreational and tourism attractions. He stated there needs to be a real interest to make it happen. Commissioner Higgs stated they need to be multi-functional and not just pretty. Commissioner Carlson stated the State has chosen to do the next generation P2000 Florida Forever program where more money is going to be set aside for trail systems, interconnectivity, and connections with parks; and the County can get money indirectly through that program by providing connections.

Commissioner Voltz advised she wants to see Palm Bay Regional Park expanded; there are so many children in the area; and if they have something to do they would not get in trouble and commit juvenile crimes. She stated the Board needs to give the children in the Palm Bay area something to do. Commissioner Carlson stated the need for facilities is ongoing; she meets with more people who are concerned about not having enough soccer fields and baseball fields, and who want to know what are the options, how is Viera working, and how has growth kept up with itself; and it has not when it comes to recreational facilities. Mr. Nelson stated they are doing more cooperative efforts with cities, which is encouraging, because recreational services do not lend themselves to district lines; Beach and Riverfront funds were used to acquire a site that is operated and managed by the City of Satellite Beach; and there will be more of that because they are all in the same financial boat. He stated the City of Melbourne needs a facility in the north part of the City; people in the unincorporated area drive into the City to use its facilities; so there may be an opportunity to come up with a cooperative program that could double the money by working with the cities.

Commissioner Carlson inquired how the EEL's lands affect Parks and Recreation; with Mr. Nelson responding it has not had an impact because they came with dollars. Commissioner Carlson inquired if those dollars can be used for capital equipment for maintenance; with Mr. Nelson responding the type of equipment it would use would not be the shared type; and typically they have to be separate and are not big equipment. Commissioner Carlson inquired about manpower; with Mr. Nelson responding once they leave the site, unless it is for training, there is a risk of violating the referendum so they monitor that very closely.

County Manager Tom Jenkins advised last year the proposed budget for the General Fund recommended donation of Erna Nixon Park to EEL'S, but the Board declined to do that. He stated it would have been legal and appropriate for EEL's to pick up operation of that park. He noted Ms. Hames was delighted with the proposal because she was comfortable with EEL's managing Erna Nixon Park.

Commissioner Carlson inquired if Mr. Nelson went to other counties or states to look for the best of the best or some model that would be good for Brevard County; with Mr. Nelson responding he has not because it is difficult to find somewhere that has what Brevard County has in terms of diversity. He stated Pinellas County has probably one of the finest park systems in the country, but it does not have the recreational components that Brevard County has. He stated Sarasota may be close, but it is different in its make-up also; so it is difficult to find a place that matches the criteria. Mr. Jenkins advised in most areas, the cities provide recreation and the county provides regional parks; the people who live in unincorporated areas operate their own parks; but Brevard County is unique and has a hodgepodge. He stated Palm Bay Regional Park is an athletic facility which in many cases would be done by the cities. Mr. Nelson stated people come here to see what Brevard County is doing with recreation.

Commissioner Voltz stated Palm Bay talked about the County giving them the park and letting them handle it; with Mr. Nelson responding he offered them the keys but they would not take it. Mr. Jenkins stated the County even offered money that it would have spent on the park for the next two years if they would take it. Commissioner Voltz stated she talked to the Mayor who said they would love to do it if the County would give them so much money. Mr. Jenkins stated the County would give them money for several years, but not forever. Mr. Nelson stated the users of that site extend beyond the City limits, so there is an impact; cities want to charge non-residents, but the County is not in a position to allow that because the resources used for the park came from outside of the City limits also.

Commissioner Carlson inquired about the history of cities putting out referendums that either failed or passed; with Mr. Nelson responding Rockledge attempted one last year that failed, and North Brevard's referendum also failed. Commissioner Voltz stated Palm Bay has put out so many referendums. Chairman Scarborough stated North Brevard lost its referendum because they piled on things such as arenas, skating rinks, etc. and there were people behind it whose motivations were not trusted. He stated to have a referendum pass, the Commissioners should stay out of it and let the community decide what it wants. Mr. Nelson stated they just tell them what the process is, but do not participate in an active way. Commissioner Carlson stated she suggested to several leagues that approached her to talk to each other and present something to the Board that it can work with. Mr. Nelson advised they have been involved with the Merritt Island Youth Sports Association which is an informal group of youth organizations put together by Commissioner O'Brien; they will be coming to the Board to tell it what they see as their needs; and one of their thoughts may be a referendum. Commissioner Carlson noted if everyone has a piece of their own that they will get out of a referendum, they will be happy and support it. Mr. Nelson stated with most referendums, if there is a clear purpose, they understand what they are going to get, and they agree with it. He noted Rockledge may have failed because it was larger than the people felt they needed.

Mr. Nelson stated they will put together additional details for each area of their visioning plan. Commissioner Voltz objected to deleting the tree-planting program; and stated it is vitally important to the landscaping to upscale the County. Mr. Nelson stated the total numbers may seem high, but equipment replacement at $400,000 a year divided by the size of the organization, would only give $100,000 for each area; and that would equate to two trucks, two mowers, and some miscellaneous equipment.

Chairman Scarborough advised some people in South Brevard wanted to create a botanical park; if created in that area, it would be difficult to get to rather than near a causeway which would also create tourist revenue; and Rob Varley is putting together a botanical park revenue cash flow report. He encouraged the Board to be aggressive with a botanical park on the Pineda Causeway where it is warm, where there will be activity back and forth across the causeway, and where it can be a major tourist attraction for people interested in that type of park. Commissioner Higgs stated the last time she talked to those people, they had a concept at the Broken Glass/Road and Bridge facility that would work nicely, but they decided they wanted a site of their own. Chairman Scarborough expressed concern about getting cash flow from tourism at that location as opposed to the Pineda Causeway area where there will be accessibility when it connects to I-95 which is going to happen some day. Commissioner Carlson stated Nashville has a nice arboretum in the City limits that is sort of centrally located; and if that is the concept for Brevard County, it needs to be located so it is easy to get to. Chairman Scarborough stated his concept is that it should be accessible for people traveling I-95; and there are other criteria, such as centrally located so people can visit a downtown park; but to get the cash flow from tourists who visit Central Florida and want to see a botanical garden, he cannot think of a better place than a causeway area. Mr. Nelson inquired how large an area is the group looking for; with Commissioner Higgs responding the concept they showed her could fit on the 70 acres minus 30 acres for Road and Bridge; so they were looking at 40 acres for a multi-use; but they do not have a lot of money. Commissioner Voltz stated the developer who is putting in a huge development in the hole of the donut in Palm Bay is offering land for a botanical garden; and the development will also have an Arnold Palmer golf course and a lot of amenities. She noted hopefully it will be close to the future beltway. Commissioner Carlson stated the County could do it and see how it works.

Chairman Scarborough advised the other issue is a State park as referenced by Commissioner O'Brien, to be used for launching of deep water fishing boats in the Merritt Island area. He stated he talked to Ron Hight and Lloyd Bridges about getting property on the east side of Merritt Island from the federal government and let the State take it over and manage it. He noted nobody would say yes, but they did not say no either; so if the County could get the federal government to give it land and the State to manage it, Brevard County could have a State park that could be used to access the Banana River. He stated the Port has volunteered money; the State said it would; so he will continue to bring it before the Board because it would be a great place for a State park next to the Space Center and Port. Commissioner Voltz stated Commissioner O'Brien talked about a State park on the Barge Canal; with Chairman Scarborough responding the east bank north of the Barge Canal would be more favorable because they would not have to access the Barge Canal with additional traffic.

Commissioner Carlson inquired how Wickham Park faired with the fires over the weekend; with Mr. Nelson responding if there was something significant, they would have gotten a call, but they did not, so he does not know if it was a campfire gone bad or not. Commissioner Carlson stated there was a long line of smoke, but maybe the rain put it out.

Transit Services Department

Transit Services Director Jim Liesenfelt advised staff looked at areas that would help make Brevard County one of the top ten communities; they focused on one area, which is expanding fixed routes; they believe the fixed route system is the backbone of viable transportation in Brevard County; and it needs expansion to get people to employment, welfare clients back to work, provide transportation to seniors for shopping and medical needs, mobility for youths after school and during the summer, and as an economic growth engine for businesses along the routes. He noted Wal-Mart is cooperative and Publix on Babcock Street is interested in making sure the bus service continues because it is a major part of its business. Mr. Liesenfelt advised they show expanding fixed routes to 15 hours of service a day, from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., and a bus will come by every 30 minutes instead of 90 and 100 minutes. He stated they estimate that it will cost an additional $2.5 million in 2009; that will be about 47% of their budget; transit systems across the State are funded about 50% by local funding; and as of now, their local funding is about 14%. He stated the extra funding would be for operating side as they will have enough capital funding to purchase buses and maintain them, so they are looking for additional funding for operations.

Commissioner Higgs inquired if the Central area has the highest ridership routes; with Mr. Liesenfelt responding they have the shortest number of hours per day, operating from 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.; and the south routes operate eight to ten hours a day, so they are looking to improve the central routes. He stated the Cocoa-Rockledge route is the second best performing route in the system; everything in the central area goes to Merritt Square Mall, and those on the Cocoa-Rockledge bus are requesting not to go to Merritt Square Mall and keep it in Cocoa/Rockledge. Commissioner Higgs inquired about the concentration of employees at Harris Corporation to relieve overstressed roads; with Mr. Liesenfelt responding they were invited to speak to Harris two months ago for the first time at the invitation of an employee advisory group; however, they have not shown an interest, so staff started with the central area demand. He stated everything is interchangeable if the Board decides to concentrate in another area such as Palm Bay or Titusville. Commissioner Higgs inquired if they are looking at gas tax revenue; with Mr. Liesenfelt responding it could be anything.

Commissioner Voltz inquired if the 9, 10, and 11 cents of the gas tax are approved, how much would be allotted to SCAT; with Mr. Liesenfelt responding that would be up to the Board; they receive one-tenth of one cent under the Ordinance, but that will expire in 2001; and other than that, they receive about $845,000 a year from the Board. He stated on the federal side, their operating is $5.1 million, but next year it will be reduced to $3.9 million, a reduction of $700,000 in federal funds and $100,000 in State funds. He noted they will not have to cut services, but their operating money will not provide for expansion. He stated once they expand the routes, some money will come back, but it will not be enough to pay the full cost.

Commissioner Carlson inquired if a revenue analysis of how they would get money was done; with Mr. Liesenfelt responding the State has a program in service development and provides grants for half of the cost for new services for two years; they are working with the Wages Coalition, but they will not pay for a fixed route; there is gas tax and general fund, and other than that, there are no other resources. Commissioner Carlson inquired if an analysis was done; with Mr. Liesenfelt responding no. Commissioner Carlson inquired what does one-tenth of one cent amount to; with Mr. Liesenfelt responding about $22,000 because a penny gas tax is about $2.2 million, but he is not sure if it is before the gas tax is shared with the cities; however, it is only good until 2001.

Animal Services and Enforcement Department

Animal Services and Enforcement Director Joe Ward advised he looked at the best animal control programs throughout the State and those considered best in the nation; there are a lot of models out there and a lot of changes in concept; and the whole profession is going through a change in expectations. He stated after reviewing all those programs, he concluded that Brevard County can make its animal services program better than any other in the country with help. He noted some of the commonalties he saw in the programs were emphasis on customer service, automated data, dispatch system, proper equipment and training, an active outreach program, own operation of animal shelters, concentration on enforcement, and active citizen support groups that provided volunteers and funds to support the activities. Commissioner Voltz inquired if that would be like a foundation; with Dr. Ward responding yes. He noted California and Arizona have "Friends of County Animal Shelters" that provide hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations. He noted the Diamond Back Baseball Team in Arizona donates thousands of dollars in equipment to its animal control program; and they refurbished a bus as a mobile adoption center.

Dr. Ward advised their call volume goes up 3 to 4% per year at about the same rate as the population; and one of their goals is to staff one enforcement officer for ever 1,500 calls, which is five times the number of calls that any other enforcement agency deals with. He stated currently they drop about 38,000 calls a year; and those are calls they could do something with, but do not have the people or equipment to handle them. Mr. Jenkins requested examples of dropped calls; with Dr. Ward responding dead animals on roads and people's properties, stray animals, wildlife problems, and bird rescues are the types of calls that are dropped, as they concentrate mainly on bites, aggressive attacks, and police calls which take up most of their activities. He stated another thing they do is run traps to people, because if they do not, people may leave the animals in traps for days; and that is not appropriate. Dr. Ward advised another goal is to increase the number of hours they are available to the public to provide service; and instead of 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., they would like to extend it to 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, and ten hours of full service on Saturdays and Sundays. He stated to accomplish that they would need more officers in the field. He stated to enhance the County's ability to assist citizens with their pets, it would have to operate the shelters; one in north and one in the south should meet the goals; there are several reasons that would behoove the County to do that rather than contract it out; and the primary reason is it would have control over the shelters where it has very little control now. He stated citizens confuse the County with the Humane Society and vice versa; and the second reason is the County becomes the killer of animals rather than protector; and that is not what they are about. He stated if they operated the shelters, they could adopt animals out and add special services. Dr. Ward stated another goal is to provide in-school bite prevention and self-protection training as well as reach out to the public to let them know about the program, what the expectations are, and help them understand how they are supposed to treat and deal with animals. He stated to do that requires an outreach program; those programs he visited that have a lot of community support have a very active outreach program; and that is what he hopes to provide. He advised another goal is to enhance response time; there are six or eight different ways to enhance response time depending on the type of call it is; and they have made some progress in trying to meet aggressive animal calls in an hour rather than a day or so which is the current response time. Dr. Ward advised the public's expectation of their services is the same as fire and police; they expect someone to be there waiting for their calls; and that is difficult to deal with. He stated part of how it can work is to form a specialized unit to deal with specific problems so it frees everyone else to take care of general problems; and those specific things would be wildlife, investigations, etc. He stated they are doing telephone investigations to free up officers; doing bite investigations over the phone has almost doubled their time in the field because an officer does not have to go to the site for each call; and most of the animals can be home quarantined rather than impounded. He noted it takes about 20 minutes to do it by phone, rather than sending an officer out for a few hours per call. Dr. Ward advised the National Animal Control Association has done several analyses; its expectation is to have a good program that provides adequate service; they recommend one officer for every 16,000 people in the population it serves; they also looked at the cost; and the bottom line is $3.00 per capita for a dog and cat program. He stated for a full service program that does everything like Brevard County does, it was $5.00 per capital; and to do the job according to the National standards, they would need 29 animal enforcement officers in the field.

Commissioner Carlson inquired how many field officers are currently on staff; with Dr. Ward responding 15, and he recently hired four more who will be in training. Commissioner Higgs inquired how many positions are budgeted; with Dr. Ward responding 20 positions are funded; and he has 20 officers, but one is on light duty at this time. Dr. Ward advised Palm Beach County's cost is $4.3 million or about $4.00 per capita for dogs and livestock services only; Pinellas County is $2.9 million for dogs and cats only; Orange County is $2.5 million for dogs only; Seminole County is $4.00 per capita for most services except reptiles, amphibians and birds; Alachua County is $7.00 per capita for full service similar to what Brevard County provides; and his budget is currently $3.00 per capita. He noted the predator that limited the feral cat population is the bobcat; however, all the construction that has taken place diminished that population. Dr. Ward advised they have 11 vehicles with over 100,000 miles and two over 250,000 miles; they have three new vehicles, one of which will be in service tomorrow, and the other two are at CEP having the units put on the back. He stated another vehicle has been ordered but not received yet. Commissioner Higgs inquired if they will replace the 1991 vehicles; with Dr. Ward responding not at this point, as they do not have enough vehicles so they retain the old ones and hope next year they can start replacing a few of them.

Commissioner Higgs inquired if dispatch operations can be combined with another dispatch system; with Mr. Jenkins responding it used to be, but the fire personnel found it a distraction and interrupted their mission, so it was separated out. Dr. Ward advised they currently use 911 during off-duty times; it is a problem for them because they do not normally deal with those types of calls with irate people screaming obscenities on the phone; and the volume is tremendous. He stated it is prevalent throughout the country, that other dispatch systems do not function well in the animal services environment. He stated they are looking to obtain a telephone answering service for off-duty hours; and noted it will not be an answering machine, but an answering service.

Commissioner Voltz recommended separating the Animal Control budget from the General Fund; and stated if a referendum was approved for animal control services, they would have to tell people the revenue will go into the General Fund; and people want to know exactly what the money will be used for. Mr. Jenkins suggested adding it as an item on the tax bill; and noted the Legislature would have to do that. Commissioner Voltz recommended the Sheriff's budget also be broken out of the General Fund in the event a referendum for law enforcement is approved. Commissioner Higgs stated the MSTU funds are separate and dedicated; with Commissioner Voltz responding a jail referendum would require the revenues to be placed in the General Fund. Chairman Scarborough recommended staff look at what is required to break out Animal Services and Enforcement and the Sheriff's budgets from the General Fund.

Chairman Scarborough recommended rather than taking an hour for lunch, the Board take a ten-minute break to get something from the snack bar and return to the workshop.

Housing and Human Services Department

Housing and Human Services Director Bernice Jackson advised every health and human service is a priority for someone; and to accomplish their vision, advanced planning is imperative to meet basic needs of individuals and families and to offer them the opportunity to reach self-sufficiency. She stated the optimum program improvement is to be an active community partner, which means to bring to the table resources to collaborate with other organizations, public and private, and to invest in nonprofit organizations that provide human services programs as a way of assisting groups and individuals to achieve their own success and get away from the need to utilize government assistance. She stated they need to establish resource and outreach centers for one-stop access, and standardize eligibility criteria for needed public benefits because currently they are scattered throughout the County and have different eligibility standards. She stated the visioning also identified a need for additional onsite building of skills for Country Acres children's transition back into the community. Ms. Jackson advised with anticipated population increase over the next ten years, the concern is to remove program-imposed obstacles that inhibit individuals and families from becoming self-sufficient; and it has become a problem for the working poor to prioritize repaying of emergency welfare or paying an electric bill. She stated the intent of their visioning is to shape a more responsive and efficient effort to address identifiable needs; however, sufficient funding and adequate staff will be required; and once those are accomplished, the vision will start to take shape for reality.

Commissioner Voltz inquired if changing the housing rules has been helpful; with Ms. Jackson responding they are seeing some success, but have not utilized the policy. She noted what they have is working.

Commissioner Higgs advised in 1996 the Board cut back on emergency welfare and implemented a repayment policy; and inquired if the County is getting repayments; with Ms. Jackson responding they are getting some repayments, but not at the rate it was intended in order to put money back into the program to assist others. She stated they have more people participating in the welfare program, but for the working people it is a hardship because they work during the time the program is operating and there are very few programs that can take place on weekends and evening hours. She stated it has been an obstacle for the working people who cannot afford $5.00 a week to repay the services that were rendered and who try to work it out through community service.

Commissioner Voltz inquired if the emergency welfare program is on a one-time basis; with Ms. Jackson responding yes, the policy is one time per fiscal year based on given circumstances, so if someone received a rental payment this year and was not able to repay it or volunteer for the work program, they are sanctioned. Commissioner Voltz stated the program is not working; with Ms. Jackson responding it is not working as it was intended to work. Commissioner Voltz stated if someone could not afford the rent for a month, they cannot afford any increments of refunding without compromising food for their children or paying for utilities or the rent the following month; so while it is good and noble to make someone pay it back, it will not work. Commissioner Higgs stated they can give it back through community service. Commissioner Voltz stated they work during the day and should not have to leave their children at night, so the program is not working and there needs to be another way of doing it. She inquired if Ms. Jackson had any suggestions; with Ms. Jackson responding they would like to eliminate the requirement and work with the customers with a case management system to go beyond taking care of emergency situations, but determine what has caused it and implement some preventive measures.

Commissioner Higgs requested a breakdown of the program funding since 1996, the number of people who came back to the fund, the number who did community service, and the number who paid or signed up for repayment. Commissioner Voltz recommended adding what it costs staff to bring in those dollars or make sure someone does the work program, to determine if an inordinate amount of time and effort are being expended to bring in small amounts. Commissioner Higgs stated what the Board envisioned was to build the fund back up so they would get help when they needed it and they helped others in need. Commissioner Voltz stated it is difficult to catch up when a person is behind on bills. Chairman Scarborough stated it is a different world for people in that position.

Commissioner Carlson advised the first sheet says the resources required for three fulltime staffing are $75,000; and inquired if that is possible; with Ms. Jackson responding they propose to combine the Emergency Welfare Program with the Community Action Agency Program so the State will fund part of the combined program, and it will not be all ad valorem taxes.

Chairman Scarborough inquired what County in the State has the best program, and which would Ms. Jackson want if she could have it; with Ms. Jackson responding probably Duval County because of its intense case management as a preventive component of the program. She stated human services offices are quite different over the State; they do some things in Brevard County that would be an advantage for other counties to be involved in and vice versa; so it is a diverse program. Commissioner Carlson inquired about outside of the State; with Ms. Jackson responding Charleston, South Carolina has a revitalization of communities component that she likes; and she is trying to get additional information about their programs and may want to go there and see their system. Chairman Scarborough inquired if Ms. Jackson will give the Board more reports; with Ms. Jackson responding she will return with the statistics requested on the Emergency Welfare Program.

Library Services Department

Library Services Director Cathy Schweinsberg advised nothing has changed the manner in which information is obtained as dramatically as technology and the Internet; no longer do people get what they need solely from the printed page; and the information explosion has made the typical library, filled with shelves of books, a thing of the past. She stated libraries today must find ways to meet the informational needs of all users and seekers of information, such as the businessman or woman who needs information to make decisions but cannot get to the library in person, the elderly person who can no longer drive, the low-income child with no parent at home after school, and persons living in institutions who want the rich variety of programming offered at the County libraries. She stated their vision is to be the library of today and of the future, finding innovative ways to deliver services, have books customers need when they come to the library, provide educational and cultural programs to those not able to attend them in any other venue, provide information outside the traditional walls of a library building at public information kiosks located where a lot of people gather, and give people the skills they need to navigate the paths of the Internet and other new technologies. She stated they want to provide a stable source of additional funding through the establishment of a foundation; and they want to provide facilities where there continues to be unmet needs. She stated the Library Services personnel desire to have a library system recognized for meeting today's needs and those of the future; and thanked the Board for the opportunity to look towards that goal.

Chairman Scarborough inquired if Brevard County is integrated with Orange County's library system where citizens can go there and use their facilities, and if there is access to UCF's library, not only to order a book, but going there and checking out books; with Ms. Schweinsberg responding they would need an interlocal agreement to do that. Chairman Scarborough advised he can check all the books throughout the University System in Florida on the Internet, call in to North Brevard Library, and they would call him when the book gets in, but he does not get to look at the book. He stated if he goes to the UCF library, he can look at the book; and that is an advantage. He stated he would like Brevard County to have access to UCF's library for its library patrons; there are different levels in a library system; and one is the local libraries for standard things, and the other is university libraries for specialized things. He suggested access to UCF library for Brevard County library patrons who can go to the UCF library, check out a book using their Brevard County card, and drop it off at any Brevard County library to return it. Ms. Schweinsberg advised anyone can go in and look at anything in the UCF library because it is a public institution, but in order to check out a book, the Board would need an interlocal agreement with the University. She noted F.I.T. recognizes Brevard County's card and Brevard County recognizes its card. Chairman Scarborough stated there could be access to numerous volumes of books, research materials, and high technology materials at UCF's library as opposed to a typical library.

Commissioner Voltz inquired if there is another area in Brevard County where a library would be needed; with Ms. Schweinsberg responding there have been no requests beyond the ones that are pending, but in the future there may be a need for a library in Rockledge. Mr. Jenkins advised Rockledge is close to the Central Reference Library, and there may be a need in North Viera and South Rockledge in the future, but not right now. Commissioner Voltz noted there may be a need in the south part of Palm Bay in the future. Chairman Scarborough noted Port St. John's library is getting overcrowded.

Commissioner Carlson inquired if Ms. Schweinsberg looked at library systems throughout the State and outside of the State; with Ms. Schweinsberg responding she went to Charlotte to review its system; a common element of award winning libraries is countywide innovative programs; Charlotte has a week-long reading festival; and two of the speakers are George and Barbara Bush for adults and an outstanding array of speakers and children's authors and illustrators for the children. She noted it costs $370,000, but almost all of it is underwritten; and she would like to have the kind of presence the Charlotte library system commands in that community. Ms. Schweinsberg advised the next level for Brevard County is to be like Broward County. Mr. Jenkins advised the Foundation in Broward County raises millions of dollars every year for its library system. Chairman Scarborough stated Brevard County has Friends of the Libraries, but they have never created a mass to bring in speakers like the Bushes. He noted it is more territorial. Mr. Jenkins stated he does not want to disrupt the Friends but is looking for a different group of people outside the government system. Commissioner Carlson inquired if there is a limit on how many foundations can be created; with Mr. Jenkins responding no. Commissioner Voltz stated there are a lot of people who support libraries, care for animals, and have specialized functions they would support; and the County should take advantage of that.

Discussion ensued on amenities that make life attractive, Barnes and Noble's programming, terminal access in areas outside of libraries, virtual libraries, computer and television hookups, new range of programming, downloading books, kiosks, donated space at malls, and sharing costs with other agencies.

Commissioner Higgs suggested getting young people involved as volunteers with the library system, animal control, PAL, and other functions, to link them to someone in the community as a mentor contract so they do not get in trouble. Mr. Jenkins stated the countywide volunteer program works with the colleges. Commissioner Higgs stated she was thinking about 15-year olds. Ms. Schweinsberg advised Melbourne has a program called Book Buddies and the teenagers come in and spend a lot of time helping younger children and librarians.

Commissioner Voltz inquired if there is a person who does the computer programs for the libraries; with Ms. Schweinsberg responding Karen Nelson is in charge of computer services for the libraries.

The meeting recessed at 12:00 noon, and reconvened at 12:20 p.m.

Public Safety Department

Public Safety Director Jack Parker recapped the things that happened this year that had a profound effect on Fire Rescue service, starting with the Fire Fighters Support Referendum that will allow upgrading of all engines to improve the level of service for Fire Rescue, and upgrading personnel to ensure every engine has a fire fighter paramedic on board 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to provide first response ALS quality service by next year. He stated the referendum also provides for replacement engines; and they have approval and are drafting an RFP for 20 new engines over the next five years to replace the existing fleet because the old engines will not accommodate an additional fire fighter. He stated also included in the referendum are station renovation and repair; they will earmark $400,000 each year to repair, renovate, and rebuild existing stations over the next few years; and they will increase field supervisors to cut the County into four slices instead of three, which will greatly assist with the Harbor City transition. Mr. Parker advised this year the Board directed Fire Rescue to create three new fire stations; the first one in Viera will come on line soon; and the other two will be in Scottsmoor and Valkaria. He noted a lot of Fire Rescue experts were concerned about those areas, so they are plugging the holes of service in the best possible way. He stated another major decision is the Countywide 911 emergency transport service; and it will improve the level of service in the Central Benefit Unit by going with two fire fighter paramedics. He stated the vision plan includes aspects that are not part of the referendum; they are things in addition to those things that will happen; and they are asking for specialized equipment they will need to be a first rate fire department, such as aerial fire trucks, tankers, etc., after they meet their primary mission of getting enough fire engines to do the job.

Commissioner Voltz inquired if the County has an aerial truck; with Mr. Parker responding no. Chief Bill Farmer advised Palm Bay, Cocoa, Cocoa Beach, and Cape Canaveral have aerial trucks; and the County has Agreements with those cities to respond when there are incidents that require that equipment. Commissioner Voltz advised GDC bought the aerial fire truck for Palm Bay, and perhaps staff could look into similar situations.

Mr. Parker advised the ISO ratings recommend purchase of three aerial trucks in the next ten years to bring it up to standards; they need at least two and will evaluate the third one; and the document reflects two trucks. He stated they need to improve water rescue capabilities because there is water on all sides of Brevard County; and many times where there is an accident, they have to commandeer a personal watercraft to effect a rescue. He stated although citizens are very cooperative in those situations, it is relatively dangerous because his personnel are not familiar with that watercraft. Commissioner Voltz stated the Sheriff has boats; with Mr. Parker responding the Sheriff has a dive team and boats and is willing to send someone out to give assistance. Commissioner Higgs inquired if additional funds were provided for the Sheriff's Marine Unit, would that capability help Public Safety; with Mr. Parker responding it is not what they need in order to be effective; the unit is very good for evidence recovery, body recovery, etc. but not the best for victim assistance because it takes quite some time to get to the scene and equipment has to be assembled at location before going out. He stated he wants to use on-duty fire fighters who are trained in the ability to effect water rescue to go straight to the scene and save a person; and many times in a victim assist, the fire fighters are gone before the Sheriff's deputies get there. Commissioner Higgs inquired if the deputies were on the river at all times would that help; with Mr. Parker responding it would change their opinion if they were able to access quickly. He stated he would like to work with the Sheriff's Office on a joint operation to give paramedics and EMT's rehearsal. He stated watercraft needed to access those areas are not large center console boats like the Sheriff's fleet, because in many conditions on the river they cannot be used. Mr. Jenkins advised they asked the Sheriff to store his boats at the fire stations; with Mr. Parker responding he does, but staff does not use them. Chief Farmer advised none of the Sheriff's boats have fire-fighting capabilities; with Mr. Jenkins responding they could be equipped. Mr. Parker indicated they need airboats to assist with airboat accidents.

Mr. Parker advised there will be three additional fire stations in the next ten years in Grant, West Melbourne and North Brevard in the West Canaveral Groves area; they are looking to add two rescue units in the North Assessment Area and increase the 911 ambulances from 10 to 12 in the Central area. He stated the new direction will allow 12 units and improve the level of service in Melbourne area and the beachside. He noted in two to five years they need to increase the North area by two ambulances depending on population growth; and they want to improve fire training ability to train the fire fighters in Brevard County. Mr. Parker advised they want to construct a comprehensive training center with a burn building, elevated training for high angle rescues, searches during smoky conditions, and several mazes from simple to complex to challenge them. He stated because there is no training center in Brevard County, the municipal fire departments may want to use it, which could offset the cost. He stated they also want to educate children and adults on fire safety; one thing that would help to do that is a mobile house; and the training staff would take them through and teach them what to do in case a fire breaks out on the stove, etc. Commissioner Voltz advised Palm Bay has one and it is wonderful. She noted it may have been donated by the Rotary Club. Mr. Parker advised there are grants available for it. He stated they also would like to consider year-round lifeguard service for three to five sites, and an educational campaign to let visitors know they can go to a guarded beach year round. He stated they want to improve case management and probation officers' workload; right now their cases are very high; and although they do a great job, the criminal justice system continues to grow. He stated there is a direct correlation to jail overcrowding and the Court Alternatives Division; criminal justice experts do their best to get people out of jails to relieve overcrowding; and Court Alternatives has a huge client increase as a result of that. He stated they have to insure those people are obeying the conditions of their probation which takes intensive case management; and he would like to increase the staff to lower the case load per officer, so they can take a more proactive role in monitoring their cases. Commissioner Higgs inquired if the request is for one officer every year for five years; with Mr. Parker responding those are actual case managers, then there are clerical people needed. He stated they use a criminal justice team which works well because officers do not have to do clerical work and that is why they got away with the high case loads.

Commissioner Carlson inquired about the computerized staffing system; with Mr. Parker responding his staffing is 24 hours a day seven days a week; and good software may alleviate the need for one or two staff persons. Commissioner Carlson inquired if any other Departments have the system; with Mr. Jenkins responding nobody staffs the way Mr. Parker does, but it does not mean others cannot use it. Commissioner Higgs inquired if the Sheriff has a system; with Mr. Parker responding generally they staff people to work a particular shift in a particular area, and if someone is sick, they make it work with what they have; however, they cannot run a fire truck with one person. Mr. Jenkins stated they can explore the possibility of the Sheriff getting a license to use it.

Commissioner Voltz inquired about the time line for Harbor City's transition, where the stations are going to be, and how everything will pull together; with Mr. Parker responding they completed the station siting this morning and will meet with City Managers and City Fire chiefs at the end of the week or beginning of next week; and when it is polished they will bring it to the Board for review and approval. Commissioner Voltz stated she wants to see the preliminary plans; with Mr. Parker responding he can show Commissioner Voltz that plan. Mr. Jenkins advised a status report will be coming out soon.

Commissioner Voltz inquired about crossing guards; with Mr. Parker responding there is a need for additional crossing guards because one new school will be opening this year. A staff person advised they have two alternate crossing guards in every area except the North end which covers Mims, Pinewood, and Port St. John schools.

DISCUSSION, RE: DEPARTMENTAL VISIONING - ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES GROUP

Office of Natural Resources Management

Assistant County Manager Stephen Peffer advised for the Beach Dune Management Program, they want to see a beach of sufficient size to provide storm protection for Brevard County, and also a healthy dune system which would need more sand than they have. He stated to implement that program they need to get a federal beach program in Brevard County; and they are working with the Corps of Engineers to have a program. He stated there will be significant funding challenges for Brevard County, so staff is trying to get a better share ratio at the federal level so the dollars will go farther. Mr. Peffer advised the current federal funding portion requires a local match of 50% of State and local dollars; it would be $20 million just for the north part of the County; so Brevard County's portion would be $45 million. He noted they have a dedicated funding source which is the tourist development dollars, but that would not generate the kind of dollars they need; however, they are still moving forward with the hope of developing and implementing that plan.

Commissioner Higgs inquired if there are any more pennies available of the tourist dollars that can be allowed to beach renourishment; with Mr. Jenkins responding he does not think there are any more. Mr. Peffer stated an option is to take a share of the pennies to do beaches, but it would take away from something else. Commissioner Higgs stated the zoo should be paid off; and inquired if it has a dedicated fund; with Mr. Jenkins responding it was for a certain number of years. Chairman Scarborough suggested another analysis of the different projects the tourism dollars fund. Commissioner Higgs also recommended checking the revenue potential of the TDC pennies. She stated there were people before the Legislature last year asking for money for the Dodgers or something and got an allocation; so in terms of priority in the legislative package next year, the Board should include a request for beach renourishment funds. Commissioner Carlson stated they are restructuring the Office of Tourism and Economic Development and doing lump sum scenarios, so there may be some possibilities there. Mr. Peffer stated they need to be active in Tallahassee and Washington to get people to pay attention to the beach problems; and they have had some success, but the scale of the problems is huge. Commissioner Voltz suggested hiring a lobbyist in Washington; with Mr. Peffer responding they are partnered with the Port Authority which has a lobbyist, and it has helped a great deal. Mr. Jenkins stated the County is contributing financially for that lobbyist. Commissioner Higgs inquired when is the next decision point for the federal government; with Mr. Peffer responding they are doing their budget now; staff is tracking both the Water Resource Development Act and the appropriations; but he is not sure of the actual decision point. Commissioner Higgs inquired if staff is moving forward with two phases; with Mr. Peffer responding one project has two phases.

Mr. Peffer advised the next item is the Crucial Habitat Program which relates to listed endangered, threatened, and species of special concern; they will identify the areas of the County which are crucial to the survivability of those species; there are a number of species in Brevard County that have significant habitat needs; and they hope to inventory those crucial habitats, identify and manage those areas, and bring back plans for protection of those species. He stated they also want a better effort in environmental education which calls for coordinating with other educators in the County and looking where the needs exist, developing programs to meet those needs, and making use of the government channel in the near future.

Mr. Peffer inquired if the Board wants to discuss the Manatee Protection Plan; with Commissioner Voltz suggesting it wait until Tuesday's meeting.

Mr. Peffer advised the National Community Survey fits with the Crucial Habitat Plan to look at vegetative communities in Brevard County to determine the loss rates, and do an inventory analysis of how the County is changing as it develops and grows. Mr. Peffer advised the Board directed staff to come back with options and alternatives for dealing with scrub; and they will have that for the Board during the summer. He stated the Wildlife Corridor Program is intended to identify existing potential wildlife corridors and linkages between crucial habitats and other habitats in the County; and they plan to coordinate with other agencies that are engaged in similar efforts. He stated the Board talked about greenways, linear parks, trails, and other things; and the Wildlife Corridor Program is not the same thing, but is a component that can be worked into some of the analyses.

Chairman Scarborough advised the MPO will be looking at how to proceed with the RFP; he wants to ensure when the County goes out for an RFP, someone is going to look at how the things work together so they do not do it three times. Mr. Jenkins stated there have been meetings with a host of people, and they talked about a concept with a scope of service that is exactly what the Board is talking about. He noted Barbara Myers believes MPO funding can be used for corridors as well as trails so it is one comprehensive system. Mr. Peffer commented they are looking forward to participating in that effort.

Mr. Peffer advised the next item is the Wetland Management Plan and Banking; and the Comprehensive Plan changes will make a difference in how the County deals with wetlands in Brevard County. He stated they hope to finalize the changes, and shortly thereafter, bring an amended ordinance to the Board that reflects those changes. He noted they had difficulties in the past when the Ordinance and Plan were not exactly meshed and did not work for anyone; so they hope to make changes to the Ordinance and bring it back to the Board.

Commissioner Higgs inquired if the Board will see the Comprehensive Plan again after it agreed to the settlement language; with Commissioner Voltz responding it has to go to the interveners; and if they disagree with it, which they said they did, then it would come back to the Board. Mr. Peffer stated if the interveners do not disagree, his understanding of the process is that it would be transmitted to Department of Community Affairs before coming back to the Board.

Mr. Peffer advised the next item is a new concept to restore Brevard; they are proposing a multifaceted program designed to improve environmental health by reducing negative impacts of existing and new developments; and some aspects of that are to improve degraded areas utilizing environmentally-based designs for new development. He stated essential planning could be used to encourage infill as opposed to sprawl and encourage environmentally sensitive designs where people can benefit and still use their property. He stated the County's development code almost forces people into cookie cutter type developments; and there are other ways that should be part of the tools of the County to provide environmental benefit.

Commissioner Carlson inquired if that would be an option or something that should be in the Code; with Mr. Peffer responding that is up to the Board. Mr. Jenkins advised they were advised that it is best to leave the Code as it is and attach it as an addendum to the Code as an alternative rather than wipe out the existing Code. He noted if the Board creates a new approach in addition to its Code, there may be a point where it wants to get rid of the cookie cutter approach because it promotes urban sprawl; however, initially it should keep both. Commissioner Carlson inquired if it would allow people to get economic value from their property but still conserve open space; with Mr. Jenkins responding it is similar to the development the Board approved for 800 units on 400 acres that would preserve 150 acres and still have the density requested. Commissioner Carlson stated conserving open space and buffering wetlands will reduce their stormwater requirements and result in savings. Chairman Scarborough described Mr. Crisafulli's rezoning request which also provided advantages. He stated staff should more clearly define what the County is trying to accomplish, such as better protection of wildlife corridors, conservation areas, etc. so the people will understand that the County is not only giving up something, but will gain by having more open space and natural habitats maintained. Mr. Jenkins advised the Property Appraiser is getting ready to initiate the greenbelt concept and will be coming to the Board with an initiative which will tie in nicely with what the Board is trying to do.

Mr. Peffer advised staff is seeking funding for the Invasive Exotic Plant Control Program to facilitate removal of invasive exotic vegetation; the scrub population is changing because the County is not managing the areas or allowing them to be naturally managed by fire; and the degradation of habitats is having more of an impact on the scrub population than development. He stated along the shoreline of the Indian River and roadsides, exotic vegetation like Brazilian peppers and Australian pines are degrading habitats in a tremendous way; FDOT has chopped down those trees along I-95, but they are not treated and will come back bushier and more leafy; and in order to make habitat improvements, they have to manage the habitats that are there, and exotic plant removal is an opportunity to do that. He stated it is a big job; there are volunteer efforts; but the County has an opportunity to do something more significant and substantial. He stated the biologists of Natural Resources can help to spearhead the program and look for grant funding.

Commissioner Higgs advised Public Works does a lot of trimming of exotic vegetation; and the program can be coordinated with that Department. Mr. Peffer advised Mosquito Control has an aquatic weed control staff which is licensed and has expertise in dealing with herbicides.

Mr. Peffer advised another item is Spoil Island Management; and staff would like to coordinate with other agencies to develop a spoil island management and utilization plan. He stated spoil islands are essentially under the Florida Inland Navigation District (FIND); and they are a recreational resource, as well as environmental resource, but are also terribly degraded with exotic vegetation such as Brazilian peppers and Australian pines. He noted there have been efforts to restore the islands and some have been successful such as Satellite Beach.

Chairman Scarborough inquired if there is an agreement with FIND to take over management of the islands; with Mr. Peffer responding staff will be looking into how to implement the changes. Chairman Scarborough advised a lot of FIND money can come back to the County in the form of grants; if the County takes over a highway for maintenance, it can go to DOT for money; and if FIND historically has maintained the spoil islands, perhaps they can advance payment to Brevard County to take over the planting of mangroves, etc. Mr. Peffer indicated they could try a pilot program.

Commissioner Carlson inquired if Brevard County is allowed to have more spoil islands; with Mr. Peffer responding the question came up when they were looking to dredge the intracoastal waterway, and the answer was a unanimous no. Chairman Scarborough advised of his negative experience.

Mr. Peffer advised the last item is Development Review; everything the Board has seen before came from the Management Section supervised by Conrad White; but development review is Ms. Debbie Coles specialty; and she is trying to improve compliance with the County's environmental regulations primarily through educating and facilitating dissemination of information using the Internet and educational brochures. He stated they do not want to be out there enforcing environmental regulations and have a problem trying to fix something, and would prefer to advise people ahead of time on how to comply with the regulations. He stated they are trying to do a better job in the educational part of development review and to facilitate the process of applications in a way that would take advantage of new technology.

Chairman Scarborough inquired if Mr. Peffer wanted Brevard County to be another county in the State because it has a stronger program and is more vibrant and visionary, what County would that be and why. Mr. Peffer advised he would have to get back to the Board with a response to those questions.

Commissioner Carlson inquired what kind of risks of getting sued is the County taking by allowing people to mow over listed species and not taking corrective action or not protecting those species; with Mr. Peffer responding staff will be exploring that because it will come up when the Board discusses scrub.

Solid Waste Management Department

Solid Waste Management Director Richard Rabon advised since 1985, they have put out a Five-Year Management Plan to look very far out, 25 to 30 years, to project what the needs would be in terms of solid waste disposal and corollary things that go with it like transfer facilities, etc.; and by doing that, they were able to acquire property many years in advance which is necessary when planning. He stated generally it takes ten years lead time to start one of the projects and have a facility online; so if they are not thinking very far in advance, there is not much of an opportunity to do anything about it later. He noted a lot of communities have found themselves in that position where they had no space locally and had to pay someone to transfer long distances; so primarily they are looking for a system that will give a minimum of 25 years disposal capacity in Class I, residential and commercial garbage, and Class III, primarily construction and demolition debris. Mr. Rabon advised once they have enough land space, the idea is to not use it; and all the other corollary things are based on reducing impacts to the landfill such as recycling. He stated they have implemented a number of resource recovery or recycling alternatives; if they had not done that, the Sarno Road landfill would have been filled years ago; they are currently recycling 40 to 45% of what goes into the landfill; and that is what has maintained it up to this point. He stated they have to move waste from the North and South ends of the County; they do that through transfer stations; currently they are in the process of building a new Melbourne transfer station which is about 15% through the design phase; construction should begin about a year from now; and it will take about a year to build. He noted they would then be ready in that location to carry the County for 25 to 30 years. Mr. Rabon advised they are looking for a site to locate a future Palm Bay area transfer station, as the population growth in the south part of the County will need transfer stations to get the waste off the streets and into the system. He stated the primary part of the system is disposal, a place to put the waste; collection and recycling components are corollaries of that system; they have to be efficient in getting it off the streets; and the way to do that is to have a sufficient place to take it. He noted recycling is based on what is economically feasible to do in comparison to what the rest of it costs; they are coordinating collection components with disposal and recycling components to give the public an efficient system on a Countywide basis; but one of the areas they are deficient in is the household hazardous waste area. Mr. Rabon stated seven or eight years ago they began to collect household hazardous waste; since that time, the use of those facilities has grown exponentially ; the Mockingbird Way Mulching Facility is the only facility that is open six days a week during normal operation; and the facilities in Cocoa and Melbourne are open two days a week each because of the staffing level. He stated they plan to put a new facility at the new Melbourne Transfer Station which should allow them to keep it open during all hours the transfer station is open, but it will take a few more staff people to do that. He noted the same thing can be done in Cocoa, but they would need additional staff.

Chairman Scarborough stated if hazardous waste facilities are not available, it will push people to throw those things into places where it could be hazardous to the water, environment and people; the Mockingbird facility is user friendly; and it preserves the environment and landfill as well as make it convenient for people.

Mr. Rabon stated there are some opportunities that have risen through private efforts to expand the Sarno Road landfill; the City of Melbourne permitted a C&D site north of the current landfill; reality says those facilities should be joined because there is a gap of air space that is of no value to either party; and it will be a tremendous value to the County if it could acquire that property or air space and carry it into the 30-year time frame at that location.

Commissioner Carlson inquired what does it mean to acquire air space; with Mr. Rabon responding they could buy the land under the air space or buy the air space from the individual who owns the land. Commissioner Carlson inquired if the County has to approach the property owner; with Mr. Rabon responding he has been talking to them off and on since they put the facility there; they are in a receptive mode; and he will bring something to the Board to ask permission to discuss it with them, to see where they can go from there. He stated if they can get the property right now, it would remove a weak link and would be ideal next to the transfer station.

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to authorize Solid Waste Management Director to talk to the owners of the landfill space next to the County's property in Melbourne to maximize resources. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

Commissioner Voltz inquired when will the Palm By area transfer station come back to the Board; with Mr. Rabon responding hopefully by May 25, 1999.

Mosquito Control Department

Mosquito Control Director Jim Hunt advised their vision is very simple, and that is to control the mosquito population; and they strive to provide the most responsive, effective, and environmentally safe method of controlling the mosquito population. He stated since the County is predominantly a salt marsh producing County, large amounts of mosquitoes come in; people do not want to wait six to eight days to have their areas sprayed; their goal is to provide service every four days; and in order to do that, they proposed a ten-year plan that will add five new inspectors and five new fog trucks. He noted the area they will concentrate on is basically the central part of the County where a large population is going. Mr. Hunt advised two inspectors and two fog trucks will go to Palm Bay, one inspector and one fog truck will go to Suntree and west of I-95; one inspector and one fog truck will go to Grissom Parkway and Canaveral Groves area; and the last one will go to South Rockledge and Murrell Road area. He stated by adding those inspectors and equipment, they will be able to provide what the residents of the County demand, and that is service every four days.

Commissioner Voltz inquired if Mr. Hunt foresees any problems with mosquitoes this year; with Mr. Hunt responding usually when there is a drought and they start to receive rain, they have very large productions of salt marsh mosquitoes; and Central and North Brevard will be experiencing it shortly. He stated as far as SLE goes, other counties are experiencing virus activity; one human death has already occurred in the State; so the potential is still there because they did not have a winter this year.

Water Resources Department

Water Resources Director Richard Martens advised he provided a list of five projects for the visioning process; four are self-explanatory and mundane; so he wants to concentrate on #4 which is the relationship of the County's utility system in the quality of life issues. He stated water and sewer service has an impact on the quality of life; the current system is focused on organized land development growth; developers install infrastructure in new communities; but areas that are removed or have fragmented ownership have difficulties funding or justifying the funding of providing those infrastructure. He stated visionary utilities are used in concert with other efforts to bootstrap the quality of life; and how it can work for Brevard County is to develop priority community target areas that could benefit from installation of utility infrastructure but may be unable or unwilling to do it on their own. He stated the types of needs they would look for are environmental; public health; a business need, such as Merritt Park Place, Tomahawk Drive industrial area, and Cone Road Industrial Park; and places where utility infrastructure could change the make-up and content of the area, as well as for the growth needs of the utility. Mr. Martens stated utility is a business, and business grows by gaining new customers; but funding becomes an issue because it costs money to put in infrastructure. He stated communities do it in several ways; they collect more money than they need for day-to-day operations, but that goes against the Board's philosophy; and their attitude has been to collect the amount of money needed to operate the utility and not build cushions for it. He noted over the last few years, between system growth and what they have done to control expenses, they are not only paying their bills each month but are also funding long-term infrastructure renovations from existing service rates. He stated they could not do that for quite a while, and now they can fix leaky sewer lines, renovate pump stations, and replace structures that have rusted out from their current revenue stream; so they have an opportunity to use the capital facility charges to build new expansion capacity for the future. He suggested more thought be put into bootstrapping the community through directing infrastructure in priority areas.

Chairman Scarborough stated he would like to see the County step forward and pay for utility infrastructure for Satellite Boulevard area, but it would take the County in a new direction; and he is not ready to do that. He stated while there may be a need for new customers, TWC does not give away televisions for more customers. Commissioner Higgs stated the South Beaches have residential areas with quarter-acre lots on septic tanks and wells; they are almost completely developed subdivisions sitting there without water and sewer service; and she has concerns about those areas. Chairman Scarborough stated after the fires in Scottsmoor and Mims, the people asked for service, but the County never said it would be provided; and subsidizing could exhaust the County in a hurry, because once it says yes, it cannot stop. Commissioner Higgs stated the Board said yes to going after State funds for Merritt Park Place; it is on the list to be funded; and if that $300,000 is approved, then the County should get in line for a lot of those projects. Chairman Scarborough stated that would be fine to get outside sources to help because it would not be the enterprise fund that would be totally accountable to subsidize those projects. Commissioner Voltz recommended focusing on areas around water bodies that have septic tanks.

Mr. Martens advised the first thing that comes up is the separation of enterprise funds and community needs; it is not something that should be done widespread; but there are specific areas all over the County where there may be needs that will benefit the whole community that may justify bringing in additional funding to help accomplish those improvements. Commissioner Higgs stated if 1,000 more units connect to the system, it could reduce the rates; and if they could hook up more units without expanding the plant, it may serve the long-term customers. Mr. Martens stated if the utility service upgrades the activity and land use, there would be a differential in land value and property taxes. Chairman Scarborough stated if staff can show him, because it was developed this one way rather than another way, that a multifold increment increase occurred in general revenue funds, he would say the general revenue fund has an investment it can recapture, but that is not always immediate.

*County Attorney Scott Knox's presence was noted at this time; and Assistant County Attorney Shannon Wilson's absence was noted at this time.

Commissioner Higgs inquired if all the closings have been done on Barefoot Bay plant; with Mr. Martens responding yes. Commissioner Higgs inquired if staff needs to notify GUA of its desire and intent to spin off of it; with Mr. Martens responding staff has not notified them of the intent because they are trying to make sure, before making that notification, that they have completed everything that needs to be done to transfer the bonds. He stated Mr. Knox and he have been working on getting that done, and anticipate that happening soon. Mr. Knox advised they are trying to get some firm commitments from bond counsel on what he needs to accomplish it, because several things they need pursuant to the Trust Indenture which governs how to do it are esoteric things that he has never seen before. Commissioner Higgs inquired if the County has to notify them six months in advance; with Mr. Knox responding once they are notified, the County has 180 days or six months to complete the transaction. Commissioner Higgs inquired if it could be less; with Mr. Knox responding yes, but he does not want to go in without being prepared to bring it to fruition. Commissioner Higgs stated she understands, but also wants to move forward.

Commissioner Higgs advised some condominiums have one large meter as opposed to individual meters, indicating it does not lend to preserving capacity for disposal and treatment; and inquired if a number of condominiums are equipped with individual meters; with Mr. Martens responding most of the same structure buildings have single meters. Commissioner Higgs stated if all residents share one cost on water and there are no individual rates, nobody will have incentive to save water so that water becomes the County's to treat and dispose of; and inquired if it would be an investment worth looking into on some of the big condominiums to participate with the City of Melbourne on individual meters, or if that is even possible to bring down the amount of effluent that the County has to treat; with Mr. Martens responding he can talk to the City and get back with Commissioner Higgs, but most of the buildings are not plumbed for individual meters. He stated the price control incentive is they do not have a maximum bill like single-family residential units, so the sewer rate helps limit those uses.

Agriculture and Extension Services Office

Agriculture and Extension Services Director Dan Schrader advised Mr. Combs' main objective is to keep as many seafood processing plants in the business as possible; that number is going to shrink, but with his efforts hopefully it will not shrink as much as it would without his efforts. He stated the way Mr. Combs does it is to keep those people in compliance; therefore, keeping the business. He stated in the area of child development and housing, they will increase parenting classes, education opportunities, and help work on sustainable neighborhoods. He stated sustainable neighborhoods is a new program from Gainesville; it can be an old neighborhood that is rejuvenated or a new neighborhood where people are more in tune with family management and personal management; therefore, the neighborhood is viable and more active. Mr. Schrader advised in the area of lawn trash and yard waste, the objective is to reduce the amount of lawn trash going into the landfill by recycling it and composting it for use at the home site. He stated in the commercial horticulture area, their goal is to keep the nurseries in business; there are only 87 nurseries in the County, and 60 to 65 are small mom and pop operations; and the others are wholesale and retail operations. He stated in the area of farm conservation, the idea is to create as many best management practices on land as possible and see that they are implemented to make farmland available for other State programs. He advised in the area of homeowner horticulture, it is a matter of keeping up with the demand; there are many people moving into Brevard County every year who are aware of the Extension Services and look for assistance primarily in the area of horticulture. He stated they come from states where they lived on concrete and enjoy what they think are the tropics; but his staff has to re-educate them about home horticulture which takes about 150 to 200 volunteers, mostly in the area of master gardeners, who are people who completed a 50-hour class with them, and in turn return those hours to them.

Commissioner Voltz inquired where those classes are held; with Mr. Schrader responding at the Ag Center. Mr. Schrader stated when the Palm Bay Office becomes a reality, there will be another location for those classes, but currently they do not have classrooms available to them. Commissioner Voltz inquired if they will get one at BCC soon; with Mr. Schrader responding yes. Mr. Jenkins advised they are moving the building this week or next week, and BCC will do the renovations.

Mr. Schrader advised commercial livestock and public policy came together because of the amount of land that is utilized; they have a horse arena at Manatee Park which takes up a lot of time; and they plan to increase those activities and the educational level of animal producers. He stated they receive a lot of calls from ranchette owners from throughout the County who get livestock to enjoy life; and their job is to tell them the truth. He stated in the area of Home Economics, there are two agents; one covers child development and family planning, and the other works with nutrition; a lot of people are interested in food preservation, canning, freezing, etc.; and it is a new avenue for her to work in to make sure they do it right. He noted a lot of people move here thinking the four food groups are eat in, take out, canned, and frozen; it is not like that; and they have work to do there. Mr. Schrader advised they have two 4-H agents, one in the south and one in Cocoa; their job is to get more children involved in 4-H; and the community clubs are 10 to 11-month projects with 850 children. He stated the school enrichment program touches about 4,000 children; and Tropicana, sponsored by Tropicana Fruit Juice Company, is another program that touches about 4,500 children; so the 850 is just a small portion of the children they touch. Mr. Schrader stated the programs mean about $500,000 in way of costs, 15 and ? employees, and additional office space; their job is to educate; and they choose different forms to do that. He stated they have a vegetable industry which an agent from Sanford covers on vegetable crop problems; the citrus industry is shrinking, and the agent from Lake County covers Brevard County's citrus industry; but most of their work is to educate people, and it takes people to do that. He stated his choice is to hire program assistants for the next ten years to help them expand and keep the level up with the demands; a program assistant can do almost what an agent can do for less money; most of the program assistants would go to the south end of the County because that is where 65% of the population lives. Mr. Schrader stated since he has been with Brevard County, two agents were sent to the Melbourne Office; they are a service organization and provide University of Florida information and research to people; and his plan is to put nine program assistants in the Melbourne Office and six in the Cocoa Office to cover Cocoa and Titusville areas in the next ten years. He noted it would not drastically change what they do, but would increase it because with more people coming into Brevard County, more people call on them for assistance.

Mr. Jenkins inquired about the possibility of getting State funding since it is part of the State's system; with Mr. Schrader responding the current dean has asked for three agents for Brevard County; she is trying to get money through the Legislature; and since Dr. Fred Johnson is the District Director over Brevard County, they have enjoyed a lot of equipment. He stated Dr. Johnson is also going to network the Cocoa and Melbourne Offices and provide full internet access for every computer in the buildings; and that will cost about $5,000. He stated he has provided more training money for agents and an $8,000 satellite dish for teleconferencing but agents are harder to get.

Commissioner Carlson inquired if the Ag Center deals with invasive plants; with Mr. Schrader responding the pepper buster was originated with private help; and they are doing some of that. Commissioner Carlson inquired if there are any projects a university would be interested in dealing with to get rid of those types of plants in a certain area; with Mr. Schrader responding they would not target a certain area because they have too many certain areas and not enough money; they would help to educate a group that wanted to do that; but the group would have to find money elsewhere to carry out the project. Commissioner Carlson inquired about grants through the university system to apply to different communities; with Mr. Schrader responding money does not come to the University; they apply for grants themselves to do their work; they would oversee grants and administer them, but they do not give money for projects. Commissioner Carlson inquired about kids camps during the summer; with Mr. Schrader responding they have 4-H agents who live out of suitcases all summer long; they have the regular 4-H camp, horse camp, trash camps, Legislative week in Tallahassee, and State Conference in Gainesville, so they have quite a few camps.

The meeting recessed at 1:50 p.m. and reconvened at 1:58 p.m.

DISCUSSION, RE: DEPARTMENTAL VISIONING - COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT GROUP

Public Works Department

Public Works Director Henry Minneboo advised their vision is to bring the Department into the next millennium by 2010, and be proactive instead of reactive. He stated at one time Road and Bridge had 250 employees; today it has 155 employees and 1,100 lineal miles of road to maintain; and it grows by about 10 lineal miles a year. He stated they have done well with the drainage program and full-time cleaning crew; there is a tremendous amount of debris that come out of the canals; and one of their visions is to move forward with a second team in North Brevard where there is a substantial amount of ditching, and a third team in Central Brevard. Mr. Minneboo advised they want to go with a countywide bikepath/sidewalk maintenance team, and have a full-time dedicated crew to maintain those facilities. Commissioner Voltz advised she receives phone calls all the time about overgrowth on the bikepaths. Mr. Minneboo advised they want a Countywide mowing team for primary and secondary roads totally dedicated to do those roads and learning their characteristics.

Mr. Minneboo advised a program they do not have today is street sweeping; and they could use two street sweepers to undertake an aggressive program. Commissioner Carlson inquired if the County has any street sweepers; with Mr. Minneboo responding no, but it did at one time. Commissioner Higgs inquired what is the value of sweeping the streets; with Mr. Minneboo responding to keep debris out of drainage systems that ultimately end up in the Indian River Lagoon. Commissioner Higgs inquired if it could be a SWIM funded project; with Mr. Minneboo responding it could be. Assistant Public Works Director Ed Washburn advised the St. Johns River Water Management District participated with the Town of Indialantic to purchase a street sweeper as part of its program to keep debris out of the Lagoon. Commissioner Higgs inquired if staff has looked into that; with Mr. Washburn responding not to his knowledge. She stated if the debris can be captured before it gets into the Lagoon, it should be more cost effective to do that rather than having to dredge the rivers.

Mr. Minneboo advised he also wants a one-man patching crew; there is a machine that takes care of everything; and it is a one-man operation. He stated lastly, he wants a totally dedicated landscaping team that would not have nine other projects to do, and would plant and maintain landscapes. Mr. Minneboo advised they are also looking for online capabilities so people can contact his Department through their website to deal with their complaints in a better manner. Mr. Jenkins advised that is something the Department can do now.

Mr. Washburn advised the other four visioning statements are surface water, survey, facilities management, and traffic engineering; surface water management's vision is better quality of life as a result of improved quality of surface waters and improved flood control through intergovernmental participation. He stated the water going into the large drainage basins also come from the cities; so hopefully in the long run it can be an intergovernmental coordinated effort rather than what the County is doing now.

Chairman Scarborough advised he recommended looking at landscaping retention ponds and have them reviewed by Parks and Recreation to see if there are needs for neighborhood parks and other park usage; he has seen beautifully shaped retention ponds in other communities with swings and gazebos; and it may cost more money initially, but it would be cheaper than buying park land and retention areas because the Departments do not get together. He noted Brevard County should be a seamless government. Commissioner Carlson advised of Walgreen's retention area adjacent to another retention area because it was not interested in gathering the forces. Chairman Scarborough indicated site planning could require people to work together on retention areas. Commissioner Voltz suggested incentives. Chairman Scarborough advised of Parrish Medical Center and BCC working together and benefiting from the effort. Mr. Minneboo advised they are going to five-to-one slope on retention ponds primarily for safety if there are park improvements made on those sites. Commissioner Carlson stated there are so many retention ponds they are defeating each other; with Mr. Minneboo responding some are designed to do quick percolation and others are to retain water.

Mr. Washburn advised under Surveying, they hope to initiate and integrate technology-based survey tools, including the GPS system, map reproduction digital systems, and geographic information system. He advised under Facilities Management, they hope to reduce the County's dependency on rental space, improve energy efficiency in all County buildings, and increase participation in Florida Power & Light Company programs to lower electric bills. Mr. Washburn advised under Traffic Engineering, they talked about a countywide intelligence transportation system to enhance and improve motor safety; and that would include signals with computers, interconnect systems, cameras, additional loops, traffic management message boards, and traffic calming device programs.

Commissioner Higgs inquired if the County can require developers to construct streets that are platted out with traffic calming devices; with Mr. Washburn responding it is easier to do that with new developments, but extremely expensive with existing developments. He noted it may be possible when the roads are resurfaced to utilize some calming devices. Commissioner Higgs noted she was referring to all developments that are paper plats; with Mr. Washburn responding if the County were to pave those roads, it would be possible to look into traffic calming devices.

Discussion ensued on calming devices such as turns, circles, islands, speed humps, and winding roadways, some devices may be traffic hazards and vice versa, no way to control reckless and irresponsible drivers, and South Tropical Trail.

Commissioner Higgs advised the County needs to look at MSBU roads and unpaved roads that people are building before they are built; it may not be the solution, but there is no solution for everything; and it may be appropriate to look at it now before having to put in speed humps.

Commissioner Voltz advised on the list of priorities, Ellis Road is listed as 83% capacity in 2020; she has been working with Melbourne Airport and does not think the figures used took into consideration that it would be a thoroughfare into the Airport; she asked Bob Kamm to look at that and see what kind of numbers that should be; and inquired if Mr. Kamm talked to Mr. Minneboo about it; with Mr. Minneboo responding he has not heard from Mr. Kamm.

Chairman Scarborough inquired which county is the most attractive because of its landscaping along the roadways; with Mr. Minneboo responding in his driving experience, he found the southern states north of Florida do a good job on their interstates. Chairman Scarborough stated but their off roads are junky; and people in the New England area seem to be tidier than southerners. He requested Mr. Minneboo answer that question of what county in the United States is the leader in landscaping of its roads. Commissioner Carlson inquired about public works in general and if there is a county in Florida that is premier; with Mr. Minneboo responding he has been impressed with Broward County which has addressed a lot of its public works issues. Commissioner Voltz stated Broward County is over-crowded and overbuilt, but what they have is incredibly beautiful. Chairman Scarborough recommended staff find a county similar in population to Brevard County as a comparison.

Planning and Zoning Office

Planning and Zoning Director Mel Scott advised the Planning and Zoning Department is in place to respond to applicants for zoning and rezoning, demands by citizens, Comprehensive Plan changes, annexations, etc. and is driven by the customer; so their vision is to receive a few things so they can be a good provider of that service and be responsive. He stated they are customers of the Property Appraiser for GIS; if they want some things done, they are put on a list and get it done that way; and what he outlined is the ability to tap into the mainframe computer the Property Appraiser has through a server. He stated if they had a GIS analyst, they could begin to be a provider of studies, overlays, critical planning for land uses, overlays of environmental constraints, etc., as GIS is recognized as a powerful tool. He stated another concept is to get out into the neighborhoods not only to do specialized plans for those neighborhoods, but to bring their visions to the Board; so he looked at equipment needed to achieve that, including digitized camera, camcorder, and the ability to visit those sites. He noted a lot of communities do photography of areas to help Commissioners visualize some of the neighborhoods that are undergoing rezoning; and in a county that is 72 miles long, it is a challenge for Commissioners to visit every site being requested for rezoning. Chairman Scarborough stated it would be fantastic to have pictures on the screen during rezonings, particularly for people who are not sure what the site is.

Mr. Scott stated, since they are moving into benchmarking activities, a land use economist could benchmark and analyze the impacts of the land use policies on the economy; that is a unique talent; and it would be beneficial to have someone in the Planning and Zoning Office quantify the impacts of those policies.

Chairman Scarborough advised there are numerous programs for various things, but they are all doing their own thing; some visioning has good ideas, but they are departmentalized and not put together; however, that should happen in the communities. He stated the people should tell the Board what they want their community to be, how big they want it to be, etc., and not just for today, but for two or three decades from now. He stated to make a seamless government work, they have to move to the community and have them advise of how to become seamless.

Commissioner Carlson suggested staff find livability models and experiment with them before defining urban boundaries. She noted it is the next best thing to having a land economist come in and do it for the County; and suggested staff look for software that is available. Commissioner Voltz advised there are pockets of unincorporated areas in incorporated areas, so urban boundaries are not going to function. Commissioner Carlson noted it would have to be the functional areas in terms of boundaries. Chairman Scarborough stated Titusville is well defined and its reasons for its objectives are well defined.

Commissioner Higgs inquired how long does it take to get information from the Property Appraiser's GIS; with Mr. Scott responding it depends on the request. He stated the Board wanted staff to quantify properties that might be impacted by wetlands mediation language; that was given a high priority; and they got the map in a week. He stated they typically do not ask the Property Appraiser complex planning requests that they might do if they had it in-house.

Mr. Jenkins advised the Property Appraiser's Office is creating the base of land records; everyone feeds them information that goes into the GIS and database; and Mr. Scott wants GIS analysts to use the data everybody supplies; with Mr. Scott responding that is correct, they would like to have in-house capability to manipulate the data as opposed to merely making the database bigger. Mr. Scott stated they are digitizing zoning layers and future land use layers, but if they wanted to manipulate those layers in some way, they would have to ask for it. Mr. Jenkins inquired if that is because he lacks the staff to do it; with Mr. Scott responding that is correct. Commissioner Higgs inquired if the County has access to the database; with Mr. Scott responding yes, as a customer. Mr. Jenkins advised Mr. Scott wants to create customized products and it takes people to do that.

Transportation Planning Department - MPO

Transportation Planning Director Bob Kamm advised the MPO is a mix of federal mandates and flexibility to take on new local issues; and some of the things he outlined deal with both federal and local issues. He stated they spend a great deal of resources collecting and maintaining data dealing with transportation in order to identify where problem areas are and evaluate possible solutions. He noted his office collects data, and so does Public Works, Planning and Zoning, FDOT, and the cities; but they do not have an automated way to share it and bring it together. He stated bringing those sources together can produce something greater than the parts; and GIS could be the backbone to structure a data-sharing program. Commissioner Carlson inquired if there is a connection capability; with Mr. Kamm responding there is a combination of hardware and software situations to make sure they have the same databases and the same ability to maintain the data over time.

Chairman Scarborough inquired if it is a violation of the Sunshine law to discuss MPO issues; with County Attorney Scott Knox responding no, if the duties overlap and the meeting is advertised, the Board can talk about transportation issues in the context of the Board of County Commissioners.

Mr. Kamm advised another issue is to upgrade and improve in-house analysis capabilities to upgrade their ability to do modeling and other things. He stated they receive a great deal of positive response from the public when they can produce computerized images of what a project will look like after it is done; that is a very effective tool; and he would like to develop in-house capabilities to do that on a routine basis rather than pay a consultant four or five times what it costs. He noted it is not that hard to do with digital equipment that is available; they have used it on sidewalk projects; and they would need to make sure they have staff resources to do it. Mr. Knox advised it is also a very effective tool for condemnation cases.

Mr. Kamm advised the next item talks about non-auto transportation planning; they have been involved in bicycle/pedestrian planning for 15 years and probably have one of the best programs in the State for an area the size of Brevard County; they are moving into a closer relationship with the School Board; and what is limiting the program is staff. Commissioner Voltz inquired if Mr. Kamm is talking about construction; with Mr. Kamm responding no, school programs, bicycle helmets, planning activities, etc. Mr. Jenkins advised Barbara Meyer is getting more involved in the trails and corridors, and will need help with the bicycle safety program. Chairman Scarborough inquired, if the Board is helping the school system, is it possible the School Board could help with the funding; with Mr. Jenkins responding no, the Board is legally responsible to provide transportation facilities to schools. He stated bicycle safety training is discretionary on the County's part; and it is an MPO program. Mr. Kamm advised Ms. Meyer works with elementary school PE teachers training them on bicycle safety; there are new PE teachers every year; so they have to maintain that program. He stated they also have an active program with the Parks and Recreation Department during the summer to do bike activities; and they have other activities that they have some responsibility to do, even though they turned a lot of the frontline duties over to the schools. Mr. Jenkins inquired if MPO funds are being used for that; with Mr. Kamm responding yes, and special grant funding to maintain the program.

Mr. Kamm advised another area is involving private sector interest in the planning program; they have not emphasized freight users and other private firms that have an economic interest in the transportation system, nor economic development agencies; and it may actually involve another committee being formed to deal with economic development and transportation issues. Commissioner Voltz inquired if that is the Board of County Commissioners or MPO; with Mr. Kamm responding the MPO. He noted he envisions meeting three times a year with the Chambers and private sector people who have an interest in transportation.

Mr. Kamm advised another issue is intelligent transportation systems; Mr. Washburn mentioned using technology to manage congestion; and the MPO can undertake an ITS deployment study and identify where ITS makes sense, what opportunities are available locally to implement ITS, and how they can piggyback on other things the State may be doing so they can get more bang for their buck. He noted that is something they may do next year as an MPO program. Mr. Kamm advised the last item is to implement the linear park system; they are beginning a master planning process for linear parks; and at some point they will have to face the issue of how to maintain and develop it, and determine the cost and staffing to actually operate a linear park system in Brevard County. He stated that is bigger than the MPO, but if they are going to do that as part of a master plan, they must evaluate what they are going to do in terms of implementation, maintenance, and staffing. He stated the MPO is dedicating $75,000 of planning funds for the master plan effort; they put out feelers to FDOT to find out how receptive it would be in supplementing funds for the master plan; and after that planning is done, that is when they will identify a structure and approach, some main facilities, and management issues, and forward those to the MPO hopefully in July, 1999. Chairman Scarborough inquired when would it come to the Board of County Commissioners; with Mr. Kamm responding they want to take the draft scope and run it by a consultant or two who have done that type of thing before and get a feel for the cost, time involved, level of effort, etc. that would be undertaken; he wants to hear what they will say; and that should be in July. Chairman Scarborough stated he would prefer to pay more and give them more time to get a good product because it will be the foundation of many things. Mr. Kamm stated if it costs more than $75,000, they would have to look for other funds. Chairman Scarborough stated there is a potential to capture the County's and cities' comprehensive plans relating to transportation, parks, and a lot of things; and there is no reason to have a weak link. Commissioner Higgs stated the Board does not have the money for a master plan. Chairman Scarborough stated if the community buys off on the vision, generally the money comes forward because people buy what they want. Commissioner Higgs inquired if Chairman Scarborough is saying there should be community presentations to share the vision.

Commissioner Carlson stated Dr. Bruce Stevenson and the consultant Forest Michael, who are well versed on the west Orange trail and other things, could come to shed some light on what it is going to mean to the community and how they are educating everybody. She stated it is many more steps than the Board is looking at; along with the plan goes the educational process; and they have to do a good job selling it to the community. She noted they have been very successful in many other counties in educating the community and the government.

Commissioner Higgs stated they had meetings with citizens in South Brevard where they mapped out rights-of-way and trails; the consultant will take that and map the trails; they were close to the point where they could start putting some things together; but now that segment will be part of the plan and nothing is going to move on it until the whole thing moves. Mr. Jenkins stated there is an opportunity right now to do localized projects. Chairman Scarborough stated he envisions a common trail going down the entire County as opposed to a trail here and trail there; and if developers put in linear parks, they should be given development abilities. Commissioner Higgs stated they have a trail almost from Turkey Creek. Commissioner Carlson stated there are areas that can be connected for bikepaths on properties purchased by the County; and suggested promoting bikepaths and trails as something the community can do. She noted there is already a lot of good stuff in the ground. Chairman Scarborough stated it would be tragic if the planning gets in the way of it happening; and he hopes it will not limit but will open opportunities. Mr. Kamm stated Ms. Meyer is working on implementation which is different than planning; and a lot of time is involved in talking to landowners, etc. Commissioner Carlson stated what Ms. Meyer is working on are connections, and what the Board is talking about is the backbone of the program. Chairman Scarborough stated it should be done before development makes it impossible. Commissioner Carlson stated there is potential for urban trails for hiking and mountain biking; and the Melbourne Tillman canal system has a lot of potential, but the St. Johns River Water Management District is concerned about liability. Commissioner Voltz advised of concern from residents of bikers and walkers seeing something on their properties and stealing from their yards and homes. Commissioner Carlson stated the studies that have come back show they are so heavily used that the issue of crime is not a question. Mr. Jenkins stated those are perceptions they have to overcome. Commissioner Carlson stated that is part of the educational process; and it will not work in every neighborhood.

Code Compliance Department

Code Compliance Director Billy Osborne advised the Code Compliance Department has responsibility for review, implementation, and enforcement of building, environmental health, and land development codes; and because of their makeup, their visions and goals are more abstract. He stated their vision is to improve the way they do business and be more interactive with the customer; a main goal is to provide expedient service and information to citizens; and one way to do that is utilization of the Internet so developers, contractors, engineers, and the average citizen can have the ability to interface with programs and retrieve information on the issuance of building permits, status of permits, status of inspections and approvals, status of site and subdivision plans, and even apply for permits. He stated another goal is to computerize field inspections so they can print out reports, and upload data to the centralized database. He noted that is also a goal of the Building Section and Environmental Health Section; and eventually they plan to give Code Enforcement, Land Development, and the sign program the same ability. He stated they not only want to provide expedient service, but also to better respond to citizens concerns; and they want to get beyond the stigma that Code Compliance makes life miserable for everyone, and provide assistance to citizens.

Mr. Osborne advised in the next ten years, they anticipate providing citizens with additional plans examiners and building inspectors for the Building Section; they plan to provide field inspectors with laptop computers to allow them to communicate with the Building Code computer and provide contractors in the field with current information relative to their projects. He stated they project an increase in building permits and inspections over the next ten years. He stated regarding staff, he hopes to attain a higher level of experience and knowledge by increasing educational opportunities and incentives to secure certification in their respective fields. Mr. Osborne stated he wants to reduce archives and record storage by purchasing a scanner to store building permits and records on computer disks; they are currently stored in the Cocoa Library, but by scanning their records, they can reduce the need for storage and realize substantial savings. He stated an increase in the Building Code staff is anticipated for plans examiners, inspectors, and support staff; and since additional revenue will be required to achieve the goals, it may be necessary to increase the permit fee in the future.

Mr. Osborne advised the contractor licensing program provides two services; they address licensed contractors, masters, and journeymen; and the other services deal with unlicensed contractors. He stated they want to obtain equipment for a picture ID system upon issuance of a license, and add a field inspector to provide a better presence in the County. He noted with one field inspector, it is difficult to be in Barefoot Bay one day and North Brevard the next day. Mr. Osborne advised Environmental Health plans to expand the use of the Internet by providing educational information and guidelines as well as application forms that can be downloaded or electronically completed and returned with scanned plans and payment via credit cards; they would like to look into the ability to do that; however, it may require a larger website than they have through the library system and necessitate the need to hire a computer person to create, support, and maintain the site. He noted they also want to computerize the field inspection process; and use the GIS system to locate individual onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems and other permitted facilities. Mr. Osborne advised they want to administer well permitting program for all wells under six inches in diameter that are not permitted by the St. Johns River Water Management District; there are 2,000 new wells being drilled per year in Brevard County; and permitting those wells will show that the setbacks and other construction standards are being met, and provide a record of well locations.

Commissioner Higgs inquired if the County can implement inspection and approval of systems when properties change ownership; with Mr. Osborne responding yes, several states have it; 33% of residents are served by the OSTBS system; and the Environmental Health staff feels it is something that should be done. Commissioner Carlson stated there is a lot of support for it. Commissioner Higgs inquired if the County has the ability to inspect wells; with Mr. Osborne responding yes, but it will require additional staff and it can be done in conjunction with the OSTBS inspections. He noted since the St. Johns River Water Management District establishes the permit fee, that program could be self-supporting. Commissioner Higgs commented it is surprising to some people that the County inspects landscaping and driveways but not water and septic tanks which are basic health issues.

Mr. Osborne advised Code Enforcement's goal is to provide quality service that is efficient, cost effective, and responsive to the community needs; they can protect and enhance the quality of life for the community; and in order to achieve that goal, they will start by increasing training for all Code Enforcement officers and prepare an assessment plan. He stated the plan would provide a means for Code Enforcement to identify organizational and individual needs; it will help develop Code Enforcement personnel to deal with the public in a professional and courteous manner and improve services. Commissioner Voltz inquired if there is a training program now; with Mr. Osborne responding yes, but he wants to enhance the training because there are certain things that need to be identified and recognized that they are not doing. Mr. Jenkins inquired if they are all State certified; with Mr. Osborne responding yes. He stated Code Enforcement is going in a positive direction; there are glitches that need to be refined, but they are making progress; and in the next few years they will attempt to develop a Code Enforcement complaint computer system that will be designed to meet future needs. He stated currently they have a system called Comply; it is getting antiquated and not keeping up with the times; so they need to look at a new system to have better response time and better tracking of the cases. He stated an increase in Code Enforcement officers will maintain the ability to better address complaints and allow cases to be more evenly distributed among the officers and decrease the response time. He stated they also envision the need for Code Enforcement to expand community-oriented services; and they have been working on that.

Mr. Osborne advised Land Development is working towards utilization of the Internet to allow applicants to view the status of development plans, download comments, applications, codes, etc. He stated they also want to pursue the technology to electronically process sign permits to allow applicants to submit plans on a computer disk or through the Internet; and they intend to expand the field investigation for illegal signs. He stated their visioning plan says 2001, but they have started the practice and are cross training staff to provide a better presence in the field to track illegal signs. He noted it will also increase revenue. Mr. Osborne stated another goal is to create a database for all plans, signs, submittals, and approvals; standard forms could be generated automatically, and a project could be tracked from start to finish; and they propose to scan development plans and applications to provide accessibility.

Mr. Osborne advised another function of Code Compliance is address assignment which provides support for E-911 and plans review; they indirectly maintain the 911 database; in the next five years they plan to expand the 911 support until they directly maintain that database; and that will increase the accuracy of 911 and provide more on-time updates to the database. He stated computer mapping of streets and addresses is underway to provide 911 answering points with onscreen routing of emergency vehicles. He stated one of their biggest tasks is public inquiry; it takes a lot of time to provide information requested that is usually available on the Internet; so ongoing education of the public, developers, and other agencies that information is available on the Internet should decrease the number of inquiries. He stated the program will improve by utilizing computer software for plan review; address assignment has a big part in the plan review process with respect to street names and addresses; and all their goals will require additional funding and staff. He stated their primary goal is to provide the best service available to all the citizens of Brevard County and provide a better quality of life.

Office of Tourism Development

Commissioner Higgs inquired if there are any pennies left in the tourist tax; with Tourism Development Director Rob Varley responding the Board would need to get legislative action to collect the fifth cent. Commissioner Higgs inquired if any area is collecting five cents; with Mr. Varley responding the Destin area. He stated there is some movement with the federal government on a lawsuit, so there may be opportunities to get beach renourishment funds there; however, TDC's concern is the continuing funding six or seven years later. He stated there are reports that the beaches are growing because of the shift in sand; the Port has fixed the leak with the sand transfer program; and another source of funding is the cruise line industry. He noted Congress is also looking at that industry because of the lack of tax income from it. Chairman Scarborough stated the airport tax is passed on to passengers. Mr. Varley stated the Port collects a port tax, and if all the ports did it, then Port Canaveral would not be so concerned about being the only one, which could chase new ships off. He stated the cruise line industry is in their future plans and they are building good relationships with them and putting packages together; Caribbean Cruise Line is bringing in a full-time ship and is close to bringing in a second one; and they want to do a package with TDC. He stated right now 12% of the passengers on the ships spend the night in Brevard County before or after the cruise; and their goal is to get to 20%. Mr. Varley advised there are a lot of cooperative efforts; Universal Studios has been working with them and putting their hotels in their packages; they expect to have 12,000 hotel rooms in five years which is not near enough for the number of people they have to generate for those two massive theme parks; there is some growth in the hotel industry; and if everything comes to fruition, there could be a 20% growth in room inventory which means an additional 320,000 visitors. He stated they are aggressively moving in that direction; and partnership is a big thing. Mr. Varley advised of the economic tourism summit last week with Volusia, Polk, Osceola, Orange and Seminole Counties where they agreed to get together and talk about doing cooperative marketing, and to pick a particular market like the United Kingdom.

Chairman Scarborough advised Florida has taken hits because of random acts of violence; it has a reputation of being a dangerous place in some travel media; and inquired if Brevard County has been impacted by current events; with Mr. Varley responding there is some concern in the German market, not because of the problems but because of the Balkan War; the UK market is growing; the Chinese market will end up being an incredible market when it happens; so current events should not affect Brevard County very much. Mr. Varley advised Spain has inexpensive beaches and draws a tremendous amount of British tourists; and TDC's hope is that they over sell it or that it gets too expensive, because they are faced with competition in all the markets. He stated the sports market has gotten tougher, but they have started to grow some of their own events and are becoming successful; and advised of the basketball tournament. Chairman Scarborough advised of a city on Fort Myers beach of approximately 5,000 people which gets up to 40,000 in the winter with 45% from Germany; with Mr. Varley responding Fort Myers has a German market and spends a lot of money on that. Commissioner Voltz advised Jim Johnson said 73,000 Germans make Melbourne their destination each year. Mr. Varley stated the UK market is their biggest, and beyond that is the German market. He noted 10% of the visitors are overnight guests; and they want to increase that; 38% come by air; and of the air visitors, only 20% fly into Melbourne. He noted they started a program to go into Sanford Airport with visitor information signs and brochures.

Mr. Varley advised when they call on tour operators in the European market, they talk about time, because half the hotels in Orlando are farther away from the airport than Brevard County. Commissioner Voltz advised Jim Johnson invited her to go to Germany with him; it was supposed to be the first week in June; but because of the Balkan issue, they put it off until September. She stated they are going to talk to three or four airlines that may be willing to come to Melbourne. Mr. Varley advised they have a great partnership with Spirit, and most of their passengers come to Brevard County for vacations. He stated Delta is looking at a partnership with TDC on international police games; they are trying to find a partner to get good rates to fly them in; Germany, Netherlands and the UK are top places to bring a lot of competitors in; and their goal is to have at least 10,000 competitors.

Commissioner Higgs inquired about the $2.4 million; with Mr. Varley responding that money reflects the growth in the current percentage of the tourism monies and also the next two years the zoo will have its $2.5 million which will revert to the market automatically. Commissioner Higgs inquired if it is not additional pennies; with Mr. Varley responding no.

Commissioner Carlson inquired what is the professional sports stadium at $1.5 million; with Mr. Varley responding that is the Space Coast Stadium. Commissioner Higgs inquired how long is that payment; with Mr. Jenkins responding until 2025. Commissioner Carlson inquired if it is used enough to promote tourism; with Mr. Varley responding they have been building a good relationship with the new person; Rusty has used it on occasion; they are looking to do more such as enhancing their facilities, building soccer fields, etc.; and they want to use it more, but sometimes it conflicts with spring training. Commissioner Carlson stated the law enforcement games is retired baseball players who could have their international events here; with Mr. Varley responding they have the World Series for Triple A softball coming in, but they did not have enough time to change it from softball back to baseball; but they will work it out for the following year which will help keep that event which has been going to Daytona. Commissioner Carlson inquired about retired baseball players who use Osceola facilities, and if they could come to Brevard County instead; with Mr. Varley responding the competition is tough with Disney and the sports complex it built.

Mr. Varley advised it would be nice to have a conference center which will help the tourism industry. Chairman Scarborough advised Brevard County could get the conferences if it had the facilities, so it is not a matter of attracting them, but having a place for them to come. He stated Brevard County may not have the size, but it is a premier place; and if TDC goes after the high-class niches and not the big events, it could bring in quality and unique people who will put money into the economy. Mr. Varley commented it has to be more than a conference center, and has to be encouraged by the Port as well. Commissioner Voltz stated she and Jim Johnson are working on a conference center; he wants to hire a consultant and ask the City of Melbourne and County to give $10,000 each; and they are considering property at the Airport. Mr. Jenkins inquired if Mr. Johnson met with TDC; with Mr. Varley responding he talked to a company contracted to develop a 200-room conference hotel next to the Wards store, which they have converted into a conference center. Chairman Scarborough stated Mr. Johnson should go to the TDC because there could be funds available. He stated if the County is going forward with a conference center, it should be one that everyone will put on the cover of their magazines. Mr. Varley stated they do not want to end up with a white elephant. Chairman Scarborough stated Brevard County has a beach, Port and Space Center which other counties in Central Florida do not have. Mr. Varley advised of discussions with Orlando and Osceola County on partnerships with St. Petersburg or Brevard County; stated KSC brings a lot to the table, but transportation is a big issue; and if U.S. 192 was four-laned, it would feed the County more than the Beeline because of the growth in Kissimmee.

Mr. Varley advised they are helping to form a local fishing guide association and doing additional fishing shows; Nature Guide is the printer; they are working with BCC to get a program with nature; and they are supporting Brevard Nature Alliance. He stated Florida TODAY is a good partner, produces their business guide, and will produce a discount book; and if they book in Brevard County, they will be sent a book that will provide $200 to $300 worth of discounts and measure the conversion rate on the advertising as well as generate business for the local businesses.

Commissioner Carlson inquired why a KSC appointment was not on the TDC; with Mr. Varley responding there was a Port person who moved to another job; KSC was never represented on the Council; the membership require three hoteliers, three non-collectors of the tax, and three elected officials; there are some appointments coming up soon; and recommended if someone from KSC or the Port is appointed, it be in the position of a non-collector because there are only three collectors on the Council.

Discussion ensued on appointments to the TDC, additional funds from the zoo, going to the State Legislature for the fifth cent for beach renourishment, available funds, a convention center, and a multipurpose convention/athletic facility like a coliseum.

DISCUSSION, RE: DEPARTMENTAL VISIONING - SUPPORT SERVICES GROUP

Emergency Medical Services Department

Emergency Medical Services Director Bob Lay advised everything the Board heard today can be impacted by a disaster or emergency; and everything staff asked for can be used for response, recovery, planning or mitigation. He stated his office is unique and the only one in the world involved in space launches; they ensure the public is protected in the event of a launch accident that releases a toxic commodity; NASA's and the Air Force's responsibilities end at their properties; so it becomes the County's responsibility. He stated timely warning is one of the goals; they will get a grant for the call notifier and will have the contract before the Board shortly so they will have a system of calling and notifying 12,500 people countywide to inform them of any emergency. He stated they need notice to reduce the time; if there is a launch accident they have about 20 minutes from the time it happens until the first toxic cloud reaches a populated area; and the way to do that is to add a 24-line call notifier system, update the emergency alerting system, and provide funding for Brevard Emergency Amateur Radio Service to increase their transmitter capabilities and provide for repair of their equipment.

Commissioner Higgs inquired if the $15,000 is an annual expenditure; with Mr. Lay responding it is $23,000 over ten years for the amateur radio people, then $48,000 for the 24-line evacuation system, for a total of $71,000.

Mr. Lay advised the second item is efficiency of the Emergency Operation Center (EOC); there is no automated information management system within the EOC with the local area network; they need a couple of things to make that happen; and one is a server that would allow them to use it. He stated they have a license for a Lotus note space program which the State uses; they are trying to replicate what the State and surrounding counties are using so they can share information; however, they only have one license for that, so they cannot let Public Works or other agencies input data into the system. He stated an additional server would cost $24,000, and over a period of ten years they will increase the number of licenses and have workstations for 15 licenses. Commissioner Carlson inquired what is the cost of a license; with Mr. Lay responding $4,000 for five licenses. Mr. Lay advised they are expanding the EOC right now; one area they do not have funding for is the center of the building, from the 911 to the new building; they lack funding for the heating, air conditioning, and ventilation system, expansion of the kitchen area, improvements to existing bathrooms, and a meeting area; and requested the Board consider that. He stated they would like to upgrade their policy room, administrative offices, and communications area; it would cost approximately $300,000; however, it is important enough that it should be done in the first two years. Mr. Lay advised the strategic plan is updated every year; however, they have to update with the State every five years; and requested printing costs for those five-year updates at about $16,000 per update.

Commissioner Carlson inquired if Mr. Lay reviews other emergency management plans; with Mr. Lay responding he reviews plans for hospitals, healthcare facilities, municipalities, etc. Commissioner Carlson inquired if there is an end to it at some point; with Mr. Lay responding not unless special legislation passes next year. Commissioner Carlson inquired about funding from the State to review those plans; with Mr. Lay responding not from the State; the State authorized it when it mandated the County do the plan; it authorized charging a certain fee not to exceed the State's fees; but the Board did not want to increase the fees on medical facilities. Commissioner Carlson inquired if it would offset other costs; with Mr. Lay responding yes, it would have helped considerably because they are not charging fees; people are lax in what they turn in and not punctual; there are time periods to work under; and under a fee system they could have charged additional fees. Commissioner Carlson inquired if Mr. Lay could find out how much it would benefit the County if it could charge a fee; with Mr. Lay responding he estimates between $9,000 to $10,000. Commissioner Carlson inquired if the State would allow the County to charge a fee; with Mr. Lay responding yes, and Orange and Volusia Counties currently do it under contract, but they want to do it because it would give them a better feel of what the healthcare facilities' real evacuation plans are. Commissioner Carlson requested Mr. Lay get some information together on the fee issue.

Mr. Lay advised one of their goals is to provide the emergency preparedness community leaders organization without increased cost; the only area he has concerns with is training for a community emergency response team; they spent about $1,500 equipping a team for a pilot program, and got donations for hats and other things; and there were about 32 people trained from the Suntree community. He stated it was an eight-week training program; they have to take an update course each year; they trained new instructors and hope to take the program throughout the County; and the Cities of Rockledge, Melbourne, and Palm Bay as well as Brevard County Fire Rescue have people going to Ocala for three days of training. He stated that would cost $6,000 a year to help train teams, but it would provide 40 teams at the end of ten years which will be a tremendous help to the County.

Mr. Lay advised the last issue is shelter space for the special needs population; they have grant funding for shutters; however, several areas have a need for power generators or wiring for generators; they have special needs shelters with backup power only; and they need alternate power at all the shelters. He stated they propose to work with the School Board to provide $20,000 for the first two years, and $20,000 for all the years after that for additional shuttering to reduce the shelter deficit; and it can be reduced to zero by the end of ten years. depending on the population growth. He stated the School Board has been more than cooperative in providing facilities where they can put more people and protect the buildings.

Information/Communications Systems Department

Information and Communications Systems Director Gino Butto advised their vision is difficult because technology is hard to get a handle on, and ten years is way out there; but at the same time it is easy, because every user Department has some intuition on the technology and how his Department can help them. He stated it is no longer an information system issue; they are trying to get away from the classic management information system and data processing environment, and do number crunching, budget things, finance, payroll, and things that typical users are removed from; and they want to provide access so everybody can use that information as knowledge for their agencies and also for citizens, and not just for a select few who are experts in a particular business. He noted a good example of that is the new financial system; they anticipate tripling the number of users with the expectations of expanding access to it; and they are not finished yet, but users are asking for more, which is not typical because usually those systems have a lot of dogmatic views. He stated the thirst is there now; people understand what it can do and are not afraid of the technology; so the needs for that kind of thing will snowball.

Mr. Butto advised on the information systems side, they want to enable access to information and deliver it to users; there are several ways of doing that--licenses and accesses, using the Internet, and kiosks for additional access points for constituents. He noted there is a lot of technology that allows the information to be consolidated; the Clerk's Office has a paperless office concept; they want to do imaging; and all of that starts to dovetail into the telecommunications side because they cannot increase the capability without impacting the infrastructure that it rides on. He stated they are looking to replace the current technology in the telecommunications side from what is typically frame relay that is adequate for what they are doing now, but the next increment becomes quite expensive. Mr. Butto advised ATM is now a standard for high capacity; it can put the County in a cost avoidance situation during the next few years when considering the rapid increase in recurring costs with the network; and they will need a lot of support and expertise. He stated the Library System is doing a phenomenal job for what they started out to do; they are inundated; and he is amazed they can keep up with as much as they do. He stated a lot of the Departments are large enough that they can probably do their own sites; it can be done with contract help or outside source; but a lot of the users have small enough needs that they can probably do it themselves.

Mr. Butto advised the E911 system is a stand alone organization, self-funded, and a big impact on technology with cellular phones; and a bill was approved where they will get additional funding through the E911 system to help develop technology to isolate where the users are. He advised they have been mandated to start being able to do that in the near future. He stated there are a lot of different types of technology to do that; they are not going to reinvent the wheel; they need to be able to pinpoint where the cellular phone call is coming from; but nobody has said how to accomplish that, so they are looking into several things.

Mr. Butto advised Mr. Osborne touched on address assignments; with growth there is a challenge to get the vendors to support the County's needs; BellSouth has subcontracted with a company in Colorado; so the County is more removed from being able to do that, but it is still responsible for any inadequacies. He stated precedent has been set in areas of the country where there were inaccuracies within the E911 address system; even though the vendor was responsible, the government agency was liable; so the trend in that environment is to take ownership of it, since it is going to be liable anyway. Mr. Butto advised Mr. Peffer touched on the need to expand on the government channel; they receive a lot of interest on that, not only for 24-hour service, but having a lot more information for the public; and it is a valuable tool to take a lot of workload off the people who get the telephone calls.

Commissioner Higgs inquired if SAP requires two expansions; with Mr. Butto responding only one, but it is duplicated because the service directives rely so much on different requirements. Commissioner Higgs inquired if it is a one-time cost; with Mr. Butto responding yes. Mr. Butto advised in the quarter of a million dollars, there are three different sums anticipated; about $75,000 is anticipated for the license to use the system; another $75,000 for the technology that allows access to the Internet which is a more inexpensive way per user to have access; and $100,000 to turn on other features of the system. He stated they are still looking at all the different options. Mr. Jenkins advised they had 12 months to implement the program; within 12 months they had to pick out those things they had to get on now; and other things will be put on as time permits because they do not have time to do it right now.

Commissioner Carlson inquired if there is a virtual private network; with Mr. Butto responding the network will replace a lot of the LANs and connections to different offices. Mr. Jenkins advised the County is renting space from BellSouth and the volume is getting so great that it will be cheaper to put in a new transmission system than to continue paying the increase in rental charges as the volume increases. Commissioner Carlson stated she is just interested in the backbone, which is the current LAN, how it is connected, and if the SAP is not the backbone; with Mr. Butto responding that is correct, it is one of the participants.

Mr. Jenkins advised another thing Mr. Butto is looking at is an intranet; criminal justice is a critical area where the Sheriff, State Attorney, and Clerk all need to be able to share data; and that is why they need the intranet. Mr. Butto stated the infrastructure does not have the capacity for that volume; it can be upgraded to that; but it is cost prohibitive to do that with the current technology.

Commissioner Voltz inquired about the time line to make sure everything is online and compatible long before the year 2000; with Mr. Butto responding Stockton Whitten is the project manager on the implementation of the Y2K project; and they have not reached anything serious. Mr. Jenkins inquired what is the target date for implementation; with Mr. Butto responding the middle of October. Commissioner Voltz inquired if it will allow time for error testing; with Mr. Butto responding testing will begin long before then. Commissioner Voltz inquired about the concern for the June 6th date because computers cannot tell the difference between 6 and 9; with Mr. Butto responding they have done the testing to make sure they do not have that problem.

Chairman Scarborough requested Mr. Butto keep the Board posted on the progress; with Mr. Jenkins responding there will be monthly status reports.

Stockton Whitten advised they will have a departmental confirmation meeting on May 18, 1999, at 1:00 p.m. in the Florida Room, where they will show transactions on screens of the system; and invited the Board members to look at the system and see exactly what they are doing.

Management Services Department

Management Services Director Stockton Whitten advised part of the reason for so many requests for user licenses is that the system is not only a financial system but a management information system; and people now see the benefit of that part of the system. He stated they discussed turning on an additional feature of the SAP system for fleet maintenance for all agencies that actually do their own maintenance and services; and it has work orders, accounts receivable, and a lot of features that are management information oriented. He stated they have gone from talking about databases to alternative view vehicles and installation of wireless communication devices on vehicles; but the issue he wants to focus on is Vision Statement #3 which establishes a vehicle replacement program for General Fund agencies. Mr. Whitten advised 70% of the vehicles one ton and under such as pickup trucks and sedans, are five years and older; 30% are one to five years old, 51% are five to ten years old, 18% are ten to fifteen years old, and 1% is fifteen years and older. He stated Mr. Nelson talked about vehicle and equipment replacement as a vision and need for his Department; and requested the Board focus on that vision statement.

Commissioner Higgs inquired how much is needed a year; with Mr. Whitten responding they have not determined that; and what they have been doing, as other agencies purge their fleet, they give others opportunity to acquire the older vehicles for lesser needs; but they are at the point where they are running those vehicles beyond the point of repair or where other agencies can actually use them. He noted they need to quantify what they need as a replacement tool. Commissioner Higgs inquired if staff looked at vehicles coming off fleet programs from Avis and others which could be bought for a fairly good price with a warranty program; with Mr. Whitten responding they have not looked at those; and most of those would be sedans, but would cost less than new vehicles.

County Attorney's Office

County Attorney Scott Knox advised his vision statements are all computer oriented. He stated several years ago they went to a completely computer-based resource system; and now for the time it takes to walk from the Government Center to the Courthouse and back, he can research a project. He stated based on that success, they tried to go to a paperless office environment that the Clerk is currently using; the Clerk's Office offered it to him at no charge, with no infrastructure and no equipment required; and all he has to do is buy a scanner. He stated he will be able to tap into that system, take all the paperwork that comes through his office every day and run it through the scanner, and put it in the computer so he has ready access at his fingertips and does not have to look through files. He stated the problem he has now is if they did something on a project or legal issue five years ago, they may or may not remember that or may go back and not find it; so if he has a computer and inputs all the information, he can find all the things that pertain to that issue. He stated every document that comes in from the County agencies will be at their fingertips; that is why they are trying to go to paperless; and it is cost effective.

Commissioner Carlson inquired if they can do licensing for nothing; with Mr. Knox responding they have an unlimited license.

County Manager's Office

County Manager Tom Jenkins advised they would need at least $10 million to accomplish all the visions presented to the Board. Commissioner Voltz advised all the goals are great; they are mostly personnel and computer equipment; if all the needs are quantified, the County could not afford them; so it needs to set priorities on what it can meet financially and what needs will help multiple people. Commissioner Carlson stated it would be nice to see a price tag before prioritizing. Commissioner Higgs stated there is a price tag on everything. Commissioner Carlson responding there is no cumulative price tag and to get the real picture the Board needs to see the real numbers. Commissioner Higgs commented Mr. Jenkins said $10 million. Commissioner Voltz advised some of the goals can be accomplished with grant funds or money from the State, but the Board needs to address those things that require tax dollars.

Chairman Scarborough stated the visions are things to be accomplished in ten years; it does not need to get the money today; he did not ask for what was needed for next year's budget and wanted to know the best programs available; and the document is not as usable as having staff tell him what is best. Commissioner Voltz stated it would be nice to have a list of all the priorities and when it comes to budget time, they can look at that and know what the priorities are and address them that way.

Commissioner Higgs inquired if the vision plan is things that cannot be funded in the budget; with Mr. Jenkins responding the majority are unfunded; there are a few things that came up that they have to do; and they have to find a way to pay for that. Chairman Scarborough stated if it can be done this year, it is not long-range visioning. Commissioner Voltz stated every budget year the Board needs to take that list and look at what it is doing and determine if it is meeting the needs. Commissioner Carlson stated the Board needs to finish benchmarking and baselining so it can set priorities based on what the visions are, and find out where those priorities lie, what they want to do, where they stand now, and where they want to be. Chairman Scarborough stated the Board needs to set high objectives of where it wants to go or it will fall short. Commissioner Carlson stated the Board does not know where it sits right now and cannot apply this information to anything. She stated every Department is doing its own visioning; and inquired if there are Departments talking across Departments and going to an integrated perspective on their visioning.

Chairman Scarborough stated there are good impressions that the SAP system will take the County to the cutting edge; it seems to be big enough and international; and there is a lot of potential. Mr. Jenkins advised there is a project management team doing the SAP; and there is an information systems steering committee that is countywide and includes the Constitutional Officers. He stated the Board asked that retention ponds not only be visually and aesthetically pleasing but also recreational; so it will see a new phase where Public Works and Recreation will start working together.

Commissioner Higgs inquired, in trying to identify revenues to fund some of the things presented, when will the Board see the study on impact fees. Mr. Jenkins advised it is moving along and the scope is done. Chairman Scarborough requested Mr. Jenkins bring that back to the Board.

Upon motion and vote, the meeting adjourned at 4:29 p.m.

ATTEST:

TRUMAN SCARBOROUGH, CHAIRMAN
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA

SANDY CRAWFORD, CLERK
(S E A L)