9:00 AM Meeting called to order on November 18, 2010 at Florida Room, Florida Room, Viera, FL.

Attendee Name	Title	Status	Arrived
Robin Fisher	Chairman/ Commissioner District 1	Present
Chuck Nelson	Commissioner District 2	Present
Trudie Infantini	Commissioner District 3	Present
Mary Bolin	Chairman / Commissioner District 4	Present
Andy Anderson	Vice Chairman/ Commissioner District 5	Present

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REPORT, RE:  VETERANS MEMORIAL GARDEN

Commissioner Nelson advised he attended the dedication ceremony for the Veterans Memorial Garden; thanked Commissioner Anderson for also attending; and invited the public to visit the Garden. 

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REPORT, RE:  TITUSVILLE AMERICAN LEGION

Chairman Fisher noted he attended the Titusville American Legion, which also had a veterans celebration that he was able to attend; stated there were some young people from the Iraq war who performed rap music; and everyone enjoyed the celebration.

 

MODIFICATION OF RESOLUTIONS NO. 2008-175, 2008-176 AND 2008-177, RE:  CONSTITUTIONAL GAS TAX AND LOCAL OPTION GAS TAX BONDS

The Board adopted modification of Resolutions 2008-175, 2008-176, and 2008-177; authorized the Chairman to execute the Resolutions; and approved all Budget Change Requests associated with reallocation of all funding as directed by the Board at its October 28, 2010 meeting. 

 

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STAFF PRESENTATION

Mel Scott, Assistant County Manager, expressed appreciation to staff for putting together the presentation; the presentation represents a thorough and exhaustive compilation of the many moving parts that make up the County's transportation network; and stated there is a lot of data available relating to all the infrastructure.  He also expressed appreciation to the County's workforce; today's discussion will be about the very things that the dedicated workforce manages day in and day out, many times on a shoestring, and many times using ingenuity; and he would like to thank the men and women that work every day to do the best job for the citizens of Brevard County.  He stated as far as the subject matter, he also thinks it is important as far as context goes, to recognize that the things that will be discussed today do not make Brevard County special; the County's issues do not make it unique to other cities and counties; as a State, Florida is not unique compared to other states; and even at the national level, infrastructure issues are wrestled with.  He stated on a national level, infrastructure issues came into focus a couple of years ago when the bridge fail in St. Paul, Minnesota occurred; the nation got a wake-up call that it cannot not think about these things; and so he thinks it is important to remember that everyone in the State and country are wrestling with the same infrastructure issues.  He stated something else staff would like to stress during the Workshop is that the discussion will not be just about the need and age of the County's infrastructure, but also about some of the efficiencies staff is finding, whether they are technologically driven, with ITS and its computers and cameras giving the existing infrastructure increased capacity; or whether it is through the asphalt management program, which allows staff to not just think in terms of replacing the road, but extending its life; and staff would like to give the Board that rounded perspective that it is not just what is needed, but what is being done with what the County already has to make it last longer.

 

John Denninghoff, Public Works Director, stated he would like to echo what Mr. Scott mentioned about the amount of work and effort that was associated with putting together the presentation that was done last month on October 28th, as well as today; and today is Part II of that overall Workshop for transportation infrastructure.  He stated what he would like to do today is go over a number of items; he will briefly go over the bond proceeds that were just approved, and the consent item the Board approved a few moments ago; he will also talk about inventory; and he will discuss what it will cost to maintain that inventory, and where the funding comes from.  He further stated staff will discuss capacity needs, funding gaps, funding options, future actions, transit, and finally, Board discussion.  He stated among the allocations the Board approved earlier, there is a little less than $15 million in bond proceeds; and in addition to that, a little over $13.5 million in other allocations, for a total of $29 million.  He stressed that the $29 million is included in a number the Board will be seeing in other parts of the presentation, which totals just under $155 million; and it includes significant maintenance funding, as well as capacity funds.  He stated as far as inventory, he would like to start with what he thinks is the County's most important inventory item, which is the actual road itself; in the County there is almost 1,100 miles of paved roads in the unincorporated areas; in addition to that, there are just under 100 miles of unpaved roads in the unincorporated areas; staff has broken down the roads on the PowerPoint so the Board can see the by-District inventory; and in many cases, staff will show the Board how much the County has inside and outside the cities.  He stated there are a little over 87 miles of roads inside cities; one thing to recognize is that the roads in the cities tend to be larger roads that tend to be multi-lane, although there are also some that are not, but need to be; the roads have a lot more striping, more signs on them, they typically have more drainage structures that need to be maintained, and they are more expensive roads to maintain; in the south area, there is Apollo Boulevard, Minton Road, Wickham Road, Palm Bay Road, and Hollywood Boulevard; in the north and central areas are Wickham Road, Barnes Boulevard, Grissom Parkway, and Sisson Road, along with Barna Avenue and others as well; and those are all roads that are located in the cities as well as the unincorporated County that the Board has responsibility for.  He stated another important item is mowing; the County has over 4,500 acres of mowing responsibility; some examples are road shoulders, medians, and ditch systems that have mowing responsibilities associated with them, as well as retention ponds; and it is not just along the roadways; but all of those are important to be able to facilitate for the sight distances and safety associated with driving on a road, or the capacity of a ditch to be able to convey water.  He advised another inventory item is ditches and roadside swale systems; there are a total of 1,422 ditch miles; the ditch systems are grouped into major drainage systems and roadside systems; the roadside systems tend to be easier to take care of; but sometimes there is no access to the ditch systems; and the need for maintenance is in the major systems because more properties would be negatively affected if the systems were to clog up.  He reminded the Board of the public safety issue with the drainage systems; and if they are not working properly and water is trapped, it could lead to mosquito problems.

 

He reported the County has well over 12,000 street lights that Public Works is responsible for; prior to four or five years ago, the County was generous considering street light installations; the Board approved changing that approach a number of years ago; and now the department might add one street light to the system in the entire calendar year.  He noted stated almost $2 million per year is spent on street lights.   He advised the County has 223 traffic signals that it maintains, and has direct and immediate responsibility for; there are another 125 signals the County also maintains for cities; for today's presentation, staff has not included the cost or the revenue for those city signals; but the cities pay what their costs are.  He commented on the slide that illustrates how many signals are in the County and how many are within cities.  He commented on signs and the latest estimate of a sign count; signs are the most difficult item to inventory, as they disappear; it is currently estimated that there are over 50,000 signs in the County; a large number of signs are located inside cities; and the reason for that is because the multi-lane roads have more signs on them.  He noted signs are an item that in the future will become more and more important because the federal regulations require the County to have signs meet the current standards; all new signs that are installed meet those standards; and they are replaced as soon as resources allow; but there will be a problem in 24 months.  He advised striping is a major safety issue, especially at night and in the rain; and there are over 1,300 miles of striping in the County, many of which are in cities. He concluded the inventory items by stating that the ITS system has approximately 38 miles of fiber cable on it; and there are 92 traffic signals that will be connected to the ITS system. He recalled a presentation he made to the TPO a couple months ago, explaining how the Wickham Road segment currently in operation south of Pineda has saved the County $2 million per year just in gasoline; and that does not account for the time savings, which was also substantial.  He advised the cost of the ITS system was less than $2 million; the investment return rate for capital investment is unbelievable; it puts more money in savings to the public than it would cost to install it, in terms of the tax dollars; and in addition, it also saves the County money because it is better able to respond to problems in the system because it knows more about the system before a call is received. 

 

Mr. Denninghoff stated he would like to talk about the funding sources that Public Works has that pays for all of the inventory, which are taken out of the current budget and the approved budget for this year.  He explained he has separated the General Fund into two different categories, which are the property tax portion and the non-property tax portion; in the next slide he would like to show how much the County gets from unincorporated, incorporated, and by district; and it is important to recognize where the money comes from in order to be able to do that.  He advised the money comes from FP&L franchise fees, fuel taxes, communication services tax, and MSTU projects.  He noted the total is $17.2 million.  He stated for the ad valorem portion on the General Fund staff utilized the Property Appraiser's database for those collections, and used the population distribution throughout the County for all the other funds except for MSTU, which is property tax collected only in the unincorporated area. He noted two-thirds of the revenues are unincorporated; but he does not have enough data to show who is getting the better end, but both the incorporated and unincorporated areas rely on the transportation system.

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He stated the chart is the same one the Board saw in July; it was based on the proposed budget at that point; however, it was not the same budget that was approved.  He stated if the Board will recall, the uninterruptible power supplies are the batteries that operate traffic signals; there are 100 of them throughout the County; and for FY 2011 staff proposed zero funding of what was needed to maintain it in perfect condition.  He stated the failure of the power supplies is a safety issue because law enforcement has to direct traffic and there is a congestion issue.  He stated an 11 percent failure rate is what he expects to occur based on funding; and while the County has improved the circumstance from what was proposed in July to what was approved in the current budget, the problem is not completely fixed.   He stated the most important asset is driving surface of the roadways; the 52 miles on the chart represents what would be a 20-year resurfacing schedule, which is what was presented in July; and at that time the budget proposal included only eight miles of resurfacing, which results in a 124-year resurfacing cycle.  He reinforced the idea that it is recurring dollars, which is ultimately what Public Works uses to do all the work; and the recurring sources of revenue at that point in July were only going to result in eight miles, so that means the 44 miles are going to have to be reconstructed in the future, with an estimated cost of $17 million.  He noted the budget has improved from eight miles to 17 miles, which are all MSTU dollars and adds up to a 63-year cycle for the roads; and it is a big improvement, but it is not all better.  He referred to a chart indicating road striping and stated the green columns represent the amount of money in the budget for the year; and it is going down, but it would have been worse in the proposed budget in July.  He noted he received a lot of comments on LED bulbs from the July presentation; the County is better than it would have been, but nevertheless, staff is still seeing a 31 percent failure rate that is a reactive condition as opposed to a proactive one; and again, the failure of LED bulbs result in a safety condition. 

 

He advised the $17.2 million of revenue has been separated on the chart into $17.2 million of expenditures; there are major areas that staff has been able to identify and provide data for the Board, from street lights to resurfacing, and the funding for each of those, with a total of $17.2 million. He stated the spending has been estimated in each category of the major areas; each category has an industry standard associated with it; and staff has estimated the cost for that.  He noted ditch cleaning and mowing are issues which are important for flood control and flood benefits to the public; Public Works has been criticized for not doing a good enough job; and his defense is that the department is doing the best it can.  He stated the County has been compared to the City of Rockledge, which does a terrific job of maintaining its ditch systems; Rockledge has more resources and less ditches to maintain than the County; but it does a terrific job of maintaining them. 

 

Commissioner Fisher inquired of the industry standard for mowing ditches. Mr. Denninghoff replied in mowing and ditch cleaning there is not really an industry standard; if there is a ditch that is overgrown, then it needs to be cleaned out to reduce the risk of accidents due to obscured vision; and there is an aesthetic issue as well as a functionality issue.  He noted West Cocoa is an area that has been flooded numerous times; some people think it is because the County has not mowed the ditches often enough; but he can assure the Board that is not the case; however, more frequent mowing throughout the County would improve property values and lessen mosquitoes.  He stated with the LED bulbs there is a specific standard for how bright the light has to be in order to meet the standards; signs are similar, due to the type of material on the sign meeting certain standards, which the County does not have; and there is no industry standard for resurfacing, but as resurfacing is delayed, a deferred maintenance condition happens, which costs a lot more money.

 

Commissioner Nelson stated a lot of ditches in West Cocoa cannot be mowed because they are Brazilian pepper or overhanging ditches; Rockledge has designed for maintenance by putting in slope shoulders and cutting grass; and that is a much different function than going out and having to cut back Brazilian Pepper trees.  He stated if there is an area the Board needs to look at, it would be to bring the ditches up to a maintainable standard. Mr. Denninghoff advised in order to do that, staff would have to go through a land acquisition process; but it would be a good thing for the County. 

 

Commissioner Anderson inquired if the funding source for the ditches in West Cocoa are MSTU.  Mr. Denninghoff replied it is mostly paid for out of the General Fund; the equipment that is used for the maintenance work is almost exclusively paid for by MSTU funds; the operation of the equipment and the men that operate the equipment are paid for out of a combination of General Fund and fuel taxes.  Commissioner Nelson mentioned another dynamic in the West Cocoa area is that there is water coming out of the City of Cocoa.  Commissioner Anderson inquired if the City of Cocoa charges a stormwater utility fee to its residents; with Commissioner Nelson responding yes, he believes it does.  Mr. Denninghoff advised some areas have a regional stormwater maintenance function, but others do not; Brevard County's jurisdictional boundaries are more or less followed with the city boundaries, except for those old relic systems that have remained with the County.  Commissioner Anderson inquired if it would take legislative action to create something like that; with Mr. Denninghoff responding there would have to be some enabling legislative function.  Scott Knox, County Attorney, advised it could be done by interlocal agreement or by MSTU if the County had the consent of the cities.  Commissioner Anderson stated every jurisdiction has the same issue.

 

Mr. Denninghoff stated the County's level of maintenance has improved; but there is a financial burden associated with that; but during an event such as Tropical Storm Fay, none of the systems would work.  Commissioner Anderson commented on the Police Foundation and that there were no standards for elevation on culverts in driveways; and that is very expensive.  Mr. Denninghoff advised staff has been administratively addressing that; staff is doing a better job and is more aggressive at requiring homeowners and commercial properties to build a system that will be compatible with what the eventual system should look like. 

 

Mr. Denninghoff referred to the PowerPoint presentation; the slide shows that the County is deferring maintenance; half of the expenses could be cut and it still would not make up the $14 million; and it is not possible to make up the $14 million, though staff tries and does not miss an opportunity to do so.  He reported the needed capital improvements total $812.8 million; the current funding is $154.6 million; and the unfunded needs total $658.2 million.  He mentioned one-time expenses; 1.2 million in existing sidewalks, $6.4 million in needs, and a shortfall of $5.2 million; $46.8 million in maintenance, $174.7 million in needs, and a shortfall of $127.9 million; $106.6 million in capacity, $631.7 million in needs, and a shortfall of $525.1 million; and that totals $154 million in existing, $812.8 in needs, and a shortfall of $658.2 million.  He advised the recurring maintenance expenses are $17.20 million in existing, $31.61 in needs, and a shortfall of $14.41 million.

 

He commented on the effort by Public Works to continue the effort to privatize street lights; the implementation of a Pavement Management System; technological advancements in maintenance record keeping, which will allow improved accounting and performance measures; and an increased expansion of the ITS network, which will reduce unnecessary signal call-outs and improve the efficiency of the response to necessary call-outs, as well as improve transportation corridor performance, saving the public both time and money. 

 

The Board discussed the issue of street lights.  Commissioner Nelson commented on a condominium association that did not have street lights, yet the residents paid a franchise fee.  Mr. Denninghoff stated the primary reason most people want street lights is not about traffic safety or safety on the street for any car, but it has to do with the perception about their safety regarding criminal activity. 

 

Commissioner Bolin requested staff clarify a question by a citizen, which was whether or not the County could turn off every other light on the County's bridges.  Mr. Denninghoff advised once the County has street lights it is supposed to meet a minimum standard of lighting; every other light cannot be turned off because of the vision problems it causes by the constant change from light to dark while driving. 

 

Mr. Denninghoff explained pavement management is an item that Public Works is excited about because it will allow the department to optimize the use of the funds available; it does not give the department more money, but it does give a bigger bang for the buck that the department does have; it will identify what the conditions will be if certain types of maintenance functions are not provided; and it will give the department better ideas as to what type of maintenance it should do and when it should be done in order to optimize the road.  Commissioner Fisher inquired if it is a software program.  Mr. Denninghoff replied it is a combination of data of condition assessment of the roadway, which is a data entry type of thing, and then a software package has been developed over the years that projects and forecasts what the condition of the road will be, and it utilizes the cost of the improvements to project what the Board should do and on which roads.  Commissioner Anderson inquired when Mr. Denninghoff anticipates implementation of the pavement management.  Mr. Denninghoff replied this fiscal year staff will have the system in place and able to be utilized; staff will receive training on how to utilize the software; and he is hoping to be able to start applying that information in the next fiscal year.  Commissioner Anderson commented on a couple of cities that have utilized the pavement management system and have been very successful. 

 

Mr. Denninghoff further explained that technological advancements in maintenance record keeping will allow improved accounting and performance measures; and increased expansion of the ITS network will reduce unnecessary signal call-outs and improve the efficiency of the response to necessary call-outs, and it will improve transportation corridor performance, saving the public both time and money.  He mentioned the statutory funding sources that are not currently being utilized, such as LOGT, Impact Fees, Charter County Transportation System Surtax, and Infrastructure Sales Tax.  He summarized his presentation by saying, recurring maintenance funding shortfalls exist at about $14 million per year; long-term results of ongoing shortfalls have serious safety and cost consequences which escalate over time; capital improvement needs are funded less than 20 percent; and there is no existing revenue stream available to address the shortfalls until 2021 at the earliest. 

 

Commissioner Nelson stated GIS was supposed to be the savior for all infrastructure; it was supposed to identify, by layers, the streets and all the different pipes; and the County never got to that point.  He inquired if the pavement management system interfaces with GIS; with Mr. Denninghoff responding affirmatively.  The Board discussed street lights and the desire to have consistency throughout the County with one policy as opposed to several different policies per district.

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Jim Liesenfelt, Transit Services Director, advised the State requires the County to do 10-year projections on the transit services finances; the reason why there is such a drop between fiscal years 2011 and 2012, is because in 2011 there is all the capital, including carry over, stimulus funds, and purchase orders for buses; and the chart indicates the revenues projected in 2012.  He stated the total deficit predicted for next year is $630,000; $400,000 of that is for grants for running bus service on S.R. 520 and S.R. A1A, which is great funding that has helped the department over the years, but it is being reduced down to $300,000; and that is a direct effect of the raiding of the trust funds.  He noted the department has looked at ways to try to raise revenue, but if it does not have the extra revenue, the department will be facing cutting bus service by approximately $300,000; it depends on whether the grant funds come through, and the fuel costs for next year; but there is going to be an issue of cutting bus service next year.  He commented on other cities in the United States that are also cutting bus service.  He mentioned a request by a citizen to increase bus service across all the districts; one idea is for the cities to help fund the local service; and he prepared a chart for the Board indicating the weekdays, and the percentage of increased service; and noted the percentage differences between municipalities is different because bus service has a lot to do with where the employment is.  He advised the ridership for fixed routes has been going up just under 200,000 trips per year since beginning the evening and weekend service in 2007; last year it was up 13 percent; and this year it is estimated to go up 6.5 percent.  He stated the total system ridership has been going up every year; and it includes fixed route, paratransit, and van pools.  He noted the van pools that are leased to human service agencies for door-to-door service were at 300,000 trips last year; federal capital funds are used to purchase the vans; the department contracts out to VPSI; and SCAT pays nothing on the operational side, it just provides for office space for VPSI.  He advised despite the increase in the fixed routes, the department has not added staff; and SCAT puts out a lot of service for very few employees.  He further advised, regarding the capital, when looking at the department's overall budget, it goes up and down because the capital is inconsistent; in 2008 the department purchased almost $3 million worth of replacement buses; but the year before, there was no major bus purchase; and the capital part of the budget depends on what is happening on the bus replacement side or the facility side.  He noted the Transit Service operating budget has been consistent over the years between $6 million and $7 million.  He mentioned the farebox revenue and stated the chart indicates the cash and passes the customers contribute; it does not include the contracts with the City of Melbourne or Brevard Community College; and that revenue has gone up from $520,000 to $680,000. 

 

Commissioner Anderson stated SCAT has a lot of programs, such as the library card program, and so there is not a lot of revenue from the farebox; between 2007 and 2010, SCAT has had a $140,000 increase in farebox revenue and a 600,000 ridership increase; and stated it is lopsided.  Mr. Liesenfelt advised one statistic staff looks at is the average fare per trip; it has been staying between 40 cents and 42 cents; riders do not pay another fare for a transfer; and there are a lot more riders buying the monthly passes as opposed to paying by cash.  He also commented on how the department is ensuring riders are using legitimate passes.  Commissioner Anderson stated the City of Melbourne is the only municipality that pays the County.  Mr. Liesenfelt affirmed, and stated it includes Trinity Towers and goes to the Publix on Babcock Street, then to the mall.  Commissioner Anderson stated it would be interesting to see how much ridership is on that route; and inquired if the County is losing money on it.  Mr. Liesenfelt replied yes, but he cannot give the Commissioner the exact dollar amount.  Commissioner Anderson stated his point is that all cities should be paying a subsidy.  Mr. Liesenfelt estimated the revenue received from that route is approximately 30 cents per fare, as opposed to the rest of the County; and the question is how many people are riding that route because it is free.

 

Commissioner Infantini noted there are many tourists in Cocoa Beach and inquired if TDC funding is available.  Mr. Liesenfelt stated he can ask, but what the State wants to see is local tax revenues and local match.  Commissioner Anderson mentioned the routes on Cocoa Beach being shorter; and he would imagine those routes to be less costly, as opposed to routes in Palm Bay.  Mr. Liesenfelt stated if taking the total cost of that route, less than 10 percent comes from County funds, whereas a Palm Bay route may be 40 percent to 50 percent.  Commissioner Nelson pointed out that the tourists are paying the premium to ride the buses because they are not buying a monthly pass.  Mr. Liesenfelt stated certain areas of the County have more service; the federal government will pay for half of the cost of the Titusville routes because it is what is defined as a small, urban area; but in Palm Bay there is no federal operating money; and SCAT tries to go where it can leverage the money the best way it can.  Commissioner Nelson noted there is a large concentration of service workers on the beach side.

 

Mr. Liesenfelt discussed the five year revenue trend and the revenue from other sources; the revenue goes up in the 2011 budget because the total amount will not be spent, but he has to place it in the budget; but the General Fund has remained level; and in 2010 the revenue was $11 million, but only $1.5 million came from County sources.  He summarized, ridership continues to increase on fixed routes and also the agency van pools; the loss of the DOT funding is $380,000 beginning in FY 2012; there is lower federal funding for evening and weekend fixed route service; and the department's local match requirement for current grants is approximately $1.25 million.  He advised the calculation for a full-time bus driver and fuel to operate 40 hours per week is $65,000 per year; and if the department has to cut $110,000, it basically has to cut the equivalent of 80 hours of bus driver service off the road.  He noted the federal funding for evening and weekend service will drop in fiscal year 2013; it will go from $270,000 to $210,000; it is the equivalent of 40 hours per week; and that will happen unless Congress re-ups the highway and transit bill; but it is a secondary issue that has been calculated in the 10-year total.  He stated the local match requirement is approximately $1.25 million; this year, the department needed $1.39 million to match; a lot of it depends on how much is generated through contracts and fares; and if there was a good year, not much is needed in local match, but if there was a bad year of fares and local contracts, the local match goes up even if the expenses do not. 

 

Commissioner Infantini inquired if there is a way to create a new route to shuttle people back and forth to the Orlando International Airport; it would help the local community as well as tourists; and if that could be a break-even route, it could increase tourism. Commissioner Fisher noted a challenge in that scenario would be making sure the bus could pick someone up and bring them back, since there are so many different flights.  Commissioner Infantini clarified that it would have to be an hourly schedule.  Commissioner Nelson pointed out there are already companies in the area that offer shuttle service; and the County would be in competition with local businesses.  Commissioner Infantini stated she did not realize there was already a shuttle service, and she does not want to put anyone out of business.

 

Mr. Liesenfelt concluded his presentation by mentioning there will be a budget hole the department will have to face next year; and if at some point the department falls below the match requirements it has to start giving back funds that are not the department's. 

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BOARD DISCUSSION AND DIRECTION

Commissioner Anderson inquired if Mr. Liesenfelt anticipates the federal funding being reduced.  Mr. Liesenfelt replied no, he does not think so; John Mica will be the Chair of the Transportation Infrastructure, which also does transit on the House side; the big issue that will affect Public Works is the reauthorization bill, as it is two years overdue; and the highway trust fund and transit trust fund are now broke.  He stated the feds provide mostly capital to the Transit Services Department; with the exception of years when the department needs buses, the department is okay on the capital side, even if it is cut 10 or 20 percent. 

 

Commissioner Anderson commented on fares and the stipends from the cities to help operate; and he knows fares can only go so high before ridership is lost.  Mr. Liesenfelt stated the base fare is $1.25; if it was raised to $1.50 and ridership remained consistent, it would generate approximately $100,000; and there is a fare elasticity showing between .3 percent and .4 percent, so if it is raised 10 percent, four percent ridership would be lost.  He stated he will probably come to the Board next year requesting to raise fares.  Commissioner Anderson stated that is where the Board would want to go before it went back to the cities. 

 

Commissioner Fisher inquired if Mr. Liesenfelt has a projected shortfall.  Mr. Liesenfelt advised as of today, the department is going to be looking at approximately $120,000 next year.  Commissioner Fisher inquired if there are other operational costs, such as fuel costs.  Mr. Liesenfelt stated fuel costs have been holding steady; he does not see any raises for the employees; but in the nine-year projections, the employee cost goes up two percent, even though the employees did not get that two percent increase this year. 

 

Commissioner Nelson stated Mr. Denninghoff and Mr. Liesenfelt have done an analysis; he knows the Board will look forward, but it has to drill down on where it is; one thing that caught his attention in the Public Works presentation was the Infrastructure Program, which will be very labor intensive to bring up to speed in a timely fashion; and he worries that if the Board continues this long range planning mentality at a time when it is going backwards, it will dilute the effort.  He stated he would like to see the Board focus on where it is today, as opposed to looking at where the Board will be 10 years from now.  Commissioner Fisher concurred with Commissioner Nelson. 

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Upon consensus, the meeting was adjourned at 10:51 a.m.

 

 

 

ATTEST:                                                                                                                                

                                                                        ROBIN L. FISHER, CHAIRMAN

                                                                        BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

                                    _                                  BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA

SCOTT ELLIS, CLERK