The Board of County Commissioners of Brevard County, Florida, met in special session on July 27, 1995, at 10:25 a.m. in the Government Center Multipurpose 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.

DISCUSSION, RE: CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS PROGRAM

Growth Management Director Sue Hann advised this year the Capital Improvements Program (CIP) document requested capital budgets have been submitted by the departments; additional fiscal projections will be forthcoming from the Budget Office; and those will be submitted in the final CIP. She stated the CIP this year will be adopted by resolution in conjunction with the budget in September, 1995 so there will consistency between the budget and the CIP; in addition, the Board will see in August, 1995 permission to advertise an ordinance to adopt amendments to the Capital Improvements Element of the Comprehensive Plan that would make the CIE also consistent with the CIP and the budget; and that adoption will be in September, 1995 as well. She noted the end result of this process is that the budget, CIP and CIE will all be consistent and adopted in September, 1995; and staff hopes to make this an annual process so all of those documents are consistent.

County Manager Tom Jenkins stated staff has projects included for the next year; and everything included that is funded for next year is in the budget. He noted there are some unfunded projects that are not in next year's budget; there are the following four years of the CIP which will be in future years; but the first year of this Program conforms with the budget.

Commissioner Cook inquired is the unfunded part designated as such; with Mr. Jenkins responding yes.

Chairman Higgs stated she is not ready to buy into some of the projects now. Commissioner Cook stated today the Board should only deal with what is currently in the budget; with Chairman Higgs responding that is fine. Chairman Higgs stated the Board needs to have a series of meetings by departments; and she has a list of questions she desires to ask about projects. Mr. Jenkins stated the only thing that is critical time-wise is the first year. Chairman Higgs stated she does not want to adopt the entire Capital Improvements Program until the Board discusses its commitments. Mr. Jenkins stated staff will schedule everything after the first year in a subsequent regular meeting of the Board; and today the departments can talk about first year projects.

Environmental Services Group

Mr. Jenkins stated the first project he sees that has any money in it next year is the impoundment acquisition on Page MC-9.

Commissioner Ellis stated the only thing for this year is some land acquisitions and impoundment acquisitions.

Assistant County Manager for Environmental Services Group Stephen Peffer advised the item on MC-9 is the impoundment acquisitions; there is SWIM grant funding for marsh restoration which is also part of restoring those impoundments; and that is included on MC-11.

Commissioner Cook inquired is there an overall decrease in this budget; with Mr. Jenkins responding yes, a 5% reduction.

Water Resources

Water Resources Director Richard Martens advised WR-7 is fleet vehicles; it is at a standard line item in the budget for replacement of vehicles as they wear out; the current number is what the County has budgeted for this year; and there are inspections of the vehicles before they are declared too old to use any more.

Chairman Higgs stated WR-12 is the Mims Reuse System; and inquired has the County gone out to bid on the architectural and engineering; with Mr. Martens responding yes. Mr. Martens noted it was done as part of the Mims Water Plant; this reuse system is a component of the well field acquisition project; and staff will be bringing to the Board a water supply and well field agreement for Cougar Ridge. Chairman Higgs inquired has the Board agreed to this before; with Mr. Martens responding no. Mr. Martens advised this is new and has been in the CIP for the last several years; and because the County has failed to reach agreement and close on a well field, this project has been bumped from year to year.

Chairman Higgs inquired about the reclaimed water line going under the Merritt Island Barge Canal. Mr. Martens stated the primary impetus behind doing this line right now is the County has a single Barge Canal crossing to where all the sewage is being generated on Merritt Island; if there was a problem with that line, the plan for this line is to configure it so that it could be used as a backup if needed; and it would also be a component of a Merritt Island reuse system if the Board decides to pursue that at some later date.

Commissioner Cook stated there is a lot of literature out now that indicates reuse may not be the panacea people think; it may not be cost effective; there may be other ways to do things that actually preserve the resource better than spending huge amounts of money on reuse; and that is something the Board needs to discuss.

Commissioner O'Brien stated there is a three-fold problem here; one is the deep well; North Merritt Island has some serious problems; by having the reuse, it reduces the pressure on the well which may extend its life considerably; an effort to keep both the Indian River and Banana River reduced in pollution by reuse water coming into the developments would benefit the Merritt Island community; and it would use reuse water instead of fertilizer and things like that. He noted Sykes Creek has severe pollution problems and that is contributing to both Rivers with their problems; and if the County can attain a huge reduction in the amount of pollutants going into the canals then it has also helped the goal of cleaning up, especially the Banana River Lagoon.

Commissioner Cook noted he remembers when deep well came to Brevard County it was a panacea; everyone thought it was the greatest thing invented; now there are problems and millions of dollars have been spent on deep well injection; and the County is still paying for it.

Chairman Higgs inquired will the Board see this issue again; with Mr. Martens responding there has been no engineering on it; this is just a budget number; and it will have to come back to the Board for a selected engineer and many more steps. Chairman Higgs noted what Commissioner O'Brien is referring to is beneficial reuse. Mr. Martens stated staff's budget estimate completely unengineered and based on the cost to put the original pipe in is $1 million. Commissioner Ellis stated the Board needs to see the full cost before it puts in the first $1 million; with Chairman Higgs responding it needs the full explanation and opportunity to study each project.

Commissioner Cook stated at some point the Board needs to discuss reuse as there may be better ways to utilize the money for what it is trying to do; communities are spending millions of dollars on this; and the benefit to the environment may not be anywhere near what is projected.

Chairman Higgs inquired is the Sykes Creek monitoring well approved. Mr. Martens responded there is no approval; the County has not responded to settlement to the State on what needs to be done; and staff will come back to the Board for construction approval. He noted staff will come back to the Board regarding rehab of the old plant on the South Beaches to request construction approval. He stated the South Beaches maintenance building is under design now; and staff will come back to the Board as well for construction bidding. He advised the South/Central reuse system is all under construction right now; it is located on Pages WR-24 and WR-25; it has been approved; it is necessary to provide effluent disposal; and this one is important.

Chairman Higgs inquired what is the source of funds for the expansion on Page WR-26; with Mr. Martens responding impact fees. Mr. Martens advised this will come back to the Board for engineering; a consultant has been selected; but the final design contract has not been entered into. He noted the South Patrick issue may or may not need to come back to the Board; it will be based on general procedures; staff has no authorization to expend $250,000 on that project; it has done considerable work coordinating with Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) on that project; if and when it goes, the County will need to take further action relocate its utilities in coordination with that; and if it requires spending $250,000, staff will come back to the Board requesting approval. Commissioner Cook inquired who authorized the project; with Mr. Martens responding it is a carryover from last year's five-year CIP. Mr. Martens advised staff has done the design

specifications internally for what needs to be relocated; and if it is to hire someone to do such relocation as per the procurement procedures, it will come back and ask permission to advertise and award that construction contract. Mr. Martens stated the project on Page WR-30 was committed by the previous Board; and it is contingent upon the VA Hospital funding. Chairman Higgs noted the VA Hospital or clinic would include the County coming to the table; with Mr. Martens responding he not sure this project is authorized with a proposed clinic. Chairman Higgs stated it would be authorized with a hospital; and if the County does not get a hospital, then it may not authorize this. Mr. Martens stated he would say that the Board has not authorized any provision of infrastructure for a clinic, only the hospital. Commissioner Cook requested Mr. Martens provide the previous Board action information.

Solid Waste

The Board deferred discussion on the Solid Waste projects until the Solid Waste Workshop on July 31, 1995.

Natural Resources

Assistant County Manager for Environmental Services Group Stephen Peffer stated what staff is showing in Natural Resources are EELS projects which are development of the purchased sites; it includes the Enchanted Forest, the Kabboord Nature Sanctuary in District 2, Malabar Scrub, and Turkey Creek; the dollars staff is budgeting here are contingent upon the receipt of CARL reimbursement funds; and if such funds are not received, the County is not going to be carrying out these projects.

Commissioner Cook inquired how were the sites selected; and stated he is interested in seeing the management plan and how much the yearly cost will be to manage the properties. Mr. Peffer responded there is no answer to that as staff needs the Board's guidance to develop that; there is a projected maintenance cost on the bottom of each of the projects depending on how active the sites are; the concept for the delivery of services is to look at four main sites--one in the north, one in central, one in South Mainland, and one in South Beaches; and this is something the Board will be discussing with staff as part of the overall management plan which has yet to be approved by the Commission.

Chairman Higgs inquired are the plans going to come to the Board; with Mr. Peffer responding yes. Chairman Higgs noted nothing is approved at this point. Mr. Peffer stated staff can show the Board where the numbers were developed. Commissioner Cook inquired who selected the sites to be developed; with Mr. Peffer responding the EELS Selection Committee. Mr. Jenkins stated the operating costs are on the bottom of the CIP page; and he does not believe those numbers are particularly accurate as staff does not have that information.

Commissioner Cook stated staff is going to come back with additional information. Commissioner Scarborough stated the Board needs to see the bigger picture, and perhaps Mr. Peffer can provide a memorandum to the Board on what he has now in more detail, including what is projected for those dollars.

Chairman Higgs stated she is not sure the Board is getting anywhere; it is getting exposed to these projects; but all of them are coming back. Mr. Jenkins advised this is a planning document and where staff is working toward; as these items come to the Board, it can vote for or against them. Chairman Higgs stated she hesitates to approve or disapprove a project based on what she sees right now. Commissioner Cook noted the big question is whether the Board is going to endorse this for the budget this year; the County has received nothing from the State; it has promises and commitments that it is going to get all this money; but it has not received one cent today; and it may be better to address these projects when it receives the funds. He inquired why is the Board pressed to put this in this year's document when it can amend the budget at any time if the County receives the funds. Chairman Higgs stated if the Board goes forward, it is going to see each of the projects individually anyway; it has to have some sort of planning document; and she is not sure how significant it is looking at this today.

Commissioner Ellis stated the Board can approve this year's budget without approving the CIP document as the two are not tied together. Commissioner Cook stated this Program is very sketchy; he is not comfortable with the information here; since it is contingent on State funding anyway, this element could be exempted from this year's budget without hurting anything; it has to come back to the Board anyway; and once Brevard County receives the money then the Board can make the decision.

Mr. Jenkins stated this is supposed to be a document that the Board is, in effect, agreeing to live by during the course of the year; staff does not add or delete to this unless it comes back to the Board; there appear to be a lot of questions by individual Commissioners on a lot of the projects; and it may be better to not try to get this done by October 1, 1995, but to take the time needed for the Board to address its concerns and receive all the information it needs to make the decisions. Mr. Jenkins suggested each Commissioner review the document and give him a list of those projects they need additional information on. Commissioners Scarborough and Cook recommended the Board acknowledge receipt of the CIP for its information. Commissioner Scarborough stated he needs to have more information; with Commissioner Cook responding he does not know the details.

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner O'Brien, to acknowledge, for the Board's information, the Capital Improvements Plan. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

Chairman Higgs stated the Board is going to see all of this in a new format unit by unit so it has time to give each project justice.

Upon motion and vote, the meeting adjourned at 11:35 p.m.

ATTEST:

SANDY CRAWFORD, CLERK

(S E A L)

NANCY N. HIGGS, CHAIRMAN

BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA