MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA

 

 

May 20, 2008

 

 

 

The Board of County Commissioners of Brevard County, Florida, met in regular session on May 20, 2008, at 9:02 a.m. in the Government Center Commission Room, Building C, 2725 Judge Fran Jamieson Way, Viera, Florida.  Present were:  Chairman Truman Scarborough,  Commissioners Chuck Nelson, Helen Voltz, Mary Bolin, and Jackie Colon, County Manager Peggy Busacca, and County Attorney Scott Knox.

 

 

The Invocation was given by Pastor Ted Wood, Rockledge United Methodist Church, Rockledge, Florida.

 

 

Commissioner Helen Voltz led the assembly in the Pledge of Allegiance.

 

 

 

The National Anthem was presented by Monica Key-Lindbergh.  An individual with Ms. Key-Lindbergh advised she is Charles Lindbergh’s great granddaughter and Francis Scott Key’s heir; and commented on her many accomplishments, including playing for the President of the United States eight times.   

 

 

 

Chairman Scarborough stated Eddy Pauley is the County’s lobbyist in Washington, D.C.

 

Lobbyist Eddy Pauley stated there is a lot going on in Washington, D.C.; he has worked with some of the County employees in all the different facets of the projects; and they have been very helpful.  He stated he will start today by discussing the FY 2009 appropriations process and by reviewing the County’s projects, the status of them, and the process.  He stated this year started with a lot of discussion about whether there would be earmarks or not; in early spring it was decided that process would move forward as normally as possible; and so there will be subcommittee markups for the different appropriations, full committee markups, and the possibility of a continuing resolution happening this year.  He stated for right now, the process in both the House and the Senate is moving forward as it should; beach renourishment is in Energy and Water Appropriations; the total amount of that request is $8.9 million to cover the preconstruction engineering and design for the Mid Reach at $500,000 and renourishment of the South Reach at $8.4 million; and he has worked closely with Virginia Barker, Mike McGarry, and Ernie Brown.  He stated they have had a lot of success working as a team; and the Delegation has been very helpful on the beach renourishment issues.  He stated the South Mainland Water Treatment Plant is coming through Interior-Environmental Related Agencies Appropriations; the request is for $2 million; and it will improve the water quality in southern Brevard County.  Mr. Pauley stated it is a much needed project, which has been well received in both the House and Senate; and thanked Commissioner Voltz for making rounds on Capitol Hill that were well received.  He stated there was a request for an I-95 visitors’ center north of Titusville as well as a request for vanpool replacement; the first economic stimulus package that was passed by Congress in the spring had money specifically for transportation for municipalities; and the funding can be used for vans.  He stated the funds can be used for a number of transportation priorities; the money will come from the federal level to Tallahassee to the Department of Transportation and will be disbursed from there.  He stated he thinks there will be another economic stimulus package that will be passed sometime before the August recess; and that will give an extra opportunity to try and secure some funding for the vanpool.  He stated the County’s proposals have been well received; after the Memorial Day recess they will start the Appropriations Subcommittee markup process, followed by full committee markups; and after the August recess, the conference process will begin to merge the House and Senate versions of the bills.  He stated there are a couple of bills he does not see being voted on until after a new administration is in place; and one would be Labor/Health/Human Services/Education.  He stated he does not think there will be consensus on that bill in the fall; but hopefully some of the other ones will go ahead because the County is in good shape to bring in some much needed funding.  He stated last year the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) passed for the first time since 2000; and there was some good language in it for the County.  He stated they had to work hard to get it; advised of a presidential veto; and commented on language that was included in the bill.  He stated what helped was they moved the language that was ready to go in 2005, which was when the democrats briefly held the majority; and when the democrats picked up the majority last year, they moved the 2005 bill through Congress.  He stated this could be the year for another WRDA bill; in talking with staff, he thinks the County’s bases are covered with last year’s bill; but they need to make sure the Army Corps of Engineers follows through with the wording that was in the bill.  He stated another project is the Rail to Trail project in North Brevard that will go through Volusia County; the projects are statewide; it is program money from the Department of Transportation that comes to the states; and the issue is getting a priority level.  He stated they had some positive discussions with Congressman Mica’s office; and Commissioner Scarborough was very helpful on that, so the project is favorable this year.  He stated he worked closely with all of the federal delegation, Senators Martinez and Nelson and Congressmen Weldon and Feeney on all of the issues; the two Senators have very hands-on Chiefs of Staff in Tom Weinberg and Pete Mitchell, who both have strong ties to the area; and they have been very helpful.  He stated another issue that is important to the community is the NASA workforce issue and what is going on with NASA; the federal delegation has worked hard on that issue and the many different angles it entails; but there have also been other people in Washington working on the issue, such as Senator Mikulski and Senator Hutchison of Texas.  He stated there are other people who play roles in the process; a couple of months ago he accompanied Congressman Nick Lampson to a House Commerce Justice Science appropriations hearing; and at that hearing Congressman Lampson specifically requested to Chairman Mollohan and ranking member Frelinghuysen an additional $2 billion be added to NASA’s budget for the purpose of closing the flight gap issue.  He stated the Orlando Sentinel did an article on Congressman Lampson; if he is re-elected in the fall, he will be the chairman of the Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee, which is the authorizing committee for NASA moving forward, so that will be a big positive.  He stated a couple of weeks ago Congressman Lampson authored a letter to House leaders with 36 signatures on it requesting that $2 billion be added to the NASA funding for the primary goal of closing the five-year gap in the U.S. manned space flight capability.  Mr. Pauley advised the letter asks that additional funds be included either in a second economic stimulus package or the emergency war supplemental; and the letter highlighted the huge economic impact of the aerospace industry on the nation.  He advised a day or two after he dropped his letter, Congressman Ralph Hall, who is also of Texas, did a similar letter making the same request on the war supplemental; and that was moving pretty fast until late last week.  He stated the House was fast tracking the issue; it did not go through any of the committee process; but it was voted down Thursday night so the House is re-devising what it had with the war supplemental package.  He stated last week the only thing that was in there was funding for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and some funding for unemployment benefits for veterans with no funding for NASA or any outside entities.  He stated they are going back to the drawing board and reworking that; on the Senate side they are following a more traditional path; there subcommittee and full committee markups going on this week; and there will be more of an opportunity to try to add some funding for NASA in that bill.  He stated another opportunity will be the second stimulus package; last week the House introduced a new NASA authorization bill; NASA should be authorized every two years; but it has not been authorized since fall of 2005.  He stated the House bill last year had several good items in it for the County; it contained language directing NASA to accelerate the COTS Program; it provided an extra billion dollars for that purpose; and it also contained language authorizing NASA to fly one additional shuttle mission.  He stated he brought a copy of the 2005 authorization bill so the Board can compare the two.  He advised there are some provisions that are controversial right now, particularly the issue about working more with foreign entities and foreign governments, and trying to move forward the mission of NASA.  He stated Senators Nelson and Martinez want to see a NASA authorization bill done this year; but there are some reasons why they have not moved forward.  He stated a lot of it involves personnel on the Senate side with the subcommittees; and he knows they want to see a NASA authorization bill this year but there has not been a lot of movement on that issue.  He stated with the elections coming up, they are running out of time, so there is a possibility that what the House is working on right now might be a blueprint to move the bill forward in February 2009.  He stated he would like to see it done before then; but there is a possibility that it may slip. 

 

Chairman Scarborough stated every time he turns on the news the focus has been on presidential politics; but they also need to be watching Congress; and inquired if there have been any profiles on those seats that are open and the personalities of those persons who may be replacing incumbents and their postures on the space program.  He stated he has not picked up anything on that yet.  Mr. Pauley advised in both the House and the Senate the Democrats are in the majority; that will grow in the fall; and one race that is open is of particular interest.  Chairman Scarborough stated he understands that; but they have been told repeatedly that there are different reasons different people support the space program; there is support from all different segments; and inquired if there are going to be more Democrats, are they anti-space Democrats and has anybody been doing any analysis at that level yet.  Mr. Pauley advised Congressman Lampson is a Democrat.  Chairman Scarborough suggested using Congressman Lampson as an example.  Mr. Pauley stated Congressman Lampson is up for reelection this fall; and it would be a negative for the space industry to lose him as he has been a strong advocate for NASA.  He stated in terms of the open seats that are up across the nation, the County needs to continue to do what it started to do last year, which is to be an advocate for NASA on the national picture. 

 

Chairman Scarborough stated Commissioner Bolin has been active in meeting with the different presidential candidates; she went to Chicago to meet with Barack Obama’s people; and she met with other candidates’ people.  He stated he has always been told the best time to touch a candidate is when they are seeking support; and commented on the relevance of the space program in terms of viability of the nation to be at the forefront in technology and job creation, providing data to the candidates, and identifying Democrats who may be ousting Republicans so they can be provided with information.  He reiterated Commissioner Bolin met with the Obama campaign staff; there was a challenge there because there was some question whether he fully appreciated everything; and Commissioner Bolin’s helped.  Mr. Pauley stated everything helps; he worked with Commissioner Bolin when she met with Senator Clinton in Washington, D.C. on that issue; and he is doing everything he can to reach out.  Chairman Scarborough inquired if Mr. Pauley can identify those persons who are going to be running who may be ousting current members, either Republican or Democrat, so the Board can begin to provide them with information.  Mr. Pauley advised he will be glad to provide that list. 

 

Commissioner Voltz inquired what state is Congressman Lampson from; with Mr. Pauley responding he represents the Houston, Texas area. 

 

Commissioner Bolin thanked Mr. Pauley; stated she knows he has been working hard; and they have worked together on several items.  She stated she appreciates what Mr. Pauley is doing; it is going to be an uphill fight, especially on the space area; but they are up for it.  Mr. Pauley advised they are pushing the ball in the right direction. 

 

Commissioner Colon stated she went to Washington, D.C. too several weeks ago and spoke to Senator Hutchison from Texas, who made it clear that it is not a Republican or Democrat issue.  She stated it is going after the individual and educating the individual; and a perfect example is locally there is a huge champion of NASA who is a Democrat and a U.S. Senator.  She stated Senator Hutchison recommended not getting bogged down in that; she is a huge supporter of NASA when discussing Texas; and that was the echo for each state.  She stated they want dollars for NASA, but the critical question is what state will be keeping those dollars; and inquired will it stay in Louisiana, in Alabama, or is it coming to Florida.  She stated that is where Florida has to be a huge voice, and not just for the local folks because they are fully aware and have the information; and Mr. Pauley can be a key player as he is doing now.  She stated they should make sure that all the U.S. Congressmen are singing the same song; and commented on Congressmen from other states singing off the same sheet.  She reiterated Florida needs to do the same; and that has been the message time and time again.  Chairman Scarborough stated that has been one of the County’s failures.  Commissioner Colon stated Senator Martinez made if perfectly clear that Brevard County needs to be very outspoken, which is what the Board has done; and when people ask why they are going to Washington, D.C. it is because that is where all the players are who vote in blocks.  She stated the State of Florida needs to be doing that with all the Congressmen from the State to make sure they are making the case for the space program; and commented on contacting and educating presidential candidates who visited the County.  She stated the EDC has been tremendous and played a huge role in making sure candidates were coming to the County; Senator McCain is already on record as being supportive of NASA; and commented on giving him all the numbers and information.  She stated all the candidates say they are supportive; but she wants to know what kind of plan they have, how much they are willing to give, and just saying they are supportive of NASA does not cut it.  Commissioner Colon stated they want to know which state will be getting those dollars; Mr. Pauley plays a key role because he is with all the players; and the Commissioners may go to Washington, D.C. once in a while, but Mr. Pauley is in the trenches. 

 

Mr. Pauley stated Senator Hutchison has been great to work with; he has known her since 1996 and traveled with her in the State of Virginia with Senator Warner; she will look out for Texas but overall she does have the big picture issue of looking out for NASA in general; and she is very effective.

 

Commissioner Bolin stated the EDC is working diligently; she has been supporting them; and she has been with the EDC when they have visited people.  She stated it does not make any difference if the Congressman is Republican or Democrat; that is not the issue; they are trying to make sure the presidential candidates have an idea of what the platform should be for space; and as they have so many things going on, they need a little extra help so they have been presenting them with the County’s views on what the space program should be.  She stated they also have to hear all the rhetoric about how wonderful Brevard County is; and it has been successful.  She stated she judges by how many notes people take; and they have been taking notes.  She stated the EDC is watching very closely everything the candidates have on the web as far their platforms and views; they are watching to see as it changes and they get more familiar with the information; and they are not stopping with just one visit but are going to be continually feeing them by emails and correspondence more reinforcement of what the space program is and what the policy should be.  She stated they are working diligently on that aspect; but this is another area where they could expand it to the other people who are going to vote on these decisions.

 

Commissioner Colon stated one of the things that was important to folks at the federal level was to make sure the County continued to hit on the fact that this is a matter of national security; they need to hit on the fact that satellites are able to detect the bad guys in the Middle East; and the kind of intelligence and equipment that is needed are key.  She stated at the federal level they were more concerned with how it affects the whole country; national security seemed to be the focus; and they need to let them know that this is a global or national issue, not just a Brevard County or State of Florida issue.  She stated that is the message that needs to be continued forward; and she knows Mr. Pauley is fully aware of the fact that at the federal level they want to hear the national side of it.

 

Chairman Scarborough stated Congressman Tom Feeney talks about the nation having to have another Sputnik moment; but the trouble is the next Sputnik moment may have several military, economic, or geopolitical consequences far beyond the reach of just the national pride.  He stated the Republicans and the Democrats from different perspectives recognize it; but it has not become a national agenda item and has not been discussed to the extent it needs to be.  He stated the fraction of the budget spent in obtaining the high ground intellectually, economically, and militarily is being ignored; Congressman Weldon made the point that aid to one program in Africa was increased by billions of dollars; the money is there; but the space issue is not attracting the attention.  He stated the Board is a voice in the wilderness; but it will continue to be there as long as there are five Commissioners who care enough to take their Saturdays and fly to Chicago.  He thanked Mr. Pauley for his presence.

 

Mr. Pauley stated it has been a pleasure working with each and every one of the Commissioners through the years; and commented on working with staff, including County Manager Peggy Busacca and Government Relations Manager Leigh Holt.  He stated he appreciates the support and information from staff; and they do a good job of providing him with the information when he needs it. 

 

 

 

Emergency Management Director Bob Lay stated he will advise of the status of hurricane preparedness in the County as it goes into hurricane season; and he has broken it down into three areas.  He stated the first area is command control and coordination; the second area is critical infrastructure; and the third area is coordination.  He stated in terms of command and control and coordination, all agencies and municipalities have reported to be in compliance with the National Incident Management System, which is the system used to manage emergencies nationwide; it is a standardized way of managing emergencies; and it is not different from city-to-city or county-to-county.  He stated also through legislative action, the County was able to get funding to upgrade some of the aging infrastructure at the Emergency Operations Center (EOC); they have been able to replace the 40-year old air conditioning system; and that will allow them to stay in the building if something were to happen.  He stated they just had their Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan reviewed and approved by the State; and they had some practice recently with the wildfires.  He stated the firefighters are excellent and do their job very well; but large wildfires take the whole community to come together to work that; and all the systems seem to be working very well.  He stated the only shortfall they have is only having one mobile command vehicle within the County; it is the Sheriff’s mobile command vehicle, which he allows many other agencies to use; it was used in the Malabar area as the central unified vehicle; but they also had to borrow one from Orange County as well as using one that is owned by the amateur radio people in the City of Palm Bay.  He stated in terms of critical infrastructure, he would give it an amber primarily because of I-95 and the work that is being done and still needs to be done.  He stated for this hurricane season, the Pineda Causeway goes nowhere and becomes a major traffic jam on Wickham Road; it is a way of getting people off the island but it also creates a traffic jam on U.S. 1 and Wickham Road; and it is critical that it be finished.  He stated the other thing he is concerned about is the number of vessels that are located in the Indian River Lagoon; five or six years ago there were very few boats moored in the Lagoon; but today there are lots of them because of the lack of marinas as marinas have been sold.  He stated the same thing will happen that happened in 2004; there will be 70 or 80 vessels that are going to be sunk; and they will become derelict vessels.  He stated in terms of communications, all of the carriers have been looking at providing generators and upgraded their systems for power outages in the County; he is referring to cellular phone companies and the fixed phone companies; and they are all providing a lot more power generation to their systems, so he feels good about that so he is listing that as green.  He stated the County probably has more equipment than some third world countries have, but it is all needed; and it is all very important equipment.  He stated there are adequate equipment and plans on hand to do emergency debris removal and also road clearance, if required; there is a County plan; and some of the cities have their own plan while others join in on the County’s plan, so he classifies that as green.  He stated in terms of fire suppression, the Fire Services have all been working together; they have plans in place for wildfire season and hurricane season; and he is giving it a green.  He stated he does not know of any critical equipment that is missing, but a mobile command vehicle is still needed.  He stated more than adequate plans are in place going into the upcoming hurricane season; there are adequate shelters on hand; but they may not be in the right locations.  Mr. Lay stated three new shelters have been added this year; and one of those is a pet-friendly shelter, so there are now two pet-friendly shelters in the County, one in Sharpes and one in Viera.  He stated one of the concerns is that the Red Cross is working under a regional system; during the wildfires most of the trained volunteers came from the Orlando and Orange County area; and that bothers him because during hurricane season all of the counties are going to be impacted, so that means Brevard County needs a good core of volunteers.  He stated it is an area of concern; he knows the Red Cross is working to build up the volunteer base; but trained volunteers are needed.  He stated in terms of special needs shelters, the County still has the same number of special needs shelters; but the number who needs such shelters is continuing to grow.  He stated there are approximately 2,200 people registered for the Special Needs Program; and if they get another hundred more, they will have to look at opening an additional shelter.  He advised last year they were trying to help the State find money to install the second generator to operate an entire shelter if the power goes out; the State requires having a building that will have generator backup for up to 72 hours; and the County has done that in one of its shelters.  He stated construction will start for a generator at a second shelter this week; and the generator will be in place by the end of July, so if there are no storms until the end of July, there will be at least two generators that will run complete special needs shelters.  He stated in the southern part of the County there will still be one special needs shelter without that capability so they will try to lease a generator or find an alternative power source; and they are still working on that area.  He stated in terms of health and medical, the hospitals and health issues are green.  He stated they have been doing a lot of work in planning for this season; they have been working for ventilators and dialysis to make sure everything is together; and if there is an issue, they know where it is going to be and have a way of solving it.  He stated in terms of food and water, there are no reported issues; everything is green with food and water; however, one thing has changed since 2004.  He stated if there is a big box store such as Wal-Mart or Sam’s Club within five miles of where they want to put a point of distribution, the County will not be allowed to put it there and have goods delivered to it; the State will not allow it; and that is something the County is still working on.  He stated Florida Power & Light still has a coordinator who comes to the EOC during emergencies; and there are no reported issues with water utilities or electrical utilities.  He stated the public information system is rated as green; there is a system in place; and there is a meeting set up this month with broadcasters and some of the PIO’s to put the final touches on the system.  He stated in terms of volunteers and donations, during the wildfires, there were a lot of people who offered things, which were nicely received; they were for a great cause; but he has concern that there needs to be a little bit more work on volunteers and donations to make sure there are places before something happens to be able to put things in place and move it around.  He stated there were some folks getting overwhelmed during the wildfires; and he does not want that to happen.  He stated he has seen that happen during larger disasters; and he wants to be able to control this so there is a bit of extra work to do there.  He stated Animal Services is one of the best in the State; he and Animal Services Director Craig Engelson went to the National Hurricane Conference and gave a presentation on pet friendly shelters, how they can be operated, and what is needed for them; and the County is taking the lead almost nationwide in the way it is handling pets and people.  He stated the issue is not going to go away; pets and people have been living together forever; and it is very hard to divorce the two so the County has to find a better way to do this.  He stated they are working with the Red Cross to see if some changes can be made and certain shelters selected that will be more usable for pets and people, so they can segregate the two, yet have pets and people in the same shelter.  He noted that will not happen this year, but they intend to have some of it happen next year.  Mr. Lay stated they have done well with coordination within the State of Florida; they had many recent training and other events; and the coordination with the State is in good shape.  He stated they still have an ongoing hurricane evacuation study that will not be completed until next year; and that will help know a little more about storm surge.  He stated from a regional standpoint, the County has been involved in regional meetings and conference calls; and the regional coordination has been very good.  He noted during the wildfires Sheriff Beary called him to offer his mobile command vehicle; they had it on S.R. 520 as a staging area for the Cocoa area; and that is the way they try to conserve resources by doing things on a regional basis.  He stated law enforcement is certainly in green status; law enforcement agencies work exceptionally well together; and when agencies come in from outside the County they work very well with them also, just as the firefighters do.  He stated there is a good common sharing of information Countywide; in Brevard County they are working together; and that has been the way of life on the Space Coast for a long time, so they are ready for the upcoming hurricane season.  He stated the County needs rain but it does not need hurricanes. 

 

Commissioner Bolin stated she did a site visit to the Emergency Services Office, which they call the bunker; and the improvements are wonderful.  She stated after five years with Emergency Services, she is sorry the improvements were not made while she was still there; but the air conditioning makes a difference in the environment and helps people work efficiently.  She stated she is very pleased that everything is in compliance; and thanked Mr. Lay for his hard work.  She stated she is working diligently on the Pineda to get it done; almost everything is in line; and it is just a matter of time now to solve that problem so all of the people on the islands can be evacuated if there is a disaster.

 

Commissioner Voltz stated she wants to touch on the Pineda; the railroad has not wanted the County to widen that because of safety issues on the railroad’s part; however, the railroad’s liability goes up when there is a jam right there on the railroad when there are hurricanes and major storms when people have to get off the beach, so there are two sides to that story.  She stated the County needs to convince the railroad that spending $30 million for a flyover is ridiculous because the railroad’s liability is going to be much higher the other way. 

 

Commissioner Colon stated she took some notes during the fires regarding some of the things; and she wants to give the human side of it and the way it was carried out by the professional side of the firefighters, the first responders, Public Works, American Red Cross, and so forth.  She stated she was proud to be a Brevard County resident this week more than ever because she was able to see what the people are made of and the kind of human beings who live in the County.  She stated during a very painful time in the County, the outpouring of love from the citizens and children was incredible; children wrote letters to the firefighters; and the love and compassion of the citizens was incredible.  She stated the citizens cooked for the firefighters and for the families that were displaced; they washed the firefighters’ uniforms; and they bought socks, t-shirts, bandanas, and whatever was needed for the firefighters.  She stated they went above and beyond what she expected; and the community was incredible.  She stated the business community also stepped up to the plate; Home Depot, Wal-Mart, Publix, and others helped; and it was not just lip service.  She stated washing machines were needed and they were there immediately; and they were there to feed the firefighters and find out what the displaced families needed.  She stated there is a huge list of people who stepped up to the plate; there were a lot of volunteers who came at six in the morning, worked all day, and left at eleven at night; that is the kind of love and compassion that she saw; and it was incredible and warms her heart.  Commissioner Colon stated by the third or fourth day the firefighters and the volunteers were tired and needed rest; and commented on the financial donations of companies such as Harris, Grumman, and others, a lady who cooked for the firefighters, and a young man who collected money in his neighborhood.  She stated that is the kind of pride and love that came from the citizens; when the firefighters came in, tired, dirty, and exhausted, they would see the people lining up with food for them and children coming in with cards; and they saw this in Palm Bay and at the staging center in Malabar.  She stated the hard part for her to witness was the families who had lost everything; and commented on a mother who was in shock, could not eat, and when she did eat, her tears would fill her plate.  She stated the father was looking at his wife and children and wondering what to do to take the pain away; the woman had taken pictures of the fire that was behind her house, never imagining that her house was going to be completely destroyed; and the citizens took it upon themselves to help their neighbors because the fires were everywhere.  She stated there were miles of fires; people do not have a clue how bad it was and what the firefighters were going through; but the firefighters were devastated that they would even lose one home.  She stated there were fires in Cocoa, in Malabar, and in Palm Bay; they were all going up at the same time; and people do not have a clue of what the firefighters were up against.  She stated if someone does not have the facts, they should not criticize; and for the firefighters to lose just one home was a complete devastation to them.  She stated the American Red Cross did a tremendous job at the shelters; Public Works was incredible; and they also had firefighters from Jacksonville, Palm Beach, Boca Raton, and Tallahassee.  She stated she remembers during the hurricanes seeing a sign on one of the utility trucks from Texas that said, “Hold on Florida, Texas is here”; stated to say thank you was not enough; but the Texas group said it was in Florida because they are all a family.  She stated the firefighters from Jacksonville said they were in Brevard County because Brevard County firefighters came when they had fires, and this was a way to show their appreciation.  She stated as an elected official there was another part that was important to her; in a political world she sees a lot of backstabbing and ugliness; people criticize and say she does things for whatever reason; but she was a public servant even before she got involved in politics at Our Lady of Grace, Habitat for Humanity, and the Sharing Center, so she was able to see the goodness.  She stated one of the things that she was proud of was that the elected officials in Palm Bay and Malabar rolled up their sleeves and helped; they were not in their comfortable offices in the air conditioning; and she saw them delivering food, running to the store to pick up the things that were needed, and in the shelters cooking and cleaning.  She stated it made her feel good because sometimes, as an elected official, when somebody messes up, all the elected officials are painted by the same brush; but she was proud to be part of the political family because she saw what they were doing.  She stated there were times when firefighters had to tell the elected officials to go home; she is proud of that; she has seen the other side; and to see that side made her extremely proud because help was needed.  She stated when the Governor came to the community she flew with him; there were three choppers; they stopped in Palm Bay first; and the Governor was able to look and see the devastation.  She advised the Governor said, “You guys are extremely blessed”; and she agreed.  She stated the Governor commented on the devastation they witnessed from the sky and the skill of the firefighters; the cavalry arrived later on, but the firefighters were on their own on Monday and Tuesday; Palm Bay, Malabar, and Brevard County were on their own with the fires happening all over; and the Governor was proud of the folks locally.  She stated the Governor’s first stop was in Palm Bay where he thanked the firefighters and told them what an incredible job they were doing.  Commissioner Colon stated she was proud of the professionalism; she is not impressed by what people know but by how their heart is and how they treat people in a time of need; she saw compassion by all; and she wanted to share that with the Board.  She stated they will be having a closeout meeting; it will be crucial to have the administrators there although that is not the norm; but it was suggested by the Red Team from the State to make sure the County Manager and the Town and City Managers be a part of that meeting because it is crucial to work together.  She stated there were 90 fires going on in the entire State; it was not just in Brevard County; and expressed appreciation to Mr. Lay for leading the charge on that side.  She advised the Palm Bay firefighters are having a walk this Saturday to help the families who have lost everything; and it will start at 9:00 a.m. in front of Wal-Mart.  She commented on the remarkable job done by the Fire Chiefs; and reiterated her appreciation to Mr. Lay for helping to keep everybody calm. 

 

Commissioner Nelson stated the good news is the Board approved one mobile command post; and hopefully it will be here soon.  He stated Mr. Lay snuck something into the Comprehensive Plan a few years ago so that new recreation centers have to be hurricane shelters; and as a result as they are coming online, the County is having new shelters that are unlike any others in the State because they are full shelters able to withstand 170 mph winds.  He stated they have generators, kitchens, and the whole works; so people can use them for recreation year-round; and then when they are needed, the County will have them as shelters.  He stated there are two more on the way, one in Palm Bay and one in West Melbourne; and thanked Mr. Lay.  He stated Mr. Lay is the best emergency management director in the State and has been recognized as that; the Board takes for granted that he deals with natural disasters but he also has to deal with the Space Center and the Port; and every time there is a launch, the EOC has to activate to a certain level because of the potential for damage caused by the launches.  He stated it is not like other parts of the State where if the weather turns bad, they check it out; Mr. Lay’s operation is routinely up and running; and suggested the Board give Mr. Lay a round of applause.

 

 

 

County Manager Peggy Busacca stated there are several employees who could not attend today; Mamie Pittman of Library Services has 40 years with the County, Douglas Eddleman with Fire Rescue has 30 years with the County, and Lorraine Black with Library Services, Gary Penna with Permitting and Enforcement, Larry Caddell with Road and Bridge, and Dick Biondi and Ron Voll with Utility Services have 25 years with the County.  Ms. Busacca stated Howard Bates of the Central Services Office has over 35 years of productive service to the citizens and staff of Brevard County; advised of Mr. Bates employment history; and expressed appreciation for his service.  She advised of Pam Shoemaker of Solid Waste Management’s employment history; and stated the County appreciates Ms. Shoemaker’s 30 years of service.  She advised of Candy Hanselman of Planning and Zoning’s employment history; and expressed appreciation to Ms. Hanselman for her 25 years of service.  She advised of David Hope of Road and Bridge’s employment history; and congratulated Mr. Hope on 25 years of service to the County.    

 

 

 

Commissioner Nelson stated John Anderson, Lt. Walters, and Debbie Davis of the State Attorney’s Office are present.  He advised Mr. Anderson serves as the President of the Merritt Island AARP; he is the Chairman of the Senior Resource Alliance; he is a board member of Cape Canaveral Hospital; and recently he was elected as Chairman of the Republican Party of Brevard County.  He advised senior law is one of Mr. Anderson’s passions.      

 

Commissioner Nelson read aloud a resolution proclaiming the month of May as Senior Law Awareness Month.   

 

Motion by Commissioner Nelson, seconded by Commissioner Voltz, to proclaim the month of May as Senior Law Awareness Month.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

Commissioner Nelson presented the Resolution to the group.  John Anderson thanked the Board for the recognition; and introduced Sarah Lightell who is the Chief Operating Officer for the Senior Resource Alliance, which is the area agency on aging.  He stated they are responsible for Public Service Area Seven, which includes Brevard, Orange, Osceola, and Seminole Counties.  Sarah Lightell thanked the Board for its leadership.

 

Chairman Scarborough stated crimes against the elderly many times are not the easiest to prosecute because the elderly are not the best witnesses and sometimes get confused, so it takes a dedicated Sheriff’s Office and a dedicated State Attorney’s Office to make it happen; and Brevard County has some of the best. 

   

 

 

Chairman Scarborough read aloud a resolution congratulating the Rolling Readers Space Coast.

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to adopt Resolution congratulating the volunteers associated with the Rolling Readers Space Coast who provide Read-Aloud, Tutor/Mentor, and small group tutoring programs to 7,700 at risk children, pre-kindergarten through fourth grade, in Brevard County.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

Polly Cordell advised of the formation of the Rolling Readers group and its work. 

 

Chairman Scarborough stated his wife is a fifth grade teacher and she knows firsthand that certain students need a little extra help; and he hears stories of what wonderful things the Rolling Readers do. 

 

Mary Eason advised they cover all of the Title One schools in the County; the children are wonderful; and they have the best volunteers. 

 

Chairman Scarborough presented the Resolution to Ms. Cordell and Ms. Eastman.   

 

 

 

Commissioner Nelson stated Brevard County is a coastal community; and there are many volunteers who contribute to the safety on the waters; and requested Sgt. Byron Keck and Deputy John Strauss come forward with Bobby the Boat. 

 

Bobby the Boat stated he is glad to be present; because of the Board’s foresight and the approval of the grant process with the FWC, it was possible to obtain the robot and the voice that goes with it; they have had the opportunity to educate over 1,700 students in Brevard County about water and boating safety; and they are very excited about having a proclamation about National Safe Boating Week. 

 

Chairman Scarborough invited the students who were present to come down to see Bobby the Boat.  Bobby commented on the importance of using lifejackets; and stated the motto is “Thumbs up for Safety.”

 

Commissioner Nelson stated it is a unified effort to deal with safety on the water.  Captain Steve Wayne stated the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is directly responsible for boating safety; and it enforces all the boating safety laws.  He stated they actively investigate all boating accidents including boating fatalities; and invited the Commissioners to attend an event at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday at Freddie Patrick Park, at which FWC will be kicking off its Florida Lifejacket Campaign.  He stated the media will be present; and the FWC will be donning lifejackets and jumping into the water to demonstrate their effectiveness.  Commissioner Bolin inquired if they will be able to see Commissioner Nelson in a lifejacket jumping in. 

 

Commissioner Nelson stated it takes a lot of people; and there are volunteers present, the Coast Guard Auxiliary, Flotilla 46 and Power Squadron.  Vice Commander Gil Steinfort introduced the members; and advised there are three flotillas in the County; and they are part of District 7 of the U.S. Coast Guard.  He stated they are the volunteer component of the Coast Guard that was established by Congress in 1939; and District 7 includes South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.  Commissioner Nelson stated also present is Vice Commander Bob Richmond.  Mr. Richmond stated he is from the Titusville area; the primary goal is boating safety; and they patrol the St. Johns River from S.R. 528 up to Marker 75 in Oak Hill.  Commissioner Nelson stated also present is Lucy Hixenbaugh with the Banana River Power Squadron.  Ms. Hixenbaugh stated the Banana River Power Squadron has been existence in Brevard County for 52 years; and along with her today is Lt. John Kendrick.  She stated the Power Squadron does a lot of junior safe boating courses; and one will be starting June 8 through June 10, 2008 at the David Schecter Center in Satellite Beach and again on June 30 through July 2, 2008.  Commissioner Nelson stated there were two deaths two or three weeks ago; life preservers could have saved those people; and it is tragic.           

 

Commissioner Nelson read aloud the resolution proclaiming the week of May 17 through May 23, 2008 as National Safe Boating Week. 

 

Motion by Commissioner Nelson, seconded by Commissioner Voltz, to adopt Resolution proclaiming the week of May 17 through May 23, 2008 as National Safe Boating Week with the motto “Boat Smart.  Boat Safe.  Wear it.”  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

Commissioner Nelson presented the Resolution to the group. 

 

 

 

Commissioner Nelson stated today the Board is lucky to have present a group of kids who represent what is good about Brevard County; and invited Vicki Huffman and the Cocoa High School Bionic Tiger Robotics Team 1952 to come forward.  He stated Ms. Huffman is the teacher associated with the program; and introduced the team members.  He inquired if the team brought the robot; with Ms. Huffman responding the robot is packed in the trailer, which is attached to the truck, and she did not know how to turn the trailer around, so the robot is in the driveway at Cocoa High School. 

 

Commissioner Nelson read aloud the resolution recognizing the Cocoa High School Bionic Tiger Robotics Team 1592. 

 

Motion by Commissioner Nelson, seconded by Commissioner Voltz, to adopt Resolution recognizing the Cocoa High School Bionic Tiger Robotics Team 1592 for its achievements in local, regional, and global robotics competition.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.  

 

 

Commissioner Nelson presented the Resolution to the group; and requested Ms. Huffman explain what the team did.  Ms. Huffman stated the students participate in an organization called FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology); the organization was started about fifteen years ago by Dean Kamen to inspire students to make scientists their heroes; and it is to help encourage students to go in that direction.  She stated they compete three times each year, once in Orlando, once out of town, and once at the world championships.  She stated they miss quite a bit of school; they do tests and homework on the bus and on the plane; and they take academics very seriously.  She stated they are given their robot challenge on the first Saturday in January; and they have exactly six weeks to build a robot.  She stated the kids put in their regular school day; and some of them are there until nine o’clock every night for the entire six weeks.  She stated they work hard and maintain their grades; and the biggest challenge lately has been the budget crisis.  She stated the annual budget for the team is $55,000; they have two corporate partners, NASA Launch Services and Analex Corporation that put up $25,000 of it; and Brevard County Schools and Government give another $6,000, so the students raise $30,000 every year just to compete. 

 

Commissioner Voltz stated the team members should be very proud; they are the next generation of scientists that will be at the Space Center; they will be able to stay in Brevard County for the rest of their careers; and congratulated the team. 

 

Commissioner Colon stated the young people in the community are not just intelligent; there was a robotics team in South Brevard that on Sunday cooked a huge meal for the firefighters; and those are the kind of young people that are in the County and they are not only intelligent but compassionate and loving. 

 

     

 

Commissioner Bolin read aloud a resolution recognizing and commending the People to People Student Ambassador Program.

 

Motion by Commissioner Bolin, seconded by Commissioner Voltz, to adopt Resolution recognizing and commending the People to People Student Ambassador Program.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

John Hays, Director of the People to People Ambassador Program, stated there are three delegations traveling from the Melbourne area; the high school and junior high groups will be going to England, France, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, and the Netherlands; and the elementary delegation, which he will be leading, is going to western Canada.  He stated they meet with the students for six months prior to travel; the leaders are all teachers so they assign homework and presentations; and they want the children to know that just because something is different does not mean it is wrong.  He stated they also try to instill the motto of People to People, which is, Peace through understanding.  The students introduced themselves and advised of what schools they attend. 

 

Commissioner Bolin presented the Resolution to the group.      

 

 

 

John Emery, representing the Strawbridge Art League, stated he is currently serving as the Chairman of the Board of the International Guild of Glass Artists; his work can be seen in Space Coast Living in May 2008; and he will be doing a presentation on Wednesday evening to the Strawbridge Art League on their work, which includes a book that is just coming out.  He stated he has been in business since 1976 as part of Preston Studios; and his work can be seen at the front door of Henegar Center for the Arts, which is where the Strawbridge Art League is housed.  He stated with him is Yolanda Schofield who has come up with projects for the artists of the County including the Florida, Florida, Florida book; it is a project that was undertaken with the three writers groups seven years ago; it was started before 9-11; and after 9-11 that exhibit toured.  He stated Ms. Schofield was specifically responsible for that project; it was exhibited at the Space Center and at Orlando City Hall; and since that time, another project called Green Gables was done, which was chaired by Mary Herzig with Ms. Schofield’s help.  He stated that was about the first house in Brevard County that was wired for electricity and had an indoor bathroom; it is in Melbourne; and they are hoping it can be saved.  He advised of a three year project for which Ms. Schofield was responsible where ten locations per year were selected and artists were commissioned to produce art work based on those ten historic locations.  He stated each of the Commissioners should have a copy of Landmarks Our Heritage; each location was a historic location; and the book which resulted came out this year includes all 30 locations and includes text explaining why the locations are important.  He stated there are reasons for Brevard County residents to understand that there is history that is worth preserving; and that is part of the project.  He noted this is a touring exhibit; it started at the Henegar Center; it currently is at the library at BCC-UCF in Cocoa; it will going on June 16, 2008 to the Cocoa Beach Library, on August 4, 2008 to the Evans Library at FIT, and in October to the King Center where it will end its tour.    

 

Yolanda Schofield stated it is the purpose of the Strawbridge Art League at this time to focus the public’s attention on the legacy that is in the County; Florida is an amusement and theme park state; but it is also so much more than that as there is a wonderful historic legacy.  Ms. Schofield stated she has only been in Florida for a few years; but people must be aware of the richness that is on the Space Coast.  She stated they only focused on Brevard County and the Space Coast; and advised of drawings and paintings of the lighthouse going to Cape Canaveral for exhibition.  She stated it is a special location because it is on restricted territory and they got special permission to be able to have an outdoor painting event; and they are especially conscientious about pointing out the historical legacy that is on the Space Coast. 

 

Mr. Emery stated in the late 20^th Century a lot of art work could be termed inaccessible; but they believe art should be relevant; and they have been trying hard to make art relevant to Brevard County.  He stated this is one of the processed they have been undertaking to do this; and they hope everyone enjoys and participates in the touring exhibit. 

 

Chairman Scarborough stated the paintings are magnificent; and it is history at the same time.  He stated it is something that would be good to have as part of the government channel.  Ms. Schofield stated they are going to do more in the future; and they plan to focus more on the Florida heritage.  Mr. Emery advised that will be in a couple of years; and they have ideas they are working on. 

 

Commissioner Voltz inquired if the Board can get a list of those places; with Mr. Emery responding he will provide that; and they will also be on the strawbridgeartleague.org website.  Commissioner Voltz inquired where the house in Melbourne they are hoping to save is located; with Mr. Emery responding Green Gables is at the end of Hibiscus on U.S. 1, and it cannot be seen from the road.  Commissioner Voltz stated she toured that house and it is terrific.  Mr. Emery stated they hope they can preserve it.  Commissioner Voltz inquired where that is in the process; and advised she was working with Ann Smith on it.  Mr. Emery stated the last bit is hung up in a family feud; and he does not think they have resolved the legal issues on how to dispose of the property, although the City of Melbourne is also interested in it.  Commissioner Voltz inquired if it is open for tours; with Mr. Emery responding it is not.  Ms. Schofield stated they are hoping that the home does not solve its own problem by collapsing.  Chairman Scarborough stated that would be terrible.  Mr. Emery advised there are a couple of pieces of art in the back of the room that are part of that show. 

 

 

Commissioner Colon read aloud a resolution proclaiming June 6, 2008 as Tracey Bagwell Day and recognizing the Tracy Bagwell Foundation. 

 

Motion by Commissioner Colon, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to adopt Resolution proclaiming June 6, 2008 as Tracey Bagwell Day and recognizing the Tracey Bagwell Foundation.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

Commissioner Colon presented the Resolution to Ms. Bagwell’s family.  The brother-in-law of Ms. Bagwell introduced the members of the family; and stated what the Board is doing is very special.  He stated this will help the County; they generate a lot of funds for the organization; and it helps a lot of people.  He advised there is a fundraiser on June 6, 2008 at the Holiday Inn Express in Cocoa. 

 

Commissioner Colon requested a family member tell a little about Ms. Bagwell; and stated not only was Ms. Bagwell beautiful on the outside but she was beautiful on the inside as well.  Ms. Bagwell advised her daughter’s goal was always to do something for teenage girls; and when Tracey died, her friend Rose was the one who carried on that dream and got it started with the Children’s Home Society.  Commissioner Colon stated it is wonderful that something so evil was turned into something so positive to continue Tracey’s legacy forever.  Ms. Bagwell advised of the help from the County, the sponsors, and the community.

 

Commissioner Colon presented the Resolution to the family. 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Bolin, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to move Item VIII.E.3 forward to be discussed after approval of the Consent Agenda.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Chairman Scarborough stated the public has requested discussion on Items III.A.25, Resolution and Memorandum of Understanding with Florida Department of Transportation, Re:  Pineda Causeway for grade Separation Crossing and III.C.4, Resolution, Re:  qualified Defense Contractor, DRS Sensors and Targeting Systems, Inc.; and inquired if the Board wishes to remove any other items.  Commissioner Voltz requested Item III.C.3, Request for Proposals, Re:  Independent Financial Audit Services be pulled for discussion.   

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to adopt Resolution re-forming the previous Landscaping, Land Clearing & Tree Protection Task Force to evaluate and make recommendations to the board on amendments to Chapter 62, Article VIII, Division 2, entitled Landscaping, land Clearing & Tree Protection.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to execute Nonpoint Source Management Program (319) Grant Agreement with Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) accepting State cost-share for the Lake Washington Road pond; execute Attachment I, Certification Regarding Debarments, Suspension, Ineligibility, and Voluntary Exclusion–Lower Tier Federally Funded Transactions; and accept legal venue, attorney fees, and jury trial provision that are standard State contract language.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to authorize the Natural Resources Management Office to request and accept an increase of $124,300 to the current National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) Grant; approve Budget Change Request; and authorize staff to advertise, award, and execute agreements to implement the additional work under the Marine Turtle Hurricane Mitigation Project.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to authorize the County Manager to accept and execute an Agreement with the St. Johns River Water Management District for approximately $300,000 in Grant funds for L-2 Ditch Stabilization project; authorize necessary Budget Change Requests; and accept local venue, attorney fees, and jury trial provisions that are standard State contract language.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.     

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to adopt Resolution creating a Stakeholder Working group to evaluate and make recommendations to the Board on amendments to Chapter 62, Article X, Division 3, entitled Surface Water Protection.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to execute Amendment No. 7 to Agreement No. 05BE1 with Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), Bureau of Beaches and Coastal Systems, for design, permitting, and monitoring of the Mid Reach
Shore Protection Project.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to execute Amendment No. 1 to Agreement No. 07BE2 with Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), Bureau of Beaches and Coastal Systems, for required environmental monitoring of the North and South Reach Shore Protection Project.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to grant preliminary plat and final plat approvals for Christian Church at Viera, subject to minor changes, if necessary, receipt of all necessary documents required for recording, and developer responsible for obtaining all necessary jurisdictional permits; and authorize the Chairman to sign the final plat.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to grant preliminary plat and final plat approvals for Watersong South at Viera, subject to minor engineering changes, as applicable, and developer responsible for obtaining all other necessary jurisdictional permits; grant a waiver of Section 62-1446(d)(3)(b) of the required separation distance between structures from 15 feet to 10 feet for single family detached structures for the project; and authorize the Chairman to sign the final plat.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.   

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to grant preliminary plat and final plat approvals for Viera Health Complex, subject to minor engineering changes, as applicable, receipt of all necessary documents required for recording, and developer responsible for obtaining all other necessary jurisdictional permits; and authorize the Chairman to sign the plat.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to adopt Resolution releasing Contract dated January 22, 2008 with The Viera Company for Lake Andrew Drive Extension, Phase 1.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to execute Contract with Rockledge Fiske Apartments, LLC extending completion of construction to August 1, 2008 for Tuckaway Drive Improvements in accordance with Section 62-2844(a).  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.   

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to execute Binding Development Plan with Ronald C. and Lois D. Dixon for property located on the west side of Lois Lane, approximately 270 feet south of Lake Drive.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to approve request for Board consent as an abutting property owner for waiver of setback requirements for 4145 Savannahs Trail, Merritt Island.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to execute Task Order No. 97-56 in the amount of $62,800 with Neel-Schaffer, Inc. to provide engineering services to design, obtain regulatory permits, and prepare construction plans for a new yard waste mulching facility at Central Disposal Facility.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to grant permission to solicit bids, and award to lowest qualified bidder, emergency repairs and minor expansions to the landfill gas collection and control system required by Florida Department of Environmental Protection Solid Waste Operations, Closure and Title V air permits.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.    

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to accept Deed for a portion of Butler Avenue on Merritt Island in favor of Brevard County from Michael Francis Fahey, Settlor and Trustee under the Philip F. Fahey, Jr. Revocable Trust Agreement in Section 14, Township 24 South, Range 36 East; authorize payment of owner’s expenses incurred in the preparation of the sketch, legal description and taxes; and waive the Environmental Site Assessment requirement as this land has been used for road right-of-way.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.   

                       

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to accept Deed, Permanent Easement and Temporary Construction Easement from Domenico and Rosa Cerbo for the transfer of right-of-way along Barnes Boulevard in Section 21, Township 25 South, Range 36 East; and waive the environmental site assessment requirement.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to adopt Resolution for the cancellation of real property taxes on property acquired for public purposes.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to approve and authorize the Chairman to sign a Subordination of Utility Interests and Agreement for the Reimbursement for facility relocation in favor of Florida Power and Light Company for property within the Pineda
Causeway Realignment Project.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to accept Quit Claim Deed from Maronda Homes, Inc. of Florida/Crystal Lakes West for road right-of-way in West Melbourne in Section 13, Township 28 South, Range 36 East.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to adopt Resolution authorizing execution of Agreements; and execute Local Agency Certification Qualification Agreement with Florida Department of Transportation.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to adopt Resolutions modifying Resolutions Nos. 07-088 and 07-089 for the Constitutional and Local Option Fuel Tax Revenue Bonds; and authorize the Chairman to execute all Budget Change Requests necessary for this action.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to adopt Resolution authorizing execution of the Off-State Highway System County Incentive Grant Program Agreement; execute Agreement with Florida Department of Transportation for the Intelligent Transportation System for Wickham Road from Sarno Road to Pineda Causeway and from Pineda Causeway to Shoppes Drive, west of I-95; and approve Budget Change Requests necessary to expedite the Agreement.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to execute Right-of-way Use Agreement with Mark D. Sutton for encroachments within the unimproved right-of-way (alley) between Rose Street and Myrtice Avenue on Merritt Island.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to adopt Resolution authorizing the Transportation Engineering Director or the Road and Bridge Assistant Director to execute the Construction and Maintenance Memorandums of Agreement with the Florida Department of Transportation for sidewalk and/or landscaping construction on State maintained rights-of-way Countywide.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to authorize the Utilities Services Department to engage construction services contracted by the City of Indian Harbour Beach for roadway/drainage improvements in order to replace an aging and collapsing sewer force main within the City.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.   

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to approve dissolving the Brevard County Veterans’ Memorial Park Advisory Board, also known as the Veterans Board of Visitors.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to adopt Resolution revising the Sanctuary Management Manual of the Environmentally Endangered Lands Program as recommended by the EEL Program Selection and Management Committee.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to execute the Sovereignty Submerged Lands Lease with the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund for lands and docks in the South Beach Region of the EEL Program.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to execute Agreement to Amend Existing Interlocal Agreement Amendment Number Four with the city of Rockledge for improvements at McLarty Park Little League Complex.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to execute Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Florida Boating Improvement Program Standard Grant Amendment No. 1 to Agreement for time extension for South County Boat Launch Project to June 15, 2009.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to execute Professional Services Agreement Amendment No. 17 with BRPH Architects-Engineers, Inc. for an amount not to exceed $148,000 for services required for the Chain of Lakes Lake Expansion and Wetland Mitigation.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to authorize staff to advertise Request for Proposals from Historic Construction Management Services; appoint Selection Committee comprised of Parks and Recreation Director Don Lusk, Assistant Parks and Recreation Director Cheryl Page, North Area Parks Operations Manager Terry Lane, and Assistant County Manager Stockton Whitten or their designees, and one member of The North Brevard Heritage Foundation, Inc.; appoint Negotiating Committee comprised of Parks and Recreation Director Don Lusk, Assistant County Manager Stockton Whitten, and County Attorney Scott Knox or their designees; and authorize the Chairman to execute the negotiated Contract for Construction Management Services for the restoration of The Pritchard House.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to approve the FY 2008-2009 TDC Category E – Cultural Events Cooperative Advertising Program Handbook, which includes eligibility requirements, criteria for evaluation, instructions and application forms.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.   

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to approve an increase in monthly fee from $11,715.58 to $15,465.58 per month contingent on The Buchanan Company hiring an additional experienced sports events manager to assist in attracting sports events and creating new sports events in the County; and authorize the Chairman to execute the Amendment to Agreement.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to acknowledge the Chaparral Community Development District Annual Financial Audit Report for the Fiscal Year ended September 30, 2007.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to acknowledge the City of Cocoa’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for the Fiscal Year ended September 30, 2007.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.   

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to adopt Resolution qualifying DRS Sensors & Targeting Systems, Inc. as an eligible business under the County’s Tax Abatement Program; and authorize a public hearing to consider adopting an exemption ordinance.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to authorize the delegation to the Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast (EDC) to conduct a TEFRA Public hearing for the tax exempt financing project and allow the Brevard Zoo to take necessary steps to acquire tax exempt financing of their new improvement projects.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to adopt Resolution implementing a conversion restructure of Pivotal Utilities Holdings, Inc.’s existing industrial development revenue bonds; and authorize the Chairman, Clerk, and County Attorney to sign the Resolution and execute the related financing documents.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to adopt Resolution qualifying Guardian Ignition Interlocal Manufacturing as an eligible business under the County’s Tax Abatement Program; and authorize a public hearing to consider adopting an exemption ordinance.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to adopt Resolution qualifying Guardian Ignition Interlocal Manufacturing as a Qualified Targeted Industry, and requesting the State waive the QTI local match requirement in lieu of the County’s tax exemption local match.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to execute Access and Use Agreement with Brevard County Health Department and Circles of Care, Inc. for property leased and operated by the County at 2275 Babcock Street, Melbourne, Florida.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.   

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to approve submittal of Sub-Grant Application for Community Emergency Response Team funding for sustainment of the County CERT Program; and authorize the County Manager or her designee to execute all agreements, documents, resolutions, etc.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to accept two Grant Awards from the State 9-1-1 Board, in the total amount of $1,833,434; and authorize the Information Technology Director to execute any necessary Grant Agreements and establish the Grant Project budgets.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to approve funding for extension of the existing Maintenance Agreement for 90101 customer premise equipment that meets FCC mandates for Phases I and II and NENA standards; authorize the Chairman to execute Addendum Agreement with BellSouth Telecommunications, Inc. that extends the previous Agreement; and authorize the necessary administrative and budgetary actions to effect same.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.  

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to execute Agreements with Florida Department of Children and Families and Brevard County Health Department for the implementation of a local child care licensing and enforcement program.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to appoint the Brevard County Planning and Zoning Director to the Staff Working Group, Capital Outlay Committee and Educational Facilities Impact Fee Advisory Committee.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to approve changes to Policy BCC-007, Drug and Alcohol Testing of Applicants and Employees.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to authorize the Insurance Director to evaluate property renewal options from brokers Brown & Brown and A. J. Gallagher and bind/secure placement of the County’s property insurance coverage with an effective date of June 1, 2008.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to approve the Bills and Budget Change, as submitted.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Chairman Scarborough advised representatives of BRPH are present to answer questions and make a presentation on the Chain of Lakes; but the presentation can be done at a later time. 

 

 

Commissioner Nelson stated City staff from Cocoa Beach is present; and he would like to move forward Item VIII.C.2.

 

Motion by Commissioner Nelson, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to move Item VII.C.2 forward to be discussed after Item VIII.E.3.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

Chairman Scarborough inquired if the agreement he has been given is the same agreement that was emailed to him last evening.  County Attorney Scott Knox responded it is the same agreement with changes on pages 2 and 3, which have been highlighted in yellow.  County Manager Peggy Busacca stated the changes just extend the period of reporting from two years to four years.  Chairman Scarborough stated he did not read the agreement until last evening so he will have questions; and he would like Economic and Financial Programs Director Greg Lugar to be present. 

 

The meeting recessed at 11:02 a.m. and reconvened at 11:15 a.m. 

 

EDC Director Lynda Weatherman introduced Gary Spulak, President of Embraer Aircraft Holdings who will be giving a presentation on the project and provide some timelines.  She stated he also has models displayed of the Phenom 100 and Phenom 300 to give the Board an idea of the caliber of manufacturing that will be done in the County. 

 

Gary Spulak, President of Embraer Aircraft Holdings introduced the Embraer team.  Chairman Scarborough welcomed Embraer to Brevard County.  Mr. Spulak stated he will divide the presentation into three parts; first he will provide some background information about the company; he will then talk about the site selection process; and last he will talk a little about the project itself.  He stated what is before the Board is the Phenom 100 and the Phenom 300; and he will provide more details about both aircraft.  He stated he will ask a question to give the Board some perspective about the state of the aerospace industry as a whole on the commercial side; and inquired how many commercial aircraft manufacturers are left in the world; with Commissioner Voltz guessing three.  Mr. Spulak advised there are four manufacturers, Airbus and Boeing, who take care of the upper end of the market, and Embraer and Bombardier.  He stated Boeing is in Seattle, Washington; Airbus is in Toulouse, France; Bombardier is headquartered in Canada; and Embraer is in Brazil.  He stated it is interesting that in the industry, one of the four remaining aircraft manufacturers comes from the country of Brazil; and that is a wonderful testament to the determination and spirit of the country in moving forward in a high tech sector like aerospace, which brings not only a lot of opportunities but also a lot of challenges.  He stated Embraer is an acronym, standing for Empresa Brasileira de Aeronáutica; almost half of the shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ERJ; and they are the largest manufacturer of commercial jets up to 120 seats and one of Brazil’s leading export companies.  He stated the company was founded in 1969; it designs, develops, manufactures, and sells aircraft for commercial aviation, executive aviation, defense, and government segments; and it also provides after-sale support and services to customers worldwide.  He stated the common voting shares are approximately 740 million and the market value is approximately $7.4 billion; the backlog of orders that have yet to be filled for all produces was approximately $18.8 billion at the end of last year; and they delivered 169 jet products last year, which was 30% higher than in 2006.  He noted that was a company record last year through the hard work and determination of the employee base; and net sales last year were about $5.2 billion.  He stated as far as commercial aviation is concerned, Embraer is the third largest commercial aircraft manufacturer in the world when talking about market share, after Boeing and Airbus; the main product until recently was the 145 family, which is probably an aircraft many have flown in, especially in the State of Florida.  He stated it is a 50 seater; it also comes in a 37 and a 44 seat derivative; and it addresses the needs from 30 to 50 seats.  He stated last year Embraer delivered the 1,000^th ERJ 145 family aircraft to Grand China Express in China.  Mr. Spulak stated to better serve the industry in their particular market segment, they introduced their E-jet family of aircraft, which fits between 70 and 120 seats; the 170 seats between 70 and 80 seats; the 175 is between 78 and 88 seats; the 190 is from 98 to 114 seats; and the largest is the 195, which is from 108 to 122 seats.  He stated in 2007 they delivered 334 of this model and type of aircraft to 45 clients in 30 countries; and their order backlog for this family of aircraft at the end of 2007 was 764 airplanes.  He stated these aircraft provide superior comfort with a double bubble design, two main passenger entrances, and two service doors.  He stated they also make executive aviation products; those are aircraft for the executive market; one of the products they make is the Legacy 600, which is based on the ERJ 145 family of aircraft; and they also make a Lineage 1,000 which is based on the 190.  He stated last but not least are the Phenom products; in May 2005 Embraer launched two new jets for the very light and light jet segments, the Phenom 100 and 300; and both aircraft are going to offer comfort, performance, and style previously unknown in the categories of aircraft that they are competing with.  He stated there will be a pilot friendly cockpit; the docile flight characteristics of the aircraft will enable single pilot operation; the Phenom 100 will comfortably accommodate four passengers in a club seat configuration; and the Phenom 300 will be configured to accommodate up to nine occupants.  Mr. Spulak stated the new aircraft are expected to enter service in mid-2008 and mid-2009 for the Phenom 300.  He advised Embraer also makes products for the defense and government segment; their military aircraft provides advanced fourth generation technology and superior mission performance while meeting budgetary requirements for the defense market worldwide; and all of their military aircraft provides state of the art electronics, reliability, and high mission effectiveness.  He stated one of the strengths is low acquisition and operation costs based on the ERJ 145 platform, which adds value to the military customers; and more than 20 air forces around the world rely on their products for surveillance, combat, and training missions.  He stated in terms of their United States presence, they are in 16 states currently; Ft. Lauderdale is their U.S. headquarters where they have approximately 282 employees; and the functions and responsibilities there are commercial and executive air craft marketing, customer support, product support, spare part sales, technical assistance, external relations, corporate communications, and legal.  He stated in Nashville, Tennessee, they have a company-owned maintenance, repair, and overhaul facility where they do maintenance on their products and the products of others; there are aircraft painting facilities for the commercial products and soon for the corporate products; and they have invested $25 million in the Nashville facility.  He stated facilities will soon be opened in Ft. Lauderdale, Mesa, Arizona, and Windsor Locks, Connecticut for maintenance repair and overhaul and customer service to support the two executive jet products.  He stated the one that will be added in Ft. Lauderdale will be a $17 million investment; the work is underway now; and in Arizona it will be a $10 million investment and in Windsor Locks it will also be a $10 million investment.  He stated each of the facilities will employee approximately 60; and all three of them will be online before the end of the year and certainly before the first Phenom 100 is delivered.  He stated almost 70% of the value of the component parts and materials for all of the products including commercial, executive, and military products comes from U.S. suppliers so there is a huge export capability that Embraer provides in the United States to all of its partners and suppliers.  He stated that translates in terms of economic value for the country to about 7,000 direct jobs that are created that come from component purchases that are made in the United States; and they have created approximately $6 billion of U.S. exports over the last five years and will create almost $5 billion in the next three years.  He stated in terms of their Florida presence, since 1979 when they started operations in this country, they have expanded the business and created jobs in Broward County alone to the tune of $325 million of total added value to the community in payroll benefits, taxes, expansion, buildings, and development.  He stated the Phenom 100 is a six to eight seater aircraft with maximum cruising speed of about 380 knots; the maximum operational altitude is about 41,000 feet; and it is a mach .7 aircraft.  He stated the Phenom 300 has a maximum eight or nine seats; the maximum cruising speed is about 450 knots; the maximum altitude is 45,000 feet; and it is a .78 mach airplane.  He stated there were questions when they visited last week about the site selection process; when they undertake an expansion project in the United States they have an organized program that they have used about six times in the last six years; they regularly are visited by economic development authorities of many states during the course of the year trying to market their state; and they keep track of new industrial and commercial operations throughout the country so they know the hot spots as well as the problem areas.  He stated they also use specialists from time to time to assist them; as part of their normal business operations, they keep current on a year-by-year basis with the expansion in the event they are called upon to activate a particular project, which is what happened in this case.  He stated as they discussed the project internally they started with the knowledge and experience base that they keep; and they initiated the formal process that he mentioned previously.  He stated the process is almost a modeling at the beginning process; but this particular project is unique in many ways.  Mr. Spulak stated it will be both an industrial and a customer site; in many instances a site makes a great industrial location but is not such a good customer location in terms of infrastructure and support; there were a number of states in play; but 24 sites were chosen to be evaluated including those in the State of Florida.  He stated at the time they were going through this process, Governor Crist had taken his trade mission to Brazil and decided to visit their facility in São José dos Campos, which is in the state of São Paulo; and advised if someone is flying into Brazil to São Paulo, it is about an hour’s drive from the airport to Embraer.  He stated a number of states were included in the 24 sites; and they narrowed the sites down to a final group and then entered into detailed negotiations, considering all the significant evaluation factors and their corresponding weights in the model, which was the hard part.  He noted Melbourne was the site selected as the preferred location for the Phenom Project capable of producing the Phenom 100 and 300 at a maximum rate of eight aircraft per month; and a decision about a ramp up rate and the product mix in terms of how many of each are going to be taken further down the road.  He stated it is their desire to add value to the local community as part of their normal corporate strategy in all sites in the U.S.; they use local vendors and suppliers for the project whenever possible, considering that they are qualified and able to meet the project objectives; and they will be working with the EDC officials on their identification and evaluation.  He stated the plan now is to receive the necessary approvals from all the authorities and then have a groundbreaking ceremony where they will be able to reveal much more about the scope and the appearance of the facilities as well as updates in terms of local job applications.  He stated receipt of local job applications will be done through an automated process and evaluation at the time the groundbreaking is carried out; and this is expected within the next few months.  He stated they will try to advance this process as quickly as possibly as they go through the necessary steps before and considering that the project is approved.  He stated as far as the project itself, there are four different operations; one is a final assembly and delivery for the Phenom 100 and 300 aircraft; the intention is to assemble the structural components of the aircraft in Brazil; the components will then be put in containers that can go on vessels and will be trucked from the facility to the ports in Brazil where they will be put on a vessel and sent to the United States; and their intent is to have the vessel arrive at Port Canaveral.  Mr. Spulak stated this was one of the processed they went through for evaluation; there are other options; but the intention was to focus on Brevard County and add as much value to the local community as they could.  He stated up until now they have not been able to talk to those officials; but the intent is to meet with them as soon as possible; and at that time, when the containers are opened at the facility in Melbourne; and commented on local suppliers.  He stated parts and equipment will be shipped from different states and countries directly to Melbourne where they will be incorporated; the fuselage sections will be joined; the wings will be made into the aircraft as will the landing gear, the engines, and all of the interior of the aircraft, which is made by BMW Design Works in the U.S.; and then the airplane will be flight tested.  He stated there will be a delivery center where the aircraft will be delivered to the customer; they will go through the inspection process and acceptance process; and then the aircraft will be delivered and flown away.  He stated some of the aircraft will also be delivered inside the State of Florida, so their flight will not be that long.  He stated as part of the assembly process they will also paint the aircraft; the final assembly facility will be approximately 72,000 square feet; the aircraft paint shop will be approximately 20,000 square feet; the delivery center will be 32,000 square feet; and there will be a customer service center.  He stated the total investment will be approximately $50 million; and that is for machinery, buildings, equipment, and startup costs.  He stated as far as personnel, there will be up to 200 jobs created by 2011 with an average annual wage of approximately $50,000 per job; and they are anticipating the startup of the operation in January 2010 when they will be making the first aircraft at the facility.  He stated the customer center will be a unique facility for Embraer globally where customers will come from all over the world; and the industrial process that he just mentioned is one project, but the customer center is another element of it.  He stated customers will come to the customer care center; they will visit to be part of the selling process; they will be looking at full size and in some cases, partial size cabin mockups; for the Phenom 100 and 300 they will probably have the full fuselage there; but in the case of some of the larger aircraft like the Lineage 1000, it will probably be cut-outs.  He stated they have just announced two new aircraft in the executive jet fleet so customers will visit and review the mockups; they will use a lot of very sophisticated 3-D tools to help them design the interior of the aircraft, the style of the aircraft, and the painting scheme; and the process is usually carried out over a number of days.  He stated the visitors will fly in, either with their own aircraft or with commercial service from international destinations; and they will hopefully spend a lot of time in the local community, at hotels, eating at restaurants, or visiting the local attractions such as the malls, golf courses, beaches, and everything the community has to offer.  He stated if the customer is purchasing a Phenom 100 or 300, they will also be back to visit the facility to see their aircraft in production, which is an emotional thing; it is part of the process that the customer goes through in terms of acceptance of the aircraft; and it is an interesting thing to see as well, especially when one can get close to the aircraft.  He stated obviously it is more difficult when the aircraft is being made in Brazil, and some may ask why Embraer is doing this; and one of the main reasons is to bring the process closer to the U.S. customers.  He stated customers may visit the aircraft as it is being produced and then come back to receive the aircraft as part of the acceptance for delivery; and that is the overview of the project.  He stated the idea is to start the project immediately as soon as all approvals are received; the project team is in place; they have done this many times across the U.S.; and they  have the process in place.  He stated the idea is to start the process so the first aircraft can be produced by January of 2010; and his staff is present to answer any questions the Board may have.

 

Commissioner Voltz stated there was some secrecy about the project; the Commission took a lot of heat for Project Jaguar; and requested Mr. Spulak speak about why Embraer wanted that.  Mr. Spulak stated in general the site selection process is very personal; the industry is highly competitive; and they asked the Economic Development officials to keep the process as confidential as possible.  He stated how that was carried out by the EDC was in the way it thought best to keep it confidential; and Embraer left it up to the officials and their local knowledge of the processes to keep it confidential.  Commissioner Voltz stated they did a great job; and inquired why Embraer selected the Brevard County area.  Mr. Spulak stated Embraer has a running knowledge of the different sites in the United States that could meet certain of their business needs; they do that as part of their normal business because they never know when something can come up; and this came up in a way that was reactive to their customers.  He stated everything they do is with the customer in mind; a lot of work is done blind to the local community, the state, or the government officials; they do their own internal work; and they may make a visit and ask some questions, but they do not represent themselves.  He stated once they have their internal process, that gives them a good idea of what they need; he mentioned earlier that the equipment that is going to be manufactured in Brazil will be coming by vessel, so they looked for accessibility to a port; and that gives a geographic idea of where they wanted to be.  He stated some states did not have a port but said they were close enough that the parts could be trucked in; then they had to add the cost and risks of transport; and once that criteria is put down, it starts to lead the in a direction.  He stated they are in the State of Florida just a couple of hours south of Melbourne; they travel in and out of the State and know the merits of the community as well as some of the challenges; but one of the main things they looked for was the availability of skilled labor.  He stated Melbourne received high marks for availability of skilled labor; the site had some mutually exclusive variables as a good customer site and a good industrial site; and as they narrowed the field, they realized pretty quickly that there were just a few places where it could be easily accommodated, with Melbourne coming out as the preferred location when all factors were added in.  He stated they were keeping in mind that their customers were going to be here, but also that they had to build the aircraft to the highest specifications as if they were built at the facility in Brazil.  Commissioner Voltz stated Brevard County is honored to be picked; the County will be working with Embraer; and it is looking forward to the groundbreaking and the grand opening. 

 

Commissioner Colon welcomed Embraer; and stated she has spoken to a lot of CEO’s and folks in the State, and she is glad that Mr. Spulak was honest in regards to Brevard County strategically being the best place because of the port, the infrastructure, and the workforce.  She stated she has shared with the Board that even though there is a huge concern over the workforce that folks who come into the community are extremely blessed because the crème of the crème is in Brevard County; the Economic Development Commission is superb; and the elected officials really see the bigger picture.  She stated the site was definitely critical because of that; and one of the things that the company looked at was when coming with their families that it is a type of community that is well prepared as far as education, workforce, and what is around.  She noted it does not hurt that Orlando is right down the road with the type of skills that are there.  She stated there are concerns that she has asked about too when talking about 211 jobs, which Embraer has said 98% were guaranteed jobs for which residents of Brevard County would be hired versus having folks coming in from the outside.  She stated other companies have come in saying there would be 300 jobs, but they fail to mention that a good chunk of those would be traveling from all over the country to come to the County; that has happened a lot; and those are the kind of guarantees the community is excited about.  Commissioner Colon stated most companies come to Brevard County because of what they see in terms of workforce, infrastructure, and a community that is willing to work with the company; and that is critical.  She stated Embraer would not want to come to a community if it was not wanted; but Embraer obviously saw that effect by the professionalism that has gone on; and inquired if 98% of the 211 jobs will be residents who would be hired or is that something Mr. Spulak is not able to tell based on the expertise and skills of the folks.  Mr. Spulak responded Embraer is saying 200 jobs by 2011, so it is just 200 jobs; and second, he appreciates very much what Commissioner Colon said in terms of the attributes of the County.  He stated Brevard County and Melbourne should be very proud of the Economic Development Commission; it is an extremely professional group; it is very much in line with other states; and in a lot of cases, it is exceeding what Embraer would have as an expectation for local support in terms of the quick response, which helped with their tight time schedule on the project.  He stated the intent is to create up to 200 jobs in the County by 2011; any positions that would come from the outside through transfers or whatever would be in addition to those jobs; and they will be training the local hires in a very sophisticated technique that they consider very important and high tech.  He advised they will be bringing potential recruits to the facility in Brazil for on-the-job training to learn the techniques, capabilities, and know-how; and they will bring those to the facility in Melbourne to make the two aircraft.  He stated the added value for the local community is not just in an economic sense, but is much broader than that.  Commissioner Colon stated the Board is very excited that Embraer has picked Brevard County; but she still has concerns in regard to the jobs.  Commissioner Colon noted Mr. Spulak should not take that as a vote of no on her end or that she is not excited that Embraer is here; the fact that Embraer has so much to offer is a blessing to everyone; and it is a win-win situation.  She welcomed Embraer to the County; and stated she looks forward to seeing Embraer and working very closely with the EDC.

 

Chairman Scarborough inquired if there is anyone else from Embraer who wishes to speak at this time; and no response was heard.  He advised he has cards submitted by Harris Cherin and Joe Goldblatt; but neither spoke.  He stated he has a lot of issues that normally occur in briefings; and requested Greg Lugar come forward as he has a lot of unanswered questions.  He stated yesterday as he was going through the Agenda, the information had not come, he called the County Attorney and the County Manager, and Ms. Busacca advised it had been sent to his office by email, so he got it; and he thought today he would have a chance to visit on it; but he has a lot of questions.  He stated what he was looking for in the document was a reversal of the 100% ten-year tax abatement; in other words, he was looking for the math that would have taken that amount and flipped it forward as a cash contribution; in the fourth whereas is the statement, “in lieu of 100% ad valorem tax abatement for ten years”; and inquired if they are saying to the public that they did the calculation and that would amount to something that would have given 100% for ten years.  Economic and Financial Programs Director Greg Lugar advised he has not reviewed that.  Chairman Scarborough stated the Board was telling the public that it was one in the same; and inquired if Ms. Weatherman did the calculation.  Ms. Weatherman stated at the time that the EDC presented to the County Commission, there were two competing sites; and they estimated the tax savings would be $1.8 million for the higher of the two sites.  She stated if the Board looks at the taxes the company would pay over the ten-year period with approximately 3% appreciation rate, it comes to $1.846 million with the abatement being $1.8 million.  Chairman Scarborough stated it is not the amount of taxes because everybody who comes in pays taxes; the issue is if this is an industry that would have qualified under the County’s tax abatement for 100% for ten years; with Ms. Weatherman responding yes.  Chairman Scarborough stated that needs to be certified in the agreement to give assurances; one of the things the Board will find if it adopts this is that it will become the template for everything it does in the future; and the Board has taken a great deal of pride in looking at another methodology and coming up with methodologies for donations of land as well.  He stated in paragraph 3A, there are three things that are tested; and the first is the capital investment, the second is the number of jobs, and the third is job wages, so each are touched on separately.  He stated as to the contribution in 3A it does not talk about the 100% that is referred to on page one, but now it is at 80%; and what is even further confusing is that it is 80% within 24 months after receipt of the grant.  He stated in other words Embraer will get the grant, but it only has to be at 80% of the capital investment, so it gets the $1.8 million but only gets the capital investment level to 80% within two years.  He stated that was a little bit different than what he was telling the people; he said Embraer would have the full investment and that is what the County would attach.  He stated then the question becomes at paragraph two, if at the CO, Embraer gets the grant, there is no definition of a CO on what value; it could be at 10% of value or 4% of value; and the Board needs to define a value for that initial CO because clearly it is anticipated that the company does not have to have even 80% until two years after receipt of the grant.  Ms. Weatherman advised when they first approached the Board in regards to providing cash in lieu of AVT, they always stressed that they wanted the clawbacks to be reflective of the State of Florida; in other words the State has the same clawbacks in the degree that they are coming to the table with cash; and these are reflective of State language. 

Chairman Scarborough stated he is not familiar with that; and it would have beneficial to have been briefed.  He stated it disturbs him because it is contrary to what he was telling people in response to the question; now there is payment at the CO of how much the Board does not know; and then Embraer can hold back the test date three years.  He stated three years at 80% of the initial investment, so it is contemplated that there is a three-year extension from the time they receive and the time the actual test is made; and then it gets into a prorating, which is under 3B and is a clear percentage-type methodology.  He stated the jobs become more problematic; it has been extended from two years to four years for the jobs; what is done with a tax abatement is that a company loses its tax abatement any time it does not maintain what it promised in order to get the tax abatement so there is no out-of-pocket money to the taxpayer; Mr. Lugar brings it before the Board; and there is nothing that continues into the future.  Mr. Lugar advised it is not unusual that a project stages its employment from a lower number to the maximum over two or three years; but they are disqualified if it goes below the State number of ten new jobs to be created.  Chairman Scarborough stated a calculation has been done on a ten-year basis; so they are dealing with something with jobs that has a little bit of a problem.  He stated he and Mr. Knox went over it; and commented on the figures.  He stated with four the County would get a total rebate of two-thirds; the people of Brevard county would never see the other third if those jobs did not materialize; and inquired if he is incorrect; with Ms. Weatherman responding no.  Chairman Scarborough stated he thinks everyone sees his problem with this; he is at a disadvantage because he has told people things mistakenly assuming things; and advised he is not going to be able to vote in favor of this today.  He stated if the Board chooses to go forward, he will be voting in opposition; but he would prefer to have the item tabled because he wants to work with Embraer to make it happen because it is an excellent tool to bring jobs to the County. 

 

Commissioner Bolin inquired if Chairman Scarborough feels that a special meeting is needed to go over it; with Chairman Scarborough responding he has outlined some of his concerns.  Chairman Scarborough stated he does not understand if he is on target or if he is misinterpreting things; he does not like to demonstrate his ignorance or in any way embarrass anybody; but he would like at least enough time to become fully aware of the ramification of what he is voting on; and if the Board would like to have a workshop, he would like that as well.  Commissioner Bolin inquired if Chairman Scarborough could have a briefing with staff to feel comfortable versus having a workshop; with Chairman Scarborough responding from what he heard this morning there need to be some changes in the document to change his vote because it does not reflect his conversations with the public; and he does not know how long that would take, but it would be best to give him some time to visit with people.  Commissioner Bolin inquired if Chairman Scarborough wants 24 hours or 60 days or can the Board discuss it on May 29, 2008; with Chairman Scarborough responding May 29^th would be plenty of time. 

 

Commissioner Voltz inquired is that going to be an issue; with Ms. Weatherman responding the company would need to answer that question.  Ms. Weatherman suggested if they do have a meeting that the State of Florida be present because they have always said they want to have the clawbacks reflective of the State; that is what they area; and she will provide some background information. 

 

Mr. Spulak stated he wants to make sure Chairman Scarborough is comfortable with what Embraer is proposing.  Chairman Scarborough stated the last thing he wanted to have happen was to discuss it this way; and he apologizes.  Mr. Spulak advised there is no need to apologize; and stated he is present to make sure and support whatever information the Board needs to make sure it is comfortable; and he is responsive to whatever the Board needs from Embraer.  Chairman Scarborough inquired if May 29^th would be acceptable to Mr. Spulak; with Mr. Spulak responding there is a city meeting; he is not sure of the schedule; but as long as there is not a conflict, it is acceptable.  Commissioner Voltz advised there is a workshop on mental health at 2:00 p.m. on May 29, 2008; and the Board could meet on this issue at 1:00 p.m.

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to table consideration of Memorandum of Agreement with Embraer concerning Project Jaguar to May 29, 2008 at 1:00 p.m.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

Commissioner Nelson stated there is an item to delegate authority for the creation of a Community Development Agency (CRA) in Cocoa Beach; the City had a vote of the citizens for the creation of a CRA; and he would support that as it passed comfortably.  He stated a CRA was created last year at the height of the budget issues in the County; at some point the County will pull out of the current economic situation; and although there is no immediate impact, all CRA’s have some impact.  He stated given the circumstances, with good public support and just starting with a zero base, he would support moving forward with creation of the CRA.

 

Motion by Commissioner Nelson, to adopt Resolution delegating authority to the City of Cocoa Beach to establish a Community Development Agency (CRA) within the City.

 

 

Chairman Scarborough stated the CRA’s are capturing revenues and holding them; and as they hold revenues, those revenues are not available to the greater County; and the last time Commissioner Nelson commented, he said he was wiling to talk about the CRA’s as long as it was not just Merritt Island Redevelopment Agency exclusively.  He stated as the Board gets budget crunches, he is becoming more and more concerned about what it will do; it is going to be closing down certain portions of the County; and he does not know about CRA’s not having to come back and prove their case when others are having to prove their case.  He stated it goes back to Ms. Busacca’s analogy about throwing a body in the water; the body will let the fingers and toes die to keep the internal organs alive; and the question is what is essential government, so that is part of the struggle. 

 

Commissioner Nelson stated the difficulty he has is that there are already 14 or 15 community redevelopment agencies; and the Board is going to be saying to one part of the community that for a variety of reasons it cannot do it.  He stated the Board will probably not get rid of the other ones because as Mr. Knox indicated, it can cut them back but cannot necessarily get rid of them, so part of the community is getting penalized.  He stated it is almost a case of create it and then treat them all the same as opposed to do not create them because that is the ultimate unfairness. 

 

Chairman Scarborough inquired if Commissioner Nelson is saying the Board can create it but then immediately as part of the budget process draw them back within the purview of how it is drawing everybody else back; with Commissioner Nelson responding yes, to treat them the same as everyone else.  Chairman Scarborough inquired if that makes sense or is the Board sending the wrong signal.  County Attorney Scott Knox responded the signal is up to the Board; but in terms of restricting the amount that the CRA’s can get, the Board should let him take a look at that in terms of putting it in the resolution or not.  Commissioner Nelson stated this still has to come back.  Chairman Scarborough inquired if the item can be held until the day after tomorrow.  Commissioner Nelson reiterated it still has to come back for an additional approval; with Chairman Scarborough suggesting the Board move it forward. 

 

Commissioner Bolin stated she was concerned about sending the wrong message; she hates to set something up and then when the Board starts doing its budget find out it cannot do it; she hates to give anyone hope and then snatch it away from them; and that is her concern.  She stated she would be open to looking into it further, but it may be premature now; and she would like to go through the budget process first.

 

Commissioner Nelson stated his only concern is that the Board is treating a segment of the community differently than it has treated other parts of the community; he does not mind treating them all the same; but to say one area cannot do one is treating it differently than the Board treated all the others. 

 

Commissioner Voltz inquired when was the one done in Titusville; with Assistant County Manager Stockton Whitten responding that was approved in March.  Commissioner Voltz stated that was before the Board got hit with the budget stuff and realized what it was going to be facing; the people voted on this and the Board needs to look at it; but she agrees that the Board should wait until after the budget is over.  She stated she knows this is Commissioner Nelson’s District, but doing this now is wrong in terms of timing. 

 

Commissioner Colon stated she would support Commissioner Nelson; Commissioners look at the entire County and not just the cities that are in a Commissioner’s District; and the Board makes decisions for the entire County.  She stated one of the things she has seen time and time again when the Board is talking about an investment to the community is that what the County gives is the very minimum as opposed to what happens to that particular area two, three or five years from now.  She stated perfect examples are throughout the County; the Board was given a presentation by all the cities participating in community redevelopment; it was impressive that little dollars went into it and what that created to the tax base of the particular community; and on top of that dollars came back to the County, so redevelopment shows that money make money.  She stated when the Board makes comments regarding how many dollars, it should go back and look at how many dollars it is talking about as far as the support from the County; it has been extremely minimal compared to what the municipalities are putting in; and then when the Board looks at the tax based and does the numbers of what the communities have been able to bring back as far as the tax base, it is tremendous, especially in times like these where they want communities to redevelop.  She stated the Board does not want communities to keep building and create sprawl; it wants communities to focus on area that are in great need and put the dollars and support there to energize the particular community; and she does not sit on the Board as a Commissioner from South Brevard, but representing the entire County.  She stated as such she is able to look at that picture; and it would behoove the Board to support Commissioner Nelson.  Commissioner Colon stated knowing the rules at this stage of the game, it is not like everyone would not know that the Board is looking at all the community redevelopment agencies; the Board support today would just allow Cocoa Beach to continue forward; but they would know that the rules are the same and applied to all and be aware of some of the concerns the Board has.  She stated the budget problems are not the concerns of just the County; they are of concern to every municipalities; and she would be comfortable at this stage of the game. 

 

Commissioner Nelson stated this does have to come back to the Board in the form of a final action to create the CRA; with Mr. Knox advising what the Board is doing is delegating the authority to the City of Cocoa Beach to set up its CRA, and if it is going to put conditions, it should do it now.  Commissioner Nelson stated then it would have to come back.  Commissioner Nelson stated it is a kind of Catch 22; this establishes the starting point; they will incrementally benefit as value goes up; but at this point it is zero, so if property values continue to go down, they will get nothing.  He stated the Catch 22 is that Cocoa Beach could have a CRA but no money until the economy starts to roll around; and Titusville is going to be faced with the same thing. 

 

Chairman Scarborough stated with that in mind, the question may be moot as far as the math is concerned; the Board is not giving the City a lot in a declining market because there will not be any increment; but he has concerns that the Board is sending a bad signal doing this and then having other people come in.  He stated it appears that the Board is putting something on the table and then saying to other people that it has to go back and look at every sacred cow and does not know if it is going to support or not; but then others will come in and ask how the Board can do that when it just voted for the Cocoa Beach CRA, so it is going to be difficult for the Board to walk through this. 

 

Commissioner Nelson stated if the Board chooses to roll back all the CRA’s to some percentage, it can let Cocoa Beach have that same percentage, although he does not think the City will achieve it in the first couple of years.  He stated it is a case of overall fairness if the Board is going to allow the other CRA’s to exist or continue to exist; and inquired if the Board is going to tell other segments of the community it cannot have CRA’s.  He stated whatever the Board does, it should treat them all the same and not use that as a reason not to create CRA’s because there is value, as Commissioner Colon said.

 

Commissioner Voltz stated her question was already brought up, and that is that the property values are dropping, so if it is created now and property values continue to drop, they are going to be doing nothing.  She stated they will have to wait until property values come back up to where they stopped right now, which could be five to eight years; and she is concerned about all the CRA’s, not just this one.  She inquired if the Board looks at the CRA’s debt service and what they have, is that what it should be funding rather than anything new on a temporary basis; and advised the Board has not really had that discussion so that would be her concern.  She stated the people of Cocoa Beach voted on this; it is something the Board should look at; but it is a concern right now with the way everything is going whether the Board should do it right now.

 

Mr. Knox advised if the Board is going to be putting any kind of limit on other CRA’s, then it will want to impose the same limit on this CRA; and he is going to need to research whether or not the Board can do that in the delegating resolution.  Chairman Scarborough inquired if Mr. Knox is suggesting the Board not take action today; with Mr. Knox responding if the Board is going to put a limit on it, it would not want to take action today because he does not know if the Board can do that or not. 

 

Commissioner Bolin inquired if the Board is not able to give any money toward this, what is the benefit of Cocoa Beach doing it now versus the time when there will be money, when the economy goes up. 

 

Commissioner Colon requested the representatives from the City of Cocoa Beach come forward; and stated there is a misconception that should be clarified.

 

Commissioner Nelson inquired what would be the benefit of creating a CRA now even if the City is not going to generate any revenue potentially for some period of time. 

 

Tony Caravella, Director of Development Services for the City of Cocoa Beach, stated this is one part of an overall long-range planning program for downtown Cocoa Beach; it began four years ago; and their downtown planning efforts, which they call area plans, were enabled through the Comprehensive Plan after about two or three tries with the City Commission at that time.  He stated after the enabling provisions in the Comprehensive Plan, they began the area planning process; and in 2006 the City Commission approved the sector plan, portions of which include looking at and possibly creating a community redevelopment agency.  He stated as Commissioner Nelson indicated, in order to go to the CRA within Cocoa Beach, the citizens of Cocoa Beach had to take a vote; and they did so in the primary election in January 2008. 

Mr. Caravella stated, on behalf of the Cocoa Beach citizens, Commission, and Planning Board, he hopes the Board becomes a partner in this because under the community redevelopment agency, the Board’s revenues are not only going to be specifically committed to the area that is identified, but the City of Cocoa Beach’s revenues will be dedicated to the area.  He stated that would be the increment about the point where the baseline is; at this point the City is looking at the Board to approve it moving forward with the development of the agency; and there could be some refinements to the finding of necessity to better define the areas.  He stated within the preliminary report the City did identify what the revenues would be; because of the size of the area, the City is looking at small manageable projects such as sidewalks, landscaping, and streetscapes; and nothing is envisioned that would need to be bonded.  He stated the City’s commitment at this stage is to take the CRA and look at it as a tool in the overall downtown planning efforts; and if the City is able to utilize it, it will.  He stated it appears the City wants to try to have a CRA and to have the Board of County Commissioners become a partner as well as the other taxing agencies, including the City itself.  He stated the City is going to take it step by step; the City has funded all of its planning efforts for downtown solely out of general fund revenue; and what it is looking for in the CRA is another source of committed funds for the capital improvements of the area.     

 

Commissioner Voltz stated the Board wants to be committed with the City because it is a part of the County; each part of the County has an area that it wants to redevelop; and that is pride in ones own community.  She inquired if the City could wait until after the budget in September or at least until the County gets its valuations on June 1 and talk about this at the first meeting in July so Mr. Knox can look at some of the legal issues.  Mr. Caravella advised it is at the pleasure of the Board of County Commissioners.  Commissioner Voltz stated she is just asking if there is a hurry; with Mr. Caravella responding no.  Mr. Caravella advised the planning efforts will continue forward; they will go forward with the projects that have been identified in the sector plan; and whether or not they will be funded through the City’s efforts with its own ad valorem or other revenues or through the CRA is not known yet; but they will be moving forward so they could wait for a decision.  He stated it is part of an overall process; knowing whether or not they will be able to utilize a CRA to process this as part of the planning efforts would be helpful; but there are certain required commitments if they go to a CRA; and he would hate to move forward on a lot of the plans and processes and then find that the City had to rework those.

 

Chairman Scarborough stated the Board can only do to the City of Cocoa Beach what it can do to the others; and that is going to be applicable whether the Board takes action on this today or not.  He stated his point is that this is not going to impact revenues; the Board has gone through that scenario; legally Mr. Knox is going to give an opinion that the Board can either roll them back or it cannot; and this can be rolled back like any other one.  Mr. Knox stated his guess is the Board can; but there are three different ways to create agencies; and because Brevard is a Charter County, it is basically delegating that authority to the City, which is what the City is asking for.  He stated that is a different process than the Board creating MIRA as its own agency; and the Board may have more control over MIRA than it will the City once it delegates this.  Chairman Scarborough stated Commissioner Nelson made the point and he agrees that the Board should not just pick on MIRA; it should be across the board or not at all; and if it is going to be done across the board, it will be talking about similar agencies and similar laws.  Mr. Knox advised some of them the Board can and some it cannot; and it is by virtue of when they came into existence.  Chairman Scarborough stated he appreciates that some are grandfathered; and whether or not the Board can do it in this circumstance is what he does not know.  He stated he knows the Board can do it for MIRA but he does not know if the Board can do it when it delegates.

 

Mr. Caravella stated until the agency is created, the City cannot come and ask the Board for its increment; they will come back and ask for the increment between 50% and 95%; and that is the point of negotiation.  Mr. Knox stated his problem with it is once the Board delegates the authority to the City to create its own agency, there is no contingency on what increments the City gets; and if it is delegated to the City at 95% or without specifying, the City gets 95%.  Mr. Caravella inquired if the agency would need to come back to the Board to request that increment; with Mr. Knox responding he does not think that is required once it has been delegated; and that is what he is concerned about.  Chairman Scarborough stated there is a legal problem. 

 

Motion by Commissioner Nelson, seconded by Commissioner Voltz, to table consideration of resolution delegating authority to City of Cocoa Beach for Community Redevelopment Agency to May 29, 2008.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.      

 

 

The meeting recessed at 12:21 p.m. and reconvened at 1:21 p.m.

 

  

Transportation Engineering Director John Denninghoff stated in November 2007 the Board directed staff to conduct a feasibility study for an overpass for the Pineda Causeway over the railroad tracks; the State offered approximately $26 million toward the cost of building the overpass; and the concern was that the County would have to pick up any additional cost over that might occur.  He stated the purpose of the feasibility study was to see if there were reasonable options that could be pursued to accomplish the overpass; the test was could it be done and could it be done for less than $26 million; and the results of the study are that it can be done for less than $26 million.  He stated on that basis it has been determined it is feasible; in the study there were four alternatives, one of which was determination that it was not feasible; and the three remaining that have been attached to the Agenda Report are the ones considered to be feasible.  He noted they did not make a recommendation as to which should be pursued as that was outside the scope of work; but the next step would be preliminary engineering, final design, and then construction following any necessary right-of-way acquisition.  He advised they are not going to that point now; instead they are making the final determination as to whether or not to enter into an agreement with FDOT regarding the $26 million and with the railroad regarding the eventual construction of the overpass, which would not occur until 2012.  He stated the agreement with the Florida East Coast Railroad (FECRR) would require the County to construct the overpass, but would allow the County to construct a four-lane crossing currently; the construction of the realignment portion of the Pineda is being done today; and the project has an option to construct simply west of the railroad tracks or to go ahead and cross the railroad tracks with four lanes, so the outcome of the study and the pleasure of the Board will determine whether or not to go across.  Mr. Denninghoff stated if the Board chooses to go along with the concept of building the overpass in 2012, then the County could reach this agreement with FECRR and bring it back probably in July, whereupon a permit would be issued for the County to construct the four lanes across the railroad track now; and the County would enjoy the four lanes between now and whenever the construction of the overpass occurred, in 2012 or shortly after that. 

 

Dr. Harris Cherin stated he is a resident of Melbourne and a retired physician; he has no vested interest in this project directly; but as a taxpayer, spending $26 million to construct an overpass over a railroad crossing is the largest waste of money and contributes to nobody’s benefit.  He stated he supports the railroad; he would rather spend the $26 million in improving tracks, trains, or something worthwhile; and the railroad is unjust in its request.  He stated these are mostly State funds; and if the public throughout the State knew of the specifics of this detail they would reject the railroad for having such a position.  He stated he believes the potential for similar type projects throughout the State might arise and cost the taxpayers substantial amounts of money; and it would be inappropriate for the Board to move in that direction at this time.   

 

Catherine Ford stated this is very important to her; and thanked the Board, especially Commissioner Bolin, for its availability, accessibility, compassion, and concern for Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy.  She stated she is usually before the Board advocating for a light so people can come and go without fear of traffic accidents at the school’s intersection, but today she wants to speak on the Pineda Extension, which is currently underway.  She stated it is a $6.9 million project to take the extension from just east of the FECRR to just west of Wickham Road; and it is scheduled to be completed in the fall of 2009; and the proposal before the Board today calls for it to tear up a significant portion of the roadway it is installing today and install, at the insistence of the FECRR, a $26 million flyover that does not seem to benefit anyone.  Ms. Ford stated County money has already been spent on feasibility and conceptual plans; and she has serious reservations and concerns about a project that would take the County to this kind of commitment.  She stated her concern is creating the binding agreement with FECRR; she has been at the table from the get-go with the Board and it knows her concerns for this project all along; and the Board knows the sacrifices the school has made.  She stated to enter into a binding agreement with FECRR that says in event the County does not build a flyover, it will go back from four lanes to two and back to four, puts the County in a precarious position down the road.  She stated the County has a strong legal position right now to demand four lanes; but once it enters into an agreement, its position is gone and it will not be able to go back.  She stated for the future of Brevard County, if it does not want to have to deal with a potential of four lanes going to two lanes and back to four lanes, it should stand firm on this at this time.  She stated she respects the work that has gone into this; and she appreciates the support of staff; but she needed to voice her concerns on this today. 

 

Dipak Patidar, representing Pineda Development Corporation, stated they own the land that is northwest of the railroad track; they just put in the Candlewood Suites Hotel on the two and one-half acre parcel; and they have concern with the overpass.  He stated they have been talking with County staff for the past two to three years; and at this stage of the game, if the overpass is brought in, it would devalue their property considerably.  Mr. Patidar stated they are looking at putting a medical center on the extra parcel; and it would create problems for people getting in and getting out, so at this stage, he would be uncomfortable saying the County should go with the overpass.  He stated it would just require excess money that the State does not have and the County definitely does not have; there is no overpass in the whole County; and just having four lanes or even six lanes at that intersection would help more than an overpass would. 

 

Commissioner Bolin thanked everyone for their comments; and stated the fact is they can do the Pineda Extension at ground, but it has to stay with two lanes, so there will be four lanes coming off U.S. 1 going down to two lanes to go over the tracks and then go back to four lanes if they do not do the overpass.  She stated the County has been unsuccessful in the many years that this has been in progress with negotiations with the railroad; the railroad is bigger than the County; and the County has not been winning and cannot win.  She stated it got bumped up to the State level; the State took on the railroad; and the State was not successful, so what came out of all the negotiations was the overpass.  She stated the State understood that; it said it would put up the money for the overpass; if the County does not move ahead with this, then it is going to have a wonderful extension but then it is going to have a bottleneck at the railroad tracks; and the overpass is the only alternative.  She stated she agrees that this is a waste of money; she would love to be able to convince the railroad, but they have not been able to; and she does not foresee that the County is going to be able to do so.  She stated the Board needs to move forward; and inquired if Mr. Denninghoff has any further comments as far as any other situations. 

 

Mr. Denninghoff noted if the State chooses in the future to not fund the $26 million for the overpass, which it has reserved the right to do because the State Legislature can change its mind because of budgetary constraints, and the County has already constructed a four-lane crossing, the agreement with the FECRR would require the County to stripe the road back down
to two lanes and operate in a two-lane configuration much as it does today, so what Ms. Ford indicated would be the case; and the road would be four lanes on either side of the tracks but would be reduced to two lanes over the tracks.  Mr. Denninghoff stated in that case the Board would not be obligated to come with the $26 million; but if for any reason the cost of construction goes up higher than is currently anticipated, the County would be obligated to come up with any overage over the amount that the State has committed, noting the County has not gotten final designs at this point.  He stated the feasibility study was actually paid for by the State, which wanted to cooperate; but the consultant was working for the County; and they have attempted to come up with designs that would be as friendly to adjacent properties as possible, but there will be right-of-way or property impacts associated with the overpass.  He stated staff has gotten feedback from some of the residents that are on either side of the railroad tracks on the north side of the corridor who have indicated they would like sound or noise abatement walls; and staff has indicated that is very unlikely to occur as it is neither required nor has it been in the past the policy of the County to install walls.  He stated there is a concern in the neighborhood about that; and that was not included in the report; but he wanted to be sure that the Board understood that.  

 

Commissioner Voltz stated it is a total waste of the taxpayers’ dollars to put in a flyover; but unfortunately the County does not have much of a choice.  She stated the road needs to be built; that access is needed; the County could take FECRR to court, but it would take years; and inquired if the County can do the four-laning now, but when it is time to take it back to two lanes, then take the FECRR to court.  Mr. Knox advised the Board will cross that bridge when it gets to it; but there may be some problems trying to develop design work in the meantime.  Commissioner Voltz inquired about the timeline on the State and the money; and inquired will the design be done.  She stated the County has done that before and has a lot of designs sitting on the shelf that were not done because it did not have the money.  Mr. Denninghoff stated the process in this case would be that the State would provide no funding until the budget for 2012 is approved by the Legislature; and even then it would not come in until July 1 of that year.  He stated at that point the County could start using those funds to prepare the designs and go through the processes of getting all the permits that are necessary including the FEC permit to build the flyover over the tracks; the County could get started earlier if it wanted to advance the funds; and then have the State dollars come in to reimburse; but if the State decided not to fund it for any reason then the funds for the design would be at risk at that point.  He stated he does not know what the likelihood of that is but he assumes that if the State was in trouble as much that year as it is this year there could be a possibility the funds could be delayed, although he doubts they would be cancelled.  Commissioner Voltz stated the County does not have the money to front the project so it is looking at least to 2012 before the Legislature decides or will the Legislature decide now.  Mr. Denninghoff stated the funds are included in the five-year program right now and they are being held there; the State knew the County was considering the project through the feasibility study and is expecting the Board to take action in the next couple of months at the latest; so the money is being held, but those work programs are subject to funding approvals on an annual basis by the State Legislature.  Commissioner Voltz stated she does not know if the Board has a choice not to do it at this point; but she agrees with what has been said by the audience about it being a waste of taxpayers’ money.

 

Commissioner Bolin stated the advantage of doing this and moving forward is that the County would get to have the four lanes at grade when the Pineda Extension is done; and if when it comes to 2012 there is a problem with the State not funding it, then the Board would have to look at what the railroad is going to do as far as the four lanes.  Commissioner Bolin stated the railroad says that the lanes would have to be torn up, but she cannot say what the railroad will say in 2012; it might change its mind or the County might change its mind; and she cannot say what will happen.  She stated the State is prepared to fund the money at this point in time and the County should go ahead with this. 

 

Motion by Commissioner Bolin, seconded by Commissioner Voltz, to adopt Resolution and execute Memorandum of Understanding with the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) for the construction of a grade separation crossing for the Pineda Causeway Extension over the Florida East Coast Railway (FECRR).

 

 

Chairman Scarborough inquired if there are advantages in having overpasses over train tracks; with Mr. Denninghoff responding yes, there are several advantages.  Mr. Denninghoff advised on of the advantages is that the trains would not have to sound their horns as much; with Chairman Scarborough responding he was thinking of something a little more substantial.  Mr. Denninghoff stated the speed of the train is the big issue in terms of how much stoppage of traffic; and  that speaks to the hurricane evacuation question, which he does not think is as severe as many do.  He stated there is a timing issue as to when evacuations for hurricanes are going to take place versus when trains will still be running; but the 84 Lumber has a spur just to the south and occasionally the train does spend a little time there.  He stated it would be no worse than it is right now if there is no overpass; but the overpass would be a significant convenience for the traffic on the roads; and there is no question about that.  He stated it would be safer than going across where the trains are and possibly having a close encounter with a train; but it is still $26 million. 

 

Chairman Scarborough stated he has seen trains block traffic; and if there are emergency vehicles that have to get to certain places, it causes an inability which could affect someone suffering from cardiac arrest and things like that.  He noted his office sits where there is a train track; and he has seen emergency vehicles sit and wait for a train to pass.  He stated on S.R. 528, one can go from A1A to I-95; and this will be another way to get from A1A to I-95; going from I-95 to A1A on U.S. 192 is a bit of a time problems; so there are some advantages in being able to move people around; but $26 million is $26 million.  He stated in terms of moving traffic around the area, having the overpass is more than just a nice idea; and it is something the community would benefit from, so he will be supporting. 

 

Chairman Scarborough called for a vote on the motion.  Motion carried and ordered; Commissioners Scarborough, Nelson, Voltz, and Nelson voted aye; and Commissioner Colon voted nay.                                      

 

 

Alan Barkin, Vice President of Operations for DRS Technologies, stated he is present to discuss an exciting opportunity to further DRS Technologies’ commitment with the County; and introduced Jason Rinsky, Senior Vice President of Taxation and Finance and Matthew Weingast, Corporate Counsel.  He stated DRS Technologies is a global leader in the development and manufacture of defense electronics with approximately 40 business units operating in domestic facilities covering 26 different states; and as a substantial employer in the area, the company takes its role as a community leader very seriously.  He stated they are proud of their skilled labor base and the active role they play in the community; and the dedication and accomplishments of the workforce is a testament to the unwavering commitment the Board has demonstrated to the long-term growth and success of the Space Coast as an attractive home for corporate and private citizens.  He stated their electronics business has experienced robust growth in a deeply competitive industry; over the last three years the division has grown from 650 to 950 employees; and this substantial growth has required them to operate without optimal efficiencies out of three separate locations, two in Palm Bay and one in Melbourne.  He stated the future success of the business, as with any business, requires them to think about the next chapter and be proactive in ensuring the company capitalizes on efficiencies and invest in a facility that will afford the achievement of engineering and manufacturing excellence; and it is their hope that the County will appreciate the need of DRS Technologies to invest in the proposed consolidation of operations into a Florida facility, specifically a sizable expansion of the current Melbourne facility, and that the County will partner with DRS to offset some of the costs associated with a project of this magnitude.  He stated DRS is proud of its history in Brevard County; and it would like nothing more than to solidify its commitment to the County and the State by moving forward with the project in Melbourne.      

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to adopt Resolution qualifying DRS Sensors & Targeting Systems, Inc. as a Qualified Defense Contractor business and requesting the State waive the QDC local match requirement in lieu of the County’s tax exemption local match.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

Tuck Ferrell stated he appreciates the Board commitment to transportation and all its hard work; and he wanted to bring another thought to the Board today concerning the St. Johns Heritage Parkway.  He stated there is a critical transportation need in South Brevard; and all hearts go out to the citizens of South Brevard and those areas of Cocoa where they had the terrible fires and tragedy.  He stated the devastation was terrible; and an amazing job was done by the Fire Department and the citizens to save their houses, considering what they were up against.  He stated it would help to have a better transportation system; he does not want to build on the tragedy, but it underlines the need for transportation improvements and better access; and it is a health and public safety issue so emergency vehicles have better access to the communities of Palm Bay, Melbourne, and Viera.  He stated they want to go all the way to Titusville, tying in Rockledge and the other areas west of I-95; and the problem they had was that the smoke was so intense that I-95 was closed.  He stated the fires jumped I-95; U.S. 1 was closed because of the fires there; so almost all of the north-south roads were closed; and the wind was blowing from the west.  He stated a bypass would have been a great help; he knows the budget is tight;
but this may be a justification that can be used to get some State money or things like that.  Mr. Ferrell stated his heart goes out to the people of Palm Bay and Cocoa; and they should be helped first; but if there are any ideas, he would appreciate them.  He stated the other possibility is that the new thoroughfare would provide great access to the airport and connect to the workforce in many communities; and it would save tremendous amounts of gas money.  He stated the main issue is public safety and having better access for emergency vehicles. 

 

 

Chairman Scarborough called for the public hearing to consider approval of a Small Scale Plan Amendment and rezoning application for Ibrahim and Harroon Real Estate, Inc.

 

Commissioner Bolin advised Jim Staylor, David Tom, and Jake Wise have submitted cards requesting an opportunity to speak; and paperwork was distributed. 

 

Chairman Scarborough stated if the Board just received a new binding development plan, then the people who wish to speak should have an opportunity to review it.  Commissioner Bolin stated they have been working with the people on the binding development plan.  Chairman Scarborough inquired if Mr. Staylor has seen the new binding development plan; with Mr. Staylor responding he has not seen it but he is aware of what is in it, although he would not mind having a copy of it. 

 

Zoning Manager Rick Enos stated last week Commissioner Bolin hosted a meeting between Mr. Staylor and a couple of others in the homeowners association and Dr. Niazi and Mr. Wise; there were two main issues; the one issue that took the bulk of the time was the list of allowable uses; and that is shown in Exhibit B of the binding development plan.  He stated they spent a lot of time, hashed out the list of uses, and came to an agreement; and the other issue had to do with the access or non-access onto an adjacent private road, which is owned by the homeowners association that services four houses in a subdivision behind the subject lot.  He stated the property owner claims to have a legal easement on that road; the homeowners association claims that is not a legal easement; and that is a private property matter between the two parties.  He stated he sees no public interest in whether or not the property owner accesses the private road; and it is between the two parties.  He stated the binding development plan at one time did have a site plan that showed access onto the private road; Mr. Staylor yesterday expressed that was inappropriate; he agrees; and he suggested to Mr. Wise that be removed and he has done so.  He stated that is why the Board received a new binding development plan today that removed the site plan that showed that access; the other thing the site plan showed was a 25-foot buffer setback on the north side; and even though there is no site plan, that has been incorporated into the body of the binding development plan in Item 2.  He stated the other issue that Mr. Staylor had was at the bottom of paragraph one there is a provision concerning the  maintenance of improvements; it is boilerplate language that goes into the every binding development plan; but Mr. Staylor has suggested that could be interpreted to mean that his homeowners association might be responsible for some of the maintenance, which is not the intent.  He stated he understands Mr. Staylor’s concern so if it is the Board’s desire to strike that provision, it would be okay, although it is not the intent of the provision.  He stated they have a binding development plan that addresses the true issues, which are the uses under BU-1 that would be permitted and it is silent on the access issue. 

 

Commissioner Bolin inquired if that phrase can be removed from the binding development plan; with County Attorney Scott Knox responding it can. 

 

Jim Staylor submitted paperwork.  Commissioner Bolin inquired if the submittal is in regard to the binding development plan; with Mr. Staylor responding it is.  Mr. Staylor thanked Commissioner Bolin for hosting the meeting, which was very productive and where they were able to delineate the acceptable uses, allowing latitude in developing the property while protecting the interests of the residents of River Oaks.  He stated his concern is with the binding development plan and the continued attempts by the applicant to inject the homeowners association as having responsibility for maintenance of his improvements and also his insistence on having access to the private road.  He stated it is pretty much boilerplate language up to the point where it says, “some other association”; the other entities listed, grantees, successors or assignees would cover any entity the applicant would want to form to have responsibility for maintenance of his own property, which includes a professional or residential association to which he could assign that; but then he throws in “some other association.”  He stated this is not without precedent; the applicant wrote a unilateral agreement, which the homeowners association was not aware of last summer, where he obligated the homeowners association to the maintenance and repair of his property; and the homeowner association had to have that terminated by an attorney.  He stated the homeowners association was not aware of that until it was found in the public records; the County Attorney said the reference to “other association” could be stricken; and the homeowners association requests that it be stricken because it would have potential liability for the association.  He stated the other major concern is on the two documents that he provided to the Board; they are recorded in the public records of the County; one of them is a blowup of the plat and the other is a section of the covenants, which clearly states that the road is a private road, owned, managed, and operated by the association for the exclusive use of the residents of the association; and the homeowners association has never given the applicant any reason to think that it would give him an easement.  He stated although the applicant has requested an easement on a number of occasions, the homeowners association has always rejected his requests, although it has told him he can come back and fulfill some of the homeowners association’s interest in that; and the concern is that in the past the applicant has attempted to grant himself an easement and recorded it in the public records. 

 

Commissioner Bolin stated the Board is considering the binding development plan; the road is not included; it is a separate item between the homeowners association and the applicant; and it is not included, nor is it pertinent as there is no reference to it at all.  Mr. Staylor stated he realizes there is no reference to it now.  Commissioner Bolin stated they need to stay on target in what they are talking about today.  Mr. Staylor stated the residents are concerned that with the diagram the Board has that shows the building the applicant is going to place on the property, it shows access onto the homeowners association property; and the association is afraid the applicant is going to be using this property.  He stated earlier he provided the Board with a binding development plan, which states nothing but the facts, which is that the applicant will have no ingress/egress onto Robles Lane.  Commissioner Bolin stated that is not in the binding development plan that is being considered; and inquired if there is anything in the binding development plan that Mr. Staylor objects to at this point in time with the understanding that the wording “some other association” can be stricken; with Mr. Staylor responding no.  Mr. Staylor stated his only objection is the applicant using the binding development plan to come back later and say he has authority to use the private road. 

 

Jake Wise stated he is the civil engineer for the project; Dr. Niazi was present earlier but had to leave to attend to patients; and they are happy with the way the agreement is written and have no problem with the strikethrough of “or some other association.”  He stated that was not an attempt on the part of the applicant to modify the binding development plan; he has done a lot of binding development plans, and that was in the language of all of them; but they are happy to strike those few words.

 

Commissioner Voltz inquired if the applicant is going to use the access; and that will be between Dr. Niazi and the homeowners association down the road.  Mr. Wise responded Mr. Enos covered that; and it is a private matter between two private entities.  He advised he has not reviewed the first document; and he is a civil engineer not an attorney, so he does not know the legalities are.  He stated they agreed at the meeting last week to strike the language from the binding development plan, which is what the Board is looking at today. 

 

Chairman Scarborough stated when he looks at the list, it says BU-1 zoning classifications as limited by Exhibit B; Exhibit B says general retail, commercial BU-1; and he assumes if he looks at the list of all the BU-1 uses there would be things there that are not on the list he has today; with Commissioner Bolin responding yes.  Commissioner Bolin stated she did host the meeting, although she was not a participant; and advised some of the things that were eliminated were warehousing, coin laundromats, and fish market.  Mr. Wise stated a lot of automobile references, a bait and tackle shop, and other things that would be a nuisance to an entrance to a subdivision were removed. 

 

There being no further comments or objections heard, motion was made by Commissioner Bolin, seconded by Commissioner Voltz, to approve rezoning from RU-2-4 to BU-1 on 2.51 acres at the northeast corner of U.S. 1 and Robles Lane, subject to an amended Binding Development Plan with the words “some other association” to be removed; and adopt an Ordinance amending Article III, Chapter 62, of the Code of Ordinances of Brevard County, entitled “the 1988 Comprehensive Plan”, setting forth the Eighth Small Scale Plan Amendment of 2008, 08S8, to the Future Land Use Map of the Comprehensive Plan; amending Section 62-501 entitled Contents of the Plan; specifically amending Section 62-501, Part XVI(E), entitled the Future Land Use Map Appendix; and provisions which require amendment to maintain internal consistency with these amendments; providing legal status; providing a severability clause; and providing an effective date.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

Chairman Scarborough called for the public hearing to consider approval of Second Quarter Supplemental Budget for FY 2007-2008.     

 

There being no comments or objections heard, motion was made by Commissioner Nelson, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to adopt Resolution approving the FY 2007-2008 Second Quarter Supplemental Budget; and approve budget changes and actions as necessary to implement the adopted changes.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

Chairman Scarborough called for the public hearing to consider an ordinance amending Ordinance No. 99-37, State Housing Initiatives Program (SHIP) and Affordable Housing Council.

 

There being no comments or objections heard, motion was made by Commissioner Bolin, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to adopt an Ordinance of the Brevard County Board of County Commissioners amending Ordinance 99-37 pursuant to the State Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP) Program created under Section 420.9073, Florida Statutes; increasing committee membership; revising definitions; revising membership criteria and committee duties; removing obsolete language; and providing an effective date.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

Chairman Scarborough called for the public hearing to consider withdrawal of request to vacate 14-foot alley in Merritt City Subdivision as petitioned by Mark D. Sutton.

 

There being no comments or objections heard, motion was made by Commissioner Nelson, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to accept withdrawal of request to vacate 14-foot alley in Merritt City Subdivision as petitioned by Mark D. Sutton.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

Commissioner Colon stated SHIP dollars are dollars that are available from the County for those victims who lost their homes and need temporary housing; and anyone who needs further information should call Housing and Human Services.  She thanked Housing and Human Services staff for the job it did providing information during the last week.   

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to award the proposal received from Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services, Inc. for insurance consulting and brokerage services for all lines of property and casualty insurance coverage at an annual cost of $105,000 for each year of a three-year agreement with two annual renewal options; and authorize the Insurance Director to execute all contracts, service agreements, subsequent renewals, and any related documents necessary to secure these services.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.   

 

 

Mike Burton, President of Burton and Associates, displayed a PowerPoint presentation; and stated he will provide a presentation outline and will have some firm recommendations for the Board today.  He stated it is important to understand the scope of the study; he will give a report on the meeting with the Property Appraiser’s Office and a summary of recommendations; and then it will be open for discussion.  He stated the scope is to recommend alternative cost apportionment methodologies, specifically a square foot basis within property class and building value basis within property class, and to calculate fire service assessments and provide assessment rates by property class.  He stated they had a meeting with the Property Appraiser after the last meeting with the Board; it was conducted on May 9, 2008 with Mark Johns who is the Valuations and Field Operations Administrator; and Mr. Johns was cooperative, cordial, and very helpful in helping them understand all of the aspects of the data and the position of the Property Appraiser’s Office with regard to the assessment.  He stated the Property Appraiser’s Office is concerned about the building value method in a number of ways; their concerns include the fact that there will be variability of building values over time from year-to-year; and for the public to have access to the building value data online would require system enhancements.  He stated the Property Appraiser’s Office believes that method would probably generate a high volume of questions and inquiries to their office; and they went on to discuss the idea of building use codes as a weighting factor for the different classes of properties based on the buildings that are on them, so there would be a benefit multiplier for a manufactured home compared to a single-family home based on the building use code and its underlying rate that would be there.  He stated the building use codes could be used to reflect the differences in the base value of the building types; and that is a much more simple approach to bring a value type consideration into the analysis than what the Board was looking at before.  He stated the building use codes may also change over time, but they would change proportionately by building use code; and it would not be as much variability in the final building value.  He stated what they determined is that the Property Appraiser felt that if they used average building use code rates for the past three years, it would be a stable number that would reflect the proportionality over time from building use code to building use code, and would be representative of the proportionate relationship amount the building use codes over time.  He stated they were provided to use by the Property Appraiser’s Office; he asked that office for the historical data, which was provided with a very quick turnaround; and that can be used to develop a benefit factor by property class.  He stated, for example, a single-family home has a building code base rate of something in the $60 area; a manufactured home has a building use code in the $40 area; the manufactured home’s base rate is approximately 60% of the single-family home, so if there was a single-family home and a manufactured home that were both 2,000 square feet and the assessment was $100 for the single-family home, it would be $60 for the same size manufactured home; and for smaller or larger homes, the rates would go down or up proportionately.  Mr. Burton stated the manufactured home would continue to be 40% of what the single-family home would be for the smaller and larger homes; and that is how it would basically work, which is much simpler than the other approach that was being looked at.  He stated he has some specific recommendations for the Board’s consideration today; and recommended suspending further consideration of the building value method as it was being pursued and competing the building area method with adjustments.  He stated the Board would want to consider fewer bins, which would make it simpler and easier for people to understand, and it might not have such a broad differential in rates, particularly when looking at larger homes.  He recommended looking at having an average size bin and then two smaller ones and two larger ones; they may vary one bin or so, but taking the bins to their total conclusion may be a bit cumbersome for people to deal with; and recommended using living area as the building area, which will solve a lot of problems in people’s minds.  He stated they talked this over with the representative of the Property Appraiser’s Office who believes that the net result will be very similar, but be more understandable.  He stated there are differences between garages and the way they look at the space; the Property Appraiser looks at fractional areas for auxiliary space; and it might be confusing to homeowners; but living area can be measured and verified easily.  He stated it is not going to make a substantial enough difference in the assessment to cause a problem, so that is what he is recommending the Board look at. 

 

Chairman Scarborough stated living area is something that is defined by the Property Appraiser’s Office; and it is easy for someone to see what is the living area.  Mr. Burton advised the living area is basically that area under HVAC, which some people call “under air”; and it is a field in the Property Appraiser’s database, which can be accessed online.  Chairman Scarborough inquired about a screened porch; with Mr. Burton responding it would not be; but if the screened porch was closed in and air conditioning was put in, it would be, assuming they got a permit to do that.  He stated with the maps and aerial views the Property Appraiser has, the days of people doing things without a permit are over because the Property Appraiser knows everything that is happening outside. 

 

Mr. Burton stated multifamily is interesting; and comments came up before about the duplexes where there was a mother-in-law apartment.  He stated they looked at the issue; apartments were a big issue; and they met with the people after the meeting as the Board asked them to.  He stated the recommendation is that multifamily be calculated on total living area plus the common building area on the parcel without converting to an average area per ERU; they did analysis on the apartments and have determined that by converting that to the average area per ERU, the number of ERU’s was falling in a bin, and was carrying the full weight of that bin; so if it had over 50 units and they were undersized within that bin, they were carrying the full bin weight of over 50 units; and it was giving them a substantially higher rate than if they just took the total building area and found them in a larger bin.  He stated when they did that with the apartment buildings as a class, they fell right in line; and they suspect there may be issues in terms of the accuracy of the number of units in the Property Appraiser’s system.  He stated the Property Appraiser does not really need the number of units to calculate the rates; and the recommendation is a better way to do it that will be fairer and solve the issue substantially. 

 

Chairman Scarborough stated 99% of the comments were from apartment owners so if that was taken care of, basically everybody else thought the County was doing the right thing.  Mr. Burton stated if they look at tightening the bins up a little, it may even make it better, so those are his recommendations to the Board.  Mr. Burton stated there is one other alternative.

 

Commissioner Nelson stated on multifamily Mr. Burton was talking about living area in a single-family residential but it excludes garage and screen porches; but in multifamily there is going to be some level of calculation of common space.  Mr. Burton stated he means like the office or else that would need to be put over in commercial and the units put in residential; when he talks about common space in an apartment complex he is not talking about garages or sheds but about the office building, the clubhouse, and things of that nature.  Commissioner Nelson stated the equivalent would be the screened porch; and Mr. Burton is talking about hallways or common space in an apartment.  Mr. Burton advised that is necessary; and if apartments have indoor access, hallways are a necessary part of the apartment building that are getting benefit from fire protection.  Commissioner Nelson stated so is the screened porch and the garage; and inquired how they differentiate between the two.  Mr. Burton stated the hallway would be in the living area and under air; but he will check it. 

 

Commissioner Bolin stated this is under residential; and inquired if Mr. Burton was going to talk about another option that might keep it under commercial; with Mr. Burton responding he does not know exactly what Commissioner Bolin means, but he will explain the other option. 

 

Commissioner Nelson inquired if there is a balcony in multifamily is it counted as part of the common space or does it get counted at all; with Mr. Burton responding he will have to check.  Commissioner Nelson stated he just wants it to be apples to apples; with Mr. Burton advising he understands, will make note of it, and be sure it is resolved.  Mr. Burton stated the issue is if they include all the ancillary buildings, there is going to be more square feet.  Commissioner Nelson stated he is not saying to include.  Mr. Burton stated Commissioner Nelson is saying to be consistent from class to class; and he will check on that.  He stated they will be sure they are getting the right fields of data and that it includes the offices, clubhouse space, weight room, and anything like that in an apartment complex.  He stated in terms of alternative application of benefit factors based upon building use codes, they could do it without that; and they could simply have a single-family home and a manufactured home have the same rate depending on what size they are.  He stated alternatively they could apply the building use code factor and differentiate by the types of buildings also; and if the Board wants to give direction to do it one way or the other, they will be happy to do that.  He stated the Board may also want to see them both, but an application of the building use code factors gets more to what the Board’s objective was; and what he heard from a lot of people was the question why those who were living in a manufactured home were paying the same as a single-family home.  He stated his recommendation would be to look at that; one of the alternatives would be not to accept any of it and stay with what the County has; but the Board might want to consider, if it stays with what it has, tweaking it.  He stated he fells the Board got into this because there were a number of folks in the residential class who were concerned that it was one size fits all and that it should be tiered to give benefit to smaller or lesser valued properties in the residential class; and then when they got into it, there were some anomalies occurring with some of the other places that the Board did not think were broken.  He stated they have a fix for them now within that methodology; the apartments will be okay; but if the Board wants to limit the reapportionment to the residential class that would be another alternative of keeping what the County has with a minor modification.  He stated under that they would allocate the 2009 assessment revenue requirements to the residential and non-residential classes in the same proportion as they are in the current assessments and accept the finding last time that was a reasonable apportionment; and it is pretty close to what they are coming up with.  Mr. Burton stated the non-residential assessments are already apportioned in the building bin areas and the County has some HAZ codes, which it could keep; but it could change non-residential assessments to reflect across the Board adjustments to recover the 2009 assessment revenue requirement.  He stated in plain English, he is saying if it is 50-50 residential and commercial, the County could do that the same way on the new revenue requirement; and if the new revenue requirement appears to be less than 2007, maybe eight percent less, it could take across the board on the non-residential assessments and reduce them eight percent.  He stated then the Board could take the revenue requirement that it allocated into the residential assessments, and it would be eight percent less; and then it could reapportion the residential assessments the way they were just talking about but not change the commercial assessments.  He stated when they do that, if the percentage is eight percent, then all the commercial properties should experience an eight percent decrease in their assessment; and the residential properties, if the Board did not change them, would have an eight percent decrease so the average property owner should be somewhere in that range.  He commented on it being like a teeter-totter; and stated that may be an alternative the Board would want to have if, when they bring this back, there are still a few anomalies such as commercial properties having a lot larger decrease and some having increases.  He stated the apartments were the only ones having a big problem; that may be fixed; and it would potentially give the Board something else to choose to do if it meets the Board’s objective. 

 

Mike Cunningham stated he does not want to belabor the point but he thinks the Board is still at a semantic and location impasse with this, whether tax or assessment, above the line or below the line; and what they are after is something that is equitable for every citizen in the County.  He stated he is very concerned that they have not reached that point yet; and read aloud from the project prospectus that Mr. Burton’s firm put out, “In order to implement fire assessments there must be a relationship between the burden or cost of the assessment and the benefit received by the property being assessed.  This is sometimes referred to as the benefit-burden relationship or the establishment of a rational nexus between the cost of the service provided and the benefits received.  There are two primary components of the benefit received from the services provided.  First is the watch standing benefit component; Properties benefit from fire and rescue services even if specific assistance is never required.”  He stated this is going to run back to a thing that was brought up before at a meeting and will touch on the vacant property thing.  He read, “Second there’s a specific service benefit component.  Properties that actually receive specific service benefit by the actual service provided and the cost of service should be allocated to the specific service benefit component and be apportioned to the assessments to properties in proportion to the actual service provide to the specific property classes.”  He stated he thinks they are missing something; he does not think the Board has delineated the various property classes it is concerned with to make it equitable for every citizen of the County; and that is what the Board has to be concerned with. 

 

Chairman Scarborough stated one of the recommendations he is hearing is to leave commercial intact and just deal with the residential issue; and he would like to see how the Board feels about that before moving to value discussion.  Mr. Burton stated he talked to Mr. Lewis, his attorney, about that and will defer to Mr. Knox.  Chairman Scarborough stated he is just asking the Board if it wishes to limit its discussion to the residential today or does it want to also get into the commercial, not for the propose of giving Mr. Burton instruction, but to see where the Board has an interest in going further.  County Attorney Scott Knox stated the Board is just exploring, which is fine.  Chairman Scarborough inquired if there is any interest in discussing the commercial component further. 

 

Commissioner Bolin stated while the Board is exploring this, she would like to leave the commercial alone.

 

Commissioner Voltz stated she disagrees; the Board needs to look at commercial; she does not know how high those rates have been and whether they are equitable compared to residential or apartment buildings; and she would like to discuss commercial.  She stated the Board may not change it, but she would like to look at commercial. 

 

Commissioner Bolin stated it was her understanding that the Board would leave it alone and there was going to be a drop in a percentage being lowered.  Mr. Burton stated under the alternative he was discussing with the Board, if the revenue requirement overall is eight percent less, all of the commercial assessments would be eight percent less.  Commissioner Bolin stated the Board would not restructure it but there would be a decline if it was warranted.  Mr. Burton stated the only thing they might do is look at whether there should be any little tweaks, like handling RV parks in commercial or something like that. 

 

Chairman Scarborough stated there are two ways to talk about commercial; and one is by shifting some of the funds that commercial is currently producing over to the residential, which would impact the residential with the increase.  He stated right now it is 50-50; the commercial gets sixteen percent and the residential gets zilch; and that is one way of doing it; but the other is to get into an analysis of the methodology and how it is assigned within that category.  He inquired when Commissioner Voltz says she wants to look further at commercial, in which regard does she want to look at it, in its relationship to the residential or to the internal. 

 

Commissioner Voltz stated the bigger question is if as much money is needed as they say the Fire Department needs; that is the big issue; and that is not for Mr. Burton to answer.  Mr. Burton stated that is being worked through; and the last time they looked at it, it was in the eight to ten percent.  Chairman Scarborough stated that reduction would be shared proportionately if the Board just left things alone; but if it gets back into it, the question is how to let the discussion proceed.  He inquired if Commissioner Voltz wants to discuss shifting more of the burden over the residential from the commercial; with Commissioner Voltz responding no, she does not want to do that.  Commissioner Voltz stated she does not know that the total amount of money that Mr. Burton came up with that will be raised for residential, commercial, and multifamily is actually needed; there is a question as to whether or not the County needs it; and if there is a tax break to be made, the Board needs to look at residential and commercial.  Chairman Scarborough stated if it is left alone, it is with the understanding that commercial would share proportionately; and hearing that, the Board can say for the moment it is not going to discuss commercial further. 

 

Chairman Scarborough stated the next thing is the first recommendation; Mr. Burton has recommended that the Board no longer go to the building value methodology; and there were several reasons for that.  He stated there are some hybrids with the use codes that may bring that back into being; and inquired in terms of pure building value, are there any Commissioners who want to reserve the discussion on that; with all Commissioners indicating they do not.  He stated now the Board gets into the option of looking at a pure square footage methodology; and the Board will have to give them the living area, as Commissioner Nelson brought up, because there are some questions.  Chairman Scarborough inquired if they have the living area square footage with a multiplier from the use code; and stated if they get into the use code it would benefit certain things.  He stated his personal problem is he does not know all the use codes or how they would play within different scenarios within the residential classification; and he would like more help on how many different residential use codes there are that would have some events happening.  Mr. Burton stated there are a lot of use codes; but when it is limited to the ones that are associated with the residential buildings, there are quite a few less; and there are some that are so similar that they could be combined and an average used for that.  He stated the ones that are normally thought of would be single-family home, which could be a one; and then a manufactured home would be .6 and a mobile home would be somewhere in that range or maybe lower.  He stated a condo would probably be between but a bit lower; there might be conversion condos or ones that were built; and there are a few anomalies that they will need to get into.  He stated if there was a condo that was built as a condo it would probably carry a higher building use than one that was converted from an apartment.  Chairman Scarborough inquired if the Board wanted to look at use codes, would they come back with additional discussion.  Mr. Burton responded it sounds like the Board is paring down his direction significantly enough that by the time the Board gets back from its break, he can come with answers on the one or two alternatives that the Board has and show the used codes, the rates, and everything.  Chairman Scarborough inquired if that would be this afternoon; with Mr. Burton responding by the time the Board comes back from its June break, he will have a draft for the Board’s consideration. 

 

Commissioner Colon stated some of the discussion at the last workshop was from folks who were very eager to start spending those dollars; but they cautioned them to take it easy in regard to how they were spending those dollars because they were just assuming and it was the beginning of summer with hurricane season and so forth.  She stated four days later the County had a horrible fire; right now the tab is already probably over a million dollars; and she wants to be careful because there are a lot of things to look at and this is not that simple.

 

Mr. Burton stated part of what they are doing is working with the County Manager’s Office and with Chief Farmer about the financial plan, reserve levels, and bringing those reserve levels down and using them to the benefit of the rate over some rational period of time, but holding a definitive amount of reserved in place and trying to control that whole process.  He stated by the time the Board gets back from its break, they will be able to come with a more definitive plan; but that is what they are working with.  He stated in the preliminary assessments they could probably have the rate eight percent or so lower; but they are still working through that process.  He advised of an analogy of an airplane flying above the trees; and stated the question is how high to fly above the trees.  He stated in terms of reserve and revenue policy, if they fly right above the trees they will have no ability to react to unforeseen contingencies; and the Board certainly does not want to fly higher than it needs to either.  He stated there is a rational amount of reserves the County should keep on hand over time relative to the size of its operation and the potential contingencies that it might be facing; and that is what they are going to be coming back to. 

 

Commissioner Colon stated there were also questions asked by certain folks about how much wildfire versus structure fires; and within five days they were able to show exactly how that works and how fast it changes; and it is like having insurance.  Commissioner Colon stated people have to pay for insurance, but they hope they do not have to use it; and that is what happens in these particular cases.  She stated there has to be that balance; they do not want the reserves to be so high that there is no need for them to be that high; but then the Board also has to be very careful because things such as the fire that just hit can come.  She stated one never knows; the last time the County got hit like this was ten years ago; and these are the kinds of things that one never really knows about but for which one has to prepare.  She stated it is not like it is little numbers; and she is talking about over a million dollars when something does hit. 

 

Mr. Burton stated the County’s fire operation is a major business; providing fire protection to a County as long as Brevard County at the level of service it is providing is quite an endeavor; and he agrees with Commissioner Colon about that.

 

Commissioner Voltz stated she was wondering if the condos with detached garages are going to fall under the multifamily plus common area or is that something separate; and noted that was a really big issue.  Mr. Burton stated oftentimes the detached garages are a separate parcel record; they do receive fire protection benefit; and they probably should be included; but he will need to look at that.  Commissioner Voltz inquired if it would be at the same rate as the structure; with Mr. Burton responding it would have a different building use code so it would probably be at a lesser rate.  Mr. Burton advised his is mindful of Commissioner Nelson’s comment about being consistent so they will need to look at that also in terms of being consistent between the condos and the other properties too. 

 

Commissioner Bolin stated of the proposals that Mr. Burton has she is looking towards the tweaking one, which she is calling the second option; and having a separate use code for mobile homes versus single-family would be a better use of definition versus going straight on square footage.  She advised a 3,800-square foot home in 2005 would have paid $903 and currently is at $550; and if they went strictly by square footage, it would be $673, so from the 2005 figure there is a quite a difference.  She stated if they looked at homes that were 7,200 and above, they were paying around $4,000 and it has dropped to $1,400; and they would be at $1,900 under the square footage method; but she likes the idea of taking the residential and doing it by use code. 

 

Mr. Burton stated that gives some differentiation; it is not as granular as the full building value; but that one is difficult in terms of the moving parts to it.  He stated in the single-family class, the Board will not have the difference between a very high end and low end single-family homes; but it will have the difference between a single-family home, a manufactured home, a mobile home, and that kind of thing.

 

Chairman Scarborough stated the Board has given Mr. Burton some basic ideas, and if he needs something else, it is his time to tell the Board.  Mr. Burton stated he has the direction he was hoping for.  Chairman Scarborough stated the Board will see Mr. Burton after the June break. 

Commissioner Bolin stated when she was briefed it became apparent that if the Board wanted to get anything on the TRIM Notice this year that it would have a time problem to be able to get all the documentation and calculations together.  Assistant County Manager Stockton Whitten advised Mr. Burton is going to come back to the Board after the June break; the Board’s first meeting is July 8, 2008; and that is the day the Board, if it is going to put the fire assessment on the TRIM Notice, would have to send out the notice to property owners; and the timeframe is extremely condensed if the assessments are going to be put on the TRIM Notice.  Commissioner Bolin inquired if the Board is looking at putting other things on the TRIM Notice such as solid waste and stormwater, what is the timeline; with Mr. Whitten responding it is the same timeline.  Mr. Whitten advised July 29, 2008 the Board sets the tentative millage rates; if it decides to put the assessments on the TRIM Notice, it would have to send those rates to the Property Appraiser soon thereafter, so the drop dead date would be July 29, 2008; and normally there is some time all the way up to mid to late August to finalize those assessments. 

 

Commissioner Nelson stated one concern he has is the one that Commissioner Bolin just addressed; the other is that the Board is going to be getting information from cities and other agencies; and he worries that if they make a mistake the Board will be the one holding the grenade and being responsible for the information that was sent out.  He inquired if the County did not produce the information, how it will correct it; and stated the Board can continue the discussion but he does not know that it can do it in time for this year.  He stated there are some issues in terms of legalities that he would like to make sure get straightened out because the Board could end up having to re-notice for something it did with good intention and which was not necessarily the Board’s fault, but it will be the one that gets to hold the public hearing.  He advised he does not know how the Board will make it for this year; but it can continue to answer some of the questions and maybe get to a point where if it is not rushed, it can figure out a way of doing it.  He stated for right now, he has a lot more questions; and the downside outweighs the plus side at this time. 

 

Commissioner Voltz stated she agrees; she is the one that brought this up several months ago; Ayn Samuelson brought it to the Board’s attention; and it is something the Board needs to look at down the road; but with the constraints on time right now, it probably needs to look at it next year.  She inquired if staff has contacted all the cities to tell them that this is potentially what the Board would be doing; with Mr. Whitten responding he has not, but he can if the Board would like him to do so.  Commissioner Voltz advised not right now because the Board is probably not going to move forward with it; but down the road if the Board is going to do this then the cities need to know what the Board is going to do so their citizens do not all of a sudden get a big bill and start screaming at the municipalities.  She stated they need to be sure they cover all the bases; and if the Board is going to do this, it needs to do it correctly.  Mr. Whitten clarified whatever action the Board takes with its assessments would only be for the County’s assessments; and cities would have to take separate action for their assessments.  Commissioner Voltz stated the municipalities may want to do that or they may not; and if the Board is going to do it, then it needs to afford the municipalities the same opportunity to do it also. 

 

Commissioner Nelson stated that was the point he was going to make is that some of the cities are in the process of reviewing their assessments and cannot possibly meet the timelines that the Board is talking about.  He stated he does not see how the Board is going to do it this year; and he does not know that any action is necessary.

 

Commissioner Colon stated she wants to be clear; the Board has known about these dates and about TRIM Notices and so forth; and it is nothing new.  She stated no matter what kind of decisions the Board makes, they are huge because the Board is going to have to go back and try to fix the mess; it just went through something like that; and the fire assessment is strictly for the unincorporated areas that get affected; but since the cities are looking at their assessments, she is sure they realize that the clock is ticking.  She stated it makes it very difficult because they need to have all the facts.

 

Chairman Scarborough stated the State, in a desire to let people know what is happening with taxes, created the Truth in Millage, known at TRIM; it confused everybody with rollback, roll forward, and where they started with calculations whether they did or did not increase taxes.  He stated with that in mind, he does not think that anybody is going to say that anybody is at fault; but if the Board sends out 200 notices and only has four people address the millage, it has failed to communicate at an enormous expense to the taxpayer.  He stated somehow the Board is not where it needs to be if it wants to bring the taxpayers into the discussion; and using TRIM as a means to communicate other information is problematic and almost impossible time-wise.  He stated it is like getting on a dead horse and hoping the horse is coming back to life; but the horse is dead; and TRIM does not work.      

 

 

Commissioner Nelson stated Judge Edelstein has some interesting ideas that are worth pursuing that could benefit; and it would be money well spent.  He stated it is not just a jail issue; it is a systems issue that the Board needs to look at; and if it saves having to build more cells that would be beneficial.

 

Motion by Commissioner Nelson, seconded by Commissioner Voltz, to authorize an additional $10,000 in fees and costs to be paid to the consultant retained to conduct a review/study of the criminal justice system processes in Brevard County and the impact on jail population; and authorize execution of Contract Amendment.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

Commissioner Voltz stated the County bought the Sarno Road landfill property five or ten years ago.  Solid Waste Management Director Euripides Rodriguez advised it was purchased in late 2000 or early 2001.  Commissioner Voltz stated when it was purchased the U.S. 192 site was not on the radar screen, but it should have been; and it has been an area of contention in the community for a long time so to sell it now is incredible. 

 

Chairman Scarborough inquired if Commissioner Voltz favors or does not favor selling.  Commissioner Voltz stated the Board should not have bought it to begin with, but it did; and now the Board has to sell it.  She stated it is something that has come back to bite the Board. 

 

Chairman Scarborough stated there are some contingencies.

 

Commissioner Colon inquired when was the property purchased; and advised it was before November 2000.  Mr. Rodriguez advised if it was before November 2000, it was in the summer of 2000.  Commissioner Colon stated she knows she was not on the Board when it happened; one of the Commissioners brought it to her attention; and it was close to eight years ago.  She inquired if the City of Melbourne is aware; with Mr. Rodriguez responding it occurred during the conversation about the conditional use permit with the City of Melbourne.  Commissioner Colon inquired if it was recently; with Mr. Rodriguez responding the conversation occurred within the last two to three months.  Mr. Rodriguez stated one of the questions the City of Melbourne had was what the County was going to do with the property; staff has received instructions to try to develop the U.S. 192 site; and if they are successful in developing that property, then the need for the Sarno property, from the Solid Waste Department’s view, goes away.  Commissioner Colon stated people want to know how much the County paid for the property, what it will be asking for the property now, and so forth.  Mr. Rodriguez responded the County paid $7.25 million for the property; and that would be the starting point for the sale price.  He stated the question has also come up when the County would sell it; and the answer would be it would be put up for sale when the County has permit in hand and the construction has commenced on the U.S. 192 site, if the market is right. 

 

Chairman Scarborough stated there are so many conditions the Board is basically doing nothing.  Mr. Rodriguez stated the Melbourne City Council wanted to hear it from the Board’s perspective; he told the City that if there were the same conditions that are before the Board today, he would recommend the sale of the property; but the City wants to hear it from the Board rather than from him.  Chairman Scarborough stated if everything is right, the County might sell the property; with Mr. Rodriguez agreeing. 

 

Commissioner Nelson stated it is his understanding that circumstances with the U.S. 192 site have changed; in 2000 there was a concern that the County would never use the U.S. 192 site or that it needed space; but now the U.S. 192 site has been moved up so it does make it more viable in terms of a future sale if the U.S. 192 site is permitted.  He stated there is a series of things including changing conditions on a property that the County previously purchased; and if it make sense and the County does not need the property, it can sell it at that time. 

 

Commissioner Voltz stated she does not know that conditions have changed at all on the U.S. 192 site because the County did not attempt to have it permitted; and inquired if it is correct that the County could have done that at the time rather than purchasing the Sarno property.  Mr. Rodriguez advised at the beginning of the 1990’s the instruction from the Board was to acquire the property, which the Department did, and to pursue permitting on it; the Department got to the point that it had a Notice of Intent to Issue a Permit on the U.S. 192 site; but at that time there was a vote of the Board to stop all engineering in process.  He stated there was a five-year plan done after that, which was adopted by the Board; in that five-year plan there was no mention of the U.S. 192 site; the Board decided to pursue expansion in place of the two sites the County currently has, the CDF and the Sarno sites; and during that process in the 1990’s and 2000, the Department acquired hundreds of acres at both sites in order to be able to accomplish that.  He stated looking at the long-range, the situation at the U.S. 192 site is better for the County because it gives a long-term solution versus the short-terms solutions it was looking at with the Sarno site.  Commissioner Voltz inquired who would potentially purchase the property; with Mr. Rodriguez responding it is virgin land.  Mr. Rodriguez stated on one side is Interstate Battery; on the other side is the landfill; and behind it is an industrial park, so he would assume it would be heavy or light industrial; but at that time the Board might want to use the property for another County facility that is non-Solid Waste related.  Commissioner Voltz inquired how big is the parcel; with Mr. Rodriguez responding 68 acres.  Commissioner Voltz stated the County potentially could use the land for a donation for a company coming in who wants to do some industrial.  Mr. Rodriguez advised the Board will have to ask County Attorney Knox, but he believes the Board would have to reimburse the Department if it used the property for something that is not Solid Waste related.  Commissioner Voltz stated she wants to be sure if the Board is going to sell the property that it sells at a price so that it does not lose any money; but if it looks at the interest it would have gained by having that money in the bank instead of spending it, it will probably never get that amount out of it.  Mr. Rodriguez noted he does not normally conduct business losing money.  Commissioner Voltz stated if the $7 million-plus was in the bank, it would have been gaining interest.  Mr. Rodriguez stated the Board can run calculations; it is the cost of holding the land; and it is a true cost.  Commissioner Voltz stated she just wants to make sure the Board does not lose money; with Mr. Rodriguez agreeing. 

 

Commissioner Colon stated she wants to make sure the Board is very clear when speaking of donation of land since this was such a controversial issue; each Commissioner speaks for him or herself; and donation of that magnitude, even for a business for land is out of the question for her.  She inquired what is the status of the permits with the DEP and the State because that is not something that is happening overnight; it is a very long process; and inquired where they are since they are discussing the landfill on U.S. 192.  Mr. Rodriguez stated on the U.S. 192 site, the survey has been finished; the County has determined the wetlands; and they are waiting on DEP to send staff down to confirm the wetlands.  He stated once they have the confirmation in hand, staff will submit the permits; the timetable for that depends on DEP; he had hoped it would be done by the end of spring, but that is not going to happen; but he is hoping by the end of the summer to be able to submit the permits.  Commissioner Colon inquired if the permits have not been submitted yet, but they are about to go to the State this summer; with Mr. Rodriguez responding yes.  Commissioner Colon inquired why the Board is tying the hands of a future Board when all the Board is trying to do is assure Melbourne that this could possibly happen; and why are they here with this particular item.  Mr. Rodriguez responded that is the only purpose, to assure the City of Melbourne.  Commissioner Colon stated the Board does not have to take action today; it would behoove the Board to not take any action that ties the hands of a future Board; there are three Commissioners that are leaving the Board; and she would prefer the decision to be made by a future Board, especially when there is no need for a decision today.  Mr. Rodriguez stated the action was not requested for the Department or for the County, but just for the City of Melbourne.  Commissioner Colon stated she just wanted to make sure the Board was clear on that.

 

Commissioner Voltz inquired if Chairman Scarborough brought up the donation of land a little bit ago as a potential; with Chairman Scarborough responding he had talked in general terms that the Board needs to define the methodologies.  He stated he was visited regarding someone besides Siemens who was interested in the land; and the thought is that it needs to be lined up.  He stated he was embarrassed today because he felt the Board should have had the parameters set forth; if the State has guidelines and the Board is going to adopt State guidelines, it would have been better if the Board had been briefed and had a workshop so it could decide whether or not to accept them; but if the Board is going to have a land discussion, it is more than just the Sarno issue and deals with the industrial park.  Chairman Scarborough stated if, when, and how are things that need to be hammered out ahead of time; the Board is the fiduciary, custodian, and keeper of the public property; and as a group the Commissioners should come together and discuss these things.  He stated that is where he was, and he was not talking about Sarno.  He inquired what the Board has done wrong.  County Manager Peggy Busacca inquired by taking no action, will this stop the CUP process from going forward; with Mr. Rodriguez responding he is not sure because this is one of the things that the City of Melbourne requested.  Mr. Rodriguez advised there were other things; and all of them have been or are being undertaken, such as buying a water wagon, preparing an area to get water for firefighting, and other miscellaneous actions to accommodate the City.  He stated the actions are not major or anything that would change the project; and the Board assurance was the last thing that was requested.  He stated he is not sure if it was a request or a matter of clarification; the way it is worded is just a reaffirmation; and it is not permission to sell the property in five years as he would still have to come to the Board at that time with all the information in order to seek permission to sell.  Chairman Scarborough stated the Board is not taking any action; but Mr. Rodriguez may communicate that there was no apprehension on the part of the Board about liquidating under favorable circumstances, if the site was needed.  He stated nobody expressed any intent of developing the acreage.

 

 

Ron Morgan, representing the Brevard Commission on Aging, stated he is present to get the Board’s signature on the contract for the National Association of Counties (NACO) prescription drug card.  He stated this has been a fairly intensive five-month study project led by the Brevard Commission on Aging; and it is supported by the staff of Housing and Human Services.  He stated he wants Board action today because with the amount of counties that are signing up nationwide, it is an eight to ten-week waiting period before they can get formal approval and the cards back from NACO, so there will be a two-month span before it can be implemented.  He stated the Brevard Commission on Aging fully endorsed the concept when it first came to them, but they wanted to be sure there was going to be no cost to the County and wanted to get feedback from other counties that have utilized the program to make sure there has been good response and good savings; and what they found is there is no cost to the County monetarily or administratively; all the administration is handled through Caremark and NACO; and the County will have no administrative responsibilities or costs.  He stated cards will be provided at no cost to the County or the citizens; there are no enrollment fees or fees associated with it; and it is a straight handout card for the citizens.  He stated there are 57,000 pharmacies nationwide; all of the major chains have already signed up on this card; an entire family including the pets is covered by one card; and the card covers any medically necessary pet prescriptions.  He stated there are no eligibility requirements; it works jointly with any existing drug plan that one might have, including the new Medicare Part D cards, health insurance cards, and any prescription drug plan cards.  He stated the pharmacy will look at a person’s existing card and the NACO card and the one that gives the most savings is the one that will be used; the average savings with the NACO card is 20% on a prescription, so people can still use all their existing cards.  He stated the NACO card will be a backup or for those who have no cards, it will be their only card.  He stated there are 48 counties in Florida that have already signed up for this program; they have not had any negative input from any one of them; and the Department of Housing and Human Services has coordinated a card disbursal plan.  He commented on the cost of mailing cards to 500,000 people; and advised there will be no delivery cost with the plan that Health and Human Services has come up with, which will utilize all County Departments to filter the cards down.  Mr. Morgan stated all advisory councils and agencies will have the cards available; they have already worked with the Florida League of Cities to distribute them; there are businesses and Chambers of Commerce on board; and all of the health care providers through the hospitals and doctors’ offices will be distributing them.  He advised a good portion of the faith-based organizations have been contacted; and they will be getting the cards out through the churches, public schools, and County libraries.  He stated the Board has always been vitally concerned with every Brevard County resident regardless of age or economic condition; and the card gives the most visible evidence of the Board’s concern and commitment.  He stated the cards will have Brevard County on them with the County seal; and they will be printed by NACO when the County signs the contract.  He advised there will be no names on the card; and if someone loses the card, they will just get another card.

 

County Manager Peggy Busacca inquired if the Board will have to give permission for use of the County seal; with County Attorney Scott Knox responding yes. 

 

Mr. Morgan inquired if that is in the contract; with Housing and Human Services Director Gay William advising she is not certain and would have to review.  Ms. Williams requested that be included in the motion if the Board so chooses. 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to execute Contract with National Association of Counties to provide Prescription Discount Card Program to the residents of Brevard County; and authorize use of the County Seal on the cards.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

Commissioner Colon stated tomorrow the Lt. Governor will be in town, touching on what the Governor will be signing tomorrow, which is the Uninsured Coverage Bill. 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to adopt Resolution providing for reappointment of John Saxton, Susan F. Baiocco, Anna Grau, Kimberly Turner, Laura Ward, Don Cappillettie, Paul Marek, and Brenda Warner to the Affordable Housing Council; and grant permission to advertise to receive applications for three remaining vacating positions, created in accordance with Florida Statute 420.907, contingent on Board approval of the amendment to Brevard County Ordinance No. 99-37.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.   

Commissioner Bolin stated it says the contract will be for three years; and inquired in light of the total money left in the project, are three years needed or can it be done one year at a time. 
Environmentally Endangered Lands Manager Mike Knight responded the Board could choose that option; but even though the acquisition may be winding down, it is still too early to tell how long it will take to move through the process as there is still bonding capacity left in the referendum.  He advised there is a termination for convenience clause that has always been part of the Contract, so if at any times the Board decides to do so, it can terminate it.  He stated it is a cost reimbursable contract; so if the amount of work is reduced, it can be reduced and the County will only pay for what is actually implemented.  Commissioner Bolin inquired if Mr. Knight is saying that the actual bill is highly detailed with all the different items The Nature Conservancy is doing for the County and the charge for each action; with Mr. Knight responding that is correct.  Mr. Knight advised the previous contract was a fixed fee contract; but the new one was negotiated as a cost reimbursable so the County is only paying for the services that are actually being implemented; and they are being reviewed on a quarterly basis.  Commissioner Bolin stated when the County has no action and does not use The Nature Conservancy, there will be no billable items to the County; with Mr. Knight advising that is correct. 

 

Commissioner Colon stated there were discussions yesterday with the Town of Malabar; and some of the concerns were in regard to the EEL property and the plan for controlled burns.  She stated that seems to be an issue of concern to Brevard County residents; and they were trying to figure out who pays for the burns.  She inquired what are the pros and cons and who pays for the controlled burns.  Mr. Knight advised the prescribed burning is handled through the EEL Program for the properties that are managed under the EEL Program; and a good example of why they want to continue with as much prescribed burning as possible is the Jordan Scrub Sanctuary in Malabar, which is one of the primary sites that did not burn because it had been treated with prescribed fire.  He advised the wildfires went up to the site and burned around it, but could not pass through the site because the fuels had already been consumed by the prescribed burn.  Commissioner Colon inquired if there is a schedule that could be shared with the public so they would have an idea of when these are in line; stated she knows there are pros and cons and some folks like the burns while others do not; but there are benefits of doing controlled burns.  Mr. Knight advised the management plans define the ideal burn cycle that the properties are on depending on the habitat and location; unfortunately the burn cycles are driven by weather conditions; and they have to make sure they have the right weather conditions, right humidity, and right wind conditions before they can do the burns.  He stated they get them on a prescription ready to go, and then when they have the right weather conditions they move forward; but unfortunately they do not always have the conditions to move it forward at the pace they would like.  Commissioner Colon inquired if the EEL Program pays the Fire Department to be out there when the controlled burns are done or is it the EEL folks; and stated she saw some folks from the EEL Department helping to feed people during the recent fires.  Mr. Knight responded there is a Burn Manager on staff as well as a Burn Team, so when there is a wildfire, they respond to help out with fire related to the properties that the EEL Program manages; and there is a also a relationship with Fire Rescue and the other Fire Departments to assist where possible.  He advised the Division of Forestry and the local fire departments are generally the first responders if there is a wildfire even on EEL properties; but his staff offers assistance where it can.  He stated the primary difference between his staff and Fire Rescue is that his staff is not red-carded, so they are no wild land fire fighters, but they are trained in prescribed burning activities.  Commissioner Colon stated she wants to be sure that Mr. Knight keeps in touch with the Town of Malabar and the City of Palm Bay because these questions are coming up; this does not have much to do with the TNC contract, but the Board is discussing EEL property; and these issues have been coming up at town meetings so it would be appropriate to let them know what the County is doing.  Mr. Knight stated the closest relationship the EEL Program has with any fire agency is with the Town of Malabar; and they have a good relationship with the Fire Department and town officials.

 

Commissioner Nelson stated the contract has been modified to incorporate the auditors’ comments; and now it is on a cost basis and there will be a new reporting system incorporated into it.  Mr. Knight responded that is correct; one of the concerns raised in the audit was that the auditors had a difficult time evaluating the expenditures incurred through The Nature Conservancy’s work for the EEL Program to determine which were appropriate; and they asked for additional information.  He stated they are requesting further backup with every quarterly invoice, which TNC has been happy to provide as well as doing quarterly evaluations on the contract.  Commissioner Nelson stated he thinks the outstanding issues have been addressed; and the County can always get out of the contract if things slow down. 

 

Motion by Commissioner Nelson, seconded by Commissioner Voltz, to authorize submittal of a Letter of Intent to Extend The Nature Conservancy Contract for three years.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.   

 

 

County Manager Peggy Busacca stated she understood there was some discussion about a controlled burn that the Department of Forestry was going in South Brevard.  Mr. Knight stated Ms. Busacca is probably referring to the project in Malabar; that was not a controlled burn but was preparation of the western portion of the Malabar Scrub Sanctuary to do a vegetation reduction on the perimeter of the site and increase the widths of the fire line; this is in an area that is severely overgrown with sand pine; and the eventual plan for the Program is to reduce the vegetation and have fewer trees in that area for improving the scrub habitat.  He stated what happened is the area was identified by the Department of Forestry as a hazard area because it is adjacent to Brook Hollow homes; and that was identified with their mitigation team, so they came in and reduced the vegetation around the perimeters to make it safer to do prescribed fire.  Ms. Busacca inquired when the Department of Forestry does a burn, does it notify the cities as well; with Mr. Knight responding yes.   

 

 

Commissioner Voltz requested the item be pulled; she just got the information; and she would like more time.

 

Chairman Scarborough inquired if there is any rush on the item; with Assistant County Manager Stockton Whitten responding it is not a problem.  Chairman Scarborough stated the item will be brought back. 

 

 

 

 

Commissioner Nelson stated one of the recommendations for MIRA was that members of the Beautification Committee and the MIRA Board not accept or apply for façade grants; and he would like to implement that element now. 

 

Commissioner Bolin stated she would prefer to wait on that.  Commissioner Nelson stated if Commissioner Bolin thinks it is okay for them to do grants, that is okay.  Commissioner Bolin stated she did not think the people in question were on the board any more.  Commissioner Nelson responded they are not, but they still could, and rather than have that hanging out there, he would like to get it out of the way.  Commissioner Bolin stated she sees Commissioner Nelson’s point.  Commissioner Nelson stated it clarifies things because there was some confusion; the attorney gave a new opinion that they should not be doing it; and if the Board takes an action that says that, it would strengthen it and take it off the table. 

 

Commissioner Voltz inquired who would put them on the board; with Commissioner Nelson responding he has asked anyone he appointed not to apply.  Commissioner Voltz stated the ball would be in Commissioner Nelson’s court anyway as far as appointing. 

 

Chairman Scarborough stated it is within the Board’s purview to set basic guidelines; there are some fundamental conflicts of interest; and it is always difficult once things get started to say things cannot be done.     

 

Commissioner Colon stated whoever a Commissioner appoints, the Commissioner has no knowledge whether they are going to apply for a grant or not, so that is why the Board wants to make it perfectly clear. 

 

Motion by Commissioner Nelson, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to implement the element, as recommended for the MIRA Board, whereby there will be no application for or acceptance of grants.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.   

Chairman Scarborough stated everything is not where it is supposed to be along the road and that creates some dynamics in making it work. 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to approve Change Order No. 8 with J. P. Donovan Construction, Inc. for improvements to Harry T. Moore Avenue in Mims, increasing the amount by $179,910.25 for a new contract amount of $2,592,001.01, which includes all previously approved Change Orders to date; and authorize the Chairman to execute all associated documents.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

Assistant County Manager Stockton Whitten advised what is before the Board is the data sharing agreement with the Property Appraiser’s Office; the agreement is proposed for October 1, 2008 through September 30, 2013; and the Property Appraiser is agreeable to a one-year renewal if the Board decides that is the option it chooses. 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to approve an Agreement with the Property Appraiser for data sharing and Property Appraiser services for a one-year renewal period.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to approve relocation of the previously Board-approved purchase of a replacement modular for Station 66 (Aurora Road) to Station 89 (DeGroodt Avenue); approve amending the Fire Rescue Capital Improvement Plan for an additional $285,000 expense to provide funding of a modular to go to the original Aurora Road site; and approve all necessary purchasing and budgetary actions for the project as well as for any additional asset losses as a result of the wildfires.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.   

 

 

Chairman Scarborough thanked Assistant County Manager Mel Scott and his staff for their work on the unpaved road agreement issue. 

 

Motion by Commissioner Nelson, seconded by Bolin, to grant permission to advertise proposed amendments to Section 62-102(b)(2)c, concerning Unpaved Road Agreements and the Unpaved Road Agreement Checklist.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

Gerald Storrs stated he is a resident of Cocoa Beach; and he is present because of a concern over the water safety situation on the beach.  He stated the County has lost ten people in the last year and as a lifeguard, it is a gut issue; he has been involved in rescuing more than a few people right in front of his place; and that is a job better left to the paid professionals and good Samaritans.  He stated at least half the people he pulled out were themselves good Samaritans in trouble so the result of a long time of frustration was his request to the United States Lifesaving Association (USLA) for a study and analysis of the situation on the Brevard County beaches.  He stated they produced a study; he and Joe McManus, who is President of the Southeast Region of the USLA, co-authored it, with Mr. McManus as the prime author; and they
came up with a study of where Cocoa Beach has been in terms of the lifesaving and safety situation, where it is now, and where it needs to go; and after finishing the study, the Fire Rescue Department internally did another study and they seem to have come together.  Mr. Storrs stated they have both come to the point where they feel the need for a much emphasized larger lifeguard service, full-time, and year round.  He stated Legislature winter there was a lot of 80-degree weather; and they were lucky with 50-plus miles with one lifeguard; but they cannot rely on luck to get that record again.  He stated they have noticed over the last three years that they had an increasing rate of drowning; and they have addressed it from the standpoint of the operation, funding, and the whole nine yards.  He stated he will defer to Joe McManus to elaborate; but the basic question is what is really happening and what is committed. 

 

Joe McManus stated they have four reports going back 20 years; they have a report from 1988 which was a County report done under the Parks and Recreation Department that recommended year round lifeguard coverage in Brevard County.  He stated in 2004 the Public Safety Department, Community Safety Services Division made a recommendation to the Public Safety Department Director that a year round lifeguard service be implemented.  He stated USLA did its own independent report and recommended a year round lifeguard service be established; and Fire Rescue did a recent report that recommends a year round lifeguard service be established, so the Board has before it four reports that all reach the same conclusion, that it is in the public safety interest to have year round lifeguards in Brevard County.  He stated the Board deals with a lot of issues, problems, and finances; during the course of the assessment, they held two separate forums; one was attended by about 15 people and the second one was attended by 40 people including members of the Fire Rescue Department; and the general consensus was that this is a timely thing and will save lives in the future.  He stated it is something that enhances the ability for the County to bring tourism to its beaches in a safe manner; the ball is about to be passed to the Board for some type of consideration and financial support; and he does not know where else to go as he is a professional lifeguard and a volunteer for USLA.  He stated the report was conducted on volunteer time at the expense of the assessed people, the assessors, and the USLA; and if the Board looks hard enough internally, it can probably find some way to have at least minimal year round lifeguard coverage.

 

Commissioner Colon stated some municipalities cover their own area so the Board is talking about the unincorporated area; and inquired if the same recommendation is being made to the municipalities and was there a particular area where there were the most deaths.  Mr. McManus responded the municipalities do not and have not provided lifeguard services for quite some time, if ever; Cocoa Beach did provide service in the 1960’s, 1970’s, and into the mid-1980’s; but then lifeguard services were taken over by the County and have been contracted to the cities since then.  He stated the cities pay a proportion of the amount of money for lifeguard coverage within the municipalities and the County pays the other proportion; and he believes it is about 50-50.  He stated the recommendation was addressed to the County since it is the provider of lifeguard services; it does not preclude any kind of discussion that might ensue with the municipalities as to whether or not they would be willing to contribute their portion to year round lifeguard coverage; but that is option that can be pursued. 

 

Commissioner Colon inquired if the study was just in regard to the areas that are being covered, and is the recommendation to keep the areas that are already covered as year round.  She
inquired if the study tells where the drownings happened; and stated those would be areas of
greater concern.  Mr. McManus responded in 2007 eight of the ten drownings took place in the Cocoa Beach/Cape Canaveral area; all of them occurred either in places where or at times when there were no lifeguards on duty, which points to the fact that lifeguards are effective and the Brevard County Fire Rescue Ocean Rescue Service is an effective service; but it is just that there is not enough.  Mr. McManus stated there are so many access points throughout Cocoa Beach and the rest of the County that it creates a very difficult and expensive problem; the report did not recommend that all 150 public access points have lifeguards as that would be prohibitively expensive; however, the report left that open for Fire Rescue to evaluate and determine where it felt there would be need for the lifeguard coverage; and the Fire Rescue report contains an itemized listing of where coverage would enhance public safety.  He stated there are 16 locations recommended for year round lifeguard coverage, two in the area from Cape Canaveral to the Cocoa Beach Pier, seven in the Cocoa Beach area, two in the Indian Harbour to Indialantic area, and three in the Melbourne Beach area; and these are areas that are generally accessible through park facilities.  He stated there are amenities there such as parking facilities, restrooms, and showers; and these are areas where people are actually solicited to come and enjoy the beach.  He stated the target is right on the money; but it does not preclude an enhanced seasonal service as well.  He stated when there are 40,000 to 50,000 people on the beach and lifeguard stands are separated by one-half to three-quarters of a mile, there is someone who will be in the middle who will have a problem, but those areas can be explored and targeted.  Commissioner Colon stated nine of the ten drownings that occurred were not during the summertime when the stands are manned; with Mr. McManus responding the first one took place in March of last year and the last was October 22; the Board knows the way the service has been operating; and commented on the service going from Brevard County Parks and Recreation to the Public Safety Department, and finally under Fire Rescue.  He stated lifeguard covered shadows the school year; there is a little bit of concession for spring break when lots of people are on spring holiday and come to the beach for a week or two weeks; but before and after that until school ends, it is weekends only, so Monday to Friday there is no lifeguard coverage on any of the beaches.  He noted there are no lifeguards on the beach today and it is toward the end of May and hot outside; there are lifeguards on weekends; and when school lets out, there is coverage seven days a week; but last year the service concluded on August 8 when school went back into session although in August there was 95 degree weather.  He stated the report shows that the drownings line up at times and places where there are no lifeguards; and that is one of the reasons why the recommendation is to provide lifeguards when and where people access the beach, within reason and fiscal responsibilities.  He stated he does not know what the genesis of the particular operation is; it seems to be a hybrid of a few different operations; Volusia County has an operation that scales back during the winter months; however, in South Florida, there is year round lifeguard coverage 365 days a year, while in places like Destin Beach, there is a seasonable operation.  He stated the point is it is not possible to cover every area; but the County can funnel people to parks; and they have listed 33 recommendations.  He noted the County has acted on a number of the recommendations; and expressed appreciation to County Manager Peggy Busacca and the Fire Rescue Department.  He stated he is concerned about the inevitability of the drowning rate continuing; so far this year, the County has been lucky and has not had the rate of drowning; but it is a conditions driven event.  He advised of concerns about storms and rip currents; and stated problems will continue unless there is some kind of safety net. 

 

Commissioner Colon stated she wants to make sure they are accurate in regards to the study; Mr. McManus’ study only was for 2007; and inquired if he went back at least five or ten years and what are those numbers.  She inquired if it is based on when there are rip tides; and how far back did the study go or did it just focus on 2007.  Mr. McManus responded the study went back as far as they could get records on lifeguarding in Brevard County; in the report there is a historical perspective which starts with from what they could tell was the beginning of lifeguarding in the County; and in terms of the drownings, they were aware through the Fire Department’s own reporting of statistics going back five years that there were a total of 22 drownings in the past five years, with 19 within the last three years.  He stated the report did go back based on the Fire Department’s reporting to the USLA; the Fire Rescue Ocean Rescue Division is an advanced certified agency under USLA; and commented on rip currents.  He stated there are trends when people come to visit the beaches; those trends are generally from spring to the end of October or the beginning of November; but November through February are generally very strong weather months with a lot of rip currents.  He stated even though the statistics do not support that drownings have taken place within that four-month period, there is a lot of anecdotal evidence that there have been many good Samaritan rescues by surfers, people like Jerry Storrs, and others who have come forward and asked for this assessment.  He stated a drowning can take place any time, at any place, on any day of the week, just like a fire, a car accident, or a criminal action; and it is rational and reasonable for the Board to consider that because the County relies on tourism and beaches receive a good amount of money for tourism, that it would be reasonable to protect those people who visit the beaches at times when residents or locals might not.  He stated he was on the beach in March to do a press conference on the release of the report; there were numerous people sitting within the park boundaries who were not locals; they were there with their families; and when he asked, they advised they were from Minnesota, Michigan, Iowa, and Maine.  He stated he asked if they realized before they came to the beach that there would no lifeguard protection and the answer was no, they had no idea there would be no lifeguard protection.  He stated it is a matter of how far government goes to provide for public safety, not only for its residents but for the people it is inviting to its shores; and the Board can look at where the funding comes from, come up with an agreement, and perhaps start a bare bones program and move forward into the future developing this through different funding sources. 

 

Commissioner Colon stated the Board appreciates the data that has been given to it; and she just wanted to make sure they were hitting the nail on the head in terms of where the lifeguards need to be because there is a huge area to cover and they want to be sure they are placing lifeguards right.  She stated the community is growing; and the more the community grows the more visitors will come to the County.  She stated she will be looking forward to what Chief Farmer has to say. 

 

Mr. McManus stated he appreciates all the questions; the USLA report did not specifically go into where and when lifeguards should be placed because it was felt that would be better served by being decided by the experts who run the operation; but they wanted to give an overview for the general reader along with a bit of historical background.  He stated they wanted to provide some ideas for funding options; and he will leave a copy of the report for the record.  He stated the USLA knew that concurrent with its report that Fire Rescue was also doing a report, which would come up with specific locations based on the data and daily incident reports.  He stated that is the way the reports come together; the USLA gives a broad comprehensive view of what a lifeguard service is in terms of the public safety function it provides; and Fire Rescue comes through with the specifics on where and when the protection is needed.

Commissioner Nelson stated Mr. McManus commented that the drownings occurred in guarded areas at times when there were no guards there; but he does not know that is really the case.  Mr. McManus advised if he said that, he did not mean it.  Commissioner Nelson stated in the Cocoa Beach/Cape Canaveral area he does not recall any drownings that were in an area that was guarded typically; with Mr. McManus advising that is correct.  Commissioner Nelson stated that becomes the challenge because even if there were full-time lifeguards then the drownings would have occurred outside of the classically guarded areas.  Mr. McManus stated the premise is when the County establishes year round lifeguard coverage, the lifeguard towers will be in areas of high impact; they will be within distance of seeing each other with tools that can be utilized such as binoculars, all terrain vehicles, personal watercraft, etc.; and if people are accessing the beach in a non-park area ad get into trouble, there will at least be some semblance of a safety net to respond.  He stated there will be no response except from good Samaritans when lifeguards are removed from the beach totally for long period of time during the year; and that seems to be the issue.  He stated the Fire Department recommended this because it realized that with blanket coverage even if help is not exactly at the spot, there are the resources to deploy to the spot, very similar to the way the Fire Department works. 

 

Commissioner Nelson stated one of the things the Board hears is that hoteliers should be contributing to the process; but the problem is that the County does not guard the areas where the hoteliers are.  He stated the Cocoa Beach Hilton has stepped up to contribute additional dollars to have full-time lifeguards; it happens to be next to Lori Wilson Park; the County would probably have to expand to another tower to provide coverage there; and they need to work out the numbers.  Mr. McManus stated the County has a template in place; in 2005 the Cocoa Beach Pier approached the County for a lifeguard stand at the Pier; and some type of contract was entered into with the Pier, which is a private company, the City of Cocoa Beach, and the County for fund sharing.  He stated that is what put a lifeguard stand at that location; the private business contributes 25%, the City contributes 25%, and the County contributes 50%; and that is a template.  He stated they need to think out of the box because revenues and tax base are decreasing even thought the population is increasing.  He stated there are solutions; it is public beach so there is no indemnification program since the contract was already entered into; and it could be a template moving forward into the future, especially in the Cocoa Beach area where there are a lot of people utilizing hotels and restaurants, accessing the beach, and then drowning.  Mr. McManus submitted a copy of the report.

 

Fire Rescue Chief Farmer stated he is present if the Board has any questions. 

 

Commissioner Colon inquired when this will be coming back to the Board for Fire Rescue’s recommendations.  County Manager Peggy Busacca responded it was going to come back today, but she did not want to schedule it because staff was not sure what was going to happen with the staffing in Fire Rescue, so it will be coming back to the Board. 

 

Mr. McManus advised it is National Beach Safety Week.

John Denninghoff, Transportation Engineering Director, stated the Board is being asked to think outside the box; this item has been brought forward as a citizen request by Clear Channel Outdoor, Inc.; and representatives are present to speak.  He stated the Pineda interchange area specifically included purchase of property that had a billboard that will have to be removed; there is a lease; and the County settled with Clear Channel, which owns the billboard and leases it out for advertising purposes.  He stated it was settled as a lump sum payment of $500,000; but there was also a provision in the contract that allows Clear Channel to propose up to two new locations for billboards to be installed somewhere in the unincorporated area of the County.  He advised at that time the County did not attempt to identify the locations; but the option, if the Board agrees to it, would allow refund to the County of $430,000 out of the $500,000 settlement for placement of two billboards.  He stated Clear Channel has 22 months according to the contract to propose two new locations; and the company could come back if the locations were not approved to ask for some other location.  He stated the problem is that there is no provision in the Code that allows a billboard to be placed inside the unincorporated area of Brevard County, so there is a difficulty.  He stated Clear Channel is asking for direction from the Board as to whether to modify or waive some portion of the Code, request a variance, or if the Board has another direction it might give to indicate how to proceed.  He stated the agreement that was reached previously does not obligate the Board to say yes to any of the proposals; it only obligates the Board to listen to the proposals that Clear Channel might bring forward; and in the request today Clear Channel is asking for additional time beyond the 22 months to work out all the details associated with the new location.  He stated if it is necessary to modify the code, for example, that would be a lengthy process; and Clear Channel is present for any questions. 

 

Larry McIntyre, representing Clear Channel Outdoor, stated Mr. Denninghoff has stated what the intention is; and what they need is a mechanism or workshop in order to determine how or where to place the locations.  He stated it would be at a savings of $433,000, if they can come up with something; and suggested a workshop done with the upcoming budget workshops to figure out the best way to work with the Board since Clear Channel would have to have a variance or a wavier from the current Sign Ordinances.  He stated they are looking for guidance from the Board on what the next step should be and how they should proceed to work with County staff. 

 

Mr. Denninghoff advised staff does not have a pair of sites to show the Board for its consideration; and if a workshop was agreed to that might be an opportunity to go over that. 

 

Chairman Scarborough stated he had a developer working with the community; they had extracted from him some equipment or something for a high school down the road; and he said not to put that in the binding development plan because if it was in there, it would be dead since within the determinations of how they manage zoning and other things within the county, there has to be a quasi-judicial independence.  He stated the Board cannot be obtaining things that are not directly related to what is occurring; in other words, it has to be a determination that it is good or bad to have a billboard; and that has to be independent of any money the Board receives.  He stated he is willing to receive any application to change the Ordinance, but if it is tied to the Board getting any money, he is violating the role he is supposed to play as a Commissioner; and commented on zoning, Comprehensive Plans, Zoning Ordinances, and influence by a developer being a slippery road.  He stated it may be as simple as this appearing to be a part of a billboard issue or someone being good to a high school, but it has to be the right setback, the right location, the right height, the right color, and something that is fundamentally needed for the County without the County somehow getting additional consideration because that is something that strikes him as being wrong.  Chairman Scarborough stated the Board is very much looking at these issues; and commented on things that could be done including swapping of properties; but advised when it affects where he is sitting more in a zoning or land use capacity, it is inappropriate to walk away with any financial consideration for making that decision.              

 

County Attorney Scott Knox stated he understands Chairman Scarborough’s point but it is speculative because the County does not have any rules that allow billboards. 

 

Chairman Scarborough stated the County could get $430,000; it has budgetary problems; and it could change the rules and look at some sites, so pretty soon it would be not only doing this but changing the rules to do it.  He noted that is just his opinion and he does not know how other Commissioners feel. 

 

Commissioner Voltz stated she understands what Chairman Scarborough is saying, but part of the settlement says the billboard lessee could propose two alternative billboard locations for the displaced center billboard to the County for its consideration, and if no alternative locations are approved, the $500,000 for the loss of the site will be transferred to the lessee.  Chairman Scarborough stated that action is complete; Clear Channel gets the $500,000; but then Clear Channel is saying if it gets $500,000, it will give the County $430,000 if it can get the right to place billboards on other properties, and the County will change certain things.  He stated somehow the Board is getting into doing the changing of the definition of who and what it is, and it is being paid.  Commissioner Voltz stated she understands what Chairman Scarborough is saying but the information is part of the settlement, which is in the agreement.  Chairman Scarborough reiterated Clear Channel will have $500,000 and is offering to give back $430,000.  Commissioner Voltz inquired if Chairman Scarborough is suggesting that Clear Channel just make application; with Chairman Scarborough responding if Clear Channel has a case that is compelling on the Board to do it, it will do it, but it should not be offered $430,000 because if that happens, he will have to vote no. ‘

 

Commissioner Nelson stated he is in a similar position with Chairman Scarborough; the Board has an Ordinance that says no billboards, but because it is the County, the Board is willing to say it did not mean it and can change the Ordinance; and there is an inherent unfairness to that because the Board is doing it for itself when it would not do it for someone else.  He stated he views this along the lines of the car wash the Board bought; he does not know what the Board paid for the car wash but it buys things that are in the way of public infrastructure; that is a part of the process and it is what it is; but now the County is a homeowner and will be for the next three years until Mr. Denninghoff knocks the structures down.  He stated there are those examples; it is part of doing business; but it is a bad precedent to set, to make exceptions to allow the County to do things just because it benefits the County.  He stated he agrees with the Board’s position; the Ordinance prohibits billboards and he does not want to deviate from that; and creating a process to get around that is troubling to him. 

 

Chairman Scarborough stated someone may hear what Mr. McIntyre is saying and decide they would like the two sites instead of Mr. McIntyre so they will bid $700,000; and inquired if the Board sees what he is saying.  He commented on having zoning meetings and someone paying the County so that something will be okay; and advised of the different roles of the Board.  He stated someone either has a right or they do not, and they do not have to buy the right because it is theirs already.    

 

Commissioner Voltz stated she understands what Chairman Scarborough is saying; but she did not support the Billboard Ordinance because she thinks there is a place for billboards, although it may not be right on S.R. 520 when there are 50,000 of them and they are falling apart.  She stated there is a place for billboards that is to be determined; she did not support the Ordinance for that reason; and as Brevard County is a tourist area it needs to be able to let people who are coming to the area know what it has.

 

Chairman Scarborough stated if the majority of the Board wants to change the Billboard Ordinance, it can change it.  Commissioner Voltz stated she was just voicing her perspective; and inquired if RonJons was not allowed to have billboards, where would that business be.  She stated a man from Tampa who needed a liver transplant found a match through a billboard, so billboards have their place; they have to be taken care of; but those are just her thoughts on the issue.

 

Commissioner Bolin stated she can understand the agreement that the County would give Clear Channel $500,000 and that would be the end of it; the other clause say they could find two other spots; and in thinking it through she can see the flip side.  She stated if it was could have two, the County is selling the zoning on it; and she is leaning toward having Clear Channel make a clean break with the County giving the $500,000, and then the zoning is a separate issue.  She stated she has talked with the Clear Channel representatives; and they have shown her a site that will not work for her. 

 

Mr. McIntyre inquired when the Board approved on May 24 the Settlement Agreement that is before it, did it not completely understand it.  He stated it was an eminent domain case; typically Clear Channel negotiates with FDOT and not the County; $500,000 is not exactly the number that Clear Channel would have agreed to had it known this was going to be a cash settlement; and it would have been much higher.  He stated they are going to have to go back and look at the Settlement Agreement eventually to determine how it is going to work. 

 

Chairman Scarborough inquired if Mr. McIntyre is telling him that he felt it was Clear Channel’s right at that moment.  Mr. McIntyre responded since every one of their employees is a taxpaying member of the community, Clear Channel would rather have had a Settlement Agreement.  Chairman Scarborough cautioned it sounds like Clear Channel’s attorneys need to talk to the County’s attorneys because there is a different interpretation of the Agreement.   

 

Commissioner Nelson stated there may be cities that allow billboards; he does not know; but there may be sites where Clear Channel can legally place billboards.  He stated in the unincorporated area, the County does not have that, so the Board is not saying Clear Channel cannot place billboards, but they may not be where Clear Channel wants them; and that may be part of the issue.  Mr. McIntyre advised Clear Channel builds billboards all over the State on a regular basis; and it is just looking at rather than receiving $500,000 from the County that could be used for more things than paying on an eminent domain case that it could build two billboards instead.  Commissioner Nelson stated he will not speak for the rest of the Board, but when he saw the original agreement, it was if Clear Channel could find a location that was legal, it could put billboards there or it would be $500,000; but either way it was going to be part of the project so he was okay with the $500,000, understanding that was one of two options. 

 

Commissioner Colon inquired if there was an impression given to the folks who came before the Board that there was support from County staff with regard to this particular matter; and she does not know if they would have been as comfortable coming to the Board if they did not feel there was support.  She inquired if Mr. Denninghoff was the only one who dealt with Clear Channel or did they also deal with the legal staff.  Mr. Denninghoff inquired if Commissioner Colon means in the last couple of weeks leading up to coming to the Board or when they were working on the agreement; with Commissioner Colon responding both.  Mr. Denninghoff advised when they were working on the agreement it was an effort on the part of the Transportation Engineering staff, Land Acquisition, himself, and the County Attorney’s Office as well as the Clear Channel staff and its legal representation; it was made abundantly clear that staff could not assure or guarantee any position on the part of the Board of County Commissioners regarding the alternative option; he personally advised them that he thought it would be an uphill battle with respect to that when the option first came up in the process of negotiating a settlement; and in the weeks coming up before today, it was pretty much the same thing.  He stated he does not believe staff ever gave Clear channel the idea that it would get the decision it desired from the Board; but they did advise that Clear Channel had the option to go ahead and present it to the Board to see how it would go.  He advised the timing to come to the Board today was Clear Channel’s decision; but they needed to come eventually in order to be able to exercise that option; and it needed to be sooner rather later because the timing to get anything done could be extensive so the time clock was ticking as far as the agreement was concerned.  Commissioner Colon stated her concern was whether there was any impression given that there was support.  Mr. Denninghoff stated staff did not indicate one way or other than any individual Commissioner or the Board as a whole was going to rule one way or the other; but he did indicate that some Commissioners had expressed some reservations regarding it while others had given no indication as to what might take place.  He stated he does not believe he misled Clear Channel in any way. 

 

 

Chairman Scarborough stated Commissioner Voltz pulled Item III.C.3, Request for Proposals for Independent Financial Audit Services for discussion.

 

Commissioner Voltz stated Mr. Stultz was saying the makeup of the board is for non-charter counties; he was following the same guideline for charter counties; and the Board might want to look at a different makeup or it may want to keep it as is.

 

Central Services Director Steve Stultz stated Florida Statute 218.391 indicates the auditor selection procedures; and within that section of Statue it indicates that the governing body of a charter county shall establish an audit committee.  He advised it goes forward to say each non-charter county shall establish an audit committee that at a minimum shall consist of each of the county officers elected pursuant to Section I.D, Article VIII of the Florida Constitution or a designee and one member of the Board of County Commissioners or its designee; and in the past, since the charter officers are also covered under the annual financial audit, they have
always been represented on the selection committee; but the Board does have the discretion to form an audit committee for the purpose of evaluating proposals and recommending an audit firm to the Board. 

 

Commissioner Voltz stated she just wanted to see what the other Commissioners thoughts were.  Chairman Scarborough stated he has not started thinking about it so the Board may need to hold off on a decision.  Commissioner Voltz requested recommendations on how a board should be made up as an alternative.  Chairman Scarborough inquired if it is okay to do this at the second meeting in July; with Mr. Stultz responding yes, because the next audit would be for the end of this fiscal year.

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to table consideration of request for proposals for independent financial audit services for Brevard County to the second regular meeting in July 2008.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

 

County Manager Peggy Busacca stated in addition to Fire Rescue there were other departments that participated and assisted during the wildfires; and expressed appreciation to Animal Services and Enforcement, Budget Office, Central Services, Emergency Management, Facilities, Fire Rescue, Housing and Human Services, Human Resources, Information Technology, Mosquito Control, Parks and Recreation, Planning and Zoning, Road and Bridge, Solid Waste, Space Coast Government TV, Tourism, Transit Services, Transportation Engineering, Utility Services, and the Valkaria Airport.  She stated when a disaster strikes it is not just an event limited to a small number of departments; and reiterated thanks to all who were involved. 

 

 

 

County Attorney Scott Knox stated he needs the Board’s advice on litigation involving DiChristopher versus Brevard County; and he would like to do that on May 29, 2008 at 4:30 p.m.

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to approve scheduling an Executive Session to discuss matters involved with DiChristopher versus Brevard County on May 29, 2008 at 4:30 p.m.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Commissioner Voltz stated she received an email from Mosquito Control Director Craig Simmons concerning the wildfires; and expressed appreciation to members of the Mosquito Control Department who kept the wildfires from significantly impacting the Mosquito Control facility and the Fire Rescue Station located at Valkaria Airport.  She expressed appreciation to
the pilot from U.S. Fish and Wildlife for his assistance.  Commissioner Voltz stated as she drove through the area it was incredible to see a house totally intact with all the grass and brush surrounding it burned; and the firefighters did a tremendous job in saving so many homes.  She commented on the volunteer efforts of Central Baptist Church, Our Lady of Grace Church, the Malabar Fire Station, Target, and other facilities.  She stated there was a phenomenal outpouring from the community; the firefighters were working hard; and people behind the scenes were working hard to support the firefighters.  She stated some people were from out of the County; and they felt welcome in the County.

 

 

 

Commissioner Bolin stated on Saturday she was honored to be a server at the Alzheimer’s Barbecue; this year they let her serve turkey since last year when she served scalloped potatoes, she ran out; and the Barbecue raised $313,000. 

 

 

 

Commissioner Bolin stated on Friday she and Commissioner Voltz were at the Orlando Regional Chambers Space Issue event; it was well attended; and it was interesting to hear them talking about the need to come together with one voice.  She stated that is an overriding theme they will be working on; and no matter what part of Florida someone is from, they should talk with one voice on the space issues.  She stated Congressman Tom Feeney was present and spoke on the issues he felt were important; and he is in line with everything the Board has been saying.  She stated Congressman Feeney gave Brevard County kudos for being proactive in working this issue.  She stated the EDC was outstanding as far as its participation; and expressed appreciation to Lynda Weatherman and Frank DiBello. 

 

Commissioner Voltz stated it is amazing to see how all of Central Florida has the Space Center on its mind; and it was exciting to see a workshop just on space.  Commissioner Bolin stated it is very encouraging.

 

 

 

Commissioner Bolin thanked George Mikitarian and Bill Cunningham for their help with the Government Efficiency Workshop; and stated it was a quick workshop because it was a very busy day with the wildfires going on and the announcement that was important to the County.  She stated she will be going through the report and working further on it.   

 

 

 

Commissioner Bolin requested permission to televise a public thank you on Space Coast Government Television to the firefighters and all those who helped with support. 

 

 

 

Commissioner Voltz stated June 16 is the boat ramp meeting for the South County boat ramp at the Grant Community Center. 

 

Commissioner Voltz stated Thursday morning will be the second graduation of the Amer-I-Can graduates; and that will be the last class because the State did not fund the program for the upcoming year.  She stated she is disappointed, but is working on a number of other things that will help the community.

 

Commissioner Colon stated the firefighters from Palm Bay will be having an event on Saturday at 9:00 a.m. in front of Wal-Mart in Malabar; and it is a fundraiser to focus on the families who have lost their homes. 

 

 

 

Commissioner Colon stated she was talking to Ms. Busacca during lunch regarding the cooperation between the cities and the County and how crucial that is; there is going to be a meeting tomorrow for closeout for the Division of Forestry; and it would behoove the County to make sure that all parties involved attend that meeting.  She stated the Division of Forestry tells each community what it is doing; this meeting will be unique because the fires affected everyone at the same time; and they want to make sure the lines of communication are open.  She stated one of the things they touched on earlier was about the folks that the Board was going to thank; her office did 25 Certificates of Appreciation; but then she talked to Ms. Busacca and decided it would best to do them in July because this week it is still all hands on deck.  She stated there are still reports that a lot of the District Chiefs have to do; and they are trying to get back to normal, so appreciation will be happening in July.  She stated there were questions regarding where everybody was this week; she completely shut down her office from Monday to Sunday; and she was in Malabar early in the morning.  She stated staff has been incredible regarding how supportive they have been; and there have been no complaints as no one can complain when there are firefighters working 24 hours a day, seven days a week.  She stated she was blessed by the outpouring of work ethic of the community; advised of efforts to feed the firefighters; and thanked the community.  She advised of the appreciation of the firefighters for the food, cards, and people saying thank you; and stated that made it all worthwhile.  She stated it says a lot about the firefighters who are unselfish and incredible; and the Brevard County Fire Chief was tremendous.  She stated earlier they mentioned Emergency Operations Director Bob Lay, but Chief Farmer was all over the place for two days; and she wants to thank him for doing an incredible job trying to coordinate because not only was he working with what was happening in Cocoa, but he also had to focus on what was happening with all the different municipalities.  She stated that coordination is not an easy task, but Chief Farmer and his crew did an incredible job.  She noted the folks at the Emergency Operations Center also did a tremendous job; the Division of Forestry is still in the County; and she wants to talk to Ms. Busacca about doing something while the State is still present.  She stated the Division of Forestry will be in the County doing what they consider the mopping throughout the community to make sure there is nothing that has been left undone.  She stated the fire even affected U.S. Senator Bill Nelson because he has property in Malabar and knows how it feels to lose things that he will never be able to get back, so it affected everyone, even folks from Washington, D.C.  She stated she wants to mention all the elected officials who rolled up their sleeves this week; she is very proud of them; the elected officials from Palm Bay and Malabar were incredible; the elected officials are public servants and must never forget that; and she was proud of them. 

 

Commissioner Bolin stated the Board was talking about doing the Certificates of Appreciation in July; and inquired if it will also be for Cocoa and the other areas that had the wildfires so it can be one time for the whole situation.  Commissioner Colon stated she was doing the appreciation; she and Ms. Busacca were going to work on it; and requested Commissioner Bolin give any names she might have of people to be included.  She stated some people may not be able to attend, but they can certainly make sure they get Certificates of Appreciation.  Commissioner Bolin stated she just wanted to be sure it was for all the wildfires.  Commissioner Colon stated that is why she mentioned it this morning; folks have forgotten the fires in Cocoa; and this morning she was very specific about mentioning the fact that Cocoa was where the fires started.  She commented on County Manager Peggy Busacca contacting her on Mother’s Day to let her know about the fires in Cocoa; and thanked Ms. Busacca for keeping the Commissioners abreast. 

 

 

 

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

 

 

                                                                        _____________________________________

                                                                        TRUMAN SCARBOROUGH, CHAIRMAN

                                                                        BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

ATTEST:                                                         BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA

 

 

 

_____________________

SCOTT ELLIS, CLERK

   

          (S E A L)