MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA

 

 

March 24, 2005

 

 

 

The Board of County Commissioners of Brevard County, Florida, met in special session on March 24, 2005, at 9:00 a.m. in the Government Center Florida Room, Building C, 2725 Judge Fran Jamieson Way, Viera, Florida.? Present were:? Chairman Ron Pritchard, D.P.A., Commissioners Truman Scarborough, Helen Voltz, Susan Carlson, and Jackie Colon, Assistant County Manager Stockton Whitten, and County Attorney Scott Knox.

 

 

REPORT, RE:? HAPPY EASTER

 

Commissioner Colon wished everyone a very wonderful blessed Easter on Sunday.

 

 

REPORT, RE:? PERMISSION TO AMEND RESOLUTION ESTABLISHING LANDSCAPING,

?????????? LAND CLEARING, AND TREE PROTECTION TASK FORCE?????????????????????????????????????????

 

Chairman Pritchard stated he would like to amend the Resolution establishing the Landscaping, Land Clearing, and Tree Protection Task Force to include a representative of the Cattlemen?s Association; when the Task Force was set up the Association somehow got bumped; and it is an important element and should be included.

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to authorize staff to amend Resolution No. 05-046 establishing the Landscaping, Land Clearing, and Tree Protection Task Force to include a representative of the Cattlemen?s Association.? Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

Chairman Pritchard stated he would like to be able to have each Commissioner appoint an alternate in the event that one of the representatives cannot be present at a meeting; someone who would be non-voting at least could then come to the table and take the place of the absent appointee; the alternate position would be at-large and each Commissioner could appoint anyone they wanted; and it would be someone who could fill in the blank in case a representative was unable to attend a meeting.? Chairman Pritchard inquired is it okay; with Commissioner Colon responding yes.? Chairman Pritchard stated the Board does not need to do anything about that and can just make the alternate appointment.

 

 

DISCUSSION, RE:? STERLING PILOT PRESENTATION

 

Leigh Holt, Strategic and Human Services Planning, stated staff will make a brief presentation; the Commissioners have 3?x5? cards; there are some on the table and some in the Atlantic Room for the Department Directors; if there are any questions that staff does not have time to get to today, such questions can be written on the cards; and the Sterling Council will respond in

 

 

 

DISCUSSION, RE:? STERLING PILOT PRESENTATION

 

writing on any of the questions.? Ms. Holt introduced John Pieno, Chairman of the Florida Sterling Council; stated the Council was established in 1992 as a public/private non-profit to facilitate corporate excellence in Florida and to make Florida competitive in the world market; and Mr. Pieno will provide all the details about the Council.

 

John Pieno stated the Council is a not-for-profit 501C3; the Board is the policymaker and provides direction for the organization; it enables performance excellence to happen or disables it from happening; and it has a lot of people who are familiar with the process.? He noted it is building internal capacity, which is great; the Council is not a consultant organization; it is here to help organizations assess themselves; and it facilitates the self-assessment and helps build internal capacity.? He stated if the Board chooses to bring in a consultant, that is up to it; the Sterling process is probably the least expensive venture the County will ever make for the return it will get from it; he has a staff of five people; there are about 44 states that do this based on the Malcolm Baldrige Quality Award; and the Council is supported by 50 members from the private and public sectors, boards of directors, and individual organizations from throughout the State.? He noted there are about 300 to 500 volunteers that serve as examiners, run committees, etc.; the Council is a shoestring-type organization; it is here to help the Board through this process and to understand where it is today so it can plan effectively for the future; and there are about five or six other counties, and a couple of State agencies and private sector organizations doing the same thing Brevard County is.? He stated they are piloting this process in individual departments with the intent of pulling it all together and going forward with a consistent course; the vision that is the starting point for the organization sets the direction and is where it wants to be as it matures; Florida State of Excellence may not mean anything to the County, but from his Board of Directors it means a lot; and he is the only one who votes against the vision every year when there is a review of it.? Mr. Pieno stated he does it on purpose; he creates arguments and makes the Directors explain it to him; it is their vision and they enjoy a 49:1 vote; and the mission is to promote the assessment process.? He noted there are several tools available; one of the best things the Council does is to help the County in its recognition efforts for people in the organization who are helping the Board go in the direction it wants to go in; and sample results from GSA role models include 100% on-time delivery for Boeing, 97% customer satisfaction for Palm Beach Clerk of the Circuit Court, 94% customer satisfaction and 95% employee satisfaction for City of Coral Springs, and such City earned an AAA bond rating from Wall Street.? He stated other results include 60% reduction in costs for Motorola and 99% customer satisfaction for North Beach Elementary School in Miami; the management system is adaptable to all types of organizations in identifying what is important and how they are addressing those things; and there is a big difference between a city like Jacksonville and a city like Coral Springs.? He noted Coral Springs has about 110,000 people and it is built out; Jacksonville has about 750,000 people with a huge diverse population; Sterling is a proven management system that is used worldwide now; the Council recently did New Zealand; and the process started with the Deming process in the 1950?s, and it is Total Quality Management (TQM).? He stated the Japanese were the first to put it in place; there are 20 Japanese counties and cities that are coming to the Council?s conference this year to see how the Sterling process is done; it is an evolving process; and the Council is based on a national process, Malcolm Baldrige process, which helped develop the management system he will be talking about.? Mr. Pieno stated Florida was a leader in it with Florida Power & Light (FP&L) Company after it won the Japanese Deming Prize for? 1986-1987; about? 50? CEO?s from Fortune 100 and companies

 

 

 

 

DISCUSSION, RE:? STERLING PILOT PRESENTATION

 

around the world asked what really makes an organization work; that is where the criteria came from; and it has been evolving? ever? since.? Mr. Pieno noted? it? started? out? in? manufacturing;? he? works? with?? about?? 200 organizations a year, including manufacturing services, hotels, hospitals, schools, districts, counties, cities, state agencies, and federal agencies; he has been working closely with Department of the Army and the Coast Guard; and the process works and it is adaptable.? He stated the management system is non-prescriptive; it is not a checklist; it is what an organization is and where it wants to be; and the system is molded to fit the organization?s needs.? He noted as a self-assessment tool, the management system helps the County define what it does well and not so well; the Council tries to come up with innocuous language, such as this is a strength and this is an opportunity for improvement; it does not necessarily have to be bad; and every organization he has seen and worked with over the last 15 years has a whole core of good things it does.? Mr. Pieno stated an organization wants to know what those are; every organization he works with has a long list of things it could do better; it does not make any difference who it is; and when the Council did the final feedback report for Motorola one would expect it would be almost a perfect organization, but there were 65 opportunities for improvement.? He noted the Council helps identify where an organization is so it can go to the next level of performance excellence; once the County identifies all of those things that it says are important to it then the Council expects the County to be collecting data on it, trending such data, doing comparisons with it, and measuring how well it is doing; and it is management by fact.? He stated the Council also expects the County to understand what its work processes are, having identified maps, mapping core processes, and making improvements on a periodic basis; the County has a Strategic Plan and budget; and inquired does it have a set process on how it does them and at what point does it review the process and improve it the next time it is done.? He noted it would normally be at the end of the annual process; it is the continuous improvement process; a communications tool is important; and even the best organizations he works with have communication problems.? Mr. Pieno stated the process forces organizations to engage the people who are doing the work; the stakeholders should be involved in the process; using the Sterling Management System helps an organization get better by defining what is important, collecting and communicating results throughout the organization, including to all the partners, citizens, staff, etc., linking work, and using results for continual improvement; and the County wants to know what the strengths are so it can capitalize on them and help it with some of the things it may not be doing as well as it wants to.? He noted he will be working with the County to start its organizational profile; such profile is the SWOT analysis, the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats; he will be working and facilitating doing a SWOT analysis for the four units that are going to be involved; and a profile will be required for the County, including the linkage between where the County wants to go and how one contributes to the various departments in the organization.? He stated there are seven criteria; the organizational profile and SWOT analysis define the environment, relationship, challenges, and all the things needed to succeed; it is a great place to start; and such criteria include leadership; strategic planning; customer and market focus; measurement, analysis, and knowledge management; human resource focus; process management; and organizational results; and the key is linkages.

 

Mr. Pieno stated, for example, if there are unhappy customers in Animal Control; maybe it is the processes or something that needs to be planned for in the future; something in leadership needs? to? be? involved; and inquired do unhappy? customers? mean? valid? data and who are the

 

 

 

DISCUSSION, RE:? STERLING PILOT PRESENTATION

 

people who best know the answers to that.? Mr. Pieno stated it is the people who do the work and are facing customers on a daily basis; and it is linking and engaging.? He explained the organization profile or SWOT analysis; stated it identifies the what, which is a five-page document; the Council wants the County to focus on the high level things; and there will be more detail in the various departments and pilots used.? He stated such things will have to be done to succeed; they are key factors and critical success factors; categories one through six in the criteria are how the County addresses all of those things, which is important; and category seven is the results.? He noted the organization profile includes the organization?s environment, governance and relationships, competitive environment, strategic challenges, and performance improvement system; there are seven categories and point values; he would not worry at this time about points as it is moot right now; and the Sterling Navigator that will be done to start the process is only worth 500 of 1,000 points, which is because the Council cannot test organizational performance and results in that tool.? Mr. Pieno stated there are three steps to performance excellence; step one is Sterling Navigator, step two is Sterling Challenge, and step three is Governor?s Sterling Award; all three steps are based on using the Sterling Criteria for Performance Excellence; the process is a very detailed self-assessment; and the Sterling Navigator includes 42 questions all based on criteria.? He noted the survey is anonymous; it will be an individual demographic profile for each department that is using it; there is a valid number of people in each demographic cross section; and there is also a good cross section of the organization.? He stated the Council asks for honest answers; the Board will receive comments made on the survey, including strengths in the organization and opportunities for improvement; it is a positive experience; and there will be good, honest, thoughtful answers.? He noted the Board wants to know where the County is today from its perspective; the leaders of the organization want to know what is working, not working, and how to do something better; the second part of the survey is what the people said; and the third part is what the County is going to do about what was said.? He stated it is talking about putting action teams or something together to address the concerns and issues identified in the report; the fourth issue at some point is seeing how the County is looking presently compared to the survey six months prior, the action taken, if there are positive results, and was it worth the effort; he is sure the results will do well; but there may be some negative things where people think the County can do better; and there always are.? Mr. Pieno noted when a county asks how something can be done better, one of the first things it is going to see from most government workers is asking for more pay; sometimes it cannot be done; the communication can take place advising it cannot be done for certain reasons; Category 1.0, Leadership, is broken into two Sections; and 1.1 is Organizational Leadership and 1.2 is Social Responsibility.? He stated the Organizational Leadership is the leadership system; the Board, with key staff people in the organization, is the leader of the organization; the Board is the senior leader of the organization; if the leaders are not on board for this process, are not going to enable the process, and are not going to support the process, then it should not be done; and business should continue as it has always been done and hope for better results.? He stated he is talking about management by fact and continuous improvement; the Board needs to support the process; it needs to enable the people it is leading to do the job to the best of their ability; social responsibility includes governance, ethics, conflict of interests, and how to support the community; Category 2.0 is Strategic Planning; and 2.1 is Strategy Development and 2.2 is Strategy Deployment.? He noted the Strategic Planning Category is the biggest opportunity for communication; these are the things that need to be done to succeed in the future; it is some form that everyone understands so that

 

 

 

DISCUSSION, RE:? STERLING PILOT PRESENTATION

 

as they do the work they understand how they are contributing to what the Board and citizens say is important to the organization; and strategic plans need to be a living, working document.? Mr. Pieno stated the Council looks at its Strategic Plan every quarter and how well it is doing; such Plan is two pages; it is very clear direction so that all of the committees and people who do the work understand how their work and operational plans are going to support the direction the Council is trying to get to; and there is no magic to any of this.

 

Chairman Pritchard inquired if Mr. Pieno has an example of the Council?s Strategic Plan; with Mr. Pieno responding he will be happy to email it.? Chairman Pritchard noted the less said, the better the County is.? Mr. Pieno stated he agrees with Chairman Pritchard 100%, but the County needs to focus on the things that are important; they have to be high level things; it needs to know where it wants to be in two years and what it has to do to get there; and Category 3.0 is customer and market focus.? He noted the Council will provide and share with the County anything it wants; the Council also has the County and repertories of people who do it well to share with other counties, not only the things that worked but the things that failed; some of the things here are going to fail; and failing forward is failing at something, learning from it, and not doing it again.? He stated it is okay to share all of the good things and it is working; the County also needs to share the things that are not working to prevent it and the rest of the organization from affecting it; Category 3 includes to deal with the customers, their satisfactions, and dissatisfactions; and inquired when is the last time a citizen survey was done by the County and what are its customer contact standards.? He noted people want to be recognized, and have their complaints and inquiries handled in an efficient manner; things go wrong and break; and there needs to be communication.

 

Chairman Pritchard stated when a customer comes in he or she likes to be treated as if they are welcomed and not intruding; he has been to stores where the salesperson is busy talking to a friend; he has had great pleasure in reaching over the counter and hanging up the telephone; and he is the customer and there to purchase something.? He noted he expects to be greeted and treated professionally.

 

Mr. Pieno stated Category 4 is the data collection, is the data being collected for all of those things that are important, is it valid data, and what is being done with it; there is the communications tool by charting the data; Category 5 is Human Resource Focus and the people who do the work; and it includes work systems, employee learning and motivation, how to train, and what to train to.? He noted everything said in customer satisfaction is valid also for employee well-being and satisfaction; and inquired when is the last time the County had an employee satisfaction survey.? He stated Category 6 is Process Management, which includes value creation and support processes; if one is doing work in the organization it should be creating value for the stakeholder; if it creates no value, the next question is why is this being done; and support processes are like the partners, which are to enable the workforce to do the job and serve the community.? He noted if they are an impediment to it, then there is something seriously wrong; engaging all of the people in the support processes and doing the work are important; Category 7 is Organizational Performance Results; and the County should not concern itself right now about results.? He stated he is sure it has a lot of data and information that people know about; he does not know if it is displayed, aggregated, or being used as an action or decision-making? tool; it? is? something? the? Board? will? make? a? decision? on; and? the

 

 

 

DISCUSSION, RE:? STERLING PILOT PRESENTATION

 

Council will help it with that.? Mr. Pieno noted the principles he discussed are the things that the County would have to do to succeed; it is common sense; there are a lot of folks that make a lot of money off of books talking about management systems; and urged the Board to enable the process and expect some missteps, which can be learned from, and communicate with the workforce.? He stated people need to be rewarded and recognized for the things they are doing for the process improvement being built into the system; communication with the community on what the County is doing needs to be done; there are many organizations in the area that are involved in the process; and Harris Corporation used the process and the Council did several site visits there.? He noted there will be teams with the navigators the County will be doing; such teams will spend one week with the County verifying and clarifying everything in the survey; the County will receive a feedback report; and it will probably have up to 40 strengths and 40 or 50 opportunities for improvement.? He stated it is going to be a good thing; he is available to help; and he will answer any questions the Board may have.

 

Chairman Pritchard stated anytime the County is going to go into an expense the taxpayers fund it; he wants to make sure it is going to get a return on investment; he polled his staff and asked what is the usual result of these efforts as they are undertaken every two, three, or four years; and the County goes through it with the idea that it is somehow guaranteed to streamline operations or consolidate and save money, but it ends up on a shelf and going nowhere.? He noted it goes through the process and the drill, but it is set aside; the County could blame the Board, the Managers, or whomever it wants; it should not go into anything if it is going to end up as credenza crap; and he wants to insure everyone that if the County is going to get into this that it gets into it and implements the process.? He stated he was involved with a variety of different management techniques in the 1980?s; one of them was called Equip; it was a FP&L Company Program; and the most important part of the process was the teambuilding that occurred and discussing all the various things that were crucially wrong with the operation.? He noted some of them were so infinitesimal, but it was so important to the person; he or she felt a part of the process, contributed, and now felt better; it gets back into employee surveys, employee morale, and a variety of other issues; the navigator part of the program seems to fit into that part involving people and hopefully will be able to address the minor things that are major irritations, and eliminate them and make things work better.? He stated he has seen several articles about New Zealand and how they changed its federal structure; it privatized a lot of things and saved billions of dollars by doing it; he realizes the County is not New Zealand; but the mentality that went into the New Zealand restructuring was extremely beneficial to how the County should be looking at things here.? He noted number one is running it like a business; it is not just a group of folks that get together every now and then and think they are going to do something; the County is running a business; and it has $860 million, which by the end of the year will be $900 million, and a year or two from now it will be a $1 billion business.? Chairman Pritchard stated the people expect results; when they call they expect something; if it is a pothole or paving a street, they expect something; and generally it is the more visible things that make them feel as if their tax dollars are being spent appropriately.? He noted he likes that the Council?s Strategic Plan is two pages; generally that is all that is needed because the rest of it is fluff; fluff in a fancy cover becomes credenza crap; and the County does not need that and needs to be focused on what it is doing to make sure it is doing what needs to be done, is doing it at the most cost-effective and efficient manner, and people really want it.? He stated a graduate? student? recently? surveyed Natural Resources Management Office; he does not know

 

 

 

DISCUSSION, RE:? STERLING PILOT PRESENTATION

 

where the results of it have gone; he hopes Ernie Brown will be able to look at it and see how it affects his operation; and he had discussions the other day about polling the community on various issues and seeing where that lies, so the County is in the process of developing that poll.? He noted all of these things are what the Board and community need to address to make sure the County is doing it right, doing what needs to be done, and doing it for the least amount of costs; and inquired what will it cost to implement the Sterling process.?

 

Mr. Pieno responded there are two ways to measure the costs; the navigator for every 25 people is $895.00 for the report; it is about $7,000 for a substantial navigator the County is doing; and the rest of the processes have minor fees attached with them.? He stated a site visit is $1,500 and there are examiner expenses; the Council uses the State rate; it is still at 29 cents a mile, $3.00 for breakfast, $6.00 for lunch, and $12.00 for dinner; and it is up for change presently in the Legislature but probably will not pass.? He noted the Council uses a State contract for cars and government rates for hotels; it is pretty minimal; he is an advocate of building internal capacity; and the County needs to have its go-to people and experts it knows.? He stated they are helping the County facilitate the process; he is available for the Board; five individuals from the County are coming to the Council?s conference; and each County department should be represented.? He stated the County needs to let the individuals know what to bring back, such as everything they can on customer service, data, analysis, tools, etc.; the information can be shared with the organization; or the County can hire a consultant to come in for $100,000; and this is a culture change and how the County is going to work, not just today, but in the future.? Mr. Pieno noted if the County lets it happen, it will change how it views things and how it does things in the organization; most importantly it will stick; even when the next board comes in it is still the culture of how the County is going to do business; and that is the important thing.?

 

Chairman Pritchard inquired how many staff are involved with this.? Ms. Holt responded each of the departments in the Pilot have assigned one person to be the Sterling coordinator within their department; it is not a fulltime job; staff is still doing its regular job; she, Jennifer Meyer from Human Resources Office, and Hal Province from Housing and Human Services Department will partner with those Departments; and Mr. Province is a certified Baldrige examiner who retired from Unisysis.? She stated there are seven total on the team; in her original proposal there was a full budget, but based on the timeline give to her, it has been reduced substantially; and she will bring back the numbers for the Board in memo form, which is less than it budgeted.

 

Commissioner Colon stated Mr. Pieno mentioned a lot of it is common sense; she has been a public servant for 10 years; the leadership, whether it is the city council or a county commission, sets the pace; and if the Board does not show that kind of respect to the citizens, who she calls her bosses, then it gets carried down with the rest of the departments.? She noted if the Board is going to be committed to this, then it needs to walk the walk; it does not need to have the mentality of arrogance; Commissioners are public servants and must never forget that; and once the Board has that kind of mentality then it sets the pace for the rest of the directors that it is expected for them to know if the citizens call and say jump, then they say how high to a certain degree; but she does not expect anyone to be a doormat.? She stated it is critical for the Board? to? believe? in? what? it is saying if it is going to go through this process; it needs to set the

 

 

 

DISCUSSION, RE:? STERLING PILOT PRESENTATION

 

example; everything Mr. Pieno discussed is common sense; and it is exactly how she runs her office.? Commissioner Colon noted when the citizens call her office and say jump, her staff says how high; it sets that pace; and the Board treats County staff with the respect it deserves and does not look down to it.? She stated if everybody gets that kind of mentality, then the process will be extremely useful; it is not going to be a waste of money; the leadership is crucial and sets the tone; the Board?s meetings are televised, the public is able to see how it carries itself, and how it treats County staff and constituents; and it starts from the Commissioners and works its way down.

 

Mr. Pieno stated Commissioner Colon is correct; the Board sets the standard and culture; it is going to take a little extra work in the beginning and extra thought process to put it in place; and all the County?s volunteers are going to help with that.? He noted the biggest impediment he has is not just the public sector, but the private sector also; it is also the boards of directors that disable processes; he does not see that happening with the Board; and if the County were to go to the newspaper and say it is doing this new management system that is going to change its culture, help it work smarter and better, do things cheaper, and help satisfy customers, it is the same thing that Macy?s, NASA, Wal-Mart and other companies want to do.? He stated this is what culture in the last 15 years has demanded; it demands attention and customer service; it is who Americans are today; and that is what they want.? He noted just because someone is a public servant or monopoly he or she is not exempt from that anymore.

 

Commissioner Carlson stated she agrees with everybody?s comments so far; the County can go down this road; it takes some strong leadership to do that; and it has been here before and had staff do a lot of things.? She noted the Board needs to make sure the rubber hits the road this time; stakeholders include the employees; the Board needs to take care of them, otherwise, they are not a team and cannot make the dream happen; and when there was this discussion a few years back there was an explanation if one can establish such a process that the lowest level employee will understand what the leadership is doing in the community, it all gets connected somehow.? She stated it is critical to what the County is doing here; this is the first real step she has seen in that process; she appreciates Mr. Pieno being here and talking to the Board very succinctly and directly; and it understands exactly what he is saying and knows where it could go, but it has to make sure it does it.

 

Commissioner Voltz inquired when is the satisfaction survey done as compared to the process and is it six months or one year later.? Mr. Pieno responded about 12 years ago he was working with the City Manager of Coral Springs; the City had never done a customer satisfaction survey before; there were about 80,000 people; and they hired someone to do the survey and mailed it out to 5,000 people.? He noted the City received 50 surveys back out of 5,000 surveys; it told all the citizens what the surveys said and the action it was going to take, but did not tell them how many surveys it got back; six months later the City sent out 5,000 surveys again; and it received 2,000 back.? He stated it surveys annually about 5,000 people and quarterly about 500 people; it is done on a continual basis; the citizens know why the City is doing the survey; and it sees the actions being done from the survey.? He noted 95% customer satisfaction for a city is high; Jacksonville is a role model; it is a great City; but it is only around 70% in customer satisfaction.? He? stated? it may never increase beyond? 70%? as? there? are? too? many? issues? there;? and? he

 

 

 

 

DISCUSSION, RE:? STERLING PILOT PRESENTATION

 

would not expect 95% from Brevard County, but it could do better if it knew what the satisfaction survey level was today.

 

Chairman Pritchard stated Jack Callinan has been reviewing the Sterling process; he is a member of the Citizens Budget Review Committee (CBRC); and Amy Tidd and Mr. Rodriguez are also on the Committee and present today as well.

 

Jack Callinan presented information to the Board and Clerk; stated he was asked by Chairman Pritchard to review the Sterling process; and read the following into the record:? ?Recommendations:? It is recommended that the full implementation of the Sterling Pilot be delayed until the County?s planning process is corrected.? In the interim, we recommend that the Navigator phase of the Sterling Program be implemented Countywide.? The planning process is so dysfunctional that many improvement opportunities would be diffused by its systemic weaknesses.? As a result of these weaknesses a corporate culture has evolved, which encourages County management to provide the Board of County Commissioners with what it wants to hear instead of what it should hear, a process which makes it impossible to affix accountability.? The most prudent action would be to first correct the planning process, and then later entertain whatever Countywide improvement endeavors were acceptable to the Board and the new County Manager.? The criteria required for any plan to be successful are as follows:? (1) Clearly and completely define the project being undertaken, which should also include its benefits and implementation ramifications; (2)? Determine the resources needed to implement the project; (3)? Develop a project timeline, which should include milestones; (4)? Develop measures to evaluate project success and establish accountability.? To feel comfortable with the above recommendation, use the above criteria as a litmus test to review the budget, the Strategic Plan, and the Sterling implementation plan.?? Mr. Callinan stated he is not saying anything that any management book and anybody who has gone through any kind of implementation has not said before; he believes it is all the same material effectively that has been covered by Sterling; it is the same fundamental approaches for implementation of a project; and he is referring to any project, whether it is a new endeavor that is taking place or assessing and evaluating a particular department and business plan for the future, etc.? He noted for more practical purposes, unless the County corrects its planning process and spending any kind of money on major efforts, it is a problem; the process starts with the Board and its relationship with the County Manager?s Office; the Board?s decisions should be made on the financial facts and other facts are involved; and he does not have any problem with the Sterling process per se, but it is a timing situation.? He stated the Board needs to get its own house in order before it jumps ahead with such process; it is prudent to correct its problems; and suggested the Board assess itself and the County Manager?s Office.? He noted if all the criteria he has listed are included, then the County has a good plan; he has looked at the plans; the County is lucky if it has two of the three elements; generally there is only one of them; and no business could operate unless it could function on this basis.

 

Chairman Pritchard inquired will the Sterling process help the County get its own house in order; with Mr. Pieno responding yes.? Mr. Pieno stated the sequence of the process is figuring out where the County is; it is what the navigator is going to help it do and what the County needs to focus? on; it? is? internal, but? also? relates? to? the? external people that staff and everybody deals

 

 

 

 

DISCUSSION, RE:? STERLING PILOT PRESENTATION

 

with; and the second part is the Board determining where it wants to be in the future based on what it knows now.? Mr. Pieno noted if the County is going to use this system, it has to understand the criteria; if it can get the citizens involved also, it would be great; the criteria will help the process and focus the organization; and the focus tool is going to be the Strategic Plan.

 

Commissioner Voltz inquired will the survey be within several departments or Countywide.? Mr. Pieno responded it is a cross section of each of the five departments; Ms. Holt has the demographic breakdown; if the County wants to do a follow-up or a challenge, he would do it Countywide the next time, including the Commissioners and a cross section of the population; and the whole process is helping focus the organization.

 

Chairman Pritchard stated he is looking forward to getting a result out of this that will be implemented; he is not looking to create another piece of credenza crap and something flowery in a beautiful cover; he wants to see something that is action oriented, based on the information that is provided, and beneficial to the County, taxpayers, etc.

 

 

The meeting recessed at 10:20 a.m. and reconvened at 10:35 a.m.

 

 

DISCUSSION, RE:? LEGISLATIVE ISSUES

 

Chairman Pritchard stated the Board is pleased to have Federal Lobbyist Ed Pauley and State Lobbyist John Thrasher present this morning.

 

Mark Leslie, representing Marine Industries Association of Brevard, stated he is here to talk about the working waterfronts Bill; it provides for public access to the waters and encourages local governments to seek ways to maintain access to the waterways; the marine industry represents about $15.7 billion to the Florida economy; and it is a very significant part of the economy.? He noted the Bill defines what recreational and commercial working waterfronts are; it requires coastal communities to include in the Future Land Use Element criteria to encourage preservation of recreational and commercial waterfronts; it also encourages the Board of Trustees to use sovereign submerged lands for public access; and it expands the Waterfront Florida Program within the Department of Community Affairs and provides funding.? He stated one of the things that seems to be a little bit questionable in the legislation is the increase in registration fees on vessels; some of the representatives he spoke with did not necessarily like that; they are saying why would the fees need to be increased if permits cannot be obtained to build anything else; and there are significant needs to repair ramps.? He noted Titusville Municipal Marina is looking at doing a mooring field; it could use help in that regard; there are needs for these dollars; and encouraged the Board to talk to Parks and Recreation Director Chuck Nelson, who is charged with providing these services and can illustrate what the needs are.? He stated the Bill recognizes the importance of State interest of having public access to the navigable waters of the State through marinas that are open to the public, both wet and dry, boat hauling and repair facilities, and public boat ramps; this is an important element because as? there? are? conversions, many? of? the? properties, marinas? in particular, are being bought for

 

 

 

 

DISCUSSION, RE:? LEGISLATIVE ISSUES

 

conversion to condominiums; when this happens the boatyards have a yard full of boats and they have to go somewhere; and a lot of them are not in the best shape.? Mr. Leslie noted because some boat owners do not have the money to pay for a marina slip or cannot get a slip because there is not any access, they anchor out in the river; it is growing very quickly in front of the Titusville Marina; yesterday a houseboat broke loose of its anchorage and headed to Turnbull Basin; and on Saturday, the vessel was towed out of Nelson?s Harbor.? He stated such vessel is a 50-foot concrete trawler; it is floating around in the anchorage right now; its anchor is not holding; and the trawler has fuel on it and is big enough to take out the swing bridge.? He noted the owner does not have the money to pay the marina owners; the Board is addressing derelict vessels; this is a serious problem; and if the County does not do something, the river is going to be littered with boats because either there is no place for them to go or the boat owners cannot afford to pay the rent where they can take the boats.? He stated there are not any other yards to take the boats to; the boatyard and derelict vessel issues are probably the biggest problem; there are also problems with launch ramp access and parking; and without boatyards there is no place to take the boats.? He inquired if a hurricane is coming and there are a bunch of boats in the anchorage, what will be done with them; stated if the 50-foot trawler comes into the Titusville Marina during a hurricane, it will wipe out everything; the boat owner probably does not have insurance; and he does not know where the County is going to go, but the problem is growing quickly.? He stated the Bill establishes a tax deferral program for those who want to stay in the marina business; it encourages them by deferring their taxes; the latest amendment for the Bill is that it is a local option; and counties would have the option of either deferring or not deferring those taxes.?

 

Mr. Leslie stated the next Bill he would like to briefly run through is the hurricane Bill sponsored by Representative Needelman; and it somewhat addresses some of the derelict vessel issues that the Board has addressed through Euri Rodriguez.

 

Commissioner Carlson inquired who sponsored the waterfront Bill; with Mr. Leslie responding Representative Kim Berfield from St. Petersburg.? Mr. Leslie stated there are several co-sponsors in the Legislative Delegation, including Representatives Thad Altman, Bob Allen, and Mitch Needelman; and Senator Haridopolos is going to be taking it up on the Senate side as well.? Chairman Pritchard stated it is House Bill 955; he brought it up at the last meeting and asked Mr. Leslie if he would attend the workshop today; Ms. Busacca said she had an update to this, but is not here today; and he does not know where the update may be, but it will still be House Bill 955.?

 

Assistant County Manager Don Lusk stated Ms. Busacca emailed a Committee Substitute for that; and it is included in the Commissioners? packages.

 

Mr. Leslie stated the hurricane Bill is House Bill 1121, Senate Bill 1316; it was sponsored by Representative Needelman; it makes boat owners responsible for damage to marinas if they do not remove their boats from a marina; Florida Statutes prohibit marinas from making people take their vessels out of a marina before a storm; and it requires boat owners to not only come down and address their vessels in terms of tying them up and securing them as best they can in the marina, but it also holds harmless the marina or its owners when they need to go out and retie vessels.? He noted from Titusville Marina?s perspective, every storm the staff works for a week? tying? boats? up,? and putting shutters up; they have everything nailed down to where they

 

 

 

DISCUSSION, RE:? LEGISLATIVE ISSUES

 

have a process that they go through; but there are always a lot of boat owners who cannot get to their boats for whatever reasons; if staff does not go out and put lines on the boats, they will break free; and once one breaks free then it hits another one and there is the accordion effect, which happened in Fort Pierce.? Mr. Leslie stated Fort Pierce?s replacement costs are going to exceed $10.5 million; its demolition costs alone were $1.2 million; Mr. Dean Kubechek indicated if the boats had been moved out, there would not have been the problem; and it is a public liability as the marina is City-owned.? He noted the marina is insured to $6.5 million and after that FEMA steps in; if Titusville Marina did not have the help of FEMA, it probably would be closed by now; several different storms have come through and caused damage; and without FEMA dollars, the Marina would be in trouble. ?He stated it protects the privately-owned marinas because they often cannot get insurance; if they can, it is expensive; by the time they pay for the insurance they cannot make money; and when the marinas are destroyed, a developer comes in and offers them several million dollars for their property or they have to pay $5 million to replace their docks.? He noted this legislation is very critical.

 

Chairman Pritchard stated FEMA requires marina owners to build to current standards, but the standards have become something that no one can build to any longer.? Mr. Leslie advised the expense is enormous; he cannot believe how much it costs now; he was surprised by the demolition costs and some of the hassles Fort Pierce went through; and the sunken vessels and pieces of docks that were underwater had to be marked with Styrofoam buoys so they could find everything when the crane arrived as the clarity was not there.? He stated it is a tremendous challenge to clean up the mess before one can start rebuilding; he and Representative Altman talked about an emergency management component; contingencies need to be set up for barge and crane services, etc. after a hurricane comes through and there are boats sunk with fuel coming out of them; and everyone needs to be ready to get those boats out quickly.? He noted to go through a bid process or something at that point would be troublesome.? He requested the Board?s support on the hurricane Bill.

 

Mr. Leslie stated Representative Mayfield has House Bill 989; it will be very helpful for local government; Titusville Municipal Marina is looking at doing mooring outside the Marina for several reasons; it gives it a chance to manage the area more properly; and the moorings will be good to a Category 1 storm as long as the owner makes sure his or her pennant line is properly maintained.? He noted if it is not done, the Marina feels it will have an even bigger mess on its hands; it gives the Marina control from a local government standpoint for this area outside of the basin; the Bill basically exempts local government from the DRI process for certain projects; and the threshold for the Marina on the moorings is 150.? He stated once the Marina hits 150 or higher it triggers the DRI process; and right now there is room for 180 moorings, but it will probably go with the permit application for 149 so it does not have to step into that process.? He encouraged the Board to support the Bill.

 

Chairman Pritchard stated he has had some experience with hurricane vessels moving up river; when the marinas say they need to get the boats secured or out of the marinas, the boats that move out end up in neighborhoods; some of the neighborhoods gouge the people $500 or $1,000 to secure their boats in canals; and it is not fair to boat owners.

 

 

 

 

 

DISCUSSION, RE:? LEGISLATIVE ISSUES

 

Steven Webster, representing Florida Marine Contractors Association, stated there are four areas addressing waterside issues that he would like to speak to; two of them are Bills that yet do not have a number; they will be seeking homes in the coming weeks; and there will be a Bill that Wade Hopping is drafting for the Florida Homebuilders Association.? He noted part of the Bill would be to remove attachment K from the Manatee Sanctuary Act; as counties across Florida face a crisis in public access issues, the one item that particularly bedevils the ability to address the issue is attachment K being in the Act; attachment K specifically states that the number of slips in the State of Florida must be managed, thereby limited; and when that happens the formulas they use to limit slips are based on arcane property rights notions, such as a typical lot in Brevard County is 100 feet wide, therefore, one can have one powerboat for every 100 feet in Brevard.? He stated there cannot be multiple slips or boat ramps if it is based on one boat for every 100 feet of contiguous shoreline; that is why Brevard County has no places to build today; it is not because of science rationale, but because of a bit of arcane property rights law that is now in State law; and he urges the Board to support that language when it arises, and he will try to keep it apprised of it.? He noted it is the single most important thing the County can do this year to help preserve and protect public access to the water; another part of the issue is the conflict between regulation that everyone faces; one of the more interesting ones is an ongoing dispute between the Water Management Districts and Department of Environmental Protection over who regulates dock building and when; and in Pinellas County for the past two years the Southwest Florida Management District has been trying to do dock permitting anytime there is an upland residential development associated with a dock.? Mr. Webster stated it gets complicated as to why they do that, but there can be two identical developments, one on one side of the street and one on the other side of the street; one will be permitted by the District and the other will be permitted by Department of Environmental Protection (DEP); the DEP permits will typically take three or four months to complete and the District?s permits will take 16 to 18 months to complete; and there is a Bill, which Senators King and Jones are sponsoring, that will say to the Water Management Districts that they are no longer in the dock permitting business and it is DEP?s purview.? He noted the Water Management Districts at this point are saying they support that Bill; the DEP would like to support it; it is concerned about the need for additional hydrologists to take on the additional workload; and in the two years since Water Management Districts have started doing this type of dock inspection work, they have only issued 246 permits, which includes exemptions.? He stated each one of those permits is taking 18 to 24 months and even longer to produce; and part of the reason for that is Water Management Districts do not have any delegation authority with Army Corps of Engineers, but DEP does.? He urged the Board to support legislation to set dock review at the State level in the hands of DEP.? Mr. Webster stated Mr. Leslie mentioned another important issue for counties in dealing with public access; Senator Bennett?s Bill would create a general permit for marinas and boat ramps; boat ramps or any project in the County has to go through the Manatee Protection Plan formulas right now; and if anyone has gone through the document it is virtually impossible to site a boat ramp in the County, even in South County where everybody admits there is a real need for ramps.? He noted Senator Bennett?s Bill will not overcome all of the hurdles, but it is a step toward creating a general permit environment where municipal projects like this can move forward more easily; his Association supports the Bill that Mr. Leslie talked about; in other counties, such as Pinellas County, the county commission is considering a resolution to get to the Legislature this year advising? the? Legislature? of? the? county?s concern over the loss? of? slips? and? public? access; and? urged? the

 

 

 

DISCUSSION, RE:? LEGISLATIVE ISSUES

 

Board to draft and send such a resolution to the Governor this year for this session for urgent consideration of all of these matters.

 

 

CHANGE ORDER NO. 2 WITH RKT CONSTRUCTORS, INC., RE:? EMERGENCY BEACH

?????????? FILL????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

 

Natural Resources Management Director Ernie Brown stated these are simple actions that were approved by the Board when it authorized $3.4 million to be expended on additional sand fill; previous action was taken that the Chairman and Interim County Manager Peggy Busacca would coordinate on the signatures of any change orders and actions necessary to effect these emergency beach activities; this is one of two change orders to be taken to accomplish the additional 100,000 cubic yards; and the County is moving quickly with the project.

 

Commissioner Scarborough inquired what does the change order include; with Mr. Brown responding additional sand.? Commissioner Scarborough inquired is it the same price; with Mr. Brown responding no.? Mr. Brown advised the standard bid price was being used of $28.00 and change.? Commissioner Scarborough stated there was extended discussion because the Company did not meet the bid requirements, but the Board was advised by the County Attorney that it could ignore it and proceed with RKT Constructors, Inc.; it did it based upon the price; and inquired does this in any way abrogate that thought process.? Mr. Brown responded he does not believe it does.? Commissioner Scarborough inquired does the change order move the level of compensation to something other than what was anticipated; with Mr. Brown responding yes, but it is for additional fill in a different location that was not originally contracted, and it is different work.

 

Virginia Barker, Environmental Management, stated with awarding this additional work at the lowest bid price from the other low bid contractor, the County is adding a liquidated damages clause so that if there is any problem in completing the work on schedule, there is a penalty for that.

 

Commissioner Colon inquired is a motion needed; with Chairman Pritchard responding no, he was only bringing it to the Board?s attention as it had already decided in Ms. Busacca?s absence that he could sign the change order.

 

 

DISCUSSION, RE:? LEGISLATIVE ISSUES

 

Mr. Brown stated there were four active legislative actions coming out of his Office that were not in the legislative package for discussion today; he would like to add them to such package; two of them are beach at the State level and two are beach at the federal level; and inquired would the Board be willing to entertain those additions.

 

Commissioner Scarborough inquired has the Board previously discussed them; with Mr. Brown responding no.? Mr. Brown stated the Federal Lobbyist is well aware of the ICE Report, which is trying? to? get? the? Northern? Reach? Project? added? at? 100%? federal? funding;? the other one is

 

 

 

DISCUSSION, RE:? LEGISLATIVE ISSUES

 

additional monies through the WRDA Act.? Commissioner Carlson inquired can the Board get the write-up on it; with Mr. Brown responding yes.

 

Commissioner Scarborough stated this is an opportunity for the County to visit with Mr. Thrasher for the first time; at the next meeting the Board can add any items to the legislative package; he understands generally these things are good ideas, but he wants to have an opportunity to make sure there is not some provision that the County wants to address beyond that; and he has a problem having a lot of items coming to the Board.? He noted the marina siting issue and problems with the hurricanes are where the County?s heart is, but the devil is into details with some of these things sometimes.? Commissioner Carlson stated when the issues are brought up at this point in time the public is not that much aware of it and cannot provide any input; that is what the Board bases its decisions on; and it is good to have the lobbyists here to hear some of the conversation, but it may not be the whole conversation.? Commissioner Colon stated the Board needs to take full advantage of the fact that both lobbyists are present; trying to get increased funding would sound ludicrous for the Board to override because it is not following protocol; and it is important to get something in writing quickly and be able to give feedback to the Board.? Commissioner Scarborough stated the Board has expressed a lot of concern about some of the problems; and suggested Mr. Brown talk to the lobbyists about where the Board wants to go with some of its particular problems and summarize some of the extended conversations the Board has had.? Mr. Brown stated staff can do that; and inquired would the Board like to have the written support of the discussions that will be held.? Chairman Pritchard responded yes.? Chairman Pritchard stated having both lobbyists here and the input at this time is most important; Mr. Brown?s discussion in private with them will be fine; it will help speed up the process here; and he would like copies of the information.

 

Federal Lobbyist Ed Pauley stated every five years there is a Transportation Authorization Bill in Washington; it was due in 2003, but it has been postponed the last two years because there was not consensus between the House and Senate on a final Bill; and part of the problem has been on the state of return on tax dollars given to the federal government.? He noted it slowed down the Bill in past years; this year the House has passed its version of the Bill completely out; the Senate will be taking up its version of the Bill in the middle of April 2005; and hopefully, it will pass its version of the Bill, then go to conference, and there will be a transportation Bill.? He stated right now there are three projects; it is an opportunity with the authorization Bill to earmark some funds for transportation projects; typically there is only a chance to get funding through appropriations Bills; and this is one of those times to get it another way besides with an appropriations Bill.? He noted there is $10 million in the House Bill right now for the Max Brewer Bridge; it is going to go a long way if the Bill passes on out; the other two projects include Palm Bay Parkway at $1 million and Pineda, which is $11 million; and as far as appropriations, last year was a very successful one.? He stated pre-construction money for design and development of Pineda was obtained; over $700,000 was appropriated for Archie Carr Park; the first part of the two-year plan for the Mid-Reach Study was $1.5 million; and this year they are looking to finish up the second part of the Mid-Reach Study, which is an additional $500,000.? He noted they are also requesting $3 million for the Space Coast Area Transit (SCAT) facility in Melbourne; and there are smaller appropriations issues, which include Lake Hell ?N Blazes Ecosystem Restoration Project and Lake Sawgrass Ecosystems Restoration.

 

 

 

 

DISCUSSION, RE:? LEGISLATIVE ISSUES

 

Chairman Pritchard inquired is it part of the Army Corps of Engineers package; with Mr. Pauley responding yes.? Commissioner Carlson inquired what are the amounts; with Mr. Pauley responding they are looking for the same amounts as last year, which is $240,000 each for Lake Hell ?N Blazes and Lake Sawgrass.? Mr. Pauley stated they are always trying to get additional money for dredging at the Port and the bypass, and will be pursuing that again this year as well.? Chairman Pritchard inquired has Mr. Pauley spoken with the Port Commission; stated he met yesterday with Commissioner Ralph Kennedy; and he was talking about that also.? Mr. Pauley advised he met about one month ago with the new Executive Director Stan Payne; and they discussed some of the issues concerning the Port, which is a big economic factor within Brevard County.

 

Commissioner Voltz inquired why is the Palm Bay Parkway only $1 million.? Mr. Pauley responded he will have to look back at the appropriations requests; in the authorization Bill, members get a chance every five years to try to get enough money to knock out one project; and that is probably the reason.? Commissioner Voltz requested Mr. Pauley work on getting that amount increased as it is desperately needed.? Chairman Pritchard stated the County needs to create another north/south corridor.? Commissioner Colon stated Congressman Weldon has been the key person working closely with the folks from the City of Palm Bay; he has been most supportive of making sure this has gone through; and the Board appreciates it.? Mr. Pauley stated Congressmen Weldon and Feeney have done a great job with the Transportation Authorization Bill; Florida is still in a donor state situation; there has to be give and take;? leadership would like to have their vote on the Bill; and maybe some of the numbers can be plused.? He noted it is part of a trading process.

 

Chairman Pritchard inquired about the Brevard County Shore Protection Project, Mid-Reach.? Mr. Pauley responded it is the General Reevaluation Report (GRR) Study; they are in the second year of that and have requested either $500,000 or $550,000 this year to finish the Study; he feels pretty good about it; and it will come through Energy and Water Appropriations.? He stated staff has been superb on those issues; County staff has been great also, including Ms. Barker; Stuart Burns in Congressman Weldon?s office has been very helpful and is knowledgeable on these issues; and there are good relationships with the Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee.?

 

Commissioner Scarborough stated the County has a profound problem where a person?s home sits ten feet from a ten-foot drop off; there are people at risk; and he would like to make a motion to clarify the Board?s desire to obtain as much State and federal monies as possible for sand on the beaches.

 

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to clarify the Board?s desire to obtain as much State and federal monies as possible for sand on the beaches.? Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

Commissioner Scarborough stated there is also a profound problem with boating in Brevard County; there are? people? mooring? in? the? Lagoon;? it? creates? problems? with? pollution? of? the

 

 

 

 

DISCUSSION, RE:? LEGISLATIVE ISSUES

 

Lagoon for various reasons, including no pump-out; and staff needs to work actively on some of the problems with the boats and storms.

 

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Voltz, to direct staff to actively work on the problems concerning boats and storms, derelict vessels, and the Indian River Lagoon.? Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

Commissioner Carlson stated the Indian River Lagoon is a national estuary of significance; inquired does it buy the County anything or give it additional clout when it comes to derelict vessels, especially in the emergency scenario where they are dropping discharge into the River; and noted everyone knows there is a pollution problem out there.? Mr. Pauley responded it may; and all of the Bills Mr. Leslie mentioned are in Tallahassee.? Commissioner Carlson requested Mr. Pauley look into the issue and provide additional feedback.? Chairman Pritchard stated perhaps having the Lagoon listed as a Class II Waterway would increase the opportunity to get additional funding.? Chairman Pritchard inquired about SCAT and funding to replace a south terminal.? Mr. Pauley responded the paperwork has been submitted with Senators Martinez and Nelson, and Congressman Dave Weldon; it will come through Transportation Appropriations; the FTA has been tight with money in the past several years; but he believes the County will do pretty well there.? Chairman Pritchard inquired about the calling for 2-1-1 and the Act of 2005.? Mr. Pauley responded it is an excellent Bill that was introduced by Senator Clinton of New York; it has since been referred to Subcommittee on Health, Human Services, Education and Labor; it should pass and will be a situation where the funding from the feds will go to the State and the County will have to apply to the State to get the funds for 2-1-1 Program; Senator Nelson has signed onto it; and Senator Martinez is new and he is not sure if he has signed on yet or not, but he will be pushing him to do so.? Chairman Pritchard inquired about the Brevard MPO projects and reauthorization funding consideration under the Federal Service Transportation Act.? Mr. Pauley responded those were the projects he mentioned initially; out of the six projects there is significant funding for two of those, Pineda and Max Brewer Bridge Replacement, and Palm Bay Parkway; it is an ongoing process in Florida; the heat tears up roads; and such roads take a pounding from traffic, which is increasing daily.? He noted as far as transportation issues go they will have to be looking for federal funds, both in the authorization process and appropriations moving forward.? Chairman Pritchard inquired about the Titusville to Enterprise Greenway, and design and construction funding to convert an abandoned rail corridor to a greenway; and what is the opportunity for something like that to become funded.? Mr. Pauley responded he thinks it can be funded; part of the area has been redistricted; part of it may hook up with Congressman John Mica; and if that is the case, it certainly will help the prospects of getting funding there.

 

Transportation Planning Director Bob Kamm stated in the Committee Bill listed under Volusia County it is $1 million.? Mr. Pauley stated it helps to have Congressman Mica as part of the process on anything like transportation issues.

 

Commissioner Carlson stated Mr. Pauley indicated the federal transportation looks pretty tight in terms of decreasing dollars for the states; the County gets a lot of federal dollars for its Transit Program; and? inquired? is? there? anything? on? the? State side that is going to be loosening up to

 

 

 

DISCUSSION, RE:? LEGISLATIVE ISSUES

 

bring in more transit dollars.? Commissioner Carlson noted the County has a good transit system, but it is minimal; she would like to be able to go from her house to the Government Center in one day, but it takes two; it would be nice if the County could add some dollars from the community here; but since it has always been a federal/State issue, she would like to know if there is any way to find out if there are more dollars that may be coming available.? Mr. Pauley stated he will look into it; and perhaps next week he and Commissioner Carlson can try to meet with the Secretary of Transportation to talk about some of the issues.?

 

Chairman Pritchard noted that would be great; and Commissioner Scarborough summed it up when he said Brevard County would like to get as much as it possibly can in every area.? Mr. Pauley stated there are some other projects that are not necessarily submitted from the County, but there are other governmental entities that pursue projects that benefit the County; Brevard Community College?s public television station WBCC-TV has been working to develop a process with some input from the County; with the hurricanes last year, all of the television coverage seemed to be based on what was going on in Orlando in the area where the television stations were; and a request has been put in at the federal level for $430,000 for equipment purposes to try to keep coverage up of what is going on in Brevard County on WBCC-TV that would cover the issues going on with the hurricanes in the County.? He noted they are also pursuing funding at the State level; they used to be able to earmark in the Homeland Security Bill; two years ago they started diverting all that money to the states; and they have to work through the states to draw the money down.? He stated he put in a request for this specific project through Department of Justice and feels pretty good about the chances of getting the funding; and he and Mr. Thrasher are both pursuing this at the State and federal levels.

 

Commissioner Carlson stated she remembers Senator Posey asking if there is something up there that is happening and he knows the County would like it, does it want him to go after the funding that might be good for the community; part of the Legislative Coordinator?s job is to get the information to the Board quick; there are certain things that are obviously no-brainers and they should be out there looking; and if something comes up and it is not expected, but is still money coming the County?s way, certainly its representatives can go for it.? Chairman Pritchard stated that is the Board?s bottom line; the taxpayers have an expectation and a belief that there are millions and millions of dollars that are available; sometimes that is true and sometimes it is not; but there are people at the table now to see that the County can at least get its fair share.? He noted he appreciates the updates from Mr. Pauley; the last couple of years he has received a lot of information from him; when he has been in Washington, D.C., Mr. Pauley has been there; and he sees results.? He stated Mr. Pauley?s salary has been earned.

 

Mr. Pauley stated he appreciates working with the Board and has had a good working relationship with the Commissioners; and he looks forward to continuing.? Commissioner Voltz stated she had never met Mr. Pauley until today; and requested Mr. Pauley call her office to be able to sit down and talk.

 

Mr. Kamm stated he has worked with Mr. Pauley closely on the Transportation Reauthorization Bill, which has taken so many twists and turns over the past two years; Mr. Pauley has been very? helpful? in? providing? him? updated? information and access to the Legislative Delegation in

 

 

 

 

DISCUSSION, RE:? LEGISLATIVE ISSUES

 

Washington, D.C. in a responsive manner; and he is very pleased with the service Mr. Pauley has provided to him on the staff level.?

 

Mr. Pauley stated he feels the same way about Mr. Kamm; when he was sitting through the Sterling presentation he was thinking the County has some good staff that he works with, including Mr. Kamm and Virginia Barker; staff has been excellent to work with; and they are very knowledgeable.? Mr. Kamm stated so much of this goes on behind the scenes; it is a very quick turnaround; Mr. Pauley does all he can to give the County lead-time; and staff responds.? He noted it is not always what it would like, but at least it is notified before the fact rather than the County missing an opportunity.? Chairman Pritchard stated he has never had an instance of, ?oh by the way, we missed something?; he has always heard, ?this is coming up?; and he appreciates it.

 

State Lobbyist John Thrasher stated the Legislative Session started three weeks ago; it is a compact Legislative Session; once it gets started it lasts basically nine weeks; and he and Theda Roberts have been at the Session as part of the team.? He noted he has personally met with every member of the Delegation to let them know he and Ms. Roberts will be working with them to further their efforts on behalf of Brevard County; while members of the Florida Legislature go to Tallahassee and know that all politics are local, they do get stretched by any number of appetites that are up there to ask them to be involved in any number of issues; from time to time they may not focus totally on what is going on back home or what is in the best interest of the County; and that is why the Board has Ms. Roberts and himself to remind them of that and to constantly let them know that they are there to help them as they work their way through the processes of legislation, as well as the appropriations process, which probably is not as complicated as it is in Washington.? He stated in the nine-week time period everything gets magnified and it becomes difficult as it gets closer to the end; he and Ms. Roberts try to make sure they have a good relationship with the Delegation; he knew all of the members of the Delegation fortunately before he was hired; but now he has a different role with them and looks forward to working with them.? Mr. Thrasher stated he and Ms. Roberts have met with the Chairman of the Delegation on several occasions to make sure he knows they are there; they are willing to help him with anything that goes on with the Delegation; one of the things he suggested was to have a meeting to bring the Delegation up to date on what he is doing and some of the issues; and he is trying to do that in a couple of weeks to get everybody together, see what issues are important to them, and see what they can do to help them with their particular issues.? He noted last week he and the Chairman of the Delegation spent a fair amount of time on the Whitley Bay issue before the Cabinet; the recommendation adopted by the Cabinet was a successful one insofar as the policy the Board had set down for that area; the Board?s point of view on that was to insure that the public has as much access to that facility as possible; and that was the position taken before the Cabinet and the position it took on that issue.? He stated the Chairman of the Delegation was absolutely correct in pointing out in his statement that the issue has Statewide ramifications in terms of the overall policy of the State in respect to how it treats access to the waterways; the Board of Trustees is aware of that and voted unanimously to support that position; one of the things the County should be interested and concerned about is that less than two years from now there will be two new members of the Board of Trustees based on elections and things that other people are doing; and the County wants??? to??? make??? sure?? they?? are?? educated?? about??? the?? issues.?? He?? noted?? he?? will?? be

 

 

 

DISCUSSION, RE:? LEGISLATIVE ISSUES

 

recommending? that the two new members come to Brevard County and talk about the specific issues that the Board is interested in; a bigger issue from the Legislative standpoint is the EMS issue; he has met with Don Lusk, the County Attorney, Senator Posey and his staff, and the Chairman of the Delegation; and he believes the issue will be handled appropriately with respect to the County?s interest and the policy it has laid down.? Mr. Thrasher stated Mr. Lusk brought together a number of his staff to help further his education on the specific issues that they are concerned about; it was very helpful; and he looks forward to continuing those kinds of meetings.? He noted next week Commissioner Carlson will be in Tallahassee; he will try to get everyone together with the Secretary of Transportation to discuss some of the Brevard issues, as well as other meetings that Commissioner Carlson will be there for next week; he and Ms. Roberts are meeting next week with the Interim Executive Director of the Florida Association of Counties; and a lot of issues the Board was concerned about, the Association is also concerned about from a generic perspective.? He stated he wants to make sure FAC knows that Brevard County is willing to help it and it hopes the Association is willing to help the County on some of the issues; the budget is in the process of being put together; the County has a long list of member projects that have been submitted; and he and Ms. Roberts will be working with each member of the Delegation as the budget process starts to be put together next week to insure that the County?s particular issues are addressed and the appropriate budget committee takes into consideration those requests.? Mr. Thrasher advised tomorrow the committee that puts together projections for the budget is going to meet again; there is belief that there will be more money, non-recurring money, particularly one-time money coming into the State that will be available for this year; so as budget years go, this is going to be a pretty good year for the State of Florida; and a lot of it is due to the generation in the economy based on the post-hurricane activities that have been going on in the State of Florida, the falloff in tourism, and other things.? He stated he is hopeful that many of these projects, particularly the ones that relate to non-recurring dollars, will be able to be funded, maybe not to the complete desires of the members, but certainly part of it; it is one of the big things that he and Ms. Roberts will be working on in the next two weeks; they hope they can continue to work with members of the Delegation, which is very important; and they will provide the Board with as much updated information as they can as the session moves into the middle and final stages.? He noted he looks forward to that and more forward to getting prepared for next session; this year?s session was pretty much started when the Board engaged him and Ms. Roberts; a lot of these positions were set; and it will be a lot more fun to be involved in the process of helping the Board set the agenda or at least advising it as to that, and beginning to work on some of these things prior to the beginning of the next Legislative session.? He stated Ms. Roberts has been tremendous and is exactly the kind of person and personality the County needs to work on the kinds of things the Board is talking about; she is well respected by the Delegation and a big help to him in what he is doing; and he appreciates having her available.

 

Mr. Pauley stated Ms. Roberts had been helpful to him as well and he enjoys working with her.

 

Chairman Pritchard stated Ms. Roberts has provided the Board with her secret cell phone number in case it needs her; he contacted her a couple of times last week because he needed something then; she handled it then; and he is most appreciative.? Chairman Pritchard stated the Board had given him permission to go to the Cabinet meeting and make a presentation; due to workload and the weather he was not able to make it; he emailed the information to Mr. Thrasher; and? he? had? the? package? with? him.? He? noted? having? the Cabinet aides here and

 

 

 

DISCUSSION, RE:? LEGISLATIVE ISSUES

 

because of all of the influence the County had, little had to be said at that meeting; it was pretty much a slam dunk; as soon as it happened, Mr. Thrasher was on the phone to him and told him what happened; and he emailed Ms. Busacca, who distributed the information to the rest of the Board.? Mr. Thrasher stated Brevard County was well represented; and there was no doubt among the Cabinet aides or Cabinet members about where the County stood.

 

Commissioner Colon stated it would be great to try to coordinate meetings with all the different agencies and representatives in the County before the next session; and requested Mr. Lusk coordinate it.? Mr. Thrasher stated preparation for the session is important because it is such a short timeframe; the committees will start meeting next Fall, probably in September 2005; everyone needs to get as much done as possible this summer to start with those committees and get a head start on the process; and the further the County can get along the better off it is.? Commissioner Colon stated her office met with Representatives Altman, Allen, and Needelman, and Senator Haridopolos; Mr. Lusk and Ms. Roberts coordinated the meetings; and they get a lot accomplished.? Mr. Thrasher stated he would love to be a part of that.

 

Commissioner Voltz requested Mr. Thrasher explain how Senator Posey?s EMS Bill and Representative Needelman?s Bill are different from each other.? Mr. Thrasher responded Senator Posey?s Bill is trying to do what the Board believes should be done, which is to provide the Delegation authority within the County; one of Volusia County?s Bills last year was adopted and the Governor vetoed it; the Governor basically said in the veto message that these kinds of things should be decided by the County and over the jurisdiction of the County; and it does not mean they cannot work together, delegate some responsibilities to local communities, and have some interlocal agreements as a result of those, but it ought to be standards within the purview of the County.? He stated Senator Posey?s Bill tries to do exactly that; there have been conversations with Attorney Knox about some technical things that ought to be added to that; he met with Senator Posey?s aide yesterday; and he is willing to assist with that.? He noted Representative Needelman?s Bill has been referred to three committees in the House and has not been heard, and the fourth week of the session will begin next week, so it has a long way to go; there is a good understanding of where the Board wants to be; and with Senator Posey?s help he believes they will get there.? Commissioner Colon noted it is also with the help of the entire Delegation of Brevard County.? Mr. Thrasher stated no one likes to have issues that divide the Delegation.

 

Chairman Pritchard inquired about protecting local government from liability resulting from beach mitigation requirements.? Ms. Roberts responded she has not followed that one and has not seen a specific bill, so she does not have an answer on it.? Mr. Thrasher stated it is a generic issue; and he and Ms. Roberts will work with the Association of Counties and see what the status is on it.? Chairman Pritchard requested Mr. Thrasher provide an update to the Board on the issue.? Chairman Pritchard inquired about creation of a Statewide retiree health benefit plan.? Mr. Thrasher responded he met with County staff; it is a great concept and probably something that is going to take a little while before it generates; and it has a huge impact on the State Retirement System, but he will follow up on it.? He noted one of the members of his Firm is a former head of the State Board of Administration; he will have some insights on this; and he will have this individual meet with County staff to work on the issue.? Chairman Pritchard stated? he?? had?? a? briefing? with? Frank? Abbate? last? week? regarding? this;? and? it certainly seems this

 

 

 

DISCUSSION, RE:? LEGISLATIVE ISSUES

 

is the best way to go for the system, as well as the individual.? Mr. Thrasher stated the Association of Counties will have a view about this as it impacts many of them; and perhaps they can talk to them about that next week when Commissioner Carlson is in town.? Chairman Pritchard inquired about revising the monthly 911 fees; with Ms. Roberts responding she will have to look into it.? Chairman Pritchard inquired about reforming State Statutes to authorize Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to remove derelict vessels; with Mr. Thrasher responding those Bills have been introduced and he and Ms. Roberts are following those.? Chairman Pritchard stated the County had about 109 derelict vessels, which is a lot.? Chairman Pritchard inquired about opposing Legislation to shift Medicaid costs to counties.? Mr. Thrasher responded it is a perennial issue that all counties are interested in; it could get involved in the overall reform of Medicaid; the Governor has put that as a top priority of his; and the House floated a bill out last week to present some broad parameters that, if adopted by the Legislature, would require going to the Center for Medicaid/Medicare in Washington for certain kinds of waivers, and then come back and try to implement.? He noted the implementation would be a more managed care approach to Medicaid than is done today involving providers with networks, as well as hospitals in local areas; and it has a long way to go, but this issue is a budget issue too and one that will be followed to understand the ramifications of it.? Chairman Pritchard stated the County does not want any more unfunded mandates; and inquired about providing counties the option to index their local option gas taxes.? Mr. Thrasher responded he does not know if it has a lot of legs in this session.? Chairman Pritchard inquired about developing Legislation addressing safe patient-to-nurse ratios in hospitals and nursing homes; with Mr. Thrasher responding it is not going to happen in this session.? Mr. Thrasher noted it has already been considered; and the cost of it would be overwhelming.? Chairman Pritchard inquired about providing beach restoration matching funds; with Mr. Thrasher responding it is part of the budget issues that will be considered in the next two weeks.? Mr. Thrasher stated concerning public guardianship, creation of local senior services council, and request for legislation to require annexing cities to assume maintenance responsibility for certain roads abutting annexed areas, the bills have been filed.

 

Chairman Pritchard stated the County needs to stabilize the dune line; anything that can be done to encourage the passing of lenient law that would allow the dune line to be stabilized without having to go a myriad of alphabetical agencies would be good; there are houses in the County that are ten feet from a ten-foot drop; and eventually A1A will become the dune line.? He noted it is not only just preserving the beaches, it is preserving the dune line; in the paper yesterday there was a picture taken in the 1920?s of Cocoa Beach showing a wide, flat beach, not the type of beach today with the amount of sand on it; he is not too sure what has happened, other than maybe the County has been putting sand on a beach and creating a habitat, for example, for turtles; and maybe the beach never was like that.? He stated in looking at the pictures from the 1920?s it is a wide expanse of beach and cars are driving up and down it; he is not too sure what happened between then and now; he does not think the condominiums added sand and something else came along; and it is interesting when one looks at pictures from the 1920?s, which show a flat surface.? Mr. Thrasher stated the original Nascar races started on Daytona Beach.? Chairman Pritchard inquired about funding for new Central Brevard Health Department Facilities.? Mr. Thrasher responded it is a big issue; he met with Senator Posey who is working hard on it; he will assist him in any way he can; and Senator Saunders is head of the Appropriations Committee that will fund that.?

 

 

DISCUSSION, RE:? LEGISLATIVE ISSUES

 

Chairman Pritchard inquired about funding for short-term residential treatment facility.? Mr. Thrasher responded both Senator Posey and Representative Needelman are involved in that issue; and all of these issues will be worked on in the next week or two as the Senate and House budgets are put together.? Commissioner Voltz requested Mr. Thrasher keep her updated on the issue.

 

Commissioner Carlson stated Ms. Roberts could put together something that goes along with all of these, including the status, what member has sponsored what bill, and a synopsis of what is going on.? Mr. Thrasher stated when the budgets are put together he and Ms. Roberts will try to give the Board an analysis of what is in each budget, recognizing it is subject to change as the Conference Committee gets into it; but they will provide the Board with an overview.

 

Chairman Pritchard inquired about funding for Child Care Association of Brevard, Inc.; with Ms. Roberts responding it is another Community Budget Issue Request (CBIR) project that they will be following.? Chairman Pritchard inquired about funding for Brevard Cultural Alliance, Inc.; with Ms. Roberts responding it is another CBIR project that they will be following.? Chairman Pritchard inquired about expansion of the Veterans Memorial Center Museum; and stated the County has finally received a Contract on the property adjacent to Fortenberry, which will provide an additional two acres to the Veterans Center.? Mr. Thrasher advised Senator Posey and Representative Allen are handling that issue.? Chairman Pritchard stated the issues the veterans were concerned about have been addressed; the County Attorney is reviewing such Contract; it looks like the County is good to go; and the veterans will be satisfied.? Chairman Pritchard inquired about providing permanent State funding for the Veterans Transitional Facility.? Mr. Thrasher responded Senator Posey and Representative Needelman are handling that issue.? Chairman Pritchard inquired about increasing Statewide public guardianship capacity; with Ms. Roberts responding the bill has been filed and they are working on it.? Mr. Thrasher stated Senators Posey and Saunders, and Representative Sands are involved in the issue.? Chairman Pritchard inquired about community service funding for elderly services.? Mr. Thrasher stated it is a generic circle and he and Ms. Roberts will keep an eye on it.? Chairman Pritchard inquired about requesting funding for community based needs for child welfare.? Ms. Roberts stated the funding issue has been back and forth for a little bit; but when the CBIR deadline was met, there was not a need to put that it in; and the Contract was already made at that point.? Mr. Lusk advised it did not go forward at the time because it was when the County was in the final stages of negotiation and things looked good on funding; he does not believe anything moved forward from a CBIR request at the request of the community based care folks; and everyone understands now that it did not go that well and monies have not been forthcoming, so there is probably a need for that now.? He noted staff will have to explore with Ms. Roberts and others to see what might be done at this point in time.? Chairman Pritchard inquired about Florida Forever Act funding.? Mr. Thrasher responded it will be a General Appropriations issue; he is confident it will be funded again this year to the extent it has in past years; and he does not know anybody willing to take on a change in that either way.? Chairman Pritchard inquired about reimbursing counties for housing State prisoners in county jails.? Ms. Roberts responded she discussed the issue with Jim DeBogar, a new Staff Director of the Appropriations Committee that deals with those issues; and he indicated such request will not happen.? Chairman Pritchard stated it is like another unfunded mandate; the counties can house the prisoners and pay for them, but they are the State?s? prisoners; and? there? are? no pressures

 

 

 

 

DISCUSSION, RE:? LEGISLATIVE ISSUES

 

that Brevard County can put on housing a State prisoner in its facility.? Ms. Roberts stated Mr. DeBogar indicated if Brevard County is reimbursed for those prisoners, then the State will be looking at the County for other things the State does for it.? Chairman Pritchard inquired about the 211 Statewide funding initiative.? Ms. Roberts responded there are bills filed on that issue; and it is a high priority.? Chairman Pritchard inquired about increased funding for Students Working Against Tobacco (SWAT).? Mr. Thrasher responded it is always an interesting issue in Tallahassee since the settlements from tobacco companies; some leadership in the House and Senate have taken different positions through the years; the Governor has asked for a fairly significant increase this year over what it has been; and there is money there to do it this year.? He noted it is clearly a leadership-driven type of issue.?

 

Commissioner Scarborough stated when the Board was talking to Mr. Thrasher about his Contract, he wanted a particular provision included dealing with EDC; and requested Ms. Roberts read the language.? Ms. Roberts responded she does not have the language with her.? Commissioner Scarborough stated there has been language added; it is similar to the language that is in Mr. Pauley?s Contract; Jim Kennedy, Kennedy Space Center Director, talked about Central Florida getting the service center; there was $2 million in the closing fund; and the Governor has a profound interest, not just in the County, but the State?s capacity to capture the wages.? He noted the average in Brevard County is $54,000 for manufacturing and $14,000 for hospitality; it is an issue that reaches beyond just the Space Center to the type of State created; MyRegion talks about these things as well; and Mr. Thrasher is going to have an opportunity to visit with some of the people that Lynda Weatherman has brought on.? He stated it is part of the Contract; he wants to make it a part of the discussion here because there may be some people wondering if it is part of the Board?s concerns; and inquired will it be voting on the Contract today.? Ms. Roberts responded she was under the assumption that the Contract would be put together after today?s meeting.? Commissioner Scarborough stated that is fine.

 

Mr. Thrasher stated he understands the significance of the space industry here; he read the information the Board has sent him, particularly the Senate Interim Project Report on the Space Coast for Florida; there are a lot of good recommendations in it; and everyone should look ahead.? He noted there are going to be some dramatic changes in government in the next two years with State leadership; he hopes they can convince any and all of those prospective folks who are seeking Florida?s highest elected positions to come here and see firsthand; many of them have been here; but as they start to focus on what their next objectives are, they ought to come here with an understanding that this is an important thing for the citizens of this area.? He stated it should be a part of their overall policy in terms of developing good jobs and keeping the kind of industry here, such as $54,000 a year versus $14,000 a year; one of his other clients is the Florida Manufacturing Association; it has been in Tallahassee in the last couple of weeks working on some tax exemptions for new machinery to add so it can encourage businesses to buy the kinds of machinery that create new jobs and the wealth that everyone wants for the State of Florida; and the law needs to stay focused on that among those folks who are going to be in the next phase of leadership in Florida.

 

Chairman Pritchard stated technology is evolving at an incredible rate; ways to recycle now are evolving at incredible rates; he had a presentation almost two years ago with a company that can take medical wastes and make it vaporize; and there is nothing left when they are done.? He

 

 

 

DISCUSSION, RE:? LEGISLATIVE ISSUES

 

noted another company recently talked about taking trash and making a block that looks like a concrete block out of trash, and they can build a house with the block; the whole point is anything the County can do to encourage that type of new business and enterprise, including allocating a resource, such as the landfill by having a plant that would be there that could take the trash and do something with it as long as it is a viable product; but he is not looking for pie in the sky stuff; and if this works, then he wants to know why the County is not in the business of seeing that it works and reduces what is at the landfill.? Chairman Pritchard stated things like that have an application Statewide.? He advised Senate Bill 166 relates to child support, and Companion House Bills 87, and 1283, and Senate Bill 1884 deals with providing incentives and motivation on the part of delinquent parents, in particular, to pay child support; this is Joyce Grant?s issue; and the cost to the system is incredible because somebody does not want to pay $100.00 a week.

 

Mr. Thrasher stated he and Ms. Roberts will follow those; and historically, the Legislature has addressed those in the last five or six years and made some progress by centralizing the collection in child support and increasing the penalties for lack of compliance in those areas.? Chairman Pritchard stated the trickle down effect is enormous; Ms. Grant called one person the million dollar man for what he has cost because he will not pay his $100.00 per week; the Board sent letters to 66 other counties explaining this; and he received a couple of responses back on the importance of it, which have been distributed.? He noted it looks like it is going somewhere.? Mr. Thrasher stated he will put it on the watch list.? Chairman Pritchard stated there is also an issue about fireworks; the Board has taken the position that it needs to revise the current law on fireworks because it is illegal to do what is currently being done; it has taken a position where it is not allowing them in any public venue, the beach, parks, or whatever; but stores are selling them and people may come in from Minnesota and buy fireworks because they see them for sale.? He noted then they go to the first open area they can find and blow up the fireworks; it creates a problem for the County, especially on the Fourth of July and whatever; there have been war zones on the beach; and it has pretty much stopped it.? He stated the stores are? selling illegally by creating some sort of legal method by having people sign a waiver; they have no idea what they are signing because it is a wholesale purchase; Senate Bill 746 is underway and the Board has supported it; and it would like to make sure that the Bill survives.? Chairman Pritchard stated billboards is another issue that came up the other day with Commissioner Scarborough; and inquired if Commissioner Scarborough wants to mention something about it.? Commissioner Scarborough responded he does not know if the Board needs to engage Mr. Thrasher on that particular issue as the letter speaks for itself.? Chairman Pritchard advised the Board is opposed to having billboards reconstructed that are non-conforming; they are a visual blight; the more the County can do to reduce the size of billboards the better it would be; and he would like to see the same for signage eventually reduced down to so many square feet and at a certain height.? He stated when he was stationed in Bermuda it had a law that no sign could block one?s view of the sky; and he thought it was an interesting law.

 

Chairman Pritchard stated public marinas and maintaining the public?s right to access have been discussed; moored and derelict vessels have also been discussed; BRAC is an issue the Board is concerned about, as well as EDC and its group; and Space Coast Defense Alliance has been to? Washington? D.C. twice? now.? He? noted he? and? Commissioner? Colon? went? one

 

 

 

 

DISCUSSION, RE:? LEGISLATIVE ISSUES

 

time, and he and Commissioner Voltz went another time; and the County is getting good feedback on it, but it is a great concern.? Mr. Thrasher stated the Governor and other communities around the State are involved in it; the Governor has a centralized approach to it; hopefully with whatever inputs he has in Washington he will be happy to protect most of the good military sites; and the federal Delegation is geared up for that also.? Chairman Pritchard stated he would consider the school impact fee an issue of more fairness if the County had a 1% real estate transaction fee on new homes and existing homes; there is a tendency of people moving into an existing home and not paying an impact fee; he has been told it would require legislation in order to have that 1% real estate transaction fee, which would be paid by the purchaser of a home; and that way it is not slamming the purchaser of a new home with $4,500 but 1% of the fee.? He noted he did not know if the Board was interested in pursuing this; and he thought since the lobbyists were here today that it might want to discuss it.? Commissioners Voltz and Colon advised no.? Chairman Pritchard stated he is interested in growth management; growth management law has been a dismal failure; it has not done anything except kept on going; and it is like the Eveready battery.? He noted he does not know what is going to be done about it and how the County is going to go about it, but it needs to address this in an affirmative manner.? Mr. Thrasher stated he, Mr. Lusk, and his staff have discussed growth management; there was a concept by Department of Community Affairs (DCA), which was put together by its staff and some input from the Secretary; it offended everybody as opposed to just a few, so it was pulled back; and he is told there is another draft being generated somewhere by DCA or other places that will come out before the session is over.? He noted there are six weeks left in the session; passing a major change in growth management is going to be a very difficult thing for the Florida Legislature to get its hands around; there are so many different appetites that will force the issues that they are concerned about; and to get a consensus among those folks is going to be difficult.? He stated the Governor understands he needs to do it; the Senate President is interested in trying to do it; they agree with Chairman Pritchard that the current 1985 Growth Management Act has been a dismal failure; and it has not been concurrency as they thought it would be.? He noted while there will be an attempt, he would not hold out any bright prospect in this session of any major overhaul on growth management.

 

Commissioner Carlson stated the County had a summit with the cities and legislators; Mr. Kamm brought up the second rendition of that; the failed first accentuated school concurrency; and inquired is there nothing that Mr. Thrasher hears in a positive sense that something might happen.? Mr. Thrasher responded there are some school concurrency and impact fee discussions; there are some real constitutional issues in applying impact fees and school concurrency; if they can work some of those out, it might be a possibility; but the overall problem is the money and where to get it to flow back to the local communities that need to have the resources available.? He stated many counties cannot simply do growth management because they do not have the resources to do it; the State has to participate; and inquired what part of the State revenue is going to be selected to do that.? He noted there are some big issues out there, particularly in transportation; one of the things the Governor has talked about is how to deal with the transportation issues in the State of Florida; some people estimate that Florida is $25 billion to $30 billion behind in dealing with the current five-year plans that most MPO?s have; and it probably is not going to get it from the federal government as it is not going to change the formula enough to make a difference.? He stated the question then becomes what is really available? to? the? State? of? Florida? in terms of revenue to do the kinds of things it needs to do to

 

 

 

DISCUSSION, RE:? LEGISLATIVE ISSUES

 

keep up with infrastructure; the Governor has suggested the possibility of something that was done several years ago with Jacksonville, called the Better Jacksonville Plan that Mayor John Delaney did; he basically put his political reputation on the line in favor of a half-cent sales tax that would be available for 30 years, bondable over that period of time, and then tied it to very specific capital and transportation projects; some people in Tallahassee are starting to talk about a Better Florida Plan that would do the same thing; and the resource would be a gas tax or half-cent sales tax that would be regionally focused in terms of the transportation projects that would be funded by that particular vehicle.? Mr. Thrasher stated if it has legs, it probably would not happen this session, but it might happen next session and would be a constitutional amendment that would be on the ballot for 2006; absent that, he does not see a tremendous amount of ability to do a major change in growth management because the resources are not there; and it is going to be a difficult issue.

 

Commissioner Carlson inquired does Mr. Thrasher see any new revenue sources being brought other than the half-cent transportation issue to provide the County with the ability to do it.? Mr. Thrasher responded the Senate President and some of the transportation interests have floated out some ideas that would involve increasing a number of the different kinds of fees that everyone pays for transportation-related issues, such as titles, tag, etc.; it would raise a fair amount of money over a 10 to 14-year plan; it would go directly into the Transportation Trust Fund and be specifically designated for the five-year plan or speeding up projects; and he does not think it has a lot of hope in the House of Representatives.? Commissioner Carlson inquired how about on the school side; the Board tries to work with the School Board and knows it has certain tools in its toolbox to help it with its capacity issues; the County has tried to tie that back to density issues; there are school impact fees now; and inquired is there anything that is loosening up on the school side.? Mr. Thrasher responded the Governor is trying to pass the constitutional amendment that would revise the class size; the specifics of that are tied on the salary side a minimum salary for beginning teachers of $35,000 more or less; each district would not have to do the specifics of class size reduction per classroom, but would do it on a Countywide average; and that would free up a lot of money in terms of the cost to the education system that could be used for some other things.? He stated the proposal initially was that it would be done by extraordinary vote of the Legislature, i.e. three-fourths, which would allow it to be put on the ballot in September 2005 as opposed to waiting to 2006, which would be the normal time to do a constitutional amendment.

 

Chairman Pritchard inquired about the Department of Justice pre-detention of youth; stated there was an emergency session in December 2004; it was somewhat handled at that point; and there was a lawsuit filed by the Florida Association of Counties.? Mr. Thrasher advised it is being discussed again this year in the budget; the Legislature is aware of that lawsuit; hopefully it will come to a better resolution of it; and it is cognizant of what happened and has heard from the counties significantly.? Chairman Pritchard stated Senate Bill 1530 concerning Canaveral Port District was filed by Senator Haridopolos; it is going to authorize the District to sell or otherwise dispose of certain real property and provides procedure for such sale or other disposition; the property was bought with taxpayer funds; and inquired can the Port sell the property.? Ms. Roberts responded that is what the local bill would give it the opportunity to do.? Chairman Pritchard stated he is not sure that is in the best interest of the people who paid for it.

 

 

 

 

DISCUSSION, RE:? LEGISLATIVE ISSUES

 

Commissioner Scarborough stated Chairman Pritchard has advocated selling property in his District and putting those properties back on the tax rolls because government did not need them; and inquired why is it good for the County to do.? Chairman Pritchard inquired if the Port is going to sell the property, should some of the money come back to the County; some of the money could go to the Port or some of it would go to the County; and he does not know and is raising the question because it is a District that he assumes used taxpayer money.? Mr. Thrasher stated he can talk to Senator Haridopolos about it, and see what his motivation is.? Chairman Pritchard stated he had the same dilemma; he was saying the County needed to sell the property, yet it is part of the taxpayer and the money goes back into the General Fund; here there is tax money that allegedly bought property at the Port and then the money goes into the Port?s General Fund; and he wants to make sure there is a benefit that is derived from this by the taxpayers who paid it.

 

Commissioner Carlson stated she talked to Mr. Thrasher briefly before the meeting about something Senator Posey is doing concerning changing the watermark on the St. Johns; they talked about what the District was thinking about that, but they do not know; and requested the Board get an update and possibly talk about the issue next week.? She inquired is there any movement on annexation at the State level; with Mr. Thrasher responding he does not know and can talk to the counties about it next week.

 

 

 

Upon motion and vote, the meeting adjourned at 12:10 p.m.

 

 

 

ATTEST:

?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? __________________________________????????????????????????????????????????????? ????????????????????????

?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? RON PRITCHARD, D.P.A., CHAIRMAN

?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

?????????????????? ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA

____________________

SCOTT ELLIS, CLERK

 

 

?????????? (S E A L)