The Board of County Commissioners of Brevard County, Florida, met in regular session on January 10, 1995, at 9:00 a.m. in the Government Center Board Room, Building C, 2725 St. Johns Street, Melbourne, Florida. Present were: Chairman Nancy Higgs, Commissioners Truman Scarborough, Randy O'Brien, Mark Cook, and Scott Ellis, County Manager Tom Jenkins, and County Attorney Scott Knox.

The Invocation was given by Commissioner Truman Scarborough.

Commissioner Ellis led the assembly in the Pledge of Allegiance.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner O'Brien, to approve the Minutes of October 18, 1994 Regular Meeting. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Ellis, to approve the Minutes of November 1, 1994 Regular Meeting. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

REPORT, RE: BOARD MEETING WITH OSCEOLA COUNTY COMMISSION

County Manager Tom Jenkins advised the Chairman of the Osceola County Commission invited the Board to lunch before the joint meeting; however, the number of people attending the meeting was large, and he was concerned about the perception if they had a luncheon, so it would be necessary for the media to be there and any members of the public would be welcomed to come to it; consequently, the luncheon has been canceled, and the Board will just attend the meeting.

Chairman Higgs advised the Board will meet with Osceola Board of County Commissioners at 1:30 p.m. on January 18, 1995, and there will be no other event.

DISCUSSION, RE: DUAL EMPLOYMENT

County Attorney Scott Knox advised he sent a memo on the issue of holding dual employment, advising it was okay as long as the Board passed an ordinance; they have checked with the Ethics Commission, and apparently there is some dissention on that Commission; and since they hold the final jurisdiction over whether the Board can or cannot pass an ordinance that will allow dual employment, he would recommend applying to the Ethics Commission for an opinion to resolve the issue.

Commissioner Cook inquired if it is just to find out whether the Board can pass an ordinance or not; with Mr. Knox responding the Statutes are clear that it can, but he would like to know what they think the parameters are as to what limitations there are if any. He stated they are the final word on it; and if the Board does not like what they say, it has an option of going beyond that, but initially it has to find out what they have to say.

Motion by Commissioner Cook, seconded by Commissioner Ellis, to authorize the County Attorney to obtain clarification from the Ethics Commission on the legal status of the Board passing an ordinance regarding the issue of holding dual employment.

Commissioner O'Brien inquired why is the Board discussing this issue at the same time it is going through Union negotiations; this may be a playing card the Board has; in good business this would not be done; it is something the Board would hold back and use as a tool rather than give it away before it gets started; and he knows how important it is to the fire fighters, but it is just as important to the Board because it has value.

Commissioner Ellis stated without a legal opinion, the Board would not know if it has a bargaining chip; with Mr. Knox responding that is correct. Commissioner O'Brien stated the Board should not discuss it after it gets the opinion unless it is in executive session. Commissioner Cook advised he concurs with Commissioner O'Brien and thought it was part of the negotiations; it does not hurt to look into it; however, before the Board makes any commitments, it should let the process go forward.

Chairman Higgs advised the County Attorney is requesting permission to get clarification from the Ethics Commission as to what the legal status would be; with Mr. Knox responding that is correct.

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

APPOINTMENTS, RE: NORTH BREVARD HOSPITAL DISTRICT BOARD

Commissioner Scarborough advised the Board had an appointment to the North Brevard Hospital District Board; however, Titusville City Council did not confirm it; Kerry Kennedy was suggested to him; he is a business person; and the other gentleman is William Hurst from Port St. John who is in the audience. He stated the Port St. John Homeowners Association requested and interviewed candidates, and Mr. Hurst was their selection.

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Ellis, to appoint Kerry B. Kennedy, 550 Ora Dell, Titusville 32796, to replace Ivan Gantenbein, with term expiring December 31, 1996, and William Hurst, 6965 Belfast Avenue, Cocoa 32927, to replace Harold Erickson, with term expiring December 31, 1997, to the North Brevard Hospital District Board, subject to confirmation by the City of Titusville. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

APPOINTMENT, RE: NORTH BREVARD LIBRARY DISTRICT BOARD

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Ellis, to appoint Sheila Hutcheson, 3860 Grantline Road, Mims 32754, to the North Brevard Library District Board, replacing Roberta Drummond, with term expiring September 30, 1996. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

WAIVER OF FEES, RE: MOBILE HOME DESTROYED BY FIRE

Commissioner Scarborough advised Lisa Suttell had her mobile home destroyed by fire; because of the situation, she was unable to rebuild; the contractors and builders are donating their time and materials; and they requested the fees, if any, be waived. He stated Mr. Jenkins broke down the fees that can and cannot be waived, and he will defer the item until the end of the meeting so Commissioners have a chance to review what was prepared. He stated some fees can be handled by waiver, and others may have to look to charity.

Chairman Higgs advised the Board waived some fees in Barefoot Bay for tornado victims; and she would not want to be inconsistent with what was done there.

DISCUSSION, RE: REQUEST BY CANAVERAL PORT AUTHORITY TO CHANGE ITS CHARTER

Commissioner O'Brien advised the Legislative Delegation from Port Canaveral has been instructed to go to the state to change its status; half of the County has paid taxes to support the Port for 30 years; now the Port is doing well, and rather than see $5,000,000 a year go into the County's coffers as a return on its investment, $5,000,000 a year will go to Tallahassee. He stated the people of the County have made a strong investment for 30 years in that Port; they have the gall to say they want to go to the state and become part of the state's jurisdiction to avoid property taxes; so he would like to move that the Board put it in its legislative package that the Port come under its jurisdiction.

Motion by Commissioner O'Brien, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to include in the legislative package, legislation placing Port Canaveral under the County's jurisdiction.

Commissioner Ellis advised he does not want the Port; the County has an industrial park, golf courses and other things; and he would prefer to see the Port sold and run privately because that would solve the problem of having it on the tax rolls plus whatever money is generated from the sale would apply to property tax relief for those people who paid those taxes for however long it would take to deplete the money generated from the sale. He stated he does not want to have the County running the Port.

Commissioner O'Brien advised the motion would ask the Legislature to give the County the Port then it can sell it; but right now it does not even own it to sell. Commissioner Ellis advised the Board can ask the Legislature to dissolve the District and have the Port sold; and inquired what would the Board do if it comes under the County and the County cannot sell it; with Chairman Higgs responding the County could make money the same way the Authority is doing now. Commissioner O'Brien advised the Port generates $5,000,000 a year in profits; and if the County can put that in its coffers, it would have $5,000,000 to build roads, schools, and bridges. Commissioner Ellis stated it may not generate that amount if the County ran it; with Commissioner O'Brien responding if it is run well it should.

Commissioner Scarborough inquired if Commissioner O'Brien is suggesting a change in the status or not to allow the Port to change its status. He stated Commissioner Ellis is discussing a change, but Commissioner O'Brien is saying keep the status quo; and inquired if Commissioner Ellis has a problem with the status quo. Commissioner Ellis stated it is better now then it would be under the County, but the best solution would be to sell it. Commissioner Scarborough stated that is not what Commissioner O'Brien was saying; and he is opposing the Port's initiative and not creating an initiate. Commissioner Ellis stated that is not the way he understood it.

Commissioner O'Brien advised the Port could start an initiative on its own to come under the state's jurisdiction; the Port Authority owes the County a lot more than that; it is a slap in the face to all the taxpayers; so in order to correct that problem, the Delegation should: (1) fight the change of status to come under the state, or (2) if required, come under the County jurisdiction.

Chairman Higgs advised the Board has two Delegation meetings to come; it has time to Agenda the item for the next meeting and have discussion on it, then present a position to the Delegation; so it would be her preference, rather than vote on the motion that is proposed, to place the item on the Agenda for the next meeting.

Commissioner O'Brien withdrew the motion, and Commissioner Scarborough withdrew the second.

Motion by Commissioner O'Brien, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to table discussion on the request by the Canaveral Port Authority to come under the state's jurisdiction until January 24, 1995.

Commissioner Cook inquired if there is a Delegation meeting after January 24, 1995; with Chairman Higgs responding yes.

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

APPOINTMENTS, RE: CITIZEN ADVISORY BOARDS

Commissioner O'Brien advised he will change the names of appointments he made last month from Dr. Ray Martin to Pat Martin.

Motion by Commissioner O'Brien, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to appoint Pat Martin, P. O. Box 54-2070, Merritt Island, Florida 32954, to replace Dr. Ray Martin on the Hiring Freeze Task Force and Discharge of Firearms Task Force. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

APPOINTMENT/REAPPOINTMENTS, RE: HABITAT GOLF COURSE ADVISORY BOARD

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Ellis, to appoint Robert DeGiovanni, 327 Coral Way West, Indialantic, Florida 32903, with term expiring December 31, 1995, and reappoint William D. Sywetz, Sheila Schaffer, and George Koraly, to the Habitat at Valkaria Golf Course Advisory Board with terms expiring December 31, 1996. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

DISCUSSION, RE: WORKSHOP ON VIERA DRI

Chairman Higgs advised at the end of the workshop, the Viera Company asked her if it would be possible to schedule an additional workshop; in response to their request, Assistant to the County Manager Stockton Whitten gave the Board two dates; and inquired if the Board wants February 1, 1995 at 4:30 p.m. or February 16, 1995 at 9:00 a.m.

Commissioner O'Brien advised he prefers February 1, 1995 at 4:30 p.m. because the Board is already scheduled for a workshop on Affordable Housing at 2:00 p.m.

Chairman Higgs advised on February 16, 1995 the Board has open discussion scheduled at 9:00 a.m.; both of those dates are reserved; so the Board could have the Viera workshop part of the day and go into open discussion thereafter, or vice versa. Commissioner O'Brien advised he prefers February 1, 1995; the workshop could be moved to 1:00 p.m. and Viera at 4:30 or 5:00 p.m. so they can have a 45 minutes break between workshops. Chairman Higgs advised her concern about doing the workshop with The Viera Company is not having an option for allowing public discussion; the Board has held two public hearings on the Viera DRI; but this Board has not had a public hearing. Commissioner Cook inquired if the Board is precluded from allowing public comment; with Chairman Higgs responding no, but it has been standard practice not to have it at workshops. She noted the Board could agree to allow an hour of public comment or something. Commissioner Cook agreed with a cap on public comments at the workshop.

Commissioner Ellis inquired what are the topics for the workshop; with Chairman Higgs responding those items that were raised at the last workshop, assuming everyone has had an opportunity to go over those. Commissioner Ellis inquired what other issues besides the mall; with Chairman Higgs responding there were several issues.

Carey Hayo, representing The Viera Company, advised her understanding from Mason Blake is that they would like to re-address all the issues that were outstanding from the productive workshop as well as draft language for development order conditions that they could consider.

Motion by Commissioner Cook, seconded by Commissioner O'Brien, to schedule a workshop on the Viera DRI for February 1, 1995 at 4:30 p.m. and allow one hour for public comment.

Commissioner Scarborough inquired if the Board limits public comment to one hour and has cards that could consume six hours, whose cards would get chosen and whose would not, and can the Board say it is going to hear an hour of public comment and tell those that have not been chosen they cannot speak.

Commissioner Ellis recommended three minutes per speaker; with Chairman Higgs and Commissioner Cook agreeing with the three minute time limit. Commissioner Ellis inquired if the public comments will relate to topics at the workshop or be open comments; with Chairman Higgs responding she hopes they relate to the topics, but the public is allow to speak on all the issues and the comments would have to be addressed in relationship to the issue which is the Viera Development Order and Zoning changes.

Chairman Higgs advised the motion is amended to be February 1, 1995 at 4:30 p.m. with public comment allowed and limited to three minutes per speaker. She called for a vote on the motion as amended. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

County Manager Tom Jenkins advised there was a comment to start the other workshop an hour earlier; and inquired if the Board wants to do that.

Motion by Commissioner O'Brien, seconded by Commissioner Cook, to change the Affordable Housing Workshop to 1:00 p.m., February 1, 1995. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

RESOLUTION, RE: OPPOSING LEGISLATIVE AMENDMENTS TO FLORIDA STATUTES, CHAPTER 409, COUNTY CONTRIBUTIONS TO MEDICAID

Commissioner Scarborough advised he hopes everyone is aware that of the immense impact payments for Medicaid has on the County's Budget; it is not a minor item and deserves discussion; however, everyone is in agreement with the resolution so he will not pull it.

Chairman Higgs advised it is about $3,000,000; with Assistant County Administrator for Community Services Joan Madden responding it is about $3,000,000.

RESOLUTION, RE: NAMING NARROW ROAD

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner O'Brien, to adopt Resolution naming a 50-foot wide private road in Section 6, Township 23S., Range 35E. as Narrow Road. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

RESOLUTION, RE: NAMING MERCHANTS DRIVE

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner O'Brien, to adopt Resolution naming a 50-foot wide access in Section 19, Township 23S., Range 36E. as Merchants Drive. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

RESOLUTION, RE: NAMING CRANE PLACE

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner O'Brien, to adopt Resolution naming a 25-foot wide flag lot stem in Section 2, Township 27S., Range 36E. as Crane Place. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

RESOLUTION, RE: NAMING RIVER GROVE DRIVE

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner O'Brien, to adopt Resolution naming a 30-foot wide private access in Section 14, Township 30S., Range 39E. as River Grove Drive. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

RESOLUTION, RE: NAMING PRIVATE ACCESSES IN WEST GATE MOBILE HOME PARK

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner O'Brien, to adopt Resolution naming Kurtell Lane, Ecstasy Circle, Fantasia Lane, Kur-Mar Place and West Gate Place all 20-foot wide private access in West Gate Mobile Home Park. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

RESOLUTION SETTING PUBLIC HEARING, RE: VACATING PARK IN WATERWAY ESTATES, 4TH ADDITION - WENDI ADAMOSKY AND MICHAEL AND LYNN BARLET

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner O'Brien, to adopt Resolution setting public hearing for February 7, 1995 to consider vacating a park in Waterway Estates, 4th Addition, as petitioned by Wendi G. Adamosky and Michael L. and Lynn L. Barlet. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

AMENDMENT TO CONTRACT WITH KIMLEY-HORN & ASSOCIATES, INC., RE: DAIRY ROAD SOUTH WIDENING PROJECT

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner O'Brien, to execute Amendment to Contract with Kimley-Horn & Associates, Inc. to provide additional design services for the Dairy Road South Widening Project at $2,995. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

PERMISSION TO BID, AWARD BID TO LOW BIDDER, AND AUTHORIZE CHAIRMAN TO EXECUTE CONTRACT, RE: ROAD STRIPING

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner O'Brien, to grant permission to bid and award bid to the low bidder for road striping expected to exceed $25,000 annually; and authorize the Chairman to execute the contract with the successful bidder. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

APPROVAL OF TIME EXTENSION, RE: DISCUSSION WITH BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON NEIGHBORHOOD DRAINAGE ISSUES

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner O'Brien, to grant time extension for staff to continue and complete discussions with the Building and Construction Advisory Committee regarding neighborhood drainage issues, until the evening meeting following completion of the Committee's review. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

RESOLUTION, RE: COMMENDING GENE M. DRAPER

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner O'Brien, to adopt Resolution commending Gene M. Draper for nine and a half years of outstanding public service to Brevard County, and expressing appreciation for his dedicated service. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

CONTRACT FOR SALE AND PURCHASE AND ADDENDUM WITH FLORIDA CONFERENCE ASSOCIATION OF SEVENTH DAY ADVENTISTS, RE: MOSQUITO CONTROL IMPOUND- MENT AREA

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner O'Brien, to execute Contract For Sale and Purchase and Addendum with Florida Conference Association of Seventh Day Adventists for a Mosquito Control impoundment site in Section 13, Township 24S., Range 36E containing 185.5 acres at $102,000. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

NOTE: Item reconsidered later in the meeting.

PERMISSION TO BID AND ACCEPT LOW BID, RE: CONCRETE MATERIALS

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner O'Brien, to grant permission to bid and accept low bid for concrete materials to be used for Countywide construction and maintenance of drainage systems and related concrete items. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

FINAL PLAT APPROVAL, RE: SUNSET POINT VILLAS

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner O'Brien, to grant final plat approval for Sunset Point Villas, subject to minor changes if necessary, receipt of all documents required for recording, and Board approval not relieving the developer from obtaining all other necessary jurisdictional permits. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

RESOLUTION, RE: RELEASING CONTRACT WITH SUNTREE DEVELOPMENT COMPANY, RE: FIELDSTONE SUBDIVISION, PHASE 1

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner O'Brien, to adopt Resolution releasing Contract with Suntree Development Company dated August 3, 1993 for improvements in Fieldstone Subdivision, Phase 1. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

CONTRACT WITH THE SUNTREE PARTNERS, RE: SIDEWALK IMPROVEMENTS IN WATERFORD PLACE, UNITS 3 AND 4

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner O'Brien, to execute Contract with The Suntree Partners for sidewalk improvements in Waterford Place, Units 3 and 4. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

RESOLUTION, RE: OPPOSING LEGISLATIVE AMENDMENTS TO FLORIDA STATUTES, CHAPTER 409, COUNTY CONTRIBUTIONS TO MEDICAID

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner O'Brien, to adopt Resolution opposing legislative amendments to Florida Statutes, Chapter 409, Section 409.915, County Contributions to Medicaid. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

STANDARD RATE AGREEMENT WITH FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND REHABILITATIVE SERVICES AND FOLLOW-UP AMENDMENTS, RE: AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITIES PROGRAM

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner O'Brien, to execute Standard Rate Agreement with Florida Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services for $18,750 dependent upon the exact number of participants in the After School Activities Program for Neighborhood Children; and authorize the Chairman to execute any follow-up amendments. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

AWARD OF PROPOSAL #P-3-4-02 AND AGREEMENT WITH SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS OF NORTH BREVARD, INC., RE: ANIMAL SHELTER SERVICES FOR NORTH BREVARD

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner O'Brien, to award Proposal #P-3-4-02, Animal Shelter Services for North Brevard, to The Society For The Prevention of Cruelty To Animals of North Brevard, Inc. at $44,717.26 annually for FY 1995 and $45,000 for FY 1996, retroactive from January 1, 1995 through September 30, 1996 with option to renew for an additional year; and execute said Agreement. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

PAYMENT TO MR. AND MRS. MELVIN CORBETT, RE: ROAD ENCROACHMENT

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner O'Brien, to approve payment of $3,000 to Mr. and Mrs. Melvin Corbett for road encroachment on lot located on the corner of Kennedy Street and Harry T. Moore Boulevard. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

WAIVER OF MUSIC AND ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE REGULATIONS, RE: COUNTRY WESTERN BATTLE OF THE BANDS AT FOX LAKE PARK

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner O'Brien, to waive Article IV, Festivals to allow musical entertainment, and Article V, Section 18-104(2), to allow sale, possession, donation of alcoholic beverages at the Country Western Battle of the Bands at Fox Lake Park on January 22, 1995, subject to the organizer providing security, general comprehensive liability insurance with liquor liability, crowd control, and clean up and obtaining all state and local regulatory permits. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

WAIVER OF MUSIC AND ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE REGULATIONS, RE: JOE REALINO MEMORIAL FUND RAISER AT FOX LAKE PARK

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner O'Brien, to waive Article IV, Festivals to allow musical entertainment, and Article V, Section 18-104(2), to allow sale, possession, donation of alcoholic beverages at the Joe Realino Memorial Fund Raiser at Fox Lake Park on April 23, 1995, subject to the organizer providing security, general comprehensive liability insurance with liquor liability, crowd control, and clean up and obtaining all state and local regulatory permits. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

AGREEMENT WITH SOUTH BEACHES VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT, RE: LEASE OF FIRE VEHICLE DONATED TO VOLUNTEERS

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner O'Brien, to execute Agreement with South Beaches Volunteer Fire Department for lease of the Department's fire vehicle enabling the volunteers to purchase auto liability insurance through the County. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

APPROVAL OF GRANT AND AGREEMENT WITH CITY OF COCOA BEACH, RE: TDC CATEGORY B, BEACH IMPROVEMENT

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner O'Brien, to approve $5,000 emergency beach improvement matching grant from the Beach Improvement Category of 35% of the first two cents and 25% of the third cent of the tourist tax, execute Agreement with City of Cocoa Beach for the grant award, and accept prior grant-related emergency repair expenses as reimbursable expenses. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

AGREEMENT FOR SALE AND PURCHASE WITH JOSEPH DeGANCE, et al, AND ASSIGNMENT OF AGREEMENT WITH THE NATURE CONSERVANCY, RE: EEL PROPERTY IN NORTH INDIAN RIVER LAGOON CARL PROJECT

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner O'Brien, to execute Agreement for Sale and Purchase with Lucy and Joseph DeGance, Rosarie Pagliocca, Murial Hayes, Eugenia Jones, and Jocelyn Van Wagner, for purchase of 33? acres in the North Indian River Lagoon CARL Project at $144,100, under the EELS Program; and execute Assignment of Agreement with The Nature Conservancy. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

FOURTH AMENDMENT TO AGREEMENT WITH GOVERNING BOARD OF ST. JOHNS RIVER WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT, RE: ARTESIAN WELL PLUGGING PROGRAM

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner O'Brien, to execute Fourth Amendment to Agreement with Governing Board of St. Johns River Water Management District to allow a licensed water-well contractor to control abandoned artesian wells in Brevard County. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

VARIANCE TO PRIVATE LAKES ORDINANCE, RE: ROMEO AND FE FERNANDO

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner O'Brien, to grant variance to locational standards for private lakes, Chapter 62, Article XIII, Division 5, Section 62-4456(B)(1) of the Brevard County Code for Romeo and Fe Fernando only for the setbacks from the west property line. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

AGREEMENT WITH F.I.T., RE: DESIGN IMPROVEMENTS FOR SEDIMENT CONTROL STRUCTURE (BAFFLE BOX)

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner O'Brien, to execute Agreement with Florida Institute of Technology (F.I.T.), to complete a hydraulic scale model analysis and provide recommendations for design improvements to the sediment control structure (baffle box) design at $49,994 from EPA grant funds. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

TASK ORDER NO. 4 WITH CAMP DRESSER & McKEE, INC., RE: SOUTH BEACHES AND MERRITT ISLAND RECLAIMED WATER PROJECTS

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner O'Brien, to execute Task Order No. 4 to Agreement with Camp Dresser & McKee, Inc. to prepare an application requesting inclusion in the State Revolving Fund Program for financing reclaimed water distribution systems for South Beaches and Merritt Island at $6,120. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

CHANGE ORDER NO. 3 WITH BUTLER CONSTRUCTION COMPANY, RE: NORTH BREVARD WATER TREATMENT PLANT EXPANSION

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner O'Brien, to approve Change Order No. 3 to Agreement with Butler Construction Company, increasing contract amount by $6,633.84 to resolve three conflicts and problems for the North Brevard Water Treatment Plant Expansion. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

PERMISSION TO ADVERTISE PUBLIC HEARING, RE: RATE RESOLUTION FOR TREATMENT AND DISPOSAL OF SEPTAGE

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner O'Brien, to authorize advertising a public hearing to consider a rate resolution for treatment and disposal of septage. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

APPROVAL TO SCHEDULE BOARD WORKSHOP, RE: STORMWATER MANAGEMENT ISSUES

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner O'Brien, to schedule Board workshop on stormwater management issues to review and discuss a comprehensive stormwater management master plan and the interaction and relationship of various departments and divisions necessary to provide critical community services for May 10, 1995. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

ACKNOWLEDGE GRANT APPLICATIONS, AND APPROVE AUTHORIZE REPRESENTATIVE, RE: FLORIDA POLLUTION RECOVERY PROGRAM GRANT

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner O'Brien, to acknowledge prior submittal of Florida Pollution Recovery Program Grant Pre-applications and Grant Applications for seven Water/Wastewater and three Surface Water Improvement Capital Projects, and designate the Water Resources Director as the authorized representative of the County to sign grant application documents. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

AGREEMENT WITH FLEET MARINE, INC., RE: DISPOSAL OF VISCERA AT CENTRAL DISPOSAL FACILITY

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner O'Brien, to execute Agreement with Fleet Marine, Inc. to dispose viscera at the County Central Disposal Facility for provision and delivery of clean shell for road stabilization in a volume twice that of the waste to be disposed. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

ADDENDUM NO. 6 WITH GEE & JENSON, INC., RE: CONNECTION OF TITUSVILLE TRANSFER STATION AND NORTH BREVARD YARD TRASH MULCHING AND RECYCLING FACILITY TO CITY OF TITUSVILLE'S SANITARY SEWER SYSTEM

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner O'Brien, to execute Addendum No. 6 to Agreement with Gee & Jenson, Inc. dated March 3, 1992, for Task Order No. 7, to provide engineering services for the connection of Titusville Transfer Station and North Brevard Yard Mulching and Recycling Facility to City of Titusville's Sanitary Sewer System. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

TASK ORDER NO. 4 WITH POST, BUCKLEY, SCHUH & JERNIGAN, INC., RE: RENEWAL OF CENTRAL DISPOSAL FACILITY LANDFILL OPERATION PERMIT

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner O'Brien, to execute Task Order No. 4 to Agreement dated January 21, 1994 with Post, Buckley, Schuh & Jernigan, Inc., to provide engineering services for renewal of the Central Disposal Facility's landfill operation permit. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

APPROVAL OF BUDGET CHANGE REQUEST, RE: HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE COLLECTION CENTER GRANT

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner O'Brien, to approve Budget Change Request, amending Solid Waste Management Budget Fund 4300 in the amount of $50,000 for the DEP Household Hazardous Waste Collection Center Grant. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

RELEASE/SATISFACTION OF LIEN, RE: PROPERTY AT 1360 DOLPHIN AVENUE, MERRITT ISLAND

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner O'Brien, to execute Release/Satisfaction of Lien for property at 1360 Dolphin Avenue, Merritt Island, as the owner paid the fine for a Code violation. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

RELEASE/SATISFACTION OF LIEN, RE: PROPERTY AT 3270 SUNTREE BOULEVARD, MELBOURNE

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner O'Brien, to execute Release/Satisfaction of Lien for property at 3270 Suntree Boulevard, Melbourne, as the owner paid the fine for a Code violation. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

RESOLUTION AND APPLICATION, RE: INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT REVENUE BOND FOR CIA DEVELOPMENT/DEMACO/GRAYWATER INVESTMENTS II, LTD.

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner O'Brien, to adopt Resolution acknowledging the TEFRA public hearing was held on January 4, 1995, and approve application of CIA Development/Demaco/Graywater Investments II, Ltd. for industrial development revenue bond not to exceed $3,500,000. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

PERMISSION TO ADVERTISE PUBLIC HEARING, RE: TWE, ADVANCE PUBLICATION AND NEWHOUSE BROADCASTING CORPORATION JOINT VENTURE CABLE OPERATION

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner O'Brien, to grant permission to advertise a public hearing for February 14, 1995 to consider an agreement among Time Warner Entertainment Co., L.P. (TWE) and Advance Publications and Newhouse Broadcasting Corporation to create a new joint venture cable operation for the three existing County CATV franchises. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

PERMISSION TO ADVERTISE PUBLIC HEARING, RE: PROPOSED RATE CHANGES FOR TIME WARNER CABLE FRANCHISES I, II AND III

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner O'Brien, to grant permission to advertise a public hearing to consider rate changes for Time Warner Cable Franchises I, II and III on February 14, 1995 at 5:30 p.m. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

ACKNOWLEDGE ORDINANCE FROM CITY OF COCOA BEACH, RE: AMENDING DEFINITIONS AND FEE SCHEDULE FOR INDUSTRIAL AND PATHOLOGICAL WASTE

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner O'Brien, to acknowledge receipt of Ordinance No. 1057 from City of Cocoa Beach, amending definitions of industrial and pathological waste, and amending the fee schedule. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

ADDENDA TO CONTRACT WITH ALEXSIS, INC., RE: INCREASE IN FEES FOR CLAIMS SERVICE

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner O'Brien, to execute Addenda to Contract with Alexsis, Inc. to increase service fees to reflect the annual increase in the Consumer Price Index for claims service. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

AUTHORIZATION TO NEGOTIATE, RE: AUTO LIABILITY CLAIM OF ROSS MOYERS

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner O'Brien, to authorize Risk Management to negotiate, through Alexsis, the auto liability claim of Ross Moyers who sustained a back injury as a result of a vehicular collision with a County van. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

ACCEPT OFFER FROM ANTHONY LaCOURT, EXECUTE DEED, AND APPROVE PAYMENT TO EVANS-BUTLER REALTY, RE: VETTER ISLES PROPERTY

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner O'Brien, to accept offer of $80,000 from Anthony LaCourt, c/o Loggins Realty, for Vetter Isles sewer treatment plant property; authorize the Chairman to execute the Deed for the property after the proceeds have been collected; and authorize payment of $6,400 to Evans-Butler Realty from the proceeds of the sale for their sales commission. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

APPROVE SELECTION COMMITTEE'S RANKING AND APPOINT NEGOTIATING COMMITTEE, RE: CONSULTANT FOR DEVELOPMENT OF MEADOWLANE COMMUNITY LIBRARY

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner O'Brien, to approve the Selection Committee's ranking of (1) Educated Design, (2) Space Coast Architects, and (3) Stottler Stagg & Associates; appoint Facilities Management Director, Facilities Construction Director, Library Services Director, and Assistant County Attorney or their designees to the Negotiating Committee; and authorize the Committee to negotiate with Educated Design; and should negotiations not proceed to a contract, to negotiated with Space Coast Architects. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

CONSERVATION EASEMENT TO ST. JOHNS RIVER WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT, RE: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner O'Brien, to execute Conservation Easement to St. Johns River Water Management District to comply with the Consent Order of United States of America v. Brevard County Case No. 93-807-CIV-ORL-22. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

FINANCING STATEMENT, RE: BOND ISSUE FOR RENAISSANCE RETIREMENT, LTD. PROJECT SERIES 1990

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner O'Brien, to execute UCC-1 Financing Statement regarding the Renaissance Retirement, Ltd. bond issue, Series 1990. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

AUTHORIZE APPEAL OF F.A.C.T. CLAIMS COMMITTEE'S DETERMINATION, RE: MIORELLI v. BREVARD COUNTY

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner O'Brien, to authorize the County Attorney to appeal F.A.C.T. Claims Committee's determination on Miorelli coverage and defense issues, regarding Brevard County v. Miorelli Engineering. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

AUTHORIZATION OF EXPENDITURES, RE: SPECIAL LAW ENFORCEMENT TRUST FUND

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner O'Brien, to authorize expenditure of $57,585.08 from the special Law Enforcement Trust Fund for the Sheriff's Office to purchase a camera, audio system, car battery repeater, Airnet Pager Intercept System, and Norstar Telephone System with Star Talk Voice Mail System. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

SUPPLEMENTAL BUDGET REQUEST, RE: SHERIFF'S OFFICE FY 1995 BUDGET

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner O'Brien, to approve supplement of $76,000 in additional revenue received for the Sheriff's General Fund Budget for year ending September 30, 1995, for various capital expenditures. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

ACCEPTANCE, RE: REVENUE MONITORING REPORT FOR QUARTER ENDING SEPTEMBER 30, 1994

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner O'Brien, to accept the Revenue Monitoring Report for quarter ending September 30, 1994, prepared by the County Finance Department. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

APPOINTMENTS/REAPPOINTMENTS, RE: CITIZEN ADVISORY BOARDS

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner O'Brien, to appoint and/or reappoint the following:

Code Enforcement Board
Ms. Joyce M. Allison, 5350 U.S. 1, Sharpes
John P. Marchio, 34 Magruder Terrace, Rockledge

Planning and Zoning Board
Shawn Ryan, 4832 Fairsun Street, Titusville
Carlos Springfield, 3620 Carter Road, Mims
George Smolen, 703Glengarry Drive, Melbourne
Roy Pence, 3115 Dixie Highway N.E., Palm Bay
Jim Mixson (Alternate), 3700 Parkway Drive, Melbourne
Al Metzger, 2930 Arizona Street, West Melbourne
Hank Simon, 481 Topeka Road, S.W., Palm Bay
Hank Hurley, 109 E. Nelson Avenue, Melbourne

Building and Construction Advisory Committee
Roger Molitor, P. O. Box 10008, Cocoa
David Wickham, 1437 Avocado Avenue, Melbourne

Contractors Licensing Board
John Robinson, 460 Snug Harbour Drive, Merritt Island
Robert Hicks, 630 Cypress Street, Merritt Island
Scott Metcalf, 2580 Fulton Court, Melbourne
Nick Witek, 1793 Rockledge Drive, Rockledge

Economic Development Commission of East Central Florida
Joe Marcheso, 6767 N. Wickham Road, Suite 304, Melbourne
Charles Westerfield, 283 Marlin Place, Melbourne Beach

Historical Commission
Ada Parrish, 29 Riverside Drive, Cocoa
Orlando Ramirez, 915 Deer Run Drive, Viera
Jim Culberson, 218 Ash Street, Melbourne
Yvonne Shingler, 536 Platt Circle, Melbourne Village
Georgianna Kjerulff, 710 Acacia Avenue, Melbourne Village

Extension Advisory Council
Tyra Willis, 5300 Oxen Trail, Rockledge

Citizen Budget Review Committee
James B. Amos, 820 Barnes Boulevard, Rockledge

CDBG Advisory Board
Ray Olinger, 2954 Chipper Drive, N.E., Palm Bay

Rotary Park at Suntree Community Committee
Gerald Jagrowski, 884 Spanish Wells Drive, Melbourne

Cocoa West Community Center Advisory Committee
Alma Battle, 308 Lakeview Boulevard, Cocoa
Reverend Melvin Chatman, 981 Nicklas Drive, Rockledge
Altamese Davis, 390 Johnson Boulevard, Cocoa
Jimmy Jackson, 888 Kings Post Road, Rockledge
Betty Wells, 3720 Gum Street, Cocoa
Mr. Curbie Wynn, 3734 Wood Circle, Cocoa
Ms. Theo Simmons, 513 Lincoln Road, Cocoa

MPO Citizens Advisory Committee
Clarence Mills, 720 Wing Foot Lane, Melbourne

Spessard Holland Golf Course Advisory Board
Ginny Mack, 265 Ibis Drive, Melbourne Beach

Valkaria Airport Advisory Board
Stephen D. Tatoul, 8 Cove Road, Melbourne Beach
Ken Fulton, 7830 Casuarina Drive, Melbourne Beach
Phillip Crews, P. O. Box 500103, Malabar
Jim Ray, 4030 Adams Lane, Valkaria
Del Yontz, 381 Crestview St, N.E., Palm Bay (At Large)
Richard B. Adams, 797 Isar Avenue N.W., Palm Bay
Mark Scurrah, 1198 E. Bay Drive, Indian Harbour Beach

Habitat at Valkaria Golf Course Advisory Board
Robert DeGiovanni, 327 Coral Way West, Indialantic
George Koraly, 9868 Riverview Drive, Micco (Alternate)
Sheila Schaefer, 411 Avenue A, Melbourne Beach
William D. Sywetz, 1099 Mandarin Drive, N.E., Palm Bay

Onsite Sewage Variance Board
William DiMarzo, 1498 Pace Drive N.W., Palm Bay

Recreation and Parks south Service Sector Advisory Board
John A. Devivo, 1006 Beacon St, N.W., Palm Bay
Judy England, 2981 Ohio Street, Melbourne
Thomas Redmond, 750 Highland Avenue, N.W., Palm Bay

Extension Advisory Council
Gerald Lafferty, 3145 Hield Road, Melbourne

Personnel Council
Oscar Gamboa, 305 Emerson Drive, N.W., Palm Bay

Meadowlane Library Board
Marian Sinor, 2920 Ohio Street, West Melbourne
Mary McIntyre, 665 Sabal Road, Melbourne Village

County Library Board
David A. White, 134 Copenhaver Avenue N.E., Palm Bay

Art in Public Places Advisory Committee
Beverly Cachilli, 1150 Colby Avenue, Merritt Island
Ms. Pat Briel, 401 Roxy Avenue, Melbourne.

Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

PERSONAL APPEARANCE - COMMANDER GEORGE WILSON, RE: PAYMENT IN LIEU OF TAXES ON FEDERAL PROPERTY

Commander George Wilson, Brevard County Sheriff's Department, advised about ten years ago he came to the Board about payment in lieu of taxes (PILT) due for Department of Interior lands in the Kennedy Space Center area; according to the Department's maps, the land is a national wildlife area and subject to release funds to Brevard County; and they have tried the political process for the last ten years with negative results. He stated about six years ago he and former Commissioner Roger Dobson addressed Congress on the issue and brought forth their feelings that Brevard County should be paid for it; Congress said they would see what they could do, but recommended Brevard County sue the federal government because that would be the only way they would get the funds; and he is very much of that opinion now. Mr. Wilson advised the problem is an inter-government agency conflict where one does not wish to give up sovereignty as they would lose control; this could be politically corrected by introduction of a bill in Congress that would allow the funds to come to Brevard County; however, there would not be a sense of urgency for them to cooperate unless Brevard County goes forward with a lawsuit. He stated the last time he addressed the Board, there were not two new Commissioners; and they should be brought up to date on this issue and the fact that Brevard County is not getting the funds. He stated Commissioner Ellis and he went to Property Appraiser Jim Ford and asked what kind of monies would Brevard County receive if private individuals owned the identified lands and not the entire Cape or what they consider government lands; and it came out to almost four billion dollars of assessments; so the County would receive over 71 million dollars in taxes for that land alone if it was in the private sector. Mr. Wilson advised the law of payment in lieu of taxes says where government takes tax producing land and still require services, there shall be a payment in lieu of taxes; Brevard County is not getting it; and it gives law enforcement service, ambulance service, forestry service, road service, and many other services. He stated the County still provides services and should be getting the money; so the Board needs to have its attorneys go forward with a lawsuit against Department of Interior for the funds the taxpayers of Brevard County rightly deserve. Chairman Higgs inquired what is the economic impact of NASA on Brevard County's economy; with Mr. Wilson responding he does not know, but Disney has a tremendous economic impact on Orange County and its taxes are over 50 million dollars which they put into Orange County. He stated the issue is not how much they bring in, but what the law is; that is what he lives under and the Commissioners live under; and they should comply with the law, but through a glitch of inter-department squabbling, Brevard County is not getting what it deserves. Mr. Wilson advised it is not for him; his salary will not go up; he will not get a percentage from the PILT; but the people of Brevard County deserve those funds. He noted at one time the School Board received substantial funds from the federal government which was subsequently stopped; other counties in the state and other states get funds, but for some reason Brevard County does not; the only way Brevard County will get the money is not through the good will of the government, but through the courts; and the Board should at least head in that direction.

Commissioner Scarborough advised if others are receiving funds and it is part of the law, Brevard County should be treated equally and fairly under the law; and he appreciates Mr. Wilson bringing it up. He stated the Board hired a consultant who made promises he would get the money from PILT for Brevard County; the Board received memos on everything but PILT; and he is no longer here. He stated it is a major issue as far as quality of life in Brevard County; the Board should take it seriously; and he does not know if the County Attorney had an opportunity to examine the possibilities yet, but if he has not, he would make a motion after everyone has spoken that the issue be referred to him and he report back to the Board on the possibilities of pursuing what Mr. Wilson suggested. Mr. Wilson advised they sent a letter to the federal government asking what they would give Brevard County, and nothing happened; so the County needs to find out what they are willing to give it and go to the courts. He reiterated what the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee said that they have a philosophy and policy that if they give it to the County they have to give it to everybody, and they would set a precedence, and they do not wish to; so the only way the County will get anything out of them is to sue. He stated that is on record before the Committee; the County can make a strong case on that; and it can find out what is the identified lands in their own maps that identify the lands as a national wildlife area.

Commissioner O'Brien inquired if the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is under the Department of Interior; with Chairman Higgs responding yes. Commissioner O'Brien inquired if the Board wants to sue the Department of Interior for money it owes the County for Kennedy Space Center; with Commissioner Scarborough responding the issue is to propose to the County Attorney if there is any standing to sue; if so, who would the County sue; and it is part of a question as opposed to an answer at this time. Commissioner O'Brien inquired who owes the County the money; with Commissioner Ellis responding the Department of Interior. Commissioner O'Brien inquired if they are property taxes; with Commissioner Scarborough responding no, it is payment in lieu of taxes. Commissioner O'Brien indicated the County should sue because U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wants all the land for the scrub jay, and if they paid the County, the County could buy the land.

Assistant County Manager for Environmental Services Stephen Peffer advised recently Commissioner Scarborough forwarded some information he received from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service having to do with national wildlife management refuge properties in Brevard County; as a result of that and working with the Property Appraiser Jim Ford, he did contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service specifically about the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge which is the Kennedy Space Center property; and their statement was the property is owned by NASA and they have a management contract to manage the property as a national wildlife refuge, but it is not owned by Department of Interior. He noted that gets to what Commander Wilson was referring to; there is a disparity between ownerships; the County is still not getting the PILT dollars it is entitled to; but the Department of Interior's position is they are not the owners of that land.

Commissioner Cook suggested the County Attorney look into pursuing this issue and if it would require outside counsel and the cost estimate for that. He noted the County has a new Congressman and perhaps it could get input from him.

Commissioner Ellis stated the April memorandum talked about going through a series of appeals before the lawsuit; and inquired if the County began that process; with County Attorney Scott Knox responding they have begun and made application to the Department's attorneys, but have not received anything back from them at this time; but the wheels for getting it accomplished has started. He stated in terms of having outside counsel, they can handle it without any problem in-house; whether there will be a large recovery of 71 million dollars is problematic; he is not sure what the recovery will be, but the answer is his office can handle it and started the wheels to pursue it already.

Chairman Higgs inquired when will the County know something from the steps it has taken and what would be the next step; with Mr. Knox responding in order to say it has exhausted its appeals, the County has to get a resolution from the appeals; so far it has not received a return response from the Department; so once it gets that back ,it will be in the posture of going forward if it is resolve against the County which he expects it will be because of the position they have taken in the past. He stated the County has to go through the appeal first and through the procedural steps before going to court, otherwise, it will be thrown out of court. Chairman Higgs inquired if the Board desires to place it on the Agenda for additional reports from the County Attorney in February to determine what the status is and have him outline what the next step is assuming it has no reply.

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Cook, to table the request from Commander George Wilson to file suit against the federal government for payment in lieu of taxes on property utilized as a national wildlife refuge in the Kennedy Space Center area until February 1, 1995, and direct the County Attorney to return with a report on what the status is and what the next step should be. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

Mr. Wilson requested the Board keep him in the loop; with Chairman Higgs responding Mr. Wilson is invited to attend the February 1, 1995 meeting to see where the Board is and where it is going.

DISCUSSION, RE: BAREFOOT BAY DISASTER

Commander George Wilson thanked the Board, Mr. Jenkins, and County staff for their attendance to the disaster in Barefoot Bay, and Commissioner Scarborough who was Chairman at the time. He stated the response is appreciated and showed the County's dedication.

Chairman Higgs thanked the Sheriff's Department for doing a great job also, and noted the people in that area appreciate everything the Department did.

Commissioner O'Brien advised he received a message from Tom Jenkins that Code Enforcement was backing out of Barefoot Bay because they could not afford to pay the over time; and that concerned him because they were keeping the unlicensed contractors from ripping off the people who needed repairs and rebuilding.

Chairman Higgs stated it is her understanding they continue to monitor the area and feel their efforts at this time are adequate; they have not backed off at all; but they are not putting in as much over time. Commissioner O'Brien stated he was not filled in with the rest of the story; and inquired where the County is with that; with County Manager Tom Jenkins responding the Code Enforcement Division was out there very heavy; they have pulled back to a more moderate schedule; they are still covering it and feel that based on the level of activity, normal coverage would be sufficient to avoid any problems. He noted they were out there very heavy and the Building Division was out there also; and this is a matter of using the resources more prudently. He stated they covered it when they felt they needed to, but as the work slacked off, they felt they could. Commissioner O'Brien inquired if Mr. Jenkins feels comfortable the people are protected; with Mr. Jenkins responding yes.

PERSONAL APPEARANCES - JOAN FITZPATRICK AND RON COLLINS, MEURETT SIGN COMPANY, RE: USE AGREEMENT TO ALLOW SIGN IN PUBLIC RIGHT-OF-WAY

Joan Fitzpatrick, Meurett Sign Company, 638 Washburn Road, Melbourne, introduced her associate Ron Collins, and advised they represent a shopping center developer Sovereign, Hold & Hooker who own and manage the Sarno Plaza on the corner of Sarno and Croton Roads. She stated they ran into a unique permitting situation when they went to construct a pile-on sign on Croton Road and need clarification; based on the site plan the developer gave them, the City of Melbourne misconstrued where the property line was; normally in the City they can go by the sidewalk as being the property line; it is not very typical that a building would be sitting on the property line; therefore, the City issued a sign permit based on the site plan and information they submitted. She stated when they came out to do a footing inspection, the inspector said it may be County property, so he stopped the project; they further investigated and found it was a County Road and the particular area where they wanted to place the sign is a right-of-way; and they wanted to get a right-of-way permit or roadway and easement permit, but Mr. Osborne told her the County was no longer issuing that permit for the use of a sign, based on the Commission meeting of April 13, 1993. Ms. Fitzpatrick advised she obtained the Minutes of that meeting; it was discussed and some people did not want to allow them any more; however, the motion was to do more investigation and work towards developing a policy that would not allow the use of right-of-way for commercial signs. She stated she went to Commissioner Ellis' office, and they suggested coming to the Board to clarify the issue. Ms. Fitzpatrick advised she does not know if she is asking for a variance or exception; she needs to know what the ruling is; and if it has been determined that it cannot be for commercial use, then they want to ask for an exception in this situation. She stated the shopping center developer recently purchased the shopping center and spent thousands of dollars renovating it and plans to do more; in the area where they were going to place the sign, they have landscaped a lot of it and want to do a nice landscape around the base of the sign which will actually make that area look better; and the center really needs to get identification on that street because it is having a problem keeping tenants, as Croton Road traffic goes right by it. She indicated it may even cause traffic jams as they may miss the turn on Croton and try to come around on Sarno; and she needs to know what the policy is right now on the permit.

Traffic Engineering Director Bill Osborne advised it is his understanding that the policy adopted by the Board in 1993 is that only landscaping, driveways, and regulatory signs would be allowed within the rights-of-way.

Commissioner Ellis advised he could not find in the Minutes where the policy came back to the Board; in December there was a fight over the basketball hoops in the right-of-way; the County was pulling down those hoops and he tried to get that stopped, but it was a losing battle; however, he could not find where the policy came back to the Board, so he did not have anything to give the sign people. He stated he can remember when it was discussed but cannot remember the policy coming back to the Board; they reviewed all the minutes and could not find it; and what is at Sarno Plaza is also at South Patrick Drive and other places where the parking lot sits in the right-of-way.

Chairman Higgs inquired if the parking lot sits in the right-of-way; with Ms. Fitzpatrick responding it borders the right-of-way. Ron Collins advised the end of the parking lot is where the right-of-way starts.

Commissioner Scarborough advised there was an incident that occurred in May, 1993 where a notice of violation was issued for a ten-inch intrusion in the right-of-way in District 1; he does not have a problem promulgating a new rule; but it should be consistent. He stated it concerns him that the Board does not have a rule yet on exactly what is going to be and what is not going to be allowed; he would hate to see the Board deciding on a case-by-case basis whether it is going to allow someone to include two inches, five inches, or ten inches in the right-of-way; and he thinks it got to the point where it wanted to be when the motion passed on April 13, 1993.

Chairman Higgs inquired if the policy came back to the Board; with Assistant County Manager for Community Development Dean Sprague responding staff believes it was done administratively based on the Board's direction; and the Board's option in this case may include vacating the right-of-way or simply amending the policy. Chairman Higgs stated the motion said to direct staff to develop a policy for Board consideration which prohibits the private use of public right-of-way; and inquired if staff is saying that has not been done; with Mr. Osborne responding they do not have a written policy. Chairman Higgs inquired if staff is applying an administrative policy and the issue is does the Board wish to review that policy so it can be consistent; with Commissioner Ellis responding the administrative policy was never implemented and all he voted on was for staff to bring it back to the Board. Chairman Higgs advised the policy has not been brought back to the Board, so it would seem appropriate that the Board should review and approve it; and inquired if the policy can come back at the next meeting; with County Manager Tom Jenkins responding yes.

Commissioner Ellis advised since the policy did not come before the Board, the County is operating under the old policy; and under the old policy, they can use the right-of-way for signs. Mr. Osborne advised under the old policy staff was issuing use agreements for signs; and it was his understanding, as a result of the Board action, that they would no longer issue lease agreements for installation of those type of signs.

Chairman Higgs advised it is very unclear and needs to be put on the Agenda.

Ms. Fitzpatrick advised her client is saying unless it is stated otherwise and there are existing properties that are utilizing the right-of-way for signs, then why can't they; there is nothing that says they cannot; they already have the sign built; and they are waiting for an answer. She stated if there is nothing saying they cannot have the sign at this time, they should be able to get the permit or lease agreement and are willing to go with whatever the Board wants to use.

Commissioner Cook advised the Board has the option of allowing this applicant to have a use agreement since others are in effect at this time; then it can direct staff to come back with a policy; and if it wants to prohibit signs in the future, then pass a policy to do that.

County Manager Tom Jenkins advised that is a very logical sequence; it was a Board initiated issue; and it is important whether or not this Board's direction would be on the policy, because it may be different than the direction received from the prior Board. Chairman Higgs advised the Board is not in a position to know, so the item should be brought back to the Board to determine where it wants to go. Mr. Jenkins advised historically the County gave leases or use agreements; it was raised as a concern by a Commissioner; and staff was to come back with a policy, but apparently they did not do that. Chairman Higgs advised she remembers bringing it up; the County had a lease agreement with a private shopping for a parking lot and gave it to them free; and that was one of the issues. She stated she started on this because the County was allowing public property to be used as a parking lot and getting no compensation. Commissioner Ellis stated that is correct, but the County was not allowed to charge. Chairman Higgs stated the Board needs to start over on this issue and determine where it wants to go.

Commissioner Scarborough advised after the Board action, apparently certain things began to happen internally; there was a real estate sign that was ten years old intruding in the right-of-way by ten inches; and by Code, the whole sign had to be removed and rebuilt. He stated he is not saying it was a good or bad policy; the Board did create some policy doing away with the lease; but in fairness to the community, it should promulgate a policy that staff understands and can be clearly communicated to the public. He stated that will require the policy coming back to the Board.

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Cook, to direct staff to return on January 24, 1995 with a policy on the use of public right-of-way for signs.

Commissioner Ellis inquired if use agreements can include basketball hoops; with Mr. Jenkins responding yes, and staff will give the Board options for its decision.

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

Chairman Higgs inquired if the Board wants to take action on the request from Ms. Fitzpatrick; with Commissioner Ellis responding since the new policy has never been in effect because it never came back to the Board, their request should be treated like anyone else's that came before and asked for a use agreement; so their use agreement should come back to the Board on January 24, 1995.

Motion by Commissioner Ellis, seconded by Commissioner Cook, to directed staff to prepare a Use Agreement with Meurett Sign Company or Sovereign, Hold & Hooker d/b/a Sarno Plaza, to put a sign in the public right-of-way under the old policy and return it to the Board on January 24, 1995.

Commissioner Cook recommended review of the County getting compensation for use of public right-of-way; and Chairman Higgs inquired if the Board wants discussion on compensation.

Chairman Higgs advised the use agreement will come back for consideration on January 24, 1995, but that does not mean it will be granted. She called for a vote on the motion. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

PUBLIC HEARING, RE: RESOLUTION VACATING PUBLIC UTILITIES AND DRAINAGE EASEMENT IN PORT ST. JOHN, UNIT 1 - DEBORAH J. BROWN

Chairman Higgs called for the public hearing to consider a resolution vacating public utilities and drainage easement in Port St. John, Unit 1, as petitioned by Deborah J. Brown.

There being no objections heard, motion was made by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Ellis, to adopt Resolution vacating public utilities and drainage easement in Port St. John, Unit 1, as petitioned by Deborah J. Brown. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

PUBLIC HEARING, RE: RESOLUTION VACATING PUBLIC UTILITY EASEMENTS IN BAREFOOT BAY, UNIT 1 - GEORGIA METCALF

Chairman Higgs called for the public hearing to consider a resolution vacating public utility easements in Barefoot Bay, Unit 1, as petitioned by Georgia Metcalf.

There being no objections heard, motion was made by Commissioner Ellis, seconded by Commissioner Cook, to adopt Resolution vacating public utility easements in Barefoot Bay, Unit 1, as petitioned by Georgia Metcalf. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

PUBLIC HEARING, RE: RESOLUTION VACATING PUBLIC UTILITIES AND DRAINAGE EASEMENTS IN CATALINA VILLAGE, FOURTH ADDITION - LAWRENCE VERDIER

Chairman Higgs called for the public hearing to consider a resolution vacating public utilities and drainage easements in Catalina Village, Fourth Addition, as petitioned by Lawrence Verdier.

There being no objections heard, motion was made by Commissioner Ellis, seconded by Commissioner Cook, to adopt Resolution vacating public utilities and drainage easements in Catalina Village, Fourth Addition, as petitioned by Lawrence Verdier. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

PUBLIC HEARING, RE: RESOLUTION EXPRESSING SUPPORT OF OR OBJECTION TO GRANTING OF CENTRAL VIERA COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT

Chairman Higgs called for the public hearing to consider a resolution expressing support of or objection to granting of the Central Viera Community Development District. She stated it is her opinion, having discussed CDD issues, that if the Board supports or objects, it will make little consequence to the state; they have approved every CDD that came before the Governor and Cabinet that had a recommendation of the hearing officer; and although she is uneasy about CDD's, she doubts her uneasiness will sway the Governor and Cabinet. She stated she does not wish to support or object; and sees no reason to actually have the public hearing.

Commissioner O'Brien agreed with Chairman Higgs and stated the Board should not support, reject, or object as long as it is still in the process, and it should make a motion to forget the whole idea. He stated it is an automatic process and the Board should let the process take place.

Chairman Higgs advised Item VI.A.1 is for scheduling the public hearing as well as whether or not the Board wants to comment on the CDD.

Commissioner Cook suggested a transcript of this meeting be transmitted to the Governor and Cabinet to make them understand that the Board's non-action is not an expression of support or objection so they understand the Board does not see the point in commenting. Chairman Higgs stated the Board could send a letter saying it took no position. Commissioner Cook advised the Property Appraiser asked for an AGO regarding recreational facilities in a CDD; that is an important issue whether they will be tax exempt if they are public golf courses or facilities that charge admission; and his Attorney has asked for that opinion from the Attorney General.

Commissioner Scarborough advised just because the Board does not make the final decision is no reason not to discuss an item; in the past it considered the advisability of aquaculture leases yet it did not make the final decision; so that does not preclude the Board from commenting. He stated in certain instances, although the Board is not the final decision-making body, its comments are part of the recognized process; and because this is a Viera issue, it would be prudent to have a public hearing on it because that is probably what the community would like to see the Board do. Chairman Higgs stated she does not object to the hearing, but does not know if it will get the Board anywhere. Commissioner O'Brien stated he and Commissioner Cook both said at the workshop if the Board wants the hearing, they will support the Board on that. Chairman Higgs stated if Commissioner Scarborough wants the hearing she is comfortable doing it.

County Manager Tom Jenkins advised this is the public hearing, and has been advertised as a public hearing and continued from a previous meeting.

Chairman Higgs advised Item VI.A.1. recommends the Board consider the petition to establish the Central Viera CDD during a public hearing.

Planner M. Scott advised this is about the third time it has come before the Board; originally it started as the public hearing and was tabled because they were hoping a decision could be made on the project as a whole prior to the hearing on the CDD; then it came back and was spoken of as discussing future dates.

Chairman Higgs advised it was her understanding from talking to Attorney Mason Blake that they want their experts at the meeting if the Board wanted to have a public hearing on the CDD; and they want a date, so The Viera Company does not consider this the public hearing on the CDD. Mr. Scott advised the understanding has been that the Board would again table this hearing, and they talked about polling the Commissioners on having it on February 1, 1995.

Carey Hayo, representing The Viera Company, advised they had not considered today to be the public hearing; they understood there would be discussion on the setting of a date in light of the fact that February 28, 1995 is the date the Governor and Cabinet will be hearing this issue; and they do not have their experts here today, and are not prepared to have the hearing today.

Commissioner Cook recommended setting the public hearing date for February 1, 1995. Mr. Scott stated they discussed February 1, 1995 at 1:00 p.m., but the Board moved the workshop from 2:00 to 1:00 p.m. He stated the technical motion here would be to continue the public hearing to the future date which was to be February 1, 1995 at 1:00 p.m.

Chairman Higgs advised the Board has scheduled the Affordable Housing workshop on February 1, 1995 at 1:00 p.m. then a workshop with The Viera Company at 4:30 p.m.; however, they will have their experts here on that day. Commissioner Cook indicated they would not incur additional costs. Mr. Jenkins suggested rescheduling the Affordable Housing workshop.

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Cook, to continue the Central Viera CDD public hearing immediately preceding the workshop on February 1, 1995 at 4:30 p.m. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

PUBLIC HEARING, RE: ORDINANCE AMENDING ORDINANCE PERTAINING TO CODE ENFORCEMENT BOARD

Chairman Higgs called for the public hearing to consider an ordinance amending the Code of Laws and Ordinances pertaining to the Code Enforcement Board.

Assistant County Manager for Environmental Services Stephen Peffer advised when this ordinance was considered by the Board, the Board moved to have staff add a portion as provided under state statutes that would allow for citations to be written to repeat violators; and that has been included in this ordinance.

Commissioner Cook advised the state statutes mention "upon personal inspection of the code enforcement officer if a repeat violation has occurred;" the ordinance is vague and just says if the code enforcement officer has a reasonable idea that a previous violation has occurred; and the state law is more restrictive. Commissioner Scarborough stated it should conform with the state law. Commissioner Cook stated it is important that there is no arbitrary type of enforcement. Mr. Peffer advised a repeat violation means it has been found to be in violation by the Code Enforcement Board at a previous time as opposed to recurring violation where there may not have been a Code Board action, but there were previous findings by a code officer. He stated in a repeat violation situation, it has already gone through the Code Board and the Code Board actually established that the violation occurred; so there is a due process built into the system. Commissioner Cook stated it needs to be further clarified.

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, that the ordinance conform completely with the state statutes and in particular that there be a personal inspection by the code offer before citation is issued, and it be an established prior violation by the Code Enforcement Board.

Commissioner Cook inquired if it will come back to the Board to review the wording; with Mr. Peffer responding the Board can give staff direction and that would be sufficient. Commissioner Cook stated it is important as far as the due process aspects and because the Board is expanding the roll of government with this issue, so he would like to look at it.

Chairman Higgs inquired if the Board wants to continue the public hearing until the next meeting; with Commissioner Scarborough responding the Board has the prerogative to do certain things and change things at the public hearing, otherwise the public hearing would be moot; however, if Commissioner Cook wants to review other things, he does not mind tabling the entire matter.

Mr. Peffer advised the current Code defines repeat violation as, "Repeat violation is a violation of a provision of the Code by a person whom the Code Enforcement Board has previously found to have violated the same provision within five years prior to the violation." He stated the specific definition of that is included in the County Ordinance and addresses the concerns of the Board. Commissioner Cook advised the personal inspection provision is in the state law.

County Manager Tom Jenkins inquired if it is possible to simply move that the state language be incorporated into the ordinance; with Commissioner Scarborough responding that is what he said. Commissioner Cook inquired if there is a problem with it coming back to the Board at the next meeting with the incorporated language; with Commissioner Scarborough responding no.

Motion by Commissioner Cook, seconded by Commissioner Ellis, to continue the public hearing on an ordinance amending Ordinance pertaining to Code Enforcement Board until January 24, 1995; and direct staff to revise the ordinance to incorporate the language of the Florida Statutes relating to repeat offenders. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

County Attorney Scott Knox advised they can handle it today if the Board wants to do that; with Commissioner Scarborough responding Commissioner Cook wants to wait on it.

Commissioner O'Brien recommended incorporating the language of the state which would make it tougher and the fines higher. He inquired if under charter government the Board can make it stronger than the state if so desired, and if the state says the fine is $500 maximum, can the County change it to $1,000 maximum; with Mr. Knox responding the only limitation the Board has is it cannot be inconsistent with the state law; if state law says $500, the County cannot impose more than $500; however, it can be more restrictive in the sense if the state says "x" violation and the County wants to say "xy" violation, it can do that.

Commissioner Cook inquired if the fine schedule will come back to the Board; with Mr. Knox responding it can be anything up to $500.

The meeting recessed at 10:11 a.m.

The meeting reconvened at 10:29 a.m.

CONTRACT FOR SALE AND PURCHASE AND ADDENDUM WITH FLORIDA CONFERENCE ASSOCIATION OF SEVENTH DAY ADVENTISTS, RE: MOSQUITO CONTROL IMPOUNDMENT AREA

Chairman Higgs advised Commissioner O'Brien has some concerns about an item that has already been approved; and recommended a motion to reconsider the item.

Motion by Commissioner O'Brien, seconded by Commissioner Cook, to reconsider the Contract For Sale and Purchase and Addendum with Florida Conference Association of Seventh Day Adventists for a mosquito control impoundment area. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

PERMISSION TO CHANGE AGENDA

Chairman Higgs advised Mr. Shine is here to talk about the TDC contracts; he has a conference with a judge at 11;00 and Judge Silvernail and Court Administrator Mark VanBever is here for item VI.E.2; and requested the desire of the Board.

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Ellis, to take Items V.D. and VI.E.2 and the Chambers Contracts next and out of order. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

ACKNOWLEDGE STAFF REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION FROM CODE ENFORCEMENT DIVISION, RE: WAIVER OF LIEN ON PROPERTY AT 301 POINSETTA STREET

Assistant County Manager for Environmental Services Stephen Peffer advised, given the fact that the County has invested a considerable amount of time and effort in resolving this case, staff recommends the Board not waive the fine in less than $1,000.

Attorney Tom Shine, 905 Sarno Road, Melbourne, representing Mr. and Mrs. Victor ZumBrunnen, advised he does not care to speak and is here to find out what the Board's recommendation is. Chairman Higgs advised the staff's recommendation is a fine of $1,000.

Janet Gaulin, 375 Needle Boulevard, Merritt Island, advised she has real concerns about liens on property that are put on and taken off; and inquired if the County is playing games with paper work. She stated if she had a lien on her property, she would think it was something serious; in October property was sold with 19 liens against it; the liens were not exercised when the property was sold; it was sold to Kiwi Realty which had 18 liens on a piece of property it owned; and inquired why would someone with 18 liens be able to buy property, and is the County slum landlords or what. She inquired what are the liens on the property for; is it bringing in garbage pails or a burned down building; and what is the County doing with people's money and time.

Commissioner O'Brien advised he agrees with liens placed on properties; the statement from Code Enforcement says Mr. Mills ignored all documents and personal requests to obtain the proper building permits for his renovation project; information given to the representative was ignored and the property continues to remain in noncompliance; Mr. Workman visited the property and found the violations still existed; and within three days after being provided the information, Mr. and Mrs. Collins corrected the violation and the property is no longer in violation; however, at that time the amount of the fine had accrued to $32,000. He stated he has a problem that when Code Enforcement starts slapping a fine, nothing is done; they go back and talk about it again and again and the fine goes up and the lien is put on; and he has a serious problem reducing it from $32,000 to $1,000.

Attorney Shine advised Mrs. ZumBrunnen was not in possession of the building; she had a mortgage deed on it; Mr. Mills vacated the premises and abandoned it; and she had no knowledge the lien was placed on the property. Chairman Higgs inquired if Ms. ZumBrunnen repossessed the property; with Mr. Shine responding yes, but she did not know the lien was there and that Mr. Mills abandoned the property.

Commissioner O'Brien inquired if Ms. ZumBrunnen owned the property; with Mr. Shine responding she sold it to Mr. Mills in 1984. Commissioner O'Brien inquired if Mr. Mills was paying her the mortgage each month; with Mr. Shine responding he was not paying the mortgage and she started foreclosure, but she did not know the lien was on there because it went on before she started foreclosure. He stated the original owners were Mr. and Mrs. ZumBrunnen; they sold it in 1984 to Mr. Mills who was a contractor; Mr. Mills redecorated the property and caused the lien; and when Mrs. ZumBrunnen found out the condition of the property and that she was not being paid on her mortgage, she started a foreclosure and Mr. Mills deeded the property back to her; and that is how it got to Mr. and Mrs. Collins who immediately tried to straighten out the lien problem. Commissioner O'Brien stated the ZumBrunnens were the original owners and held the paper with a mortgage on Mr. Mills; Mr. Mills took possession of the house and had a long-term mortgage with them; he destroyed the house and stopped paying the mortgage; so it foreclosed and they got it back and the fines accrued to $32,000, but she had no idea what was going on.

Commissioner Cook stated he is inclined to go with staff's recommendation because it is obviously an extenuating circumstance.

Motion by Commissioner Cook, seconded by Commissioner Ellis, to acknowledge staff report and waive lien on property at 301 Poinsetta Street, Indialantic, except for $1,000 fine.

County Attorney Scott Knox advised in these kinds of circumstances, it is possible to re-open foreclosure and wipe out the County's lien all together; so it is looking at what the cost to the owner is going to be to do that and assessing what the fines are going to be here.

Commissioner O'Brien stated he is not trying to be mean, but the County spent a lot of money on this issue; the ZumBrunnens had a responsibility if they held the paper on the building; their responsibility was to check on it once in a while to make sure it was in good condition; and if someone borrowed money from a bank to buy a home and let it get in that condition, the bank would be all over them. He stated they have some liability by holding the paper; and he does not feel $1,000 is sufficient to cover the cost to the County.

Commissioner Ellis stated that is not quite correct; his mortgage holder is in Tampa; and if they are not noticed when property is liened, they have no idea what is going on with the property. Commissioner O'Brien stated the bank requires a person to have mortgage insurance and insurance on the structure; and there are a lot of rules that go with this. Commissioner Ellis stated none of that will cover Code Enforcement liens; and his bank would not be notified if he had code enforcement liens; so that is why it is difficult. He stated if they knew, they would have some responsibility, but the way the County places liens on property, it is a lien to the owner and not a notice of lien to the mortgage holder. Commissioner O'Brien suggested the County notify the mortgage holder to protect them.

Commissioner Scarborough advised maybe those things come up that need to be noticed to mortgage holders, particularly something of the magnitude of $32,000; he would have a problem with this issue if it was not that the County's lien is inferior; and if the County does nothing, they could go to court and re-open foreclosure and wipe out the lien and the County will lose, so this is a compromise position. He stated the County will get its tab for the cost and the owners will not have to go to court; it is not a perfect world; someone took the County; but he is not here today.

Commissioner Cook advised the estimate for time and effort is $1,000; Ms. ZumBrunnen was out of state at the time; and he concurs with noticing mortgage holders in the future.

Mr. Knox advised in most mortgages, if they receive a notice that a lien is being created on the property, it sometimes creates an event to default on the mortgage which would trigger a foreclosure if it is not taken care of; so it may behoove the County to do that.

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

Motion by Commissioner O'Brien, seconded by Commissioner Cook, to direct staff to notify mortgage holders in the future of any liens placed on properties.

Commissioner Ellis inquired if the Board wants to set a threshold on that.

Mr. Peffer advised he would like to report back to the Board and let it know how staff will locate the mortgage holder because they are not normally listed as the owner of record and that is who staff is able to trace through the property records.

Commissioner O'Brien stated then staff should return with a report on the issue.

Chairman Higgs advised the motion is amended to get a report from staff on the issue of notifying the mortgage holder; and called for a vote on the motion. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

DISCUSSION, RE: ESTABLISHMENT OF CIVIL TRAFFIC INFRACTION HEARING OFFICER

Judge Preston Silvernail advised approximately two years ago the State enabled its larger counties, six of them, to enact a traffic hearing officer program, and they had a great deal of success with it; a year later the Legislature enabled the rest of the counties that did not qualify for the initial group to have traffic hearing officers; and those traffic hearing officers would sit in judgment of civil traffic infractions. He stated at this time those cases are heard by the County Court Judges; there are seven of them in Brevard County; and they spend approximately 10% of their time on those traffic hearings. He noted they are very busy, and this program would be a great relief to them in terms of time; and it will lower the cost to police departments for transferring officers to and from hearings, paying over time for time they normally spend attending those hearings which take them off the streets and into the courthouses where they do not do the public a lot of good except for the purpose of adjudicating those hearings. Judge Silvernail advised the hearings are anticipated to be held in municipalities and locations where the infractions occur; that would save the officers going to and from those hearings; it would take about 60 hours a month for a part-time hearing officer; and it is anticipated they would be attorneys and would go through some training program that would be a minimum cost to the County. He stated they would be paid $35.00 an hour which is generally what is being paid in that area; and the Board could budget $25,200 and another $7,000 for 60 hours a month for clerks' time; so the total anticipated cost would be about $33,000. He stated some counties have added a $2.00 surcharge to each ticket issued or each hearing requested if one is adjudicated guilty to pay for this program; that $2.00 will more than pay for the program; but that is a decision to be made by the Board and not the court system as they do not participate in the fund- raising decisions and appreciate the fact that it is the roll of the Board and not theirs. He noted it is a philosophy throughout the court system that those who create the problem and violate the law should pay for their violations, so that is something the Board should consider. Judge Silvernail advised those are simply civil traffic infractions and not for someone who robbed a 7-11 Store; it is something everyone has had in some point in their lives; and that is something to consider as well. He stated Court Administrator Mark Van Bever gathered information and statistics on the program, and they are here to answer any questions the Board may have. He encouraged the Board to adopt the program or direct its staff to further investigate the adoption of same. He advised he tendered a draft ordinance to the County Attorney's Office; and he informed the Board each local government will need to adopt an enabling ordinance to participate in the program.

Commissioner O'Brien advised it is a great idea and will speed up the process; however, what bothers him is where they will find attorneys for $35.00 an hour and if a hearing officer can hear four per hour or 15 minutes per ticket, the $2.00 surcharge will not cover the attorneys' fees.

Judge Silvernail advised a hearing officer can hear more than four per hour; normally what they do in County Courts is set 13 infractions for an hour and a half; and that is normally more than enough time to take care of 13 cases. Commissioner O'Brien stated by dividing 35 by 2 they will know how many cases they have to hear per hour to pay for the attorney.

Court Administrator Mark Van Bever advised there are proceedings that will collect revenue other than the hearings; if someone receives a traffic citation, admits guilt, and pays the ticket without seeing a judge, he will pay the $2.00 surcharge also; so it is not just the cases the hearing officer would hear that will generate the revenue to pay for the program.

Commissioner O'Brien advised the Agenda Report says funding for this program should come from the fines and excess fee portion of the Clerk of the Courts Office, and the Clerk has already begin the practice of returning excess fees; however, he feels the excess fees should not be returned but should be put into a fund to pay for the new justice center the judges made the Board build.

Commissioner Ellis advised the excess fees go into the General Fund; but his concern is there is already a tremendous surcharge on traffic tickets such as $17.00 on moving violations, $13.00 on seat belts, and $10 on non-moving violations; and losers can be assessed court costs in traffic court. He stated for what people already pay, the funding source is there; and he does not want to impose another surcharge. He noted he would agree with the surcharge if the County did not have a very large surcharge right now which is going towards the justice center.

Judge Silvernail advised where the money comes from is the Board's decision; and if the Board looked at the amount of funds expended by the Sheriff's Department and everyone associated with traffic court, it will find this program will be an ultimate budgetary savings, particularly when taking into account the over time, and taking a police officer off the streets to sit in a courtroom for three to four hours waiting for his turn to testify in a single hearing.

Commissioner O'Brien inquired if the judges will have more time because of this program, what will they do with it; with Judge Silvernail responding they have more than enough to do.

Commissioner Cook advised he agrees with Commissioner Ellis about the surcharge and thinks it should come fro excess fees and fines; and he has no interest in adding another surcharge because it is quite substantial now. He inquired if the hearing officers will have authority to lower fine and assess fines and court costs; with Judge Silvernail responding yes, within their discretion. He stated that is the way they anticipate it will come together; and that is pursuant to the ordinance he submitted; however, passage of the ordinance is the Board's decision. He noted the enabling legislation would so indicate.

Chairman Higgs inquired what action would be needed if the Board desires to move forward with this program; with County Attorney Scott Knox responding it could direct staff to bring the ordinance back for permission to advertise then it would come back for the normal course of the public hearing. Chairman Higgs inquired if the Board could order advertising today; with Mr. Knox responding yes.

Commissioner O'Brien inquired where are the excess fees being returned to; with Chairman Higgs responding the General Fund. Commissioner O'Brien inquired what are excess fees; with Commissioner Ellis responding the Clerk operates as a fee and budget officer; part of his funds come directly from the County as a budget officer for salaries, and the other part comes from fees; everyone who goes to the Clerk's Office will pay for copies and services; and that is the fee portion. He stated any employee who is concerned with the fee operation is paid for out of those fees; and any excess fees is supposed to be returned to the General Fund of the County. Commissioner O'Brien inquired if the fines are going towards the Justice Center payment; with Commissioner Ellis responding indirectly because the fines go into the General Fund then to the Justice Center.

Commissioner Cook advised he would like to see the ordinance come back to the Board for review prior to advertising the public hearing.

Motion by Commissioner Cook, seconded by Commissioner Ellis, to direct the County Attorney to draft an ordinance establishing a civil traffic infraction hearing officer program and return to the Board for review and permission to advertise; and request the Court Administrator to draft a sample budget for the Board to consider.

Commissioner Ellis inquired if the judges support this program; with Judge Silvernail responding each judge indicated he or she would wholeheartedly support it; and thanked the Board for its time and attention.

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

APPROVAL OF GRANTS AND AGREEMENTS WITH TITUSVILLE, COCOA BEACH, AND MELBOURNE-PALM BAY AREAS CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE, RE: TDC PROMOTION AND ADVERTISING CATEGORY A GRANTS

Larry McIntyre, 1829 Plantation Circle S.E., Palm Bay, representing Cocoa Beach Chamber of Commerce, inquired if it would be possible to hear the Board's concerns so they can address those specifically.

Chairman Higgs advised this is the third time she has brought the issue to the Board; and her objection is that the $100,000 of TDC money is granted to the Chambers of Commerce in a non-competitive manner and divided equally with $30,000 for each and now with Palm Bay as part of it, $10,000 for Palm Bay. She stated prior to last year when Palm Bay was not included, it was $33,000 each; it is her philosophy that it should be a competitive marketing activity with it open; and even if it is limited to just the Chambers, they should be judged on merit and not a portion of the pie. She stated those are the same things she objected to last year and the year before that.

Commissioner Ellis advised he voted with Commissioner Higgs last year; and inquired if the Board wants to set an Agenda item to put it out to bid next year or does it prefer to try and go to bid this year. Chairman Higgs stated when the Board got the TDC going out to bid, she objected to it when it came back; it is her contention that it should be an open competitive process; and the TDC does not agree with that. Commissioner Ellis inquired if Chairman Higgs wants to affect this year's money or if she wants that policy to go to next year's grants; with Chairman Higgs responding she objects to the grants this year; it could be considered by the Board, but the spinoff from this is to look and go back to the TDC; the Board could approve these and say it agrees with the position that it should be competitive for that $100,000; so there are several positions the Board can take in regard to this item. Commissioner Ellis advised one position could be to approve the grants this year and next year not approve them without a competitive bidding process. Chairman Higgs responded that certainly could be the Board's position; with Commissioner Ellis responding that is fine with him.

Larry McIntyre, Chairman of Cocoa Beach Area Chamber of Commerce representing over 1,500 members in Central Brevard, advised he is the Past Chairman of the Convention and Visitors Bureau and served on several TDC committees; and the Chambers of Commerce in Brevard County are the only organizations of this nature that represent a broad spectrum of the hospitality industry. He stated each Chamber represents hotels, restaurants, souvenir shops, gas stations, attractions, and retail stores; within the Chambers are also representatives from the hotel and motel associations and local restaurant associations; and all those individuals and groups have the ability to input into the Chamber grants that they have done and that have been established by the TDC and approved by the Board in the past. He noted he believes the Board will not find another entity that can represent the broad spectrum of businesses that are present within the Chambers; and the input of those types of businesses is important since tourism employs over 25,000 people in Brevard County. He urged the Board to approve the grants in their current form.

Commissioner O'Brien advised the original tax on tourists was for beach renourishment and tourism promotion; a lot of the Chamber members are not in the hotel and beach industry which was the original intent of the TDC tax; and he has a problem giving money to Chambers which he finds to be a quasi-public organization that have PAC money they give to politicians. He stated he does not like the TDC money being given to a group that gives PAC money to politicians; it is taking tax dollars and putting it into a quasi-public organization which uses some of those dollars in a big pot of money it gets and help politicians; and he does not think TDC funds should be used for those purposes.

Mr. McIntyre advised the Chambers have formed a partnership with the TDC; the TDC represents the County as a whole; the individual Chambers represent their individual members and their specific needs; and the needs of Titusville and their tourism market are quite different from Cocoa Beach and Melbourne or Palm Bay. He stated the grants enable each Chamber to hit the specific areas; right now fishing from stick marsh is quite popular in Palm Bay; Titusville has the Space Center and Nature Center; and what the TDC does is paint with a broad brush, and the Chambers get more specific and hit the markets, be it sports, nature, or different things. He stated that is why the grants have been beneficial in the past and will be beneficial in the future.

Eileen Koetter, 1675 S. Fiske Boulevard, Rockledge, Executive Director of the Convention and Visitors Bureau of the Cocoa Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, advised all the grants are on a reimbursable basis; there is no way the TDC funds can be used as PAC money or cross over for any other use; and it is very specific in the grant guidelines approved by the Board as to who and what the funds can be spent on. She stated she has administered the grants for the past four and a half years; the grants are part of a long-term program they have put together; it is not for one-shot advertising; they compliment both what they do in their area and what the TDC does; and they are something that a broad spectrum of businesses have input into, not just a single sector of business. Ms. Koetter advised the grant dollars are also stretched even further because of co-op programs they have in place; usually if dollars are given, it is a sign of being in favor of something; and this is an investment. She stated the TDC does not give the Chamber those funds for a one-shot program; it is an investment in an overall program that is also supported by the businesses; and there are few opportunities for the tourism industry to come forth and give their dollars towards an overall program. She stated each Chamber offers those types of opportunities; and all of the grants before the Board have met criteria and guidelines established by the Board. She urged the Board to approve the grants, as tourism is a very important employer in Brevard County.

Rick Fleming, 2000 S. Washington Avenue, Titusville, President and Chief Executive Officer of Titusville Area Chamber of Commerce, gave the Board a mock-up of a brochure that when finished, will look like other brochures and will deal with Titusville and the North Brevard area. He stated the brochure speaks about the Space Center, Enchanted Forest, Gator Jungle, the fish farm, Playalinda Beach, Canaveral National Seashore, Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge, and other places in the North Brevard area; and nothing in the brochure highlights the Chamber of Commerce or anything they specifically do. He noted they will be put at the highway interchanges where there are information booths, etc. He stated putting the grants out to bid would invite people to put in bids for their personal use; he agrees with accountability; and there were specific guidelines set by the Board several years ago that established how that money can be used; and they strictly abide by those guidelines. Mr. Fleming advised the money is used strictly to promote tourism; their Chamber does not have a PAC and does not promote candidates; they do not use any grant money to do anything to benefit their Chamber; no money goes to salaries even though they are paying a person on a full-time basis to be a tourism specialist; and no money goes to that salary or building costs or supply costs that they could probably allocate to the grant. He stated they pay all the costs involved to run the program through the Chamber; the only thing they look for is reimbursement for advertising costs; one-tenth of the cost of the brochure is TDC grant money and the other nine-tenths is money from private entities who help fund it; it is about a $7,000 brochure for 100,000 copies; so they parlay the grant money into larger money and put more money back to work. Mr. Fleming advised their emphasis is to get people to spend a night, two nights, or five nights in the area; and when they do that, there is more bed tax dollars generated that go back to the TDC. he stated the Chambers are the only entities that are areawide; if the Board went to any other entity, they would have to come back and say they want the money for their festival or promote their location; however, the Chambers promote everybody's location and not one festival. He stated the largest festival in North Brevard is the Indian River Festival; it has been going on for about 25 years; not a single dollar of the grant funds is spent to promote the Indian River Festival despite the fact that half the attendees are tourists and people from other counties; and they have done surveys that show that. He stated the effort the Chambers put behind the Junior Olympics generated a lot of money for the County; none of their dollars from TDC were spent on the Junior Olympics; yet they worked hard in a cohesive effort to promote the Olympics. Mr. Fleming encouraged the Board, if it wants to seek bids, to recognize that it needs to get bids not from people who are promoting their own single interest, but from someone who is going to represent the total area; and challenged the Board that there are not too many entities out there that will do that. He stated the Chamber welcomes the input, not only of members, but from non-members interested in tourism as well; and he believes all the Chambers do that. He stated they are spending the money that comes from the bed tax that they work hard to promote in conjunction with the TDC in a way to generate more dollars and benefit the County as a whole and the tourism entity as a whole; so they would encourage the Board to support this now, recognize the guidelines can be revisited if the Board wishes to do that, and that the Chambers is the best place for those dollars to be spent.

Commissioner O'Brien inquired if Mr. Fleming is arguing against Chairman Higgs proposal to put the grant out to bid; with Mr. Fleming responding he is saying if the Board wants to put it out to bid, he would encourage it to at least ask that it be bid to some organization that will represent the total area. He stated what he means is that Spaceport USA should not be bidding to use the money to promote Spaceport USA; there is much more in the area than Spaceport USA; but if they want to put in a bid to promote all the other entities in North Brevard, that may be worth looking at. He stated all those entities, including the Enchanted Forest which is brand new, are all participating in their tourism council and have input on how they spend the money; they are making the decisions; he is President but does not get to make that decision; so in essence that process is already occurring. Commissioner O'Brien inquired if it was put out to bid would the TDC have oversight; with Mr. Fleming responding the TDC already has oversight of the grant funds. Commissioner O'Brien inquired if the TDC has oversight, what is the problem; with Mr. Fleming responding he is not saying there is a problem going out to bid, he is saying if the Board is going to put it out for bid, it should have some criteria for somebody who is going to promote the whole area rather than a personal promotion. Commissioner O'Brien stated the TDC could write the specifications, put it out to bid, and have oversight of the final product, but the problem is distribution, and that is where the Chambers come in. Mr. Fleming stated they work with the TDC through that process; they actually go to a meeting and submit proposals on how the funds will be used; and if they do not have a plan to use the funds, they do not get it automatically. He stated it is not just given to the Chambers; they have to show how the funds will be sued; the Titusville Chamber s tarts in August planning how it is going to us next year's allocation and putting together a grant proposal on how the money will be used; and that proposal goes to the TDC Marketing Committee for review then the TDC makes decisions on whether or not it meets all the criteria established by the Board and whether or not it will do the things to promote the County as a whole and then makes recommendations to the Board based on that. He noted it is not just a gift. Commissioner O'Brien stated Chairman Higgs is approaching it from the right standpoint; they are tax dollars specifically for tourism development and beach renourishment; and they should keep that definition in there and well defined.

Larry Malta, Stillwaters Drive, Merritt Island, President of Melbourne-Palm Bay Area Chamber of Commerce, advised this is the 8th year that the Chambers have participated in the grant program since the inception of the TDC; and it may be pertinent to recount the reason the grant program was originally incorporated. He stated it was pretty well accepted that after the resort tax failed twice the Chambers' active involvement actually got it passed; they walked precincts and educated the populace and voters on the virtues of the resort tax being passed and the gift that the visitors bring to the County that will be used to promote itself outside; and the point Mr. Fleming made is pertinent as there is no other entity that has an errand in its mission to promote tourism and convention activities other than the Chambers of Commerce. He stated there are other entities that may want to attract a trade show or professional association meeting; and they can do so by applying for grants through the TDC, as it has many categories of grants. Mr. Malta advised he does not view this funding as a grant at all; the TDC and Chambers are parlaying their dollars spent on marketing for tourism promotion into hundreds of thousands of dollars more paid by the Chambers to carry those functions out; and they do not use the money for administration, overhead, etc. He stated they are producing hard marketing tools such as rack cards and media coverage that will attract feeder markets to this destination; it is important to recognize that and keep that it mind; and he hopes the Board will continue this symbiotic relationship that currently exists. He stated he does not see how a bid would work very well; the more organizations the Board has in a diverse manner trying to accomplish this mission of economic development through tourism promotion is going to be more diluted and dysfunctional as opposed to the TDC in partnership with the Chambers carrying out the marketing of the entire County; and they have to have the logo of the Space Coast and Brevard County in all their marketing materials. He stated there is a consistency; and he cannot see having ten other entities involved in it and how disjointed it may become. He requested the Board's consideration favorably on the TDC grant continuing to go to the Chambers.

Olivia Walker advised she is new to her position and has been in it for four or five days; Mr. Malta spoke extremely well for all of them in the tourism-related industries; and urged the Board to continue as it has done with the grants. She stated in all her years in the hotel industry, she knows it is very important to have money to promote the area; and she hopes the Board will give it deep thought because they need all the money they can get to continue to do what they are doing for Brevard County.

Debra Dale, 4092 Shuttle Court, Merritt Island, General Manager of the Hilton in Cocoa Beach, advised the funds are not government dollars; they are collected by the hotels; and they need the support of the Chambers to promote marketing. She stated it is one thing that is not parochial; they look at the entire hotel associations; she is past president and current Vice President of the Cocoa Beach Area Hotel Association; and they work very well with the Chambers and feel the grants through the TDC is unifying the County. She noted in the last few years it was north versus central, central versus south type of situation; they are unifying and promoting marketing; and although $100,000 is a lot of money, when looking at the budget for marketing and the amount of money that is collected by the hotels in the County to fund TDC, it is a small amount. She stated she hopes the Board does not introduce the bidding process inasmuch as the Chambers see the big picture.

Chairman Higgs advised she does not wish to take away the $100,000 promotional line item, but believes the Board should look at better ways to produce for that amount of money; and she wants to see the competition between the Chambers for the best program be rewarded. She stated if Titusville had a better program for the grants, that would be rewarded the dollars; the public wants accountability and competition is part of that; so the Contracts the Board signs need to allow for competition for the best program that can promote Brevard County.

Commissioner Scarborough advised he has no problem with the Board setting forth criteria, but he would not want to be the ultimate judge of what is in a brochure; the Board appointed the TDC that has been charged to do it; and if it wants to take a policy stand that the Chambers not be involved, that is a position it could take. He stated if the Board looks at the Chambers as being involved in their local areas and there is a need for them to come out with a particular advertising to supplement the TDC, then they are the natural entities; they are the ones who people that go on vacations write to for brochures; and perhaps no one will write to the TDC because the TDC may not be germane to the issues Countywide. Commissioner Scarborough advised the Board may create problems between the Chambers; one Chamber would be promoting one thing and another promoting something else; there is liable to have competition between the regions which would not be beneficial and if Cocoa Beach came in with an extraordinary program, it would get the $100,000 this year and that could cause dissention in the County that would not be constructive in other activities. He stated he does not have a problem asking the TDC to come up with tighter criteria and assurances there is no co-mingling with political activities and for entire accountability; but the Board would be making a mistake to set itself in the posture of the TDC and try to administer and judge and make decisions in this line. He stated it is something he does not look forward to doing if that is where the Board is going.

Commissioner O'Brien stated he agrees with Commissioner Scarborough, and would like to pass the grants today and table further discussion so that the Board can explore whether a bid is a good idea or not at the next meeting and give them time to look at both sides of the issue. He stated he wants to make an intelligent decision on this issue rather than be forced to say yes or not today; however, he would like to approve the grants today as it is as he has no problem with them, and would like to have the opportunity to talk about the bidding process and the thoughts Commissioner Scarborough brought up.

Chairman Higgs advised she will not support the grants; she believes strongly that competition needs to be there; and if someone wants to make a motion, the Board can dispense of this item.

Motion by Commissioner Ellis, seconded by Commissioner O'Brien, to award $90,000 for three Promotion and Advertising block grants from the TDC Promotion and Advertising Category, and enter into Agreements with Titusville, Cocoa Beach and Melbourne Palm Bay Area Chambers of Commerce for FY 1995 in the amount of $30,000 each.

Assistant County Manager for Community Services Joan Madden advised Palm Bay's grant request is under the same set of criteria and is being reviewed by staff so it is not included in this item yet; and requested clarification that when it is worked through the process, if it would be included in this set of grants.

Motion by Commissioner Ellis, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to amend the motion and include Palm Bay Area Chamber of Commerce in the grant category when it is acceptable to the TDC and staff.

Chairman Higgs called for a vote on the motion as amended. Motion carried and ordered; Commissioner Higgs voted nay.

Motion by Commissioner Ellis, seconded by Commissioner Higgs, to schedule discussion of eliminating the line item for the Chambers grants for next year's budget and replacing that with a promotion and advertising grant to be done by competitive bidding on February 21, 1995, and look at the pros and cons at that meeting and that it be on a regional basis rather than a specific attraction basis.

Chairman Higgs inquired if the Board wants a recommendation from the TDC on that item for the February Meeting and from the staff, then discuss the various options that could be considered.

Commissioner Ellis responding the TDC has a fairly sizable marketing committee which were picked for their expertise and would be able to review the grant applications.

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

APPOINTMENTS, RE: SESQUICENTENNIAL COORDINATING COMMITTEE

Chairman Higgs advised the Board agreed it would establish the Sesquicentennial Coordinating Committee, but did not establish a mechanism for appointing members; and recommended drawing for the categories and cities and returning at the next meeting with appointments.

Commissioner O'Brien drew Palm Shores and Education; Commissioner Cook drew Historic and Melbourne Beach; Chairman Higgs drew Cultural and Melbourne Village; Commissioner Ellis drew Malabar and Business; and Commissioner Scarborough drew Civic and Indian Harbour Beach.

County Manager Tom Jenkins inquired if there will be staff responsibility; with Chairman Higgs responding they can meet and let the County know what they need in terms of staff support. Mr. Jenkins noted it will be another burden on staff if that expectation is there.

DISCUSSION, RE: MERIT INCREASES

Human Resources Director Frank Abbate, advised the increase in the budget provided for up to a 2% increase in March and 1% for over 90 to non-bargaining unit permanent personnel; during the discussion, some Board members expressed concern about whether or not a disproportionate share of merit funds may be given to higher-paid employees; and the Board directed staff to develop a method of awarding the increases to avoid that from occurring. He stated he presented the Board with a proposal that would address that concern; they looked at 3,200 evaluations throughout the organization and gave a breakdown of those evaluations, i.e. how many scored in the 95 or better range which was 12%, and those who scored 90 and above which was 41%. He stated the proposal is for individuals earning over $40,000 be awarded merit funds based exclusively on whether they achieved 95 or 90; the 12% over 95 would receive 2% and the next 41% above 90 would receive 1%; and that would assure complete equity in terms of the distribution of the merit monies for that group compared with those employees earning under $40,000.

Commissioner Scarborough advised his office faxed out information they collected previously; he talked to Mr. Abbate about it; they broke it down from 0 to 20 and 20 to 40; and he does not want a disparity between the very low and the middle range either, so Mr. Abbate is going to take care of that. Mr. Abbate advised they can apply the same standard to that range with the top 12% receiving 2% and the next 41% receiving 1%. Commissioner Scarborough advised the last time the Board gave merit increases, there was disparity; the better employees generally move up and are more efficient; therefore, the merit increases were given to the higher paid employees, and it was not accomplishing the across-the-board incentive that it is held out to. Mr. Abbate advised the statistics showed the upper categories were receiving higher scores on the performance evaluations, and this standard would address that to keep equity throughout the whole organization in terms of distribution of merit monies on an equal percentage basis.

Commissioner Cook advised he received the fax from District 1 and thought it was interesting regarding salaries less than $20,000 and inquired if only one employee would not receive a merit increase; with Commissioner Scarborough responding that was for the previous increase and what actually happened was from the 0 to $20,000, 44 received 2% and 31 received 3%; but when it went to the $40,000 plus, 17 received 2% and 75 received 3%, so there was a flip-flop in the methodology of what they were doing. He noted there was one employee who did not receive any increase for some reason; and he assumed it was a problem case, but he does not know who the employee is.

Chairman Higgs inquired how is the budget for merit increases calculated; with Mr. Abbate responding the budget was submitted for a total 3% annualized salary increase across-the-board for the organization. Chairman Higgs inquired if the Board goes forward with the real performance base, will there be money left over; with Mr. Abbate responding there is sufficient funds because the Board approved 3% in December, and the remaining monies will more than cover the 2% and 1% increases for those percentage of employees.

Commissioner Scarborough advised certain people perform better than others and move up in management to the top levels; as they do, they are rewarded by being chosen for the job; and if that same person is entitled to a merit increase, he is doubly rewarded. He stated the Board is not using merit increases as an across-the-board measure throughout the organization; there are certain employees at all grade levels who are functioning at a higher level than others; and what Mr. Abbate has created is a capacity to say throughout there are certain employees who should be recognized for a merit increase.

Chairman Higgs advised it is very difficult to come up with a valid performance appraisal; she operated a small business prior to getting into this business and also taught management from the academic sense on how to do performance appraisals; and it is very difficult to get one that is fair. She stated the only system she has seen and believe to be fair is to look at an individual's job description and tie that to the performance appraisal; but to come up with ambiguous criteria that apply to everyone does not evaluate the output from an individual job. She stated one issue is the County does not have the most effective performance appraisal system. Chairman Higgs advised she has a problem saying it will give merit increases and certain people, even though they may be performing, are not going to get a merit increase because of some arbitrary percentages; if the Board wants a merit increase, it should put it in the hands of the staff to implement in a fair mode because if it takes it totally out of the hands of those people who expect performance on a daily basis from employees they supervise, and do not allow them to reward when someone is performing, then the Board has taken away the ability to give incentives; so she is more inclined to use the system that is in place and provide those incentives where they are deemed appropriate then go back and work on the performance appraisal system.

Commissioner O'Brien inquired if the Board could make it part of a policy that someone who has been promoted with a raise is not eligible that fiscal year or calendar year or 300 days after the promotion for a merit raise to satisfy Commissioner Scarborough's concerns. He noted another method is to draw a 2% cap on all raises and a 1% cap on the budget for the department so it is under control.

Commissioner Scarborough advised it is a complex mechanism; every time they do a cost of living increase of 2% or 3% across-the-board, those earning $60,000 get an increment increase of three times the amount of those earning $20,000; so what that does is create a disparity in the wage scale and over a period of time, the lower paid and higher paid salaries begin to move further and further apart. He stated that is something that does not occur immediately; but awarding merit increases further compounds the problem; and maybe 20 years ago there was a difference of three times between the top and the bottom, but now it is 10 times; and that is not healthy in the overall environment of government.

Chairman Higgs advised based on the information on the study comparing Brevard employees to other governmental entities, she remembers having a general impression that actually the managerial positions are further from their counterparts and peers than the hourly employees; and inquired if that is true; with Mr. Abbate responding he does not have that information with him, but there are over 20 managers that are between 41% and 8% below the salary survey; and those are not the same type of percentages the Board would see on hourly workers; but there are a proportionate number of them who are below the average salary; however, not to the same degree as directors or those who are typically in the $40,000 plus range. He noted for those in the $40,000 to $45,000 range, approximately half of them are 8% or more below the survey average of the same comparable jurisdiction. Chairman Higgs advised her concern is if the Board goes to a quota system, it takes away the ability of a supervisor to reward someone for good performance; there may be a minuscule difference between one person's performance and another person's performance because the percentage or quota throws it out; and her preference would be to look towards an option. She stated the money is in the budget based on the performance system in existence; the only fair way to proceed is to use the system and reward those people who are performing, then amend the system and get something that may be more reflective of a performance.

Commissioner Cook advised he shares some of the concern; it does seem arbitrary to pick a percentage and quota that out as the percentage the Board is going with; and that is part of the proposal that gives him the most concern.

Commissioner O'Brien advised a merit system has merit because there may be two people making the same amount of pay and one works hard and is very smart while the other sitting next to him does not perform well; and when that is measured, that is where merit starts to come in. He stated unless something is done about that, the person who is smart and works hard will slow down his productivity; and that is why merit increases are important. Commissioner Ellis stated if that person makes the same raise it is demoralizing; with Commissioner O'Brien responding it is and that is where merit increases come in; but on the other hand it is very hard; and perhaps the Board may want to consider a lump sum performance award.

Commissioner Scarborough advised the problem is the person earning $60,000 may not do a better job than the person who earns $20,000, so why would he get a merit increase as well; and if he is identified as a leader in the organization, he ends up with a double recognition by the merit increase.

Chairman Higgs passed the gavel to Vice Chairman Ellis.

Commissioner Higgs advised the Board is not going to resolve the difference between why management is paid at a different level than other people, so she will put that issue aside; the decision today is a policy decision on how to implement merit increases; and the only way at this time to be fair is to move the merit increases for this year based on the performance appraisals that are currently in hand and the system that was devised with the 95 and 90%, then work on a revised system of performance appraisals for next year.

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Ellis, to approve merit increases for permanent non-bargaining unit personnel based on the performance appraisals currently in use and the system that was devised whereby those scoring 90 to 94% would receive 1% and those scoring 95 to 100% receiving 2% regardless of pay classification, effective March 25, 1995; and direct staff to work on a revised system of performance appraisals for next year.

Commissioner Cook advised he can support that.

Commissioner O'Brien inquired if Commissioner Scarborough wants to scale the high salary range personnel to make their award of merit increases less; with Commissioner Scarborough responding no, but the probability factor is five to one for a higher paid employee to get a higher percentage; there is something flawed with the system that is flopping all the increases to the person that is higher; and the actual dollars are much higher at those levels than at the lower levels, so it is a compounding problem, so he cannot support the motion. Commissioner O'Brien suggested flat numbers instead of percentages.

Commissioner Higgs stated if the Board went to a percentage of the total and only 40% could get raises, then that is inherently unfair because a person who is performing has to be told he does not meet the quota and is out. She stated she understands what Commissioner Scarborough is saying, but the Board cannot just arbitrarily set a quota and tell people who are performing at the same levels one is out and the other will receive a raise because that is not fair. Commissioner Scarborough inquired if the Board is saying top management is performing five times better merit-wise than those below that level; and inquired what is the purpose of merit increases. He stated taking and throwing it out has come up with something that is inequitable and unfair in a very basic way; and when the raw numbers of how much wage increases are being given are run, it becomes even more of a disparity. Commissioner Higgs inquired if it is fair not to say to someone who is performing at their level that they are not going to get an increase because of the quota. She stated she does not know the ultimate solution to this problem, but that is totally unfair to say to someone performing at 90% who did not make the top 41% of the managers that he is not going to receive a merit increase. Commissioner Scarborough stated if they are at the top level they should be performing at 90% and above; and as they drop down they find more performing at a lower level; but it is not calculated that they have advanced to that particular point in their career and are no longer at the lower levels. Commissioner Higgs stated the expectations are different at different levels.

Commissioner Cook advised management should be a higher expectation; he agrees there is a problem but does not believe setting a quota is going to solve it; and the Board has to address this issue, but he is not convinced this is the way to do it.

Commissioner O'Brien suggested changing the policy so that anyone with scores lower than 90 would be fired in seven days and the reward for those above 90 would be to keep their jobs. He stated it reverses the problem and puts it in the opposite perspective and the merit for doing a good job is to keep that job and not have to work next to a person who does not do his job.

Vice Chairman Ellis called for a vote on the motion to provide 2% for those 95 to 100 and 1% for those 90 to 94 regardless of pay classification. Motion carried and ordered; Commissioner Scarborough voted nay.

DISCUSSION, RE: ORDINANCE AMENDING ZONING CODE TO REDUCE SETBACKS ALONG SR A1A IN THE SOUTH BEACHES

Chairman Higgs advised SR A1A is in her District, and she does not have a problem advertising an ordinance for public input or amending the Ordinance because there are reasonable issues that can be addressed; however, in advertising the ordinance should say rather than removing all setbacks that are established, amending the setbacks so that the public will have the opportunity to have open discussion. She stated if the ordinance says removing, the Board will either do it or not do it fully; and there may be some reason to look at some other combination; and recommended an ordinance Amending Chapter 62, amending the Article and in the ordinance not advertise removing the setbacks. She noted the Board may want to remove it, but it should be open to public discussion.

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Higgs, to direct staff to advertise a public hearing to consider an ordinance amending the Zoning Code to reduce the setbacks on SR A1A in the South Beaches for March 2 and March 16, 1995 at 5:01 p.m. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

AGREEMENT WITH ARCHITECTS IN ASSOCIATION, ROOD & ZWICK, INC., RE: ENGINEERING SERVICES FOR CUYLER PARK COMMUNITY CENTER ADDITION

Assistant County Manager for Community Services Joan Madden advised the item was tabled at the last meeting to January 10, 1995; the problems associated with it has been worked out; and staff recommends approval.

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Ellis, to execute Agreement with Architects in Association, Rood & Zwick, Inc. to provide architectural and engineering services for Cuyler Park Community Center Addition at $27,193. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

DISCUSSION, RE: AGENDA ITEMS FOR JOINT MEETING WITH OSCEOLA COUNTY

County Manager Tom Jenkins advised staff sent the Agenda items to Osceola County; at this time they think the water supply issue is premature and prefer not to discuss it; and if something is worked out successfully in the solid waste area, the water supply issue could come later.

Chairman Higgs advised Solid Waste, U.S. 192, and Tourism will be a full agenda for that meeting; and inquired if that is acceptable to the Board.

Commissioner O'Brien advised before the Board attends the joint meeting, it should have a workshop on selling skills to convince Osceola County of what it wants to get and not lose everything while doing that. Mr. Jenkins inquired what subject Commissioner O'Brien wishes to discuss; with Commissioner O'Brien responding solid waste. Mr. Jenkins advised the Board has a solid waste workshop coming up before the meeting; staff could do an issue paper on U.S. 192, but it is clearcut that the Board wants the road widened; and staff could provide information on tourism promotion.

Chairman Higgs advised the three items will be Solid Waste, U.S. 192, and Tourism, and at the Solid Waste workshop, the Board will have its position worked out so it will feel comfortable.

Commissioner Scarborough advised the Board should get information on all three items so that at the end of the Solid Waste workshop it can handle any questions. He recommended including the TDC on the tourism issue; and noted Osceola County has an immense budget for tourism, and if Brevard County can get with them for joint marketing of its beaches, it would be fantastic.

Chairman Higgs advised at the end of the Solid Waste Workshop, which will start at 1:00 p.m., the Board will have time to solidify its positions and talk about the other items.

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Ellis, to approve Solid Waste, U.S. 192, and Tourism as the Agenda items for the joint meeting with Osceola County. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

APPOINTMENTS, RE: PATRICK AIR FORCE BASE RESTORATION ADVISORY BOARD

The Board unanimously appointed the following to Patrick Air Force Base Restoration Advisory Board:

District 2: Nick Beninate, 1740 Yates Drive, Merritt Island, Florida 32951
District 3: Maryann Civil, 1301 Lichty Street, N.E., Palm Bay, Florida 32905
District 4: Jack Houts, 237 Chase Road, Cocoa, Florida 32927
District 5: Louis N.Rossi, 460 Penquin Drive, Satellite Beach, Florida 32937
District 1: To be appointed at a later meeting.

RESOLUTION AMENDING RESOLUTION 94-417, RE: CIRCLES OF CARE BONDS

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Cook, to adopt Resolution amending Resolution 94-417 adopted on December 13, 1994, which authorized the issuance of not exceeding $1,700,000 Mental Health Facilities Revenue Bonds, Series 1994C (Circles of Care, Inc. Project) of the County, to extend the deadline for execution of the Bond Purchase Contract to January 31, 1995 for acquisition of Heritage Healthcare Facility in Melbourne.

Commissioner O'Brien inquired what is the County's ultimate financial responsibility if Circles of Care cannot meet the bond indebtedness; with Management Services Director Mike Managan responding the Board has no fiscal or legal responsibility whatsoever and is only a conduit in this case. Commissioner O'Brien inquired if the Board has no responsibility, why is it doing it; with Mr. Managan responding it is required by the 1986 tax laws for an entity to receive tax exempt status on bonds they issue.

James W. Howard, 1605 Main Street, Sarasota, Florida, of Rauscher, Pierce, Refness, underwriter and placement agent for the bond issue, representing Circles of Care, advised he will answer any questions the Board may have.

County Attorney Scott Knox advised the Board has no legal responsibility, and using the County as a conduit is because federal legislation requires these bond issues to pass through and get the blessings of elected officials.

Commissioner Scarborough inquired if it can reflect on the County's credit rating; with Mr. Managan responding yes, indirectly, not directly, if it has numerous issues that fail, the market could start to take over and the County could get a bad reputation; however, on all these issues, staff has the Finance Committee, Bond Counsel, and Financial Advisor review the performa; and in this case, all those who reviewed it concurred that the bond issue is feasible.

Commissioner O'Brien advised his concern is Circles of Care is taking a "black eye" with various groups that are saying the executives are overpaid, etc., and the Board is attaching its name to this bond. He stated he has no proof of what he heard because he has not checked into it; but if Circles of Care has those problems internally, it is possible the organization could spiral down like United Way did.

Commissioner Cook advised the County's advisors said they are capable to provide this function. Mr. Managan advised a point he failed to mention is that Sun Bank issued a letter of credit enhancement to this bond issue; and if Circles of Care cannot pay in the future, Sun Bank will buy the bonds.

Chairman Higgs stated she is concerned with putting the County's name to this bond issue also, but because of the Sun Bank letter of credit, the County is covered and the bond holders are covered, so it is a clean issue. Mr. Jenkins suggested asking Congress to change the legislation so the Board does not have to do this on those bond issues; with Chairman Higgs responding someone has to do it; it makes her uneasy to agree to something; but given the circumstances of this issue, the County is protected as best as it can be protected.

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

DISCUSSION, RE: JOINT MEETING WITH CITY OF PALM BAY

County Manager Tom Jenkins advised he received a request from the City of Palm Bay for another joint session and opportunity to have dialogue with the new Board.

Chairman Higgs inquired if there are agenda items; with Mr. Jenkins responding Administrative Assistant Stockton Whitten had the conversations with the City, and could answer that.

Mayor Mel Broom, City of Palm Bay, advised the plan is to do as they did before; the County may have items and they may have some items and will work out the Agenda through staff; however, right now they do not have specific items and it is mostly for general orientation for the new Commissioners.

Commissioner Scarborough recommended staff find the time to schedule the meeting with Palm Bay. Mr. Whitten advised staff has not checked with the Commissioners' offices yet, but March 9, 10 and 11, 1995, are open dates on the Board's calendar.

Chairman Higgs instructed staff to contact each Commission Office to establish a particular date and time for the joint meeting with City of Palm Bay, and return to the Board with that information and potential items to discuss. Mr. Jenkins also requested items from the Commissioners for the joint meeting.

DISCUSSION, RE: DIFFERENT TYPES OF APPRAISALS

Commissioner Ellis advised there are three types of appraisals and what is acceptable to the state is the cheapest appraisal, but currently the County uses the most costly appraisal. He recommended the Board consider a policy to use the cheaper appraisal to save money.

Commissioner O'Brien advised the County has a Property Appraiser that appraises property throughout the County; and inquired why does the County go out and hire appraisers when it is buying property; with Commissioner Ellis responding the Property Appraiser's appraisals are not always current and generally he re-evaluates an area after so many sales are made in that area.

Chairman Higgs inquired if the County is required to have a current private appraisal when buying property; with County Attorney Scott Knox responding yes, up to a certain price, which may be over $100,000, but he is not sure, and there are other circumstances that require the Board to have appraisals. Chairman Higgs advised, from a public perception standpoint, the Board should establish some value based on something other than its subjective desire to buy a piece of property; and she would hate to buy anything without back-up information for buying it.

Commissioner O'Brien advised there are certified appraisers working in Mr. Ford's Office; and inquired why does the Board go outside government and hire someone else to make appraisals. Commissioner Ellis stated he would not want to buy property based on the appraisals from the Property Appraiser's Office because they are not always current. He stated that is the nature of the way Mr. Ford does business, and not every parcel is appraised every year. Commissioner O'Brien stated if the County hires an outside appraiser he is not always current either; with Commissioner Ellis responding he comes in with the current appraisals on property and will get comparable sales of like property in the area to base his appraisals on. Commissioner O'Brien inquired if Mr. Ford would do that; with Commissioner Ellis responding the Board would have to pay him if he is asked to do that function. Commissioner O'Brien stated but that would be shifting money within the government rather than taking tax dollars outside. Commissioner Ellis stated the County still has DISCUSSION, to have two appraisals, so it would have to have one privately done if Mr. Ford's Office does one; with Commissioner O'Brien responding but that would cut the cost in half. Commissioner Ellis stated no it would not because the County would have to pay Mr. Ford's people to do the appraisals. Commissioner O'Brien stated they are on the payroll now; if they have five appraisers and has one to make the appraisal for the County, the pay is the same if he does or does not do it, unless Mr. Ford hires a sixth appraiser just to do appraisals for the County.

Chairman Higgs noted Mr. Ford would charge the Board for appraisals; with Commissioner O'Brien responding he would, but it would shift tax dollars within government rather than outside.

Commissioner Ellis stated he would be concerned about the kind of appraisals the Property Appraiser's Office normally do, especially when the County gets into buying vacant land. Commissioner O'Brien inquired if Commissioner Ellis is saying he does not make good appraisals; with Commissioner Ellis responding he is saying if he goes to the tax rolls, there are some properties he would like to buy for the tax appraised value and some he would not touch. He advised the way the Property Appraiser's Office does appraisals is based on sales; so if they have older areas where there have not been sales, the properties may have been appraised many years ago. Commissioner O'Brien stated he is not saying anything bad about Mr. Ford and thinks he does a good job; but the County is spending hundreds of thousands of dollars hiring appraisers to appraise property when it already has an appraisal office; so it is spending money to do the same job twice. Commissioner Ellis advised the County is required to have two appraisals and Mr. Ford could only do one, so it would have to go private for the other.

Commissioner Cook recommended asking the Property Appraiser if he could do it; with Commissioner Ellis responding the County Attorney needs to determine if that is legal. Commissioner Cook advised basically he supports going with the less expensive appraisals because it gives the County what it needs to have, which is the bottom line, in order to purchase a piece of property; so he agrees with Commissioner Ellis and sees no reason why the Board cannot go with the less expensive appraisal because basically they are doing the same thing but are not including the documentation in the appraisal report. He stated the County will still get the same quality of appraisal and would not pay as much for it.

Chairman Higgs recommended the Board ask staff to respond if there would be any problems going with the less expensive appraisals before directing a certain type of appraisal if it is the consensus of the Board to go with the less expensive appraisal. Commissioner Ellis responded that would be fine; and County Manager Tom Jenkins agreed to have staff review it and report back to the Board.

AMENDMENT TO OPTION AGREEMENT FOR SALE AND PURCHASE WITH TONY BARGE AND MARTIN TABACCHI AND THE NATURE CONSERVANCY, RE: EELS PROGRAM

Commissioner Ellis inquired if the amendment will solve the surveying error that has a 15-foot disputed area, is the County going to still dispute that area, or is it going to concede the 15 feet to the property owner.

County Attorney Scott Knox advised the Contract calls for the County to buy 15 feet of property that it does not think the other party owns; there is a conflict between two surveyors who have different views of what the boundary should be; so in order to resolve the problem, since it is a large piece of property and the 15 feet amounts to about half an acre, and since the County is buying the property for less than the appraised value even without the half acre, he would recommend deleting the 15 feet and letting the abutting property owners argue about the boundary line. He stated the County will end up with title on the parcel it buys, otherwise it will end up in a title dispute over the 15 feet which carries over to the whole parcel and delays the whole thing until it is resolved.

Commissioner Cook advised he walked the site and area where they show a dispute; he has been assured that even with deleting the 15 feet, the purchase price is still under the appraised value; and that being correct, he can support going forward.

Motion by Commissioner Cook, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to execute Amendment to Option Agreement for Sale and Purchase with Tony Barge and Martin Tabacchi, and The Nature Conservancy for purchase of property under the EELS Program.

Commissioner Ellis advised he does not have a problem with the Amendment, but is concerned about the 15 feet going to the original owner who could come back to the Board for access to the property. He stated if the 15 feet goes to the adjacent property owner, he would not have a problem.

Chairman Higgs inquired if there could be two separate deeds and two contracts; with Mr. Knox responding the County could require the property owner to convey the area he has clear title to as part of the closing transaction and deed in escrow the balance until the title is cleared up.

Motion by Commissioner Cook, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to amend the motion to include that the property owner be required to separate the 15 feet in question from the parcel to be acquired at the time of closing.

Mr. Knox recommended the Board amend the contract to provide that he will convey the property less the 15 feet in dispute free and clear of all encumbrances and that the 15 feet in dispute, would be closed in escrow pending a resolution of the title on the property.

Assistant County Attorney Eden Bentley advised there is a deed for the 15 feet in escrow with the title company right now which is supposed to be recorded prior to the County's transfer. Commissioner Ellis inquired if the adjacent property owner will get the 15 feet; with Ms. Bentley responding yes.

Chairman Higgs called for a vote on the motion. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. (See page for Amendment to Agreement.) The meeting recessed for lunch at 12:24 p.m., and reconvened at 1:31 p.m.

INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT WITH CITY OF PALM BAY, RE: RENTAL OF MENZI MUCK MACHINE

Commissioner O'Brien inquired why is this item before the Board when it should be handled by staff and not come to the Board. Chairman Higgs advised anytime the Board enters into an agreement, the Board has to sign it because it is the only one that can contract for the County. Commissioner O'Brien inquired if it is the law; with County Attorney Scott Knox responding it is the general law. Commissioner O'Brien inquired if the Board could make a law under the Charter that says any item that is rented which cost less than $3,000 a year, Administration could do it instead of the Board.

County Manager Tom Jenkins stated the question would be is it necessary to have an interlocal agreement to allow Palm Bay to borrow a truck; with Chairman Higgs responding it is not just any truck, it is a Menzi Muck; and inquired if the Board can do that. Mr. Knox responded the Board could probably delegate some of the contractual authority if it sets good guidelines; but under Chapter 163, an interlocal agreement has to be entered into by two governing bodies.

Commissioner O'Brien recommended staff check into that and see if with parameters that say if the annual rental fee is less than $10,000 a year then Administration will take care of it; with Chairman Higgs responding the County Attorney advised the Board could not do it in the case of an interlocal agreement. Mr. Knox noted that is his recollection of the statute, but he will check it to make sure that is what it says. Commissioner O'Brien stated he is trying to eliminate paperwork; the item is four pages long; there are five Commissioners so that is 20 pages; there are the County Attorney and other staff; so the agreement created about 100 pages of paper, and 18 people had to read it.

Motion by Commissioner O'Brien, seconded by Commissioner Ellis, to execute the Interlocal Agreement with City of Palm Bay for rental of the Menzi Muck Machine; and direct staff to return with a report on delegating authority to staff for such items that cost less than $10,000. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

CONTRACT FOR SALE AND PURCHASE AND ADDENDUM WITH KABBOORD PROPERTIES, RE: MOSQUITO CONTROL IMPOUNDMENT

Commissioner O'Brien advised the County is spending $143,000 to buy property that is essentially useless; it is water land with ducks on it; he spoke to Mosquito Control Director Jim Hunt who said the County needs the land because it is already diked and they have to pump water in or maintain water at specific times of the year because the salt water marsh mosquito breeds in ground and not on water. Mr. Hunt advised they have to have dry soil to lay their eggs and if the County keeps it flooded, they cannot produce. Commissioner O'Brien stated Mr. Kabboord and the Seventh Day Adventists have the same issue; if the County does not buy the property, they can prevent it from flooding; and the people on Merritt Island will get mosquitos. He stated both of the owners want to maintain the right to hunt ducks privately and only allow them on the property. Mr. Hunt stated that is one of the conditions of the sale. Commissioner O'Brien stated the County should not buy property from anyone then give back to them the right to hunt on it and not allow anyone else. He stated it is public land; and it is craziness for the people the County bought the land from to ask to hunt on it exclusively. Mr. Hunt advised they could return the contract back with the stipulation that the Board will to accept the deal if the duck hunting rights stay.

Commissioner Cook inquired if the property is above appraised value; with Mr. Hunt responding one parcel is 9% above the appraised value. Commissioner Cook stated he concurs with Commissioner O'Brien, if the County is buying the property it is for public use and the Board cannot make a private deal to allow one entity to use the property and not let it be open to anybody else.

Commissioner Ellis stated the Board could pull down the dikes and unhook the pumps; with Mr. Hunt responding the people on Merritt Island would not stand for that very long. Commissioner Ellis inquired what would be the effect of doing that. He stated he has seen those in the South Beaches when they were small and pumping would put the property under water which may not have been under water were there no dikes and pumps; and inquired what would be the effect on this property if the County pulled down the dikes and unhooked the pumps. Mr. Hunt advised it would go back to its natural marsh state. He stated all the areas that are impounded were marsh at one time and they were inundated with water at least twice a year by tides.

Commissioner O'Brien stated as he recalls, the Corps of Engineers dredged Sykes Creek and actually created the dike that goes for about a mile and a half in length, and the County had to start flooding the property at that time; with Mr. Hunt responding that is correct, but it is the best and most economical way to try and control the salt marsh mosquito by flooding and taking away its habitat. Commissioner O'Brien inquired how long has the County been flooding the property; with Mr. Hunt responding since the 1950's. Commissioner O'Brien stated now the County wants to buy the property so it can keep on flooding it and the Kabboords and other people have said if the County does not buy the property they are not going to let the County flood it any more. Mr. Hunt advised it is an issue that came up in the early 1990's about the County using private property; a committee was formed; and one of the Committee's recommendation was to purchase as much of the properties as the County could; so they established a special millage for that.

Commissioner Ellis advised on other sites the impoundment area kept the people from using their property; but the County has an option of paying for the property or abandoning the use of it.

Commissioner O'Brien advised he understands now why the County has to buy the property and there are otters, birds and fantastic wildlife on it; however, he questions the duck hunting part of the deal.

Motion by Commissioner O'Brien, seconded by Commissioner Cook, to execute Contract for Sale and Purchase with Kabboord Properties, Inc. for the mosquito control impoundment area of 68.91 acres along the east bank of Sykes Creek at $41,350, which is 9% above the appraised value, subject to no exclusive rights to the seller for duck hunting.

Commissioner Cook inquired if the 9% over the appraised value is only for one portion of the property; with Mr. Hunt responding it is only the Kabboord parcel which is 68 acres of the 254 acres. Commissioner Cook inquired if that is the best price the County could get; with Mr. Hunt responding he wanted $1,000 and it was negotiated downward.

Chairman Higgs inquired if other properties were purchased with contingencies; with Mr. Hunt responding there was a parcel in the north portion of the County that had duck hunting rights on it. Commissioner Cook stated the County would be exposed to liability even though they agreed to provide insurance; and it is inappropriate. Chairman Higgs inquired if the Board would be interested in a time limit on the duck hunting; with Commissioner O'Brien responding it is public land purchased with public dollars for public use; and if the seller wants to lease it from the County for duck hunting, that would be different. He stated if the County is going to buy the property, it will own it free and clear and unencumbered.

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

CONTRACT FOR SALE AND PURCHASE WITH FLORIDA CONFERENCE ASSOCIATION OF SEVENTH DAY ADVENTIST, RE: MOSQUITO CONTROL IMPOUNDMENT

Motion by Commissioner O'Brien, seconded by Commissioner Cook, to execute Contract for Sale and Purchase with Florida Conference Association of Seventh Day Adventist to purchase 185.5 acres along the south right-of-way of Furman Road and the east bank of Sykes Creek south of SR 528 for mosquito impoundment site at $202,000 which is 100% of the appraised value; subject to no exclusive rights to the sellers for duck hunting. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

AWARD OF BID #B-1-5-20, AND AGREEMENT, RE: NORTH BREVARD LIBRARY PROJECT

Commissioner Ellis advised he has two problems with the bid; one relates to the bid using alternates; the alternates on the bids were very trivial compared to the overall base bid; and the Board had a problem before with alternates on the Wickham Road project.

Chairman Higgs advised when the alternates are added together the low bidder continues to be the low bidder.

Commissioner Ellis stated why should the Board get into a position of getting into a legal problem like it did with Wickham Road; and the alternates are about $40,000 of a 1.6 million dollar bid; and inquired why should the Board do those as alternates and not include them in the base bid.

Commissioner Scarborough advised the reason for the alternates is because there was a certain budget for the project; staff wanted to ensure it would not be over budget; and the easiest way to do that was to put in alternates. He stated fortunately the bid from PAVCO and the alternatives were under budget; so funds can be transferred to other projects. He stated the County had a previous problem with alternates, but in this case the base bid and alternates would still be under budget.

Commissioner Ellis stated he does not like alternate bids when they are small portions of the base bid because it opens up to conflicts. Commissioner Scarborough stated he agrees that the alternates were small amounts and would not have affected bringing the project in under budget, so Commissioner Ellis has a good point.

County Manager Tom Jenkins advised he recalls the Board discussion Commissioner Ellis is referring to, and it was the Board's consensus not to use alternates; however, when this project came to the Board before it went to bid, the Board was advised they would use alternates and the reason for it; and what they did differently on this project is announced in advance that alternates would be selected in the order they were presented, so they would not be able to jump around and arbitrarily select alternates and be accused of steering the bid in one direction or another. He stated all bidders were told in advance that they were going to pick the alternates based on available funds in the order they were listed; so the bidders knew in advance what the process was going to be and how the alternates would be considered which eliminated some of the problems the Board had concern about. He stated he was concerned about using alternates based on the Board's prior direction, and advised staff of that; but in this case they felt there was no other alternative and that was all disclosed to the Board at the time the project went to bid.

Commissioner Ellis stated he understands now, but does not want to get into alternates; he can see if they had a major difference such as one-story versus two-story buildings, but in this case, they are very small items compared to the base bid. He stated another problem are the impact fees for the library expansion.

Commissioner Scarborough advised the Board could approach the City of Titusville and seek a waiver particularly in light of the contribution by the City of Cocoa Beach to Cocoa Beach Public Library where the City actually put money into the project. He noted he does not know which fees can legally be waived and which cannot.

Commissioner Ellis recommended sending a letter to the City of Titusville because there is no real impact; the Library is already there and the County is just expanding it, so it is not making an impact. He noted he could see it if the library was put in the middle of the sticks and the City had to put in sidewalks, street lights, and crossovers.

Commissioner Scarborough stated even with that, the City of Cocoa Beach came to the table and put money into the library; so there is one municipality charging fees and another bringing money to the table which is not fair.

Mr. Jenkins advised when the Board is asked to waive impact fees, it was told that legally it could not because there was no basis to do it, and it must pay it, so the Board may need to ask the City to contribute the $17,940 from its General Fund for the impact fees.

Commissioner Ellis stated not just Titusville but there are other library projects in other cities, so the Board may want to talk to all the cities where it has projects going on.

Commissioner O'Brien agreed with Commissioner Ellis and stated four or five months from now the Board is having a workshop on libraries; and inquired if it will talk about all eight libraries that have something planned. He stated he has a problem with the cost of doing one job at a time; and indicated it may be creating costly mistakes.

Commissioner Ellis advised the North Brevard Library was already in the works before the bond issue; and his concern was trying to do all eight concurrently.

Commissioner O'Brien stated the Board will be discussing impact fees down the road; and inquired if it would be safer to table this project until then; with Commissioner Ellis responding this project does not need to be tabled because it was approved before the other projects, but the Board needs to send a letter to the Cities to get waivers on some of the impact fees.

Chairman Higgs inquired if Commissioner Ellis does not want a sequential list such as it has on the bid items; with Commissioner Ellis responding that is a policy matter; the alternates open the Board up to lose more than it gains, especially on those where the summation of the alternates are insignificant compared to the base bid; and that was just a comment item. He stated he is for the award to PAVCO and intents to vote for it; but in the future, the Board needs to stay away from alternates that are small in nature compared to the base bid. Mr. Jenkins advised that is the Board's prior policy and staff will adhere to that, and if Mr. Vislay thinks there is an exception, it will be brought to the Board as an exception.

Chairman Higgs inquired if the Board wants to send a letter to the City of Titusville to see if there is some way to waive the impact fees, or if Commissioner Scarborough wants to talk to some of the Councilmen; with Commissioner Scarborough responding a letter would be a better approach so everyone sees the same document and can respond to it.

Commissioner Scarborough advised they are partly through the architectural and engineering process and the project is under budget; basically it is bringing something to the community that is favorably impacting it; it is a benefit; and the municipality should contribute; so if they cannot waive the impact fees, the Board should ask it if they can pay the impact fees from their general fund as a contribution to the library project and as a matter of fairness. He stated at this point to pull out and have a workshop on it would throw the project way off cycle because it has gone out to bid; and if it is put in abeyance, it may have to be put out to bid again.

Chairman Higgs stated she does not think anyone is saying do that; the Board needs a letter; and if staff will help her, she will draft a letter on the impact fees. Mr. Jenkins recommended sending a letter to all the cities that the County has library projects in; and Commissioner Scarborough suggested writing to all cities.

Motion by Commissioner Ellis, seconded by Commissioner Cook, to award Bid #B-1-5-20, North Brevard Library Project, to low bidder PAVCO Construction at $1,642,123 base bid plus alternates 2 through 8; and authorize the Chairman to execute the Agreement with PAVCO. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Cook, to authorize the Chairman to write to each municipality where a library is going to be built, explain to them the Board considers it to be a positive impact on the city, request they waive the impact fees or pay said fees to themselves from their general revenue funds, and point out that the City of Cocoa Beach contributed funds from its general revenue for the library. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

DISCUSSION, RE: LIBRARY WORKSHOP

Commissioner Ellis advised Commissioner O'Brien spoke about a library workshop. Commissioner Cook stated he would like to discuss the libraries because the County spends an enormous amount of money on libraries and it may or may not be justified, so he would like to discuss the issues. Commissioner O'Brien stated the Board should have a workshop on libraries, because if it pays more for libraries than police protection it is in trouble.

Chairman Higgs instructed the County Manager to work on a date for the workshop. Mr. Jenkins inquired how the Board would like to address libraries in the unincorporated areas; with Chairman Higgs responding send the County a letter and pay for it.

County Attorney Scott Knox requested permission to revisit the opinion that was given some time ago of the County having to pay itself impact fees; and Chairman Higgs granted that permission.

AGREEMENT WITH ATLANTIC GULF COMMUNITIES CORPORATION, RE: HOLIDAY SPRINGS AT SUNTREE

Commissioner Ellis advised the area is back on Turtle Mound intersection. Chairman Higgs stated it is not a Turtle Mound intersection, it is construction of a road. Assistant County Manager for Community Development Dean Sprague advised it is the extension of Turtle Mound Road up to that intersection. Commissioner Ellis stated they renamed it; and Chairman Higgs responded but it is not an intersection, it is a road. Commissioner Ellis stated it makes the intersection; and Mr.

Sprague advised it will complete the intersection. County Manager Tom Jenkins advised it is the southern side of the intersection. Commissioner Ellis advised the road goes up and dies; it works its way towards Viera Boulevard and does not complete; so this completes Holiday Springs to Viera Boulevard; with Mr. Jenkins responding it is on the south side but does not go north.

Commissioner Ellis inquired if all the right-of-way agreements are signed on the project; with Engineering Director Susan Hann responding if the question is about the status of the right-of-way agreements with The Viera Company, they have submitted revised deeds recently, and staff is in the process of reviewing those with the County Attorney's Office, so it has not been finalized. Commissioner Ellis advised there is a problem because the County vacated Turtle Mound right-of-way at one point; and inquired how would GDC construct a portion of a road to a vacated piece of right-of-way. Ms. Hann advised Commissioner Ellis is talking about the section in Tract V that was part of the Viera Boulevard right-of-way, so it would be about a 75-foot section from the centerline of Viera Boulevard to the edge of that tract that is owned by The Viera Company or the Viera CDD that would then tie into the boundary of the plat of the Atlantic Gulf development. She stated they have discussed it with The Viera Company; the Company provided deeds to the County to provide that right-of-way; staff is working out the deed language with them right now; and she has every reason to believe the situation will be resolved at least with respect to Turtle Mound as they are relatively comfortable with what The Viera Company proposed. Commissioner Ellis inquired if the County needs to resolve the right-of-way issue first before proceeding to deal with GDC on the money for the road; with Ms. Hann responding perhaps Mr. Knox may want to answer that from his perspective.

County Attorney Scott Knox advised GDC has tried to give the County $186,000 and the County has tried to send it back to them because they are in dispute as to who is going to build the road and where it is going to be built; and what they are trying to do here is put the money in an escrow account and let it bear interest so whoever ends up with it gets the benefit of the interest. He stated they have not resolved who is going to build it and where it is going; and this item is not going to impact the County one way or another in terms of whether it has the right-of-way or not. Commissioner Ellis inquired if the County can still require the money even thought at one point the right-of-way is vacated; with Mr. Knox responding it is not a matter of requiring the money; the County is trying to give it back to GDC and say they build the road; they are trying to give it to the County and say the County build the road; so at this time there is a dispute as to who is going to build the road; and by the time they resolve that dispute, the County should have the right-of-way.

Chairman Higgs inquired if this action just puts the money into escrow and not accept responsibility; with Mr. Knox responding neither party is accepting responsibility or liability for building the road; it is both saying it is the responsibility of the other party; the County is not trying to exact the $186,000; however, GDC is trying to give it to the County. Commissioner Ellis stated he understands that point, and their position is had the road been done when they first put the money up, that would have been the cost, and the increased cost is due to the County waiting to see what it was going to do with the intersection. Mr. Knox advised the County's position is diametrically opposed to that; the delay is GDC's; and the cost of the road has gone up because they have taken so long to get their approvals, plats approved, etc. Commissioner Ellis inquired where the vacating of the right-of-way fits into that; with Mr. Knox responding at this point it does not fit into this particular contract; the $186,000 is a neutral territory until they resolve those issues; so they can go about getting that right-of-way finished before they actually have to build the road anyway. Commissioner Ellis advised it has been about a year and a half that the County has been pursuing that right-of-way. Mr. Knox advised he has no problem with the Turtle Mound deed per se and are still looking at the Viera issues based upon the old spite strip in there. Commissioner Ellis stated the spite strip is a separate issue from re-acquiring the right-of-way. Mr. Knox noted the County will probably end up processing Turtle Mound independently if nothing else. Commissioner Ellis inquired if the County will get Turtle Mound intersection that includes the spite strip on the north side also so they can make a full intersection; with Ms. Hann responding it does.

Motion by Commissioner Ellis, seconded by Commissioner Cook, to execute Agreement with Atlantic Gulf Communities providing for deposit of $186,296 in an escrow account while the dispute regarding construction of roads is negotiated or litigated, subject to not altering the rights of either party. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

AUTHORIZE APPEAL, RE: BREVARD COUNTY v. CANAVERAL PROPERTIES, INC. (GRISSOM ROAD ATTORNEYS' FEES AND COSTS

Commissioner Ellis advised the attorney submitted a $779,000 legal fee; and inquired if it can be itemized. County Attorney Scott Knox inquired if the Board wants total that was awarded broken down; with Commissioner Ellis responding he would like it itemized to know who worked on it, when they worked on it, how many hours were spent on it; and would like to compare that to others and talk to some of the cities that have been caught in this situation . He stated he wants to see how many hours those people had to go around. He stated if they are going to charge a phenomenal amounts of hours, they are billing out 30 or 40 hours a day; and he would like to know how many other cases they have going on.

County Attorney Scott Knox advised that is one of the reasons why he is asking for the right to appeal; they had 18 lawyers working on this; and paralegal and secretaries they charged for; and most of it was granted by the court; however, the County has a fairly good basis for filing an appeal which is why he is asking for it.

Commissioner Ellis stated they had one attorney at 400 hours and another at 800 hours; and he would like those broken down and some other cases they have hit the County with.

Motion by Commissioner Ellis, seconded by Commissioner Cook, to authorize the County Attorney to file an appeal with Fifth District Court of Appeals, regarding Brevard County v. Canaveral Properties, Inc. for the Grissom Road project, relating to attorneys' fees and costs awarded. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

DISCUSSION, RE: COST OF LIVING INCREASE FOR COUNTY ATTORNEY

Commissioner Cook advised he talked to Mr. Knox; this is no reflection on him; but he has a few concerns. He stated he has not been on the Board long enough to make an informed judgment as far as an evaluation, the same way he felt about the County Administrator; and he has a problem giving raises in the middle of a hiring freeze, as it may send the wrong message.

Commissioner O'Brien stated everybody else got a raise; with Chairman Higgs responding except Mr. Jenkins. Commissioner O'Brien advised the evaluation by the three Commissioners gave Mr. Knox high flying marks. Commissioner Cook stated it has nothing to do with his performance; it is the timing of the item that is inappropriate for him. He stated the Board has a study panel looking at County government; and just the perception is a concern with no reflection on Mr. Knox's abilities.

Commissioner Ellis advised it came up at this time because the Board voted on the raises; if they did not get at least 75% they would not get a raise; however, prior to that there was no evaluation on the County Attorney and County Administrator. He stated because the Board put a clause in there about having 75% to get the cost of living raise, it has come up now.

Commissioner O'Brien inquired if that means every two years the County Attorney and County Manager cannot get a raise because there may be two or three new commissioners; with Commissioner Ellis responding they did not have the provision in the past to have a minimum evaluation to get a raise. Chairman Higgs advised the merit component was first put in this year and the only people who can evaluate the County Attorney and County Manager is the Board members.

Commissioner Scarborough advised everyone is getting a cost of living increase; the Board is looking at two people; and he would like to be fair in this process. He stated they work with them, and if they are not going to talk about it now, when would they feel comfortable talking about it.

Commissioner Cook advised he voted against the Administrator's raise for the same reason; he does not feel he has been here long enough to make an informed judgment; and in fairness to the Administrator, he has to do the same for the County Attorney, because he does not feel he has been here long enough to make an informed judgment on him also. He stated the County has a hiring freeze and someone could ask why was it so important to give the raise during the hiring freeze when the Board has a panel looking at County government. He stated they are top management with high salaries and the perception to the rest of the employees has given him some qualms; but it has nothing to do with Mr. Knox personally.

Chairman Higgs advised she is comfortable with her evaluation; she is comfortable voting for it; and she understands Commissioner Cook's concerns, but the Board did not take it away, because of the hiring freeze, the ability for other people to get a pay increase; so it is not fair to single anyone out. Commissioner Cook reiterated it would not be fair for him to vote for Mr. Knox's raise when he did not vote for Mr. Jenkins' raise.

Commissioner Ellis advised he will support the raise; the reason it came up at this time is because they finally got the Board to put some provisions in that if they do not meet a certain minimal requirement, they do not get a raise because prior to that they just got a raise no matter what. He stated the County Attorney and County Manager got caught in this because nobody had to have evaluations done before; so this will not happen again. He stated when it comes to cost-of-living raises next year, the appraisals will be done over the summer for the County Attorney and County Manager so they will not get caught in the after-the-fact situation.

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Higgs, to approve 3% cost of living adjustment for the County Attorney effective on the same date as all other County employees. Motion carried and ordered; Commissioner Cook voted nay.

Commissioner Scarborough advised in light of the Board's action, he would like to ask Commissioners O'Brien and Cook at what time they would feel comfortable doing the evaluation on the County Manager because the Board deferred a decision. He inquired if the first meeting in February would be satisfactory, because the Board needs to take affirmative action, as it did not say yes or no, and just said it wanted to wait. Commissioner Cook suggested March. Commissioner Scarborough recommended scheduling the evaluation of the County Manager for March 7, 1995, and the Commissioners do the rating before that meeting.

Commissioners O'Brien and Cook agreed with scheduling consideration of the County Manager's cost of living increase for March 7, 1995.

APPROVAL, RE: BILLS AND BUDGET TRANSFERS

Commissioner Cook advised an attorney billed the County 14,000 copies at 20 cents a piece; and inquired if there is any standards for copies. He stated the invoice is for the State of Florida v. Eyrich case; copies are available for two, three, and ten cents; and 20 cents for 14,000 copies is a lot of money.

Commissioner O'Brien advised the invoice is from Douglas R. Beam, P.A.; and inquired if the County pays the invoice; with Commissioner Cook responding that is what the Board is voting on. Commissioner O'Brien stated it came across someone's desk; and inquired if nobody else spotted it; with Commissioner Ellis responding the problem with the bill folder is the judge orders the County to pay those fees and all the Board can do is rubber stamp it; but maybe they can question it in this case. Commissioner Cook stated if the Board is required to vote on it, it can question it.

Commissioner Ellis inquired what would be the procedure, and does the Board send it back to the judge; with County Attorney Scott Knox responding there are a number of statutes throughout the Florida Code Book which say the County is responsible for costs for indigents, incompetents, etc.; the general standard is the County pays the reasonable cost of whatever is incurred by attorneys in defending those individuals; and his suspicion is the 20 cents a page is probably a statutory rate or a rate approved as reasonable by the judges, so the Board would have a difficult time going back and getting it changed if everyone else is getting 20 cents a copy. He stated he will check it specifically, but he is sure that is what the Board will find.

Commissioner Cook advised the other invoice is from a doctor who came here as an expert witness and said he had dinner, breakfast, and lunch for which he did not have receipts, car rental, gas, and Beeline tolls for which he lost his receipts; and he left home at 11:30 a.m. on August 29, 1994 and returned at 9:00 p.m. on August 30, 1994, therefore the County owes him for 33.5 hours at $150 per hour. He stated the County would pay this man $150 an hour for sleeping; he wants every hour he was away from his home at $150; and that is ridiculous. He noted it is $5,325, not including other costs.

County Manager advised the invoices do not go through any of the County Departments. Chairman Higgs inquired who does it go through; with Mr. Jenkins responding probably the State Attorney then to Finance.

Chairman Higgs recommended those two invoices be removed to get more information and learn how to challenge those, and approve the remainder of the bill folder. Mr. Knox responded he will review those and get back to the Board.

Motion by Commissioner Cook, seconded by Commissioner Ellis, to approve bills and budget transfers with the exception of the invoice from Douglas R. Beam, P.A. in the amount of $2,793.20 for 13,966 photocopies at 20 cents each in the case of the State v. Richard Eyrich, and invoice from Hulannie A. Jenkins, M.D. in the amount of $5,325 for 35.5 hours in the case of the State v. Hufham; and direct the County Attorney to research those and advise the Board of how it can challenge some of the charges. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

AMENDMENT TO CONTRACT WITH DYER, RIDDLE, MILLS & PRECOURT, INC., RE: MINTON ROAD WIDENING PROJECT

Commissioner Cook advised he did not receive a copy of the Amendment; and inquired if it was included; with Chairman Higgs responding no, but the Board got the dollar figure. Assistant County Manager for Community Development Dean Sprague advised the Board did not receive a copy of the Amendment. Commissioner Ellis advised this is the one to be paid by the City of Palm Bay.

Chairman Higgs inquired if the Board gets the normal language of the amendment or just approves the Change Order; with Engineering Director Susan Hann responding the amendment is simply one page that says we amend the contract between the parties to include the additional service; and apologized for it not being in the package.

Commissioner Ellis inquired if they are going to take out the sides of the bridge and widen it; with Ms. Hann responding the intention is to provide additional width to accommodate the utility. Commissioner Ellis advised it is currently a two-lane bridge; and inquired if they are not replacing it and just widening the bridge; with Ms. Hann responding she believes they are widening it, but she prefers to check on it.

Motion by Commissioner Cook, seconded by Commissioner O'Brien, to execute Amendment to Contract with Dyer, Riddle, Mills & Precourt, Inc. for Minton Road Widening Project. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

The meeting recessed at 2:19 p.m. and reconvened at 2:30 p.m.

DISCUSSION, RE: MEETING SCHEDULE

Assistant County Manager for Community Development Dean Sprague advised staff went back and researched that issue and found that when they were creating all the workshops they moved the zoning meeting to the 16 which was normally at the end of the month, thereby negating the possibility of doing the A1A setback workshop during the 16th and it now needs to move to the 14; and ask if the board could make a motion to change it the March 14,

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissoiner Ellis, to schedule the Setbacks on A1A workshop for March 14, 1995 instead of March 16, 1995. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

DISCUSSION, RE: 1995 LEGISLATIVE PROPOSAL PACKAGE

Chairman Higgs recommended the letter from the Chairman to the Chairman of the Delegation be changed to say "sincerely yours"; with County Manager Tom Jenkins responding the letter has been changed and other corrections were also made.

Chairman Higgs read the items as follows:

(1) The Board of County Commissioners strongly requests the Legislative Delegation support an amendment to the Florida Statutes to limit the number of clam harvesting licenses issued with Brevard County.

Commissioner O'Brien advised the reasoning used for the clamming industry does not sufficiently point out the damage done to the river bottoms where the manatees have to eat; the Marine Patrol item has a lot of reference to manatees; but clamming probably does more harm to the bottoms and the manatees are only mentioned in one place. He stated to control clamming would save the bottoms and grasses where the manatees eat; and that is a very important environmental issue versus Marine Patrol which is really a safety issue.

Commissioner Scarborough advised staff has met enumerable times about clamming and the upland problem of how to access the river; it is impacting parks and recreational facilities, causing Code Enforcement problems, parking problems, problems for people launching boats from homes, and problems of the nature of the people who come in and how they interact with other people. He stated there is a long-term concept of whether the clamming industry is going to be eliminated as it was in the south part of the County; he was told Body C is producing 70 to 90% of the clams produced in Florida; Florida produces 2/3rds of the clams in the southeast; so how much can a body of water take. Commissioner Scarborough advised there is a question of sanitary facilities aboard those boats; the last meeting they had included two members of the Legislative Delegation and they walked way very concerned; they had a member of the local clamming industry; and there is a clamming concern as to whether or not their industry is going to be destroyed by it. He noted this is something that will occur naturally, and he would like for the Board to be a participant in the discussion.

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Ellis, to approve Item 1 be included in the 1995 Legislative Package. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

Chairman Higgs advised she supports this approach; the bigger issue the Legislature has to deal with is the depletion of resources and Commissioner O'Brien's issue of damage to the grassbeds; but this is a start.

Commissioner Ellis stated the more aquaculture is encouraged, the less market there is for clammers.

(2) The Board of County Commissioners strongly requests Delegation support for an increase in funding and at least a 50% increase in staffing of the Florida Marine Patrol in District 7, routinely patrolling the Indian River Lagoon. The Board asks these additional officers be dedicated to enforcing natural resource rules and regulations on Brevard's Indian River Lagoon waters.

Commissioner Ellis advised the item has 25 officers in the Marine Patrol and two are in Brevard County; and inquired if the Board is asking for 50% increase, does that mean one person since it only has two now. He stated he wants to be sure the Board is not asking for 121 people so it can get one more person in the water.

Assistant County Manager for Environmental Services Stephen Peffer advised they looked at 50% increase throughout the day; and they typically have people on three shifts, so it may require adding more than one person to cover the various shifts. He stated there was a similar item last year and staff did not define what it was asking for and just asked for more; so they decided this time to put in a referenced amount; however, it is at the Board's discretion if it wants to change the number.

Commissioner Ellis stated he understand what is being asked for, but he does not want 12 or 13 more people.

Commissioner Cook questioned whether this Item was necessary. He stated even though the money comes from the state, it is still tax dollars; and the Marine Patrol has not come to the Board and requested this action. He stated he does not see the real need with the other priorities the Board has to even pursue this and it is not going to make any difference adding even one more officer. He stated somehow they have to start somewhere looking at priorities in government.

Commissioner O'Brien advised he agrees with Commissioner Cook, but wants to discuss the justification. He stated the last two sentences, "Brevard has the highest population of manatees in the state and is recognized as a critical area for the endangered species survival. Brevard County also has the highest manatee mortality in the state." should be moved to the clamming item where they belong. He stated everyone keeps perpetuating the myth that boats are killing manatees; most of the manatees die from disease and lack of food on the bottom of the river, or cold water, etc.; and the Board is looking for marine patrol based on boats killing manatees which is not true.

Chairman Higgs advised the Marine Patrol regulates people who are doing the clamming and the uses of the clammers in the area where the seagrasses are; so enhanced marine patrol would have an impact on the manatee issue.

Mr. Peffer advised when the Legislature reorganized the Department of Environmental Protection, they took away some of the investigation powers that the Game and Fish Commission had been providing for upland type of violations and turned them over to the Marine Patrol; a wildlife officer assisted Code Enforcement on problems such as promiscuous dumping, drums found in the woods, etc.; and now staff has to turn to the Marine Patrol because they are the ones assigned to do those investigations. He noted when they have those problems, it is another time a marine patrolman is taken out of his area of primary responsibility which is what happened on Wickham Road when the drums were found. He stated there are more than one reason why additional staffing is needed.

Commissioner Cook advised the Marine Patrol did not come to the County and ask for help; if they perceived a problem with fulfilling their duties, he would have expected them to come to the Board and ask it to encourage the Legislature to give them a hand; so this is an unnecessary item.

Motion by Commissioner Cook, seconded by Commissioner O'Brien, to deleted Item 2 from the Legislative Package.

Chairman Higgs stated there are sufficient reasons to want additional marine patrol.

Commissioner O'Brien stated those sentences he read earlier do not belong in this item and he cannot support it with the language in there as it belongs in the clamming item. Chairman Higgs inquired if those were taken out would he be able to support the item for more marine patrol; because if that is his problem, it can be reworded. Commissioner O'Brien advised that is his first problem and the second problem is 50% does not delineate a number and it should be specific if the Board is asking for 1, 2, 4 or 9 officers. Chairman Higgs inquired if Commissioner O'Brien is talking about one per shift; with Commissioner Cook responding that would be at least three officers, and Mr. Jenkins noted it would be four or five because they have days off. Commissioner Cook stated that is a lot of money for something he does not see as priority and something the Marine Patrol did not request of the Board. Commissioner O'Brien advised marine safety is where they come in and patrolling of the clamming industry, so they need help. Commissioner Cook stated if they were having a problem with enforcement, he would have expected a request from them; even though it is state funding, it is still taxpayer money; and there are other priorities.

Commissioner Scarborough advised they had a number of meetings and always invited Marine Patrol to be present; they have not ever stated in one of those meetings that they have a problem with staffing and going out and inspecting; however, all of the issues are related and they do not have enough personnel on the water. He stated rather than asking for this, perhaps the Board could as the Marine Patrol how its staffing is and if they are able to adequately handle the issues that are being raised such as clamming and destruction of grassbeds. He stated if there are no people on the water whatever the state legislature passes will be ignored because there would be no one out there inspecting.

Mr. Jenkins recommended asking for more Marine Patrol coverage without asking for funding, as they may have people somewhere else doing things of lesser priority. Commissioner Cook stated he would support that and maybe they need to assign more people to Brevard County. He stated government is insidious, and this is how it keeps growing; however, he would support asking for coverage and letting them figure out how they will pay for it.

Commissioner Cook withdrew the motion and Commissioner O'Brien withdrew the second.

Motion by Commissioner Cook, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to amend Item 2 requesting for adequate coverage by marine patrol rather than funding and staffing.

Commissioner O'Brien recommended the last two sentences of the first paragraph under Background and Justification be moved to Item 1 along with the speeding boats in slow speed, no wake, and manatee sanctuary and increased manatee mortalities because it is they related to the seagrasses that are starving the manatees to death.

Commissioners Cook and Scarborough accepted the amendment as recommended by Commissioner O'Brien.

Chairman Higgs called for a vote on the motion as amended. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

Commissioner Ellis inquired if there is overlap between the Marine Patrol and Sheriff's AG Marine; with Mr. Peffer responding the AG Marine is patrolling those areas, but he does not know how they divide the jurisdiction. He stated it is waters of the state, and he is not sure of the jurisdiction of the AG Marine. Commissioner Ellis requested more information on the jurisdiction of the AG Marine and Marine Patrol, as the Board may find there is something it can do and request the Sheriff redirect some of his upcoming budget to the AG Marine rather than ask for more marine patrol.

(3) The Board of County Commissioners supports the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's budget request for FY 1995-96 for their erosion control assistance program.

Commissioner Ellis advised there are two areas of fiscal impact and inquired where the source of the matching funds are. He stated there was a $252,000 fiscal impact and another was the Corps of Engineers; and inquired if TDC money is used; with Natural Resources Management Director Lisa Barr responding that is correct. She stated for the second impact, as far as the feasibility study, they have all the matching funds already identified from the TDC; and the $252,000 was previously identified in the Beach and Riverfront Acquisition Program. Commissioner Ellis inquired if Beach and Riverfront money can be used for this; with Ms. Barr responding it is for capital improvement for crossovers which is part of the requirement for some of the contracts to acquire the properties; so it would be capital improvement under the bond. Commissioner Ellis stated he thought when it got into capital improvement under the Beach and Riverfront it had to be on the Beach and Riverfront sites; with Ms. Barr responding they are all Beach and Riverfront sites. Commissioner Ellis inquired if they were all purchased with Beach and Riverfront money; with Ms. Barr responding yes.

Commissioner O'Brien advised he was told the TDC was supposed to put up $380,000 per year for a period of five years; that way it would cost the County 1.3 million dollars, and the Corps of Engineers will put up 75 million dollars for beach renourishment and restoration; but if the TDC does not put up the money and the fund is not created, then the rule does not apply and does not grandfather and the books and rules have been changed and it could end up costing the County 4.3 million dollars while the Corps of Engineers put up their 70 million dollars. He inquired if anyone knows about that.

Ms. Barr advised she has not heard that, but can check into it. She stated the way she understands how the program runs is that there are several phases to the project; there is a reconnaissance phase which has already been completed, a feasibility phase which they are in right now, and a capital improvement phase when they actually start putting sand on the beach. She stated when they do the first two phases it is a 50/50 match from local government; on the third phase, they approved the Corps of Engineers and said some of the beach erosion Brevard County is experiencing has been related to their efforts and activities at the Port; therefore, the County's cost share should be less than 50% because they enhanced the problem through their activities. She stated part of that negotiation they are looking at 65% to 75% pickup by the Corps of Engineers. Ms. Barr advised she has never heard there had to be a sinking fund set aside and identified for that to kick in; the only criteria for the Corps of Engineers to pick up the additional cost was that they had to identify that they were basically responsible for the additional erosion problem; and staff did that adequately from the data they acquired from the Port and through their own feasibility studies by the engineering firms.

Commissioner O'Brien recommended staff contact Joe Lapola at the Port and ask him where he got his figures from and what he was talking about. Ms. Barr stated she will do that. She stated the TDC, staff and Erosion Control Advisory Committee has identified funds to continue forward with the feasibility study and start setting aside monies for future capital improvement projects as they begin to put sand on the beach; but not all the capital improvement funds have been identified as yet.

Commissioner O'Brien stated he would like to know if Mr. Lapola is correct or not. Ms. Barr advised she will look into it and let Commissioner O'Brien know.

Motion by Commissioner Ellis, seconded by Commissioner O'Brien, to approve Item 3 be included in the Legislative Package. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

(4) The Board of County Commissioners supports the revision of Section 200.181, Florida Statutes, to clarify existing statutes that authorize local governments to levy maximum voter approved millage for bond repayment and the use of surplus ad valorem revenue for any lawful purpose related to the project, including operations and maintenance.

Commissioner Cook advised they are trying to work out a problem with the funds, so he can support this item; however, there may be a need for an Attorney General's Opinion (AGO) on it.

Commissioner Ellis inquired if there is a need for a declaratory judgment for administration since this item is for operation and maintenance which was part of the ballot language. He stated the Board would still have the issue of using excess ad valorem revenue for administration which is neither maintenance nor operation.

Commissioner Cook advised an AGO would clarify whether those funds that were transferred has to be restored and would put the Board on stronger ground.

Mr. Knox advised this proposed legislation is one of several options the Board received from the EELS Committee; they reviewed it and wanted more time to come back and give the Board more options; and this option does not preclude other options. He stated AGO's, litigation, administrative workout with the Clerk, etc. are being considered; this item will clarify what staff conceives to be the existing law as it stands; and if this is passed, nobody would have a problem any longer; consequently, their first option was to pursue this clarification; and if it fails, they can fall back on other options that may be coming to the Board. Mr. Jenkins stated this item will have more teeth than the AGO; with Commissioner Cook responding only if it passes.

Commissioner Ellis stated it is still not an ex post facto, so there is still a question on the money that has been accumulated. Mr. Knox advised his position is that the existing law allows the Board to do what it has done and all this item does is clarify the existing law to make it crystal clear that what they have been doing is okay. Commissioner Cook inquired what if the Board is challenged on that; with Mr. Knox responding if the Legislature says that is what the law says, then that is what the law is. Commissioner Ellis stated he still thinks the Board needs a declaratory judgment on the two or three million dollars so it does not get burned on that. Mr. Knox advised when the EELS Committee reviewed it, they suggested some changes to the legislation that was proposed; he is working on that now, but basically what they asked is the proposed legislation be modified to make it clear it is clarifying the existing law so that the funds that are sitting in there being ready to be transferred for operation and maintenance would be authorized to be used for operation and maintenance because the existing law allows it; and all this legislation would do is make it clear that the statutes that are out there, when they put them together, authorize the Board to do that; and that is what they intended when they put all the statutes together.

Commissioner Cook advised if this item passes, it will clarify the situation, but in the meantime the Board is out on a limb potentially.

Commissioner O'Brien inquired what would preclude the County, if it still has the excess revenue, from spending it just because they have it, and will this legislation preclude the Board from rolling back the millage. He inquired, if the County can perform operation and maintenance, which is what the people wanted to be able to take care of the properties, and still has all that money, is it time to roll the millage back.

Assistant County Manager for Environmental Services Stephen Peffer advised it does not preclude that; the referendum language specifically said up to .25 mill; so there would be no prohibition to roll back from the .25 mill if that is the Board's desire. He advised during the EELS Committee meeting yesterday, Chief Deputy Clerk Jim Giles was there; and if he understood him correctly, he said if the Legislature did pass this type of legislation, the Clerk's Office would consider the issue settled and those collected dollars would then be understood they could be used for a related capital purpose. He stated that is an important point; they are specifically tailoring the legislation so it is very clear that those dollars would be raised for that purpose and would stay within the EELS Program and not be used in any other way.

Commissioner O'Brien advised his concern is that there are over four million dollars in excess revenue already and people are licking their lips saying let's spend it; and inquired, if the County did not have the money or had half that amount, would it accomplish what the public desired when they passed the EELS Program, but still not stick it to them all because there is a source of extra revenue all of a sudden. Mr. Peffer advised it is his understanding those dollars that were raised could, with passage of this legislation, be spent on additional capital purchases as well; and it frees up the opportunity to use that money in the way the Board would desire for the EELS Program.

Chairman Higgs called for a motion on the item. Commissioner Cook advised he has no problem with the item, but is still wondering what would it hurt to get an AGO to find out where the Board is at. Chairman Higgs stated the EELS Committee is going to bring to the Board a variety of options that they will recommend in various alternative priorities.

Natural Resources Management Director Lisa Barr advised one concern the Board is expressing relates to the previously spent administrative funds; she spoke to the Clerk about that issue as well; and she will come up with a detailed report on what the exposure is, what can be charged back to the Bond monies, and the best way to handle that situation.

Commissioner Cook inquired what would happen if someone other than the Clerk challenges it. He stated he is glad the EELS Committee is coming back with recommendations, but it is the Board's responsibility to insure those funds are spent correctly. Ms. Barr advised staff will return with the options and the Board will have an opportunity to review those. Commissioner Cook inquired when; with Ms. Barr responding it is scheduled to come back to the Board on January 24, 1995; the EELS Committee requested language changes and more opinions and options; so staff requests an extension to the second meeting in February if the Board will permit that and allow more opportunity to work with the Clerk's office.

Mr. Knox advised, to address the AGO, the Clerk is not bound by what the Attorney General says anyway, and the County's position would be the same; so no matter what the Attorney General says, it is guidance only. Commissioner Cook advised it is guidance, but he likes that guidance; he does not care what the Clerk does, he can do what he wants, and if he wants to ignore the Attorney General he can; but he is looking for protection for the Board and its responsibilities and duties.

Commissioner Ellis inquired if that is the reason to obtain a declaratory judgment from the Circuit Court; with Mr. Knox responding that would get a definitive answer. Commissioner Ellis stated he does not understand why the Board is looking at other options other than that; he does not see how this item will go back prior to the monies being collected and prior to this item becoming a law; and if the Board is challenged over the money collected under the law before it was amended, he would like to have a declaratory judgment from the Circuit Court so the Board knows where it is at. Commissioner Cook stated he concurs with Commissioner Ellis.

Chairman Higgs advised the Board's decision, when it talked about it the last time, was to have additional options brought back to the Board; staff is saying on January 24, 1995 they may not be ready; so those options are going to come to the Board at the next meeting or the one after that, but they are coming.

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner O'Brien, to approve Item 4.

Commissioner Ellis stated he will vote for the item, but he wants it understood that it is not in lieu of a declaratory judgment.

Chairman Higgs called for a vote on the motion. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. Item 5. Request the Legislative Delegation sponsor legislation to require all state certified contractors to register with Brevard County Contractors Licensing Board when doing business in the unincorporated areas of Brevard County and give Brevard County the authority to suspend building permit privileges.

Commissioner Ellis advised the County had a problem with state licensed contractors doing work in the County and found out that the Contractors Licensing Board nor the Code Enforcement Board had any jurisdiction over state licensed contractors. He stated the County needs to have some kind of local jurisdiction because they are doing business here.

Motion by Commissioner O'Brien, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to approve Item 5. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

Item 6. Request the Legislative Delegation support the re-allocation of an additional ten cents of the existing documentary stamp tax revenues to the programs established under the Sadowski Affordable Housing Act.

Commissioner Ellis advised he will not support this item; from what he has seen, some of the programs are good, but others have been total disasters; and he has seen beautiful apartment complexes built with subsidized funds. He stated he does not think right now the money available can be spent wisely, and he does not believe in putting more money into the program at this point.

Commissioner Scarborough inquired where is the ten cents being shifted from; with Growth Management Director Gary Ridenour responding from the state environmental program. Commissioner Scarborough inquired if the Board took no action on this item, what would be the net effect, and if it is being shifted statewide, does the Board have to concur or not; with Mr. Ridenour responding when the Legislature put the doc stamp into effect, it indicated it would entertain moving money to the affordable housing program if it was being very productive; that is coming up in this next legislative session; and this item indicates the Board's support of moving the money from the environmental program to the affordable housing program. Commissioner Scarborough inquired if it is a general law and not Brevard specific; with Mr. Ridenour responding it is statewide. He stated currently the County gets a little less than $400,000 a year, and this item will up the allocation to about 1.4 million dollars.

Commissioner O'Brien stated but it will take money from environmental programs and put it into affordable housing; with Mr. Ridenour responding that is correct, and they are trying to generate some economic activity throughout the state with new project starts.

Commissioner Cook inquired if it is for funding private affordable housing; with Mr. Ridenour responding it can be. He stated the monies coming from the SHIP Program is something the Board can set priorities for, so it will have the ability to decide how it wants to spend the money.

Commissioner Scarborough advised since the dialogue has not started in Tallahassee and could emerge in different forms, he would prefer that staff keep the Board posted on what is taking place and at some time, if needed, the Board can take a position. He stated this is nothing the Board needs to initiate because it is going to take place whether it says anything or not. He stated it would be premature because the Legislature is already going to talk about it

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner O'Brien, to withdraw Item 6 and direct staff to advise the Board when it would be appropriate to take action.

Commissioner Cook inquired if the item passes statewide, would the County's funding increase anyway; with Mr. Ridenour responding yes. Commissioner Cook advised he served on the Housing Authority and knows there is a real need for affordable housing especially from the private sector; and if this program is implemented successfully, it is one of those things that will help people; so he has no objection to staff keeping the Board informed and if it comes to a point where the Board needs to take action, he probably would support it.

Commissioner Scarborough advised it is his feeling the state does not need the County's encouragement to undertake a general law of this nature, and it is probably more critical later on for the Board to give input if it heads in a course the Board feels would not be prudent.

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

Item 7. Request the Legislative Delegation amend Chapter 50, Florida Statutes, that alternative language be developed which would enable governments to utilize various public notice techniques in lieu of legal and official newspaper advertising requirements, including individual notifications by mail, notices by locational signs, posting of notices in specified locations, etc.

Motion by Commissioner Ellis, seconded by Commissioner Higgs, to approve Item 7.

Commissioner Scarborough advised he is not happy with legal ads because nobody reads them, but he does not want to go too far because nothing is worst than to look at a constituent who says he did not get a notice and asks if he was entitled to know what was going on. He stated in the past the Board talked about courtesy notices and legal notices; and he would like to see those notices defined as part of this item.

Chairman Higgs stated this item does not ask that notices be eliminated, but asks for other avenues; and inquired if Commissioner Scarborough wants the Board to define those notices or the Legislature; with Commissioner Scarborough responding let the state define it.

Commissioner O'Brien stated this is dangerous; there is a system, albeit not a good one, yet in this package they do not say what the alternatives are; and he finds that really dangerous. He stated people deserve every possible method of notification that someone is rezoning property, etc.; if the Board is not careful, people could write a notice on a paper bag and shove it up a tail pipe as a method of notifying others; and that will not work.

Commissioner Cook advised a lot of things relate to public notice, and he would like to see the County use all of them because if someone is noticed, they know what is happening. He stated he dealt with citizens who did not know something was happening or did not read the newspaper until after the fact and it was too late to change it; mailing notices would be an alternative; and he does not mind expanding the avenues that the Board could use to notice people, but he does not want to do it at the exclusion of using the newspaper. Mr. Ridenour advised the thrust of this item is to recognize very few people read legal ads, and this would give the Board the ability to customize the type of advertising it wants to do. He stated they do individual mailed notification with Comprehensive Plan changes through the Small Area Plan process; and by adding some alternatives, they would gain access to the citizens better than they are doing now. He noted that is basically the intent of what staff is trying to do.

Commissioner O'Brien inquired why does the County need legislation to do that when it can do it by passing it locally; with Mr. Ridenour responding Chapter 50 limits what the County can do and staff is trying to change it to allow expansion of the ways they can notify people.

County Attorney Scott Know advised the requirement that the Board advertise is a basic legal requirement found in most of the statues; there is nothing in the statutes that stops the Board from using individual notices, posting, or doing anything it wants to do to increase the notice; however, to put that into the statute imposes the obligation on the Board as opposed to allowing it to have its own discretion.

Commissioner Cook inquired if this would give the Board the option of using the newspaper or not use it for legal ads; with Mr. Knox responding assuming the Legislature takes away the newspaper requirement which has been there for many years. Mr. Ridenour advised staff just wants to add more options for local entities to pick and choose which would be the most appropriate way to reach the citizens that are going to be affected by legislation at the local level.

Commissioner O'Brien inquired if the Board is asking the state to drop the requirement of the newspaper ad and allow counties to have other methodology of notifying people; with Mr. Ridenour responding not to drop the newspaper ad but in addition to the newspaper, it would be a menu to select from; and the County could still use newspaper ads.

Commissioner Scarborough advised his concern is moving in a direction without saying whether it is a legal notice or courtesy notice because there have been occasions when people were not noticed, and it may have been the mail, the applicant not doing things right, etc.; so if the Board is doing away with one legal requirement, he wants to make sure it does not end up with a whole bunch of courtesy notices that do not count. He stated if the County is not going to have a required newspaper notice, he wants to make sure there are some things that would invalidate the Board's action if in fact it was subsequently found that legal notice was not provided. He stated the County may have a menu, and it should become incumbent on the applicants to prove that notice was actually given by showing certified return receipts from the people within 500 feet. Mr. Ridenour stated he does not think there will be a problem; and if there is extra language, they can add to it to make sure it is clear to the Delegation.

Commissioner Cook inquired what is the budget for legal advertisements; with Mr. Ridenour responding he does not know, but the Planning and Zoning Department alone spends about $30,000 a year on advertisements.

Commissioner O'Brien stated the present Commissioners are nice, but if the Board goes to the Legislature on this, it could be used as a tool by sleazy politicians

Chairman Higgs inquired if the Board would feel more comfortable getting additional clarification as to how the Florida Statutes could be changed; and stated there are better methods. She recommended pulling the item, and if the Board wants to go with it at the second meeting, it can do it then. Mr. Jenkins stated if there are mixed feelings on this or any item, the fewer items taken to the Delegation the better off the Board will be in terms of the impact; so if it is not totally comfortable with this item, it should be delayed. Chairman Higgs advised she seconded the motion, but thinks there are better ways to notify people. She stated she would support perfecting this item and looking at it at another time.

Chairman Higgs withdrew the second to the motion, and Commissioner Ellis withdrew the motion.; and the consensus of the Board was to withdraw Item 7 for additional clarification, defining courtesy and legal notices, and consideration at the second Delegation Meeting if applicable.

Item 8. Request the Legislative Delegation amend Chapter 695, Florida Statutes, to mandate that all metes and bounds subdivisions recorded by the Clerk which are not consistent with the Comprehensive Plan of that particular locality be identified on the deed as being not consistent with the Comprehensive Plan at the time of recordation.

Mr. Ridenour advised this item was driven by three Commissioners; there was a problem on Craig Road off Friday Road; and what happened was people were cutting out parcels of property that were not consistent with the Comprehensive Plan and selling them off; and the persons who were buying the properties were unaware that the properties were unusable. He stated staff does not care if the properties are consistent or inconsistent, but they want to record it along with the deed so that anyone purchasing the property will know the status of it with respect to the Comprehensive Plan at that time.

Commissioner Scarborough advised he knows some people who have land and get form deeds, draft the deeds, and sell the properties; it could be done with clear intention of defrauding someone out of money; and if they do not comply with this, what repercussions would occur. He inquired if it would be criminal fraud, and what would be done to those who do not comply. Mr. Ridenour advised they did not get into the enforcement aspects or the fine or whether it would be criminal activity and were looking strictly from the standpoint that they encountered properties that were cut out after the Comprehensive Plan was effective and were inconsistent with it.

Mr. Jenkins inquired if someone failed to comply, would that be a basis for the buyer to null and void the sale; with Mr. Knox responding yes, presumably the Legislature would include a penalty which would be a voidable sale, or create new tort litigation against title companies and real estate lawyers who do not prepare the deeds in a proper way. He stated if the Board decides to go with this item, he would suggest it be expanded to include all metes and bounds sales and not just subdivisions recorded with the Clerk; with Mr. Ridenour responding that would be fine.

Commissioner O'Brien stated he agrees something is better than nothing because there could be a crook who will pull off a scam, and honest people need to be notified. Mr. Ridenour advised they ran it before three real estate boards in the County and they were all receptive to this idea.

Mr. Jenkins inquired what would happen if the Comprehensive Plan changes and it comes into compliance; with Mr. Knox responding it would put someone on notice that it was inconsistent at the time it was recorded.

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Ellis, to approve Item 8, as amended to include all metes and bounds property, and direct the County Attorney to forward it to the Real Estate Section of the Florida Bar for its comments. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

Item 9. Endorses the widening of U.S. 192 to a four-lane divided roadway between I-95 in Brevard County and St. Cloud in Osceola County, and request special legislative appropriation for full-implementation of the projects.

Motion by Commissioner Ellis, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to approve Item 9.

Chairman Higgs inquired if the Board wants to do it with any priority; with Commissioner Ellis responding the MPO established the priorities.

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

Item 10. Endorses the widening of SR 520 to a four-lane divided roadway between I-95 in Brevard County and SR 50 in Orange County, and requests special legislative appropriation for full implementation of the project.

Motion by Commissioner Ellis, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to approve Item 10. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

Item 11. Supports the transfer of state roadways to local governments that do not meet the newly established criteria for state roads, accompanied by a funding source, enacted by the state, sufficient to accomplish maintenance, resurfacing, and capacity improvements for those facilities.

Motion by Commissioner Ellis, seconded by Commissioner Cook, to approve Item 11. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

Item 12. Requests funding from Florida Legislature for dredging/maintenance of man-made navigable canals within the County.

Commissioner Ellis advised he will not support this item because it is treating the symptom and not the disease; the reason they cannot dredge the canals is because of Department of Environmental Protection (DEP); and people had offered to dredge their own canals and cannot get through the permitting process and paperwork. He stated they had a small MSBU in Indialantic for a canal; there were eight abutting homeowners; the cost was originally estimated at about $25,000; and the final cost came in well over $100,000, even using County land to store the spoil material from the canal. Commissioner Ellis stated DEP needs to come back with realistic parameters to dredge canals; one lady at the deadend of a canal offered to dredge it out; and she was told there was no point in dredging her end and she needed to dredge the whole thing; however, her end was what was filling up and silted over; and she was going to do that at her own cost, but she is not willing to do it for the other 40 p0lus homeowners on the canal. He stated more money is not going to help, and what is needed is realistic rules for dredging canals.

Commissioner O'Brien stated he supports the item; the County needs the money and other problems can be solved; and perhaps as part of this package, the Board can tell the state to amend the law about canal dredging. He stated between Cocoa Beach and Merritt Island there are canals that have not been touched in 20 years and a boat cannot get through them; and the Property Appraiser is lowering property values now on a series of homes. He advised part of this package could ask the Legislature to tell DEP to back of and let people dredge their canals or something. He noted there must be a way to make it a double-edged sword because the County needs the money and wants the laws changed. Commissioner Ellis stated half a million dollars will not get anywhere because of the current rules. Commissioner O'Brien stated it may not the first year, but four or five years down the road it will. Commissioner Ellis stated the cost is unbelievable because of all the paper work that has to be done; with Commissioner O'Brien responding the Board will ask they reduce the paper work, reduce the permitting process, and cut the cost, plus give the County $500,000 a year.

Chairman Higgs inquired if the request is to amend the rules to make it less expensive to meet DEP regulations; with Commissioner O'Brien responding and also to make it easier to get through the regulations and get a permit.

Commissioner Ellis stated he cannot support the money because the state is the reason the cost is so astronomical now; and he is afraid they will leave the same rules in place and take taxpayer dollars instead of addressing the root of the problem which is the regulations for dredging man-made canals. Commissioner O'Brien stated that is what the Board is asking for; it can addendum this item and say it wants the regulations changed, relaxed, or whatever, to drive home the point that they need to change the way they do business, because the people are already taking it on the chin and it is not fair to anyone who lives on the water any where in the state. Commissioner Ellis stated they need to put the blame where it lies; and Commissioner O'Brien stated and ask for the money. Commissioner Ellis stated he cannot justify asking for general fund money for canals fro the state because that is paid for by all property owners who reside in the state; and that is not fair to ask them to pay to dredge canals. Chairman Higgs stated they claim it is state waters. Commissioner Ellis stated they do not have any money. Chairman Higgs recommended the Board come up with language to recommend to the state and see if people can support it. Commissioner O'Brien stated he does not know what kind of language to recommend, but it should say to DEP and the Legislature that it needs to pass a law demanding DEP change its rules and regulations on dredging canals in counties, towns and cities.

Chairman Higgs inquired if the suggestion is to make the rules more reasonable for compliance and less expensive; with Commissioner Ellis responding he wants to get rid of most of the rules pertaining to dredging man-made canals.

Commissioner O'Brien advised if the County takes a bite out of the apple this year, it will take another bite next year; DEP has all those rules because it took them one at a time and built a pyramid; and it will take the same way to reduce those rules. He stated the Board needs to find a way to attack the rules one at a time and tear them down to make it more reasonable for people.

Motion by Commissioner Ellis, seconded by Commissioner O'Brien, to amend Item 12 to request the Legislature mandate the Florida Department of Environmental Protection promulgate rules for dredging canals that are more reasonable, less expensive, and make it easier to obtain permits. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

Motion by Commissioner Cook, seconded by Commissioner O'Brien, to approve Item 12 as amended. Motion carried and ordered; Commissioner Ellis voted nay.

Commissioner Ellis stated he opposed the motion because government has as tendency to give money instead of relaxing the rules.

Item 14. Requests the Legislative Delegation sponsor legislation to repeal Special Act 71-544, Recreation District 4, as amended by Special Act 87-436, to remove an obstacle to the County Commission's adoption of MSTU ordinance under provisions of the County's Charter for the purpose of local administration of the District and its boundaries.

Commissioner Scarborough advised in the past it was not a problem because most of the recreation al facilities in District 1 were located further north; in November, 1994, the residents of Port St. John voted a tax on themselves and Canaveral Groves voted on improvements with an MSBU for a park; and the property is on the borderline so people from District 4 can walk over a road to a park maintained by funds coming from District 1. He stated that was an issue with the people; there are a number of ways to handle this; there will be continued questions not only of singular taxation but dual taxation for capital improvements; and that is why he brought this item before the Board.

Motion by Commissioner O'Brien, seconded by Commissioner Cook, to approve Item 13.

Commissioner Cook stated the recreation district should have been eliminated years ago because the effect is that District 4 gets less general revenue funds because it has a special taxing district and people were being taxed twice.

Commissioner Ellis stated that is not necessarily true; he had an argument with Commissioner Cook's predecessor about it; the County runs all the city parks in District 4; and people who live in Melbourne and Palm Bay are paying taxes to their municipalities to run the park services.

Commissioner Cook stated he supports the item except that the MSTU is a separate issue and should not be tied into it. Commissioner Scarborough advised what this item does is return to the Board the authority to do what it wants in Districts 1 and 4 without going back to the Legislature if District lines change, etc. Commissioner Cook stated he does not understand why the MSTU is married to the proposition, and it needs to be deleted because it is a totally separate item.

Chairman Higgs advised the proposed legislation includes a statement that says, "This action will remove an obstacle to the County Commission's adoption of an MSTU ordinance under pr5ovisions of the County's Charter for the purpose of local administration of the District and its boundaries." She noted it does remove that obstacle.

Commissioner Cook stated it does, but it also states the action is taken to accomplish the other and he does not know why it is in there. Parks and Recreation Director Chuck Nelson advised the reason it is in there is that if the Board does away with the District 4 Special Taxing District, the revenue has been lost and in effect $800,000 is no longer going to be collected and those services are no longer going to be provided; so there was a logical connection that there would have to be some kind of continuation of some funding level whether it was a full $8000,000 or some other number that was at least a replacement for it; and the Board could deal with the boundaries or how to do that. Commissioner Cook stated that is a whole separate issue, and he does not know why this item is predicated on the other.

Mr. Nelson advised he has talked to the two City Managers of Cocoa and Rockledge and has given them this information; both have concerns; he talked to Jim McKnight of Rockledge as late as this morning; and they understand the issue raise by Commissioner Scarborough, but their concern is one of timing and asking the Legislative Delegation to do something at this time and not having a chance to brief their Councils and have them take a position. He stated Mr. McKnight asked him to express that to the Board.

Commissioner Scarborough advised he talked to Mr. Nelson about having it abolished but not immediately, perhaps a year from now; and that would continue the tax revenue for a year and give time to work with the two Cities.

Commissioner Cook stated that could be considered, but the last two sentences of the item says the Board is predicating the whole thing on creating another MSTU to take its place; and that is a whole separate issue and needs to be debated. Commissioner Scarborough stated Commissioner Cook has the prerogative of creating what he wants in his District. Mr. Jenkins advised it is possible that the Cities of Cocoa and Rockledge may decide to get into the recreation business. Commissioner Cook advised that has been discussed on their level; but that MSTU language does not have to be in the proposed legislation.

Commissioner Scarborough recommended asking the Special Act to return the jurisdiction over how parks are operated to the County and local municipalities be sunsetted one year so they have continuation of revenues for a full year and time to discuss it with the municipalities. Commissioner Cook recommended deleting references to the MSTU. Commissioner Scarborough advised Commissioner Cook can sit down with the Cities and talk about how they want to work it out within that year.

Chairman Higgs called for a vote on the motion to approve Item 13 as amended, providing for sunset of one year to coordinate with Cities of Rockledge and Cocoa and delete references to the MSTU. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

Item 14. Requests the Legislative Delegation support FDOT and FDEP to appropriate funding from the Land Acquisition Trust Fund for engineering design and development of a wayside park, boat ramps, and other park facilities along SR 528 (Bennett Causeway), pursuant to a 1985 Memorandum of Understanding.

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Cook, to approve Item 14.

Commissioner Ellis inquired about the Pineda Causeway; with Mr. Nelson responding the state made improvements along Pineda Causeway; they put in the turnoffs between the main bridges; and if there is a desire to expand that usage, then that could be incorporated also. Commissioner Ellis recommended looking at it for next year.

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

Item 15. Requests the Legislative Delegation sponsor legislation to amend Florida Statutes, Section 253.03, allowing DEP to replace Florida Administrative Code Rule 18-2.016, Agency Administrative Fee, thereby eliminating the administrative fee assessed to agencies for each lease, sublease, or management agreement authorizing that agency to occupy the state lands.

Motion by Commissioner Ellis, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to approve Item 15. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

Item 16. Supports modifications to Florida Statutes, Chapter 440, deleting Section 440.02(34)(f) which defines a catastrophic injury as an injury that would otherwise qualify the claimant for social security benefits, without actually receiving the benefits, or as an alternative, modification to require that the claimant actually receive social securi6ty benefits in order to be considered a catastrophic injury; and modification of Section 440.15(4) to include a job search requirement for the claimant who has been released to return to work by his treating physician, but who has not yet reached maximum medical improvement.

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Ellis, to approve Item 16. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

Item 17. Requests the Legislative Delegation sponsor legislation to exempt part-time permanent and temporary employees from Florida Retirement System participation.

Chairman Higgs advised she is the moving force behind this item; and it is estimated that $580,000 per year will be saved if the County does not have to pay retirement on part-time employees.

Commissioner Ellis advised the last sentence of the third paragraph says, "No employee working only in a part-time permanent or temporary capacity has become eligible for FRS benefits;" and requested a ruling from the County Attorney if the Board has legal ground to stand on with this item. He stated it is literally throwing away money for no benefit.

Chairman Higgs advised her research of the issue in the past indicated unless the legislature exempts the County, the County has no recourse but to pay it. Commissioner Ellis inquired what if the County does not pay it. Commissioner O'Brien suggested refusing to pay it. Chairman Higgs inquired what would happen; and County Attorney Knox advised he will check it out for the Board.

Motion by Commissioner Ellis, seconded by Commissioner O'Brien, to approve Item 17. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

Item 18. Requests the Legislative Delegation support amendment to Chapter 288.1162, Florida Statutes, Section (6)(f), pertaining to the date of levying the fourth cent of the tourist development tax and percentage of proceeds dedicated for the construction of a spring training complex, changing the date from March 1, 1992 to another date to allow the County's facility to be a part of that.

Motion by Commissioner Ellis, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to approve Item 18. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

Port Canaveral

Commissioner O'Brien inquired if the Board is going to include Port Canaveral proposed legislation in this package; with Chairman Higgs responding no, the Port Canaveral issue will be brought back at the next meeting and then it will go to the Legislative Delegation at the second meeting.

Commissioner Scarborough advised at the beginning of the meting, he referred to a Mims family who lost their home; a contractor, Rinker Materials, Home Depot on Merritt Island, Central Florida Concrete in Cocoa, and a number of other people in Brevard County are helping this family; and since they do not have any money to help themselves, staff put together a memo estimating the fees that can and cannot be waived. He stated $718.04 cannot be waived; and he would like to waive the other fees in a spirit of cooperation with those private companies and citizens.

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Cook, to waive permit fees and impact fees that can be waived for Lisa Suttell to replace a burned mobile home with a 1,200-square foot three-bedroom conventional structure.

Chairman Higgs stated she does not think the Board should waive any fees it did not waive for the victims of the tornado in Barefoot Bay; and if it is consistent with those, then she can support it, but if it is a special case, she could not support it. Commissioner Scarborough inquired if staff analyzed it in that sense; with County Manager Tom Jenkins responding they did make some waivers in Barefoot Bay, but he does not recall what they are. Assistant County Manager for Community Development Dean Sprague advised they waived landscaping permit fees. Chairman Higgs inquired if that is all that was waived; with Mr. Sprague responding yes. Commissioner Ellis inquired about electrical hook-up; and Mr. Jenkins recommended checking on it as the information may not be accurate. He stated the people in Barefoot Bay are basically insured; he is not aware of any hardship cases in Barefoot Bay where it was perceived as a hardship; and that would be the other uniqueness of this case. Chairman Higgs stated she begs to differ with that; there were a number of people that viewed it as an extreme hardship and found it extremely uncomfortable that they were paying the kind of fees they were paying. She stated there were people who were not covered by insurance; maybe not many, but there were some; and she is sympathetic with this family; however, if the Board is going to be sympathetic, then it should look at every catastrophe and do the same thing. She stated it is not fair to take one family as different from others who have suffered considerable catastrophes.

Commissioner Cook stated he agrees, but if they asked for other waivers, he is sure the Board would have been happy to grant other waivers to Barefoot Bay. He stated the Board acted on what was requested of it; it was an extreme hardship for the people; and if the Board was aware of other items it needed to address, then he is sure it would have done so. Chairman Higgs stated most of us were aware there were lots of people replacing total homes and looked at what they could waive. Mr. Sprague advised they also waived electrical fees to hook up to power, but if it required construction, those fees were not waived.

Commissioner O'Brien inquired if the septic tank burned also as they were charged a septic tank permit; with Commissioner Scarborough responding he does not know.

Commissioner Ellis advised he does not understand why there is an impact fee if they are going from a single-family trailer to a single-family home. He stated it is still a single-family use whether it is a trailer or home; it is on the same property; so he does not understand why there is an address assignment fee; and inquired if they would keep their old address. Mr. Jenkins responded he thinks they would. Commissioner Ellis stated he does not understand why those fees would be applicable when there is no impact and no address change. Chairman Higgs inquired why would they have a new septic tank permit; with Mr. Sprague responding it is probably a replacement permit. Commissioner Ellis stated he will support waiving the fees; it is the right thing for the wrong reasons because there should not be an impact fee at $521; and it is unreasonable because it is still a single-family use. He stated the Board needs to address that at the workshop. Commissioner Cook stated he supports the motion because it is a true hardship.

Commissioner Scarborough stated the people have no insurance and are at the mercy of the community; he wants to be fair to everyone; and if there was someone from Barefoot Bay who was indigent and looked to the community to come up with every dime or dollar, he would feel the same way for that person in a similar situation; so he will move the waiver.

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Ellis, to waive permit fees and impact fees that can be waived for Lisa Suttell to replace a burned mobile home with a 1,200 square-foot three-bedroom conventional structure. Motion carried and ordered; Commissioner Higgs voted nay.

APPOINTMENT, RE: PLANNING AND ZONING BOARD

Motion by Commissioner O'Brien, seconded by Commissioner Cook, to appoint John Daignault, 1400 Sykes Creek Drive, Merritt Island 32953, to replace William Patterson who resigned as the District 2 representative on the Planning and Zoning Board from January 10, 1995 through December 31, 1995. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

PUBLIC COMMENTS

None.

WARRANT LISTS

Upon motion and vote, the meeting adjourned at 3:49 p.m.

NANCY N. HIGGS, CHAIRMAN
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA

ATTEST:
SANDY CRAWFORD, CLERK
(S E A L)