MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA

 

 

March 4, 2008

 

 

 

The Board of County Commissioners of Brevard County, Florida, met in regular session on March 4, 2008, at 9:03 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 John Hill, Suntree United Methodist Church, Suntree, Florida.

 

 

Commissioner Jackie Colon led the assembly in the Pledge of Allegiance.

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to approve the Minutes of the November 27, 2008 Regular Meeting.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Dr. Anthony Catanese, President of the Florida Institute of Technology, stated he always enjoys telling the Board what is happening at its national research university.  He stated on September 22, 1958, Dr. Jerome Keuper decided that Brevard County needed a higher education experience to service the people working at Cape Canaveral in the early days of the missile program, so he began offering classes in the old Eau Gallie Junior High school with no money, no space, and faculty who were drawn from the RCA facility; the first class was in physics and the second was in chemistry; and there were a total of 114 students at the Masters and Associate levels.  He stated what is interesting is that in 1958 there were seven women and three African Americans; Dr. Keuper had to move Florida Tech out of Eau Gallie High School because African Americans were not allowed in that facility in 1958; and so he moved to a facility by Radiation, Inc., and then to the present site, which had been the home of the University of Melbourne.  He stated the University of Melbourne was founded by a group of women who wanted to offer degrees in peace and harmony in the world; but they were ahead of their time in 1958, so Florida Tech took over that site.  He stated since then, Florida Institute of Technology has grown to be one of the top doctoral research universities in the world; and it is the goal to keep that going forward.  He stated there are approximately 5,500 students this year; there are approximately 4,000 at the Melbourne campus; and 800 of those are Brevard County residents.  He stated Florida Tech offers the kinds of programs and degrees that are needed on the Space Coast and there should be many more Brevard students; but 50% of the students come from other states, primarily the Northeast, Midwest, and California.  He stated there are approximately 20% international students, with the largest group still being from India as it has for approximately 30 years; the second largest group is from France; and most recently, at the request of President Bush, a program has been instituted with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with

the King providing full scholarships for a number of Saudi students who have recently joined the student body.  Dr. Catanese stated they are doing approximately $40 million in sponsored research in some very important areas for the County including alternative fuel sources; Dr. Mary Helen McCay leads that effort; and she is looking into ethanol, methanol, and hydrogen for cars, planes, and boats, which is an interesting research area for this County.  He stated Dr. Annie Becker is heading the Small Business Institute and has recently been funded to create the Women’s Business Center, which is a very unique program helping women get started in small businesses.  He stated there is some world class research being done on information security; the Community Foundation of Brevard and Harris Corporation recently gave a gift of $7 million to enter into the war against credit card/identify/information theft; that is a war that is being lost; and this kind of help is needed.  He stated with Harris Corporation behind them, they are going to be able to turn out some young people who can fight what will be the next attack on our country, which will be cyber-terrorism; right now it is being seen in business; and the next evolution will be information security.  He stated they are working on some interesting undertakings; they want to push statewide for a major turbine research institute; they have a proposal before the Legislature; and working with a consortium of people making turbines, not just for rockets but for power and other industrial applications, Brevard County could become the worldwide center for turbine research.  He stated they also want to continue to work on transportation; there are some terrific activities underway with Dr. Bragdon; and the County could become a center for international transportation research.  He stated FIT is in the midst of a $50 million capital campaign, which is the largest undertaken at Florida Tech; it is at this time the largest homebuilder in the County; it is building 400 units on campus; and they expect those to be open next August.  He stated over half of the undergraduates live on-campus, which is important for college life; and they are building a new food service center, a new Olympic size NCAA qualified championship swimming and diving center, as well as a new parking deck.  He stated they are building the new Harris Center for Engineering and Science, the Ruth Funk Art Gallery, and the Buehler Center for Aviation at Melbourne International Airport.  He stated there is $75 million worth of construction underway now on campus, and they are just getting going; and they are also making a recovery as an athletic power.  He stated three years ago they started up a number of new women’s teams; last year the NCAA looked at gender equity enforcement in the U.S.; and they found that the best university in the U.S. in terms of women participating in intercollegiate athletics was Florida Institute of Technology, so they are proud to lead the nation in gender equity in intercollegiate athletics.  He stated they started a golf team for women three years ago; and last year sophomore Daniela Iacobelli from Satellite Beach won the NCAA National Championship.  He stated tonight the Panther’s Men’s Basketball Team goes into the Sunshine State Conference Championship quarter-finals; they have won 20 games; this is the first time in approximately 20 years that they have won 20 games in basketball, and so Florida Tech athletics is on the way back.  He displayed a video about the 50^th Anniversary FIT campaign.  He advised the school recently auctioned an MG on EBay, and continues to add to the original endowment of 37 cents.  He stated the Board has already voiced support for the International Rowing Center on the C-54 canal; it is a viable project; and they would very much like to build it.  He stated the second project is the Center for Autism Treatment; the donor is the Ed Scott family; Scott Family Center for Autism Treatment will be unique in Central Florida; and they hope the County will support that project as well. 

 

Commissioner Colon stated the Board is extremely proud of Florida Tech and its progress; and she will be looking into the University of Melbourne as far as being a women’s college as it is an interesting history.  She stated there is a question that she is sure on the minds of a lot of Brevard County residents; after September 11, they are sensitive to folks who come from the Middle East to the United States, not just to FIT but to universities all over the country; and Dr. Catanese mentioned there are folks from Saudi Arabia here.  She stated folks from the Middle East have been coming to FIT for many years; after September 11, people became very conscious of Embry Riddle, the pilot training that went on in Vero Beach, and also in regards to contacts with FIT; and inquired how closely the universities work with the FBI and Homeland Security.  She noted the folks who attacked folks at the World Trade Center came in legally with legal passports; they came with support of their families and that kind of background; and how do the universities protect themselves in regards to finding out exactly who is coming into the country, not just because they are supported by a King or folks with connections and so forth.   

 

Dr. Catanese responded one of the great misperceptions of the September 11 terrorists were that they were full-time college students, but none of them were; they were all in the country on different kinds of visas; and none of them had student visas.  He stated FIT works very closely with the federal government and with all the agencies Commissioner Colon mentioned on student visas; and after 9-11 almost all Arab students at FIT left.  He stated the program he was talking about was specially arranged between the President of the United States and the King of Saudi Arabia; and they had many discussions on security.  He stated between the cooperation of the U.S. government and the Saudi Arabian government, the students who are here now are good kids; they are 18-year old freshmen; he personally met with them; and they are in the country to learn about engineering, technology, and science so they can develop their country when they return.  He stated they want to learn about American democracy and about Americans; and the program that FIT was asked to undertake by the U.S. government is going to help in those kinds of problems.  He stated security is always an issue; and they are working very closely with the federal agencies on security.

 

Commissioner Colon stated she does not want to take away from what Dr. Catanese shared with the community today; Mr. Scott is a wonderful humanitarian; and he is working closely with a lot of high school students with Malaria No More-Staying Alive.  She stated she is also a part of that group and will be doing resolutions; she is proud of the job that FIT is doing; it is putting Brevard County on the map nationally and internationally; and she is grateful to Dr. Catanese for his leadership and support for the community. 

 

Chairman Scarborough stated it is always a pleasure; and Dr. Catanese needs to come back more frequently.

   

 

 

Commissioner Bolin read aloud a resolution recognizing Lanette Ouellette for her many accomplishments, including attending Florida Institute of Technology at 85 years of age.    

 

Motion by Commissioner Bolin, seconded by Commissioner Voltz, to adopt Resolution recognizing and honoring Lanette Ouellette for her many accomplishments and for attending Florida Institute of Technology at 85 years of age.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

Lanette Ouellette stated she is delighted to be present; and introduced her son Scott and daughter-in-law Beth.  She stated listening to Dr. Catanese speak today made her realize even more how much FIT means to the area; it is world renowned; and it is a privilege to go there.  She commented on her son being an orthodontist, on Dr. Catanese coming to FIT, and on attending the University of Miami.  She stated it is not often one has the opportunity thank the people who help them achieve what they want in life; expressed appreciation to Brevard Community College where she took the courses she needed; and thanked Dr. Kaliszeski of the Melbourne campus.  She stated Nancy Spotz helps disabled students; she had knee and hip replacements and needed help; and expressed appreciation to Ms. Spotz for her help.  She commented on studying sculling and rowing with the Baker family and rowing on the Banana River.  She advised of classes she has taken in Chinese Civilization and other humanities classes; and stated she had the privilege of meeting Ruth Funk who will have a textile museum at FIT.  She thanked the Board for the Resolution. 

 

Commissioner Bolin presented the Resolution to Ms. Oullette. 

 

Chairman Scarborough stated Ms. Oullette has proven Dr. Catanese wrong in two senses; it is more than a degree program, it is a lifelong experience; and it is also more than technology, it is humanities as well.  He congratulated Dr. Catanese and Ms. Oullette. 

 

Ms. Oullette advised she has the pleasure of having County Manager Peggy Busacca as her Sunday School teacher; and Pastor Hill is from the Suntree United Methodist Church which she attends. 

 

 

 

Commissioner Voltz read aloud a resolution proclaiming the week of April 13 through 19, 2008 as Contract Management Week.

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to adopt Resolution proclaiming the week of April 13 through 19, 2008 as Contract Management Week.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

Commissioner Voltz presented the Resolution to a representative of the National Contract Management Association, who expressed appreciation. 

 

 

 

Commissioner Voltz read aloud a resolution proclaiming the month of March 2008 as Red Cross Month.

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to adopt Resolution proclaiming March 2008 as Red Cross Month.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

Commissioner Voltz presented the Resolution to Keith Gee, Executive Director of the Space Coast Chapter of the Red Cross.  Mr. Gee advised he is new to Brevard County and to the Red Cross; they are hoping to strengthen the Red Cross’ presence during the month of March; and all aid provided by the Red Cross is free to the victims of disasters. 

 

 

Commissioner Voltz read aloud a resolution proclaiming the month of March as Irish American Heritage Month.

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to adopt Resolution proclaiming the month of March as Irish American Heritage Month.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

Commissioner Voltz presented the Resolution to Supervisor of Elections Fred Galey, who accepted on behalf of the Ancient Order of Hibernians and expressed appreciation. 

 

 

 

Commissioner Nelson read aloud a resolution proclaiming the week of March 16 through 22, 2008 as Florida Surveyors’ Week. 

 

Motion by Commissioner Nelson, seconded by Commissioner Voltz, to adopt Resolution proclaiming the week of March 16 through 22, 2008 as Florida Surveyors’ Week.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

Commissioner Nelson presented the Resolution to Kurt Stafflinger, President of the Florida Surveyors and Mappers Society, Space Coast Chapter, who expressed appreciation to the Board.  Commissioner Nelson stated Susan Jackson, County Surveyor, was the queen of surprises for him; a lot of things were built by volunteers; and when they surveyed, they found that left field of one ballfield and a pavilion were on someone else’s property.  He stated it was not Ms. Jackson’s fault, and he appreciates what surveyors do. 

 

Mr. Stafflinger stated they are kicking off Surveyors’ Week with a barbecue at Wickham Park on March 15, 2008; and invited the Commissioners to attend.

 

Commissioner Voltz stated surveying is the most tedious, detailed job; it protects private property rights; and it is important so everyone knows what they own and what they do not own.  She stated she does not know why anybody would be interested in doing it; but commended the surveyors for the job they do. 

 

 

 

Commissioner Colon stated South Brevard is blessed to have Jeff Whitehead as one of the Directors; he has an outstanding cheerful, can-do attitude; and she is proud of his attitude.  She stated Mr. Whitehead is a humble man who would not want to receive any awards or recognition; he is the first to give credit to his staff; and she is thankful for all the projects he has worked on in South Brevard, such as the beaches, Rodes Park, Palm Bay Regional Park, and the list goes on.  She stated she is grateful for Mr. Whitehead’s support and dedication to citizens with disabilities, which has been a priority under his leadership, as well as his support for seniors and youth.  She thanked Mr. Whitehead on behalf of the citizens of Brevard County; and stated she always tells people she is not impressed by how much people know but by someone’s heart; and that is what has impressed her about Mr. Whitehead.  She stated Mr. Whitehead treats the citizens with the utmost respect no matter how difficult the issue is; and she can always count on Mr. Whitehead to bring that peace, respect, and harmony, which is truly appreciated.  She reiterated this recognition is not just on behalf of the Board but on behalf of the thousands of citizens with whom Mr. Whitehead has worked throughout the years; and thanked Mr. Whitehead.  .         

 

Commissioner Bolin stated Mr. Whitehead has been a wonderful person to know; she has seen him walk up to his employees and they smile when he approaches, which is an accomplishment; and she has also seen him go up to Little League players, who enjoy seeing him, and the smile is on Mr. Whitehead’s face.  She thanked him. 

 

Commissioner Nelson stated Commissioner Colon mentioned Mr. Whitehead’s heart; and he may have stopped Mr. Whitehead’s heart on a few occasions; but Commissioner Colon is right that Mr. Whitehead has a can-do attitude.  He stated once he got over the initial shock of what had to be done, Mr. Whitehead went out and did it well.  He stated he remembers Mr. Whitehead’s preparation of the Little League fields for Rodes Park when he put stars on the field for the All Stars; and people still talk about that because it made the kids feel so special.  He stated he appreciates that Mr. Whitehead goes the extra mile; his job description is just the starting point; and he takes it well beyond that, which he appreciates. 

 

Commissioner Voltz stated she agrees with everything that has been said; there have been a couple of issues she has brought to Mr. Whitehead, and he always takes them to completion; and the job Mr. Whitehead has done to ensure that everything has been taken care of properly is phenomenal.  She thanked Mr. Whitehead. 

 

Jeff Whitehead thanked Commissioner Nelson for giving him the opportunity in 2000; and stated it is a blessing to be with the County; he is surrounded by the best people in the world; and he has the best staff with a can-do attitude.  He stated he knows there are some tough times ahead, but they will get through them. 

 

 

 

County Manager Peggy Busacca stated staff would like to remove Item III.A.4, Binding Development Plan with Suzanna Norris, Re:  Property at the Northwest Corner of Arborwood Avenue and Aspen Lane, from the Consent Agenda as the binding development plan is not ready.    

 

 

 

County Manager Peggy Busacca stated the United States Livesaving Association in the Southeast Region will be having press conference this afternoon at 1:00 p.m. to provide the Aquatic Safety Assessment and Recommendations Report.  She stated she has a copy for each of the Commissioners.

 

Commissioner Bolin stated that did not arrive in her email until 2:24 a.m. and it was 94 pages long. 

 

 

 

County Manager Peggy Busacca stated the EDC has asked the Board if it would clarify the motion of February 27, 2008 regarding Project Jaguar.  She stated the EDC has asked that the motion read, “The Board of County Commissioners, in special session, approved $1.8 million from Reserves to be issued upon receipt of a certificate of occupancy for a facility to be constructed in Brevard County as part of a best and final offer for the confidential project, Project Jaguar.  It is anticipated that if Brevard County is selected, certificate of occupancy and transfer of advanced tax abatement funding will not occur until calendar year 2010.” 

 

Chairman Scarborough stated he got something from Clerk’s Finance on that as well; and inquired if the motion would incorporate that as well; with Ms. Busacca responding she does not know, she has not seen what Clerk’s Finance sent.  Chairman Scarborough stated the memo is from Finance Director Steve Burdett, and says, “Please have the . . . Board formally pass a motion that this project will serve a public purpose for economic development or whatever language would be appropriate.  This will be used to back up the disbursement.  Also clarify the source of the funds.  I would also appreciate legal reference that allows these funds to be distributed for something confidential and at what point the project will become part of the public record.”  He inquired if the Board covers all that with the motion or does it need to be expanded.  County Attorney Scott Knox stated if the Board is going to make the motion requested by Ms. Busacca, it will not cover the last thing Mr. Burdett asked for, which is the statutory reference; and he will have to find that.  Chairman Scarborough stated Mr. Knox can do that. 

 

Commissioner Colon stated she was not at the meeting on February 27, but she did let folks from the EDC know that she would not be supporting the project; and she wants to make sure that is on the record.  She stated she had a family emergency and was unable to attend the meeting; she will not be supporting any motion; and Ms. Weatherman and Ms. Busacca are aware of her concerns.

 

Chairman Scarborough stated he continues to support the item; when there is a tax abatement, there is a net loss to the taxpayer; but this is an adjustment of cash flow; and the County is made whole at the end of the day.  He stated while this may appear to be less enticement to a business, it is actually more because it is a cash flow rather than a net at the end of the day; and therefore, it has advantages and disadvantages.  He stated it appears to be more advantageous to the County than a tax abatement while providing more incentive. 

 

Commissioner Nelson stated he agrees; if the County is going to compete with the rest of the counties and states in terms of economic development, it has to look at how it does things; in this particular case, because it is new, there is some concern; and that concern should be addressed.  He stated the real bottom line in this is a better abatement process than the County currently has in place; and the final number will be determined based on the number of jobs, similar to the current process.  He stated they do not initiate anything until there is a business with a $40 investment in place; the Board does not get that in the other process; and this is actually much better for the County.  He stated it is unique; and it will be disclosed at the appropriate time; but to scare away businesses because confidentiality cannot be contained will cause Brevard to become a third-world County because it will be out-competed by others.  He stated this is a 200-job investment in the County that they will not move forward with until such time as the business is in place; and it will be paying those taxes from now on.  He stated in the end it is a good deal for Brevard County; and he understands why there may be some questions about it; but it is a way of getting business to the County with the kinds of jobs the County has been looking for.  He stated it may not happen; and the County is still in competition. 

 

Commissioner Bolin stated she concurs with the statements that have been made; the County has to become competitive if the economy of the County is going to survive; and she is in full support of the motion. 

 

Commissioner Colon stated one of the things she shared was to make sure the Board gets it in writing that the jobs will be for folks who are in Brevard County; thousand of jobs are going to be lost because of the retirement of the Space Shuttle; and the Board should make sure it is an exact match, 200-for-200 of folks in the County, not coming from other states.  She stated going through this is positive; but she has a great deal of concern unless it is guaranteed in black and white that those folks who will be out of a job at the Cape will be the ones getting the jobs, and that would be a priority.  She noted no one has assured that would be in the black and white; and unless that is there, she walks with great concern.  She stated time and again there have been large companies that have gotten tax abatement, and she has been supportive; but they bring in their own folks.  She stated with the kind of workforce that is in Brevard County, whether the Board gives a $1 million or $10,000, it must be assured that the jobs will go to folks who are here.  She stated she wanted to share that, because she made it perfectly clear last week what her concerns were.

 

Commissioner Voltz stated it would be most beneficial to have the employees in the County, but the Board cannot require that; this is a terrific opportunity to move forward; and she is going to move the new language that Ms. Busacca said with what Mr. Burdett requested. 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, to clarify the motion made by the Board on February 27, 2008 regarding Project Jaguar, to read, “The Board of County Commissioners, in special session, approved $1.8 million from Reserves to be issued upon receipt of a certificate of occupancy for a facility to be constructed in Brevard County as part of a best and final offer for Confidential Project Jaguar, and that if the County is selected, the certificate of occupancy and transfer of advanced tax abatement funding will not occur until calendar year 2010; and declare that the use of such funds is a public purpose for economic development.

 

Chairman Scarborough inquired if the Board would be more comfortable with the language coming back or can Ms. Busacca’s language and Mr. Burdett’s language be incorporated.  County Attorney Scott Knox stated he will read the Statute, which may put the Commissioners’ minds at ease; and read aloud, “The governing body of a county may expend public funds to attract and retain business enterprises and the use of public funds toward the achievement of such economic development goals constitutes a public purpose.”  Chairman Scarborough stated he would find no problem stating it is a public purpose.    

 

Commissioner Nelson seconded the motion with the inclusion of the provision that was read aloud by the County Attorney.  Motion carried and ordered; Commissioners Scarborough, Nelson, Voltz, and Bolin voted aye; Commissioner Colon voted nay. 

 

 

Chairman Scarborough stated there has been some question about what is within the Sunshine Law and what is not; the Board is only marginally briefed on projects like this because of the confidentiality issue; everything a Commissioner knows is public record; and so it has to be limited what is provided to the Commissioners or the companies will not talk to the County.  He stated the EDC is acting within the purview of the Florida Statutes; he is comfortable working forward with the information that was provided; and the information was fully disclosed to the extent it was needed on the part of the Board to take the action that it did. 

 

Commissioner Nelson stated these are tax dollars that would not be collected if this business did not come to the County; the abatement process says that the community is going to expand by $40 million in value; and as a result of that it will increase the taxable value of the community.  He stated these are not existing dollars, but will be collected from the business that will improve the tax base by over $40 million, so it is a good thing.  He stated it will be fully disclosed at the appropriate time; and it still has to come back to the board in final contract form. 

 

 

 

Commissioner Nelson stated with the Board today is a class from Mila Elementary School; and the teacher is Carla Sheridan.

 

Carla Sheridan stated the group is from Mila Elementary; it is both third grade classes along with some parent chaperones; in social studies they study local, State, and federal government; and they set this up as a learning experience to see government officials in action.  She stated they will also be headed to the Justice Center to meet a judge and observe; and they will finish up with the Supervisor of Elections.  She stated the children did a sample ballot, and they will be given an opportunity to actually vote.

 

Commissioner Nelson inquired how many of the group wants to run for office; with the majority of the group raising their hands.  He thanked the group for coming; and commented on how quietly they entered the room.

 

 

 

County Attorney Scott Knox stated an Executive Session was scheduled for 11:30 a.m. today; as part of the requirements for the Executive Session all the people who will be in attendance have to be listed including the court reporter; but the court reporter is in a trial today and will not be able to make it.  He stated they have been asked to move the Executive Session to another date; and suggested March 6, 2008 at 4:30 p.m.

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to approve rescheduling the Executive Session to discuss LaCourt v. Brevard County from 11:30 a.m. on March 4, 2008 to 4:30 p.m. on March 6, 2008.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.        

 

 

 

County Attorney Scott Knox stated in the case of Brevard County v. Dobrowolski, the County received a reverse offer of judgment that needs to be discussed; and requested permission to schedule an Executive Session on March 18, 2008 at 11:30 a.m. or as soon thereafter as possible. 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to grant permission to schedule an Executive Session to discuss issues related to Brevard County v. Dobrowolski on March 18, 2008 at 11:30 a.m. or as soon thereafter as possible.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

 

County Manager Peggy Busacca stated Mr. Gardulski would like to describe an opportunity to save a significant amount of money in the construction of Rodes Park; and they will be asking the Board for specific action. 

 

Interim Road and Bridge Director Ed Gardulski stated he wants to present a win/win deal that was presented to him late yesterday afternoon by Charlie Burton; Road and Bridge is in the process of land clearing for the development of Rodes Park; and part of the project will require approximately 100,000 cubic yards of fill material.  He stated the cost is two-fold; one part is the price the County pays for the material; and the other part is the transportation cost.  He stated they may get a good price for fill somewhere across the State, but the transportation costs would kill any savings.  He stated they have a win/win opportunity; they have a very motivated contractor on Palm Bay Road who has a surplus of fill material that he needs to get rid of; and the County can really use the fill so it will be a win/win because the County will get a good price on the fill material and the transportation costs will be down because it is only four miles away
from the park.  Mr. Gardulski stated they do not need the material yet, but will need it; and they can stockpile it at the park.  He recommended a three-part motion, to waive the bidding process, direct staff to negotiate a deal with the contractor for the best price for the material, and to allow purchase of the fill for Rodes Park.

 

Ms. Busacca stated under the normal Contract the material would be $736,000; but the estimated cost to get the material from the contractor is $356,000, for a cost savings of $380,000. 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to approve waiver of bid process; direct staff to negotiate for the best price for fill material; and authorize purchase of fill material for Rodes Park at the negotiated price, which is estimated to be $356,000.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.      

 

 

Commissioner Colon inquired if the price is so wonderful and the savings are $380,000, what is the problem with allowing it to go through the bidding process; with Mr. Gardulski responding the contractor has time constraints to keep his project on schedule, so he is motivated to get this surplus fill off the project. 

 

Commissioner Nelson stated the information says a savings to the County, but it is not a savings to the project.  Mr. Gardulski stated it would be a savings for the project.  Commissioner Nelson inquired which project, the one that has to get rid of the material; with Mr. Gardulski responding the Rodes Park project.  Mr. Gardulski stated Charlie Burton is always looking for the best prices he can get to get the project under construction costs.  Commissioner Nelson inquired why the site is not balanced so it is not necessary to bring material in; with Mr. Gardulski responding it will be necessary to bring in material for the project, it was calculated at 100,000 cubic yards, and they will only get half of that from the construction site.  Commissioner Nelson inquired about use of the spoil site off North Merritt Island; with Mr. Gardulski responding transportation costs will eat up a lot of that because of the distance.  Commissioner Nelson stated he will talk further with Mr. Gardulski because he has some questions. 

 

Chairman Scarborough stated the problem with items coming up like this is that the Commissioners do not have a chance to get briefed, so unless something is an emergency, it is best that they are not handled this way. 

 

 

 

Commissioner Nelson stated they just got sudden notice last week; he found out from a reporter that Sea Ray Boats is laying off up to 350 people at the Merritt Island plant; there are actually three Sea Ray plants on Merritt Island; and so it is not all of Sea Ray that is closing down.  He stated 350 jobs being lost is still significant; and once he found out, he immediately tried to find out more detail about what was happening.  He stated he asked Marci Brilley from the Brevard Workforce Development Board to meet with the Board today; he scheduled a meeting in his office yesterday to talk about the transition, how to deal with the losses, and how to help the community; and at the meeting were Eric Nakamura from the Workforce Development Board,

Lynda Weatherman, and Human Resources Director Frank Abbate.  He stated Sea Ray was invited but did not attend; it was not for the purpose of chastising the company for its decision; and it was really to see how they could help the employees.  Commissioner Nelson stated Ms. Brilley will give the Board an idea of what is available and some of the steps that they will be taking as a County and through the Workforce Development Board to assist. 

 

Marci Brilley, representing the Brevard Workforce Development Board, stated she is thrilled to tell the Board what services the Brevard Job Link can offer, not only for Sea Ray but for all Brevard County businesses that have a reduction in force; and for Sea Ray, they will be designing a customized plan.  She stated they will be working with Sea Ray to help the organization and employees in the transition; they have not met with them initially; they are working to set up a meeting; but the Workforce Development Board has a good working relationship with Sea Ray and has worked with the company in the past on similar services.  She stated they will be offering them resume writing workshops; there is an overview of the Brevard Job Link and the services that it offers; and they will also offer job search and interviewing skills.  She stated they have other customized workshops that will be offered; the employees can offer ideas; and for instance, if they want to do a workshop on personal finance, they will bring in a subject matter expert and hold those workshops.  She stated there are several career assessment tools that can be used to decide what path they want to go in their career; they will post resumes on the Statewide database; and as employers become aware of this and look at the skills that Sea Ray employees have, they will bring those employers into Sea Ray to meet with the employees.  She stated if there is more than one employer, they can host a job fair at Sea Ray so the employees can talk to potential employers.  She stated they will also have a workshop to teach them how to apply for unemployment compensation, where they have to go, and the forms that they need; and those are just some of the services that will be offered when they meet with them.  She stated the primary goal is to make sure to reduce the amount of time between employments.    

 

Commissioner Nelson stated he appreciates the efforts of Ms. Brilley and the Workforce Development Board because that is going to be instrumental; it is not clear what the numbers are going to be because Sea Ray is going to try to take some of their employees into the Sykes Creek and Canaveral plants; and he is not sure at this point if Sea Ray knows what the number will be.  He stated he has heard that some of those jobs will be transferred to Tennessee and Palm Coast, which is not good for the community; he has heard that the Board is focused on space and so will not do anything for Sea Ray; but that is not true.  He stated they have known for some time that the space program is going to go through a decline; so there has been an opportunity to ramp up; however, they just found out last Wednesday that Sea Ray was going to lay off 350 people.  He stated this is the kind of commitment that the Board makes to the community, not just to the space industry; he wants the citizens to know that given the same circumstances, it does not matter what the business is; and the Board will be there to try to assist.  He stated for those who think that the Board is making too much focus on one industry that is not case.  Ms. Brilley noted Workforce Development Board offers these services to a lot of organizations and businesses in the County.

 

Chairman Scarborough stated he encourages Commissioner Nelson to continue conversations with Sea Ray.  He stated the marketplace does drive these decisions, but to the extent they become partners with the community, the County can play a constructive role; and it is not just for the citizens, but for the company so it can in turn help the citizens.   

 

Commissioner Colon stated the Workforce Development Board helped a great deal last year when County employees were laid off; and she is thankful for them coming to work with the County’s Human Resources.  She stated in the building industry thousands of jobs have been lost in Brevard County; and inquired if there is anything specific that was focused on these folks.  Ms. Brilley stated when there is a reduction in force, the Workforce Development Board will come out to talk with them and work with them individually on what services they need; they had a grant a couple of years ago to come up with training for construction workers to increase their skills so they could move up the ladder; that is in place now; and they are working with the school system on that piece.  Commissioner Colon stated people in the community are trying to find out where to get this kind of information; and inquired where the Workforce Development Board does its outreach.  She stated churches are a wonderful place for outreach; in the past she worked very closely with the Workforce Development Board with the job links that were in the churches, but it was not as successful as they wished it would have been; and encouraged Ms. Brilley to continue that kind of outreach.  Commissioner Colon stated it is critically important; the churches are a wonderful tool; she would encourage their use; and if the Workforce Development Board would work closely with them, she would appreciate it. 

 

 

 

Commissioner Voltz stated her trip to Washington, D.C. last week was very successful; they met with Senator Nelson, Congressman Dave Weldon, and Senator Martinez’s staff; and while they all realized that there is an issue with funding, she gave them the information that normally they would have to spend a lot of time getting.  She stated the consultant was able to put a booklet together and did a wonderful job; they were pleased to know this was the number two priority; and they understood that the number one priority had to be beach sand. 

 

 

 

Commissioner Voltz stated last night she had the opportunity to swear in the officers at Snug Harbor; they had a wonderful home-cooked meal; and expressed appreciation to the group. 

 

 

 

Commissioner Bolin stated she assisted at the bakery sale at the Greek Festival; and she thinks she ate as much as she sold.  She stated it was a great festival; it was a lot of fun; and it was a very successful public event. 

 

Commissioner Voltz stated she also worked at the Greek Festival serving coffee; and she could not believe the number of people drinking coffee in the heat of the afternoon.  She stated it was a wonderful event; they had a great time; and there were a lot of people.  She stated the dancing was incredible; and it was enjoyable to watch. 

 

Commissioner Colon stated she worked for five hours straight; it was a wonderful event; and she was there on Friday.

 

 

 

Commissioner Colon congratulated Northrop Grumman for a wonderful contract; stated it will be a lot of jobs in the community; and thanked Senators Bill Nelson and Mel Martinez.  She commented on touring Northrop Grumman; and stated she thinks the Board sent a letter of gratitude to Senator Martinez.  She stated Senator Martinez will be having her represent Florida; she will be going to Washington, D.C. in April; and she looks forward to coming back and bringing information on jobs.  She stated the contract with Northrop Grumman would not have happened if not for the work of Lynda Weatherman and the EDC; and advised of different events, consortiums, and workshops from which she brings back data regarding education and small businesses.  She stated it is key to think outside the box. 

 

 

 

Commissioner Colon stated Rickey Myers represents the community, especially the young African American community; and the community needs to see what the young African American community looks like.  She stated Mr. Myers was here to witness all the young people raise their hands regarding being future elected officials; and recommended the Board remember Mr. Myers name because he will be a future elected official.  She stated there is no doubt in her mind in regards to that.  She stated the young people who were here today are learning history; for them to see three elected officials in 2008 that are women is no big deal; however, women were not allowed to vote in this country in a certain period of time, and neither were African Americans.  She stated one of the things she has said time and time again is if it was not for Dr. Martin Luther King, she personally, as a Hispanic woman, would not be able to be an elected official; but it is because of his belief that everyone was created equal.  She stated the Board would love to hear from Mr. Myers this morning. 

 

Rickey Myers stated he attends Mt. Moriah Missionary Baptist Church, where he is under the leadership of Dr. Harvey L. Riley; he is the Youth Council President of the South Brevard Branch of the NAACP; and he also attends Palm Bay High School.  He stated he would like to thank the board for giving him the opportunity to express what Dr. Martin Luther King has done and how he impacted his life.  He stated Dr. King influenced thousands of people in how to become civil rights leaders; he told people that violence was not the answer, but compromise and fighting back with a voice was the way; and Dr. King had many titles, minister, lawyer, civil rights pioneer, and peace leader.  He stated Dr. King believed that his job was to study society and how people behave and function within society; when Dr. King was just a young boy he asked his father why there was such a separation; and he said it was almost like they were living in two different worlds, living, working, and commuting together.  He stated Dr. King did not understand the meeting of segregation or injustice until he could not go into certain areas of the cities that others could and until he was denied his right to vote in an election.  He stated Dr. King took a stand for him when he taught, believed, and stood up for what was right; when he was beaten and thrown into jails; when he said all students deserve the same textbooks; and when he said all should be able to walk into the same hospitals, churches, bathrooms, government offices, or restaurants and deserve the same chance.  He stated he wants the same medical treatment, wants to shout in the same church, wants to use the same clean bathroom, and wants to taste some of the delicious food at the same restaurants.  He stated the voting booth is where his voice will be heard; and those who do not vote do not deserve the same treatment.  He stated he wants to be treated fairly because all are equal; Dr. King took his

stand; and he enforced everyone to get active and take advantage of what life has to offer.  Mr. Myers stated that is why he chooses to make good grades, look at colleges and be accepted at a good college, and be a future politician so he can listen to the people and influence government to make the right choice.  He stated he chooses to express his religious thoughts and resources, although his only resource is the Holy Bible.  He stated Dr. King paved the way for free speech; Dr. King’s words encourage him to participate and give back to the community; and they have come too far and too close to lower their standards and give up just when they have started or give out when the race has just begun.  He stated they have to start loving each other regardless of whether they are Asian, Caucasian, Hispanic, or Black; gay or straight; stressed or depressed; sick or well; they are all living and breathing the same air; they are living in the same times; and many are living to see their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  He stated Dr. King said they must all learn to live together as brothers or they will perish as fools; and when they keep this positive spirit, it will rub off on others.  He stated he has learned that he has to keep hope alive; he has to keep smiling, walking, and talking like he has common sense; he has to set an example for the next generations; and the Commissioners set the tone for the next set of Commissioners.  He stated they have to continue to be heard in the classrooms; they have to continue to be heard in elections; and it is their job to make sure that they fight for political, social, economic, educational, and religious equal opportunity because Dr. King said that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.  He stated Dr. King’s words have taught him that if he wants the six-bedroom house, the Mercedes Benz, the nice vacation package, and the taste of the good life, he should stick to his plans, stand up for his rights, and make sure his priorities are in order; Dr. King has set the dream; and it is their job to elevate it and live the dream.        

 

Commissioner Colon thanked Mr. Myers; and stated he attends Palm Bay High School, and he is one of many of whom the Board is proud.  She stated she is sure his parents are as proud of him as she is.  She stated the first school she attended after coming to this country was named after Dr. Martin Luther King; she was seven years old and did not speak English; and her hero was Dr. King who taught that she could dream big, have integrity, and believe in a higher power.

 

 

 

Michael Fitzgerald stated last time he spoke before the Board they were talking about rip current warning signs; he visited every park and public crossover in the County from Sebastian Inlet to Playalinda Beach; and there are 55 sites that are not covered by signs.  He stated in accordance with Breaux v. the City of Miami Beach, there would be liability exposure of probably $11 million based on $200,000 per site; and that is the bad news.  He stated the good news is he started collecting some money; the Board gave him a letter to Ron Jon’s supporting the printing of new rip current warning signs; Ron Jon’s gave enough money to cover the areas that were missing in Cocoa Beach; and he thinks he has enough money to cover Playalinda Beach, which has 13 beach sites and no signs.  He stated he went to the Hotel and Motel Association; and expressed appreciation to Rob Varley of the TDC for his assistance.  He stated because of Mr. Varley’s assistance, all of the hotels in Cocoa Beach that are on the water are giving money for signs; and today he is turning over $2,200 with more to come.  He thanked Deborah Green of the Hilton Hotel who was instrumental in the effort and gave one of the best
ideas that could be tied in.  Mr. Fitzgerald displayed three signs; and stated two of the signs are what are on the beach now.  He stated the first sign was the beginning sign in the County; it was brought up in 1998; then the federal government gave another sign that was put up; but the federal sign does not say “danger” or “warning.”  He stated the federal sign says not to fight the current and swim out of the current, but does not tell someone exactly how to get out of a rip current.  He stated he has talked to the federal government about it; and he was told that it had to go through 30 different reviews to get the sign put up.  He stated he said that too many cooks spoiled the broth; and the federal government advised it was in the process of making a new sign, which would be in English and Spanish.  He stated he advised the federal government could have the County’s new sign with copyright infringement.  He stated the new sign says, “danger rip currents”; and the importance is that when people come to the beach with their families, that wording will make them read the sign.  He stated the sign is in two languages; and it says, "don’t fight the current by trying to swim directly to shore; swim even with the shore until the current weakens, then to shore.”  He stated that is how someone gets out of a rip current; the hotels requested the signs include a telephone number where people can call to find out where the lifeguarded beaches are.  He stated they will not be covering all the beaches in Brevard County; there will only be a few; there will be signs at every crossover; and it will all tie in.  He stated everyone will know where the lifeguarded beaches are; they can read the signs and know how to get out of rip currents; and if they decide not to go to a lifeguarded beach, they take the risk by themselves and the Board has done everything it can to protect them.  He stated there are County, State, and federal beaches; but the County put up all the original signs.  He stated the cities and State were supposed to look after the signs, but they have not; and suggested the Board get Interlocal Agreements so that the signs are checked each year, and those that are knocked down by hurricanes or vandalized can be replaced.  He stated the municipalities, the State, and the federal government should also be chipping in to make this happen; and the County should not pay for the whole thing.  He stated he will keep collecting money from the hotels because that is the County’s portion of it; there are 300 multi-story buildings on the ocean which are private plus the hotels and motels; he already has about half the hotels done and will finish them; and this is probably the way to do the best the Board can with the least amount of money to protect the citizens. 

 

Commissioner Colon stated Central Florida and Brevard County play a critical role in making sure that S.R. 520 was no longer called the Beeline, but was changed to the Beachline; and there was a reason for that.  She stated the hotel industry wanted to make sure that folks who were down visiting Disney World would come to Brevard County to visit the beaches, restaurants, hotels, and so forth.  She stated the Hispanic folks who live here are bilingual; but tourists who are coming from Latin America, Spain, or Mexico and are spending millions of dollars are not, so the County should copy the theme parks in being bilingual.  She stated Mr. Fitzgerald is a citizen of Brevard County who has taken it upon himself to go to the private sector and get these dollars, and also include the hotel industry in these kinds of discussions; and this is wonderful.  She thanked Mr. Fitzgerald; and stated he did not come with a problem, but with how it could be fixed. 

 

Mr. Fitzgerald stated when he went to the hotels and showed them the sign in both English and Spanish, they were ecstatic about it; they said more than 75% of the people who come in with limited English speaking proficiency were from nations that speak Spanish, and that it was essential to have bilingual staff in the hotels; and if the signs are in both languages, they will hit the greatest number of people possible.  Commissioner Colon stated they are referring to the tourist industry.  Mr. Fitzgerald stated he would like to add the telephone number where people can find out where the lifeguarded beaches are to the new sign.  He stated when the report comes in he would like the Board to think about tying this in to get the best protection as possible for the population.  He stated Representative Sasso might be introducing language for a rip current warning signing program for the entire State; and Brevard County will be the model. 

 

Commissioner Voltz expressed appreciation to Mr. Fitzgerald; and stated he has really taken this upon himself.  She stated many people see problems and depend on government to do something; but Mr. Fitzgerald has done a great job.  She stated it would have been easy for Mr. Fitzgerald to let this go, but he did not; and he is to be commended for what he has done.  She state a lot of work went into this; and she wishes more people would get involved to the extent that Mr. Fitzgerald has.  She stated he has nothing to gain except the safety of the residents of Brevard County. 

 

Mr. Fitzgerald stated he would like to thank the Board; as a County employee, the Board has given him the training to give back; County Manager Peggy Busacca makes sure the employees are well trained; and he just went to a couple of classes. 

 

Chairman Scarborough stated this is beyond Mr. Fitzgerald’s job; and that is why the Board wants to thank him as a citizen of Brevard County. 

 

Commissioner Bolin expressed appreciation to Mr. Fitzgerald.  She inquired if all three styles of signs will be kept.  Mr. Fitzgerald responded that is the problem; he wants the Board to decide if it would be in the County’s best interest to go with one sign with one telephone number on it; he knows the Board is going to get reports on additional lifeguards; and putting up one sign across the County will cost less than one lifeguard for one year.  He stated the signs will stay up for ten years; advised the first sign he displayed is ten years old and was made in the County’s sign shop; and it should be a one-time expenditure.  He requested the Board look at the issue when it gets the study from the Lifeguard Association because this can tie in to do the greatest amount of good.

 

Commissioner Colon apologized for the ugliness that she saw in folks who were not even knowledgeable of what this about.  She stated all they heard was the Spanish part of it and did not realize that the initial conversation was about stopping deaths in the County.  She stated that was Mr. Fitzgerald’s main concern; but after speaking to the hotel industry and realizing that millions of dollars come into Central Florida through tourists from Latin America, Mr. Fitzgerald advised they should look at signs not only in English but also in Spanish.  She stated unfortunately people decided to take one part of the issue and run with it instead of looking to see what the issue was really about; and thanked Mr. Fitzgerald for not being discouraged.   

 

 

The meeting recessed at 10:56 a.m. and reconvened at 11:05 a.m.

 

 

 

Chairman Scarborough stated Item III.D.2, Approval to Quote and Purchase, Re:  Two Mobile Command Posts has been pulled for discussion by the public; and he would like to discuss Item III.D.7, Approval, Re:  Bills and Budget Changes. 

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to execute an Interlocal Agreement with Town of Grant-Valkaria for the transfer of Stormwater fees collected by the Tax Collector during the period of July 25, 2005 through September 30, 2007; and authorize a County warrant in the amount of $88,120.67 to be paid to the Town of Grant-Valkaria.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to authorize submittal of a grant proposal to the United states Environmental Protection Agency for a Community Action for a Renewed Environment (CARE) grant, with no local match required.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to execute Unpaved Road Agreement with Francisco Rojas for construction of a road in existing County right-of-way under the Unpaved Road Code of Ordinances, Section 62-102.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to execute Binding Development Plan with Mission Investment Fund of the Evangelical Lutheran Church for property located in the southeast corner of Fay Boulevard and Adams Place.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to approve the disbursement of educational facilities impact fees in the amount of $6,235,066.05 to the School Board of
Brevard County in accordance with the terms of the Interlocal Agreement.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

   

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to execute Notice of Restriction by Royal Palms Senior Apartments, L.P. on behalf of Brevard County.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.  

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to execute Subordination of Utility Interests from Florida Power & Light on property purchased for the Barnes Boulevard Widening Project, and located in Section 21, Township 25 South, and Range 36 East.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

  

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to execute Contract for Sale and Purchase of Parcel 138 at the corner of Wickham Road and Idlewylde Circle for a purchase price of $105,200.00 plus costs and fees of $99,500.00; and approve associated Right of Entry.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to approve the request of Grand Haven Master Homeowner’s Association, Inc. for traffic control enforcement for the community known as Chastine Manor.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to execute Agreements with the Department of Community Affairs in the amount of $677,198.25 for the 2005 Community Development Block Grant Supplemental Disaster Recovery Program; and authorize the Chairman to execute any associated amendments, supplements, and necessary reports upon approval of Risk Management and the County Attorney.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to authorize advertisement for and acceptance of proposals from qualified vendors for contracted seasonal worker services for the Parks and Recreation Department; appoint Selection Committee consisting of Parks and Recreation Director Don Lusk, Human Resources Director Frank Abbate, Budget Director Dennis Rogero, Parks and Recreation Assistant Director Cheryl Page, North Area Parks Operations Manager Terry Lane, South Area Parks Operations Manager Jeff Whitehead, and Interim Central Area Parks Operations Manager Jack Masson or their designees; appoint Negotiating Committee consisting of County Attorney Scott Knox, Parks and Recreation Director Don Lusk, and Central Services Director Steve Stultz or their designees; authorize negotiations by the Negotiating Committee and award of contract to the best qualified proposal; and authorize Chairman to execute the subsequent Agreement and delegate to the County Manager or her designee the authority execute renewal options and amendments as outlined in the Agreement, continent upon approval of the County Attorney and Risk Management.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.  

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to execute Agreement with Florida Department of Education for the Summer Food Service Program; grant permission to bid for a vendor to supply food for the Summer Food Program and award to the lowest most responsive bidder; and authorize Chairman to execute the Agreement with the vendor.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.   

 

 

           

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to execute Agreement Amendment No. 13 with Miller Legg & Associates, Inc. for a not to exceed $14,435 total; and authorize the County Manager and Department Director to execute any required amendments with Miller Legg & Associates, Inc. per the delegated authority in Administrative Order 29, Contact Administration, when the specific amendment is under $100,000 or $25,000 respectively.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to authorize the Parks and Recreation Department Director to execute Professional Services Agreement Amendment No. 11 with Architects in Association Rood & Zwick, Inc. for $12,800 for a Prototype 7 Structure at Mitchell Ellington Park; and authorize the County Manager and Department Director to execute any required amendments with Architects in Association Rood & Zwick, Inc. per the delegated authority in Administrative Order 29, Contact Administration, when the specific amendment is under $100,000 or $25,000 respectively.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to authorize the Parks and Recreation Director to execute Professional Services Agreement Amendment No. 9 with Coastal Technology Corporation for $11,000 for mitigation plan and channel and seagrass markers for the South County Boat Launch; and authorize the County Manager and Department Director to execute any required amendments with Coastal Technology Corporation per the delegated authority in Administrative Order 29, Contact Administration, when the specific amendment is under $100,000 or $25,000 respectively.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to authorize the procurement and implementation of an HVAC Maintenance Service Agreement for major facilities by authorizing permission to advertise a Request for Proposals (RFP); appoint a Selection Committee consisting of Ed Lyon, Scott Barrett, and Larry Hensley to shortlist, rank, and select the most qualified company to perform the HVAC services; authorize the award of an initial one-year service Agreement with four one-year options to the most qualified company selected; and authorize the Chairman to sign the Agreement, additions and/or deletions to the Agreement and any other documents associated with the Agreement, as well as each one-year option renewal.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to approve the advertisement of Requests for Proposals from qualified firms to provide labor and material for the installation of Siemon end-to-end Structured Cabling Systems for (1) limited drop and new construction and (2) major renovation projects throughout the County to support the need for high speed voice, data, video, and imaging applications; appoint a Selection and Negotiation Committee consisting of the Information Technology Director, Information Technology Telecommunications Manager, and Facilities Director or designees; direct that initial contracts be for a two-year term with provisions for three renewals of one year each; authorize the Chairman to execute negotiated contracts upon approval by the Negotiating Committee and the County Attorney’s Office; delegate to the County Manager or her designee the authority to execute renewal options; and approve a two-month extension to the existing Contract to allow sufficient time for the new proposal to be implemented under the same terms and conditions.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to approve the purchase of three replacement ambulances from Wheeled Coach, Inc., at a total cost of $328,368.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to execute revised Policy BCC-11, Payment for Membership in Professional Organizations to correct the reference citation to the applicable Florida Statute and to clarify the public records requirements association with professional memberships consistent with Florida Statutory requirements.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to appoint Alan R. Boggs, Matt Chesnut, Judith Gizinski, and James Harhi to the Brevard Workforce Development Board.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to grant approval for the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office to apply for and accept the Victim of Crime Act (VOCA) grant from the Office of the Attorney General, to fund a portion, 75%, of salary and benefits of four existing victim advocates for FY 2008-2009.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to appoint Phyllis Pincipé to the Wickham Park Advisory Committee and Maureen Rupe to the Port St. John Public Library Advisory Board, with terms expiring December 31, 2008.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

 

Marlene Adams stated she saw that there were three ambulance/rescue transports being approved; she understands that there is a need for more than three; but she wants the Board to discuss why there is a need for two mobile command posts.  She understands the command posts are air-conditioned trailers where people sit and make decisions; she was here in 1998 and watched in horror as people’s homes burned down in Mims and Scottsmoor; and she wonders why they are not focusing on brush trucks, water trucks, and things of that nature.  She inquired what is the need, what brought on the need, how much money they will cost, and is the funding coming out the assessment.

 

Fire Rescue Director Chief William Farmer stated currently they have a command bus that they got secondhand from either SCAT or the School Board, and they renovated it; but that unit is now completely unusable and unsafe to be on the streets, so they need to at least replace that command post. 

 

Chairman Scarborough inquired if this is something Chief Farmer needs action on today; with Chief Farmer responding yes.  Chief Farmer stated they need the unit for the command and control of large events; for instance, during the hurricanes there were two incidents running, one in the south mainland and one on the beaches; and they had no command control, so they ended up doing one of the incidents at the beach station; and that was a criticism they received in 1998 when they were running command out of Station 21.  He stated this is going to be the site to manage the calls; and the funding is coming out of the assessment.  Ms. Adams inquired how much money; with Chief Farmer responding he does not know exactly.  Chief Farmer advised they did a quote to see if it was in the ballpark; it came in at $100,000, which is one-tenth of what others paid for command posts; and they have done a great job of doing this conservatively.  He stated they are not using a semi-tractor rig, which a lot of departments use; they are using their own radio equipment; they are not customizing electronics, but are doing their own; and they are taking care of the problem at one-tenth the cost that others have used.  He commended staff for finding an alternative to a million dollar command post.

 

Commissioner Nelson stated Chief Farmer did clarify that it is two funding sources between ambulances and the command post; one is Fire Rescue and the other is EMS; and they cannot buy an ambulance with Fire Rescue funds.  He stated he does not have a concern about replacing one unit, but is concerned about buying two units; they are going from nothing currently and jumping across to two; and he recognizes that for the six or eight events a year there would be a need; but he does not know that two are needed.  He stated the number of times that two would be needed at the same time is probably not going to be that significant, particularly given what the Board will be looking at with the upcoming budget.  He stated he will support one but not two.

 

Commissioner Voltz stated she had the same conversation with Chief Farmer yesterday; they are under a budget crunch; and she would prefer to see just one.  She stated they do need to replace one unit; but they need to hold off on getting two at this time. 

 

Commissioner Bolin stated she concurs with the other Commissioners; she does not feel there is a need for two command posts; and if they need to have a second one, the Sheriff’s Department has one that Fire Rescue can co-op.  She stated they have been used in the past; and it has worked out. 

 

Motion by Commissioner Bolin, seconded by Commissioner Voltz, to grant approval to quote and purchase one Mobile Command Post.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Marlene Adams submitted paperwork to the Board, but not the Clerk; and stated she would like to talk about public records, public comments, and public treatment.  She stated she has been working on a couple of issues with a couple of departments; and it has been like night and day.  She stated the first handout is the Board’s chain of command, which is on the County’s website; it shows the citizens on top; but she has not felt on top at all on this fire assessment issue that she has been working on, especially when asking for public records from the Fire Rescue Department.  She stated it has been seriously delayed; she asked for some things on February 13, 2008; but she did not receive anything until February 28, 2008; and it was incomplete.  She stated she then had to make a formal complaint; and she finally got the information yesterday, but not before receiving a phone call from an Assistant County Attorney grilling her as to what required the public record to be on file.  She stated she did not think that was her job, but she did produce what required it; and that is why she received yesterday what she asked for.  She stated Commissioner Colon talked earlier about respect, peace, and harmony; and that should happen.  She stated she asked for public records in a professional manner, but did not receive it that way; and she received uninvited information and a phone call that was very unprofessional.  She stated when she dealt with Solid Waste over the Waste Management issue, everything she asked for was provided in a professional, timely, and very nice manner; she was invited to meetings that were going on, which was great; however, with the fire assessment issue, that is not so.  She stated the next handout she provided is about laws and regulations; it is the County Manager’s job to make sure they are enforced; and she provided the Statute that shows that.  She stated if people are not producing public records in a timely fashion, it would be the executive officer’s job to make sure it happens.  She commented on getting phone calls and derogatory comments about her requests; and stated in this case it was the County Attorney’s issue, so she would appreciate it being addressed. 

 

Chairman Scarborough stated he will personally apologize for any inconvenience to Ms. Adams; it is not only a matter of complying with the law; but the public is not paid and has more limited time and resources; and the Board does not want, by its actions, to ever discourage public comment, because that is the basis upon which County government exists.

 

Ms. Adams stated she appreciates the apology; she has two issues on the Agenda; she did not say the order that she wanted to speak; but they are in the opposite order.  She requested to speak to the fire issue first and then concerning legal advertising.  Chairman Scarborough stated he has a whole list of cards; and those items will come up in a few minutes. 

 

 

 

Chairman Scarborough called for the public hearing to consider a resolution vacating emergency public ingress/egress easement on Loggerhead Island Drive in Tortoise Island, Phase 2, Unit 2 PUD, as petitioned by Curtis Guy and Timothy Lloyd.

 

Chairman Scarborough stated Lance Smith submitted a card to respond to questions.  He inquired if there are any issues with the item; with Transportation Engineering Director John Denninghoff responding there are no objections. 

 

There being no objections heard, motion was made by Commissioner Bolin, seconded by Commissioner Voltz, to adopt Resolution vacating emergency public ingress/egress easement on Loggerhead Island Drive in Tortoise Island, Phase 2, Unit 2 PUD, as petitioned by Curtis Guy and Timothy Lloyd.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

State Attorney Norm Wolfinger stated he is present because the Board is considering the additions to the courthouse for the State Attorney; and he knows there are probably concerns about financing and things of that nature; and he met with Mr. Whitten and discussed it.  He stated his position is they need the space; however, the State has taken a lot of their positions this year.  Chairman Scarborough stated he heard the Public Defender lost a million dollars or so; with Mr. Wolfinger advising it was $970,000, but they are working on that.  Mr. Wolfinger stated his office is not in a crucial space need as they were six months ago;  if the economics of building make more sense now, that should be considered; and he does not know if the judges are concerned about their space; but the fourth floor could be left a shell if that would help.  He stated it is an economic decision that the Board will have to make in terms of whether to build now or to wait; and he is agreeable to whatever the Board decides.

 

Public Defender J. R. Russo stated he is no stranger to the Board on the space issue for the last several years; as the Board recently approved, part of the ground floor of Building E will be built out for his office; Mr. Whitten asked last week for guidance as to how much of that space will be good for how long; and he indicated to him that it somewhat depends on what will be done in Titusville.  He stated there is discussion in the judiciary about moving the Criminal, Circuit, and County courts from the Titusville area down to Viera; if that takes place, then his office will fill what is going to be built on the ground floor of Building E as soon as the transition takes place, if it takes place.  He stated if it does not take place, then his office will be good  probably through the year 2010.  Mr. Russo stated his position is like Mr. Wolfinger’s; they will probably be good for two years or maybe longer with the expansion as long as the Titusville judiciary does not move down. 

 

Court Administrator Mark Van Bever stated the Supreme Court certified two judges for the coming fiscal year; but they have no idea whether the Legislature will fund those.  He stated he is available to answer questions on the issue; and Judge Rainwater is also present. 

 

Chairman Scarborough stated there are two issues that came to his mind; and one is the budget crunch that the Board has.  He stated he does not think that the space will not be needed eventually at the Justice Center; having the work done by Stottler Stagg has provided a basis to move forward; but if the Legislature does not fund, the Board may be building something that will not be immediately needed; however, the Board is going to be in a better posture than it was previously because it will be able to proceed more expeditiously with what it has done.  He stated when the County goes out and issues a bond, there has historically been bond insurance that was purchased; some of the bond insurers got into trouble with their investments in sub-primes; and that has caused a problem that has ricocheted through the bond market.  He stated it is his understanding that while interest rates have come down, the local borrowing cost has gone up, and the market is very uncertain.  He stated he cannot tell what is going to happen and whether it will stabilize or not; but there are indications that money may be moving in to stabilize because there are very few defaults in what is called municipal bonds.  He stated it is a very good secure market; but it has been artificially destabilized by imprudent investments on the part of bond insurers, which has ricocheted through the process.  He stated for those two reasons, he does not think it is prudent to proceed, but it should keep it at the point where, if the Legislature does fund and the market stabilizes, it can proceed. 

 

Commissioner Voltz stated she agrees; she is certain that they need to build an expansion; but she has been saying since the beginning that it is bad timing.  She stated the Board does not know what is going to happen with revenues; and with all the stuff that is going on, the Board should not be moving forward with the courthouse at this time. 

 

Chairman Scarborough inquired if that is enough information or does Ms. Busacca want something further.  Assistant County Manager Stockton Whitten stated if there is an action not to proceed with the bond sales, they will proceed through design of the project; and it will be available to go whenever the Board decides to pick the project back up.

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to take no action to proceed with the sale of bonds for the Harry T. and Harriette V. Moore Justice Center expansion.  Motion carried and ordered.  Commissioners Scarborough, Nelson, Voltz, and Bolin voted aye; Commissioner Colon voted nay. 

 

 

Commissioner Nelson inquired if the renovations will proceed that are necessary for the Public Defender; with Mr. Whitten indicating they will. 

 

 

 

Doug Sphar stated he owns residential property at Lake Poinsett about one and one-quarter miles west of the I-95 interchange; one of the other residents is present and other concerned residents are working; and he is serving as spokesman for the neighborhood.

 

Chairman Scarborough stated when the Board did rezoning recently there came before the Board some questions about how to measure distance for a TU-2 zoning, which is a motel; and it has to be within a certain proximity of an Interstate.  He stated the Board recognized that there was a problem in that the Ordinance could be ambiguous; and staff has come back with some recommendations.  He suggested staff review the recommendations for the public. 

 

Planning and Zoning Director Robin Sobrino stated there are two ways to clarify the Ordinance for the one-half mile distance; and the first would be to codify what is considered to be the point of beginning for measurement.  She stated the requirement is a half-mile within an Interstate interchange, but does not define how to measure that; so option A1 would be measuring from the outermost edge of I-95 interchanges, which can vary from interchange to interchange; and option 2 would be to measure from the centerline of the I-95 interchange, which would remain a constant regardless of construction to widen the Interstate.  She stated the second point that would need to be defined for measurement is where the ending point would be; and staff is presenting four options.  She stated the first would be the nearest property line to the interchange is the point of measurement; the second would be the furthest property line, thereby encompassing the entire property; and options three and four relate to measurements to a future structure on the property, whether the point that is closest of the building to the interchange versus that the entire building itself, while not the entire property would fall within the one-half mile radius.  She stated the one limitation on options 3 and 4 as far as an ending point is that typically through the zoning process there is no requirement to submit a site plan so therefore, to define a measurement based upon a proposed structure might be a hardship for an applicant seeking zoning first before spending money on building plans.

 

Mr. Sphar stated the intent of the half-mile criterion is to confine the intensities of use associated with tourist facilities to a reasonable distance from I-95; the intensity of use should taper off as one proceeds away from I-95; at a Zoning meeting in February, the Board gave a ruling of a legislative intent that the entire facility should be within half-mile of an interchange; and the Agenda item deals with how to implement that intent into the Code language.  He stated in parsing the existing ambiguously worded Code, a reasonable person could discern that the intent applied to tourist facilities located within one-half mile of I-95; Black’s Law Dictionary defines a “facility” as something that is built or installed; his dictionary defines “within” as on the inside or inside the bounds; and thus the hotel/motel structure should in entirety be within a half-mile of the interstate right-of-way.  He stated the Board ruled as such at the February meeting; and requested the Board look at the options presented in the staff report, keeping in mind the interpretations and definitions.  He stated there are pros and cons for both options for the point of beginning; and he will defer to the Board’s wisdom on that one.  He stated for options for the point of ending, he would recommend a hybrid of options B2 and B4, which he will call B5; and that would give the applicant the option of measuring to the furthest property line if he chooses not to submit a site plan or require the entire structure to fall within a half-mile if a site plan is submitted.  He stated the option would do three things; it does not penalize the owner of a parcel that extends a significant linear distance along a road that intersects I-95; even though the furthest boundary line may be over a half-mile, an owner could attain TU-2 zoning by submitting a binding site plan along with the zoning change request that places his entire built facility within the half-mile of I-95; and if he chooses not to submit a binding site plan with a zoning change request, then the furthest property line would need to be within a half-mile from I-95 to attain the TU-2 zoning.  Mr. Sphar stated the option he is proposing constrains the builders of hotel/motel facilities from gaming the system by purchasing a narrow tendril of land in the direction of I-95, and captures the intent to constrain the activity associated with hotel/motel facilities to within a half-mile of I-95.  He stated with regard to existing TU-2 zoning, he would recommend that whatever options the Board selected, the Ordinance should grandfather in properties that currently have TU-2 zoning as of the date the revised ordinance goes into effect.

 

Chairman Scarborough stated what Mr. Sphar presented makes good sense; it allows an applicant, even without a site plan, to state things; if a person says they have a quarter of their property out of that area but will put the whole structure within, that allows the applicant to make that decision if he wishes to without too much of a burden; and inquired if that makes sense to Ms. Sobrino.  Ms. Sobrino advised that would be fine. 

 

Commissioner Voltz inquired how often, if ever, do people submit site plans with their zoning applications; with Ms. Sobrino responding rarely.  Chairman Scarborough stated an applicant could come in and say as a condition in his binding development plan he will put his structure in it.  Commissioner Voltz stated she agrees, but they need to make sure that does not happen very often.  Ms. Sobrino inquired if this would be done by virtue of a binding development plan, if the Board approves it, and not necessarily submitting a site plan.  Chairman Scarborough stated it could be done that way; if they did not want to do anything, they would default to the whole property; and maybe if the whole property is within the half-mile, that is the easiest way to do it.

 

Commissioner Voltz stated that is for option B; and inquired about option A. 

 

Commissioner Nelson stated the difficulty is that FDOT right-of-way changes and moves; going to a centerline measurement is probably better; but even that can move based on design characteristics.  He stated there are 12 or 15 interchanges currently; and suggested establishing a point which is currently the centerline so that if it changes at a later date, the point is known, and people are not suddenly in a situation where because FDOT changed the centerline that a property that was not previously qualified would now be qualified.  He stated if the Board wants to control that aspect of it, it needs to have a specific point that could be identified and that would stay with the intersection.

 

Commissioner Bolin stated her concern with using the centerline is whether they are restricting it so that there are not going to be any properties that fall within the allotted space, and so the possibility of anyone building is completely eliminated.

 

Commissioner Nelson stated that is a good point; typical width of interstate right-of-way is 300 feet; so the Board can take the half-mile that it currently has an add 150 feet, which is all that is being done by addressing the additional, and it comes to 2,790 feet as opposed to a half-mile, which is 2,640 feet. 

 

Chairman Scarborough stated they are talking about an interchange; it is not the road, but the interchange; and the interchange reaches out with on/off ramps.  He stated the Board needs to consider the on/off ramps as part of the formula; he knows it makes it more liberal and extends it out further; but he approaches an interchange at the on/off ramps.  He stated it will change as there is redesign and things; and Mr. Denninghoff has indicated that some ramps reach way out while others do not.  He stated it is just his feeling, but he is at the interchange when he starts having to make a decision to get on the on/off ramps; and that is a subjective rather than objective view.  Transportation Engineering Director John Denninghoff advised that is correct; and the difference can be fairly dramatic.  He stated at S.R. 520, the distance from the centerline of the interchange to the edge of the ramps is 600 feet or less; and at Port St. John, it is a half-mile.  Chairman Scarborough stated they do not locate any TU-2 zoning after getting on the ramp because that becomes a problem with traffic; he knows some people will probably say they are liberalizing the rules; but it is just how he approaches an interchange psychologically.  He stated he would feel comfortable with Mr. Sphar’s idea and the actual on/off ramp calculations.  Ms. Sobrino stated staff has traditionally applied the ramps as being the point of measurement.

 

Commissioner Nelson stated in the case of the one that was most recent, there was a notch that came off the ramps that moved to the west, which caused the property to move; in other words, it was not where the actual turn was, but DOT had calculated a right-of-way that extended further west from the interchange. 

 

Chairman Scarborough suggested they take it from the point of the on/off ramp.  Commissioner Nelson stated the Board can do that; that was the intent; and he agrees with what Chairman Scarborough is saying; but it needs to be a point that cannot move because then someone else would actually be controlling zoning.  Chairman Scarborough stated it is an arbitrary right-of-way issue; and inquired if Commissioner Nelson wishes to make a motion.       

 

Commissioner Nelson advised they are saying that the distance measurement will be from the ramps themselves as opposed to any extension of right-of-way associated with the interstate.  Chairman Scarborough stated option B would be that the subject property would have to fall totally within it unless the applicant, in a binding development plan, commits the structure to be within.  Commissioner Voltz stated those are fine for what there is now; and inquired about interchanges that are going to be built after this; with Commissioner Nelson responding it works for them too.  Commissioner Voltz stated the Board can deal with it later.  Commissioner Nelson reiterated it will work for both.  Ms. Sobrino stated that is fine; and staff will come back with legislative intent and permission to advertise.  Commissioner Nelson requested drawings.  Chairman Scarborough stated it may not be necessary to bring back legislative intent because today there has been a legislative intent discussion.  Ms. Sobrino advised that is fine; and inquired if the Board is giving permission to advertise.  Chairman Scarborough responded the Board will do that; and Ms. Sobrino may want to circulate a diagram and some information to the Board before actually doing it. 

 

Motion by Commissioner Nelson, seconded by Commissioner Voltz, to approve the option for point of beginning as follows:  the distance measurement will be from the off/on ramps as opposed to any extension of right-of-way associated with the Interstate, and the option for an ending point as follows:  subject property would have to fall totally within, unless the applicant commits the structure to be within in a binding development plan; and further granted permission to advertise a public hearing to consider an ordinance to change the locational requirements governing TU-2 zoning and request diagrams and information be circulated to the Board.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

 

Chairman Scarborough stated the applicant is present to address questions; and inquired if there are any issues remaining.  Natural Resources Management Director Ernie Brown stated he does not believe there are any issues remaining; the one objection was withdrawn; and they are now supporting it.  Chairman Scarborough inquired if there are any questions or comments, with none being heard.

 

Mr. Brown advised the Board needs to choose an option. 

 

Motion by Commissioner Bolin, seconded by Commissioner Voltz, in response to the appeal by Ballybunion Land Partners, LLC of staff interpretation of Chapter 62, Article X, Division 6, Floodplain Protection, to approve Option 2, to apply residential densities or filled footprint thresholds on a project-wide basis.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Jim Rosasco stated in 1996 the Brevard County voters overwhelmingly passed by 85% or a margin of five-to-one the local Charter amendment, “Shall the Brevard County Charter be amended to limit annual increases in revenue for each County non-ad valorem special assessment program to three percent or the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index from the previous year, whichever is less, without the approval of the voters residing within the district or other areas of the County where such special assessments are levied.”  He stated this amendment came to be known as CAPIT; in 2002 a lawsuit challenging the amendment was brought by individuals acting as agents for the County government and in direct opposition to the express mandate of the taxpayers; it was supported by the Brevard County Commissioners and administration; and the courts found the CAPIT amendment unconstitutional.  He stated it took five more years to get the issue back on the ballot; on January 29, 2008 Brevard County voters again overwhelmingly passed the local referendum by 72% as follows, “Shall Brevard County be authorized to cap through a provision in its Charter the annual growth rate in ad valorem tax revenue.”  He stated by now he hopes the Board recognizes that the people of the County demand fiscal responsibility from their elected officials; and inquired if the Board will listen to its constituents, abide by the people’s mandate, and vote to put the question on the ballot at the next available election.   

 

Maureen Rupe stated in 1996 CAPIT was approved by 85% of the voters on a 19% turnout at the polls; at that time there was no provision for a constitutionality review; and the County had an illegal Charter as limitations of CAPIT had already been ruled unconstitutional in three counties.  Ms. Rupe stated in 2002, six years after it had been in force, the County Commission chambers were filled with people from throughout the County asking for relief from cuts in services directly related to CAPIT; in particular the Sheriff needed 20 more deputies due to September 11; and there were proposed cuts from the operating budget that were essential for safety and quality of life.  She stated Judge Evander, the 18^th Circuit Court, and the Fifth District Court of Appeals ruled CAPIT was unconstitutional; and the Florida Supreme Court refused to hear the appeal as it had already ruled.  She stated if the people want to limit the budget to a 3% cap, then the Board could have done it at any time; but it cannot have an illegal Charter; the County has faced many things that prevented locking the County to an arbitrary budget figure; and it had September 11, multiple hurricanes, and uncontrolled growth, so the County must be able to ensure the funds are available to take care of its citizens.  She stated the new proposal for an amendment to go on the ballot, if passed by the constitutionality review, she will support; it has provisions for the protection of what happened with the 1996 CAPIT; and she will support it.  She stated even if 85% of the voters voted, there is an unconstitutional Charter; and she does not know where that leaves the County.  She stated if the people voted, for instance, for no speed limits in the County, it would not mean it could be legally enforced; the whole State voted on the Florida Constitutional; and they cannot be in conflict with it. 

 

Commissioner Colon stated she put the item on the Agenda; and she will be making a motion today.  She stated she put it on the Agenda so it would be clear in regard to what Mr. Rosasco said; and what they are doing is following the protocol.  She stated there is a history; and she is glad that Ms. Rupe brought it up because it is possible to put something on the ballot, but if it is unconstitutional, then the Board will run into problems.  She stated her motion would be to make sure there is an outside legal counsel to draft the language; that is critical; and the second part would be to have a legal panel for constitutional review, which is also critical because the Board does not want the same thing to happen again.  She stated the third part is to make sure that the percentage that she would be voting on would be the 3% cap; she also spoke to Mr. Knox; in the past they have all learned what can happen when there is not a legal review; and the Board should not just put it on the County Attorney who agrees that it needs to be with the outside counsel to draft the language.  She stated the citizens demand that kind of transparency and accountability; and all the Board is doing is following what has been requested; but this time the most critical part is to make sure that it is done legally.  She stated as long as there is a constitutional review, that is the main point of what she is hearing; the Board does not want to get the citizens excited thinking they are going to be voting on something, and then find out that they are not; and inquired if based on their conversation, if those were the things that need to go forward today; with County Attorney Scott Knox responding affirmatively. 

 

Commissioner Bolin stated she agrees 100% with Commissioner Colon on this; the Board needs to make sure that it gets an outside counsel to make sure this is totally legal; she was involved with the Charter review the last time and witnessed the people who were there; and she was very impressed with Alan Watts of Volusia County.  She stated Mr. Watts was very good as far as his knowledge on charter government; and suggested the Board employ Mr. Watts to do this. 

 

Commissioner Voltz stated the Board does need to get some sort of constitutional review because it was voted on, the people expected it, for years the Board did hold to the cap; but then it went back up.  Commissioner Voltz stated the people expected it and did not realize that it had been found unconstitutional; the Board needs to make sure that the expectations of the citizens are there; and that it does not do something and find out again that it is illegal.  She stated it is an excellent idea to do the constitutional review. 

 

Mr. Knox advised the Legislature in the past session passed a Special Act, which authorized the ballot language that Mr. Rosasco referred to; and it was approved by the voters.  He stated it was more or less a straw ballot in that the voters were saying to put a cap back in the Charter; the process for doing that is one of two ways; and the first is the Board can sponsor an amendment, which is what is before the Board today, and must be done by at least a four-to-one vote.  He stated it can also be done by petition; and what Commissioner Colon is attempting to do is bring it to the Board to see if it would initiate it.  He stated that is part one; part two is once the Charter amendment is drafted by what may be outside counsel, the Board will have to submit the Charter amendment to a legal panel review of three attorneys who have been retained to look at Charter amendments and pass judgment on them; and once it gets through that review, it goes on the ballot.

 

Commissioner Colon stated as Mr. Knox said, one of the things that would be horrible would be if something like this was to go out for petition; the citizens have been very clear; and inquired what more does the Board want.  She stated the voters told a percentage; it speaks volumes; and for something like this to be given to the citizens is an insult and a slap in the face of the community.  She stated it is very clear; it is the Board’s job to make sure all the i’s are dotted and the t’s are crossed; and she can make the motions one at a time so it can be clear. 

 

Chairman Scarborough stated one motion would be fine; Alan Watts has a good reputation; and inquired if it is possible that Mr. Watts would be willing to draft the language; with Mr. Knox responding it would be very possible.  Chairman Scarborough stated it would not hurt to have the motion say if possible, Alan Watts will draft the language and proceed; previously the Board used the three-attorney panel in the same methodology; and that way, the Board would be taking steps to not end up with a legal challenge.  He stated it would be a shame to put things that would be legally challenged. 

 

Motion by Commissioner Colon, seconded by Commissioner Voltz, to approve Board sponsorship of an amendment for the ad valorem tax revenue cap; and retaining Alan Watts, if possible, as outside counsel to prepare the amendment.

 

 

Commissioner Nelson stated he supports putting this on the ballot; but a key component has been left out.  He stated it said “not less than 3%”; and inquired if the Board has the right to take what was previously addressed and modify the language versus putting on the ballot what was voted on the first time.  Mr. Knox responded as he understood the motion, it was going to be a cap at 3%; and that meets the technical requirements of the bill. 

 

Chairman Scarborough stated the Board could move forward and engage Mr. Watts; and if Mr. Watts has questions as to more issues, he can ask and individual Commissioners can call Mr. Watts and ask questions; but at least this way the Board would begin to engage and discuss, and it would have plenty of time to do it correctly.  Commissioner Nelson stated that would be as opposed to telling Mr. Watts what to do in terms of the specifics; if the Board is going to engage Mr. Watts he should be allowed to look at the legislation; and if he has questions, he can bring those back to the Board.  Mr. Knox stated he is certain that Mr. Watts will do that, even with the motion as it stands. 

 

Commissioner Colon stated there are deadlines; the Board wants to make sure that it moves expediently to figure out whom it wants to be on the panel of three; and she does not know if Mr. Watts or Mr. Knox would recommend to the Board or whether it will be using the same folks it used in the past.  She stated this is nothing new; the Board has gone through this process in the past with anything it has put on referendum; and it wants to make sure it is constitutional.  She stated it might be new to some, but after what happened, the Board has been very sensitive in regards to the constitutionality of what is going on the ballot; and she wants to make sure that the dates are very clear to everyone.  She stated the Board has to hurry up and get it done so it can be on the November ballot. 

 

Mr. Knox stated Commissioner Colon is right; when the first constitutionality issue came up, the Board sponsored a petition that put the legal panel into the Charter, so that is why they follow it; and he would recommend using the same group that was used before.  He stated the group did a good job the first time; it would expedite the hiring requirements; and the Board can tell Mr. Watts to move along. 

 

Chairman Scarborough inquired if that would be part of the motion; with Commissioners Colon and Voltz responding yes.  Commissioner Nelson requested someone read the motion back. 

 

Commissioner Colon stated the motion is very clear; the Board is getting an outside legal counsel to draft the language; there will be a three-lawyer legal panel for the constitutionality review; the Board has mentioned that Alan Watts is someone of credibility that it would be comfortable using; and the Board is also looking at the three attorneys that were used in the past.  Commissioner Nelson stated the Board is not dealing with the issue of the percentage; but if it is not in there, that is fine.  Chairman Scarborough stated once the attorney gets it, if he has questions or options as to how to word it, he will bring them back to the Board for clarification. 

 

Chairman Scarborough called for a vote on the motion to approve Board sponsorship of an amendment for the ad valorem tax revenue cap; retaining Alan Watts, if possible, as outside counsel to prepare the amendment; and use of the same three-person legal panel that was used previously for constitutional review.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Evelyn Morrison stated six months ago she came before the Board to ask it to look at the Civil Rights Statute, Chapter 760; and the Board agreed that she should meet with the County Attorney to discuss this; but that did not happen.  Ms. Morrison stated she is present today to ask the Board to look at developing and sponsoring a civil rights workshop and to accept some recommendations in terms of adopting the Civil Rights Act.  She stated it has been brought to her attention by a number of organizations that their rights from the federal and State law is not being enacted and enforced in the County; they are talking about the seven protected classes; and they represent all of them.  She stated they include people over 40; and the Board needs to look closely at the treatment of its senior citizens.  She stated the protected classes include people who have a different sexual orientation, so hate crimes are not just a criminal element, but also a civil rights element; they also want to look at national origin as the Board deals with the issue of illegal aliens versus residents who are authorized to be in the country; and they also want to look at the way women are being treated in Brevard County in terms of sexual harassment.  She stated they would like to hear from those people and create a civil rights workshop, with the agenda and goal to adopt chapter 760.  She stated as she said to Chairman Scarborough last week, the Board became a member to the Interlocal Agreement with the School Board and all the municipalities; and the Brevard public schools are sanctioned and governed by the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  She advised the federal government has three standards by which it measures segregation; the first standard is equal facilities; and inquired if the Viera and Bayside facilities which are two and three years old are equal to the Cocoa facility that is 37 years old, and are the plans to use the impact fees in the County equally distributed or will they go back to Bayside and Viera.  She stated those are issues that need to be looked at in terms of building equality; the second is employment; and inquired if the administration, management, and teaching staff of the Brevard public schools is equal in terms of its racial distribution with the students.  She stated the public schools have asked to hire 25 African American teachers with full-time contracts; that is the goal; but just as they need African America teachers, they need Latin teachers, Asian teachers, and Native American teachers so everyone has an equal opportunity in terms of the recruitment.  She stated the third thing they look at is whether ethnic backgrounds of the students are part of the curriculum; and commented on celebrating African American history in the public schools but no overall curriculum for African, Irish, Latin, or Native American history, and the need for the curriculum to become more inclusive.  She stated the School Board is the Board’s partner; most of the School Board’s meetings do not encourage parent or public input; as a partner in the Interlocal Agreement, the Board has agreed to deal with busing, redistricting, and budgets; and when they deal with those things, they are civil rights issues.  She stated if there is a partnership with the municipalities and the School Board, it would behoove the Board to make sure that it is civil rights healthy; and it needs to look closely at some of the issues that are not being dealt with specifically with constitutional protections.  She stated she hopes everyone becomes educated in those areas; there is a meeting with the three NAACP presidents and interested groups with the Hispanic Advocacy Coalition on March 22, 2008 at the Central Brevard Library; and invited the Commissioners.  She stated the goal this year is to support candidates who support civil rights; they have an interest in civil rights legislation and adoption in Brevard County; and commented on students being global citizens, multicultural curriculum, and losing opportunity in a global market.  She stated she looks forward to working with all the Commissioners. 

 

Commissioner Voltz inquired what time is the meeting on March 22; with Ms. Morrison responding from 12:00 noon to 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 22, 2008.     

 

Commissioner Colon stated she would encourage someone from Human Resources and someone from the School Board who is in charge of minority recruitment to attend the meeting. 

 

Ms. Morrison stated they can all become better informed on the law; people wonder why this law is not in the local jurisdiction; if someone has a civil rights complaint, they have to go to Tallahassee or Miami; Orlando has a civil rights Ordinance, but it only covers that county, so people cannot go there.  She requested the Board consider the time and money it takes to go and file a complaint with the Human Relations Commission in Tallahassee or Miami; and stated if they had local investigation and remedies, it would take 30 to 60 days, and the County’s civil rights legal bill would not be as high as it is.  She stated if the County took the dollars that were spent to defend it in civil rights court, it would have a nice budget for a Human Relations Commission; and she is hoping they can work toward that and be able to put the federal and State law in place locally so that those who live in the County and pay taxes will have the protections, rights, and benefits of the Civil Rights Law.

 

Commissioner Colon stated her suggestion would be to have someone from the County’s Human Resources and someone from the School Board attend the meeting; and Ms. Morrison also might want to contact the Florida League of Cities. 

 

Ms. Morrison inquired what would it take to have the Board sign onto civil rights legislation. 

 

County Attorney Scott Knox stated he would be happy to provide the Board with a report; and if Orlando has an Ordinance, he can get a copy of it.  Chairman Scarborough requested Mr. Knox provide a report and find out what other areas in the State are doing.  He stated he is meeting with Ms. Morrison on March 12, 2008, and she can tell him a bit more.  Ms. Morrison stated Senator Haridopolos has said this is a very important issue, and has invited her to Tallahassee to have a discussion on the State level.

 

 

 

Marlene Adams stated this is a response to Mr. Knox’s opinion of the fire assessment validity that he put in an opinion on February 8, 2008; being a layman it would be important to know a couple of terms before discussing the validity of the fire assessment; and the first is “shall.”  She stated shall is to be construed as being mandatory; and that definition comes from the Brevard County Code.  She stated the other term is “special law”; and in the Florida Constitution, it means special or local law.  She stated other things that are important to understand when looking at Codes and Statutes, would be the phrases, “pursuant to”, “not inconsistent with”, “not been limited by”, or “which is authorized.”  She stated in Mr. Knox’s memo it says, “In recognition of the home rule powers vested in the County Commission by the Florida Constitution the Board of County Commissioners is statutorily vested in Section 125.01 with the authority to act”; and what he is saying is that gives the Board the authority to create the MSBU for fire services.  She stated she provided a handout; Chapter 125.01 says, “The legislative and governing body of a county shall have the power to carry on county government to the extent not inconsistent with general or special law.”  Ms. Adams advised special law means a special or local law according to the Constitution; and the Chapter goes on to say how the County has the ability and the power to create an MSBU, but that is not consistent with general or special law.  She stated the next page is Chapter 197.3632, which is another Statute which Mr. Knox says gives the Board the authority to create the MSBU; but it is actually the method for collecting a non-ad valorem; and it even says, “not withstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, a local government, which is authorized to impose a non-ad valorem.”  She stated it does not say the Board is authorized by this Code; it says, “which is authorized”; and at the very bottom, it says a local government may elect to use the uniform method of collecting non-ad valorem assessments as authorized by this section for any assessment levied pursuant to general or special law or local government ordinance or resolution.  She stated that does not give the Board the authority to create an MSBU.  She stated the next one that Mr. Knox cites as giving the authority is Chapter 170, F.S; but that is strictly for municipalities; the next page is an email that says, Florida Statute 200 . . . applies to cities and not counties; and Mr. Knox would be the first to tell her that Chapter 170 applies to cities and not counties, so it does not give the Board the authority to create an MSBU for fire.  She stated the next page is the Board Policy BCC-53, which is specifically to provide a methodology by which benefiting property owners can participate in the cost of an improvement project; it is for creation of municipal service benefit units; and it was approved on July 8, 2008, and has not been revised since then.  She stated in Directives, it says the Board shall establish policy for the administration of the MSBU program in compliance with applicable laws and Ordinances; and she would assume that to be the County’s Charter and Ordinances.  She stated it says that the Board will consider creating an MSBU project when at least 66 2/3% of the affected property owners have voted affirmatively for the project; it required the petition to create the MSBU; and on the next page, under Responsibility, it says it shall be the responsibility of the Roadways and Landscaping Department to administer the MSBU program in accordance with applicable laws; but Fire Rescue administered the MSBU program, which is not according to Board policy.  She stated Mr. Knox advises in his opinion that the policy can be waived, but it was not waived or revised before the fire assessment was implemented.  She stated the next page is a memo from former Commissioner Nancy Higgs, questioning the Charter Review amendment that was put on the ballot in 1998; and it clears up why the MSBU exclusion was placed in that amendment, which was voted on and passed.  She stated the MSBU exclusion that was put in 5.4.1 was to afford the people the ability to have more say under their MSBU’s; it was not put there to create a loophole for the Board to create a non-ad valorem special assessment for MSBU’s for any reason.  She stated Commissioner Higgs, in the memo, said she put out several scenarios, but the brunt of it was if there was a vote of the people and there was not some exclusion for these types of MSBU’s, and half the people living on a block for a road paving were not registered voters, they could not vote on their MSBU.  she stated it says that currently the County allows property owners in the affected area to vote on MSBU’s; and that is why that exclusion was placed in there, not to allow the Board to create an MSBU for fire or whatever is allowed by State Statute.  She stated it is not there to circumvent the Charter.  She stated Mr. Knox points to Chapter 125,86 as giving the authority to create MSBU’s for fire or to create a fire assessment; Chapter 125.86 says, “County charters legislative responsibilities: the legislative responsibilities and power of the county shall be assigned to and vested in the Board of County Commissioners and shall consist of the following powers and duties”; and number seven is to adopt pursuant to the provisions of the charter, such ordinances of countywide force.  She stated Ordinance 06-045 was created against the Charter; Resolution 06-048 was against the Charter; the Board created an intent to create a non ad-valorem special assessment for fire against the Charter; and paragraph eight says, “all other powers of local self government not inconsistent with general law as recognized by the Constitution and laws of the State, and which have not been limited by the County Charter.”  Ms. Adams stated the last thing in the Constitution of the State of Florida on Charter government is that counties operating under county charters shall have all powers of local self government not inconsistent with special law approved by the vote of the electors.  She advised the County’s Charter was approved by the vote of the electors; that is special law; and Mr. Knox said in his opinion that charter law is not special law; but everything she has shown the Board disagrees with that.  She stated the next page shows the letters that went out in 2006; Florida Statute 197.3632 requires the letters be noticed to the people 20 days prior to the date of the hearing; the date of the hearing was August 22; and the letters did not go out in time.  She stated 87.12% of the residents received them late; and another 12% might have gotten them on time if the mail service was extremely efficient and got them there in one day.  She stated the next page is the Agenda item from February 21, 2006 where it says it is requested the Board approve the attached resolution of intent; that was the first thing the Board had to pass to create the fire assessment; and it had to do that by Statute 197.3632, which allows the Board to adopt that method for collection. 

 

Chairman Scarborough stated his information ends up with a chart; and requested Ms. Adams provide the additional pages.  Ms. Adams stated Resolution 06-048 has a statement that says, “whereas the Brevard county Board of County Commissioners has the authority to impose special assessments for fire services operations”; and inquired what gives the Board that authority.

 

Chairman Scarborough stated the Board touched on this with CAPIT to some extent earlier; they have a County Attorney; and one of the reasons they had to get an outside counsel to deal with this was because there were some problems believing it was legal.  He stated Mr. Knox has rendered some opinions; but one way the Board could deal with the issue is to ask the panel of attorneys to review the issue.  He stated Ms. Adams does excellent work; but he has to have faith and trust in the attorney the Board hired; and on one other occasion the Board went to an external source.  He stated it may behoove the Board to have the same panel look at this question; it would be inappropriate for one Commissioner to become the judge and jury on this; and if he agreed with Ms. Adams or with Mr. Knox, either way he would be doing more than he is supposed to at this moment.  He stated if they had the review by a panel, it may bring it to a point where the Board could say this is where it is.

 

County Attorney Scott Knox stated he does not have a problem with that; but he would recommend using Mr. Watts, who has some familiarity with the Charter issue, instead of a panel. 

 

Chairman Scarborough commented on researching the issue; and stated if he came to an opinion that was different from Ms. Adams and Mr. Knox, he does not know that it would be appropriate for him to come with a third opinion on it.  He stated that is not his role; his role is to rely on others for legal advice; and commented on the role of an attorney on a Board.  He stated he would be comfortable with Mr. Watts or a panel taking the information that Ms. Adams provided and visiting with Ms. Adams on these issues, and then bringing it to the Board level. 

Chairman Scarborough stated these are legal issues that Ms. Adams is raising; and they are not policy issues.

 

Ms. Adams advised the law is pretty clear.

 

Chairman Scarborough stated he hears what Ms. Adams is saying, but Mr. Knox will say the same thing; and the thing is he is not to be the judge, but to be a policymaker.  He stated it is easier for him to reach out and say to get a third opinion; at the last workshop he asked Mr. Knox if there was a way to get a declaratory judgment; and he said there is not. 

 

Commissioner Nelson inquired in terms of whether it is a panel or an individual, is it a cost issue.  Mr. Knox advised it is an efficiency issue and how fast the Board wants to get this resolved; Mr. Watts can do it and knows the areas of the law; and he can give an opinion in a week.  Commissioner Voltz stated that is good.  Chairman Scarborough inquired if the Board would like to get an opinion from Mr. Watts.  

 

Motion by Commissioner Colon, seconded by Commissioner Voltz, to direct the County Attorney to request a legal opinion from Attorney Alan Watts concerning the fire assessment.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

Chairman Scarborough stated he would still like to meet with Ms. Adams because he is interested in the subject; but it is just that he needs not to be the attorney.  Ms. Adams stated she understands; but she feels like a right has been taken away.  Chairman Scarborough stated he appreciates all the time that Ms. Adams has put in.  Commissioner Nelson stated he would like the information that has been developed by Ms. Adams to be provided to Mr. Watts.  Chairman Scarborough stated it would be appropriate for Ms. Adams to be given time to visit with Mr. Watts directly to review her perspective. 

 

 

The meeting recessed at 12:22 p.m. and reconvened at 1:05 p.m.

 

 

*Commissioner Colon’s absence was noted at this time. 

 

 

 

Chairman Scarborough called for the public hearing to consider transmittal of 2007-C Comprehensive Plan Amendments to Florida Department of Community Affairs.

 

Planning Manager Steve Swanke stated this morning the Board is considering transmittal of Comprehensive Plan amendments submitted by The Viera Company; they would be transmitted to the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) for review by the State agencies; they will issue a report based on any concerns or objections; and then it will come back to the Board for any necessary changes and final adoption.  He stated because this Plan amendment is associated with a development of regional impact, it is more complicated than an ordinary Comprehensive Plan amendment; and he will begin by explaining the process.  Mr. Swanke stated The Viera Company submitted an application for development approval to expand the Development of Regional Impact in 2006; and later that year, they submitted the Comprehensive Plan amendments that the Board is considering today.  He stated after the amendments are transmitted to the State, there will need to be a hearing at the Regional Planning Council concerning the DRI; and once the State returns its comments, the Board can consider adoption of the Comprehensive Plan amendments, approval of the application for development, and adoption of the development order for the DRI, along with a rezoning request that will also concern the same property.  He stated this is not a final adoption of the DRI; adoption of the DRI and adoption of the Plan amendments has to occur at the same public hearing; and the two cannot be separated as that is a statutory requirement.  He stated DCA will return its comments within 60 days of receiving a complete package from the County; after that there are no further deadlines to adhere to; and the Board can take as much time as necessary to adopt the final development and Plan amendment.  He stated the application that has been submitted by The Viera Company has several items in it; and the first is a change to the Future Land Use Map to change the map on 11,567 acres located primarily to the west and south of the existing DRI.  He stated it excludes properties owned by the County where the wastewater treatment plant and wetlands are located.  He advised currently the future land use designation on the property is Residential 2, Residential 4, and Agriculture; and the proposed designation would be DRI.     

 

Chairman Scarborough inquired if there are any maps for people to view so they can understand what is being discussed; with Mr. Swanke responding he is sure The Viera Company has maps.  Chairman Scarborough inquired if those will be shown; with a representative of The Viera Company responding affirmatively.  Chairman Scarborough stated it is extremely difficult to follow even with a map, so the comments may confuse people.  He stated to the extent that Mr. Swanke is not able to depict it for the uninformed, it may be better to wait for The Viera Company. 

 

Mr. Swanke stated it is the area that is west and south of the current DRI, west of I-95; and it would also establish the new town overlay designation on the same property.  He stated the remainder of the amendments deal with specific policies to the Comprehensive Plan; they have proposed amendments to the Conservation Element that will amend Policy 5.2 to establish standards to allow diminimous impacts to wetlands; and these will apply countywide.  He stated they have also proposed an amendment to Objective 8 that says that the County will encourage community green space and cluster development; and that also has countywide applicability.  He stated there is also amendment to Policy 9.2, which is regarding wildlife, which proposes policy language that will clarify that the environmental data prepared as a part of the DRI process will satisfy the minimum criteria for crucial habitat review.  He stated they have also proposed policy amendments to the Future Land Use Element, Policy 8.3, to incorporate the new development authority that they are seeking approval for in the Viera DRI and to the policies under Objective 9, which concerns the new town overlay.  He stated these policies are intended to guide development within the new town overlay; currently the Viera new town overlay is the only one that exists in the County, although it could be adopted elsewhere; but they have specific design standards that provide a great deal of detail about how they want the community to develop.  He stated the amendments also include revisions to the Transportation Element; there is a traffic circulation map that needs to be revised to reflect any roadway improvements that will be needed to accommodate the traffic impacts created by the new development; and that map is currently not prepared and so would not be transmitted to DCA because the actual list of roadway improvements has not been determined.  Mr. Swanke stated there will be amendments to the Capital Improvements Element, specifically to include a list of infrastructure improvements that will be necessary to support the impacts created by this expansion; it includes roadway improvements, expansion of the wastewater treatment plant, a waterline extension, and possibly fire station improvements and others; and they do not have that information included in the package at this time.  He stated the full list of improvements will be determined prior to the adoption stage and is subject to the continued negotiations that are a part of the DRI process. 

 

Tracy Duda Chapman, CEO of The Viera Company, stated she has a few comments; and then Duke Woodson will address the Board.  She thanked the Board for its patience and consideration of the Comprehensive Plan amendment; stated it has been a long process; and it is just the first step of comprehensive process, but it is the first step that they are ready to take today.  She stated they have made tremendous progress over the last 18 months; they appreciate that the plan needs a thoughtful and deliberate process; and they appreciate the time, effort, and diligence of the County staff in working with them.  She stated they have met many times; and staff has worked diligently to get them to the current point.  She stated they want to continue to work together through the process; and while it is just a first step, it is a very important first step that needs to be taken today.  She stated she also wants to assure the Board and the residents of the County of The Viera Company’s and the Duda family’s commitment to the County; they have been part of the County long before they embarked on real estate development; they have been in the County since the 1940’s; and they intend to remain for many generations to come.  She stated it is important to realize that over 20 Duda family members live in Brevard County; they have either retired or, moved their families to the County; and they are active in the community so they have a very strong commitment to the County.  She stated the Cocoa Ranch is a heartfelt thing to the Duda family; they want to do the right thing; and they think that the plan is the right plan and a smart plan for the County.  She stated the plan makes environmental and economic sense for the County; and urged the Board to vote yes to transmit today. 

 

Attorney Duke Woodson, representing The Viera Company, stated the question is whether to transmit the Viera Comprehensive Plan to the DCA for review; the question is not whether to approve the Comprehensive Plan or the amendment to the DRI; and it is important to understand that.  He stated as Mr. Swanke said, the DRI-Comprehensive Plan process in Florida is a very complicated process; and he does have pictures for the Board, public, and those watching at home to see.  He stated the DRI-Comprehensive Plan process is a real puzzle; they already had one public hearing on the amendment before the Local Planning Agency (LPA) last fall; this is the second public hearing; if the Board chooses to transmit the application today, it will get a report from DCA sometime in May; the applicant and the County staff will respond to DCA in writing; and the LPA will have another hearing, probably in July.  He stated the Board will have its second hearing on the Comprehensive Plan, most likely in August, which is when the Board will decide whether or not to approve the Comprehensive Plan.  He stated the second piece of the puzzle is the development of regional impact process; they have filed an application to amend the DRI to expand the existing DRI into all of the property owned by Duda, west of I-95; they have not had the first hearing on the DRI; and that first hearing will be before the Regional Planning Council, probably in June.  Mr. Woodson stated the Regional Planning Council will consider all information that was provided and will make a set of recommendations to the County; the second public hearing will occur on the DRI in July, again in front of the Local Planning Agency, which will consider all of the recommendations and information provided; and the Board will have its hearing to consider the DRI most likely in August.  He stated that is the second piece of the puzzle, but it is still not all of the puzzle; they are also required to amend the planned unit development for the property, which is at the zoning level; and they have not even filed that yet.  He stated they are not going to be talking about zoning because there is nothing to talk about; they intend to file that in the next couple of months; and the first hearing on that will not be until July, which will also be before the LPA.  He stated the Board will hear the proposed zoning and planned unit development plan in August, so the three pieces of the puzzle, the Comprehensive Plan amendment, the DRI, and the PUD will hopefully come together sometimes in August.  He stated this is the second of either nine or five public hearings, depending on how one counts; and there will be plenty of opportunity for the Board to comment on the project to change conditions and plenty of opportunity for the public to comment.  He stated that is the process; that is a picture of the puzzle; and he hopes that helps not only the Board but the people who are trying to keep up with the process at home.  He stated The Viera Company did not dream up this process; it struggled with it all around the State of Florida; but it is the process they must live by.  He stated they got started on it now because they had to; and they did not have a choice.  He stated in 1989 The Viera Company entered into Agreement with the Department of Community Affairs that addressed all of the land owned at the time; the Agreement said that all development of land owned by the Duda Company, The Viera Company, and any affiliates or subsidiaries must undergo full DRI review; and last year The Viera Company entered into the Pineda Interchange Agreement with the County and the Department of Transportation, which includes language that says, “All land west of I-95 is subject to full DRI review and a master development plan.”  He stated by virtue of the DCA Agreement and the Pineda Agreement, they must go through the DRI process; they have no choice; and it is either cows or the DRI process.  He advised Brevard County is the only county in the State that says to developers that if they trip the DRI threshold they must amend the Comprehensive Plan to designate the property in the Future Land Use Element as DRI.  He stated they are before the Board today to request the Board amend the Comprehensive Plan so they can continue to go through the DRI process; and if the answer is no, then their only answer is continue agriculture.  He stated page 2 of the application has the most recent version of the Master Plan; they have held a number of community meetings in public places; they invited the community to come in; they had boards set up, listened to comments, and adjusted their plans accordingly; and they had a community advisory committee to help with elements of the plan.  He stated the plan was not developed in isolation; they had a lot of input, particularly from the environmental community; and the plan is designed to integrate housing and jobs.  He stated it is a compact form of development with a fine-grained road network; in the two years that they have been discussing the DRI and Comprehensive Plan, no one on County staff or from the community has been critical of the plan; and they are proud of the plan.  He stated the reason he is showing the Board the plan is because the plan has been translated into textual amendments, which are part of the Comprehensive Plan amendment that is before the Board today.  He stated specifically they are asking to amend the Future Land Use Map; and displayed maps showing what exists today for all of the Viera property.  He stated the purple-bluish color is the existing DRI designation consistent with the County Code; the rest of the property is a mixture of residential and agricultural uses; and the request to change the land use map is a simple one.  Mr. Woodson stated as the Ordinance requires, they are asking to change all of the property to DRI; and changing the land use to DRI does not mean they get to develop it as they still have to go through the DRI process and get it approved.  He stated changing the property to a DRI land use does not mean they get five thousand or even two units; they do not get anything; but they are changing the map consistent with the County Ordinance.  He stated the second thing they are doing is changing a map in the Comprehensive Plan, known as Map 7; it is a general map that shows in Comprehensive Plan level colors what they are proposing to do for the project; and he will come back to the map when he talks about some of the environmental issues.  He displayed maps; and stated they are asking to change the existing Map 7 to the map shown on the right.  He advised yellow means community development, green means conservation, and dark green means conservation; and he will address some of the other colors in a while.  He stated the final thing they are asking for today is textual changes; and advised of a report from Mr. Swanke dated February 6, 2008 and letters from Natural Resources Management Director Ernie Brown.  He stated Mr. Swanke raises five issues in the staff report; issue five is whether the data and analysis submitted by The Viera Company supports transmittal pursuant to Section 163.3184, F.S.; and data and analysis are in the eye of the beholder.  He stated he brought their data and analysis with him; it is in two cardboard boxes and he is prepared to introduce it into evidence one by one if he has to; and there is a pile of data and analysis that has been submitted in the Comprehensive Plan application.  He stated Mr. Swanke cites Chapter 163.3184, F.S that speaks to transmittal hearings; the question is what do they have to provide at the transmittal hearing in order for the Board to transmit the application to DCA for review; and the answer, not withstanding what the staff report says, is that the Statute does not say anything about what they are required to give the Board.  He stated the Statute almost sounds like it is a ministerial task for the Board to accept the application and pass it through to DCA for review; and that makes sense because the Board does have another bite of the apple, but it does not really make sense.  He stated if there was a developer who came to the Board wanting to build an industrial project in an area surrounded by residential property and wanted a Comprehensive Plan amendment to do that, the Board would most likely answer no, it would not transmit; but their amendment is a Comprehensive Plan amendment to place a DRI designation on property that they are required to do under the County’s Ordinance so in a sense it is almost a ministerial action to transmit it for DCA review.  He stated they are supposed to give the County a pile of data and analysis; and they have done that, although he does not know how much ended up in the Commission offices.  He stated Mr. Swanke in his staff report on page 5 says the County may transmit the Comprehensive Plan without having all of the issues associated with the DRI application completely resolved; it would be silly to be wrestling with all of the DRI issues while they are thinking about transmitting a Comprehensive plan application; so he agrees with Mr. Swanke that it is not necessary to resolve every issue associated with the development order.  He stated the Board will have a chance to do that later this year; they have submitted a pile of data and analysis; and they do not necessarily think the State requires that they do that, but they have done it.  He stated there is a pile of information to send to the DCA; and requested, when the Board considers whether the data and analysis submitted by Viera supports transmittal, to consider the other staff language that was included in the Agenda report that says clearly there is no fiscal impact associated with transmitting the proposed amendments to DCA for review and comment.  He stated the Board is simply transmitting the application to DCA for review; it will come back and will eventually cost The Viera Company a lot of money; but it is not going to cost the Board any money today.  Mr. Woodson stated issue number four is affordable housing; The Viera Company proposed general language which would apply to the Viera property that says that Viera will provide for a range of housing types that support a broad range of family sizes and incomes; and The Viera Company is committed to provide affordable housing on this project.  He stated in the DRI application, they have included some specific targets that they intend to meet as part of the development order for the DRI; they expect there will be a condition of approval of the development order which will have percentage targets for affordable housing; but the Comprehensive Plan is not the place for performance measures.  He stated Mr. Swanke in his staff report criticizes the general language because there are no performance standards; but there are no performance standards because this is the Comprehensive Plan; and there are  no performance standards for affordable housing for anybody in the County.  He stated there are no performance standards for affordable housing in the Comprehensive Plan at all; the Comprehensive Plan is not the place for performance standards; and the place for the performance standards is either in a development or in specific conditions for approval of an individual project.  He stated the County is not requiring it of anybody else in the County as part of the Comprehensive Plan; and it is not reasonable to include performance measures in the Comprehensive Plan.  He stated they will have performance standards in the development order; they have already talked and will continue to talk with staff about the targets that will be included in the development order; and The Viera Company will meet or exceed the Ordinance on affordable housing that the Board adopted last year.  He stated they are not trying to dodge the issue, but are saying that the Comprehensive Plan is not the place for specific performance targets.  He stated issue number three involves a group of environmental issues; and it goes back to Map 7.  He stated they had a series of meetings with staff, Ernie Brown, and his staff as well as representatives from a number of environmental organizations, such as Sierra Club, the Audubon Club, and the Native Plant Society over a six-month period talking about the Comprehensive Plan amendment; and the plan has gotten better as a result.  He stated he is using the March 2007 iteration of Map 7; and he has put numbers on it to address some of the specific issues that were raised.  He stated there is a large wetland/upland system which is heavily forested and a valuable system; and the environmental groups asked them to take a much closer look and address whether it would be possible to maintain this system as a continuous wetland system with upland buffers sufficient to protect the system.  He stated issue number two is that along the south part of the property they are proposing a wetland/upland system, which is shown in the illustration in dark green; and the environmental groups suggested they consider adding more protected area between the dark green area and the power line that runs from the northwest to the southeast along that area.  He stated they looked at what was asked and have changed their map; so on the western side one can see the difference between the two maps.  He stated they have added more conservation protected area; the area shown in light green in the middle is a rural development area of very low density; and they kept the eastern corner of the property as community, the more intense development because it is contiguous to already approved development property in the County.  He stated they made the changes in response to the comments from the environmental groups.  He stated issue number three involves the community area shown in yellow that sneaks out into the conservation area, which is shown as two green stripes; the environmental community asked that they consider deleting that and protect it by leaving it in conservation; and they have agreed to do it.  He stated number four is similar; there was an area of rural development that was surrounded by conservation area; and they were asked to consider the fact that the long skinny area was sticking out into a conservation area so they have reconfigured the area to more closely protect the conservation area that is surrounded.  Mr. Woodson advised in response to the comments from the environmental community and staff, they have made significant changes to Map 7.  He stated page 5 shows wetland area number one from Map 7; what he is showing is not a Comprehensive Plan map; but he wanted to give the Board a little more detail.  He stated the areas shown in darkest green are wetlands; the lighter green areas are upland buffers; and they have agreed to increase the required upland buffer around the wetlands to a 50-foot minimum distance.  He advised in many places there is more than 50 feet of upland buffer so that they are committed to a 130-acre wetland/upland mix to protect the wetland system north of the new Pineda Interchange and west of I-95.  He stated the next issue under the environmental area concerns a number of changes in the text on various sections of the Comprehensive Plan to address wetland issues; they are in agreement with staff and the environmental community on all of the text changes except for one; and he will try to explain it.  He displayed pictures; and stated they have agreed with staff and the environmental community to specific language which incorporates the language that is already in the Comprehensive Plan that allows that 1.8% of the total non-commercial, non-industrial acreage of property can have wetland encroachment.  He stated while they agree with that, they are arguing about the form; Mr. Brown, in his first February 12 memo, has suggested some changes in the existing County Comprehensive Plan which is different than their proposed changes; and the difference is explained by the pictures he displayed.  He stated the picture on the left side is under the current Comprehensive Plan and under Mr. Brown’s proposed language; yellow represents development area, red represents encroachment, and green represents wetlands that are left alone; so a developer could encroach into every single wetland that is on the property a little bit as long as every single developable lot had some buildable uplands on the lot.  He stated that is what it says and would say even with Mr. Brown’s language.  He stated what they tried to propose was a different approach consistent with their proposed plan, which concentrates development in upland areas; it saves very large contiguous strands of wetlands mixed in with high quality uplands; and they propose a change in the Comprehensive Plan to allow what is shown on the picture on the right.  He stated what is shown is the conceptual form; the area shown in light green would represent the Viera Wilderness Park; the areas shown in dark green would represent the wetlands that they would leave alone; they will be leaving alone wetlands and uplands in the Viera Wilderness Park, but will also be leaving alone wetlands in their entirety in the yellow community areas.  He stated they have proposed language to change the existing Comprehensive Plan; they would like to have the ability to take out some wetlands in their entirety, which are shown as the completed red circle.  He stated they agree that they cannot impact more than 1.8% total; and what is shown as red squiggles in the left picture equals what is shown as the red circle on the right picture.  He stated issue number two is the proportionate share contribution; and this is where the big money is.  He stated they included language in the proposed Comprehensive Plan amendment in Section 8.1.3, which addresses transportation concurrency; as part of the Comprehensive Plan amendment they were saying that if they provide proportionate share contribution to take care of their traffic impacts, then they should be vested; the staff response in Mr. Swanke’s report is that while the County may vest the Viera DRI for transportation concurrency upon payment of a contribution, it is not necessary to include that language in the Comprehensive Plan; and they agree that language should be deleted from their proposed Comprehensive Plan amendments. 

 

*Commissioner Colon’s presence was noted at this time.

 

He stated they do not need to talk about the proportionate share contribution at all today; and they will save that discussion for the DRI.  He stated if the Board would like to talk about the offer that is on the table that they have provided to Commissioner Bolin, staff, and have copied to each Commissioner, they would be happy to do that; and Tim Jackson of Glatting Jackson is present to address how they got into that offer through the cumulative analysis that staff, DCA, DOT, and the Regional Planning Council have told them they should be using.  Mr. Woodson stated they now have a $78 million offer, a combination of cash and specific improvements; but that is a DRI issue and not an issue for the transmittal of the Comprehensive Plan.  He stated if the Board has questions, they are prepared to answer them or to give the whole presentation.  He stated the final issue is the assessment of traffic impacts; Mr. Swanke references the Dyer Riddle analysis; Dyer Riddle is the County’s consultant; and the analysis is of the DRI application.  He reiterated Dyer Riddle analyzed their DRI application but not the Comprehensive Plan application; there is a whole section on transportation in the Comprehensive Plan application; and Dyer Riddle has not looked at that.  He stated if the Board wants to talk about the DRI, Mr. Jackson is prepared to give a presentation; but they do not think that is an issue for the transmittal of the Comprehensive Plan amendment.  He stated their application, through the changes he discussed, will reduce the development program number of units allowed under the current Comprehensive Plan by 35%; if the Board transmits the amendment and eventually approves it later this year, it will reduce the development footprint by 45%; and if the plan is transmitted and eventually adopted they will place over 5,000 acres of environmentally sensitive lands under a series of protections.  He stated the Viera Wilderness Park will forever be protected from development; the Comprehensive Plan most importantly adopts a desirable development form through the maps and text changes; and in the end, after they hear the Board’s questions and the comments from the public, they will be asking the Board to transmit the application to the Department of Community Affairs for review.  He advised the application includes designation of all the property as DRI, as they are required to do by the County’s Ordinance; approval of Map 7 as they have discussed; and approval of the text changes that were included in Mr. Swanke’s memorandum with the deletion of the concurrency language, and specifically to make sure to not incorporate Ernie Brown’s language in the section dealing with buildable area.  He stated they would appreciate an opportunity to respond to any comments of the public and will be happy to answer questions. 

 

Chairman Scarborough advised of the procedure and time limits for speakers.

 

Maria Hernandez stated she has the greatest respect for The Viera Company; their projects have been well done; and they have been a good neighbor to the community where she lives in Baytree.  She stated The Viera Company has always expressed willingness to pay for the infrastructure that has been affected by its development, which is good; and she approves of that very much.  She stated The Viera Company has been willing to pay the freight; but often they find developers do not, so that certainly goes in their favor.  She stated while she approves of the way The Viera Company is doing its development, there are some things that were presented today that are of concern; and her major area of concern is North Wickham Road.  She stated the original plan was to do a jug handle at the corner of Baytree Drive and Wickham Road; and this would entail taking out very expensive landscaping and trees as well as the front monument, which would be detrimental not only to the community but also the golf course that is located within the community.  She stated she is not going to address the other issues that she is sure the Board will be looking at, but does want to be sure it does not get the cart before the horse; she has nothing against this type of development; but she does not want to see it turn North Wickham Road into a sleazy looking highway.  She stated her main concern is the jug handle is not going to be a consideration for approval of the application; it is to be handled separately; but in her mind it is not a separate issue.  Ms. Hernandez stated there may be other people who have concerns about North Wickham Road; but her concern is with the Baytree monument and the landscaping, for which the residents have paid a lot of money over the years in addition to paying taxes.  She stated there are some sales going on in the community; and the development could impact that; and it could impact the golf course if people cannot see the sign.  She stated the Commissioners have probably driven down North Wickham road; she is concerned about that area being affected; and that is her major concern.  She requested the Board look at that and remove it from consideration; and advised it is a low traffic area.  She stated she has looked at it from a marketing standpoint, which is her area of expertise; and for the community it would definitely be detrimental.  She reiterated she does not want to see North Wickham Road turned into an ugly highway when it has been beautiful, although there are some setbacks she wishes were further back.  She requested the Board keep this in mind when making its decision because it will impact not just Baytree but all of the North Wickham corridor. 

 

Cindy Dittmer, representing the City of Melbourne, stated the City of Melbourne wanted to attend the meeting today to reiterate the three major issues that were outlined in the letter to the Board earlier.  She stated all three issues related to transportation; and the first concern is regarding the lack of proposed affordable housing.  She stated the effect of this is the increased burden on the City of Melbourne to provide more affordable housing or the retail workers within Viera thus creating more traffic on the roadways in the southern part of the County; and a second concern is the lack of necessary land uses to support quality job growth.  She stated this also creates more of a bedroom community atmosphere that requires Viera residents to commute longer distances, also creating more of a traffic issue; and both of these issues create additional traffic demands on an already burdened transportation system, which affects the City of Melbourne with not only the current daily commutes to and from Viera, but will also create more north/south traffic problems for the south region of the County in the future.  She stated transportation issues have to be resolved, and proper funding to construct roadway improvements must occur. 

 

Leroy Wright, representing Save the St. Johns River, Inc., stated his comments are directed only to the rural development area; he already heard Mr. Woodson talk about the clustered housing in the wilderness park area; and if that can be restricted in the development order at a later point to 500 acres and no more and they save the rest of the wilderness park area, he could fully support it.  He stated he has a couple of concerns with the park area; and until such time as the development order comes out and they can start construction, he would like to keep the land as it is today.  He advised it is a type 2 wildlife management area; there is hunting on the property; they would like to hold onto that until such time ten years out or whatever; and then they would be willing to go to small game hunts, which would take out the long rifles and basically reduce it to duck hunting.  He stated a second issue is wetlands enhancement; Viera has not had a good record on protecting wetlands or getting permits to do work in wetlands; and he has a whole chapter devoted to it in a book he wrote and published last year called Saving the St. Johns.  He stated the development is having no impact on the St. Johns River; but there are public lands there; the taxpayers paid $24.8 million for 14,000 acres, which is approximately $1,700 an acre; and it is all predominantly wetlands.  He stated all he is asking for is the rural development that is depicted on the map in the south end of the property and the one depicted on the north end; both are going to be in conflict with the public’s right to use the waterways of the St. Johns River, which is guaranteed by the Florida Constitution; and it would be sad to have residents living in expensive homes having to listen to airboats roaring by within 150 yards of their home.  Mr. Wright stated that needs to be looked at; and hopefully the one in the south end particularly could be abandoned and tied into another area.  He stated there will be wildlife impacts even with the limited development; and recommended having the Fish and Wildlife Commission, which is responsible for managing the wildlife, get involved in assessing the impact and where the wildlife would go.  He reiterated if they could look forward primarily to the development order stating it is only 500 acres being developed, they could support the project.

 

Mark Tormoen, Principal of Viera High School, stated he has resided in Baytree for the past 14 years; and he is present to relay his observation of the demonstrated support that The Viera Company and The Viera Futures Foundation have given to Viera High School.  He stated in addition to the most obvious financial support that any large company and development would be expected to contribute The Viera Company has always been a collaborative, cooperative, and humble partner with Viera High School, from the inception of the building plans to now.  He expressed gratitude, on behalf of the students, parents, and staff members of Viera High School, to The Viera Company; and stated they look forward to many successful years in the future. 

        

Jeff Piersall, president of Viera-Suntree Little League and also Space Coast Business, stated he is reminded of a comment about the stages of life and the stages of business; they fall into four categories; and the first is the growth and create mode.  He stated the second is to start to manage; then it slips into defending why the business is no longer growing; and eventually it falls into the blame stage.  He stated it becomes a question of how does one know and what does one know in terms of people, organizations, and companies; and the key resident word is “trust.”  He stated people tend to mistrust the ones they can trust the most because of the greed and arrogance they see through the media sources; and he can cite many problems with developments around the County; however, in their own back yard is a great example of how to do things right.  He stated the problem with growth is that growth represents change; change resonates with fear for many; but the tool to be able to judge the proper growth is character.  He stated The Viera Company’s character speaks for itself; and they get a chance to see it on an everyday basis in what they have created and shared with the community.  He stated one of the core values of The Viera Company is the value of sharing; the company reaches out and shares what it owns in a socially responsible manner; and that means coming to a balance.  He stated it is always a fine line in establishing that balance; and commented on the high school, the economic center that has been developed, commitment to build a flyover, and difference between Miami and Brevard County.  He described umpiring a baseball game at Viera Regional Park and everyone stopping the game to watch two eagles fly over the park.  He stated everyone present will be judged by their children and the influence they are having on those children; what The Viera Company has done is an influence to those children; and they have to trust that The Viera Company’s word is better than any paper that ever is signed.  He stated they have eight tournaments that are being hosted that will bring over 2,000 children through the park to see the greatness of the area; they will also host the Southeast Regional Tournament for seniors, which will bring eight State championships to Viera; and not only will it affect Viera but it will affect Kennedy Space Center, Cocoa, Palm Bay, and Melbourne where they will tour, stay in hotels, and eat in restaurants.  He stated they now have a chance to bring the Southeast Regional Offices of Little League to Viera; they will have ESPN televising games for two weeks; and it will put the County on the national map.  Mr. Piersall stated it is because they have moved in a spirit of cooperation; cooperation is not about who is right, but about what is right; and through the process, they have done what is right to establish a socially economic engine that is providing for the future of the children.  He encouraged the Board to keep doing what it has been doing with The Viera Company because it has led to positive impact; it will impact more children in the future; and there is no other more significant thing that the Board could do.    

 

Keith Winsten, representing Brevard Zoo, stated he wants to share a bit of his experience when he served on the Viera West Advisory Board; he has been involved in these sorts of things in the past; and one of the things he enjoyed about working with The Viera Company was their willingness to listen to a broad array of citizens bringing different visions of what could be.  He stated somebody from the building community questions why they were changing what happens when all of the subdivisions were selling out; but people can look around and see that things do change; and one of the things he liked was The Viera Company’s willingness to listen to and incorporate some bold ideas.  He stated he saw a lot of ideas brought up from a variety of people that are actually in the plan today; that makes it a strong plan; and that is one reason he encourages the Board to transmit.  He stated the second is the lifestyle issue; and he was lucky when he lived in Illinois to live in the original planned community, an Olmstead community, which was the best idea of new urbanism 200 years ago.  He stated there were village centers with varying density so everyone could walk to the town center; and as much as he enjoys living in a Viera community today, he would enjoy it more under the new plan because it allows everyone to walk and avoid some of the congestion.  He stated he is present to speak in terms of wildlife and those issues; development always affects wildlife; but the plan tries to address the wildlife issue well on three levels.  He stated the Board has heard a lot about a wilderness park; wildlife needs large corridors, and that corridor is largely intact; and it aligns with all the St. Johns land.  He stated wildlife needs large spaces to really be successful; and when properties are fragmented, it makes it difficult.  He stated the second level is connecting people with wildlife; he likes that there are smaller green spaces that allow recreational on a family level; and there are also spaces in the community that let that happen on a kid level, which is a dying thing today.  He stated children do not play outside as much; the plans allows people to have contact with wildlife in their own backyards while still maintaining big corridors; and it is worth transmitting up to the next level as it would serve the community very well. 

 

Don Kramer, representing One Senior Place, stated he is not a resident of Viera, but has been a resident of Satellite Beach since 1990; and he also serves on the Board of the Viera East Community Association representing the business community in Viera East.  He stated five years ago he and his wife bet their live savings and future on Viera East as a location for their business; they both grew up in South Florida where bad Florida development was invented and perfected; and they saw areas where a combination of greed, lack of planning, and corruption resulted in communities that were undesirable places to live and work, which is why he moved 135 miles north.  He stated The Viera Company has demonstrated intelligence, integrity, and generosity as it has implemented a plan for a true community; in his role as a business owner and Viera East Community Association Board member, he has repeatedly observed and conferred with a majority of homeowners, residents, and businesses; and he finds they are happy with the community and the developer and support the expansion.  He stated in Florida, development is going to happen one way or the other; Viera is going to grow; and The Viera Company has demonstrated that it knows how to do growth right.  Mr. Kramer recommended the Board look at The Viera Company as a valuable partner for intelligent growth, and not as a goose full of golden eggs, and approve the plans for the Viera West expansion. 

 

Chris Kennedy, CEO of Viera Hospital, stated he has been a resident for 34 years and has served the County in a number of different health care positions for 35 years; and as president of Viera Hospital in Viera Health Park, which will align with the West Viera area, he thinks it is critically important for the Board to understand that one of the success factors for caring for a community’s health lies with where the vision is for the future.  He stated one of the things that convinced them that they were going to be able to provide more health care to more citizens of the County was identifying an area in which they knew there was a gap; and there was an access issue for health care.  He commented on using 50 acres to create an area to not only care for people when they are sick, but to make an investment in keeping them healthy through the Pro-Health and Fitness Center, which will open in three or four months, followed by a medical office building, and a hospital in 2011.  He stated their objective has always been how to take care of more people in a way that will make their quality of life and health care better; and The Viera Company, the Board, and the leadership of the community has risen to the occasion to meet those needs.  He stated they will complement the other health care services that are provided; the citizens are going to be well served; Tracy Duda Chapman talked about first steps; and commented on being a new grandfather with a grandson who is being encouraged to take his first steps.  He stated his father always said that if someone is enjoying success today it is because of folks who came before who were courageous; he is trying to encourage is his grandson to take his first steps; and he is encouraging the Board to allow for the first steps to be taken for the transmittal.  He stated this is going to be a dream realized; when people look back, they will say that it required courage, commitment, and character; and those elements are in place. 

 

Shannon Meyers, representing Melbourne-Palm Bay-Viera Chamber of Commerce, stated as a leading business advocate, the Chamber of Commerce looks at many of the issues that have been brought up today; and they are encouraging the transmittal because it makes sense.  She stated The Viera Company has been engaged in conversations with the business community and has listened to all the concerns, some of which have been addressed; transportation is a huge issue for the business community; they need to be able to move not only their products and services, but getting their employees from place to place is critical; and she is pleased with the commitment that The Viera Company has made on the areas of transportation.  She stated it is important to The Viera Company that the business community is able to move from one place to another; and they are smart about economic development and business growth.  She stated affordable housing is critically important; she is a new resident of two and one-half years in the County and a young professional; and she hears that there are many people who would love to buy a home but cannot afford to do so.  She stated that is an important factor in the Viera plan; and The Viera Company has addressed affordable housing so it is now not only a place for young professionals, but also a place for families, singles, and retirees.  She stated the company has looked at the environmental protection and dedication of lands; and the project would add tremendous tax revenues to the General Fund, which are needed.  She stated The Viera Company is committed to the community; it has committed not only land, money, time, and talent, but most importantly, it has committed its values.  She stated they have been great stewards to the community through the Chambers and the businesses, through the civic and community-based organizations, and through their commitment to the residents, schools, and government center.  Ms. Meyers stated she hopes the process goes forward; The Viera Company has been here to develop, preserve, and enhance Brevard County to the best of its abilities; and the company lives by its name, Viera, which means faith.  She stated now is the time for the Board to invest its faith in The Viera Company and move forward with this critical first step.            

 

Robert Dale stated he is a home and business owner in Viera, and Chairman of the Viera Awareness Committee, which represents 6,000 taxpayers in East Viera; and he strongly supports and urges the Board’s support of the Viera West expansion.  He stated as a lifelong resident of Brevard County he saw the County as it was long before The Viera Company; and he can say without a doubt that the County is a better place because of the planning done by The Viera Company.  He stated anyone reading an article in the newspaper regarding growth will see that Viera is the standard to which all new development in the County is compared; development in the County prior to Viera lacked vision; it consisted of strip malls and housing developments; but The Viera Company changed that.  He stated The Viera Company brought green spaces, parks, baseball stadiums, roads, and overpasses in a coordinated manner to the County; the land for the government center as well as land for schools and parks was donated by The Viera Company; and it also made road improvements to roads that are not in Viera, such as Fiske Boulevard.  He stated he sat on the West Viera Community Advisory Panel; great care and planning went into the development; plans were made to protect animals like the burrowing owls and gopher tortoises; and there are protections that might not be there if the land was developed piecemeal.  He stated he also heard comments that there will be traffic congestion if the plan is approved; but personally he worries more about the traffic if the plan is not approved; great care has gone into the planning of the expansion to minimize traffic impact; but the growth is coming regardless of whether West Viera is approved or not.  He stated the choice is whether the Board wants the land west of I-95 to be congested like Wickham Road or U.S. 192 without the planning or does it want something much better with the West Viera plan; and he supports the West Viera plan.                        

 

Pam Rogan, representing Harmony Farms, which is located on the Cocoa Ranch through the generosity of the Duda family, stated the comment she hears most often from people about Viera is how nice it is to see little pieces of the country throughout the development; and she hears that all the time.  She stated on any given day at Harmony Farms, they can see eagles soaring above the barn; a deer gave birth in the pasture and came back later for her babies; sand hill crane families have new chicks each year; and all the other critters visit and live in their world.  She stated the education she has received from Mother Nature has been amazing; and the proposed development for Viera West is a classic example of keeping nature in their lives.  She stated she recently traveled to Miami and was amazed at the small amount of green space that was left between Brevard County and Miami; other developers have not been as diligent as The Viera Company when it comes to keeping things green; the proposed wilderness park will be enjoyed by generations to come; and it will be a place to commune with nature in many forms and will be a protected habitat for many species.  She advised the Duda family has proven to be a generous neighbor and good guardian of the land for more than 60 years; this project convinces her that they do not plan to change that in the future; and she and Harmony Farms support the Viera West expansion and hope the Board supports it too.  

 

Randall Godfrey, President of the Viera East Community Association, stated as an elected representative of over 6,000 homes and businesses in Viera East, he supports The Viera Company’s plan to complete the development and the West Viera expansion.  He stated he has lived in Brevard County for almost 25 years and has been a resident of Viera for four of those years; and he moved to Viera from his previous home for several reasons.  He stated he was attracted to a totally planned community that had walking and bike paths that would take one safely anywhere in the community; neighborhoods are close to schools, shopping, and recreation centers, which can easily and safely be reached by walking or bicycling on paved off-street pathways.  He stated scrub land, pine flatwoods, and prairies are preserved and connected by greenways and watercourses so that the original inhabitants of the area can continue to live there.  He stated in the plan for necessary infrastructure he does not encounter what was happening in his previous location due to unplanned development; and suggested the Board consider what would be happening today in Viera if the Duda family had not chosen to develop the area as it has done but instead just sold off the land to various developers haphazardly.  He stated there would have been a totally unplanned mess, inadequate infrastructure, and no regard for the environmental preservation.  He advised he just returned from a visit to Florida’s west coast; there is no equal to the Viera development over there or anywhere in Florida; and there is also no equal to the extreme traffic congestion that has resulted from unplanned development.  He stated with the opening of the I-95 flyover last year, The Viera Company has taken another step to fulfilling the vision that brought everyone to Viera; and the plan to develop the western reaches of Viera represents the completion of the vision for the future City of Viera.  He thanked the Board for performing the due diligence and oversight to ensure the plan is sound; and stated the people want to see it completed, even in the tough times in the housing market.  He stated he continues to see extraordinary growth predictions for Florida and the County; and he wants to see the continuation of this coordinated plan to address that growth.  He requested the Board approve transmittal of the plan.        

 

Patty Hurst, representing the Devereux Foundation, expressed support of The Viera Company; and stated her comments will be in terms of The Viera Company’s enduring support of social capital.  She stated the Devereux Foundation was established in 1912, and is the largest not for profit provider of behavioral health care for children and adolescents; in the mid-1980’s the State of Florida invited Devereux to build a residential treatment program to meet the behavioral, emotional, developmental, and educational needs of children and adolescents; and in 1988 that request was realized when the first Devereux Florida Program opened on Murrell Road in Viera.  She stated since that date, not only have hundreds of children received in-patient treatment locally, but the program has expanded throughout the State to include the provision of foster care, community based case adoption services, and abuse prevention.  She stated to date a total of 13,000 children and families in the State of Florida have been treated; and none of this would have been possible without the generous donation by The Viera Company of over 55 acres of land on which the first Devereux facility was built.  She stated The Viera Company’s investment in Devereux has seen a small campus grow to a $69 million revenue generating operation in the State; and almost half of that is generated by the Devereux Viera campus and other locations in Brevard County.  She stated on behalf of the staff that work and live locally and the children receiving treatment, she would like to publicly acknowledge The Viera Company’s contribution to society, which goes way beyond the development of land in strategically planned communities; and the leadership and staff of The Viera Company partner with many charitable organizations such as Devereux to continue to better the lives of individuals and families who live and work in Viera. 

 

Jack Hisey, Director of Government Affairs for the Melbourne-Palm Bay Area Chamber of Commerce, stated the Board has studied this issue for months, heard all the experts speak, and heard all the details and numbers; and he will not attempt to rehash those; but he will try to highlight some fundamentals.  He stated many of the Commissioners have participated in the myregion.org visioning activities; it was a broad-based professionally led community involved process; and some Commissioners may have attended some of Palm Bay’s visioning programs.  He stated one message that came through in those exercises was that this type of project is the epitome of smart growth; these mixed use developments where people can work, play, shop, and live create strong vibrant safe communities; and they are places where people have time for both community and family involvement.  He stated in traditional planning residents were placed in one area, commercial and industrial in another, retail in another, and parks were enlarged and regionalized, which created a transportation dilemma; if someone wanted to do something, they would have to get in their car and travel a significant distance to do it; and as the majority of the people were going to the same place at the same time, to work, play, shop, or home, there was gridlock.  He stated investment and development in communities like West Viera is like committing additional dollars to satisfying the transportation requirements, not just from the private dollars that are invested in roadways in and around these communities, but from creating an environment where not everyone has to use their car to travel for everything.  He stated mixed use walkable town center communities, like those planned for West Viera, are smart growth; they encourage citizen involvement and participation; they consider and protect the environment; they create vibrant safe communities where families have time to live, work, play, and shop together; and they are exactly what the Board should be encouraging.  He urged the Board to support transmittal of the plan.             

 

Glenda Busick stated she does not disagree with what Mr. Hisey said; and the concept of the town center would be great if it was not Viera West sitting like a bowl in the middle of a cow pasture with no access roads.  She stated there are Viera Boulevard, Fiske Boulevard, and Wickham Road; and with what is sitting there now with the 6,000 people that Viera has running around in their cars, there is gridlock.  She stated there is approval for 2,700 more houses and for another 10,000 houses; there may be some transportation feedback then; but today The Viera Company is asking to get transmittal on 11,000 more houses, which equals 30,000 houses or a five-fold increase on the 6,000 houses now.  She advised she is not a transportation expert, but when she drives her car is in gridlock; inquired how they are ever going to have enough roads to field cars from 30,000 houses; and commented on living in sunny Florida where relatives from the north visit.  She stated all the service people do not have affordable housing, so they come from Palm Bay, Melbourne, Rockledge, and Cocoa and fill up the roads; and she does not envy the Board.  She stated The Viera Company’s lawyer said if the Board does not approve the transmittal or the DRI, they will not build houses, but will continue to keep the land as agricultural land; and recommended stopping now and leaving the land alone as agricultural.  She stated the Board has put staff through months of work; and she wonders how much money the County has spent on staff to go through the DRI’s that have given them gridlock.  She stated some people say if the Board does not approve the DRI, The Viera Company will sell the land off helter skelter and it will be developed; but if there are no roads, the County will not issue building permits; and inquired what person in their right mind would buy land that cannot be developed because there are no roads.  Ms. Busick stated if the Board would like some data, she would like to comment about what it is that staff wants that it does not have now; and advised if it is not defined now, they will not be able to get it because the past is upon them.  She stated past Commissions have approved the DRI’s; and they have resulted in gridlock.  She stated the County’s transportation consultants are leery of the traffic model that The Viera Company uses; the internal capture rate is totally inaccurate; and she was shocked today to hear the staff of one of the Commissioners say they had never heard before that the internal capture rate was flawed.  She stated she heard 38%, but it could be 11% to 17%; and it is flawed.  She stated the people work somewhere else; service people come in; and therefore the Cities of Rockledge and Melbourne are bedroom communities.  She stated Ms. Dittmer was too polite; and if she was the City of Melbourne, she would be furious at the road infrastructure problems the City has.  She stated she went to the Viera Realty Company acting like she was going to buy some land; she got a fancy folder; and it says there will be traffic relief, and that over $50 million in road improvements will be funded by The Viera Company, including improvements to Wickham Road, Viera Boulevard, Murrell Road, Fiske Boulevard, Washingtonia Extension, and the Pineda Interchange.  She stated it looks pretty on paper; people will think they are going to fix Wickham Road all the way down; but it only applies to the land from Murrell Road to Shoppes Drive.  She stated in the last DRI, the company said it would pay $2.6 million; the County was not smart enough to say “based on current costs”; and the County has to foot the bill that is now $8 to $10 million difference.  She stated that is her big concern; and commented on the amount that The Viera Company promises versus what will be needed.  She inquired why staff does not say it will not do it and ask for the $32 million that The Viera Company owes to the County besides the cumulative effect that the DRI’s have caused on the taxpayers of the County.  She commented on the federal and State government, and the widening of I-95, U.S. 1, and the S.R. 520 expansion.  She stated transportation is just horrible; until The Viera Company agrees to pay the $110 million for road improvements, the Board should not vote for transmittal; until Viera agrees to correct the internal capture rate, the Board should not transmit; and until it agrees to the correct affordable housing number, the Board should not transmit.  She stated they wanted to sell her houses that were $400,000, $500,000, $1 million, and $1.5 million; and that is not affordable housing.

 

Randy Harris, representing the Cocoa Beach Chamber of Commerce, stated he was previously the Regional Manager of City Gas Company; and as a result he had the privilege of many years of experience with The Viera Company.  He stated he found them to be solid business people, true to their work, and good stewards of the community; and The Viera Company delivers significant value to the County as demonstrated by the fact that they continue to grow in an otherwise declining market.  He stated The Viera Company has negotiated in good faith with the County and with the community; the decision before the Board is to move the process forward; The Viera Company has been the prime example of smart growth in the region; and on behalf of the Cocoa Beach Area Chamber of Commerce and the business community, he is urging the Board to transmit. 

 

Timothy Dwight stated he lives in Indian Harbour Beach; he is not a resident of Viera and does not have a business there; but he does represent several businesses through the County and quite a number of his employees do live in this area.  He stated he has talked to those employees to gauge their feelings as to the potential growth and the transmittal plan; and he felt it important to come to the Board and ask that the plan be transmitted.  Mr. Dwight stated the growth opportunities are done in a wonderful manner; and commented on the preservation, the wilderness park, and the controlled growth.  He stated having growth done haphazardly one step at a time would not compare with the opportunities that the plan proposes; he has watched the controlled growth of Viera; and he loves what has gone on in Viera.  He stated people who have partnered with The Viera Company have done very well; they have received a lot of support; and everything has been done in a quality fashion.  He stated he speaks for many in the small business community in Brevard County; this is the kind of future growth they would like to be part of; and they would like to have the opportunities to be a part of the future in such a controlled wonderful fashion. 

 

Jim McKnight, representing the City of Rockledge, stated he does not think anybody is questioning or should question the character of the Duda family or The Viera Company; they have been open in all of the negotiations, discussions, and planning; and Steve Johnson and Tracy Duda Chapman have met with the City as recently as two weeks ago to discuss the concerns.  He stated the City has concerns; this is a development of regional impact; and they are talking about Comprehensive Plan transmittal, which is a multi-layered process.  He stated they will be talking about it more, but it is important to get it right.  He stated he has been involved with the process with Viera since the inception in 1989 because Rockledge is part of that; and the Rockledge City Council has two concerns about the project and the regional nature of it.  He stated The Viera Company believes this is not sprawl, but it is sprawl; Rockledge in the central area and Melbourne and Palm Bay are in the southern area; Viera is a major area being built between the central and southern area; and everything wants to connect.  He stated that is the reality; and they are dealing with sprawl whether they want to admit it or not; but at the same time the important thing is what issues are necessary to get it right.  He stated the biggest negative of the Viera development program has been related to transportation facilities and affordable housing; and Ms. Dittmer of Melbourne expressed it well that the Viera development has contributed substantially to the problems, of which the Barnes Boulevard moratorium is one.  He stated by their own admission The Viera Company has used flawed internal capture rates for traffic; and inquired if the company thinks the residents do not leave the area to work, shop, and recreate or that people do not come to Viera to shop because they do.  He stated there are government services in the area as well as stadiums, parks, and other amenities; and Viera is not an island but is part of the Brevard County community.  He stated the City has seen a list relative to transportation improvements; and inquired why Barnes Boulevard is not on that list and if that means the Board is saying it is 100% funded.  He stated Rockledge is not just touching Viera; Viera is a part of Rockledge in the amount of 275 acres; so Rockledge is the most affected city, even more than Melbourne when it comes to certain improvements.  He inquired why a major corridor is and evacuation route not on the list unless the Board saying it is 100% funded.  He stated there are other roads such as Fiske Boulevard, Murrell Road, and U.S. 1 that are pipelines to Viera; and there are other roads that have been identified that are not included on the list.  He stated he grew up on Duda property; the Tucker family was the first family he met when he moved to Brevard County in the late 1950’s; and as a child he spent time on the property that the Government Center sits on today, so he has seen the change.  He stated change is real; they are going to see change; and the question is what the impacts are going to be beyond Viera.  He commented on Fiske Boulevard having three school zones for which the City pays eight people as crossing guards; and stated it is a major pipeline into Viera.  He requested the Board make sure, as it moves through the process, that there is a firm commitment for the critical off-Viera improvements that will be needed for the County.  Mr. McKnight stated The Viera Company has also failed to provide affordable housing; there have been discussions with the company on this issue; and they are waiting to see what it is really going to mean and what the standard is.  He stated all the City is asking is that East and West Viera provide their fair share; and the County has Ordinances on that as well.  He stated they need a firm plan of understanding; Mr. Woodson may be right that they are not at that stage yet; and he understands The Viera Company’s concerns about the multi-layers they are going through.  He stated there will be opportunities to comment on this and make further input; the City will be there throughout the process; but they are trying to make sure these things are known upfront so The Viera Company understands what the concerns are.  He stated that is why The Viera Company has come to the City on multiple occasions; it wants to know the concerns of the adjoining communities; and Rockledge is an adjoining community.  He stated it is true that a transmittal hearing is not an adoption hearing; however, in Rockledge it is customary to work out the fine details prior to submittal of a Comprehensive Plan amendment.  He stated a DRI is a different animal than a 100-acre annexation or something like that; more eyes will look at it when it is transmitted; however, Brevard County will suffer the consequences if it is not done right.  He stated there are still a lot of conceptuals; there are still great concerns as to the transportation funding plan; and right now they are talking about an impact plan, which is the two pages of lists showing the impact as far as dollars.  He stated he has had heartburn about the impacts that Viera has created on the City in the way of roadways; and Rockledge would like to get it right this time around.  He stated there is that opportunity; they are not saying anything about Viera’s internal planner; having a blank sheet of paper like Viera was a wonderful thing; and from the standpoint of the type of development the company has done, it has done a great job.  He stated there are two great golf courses; but at the same time, there is a responsibility beyond the Viera community to the surrounding areas that are impacted, which is why it is called a development of regional impact.  He stated the City of Rockledge stands ready to work with Viera and the County; and they want to get it right because they have that responsibility to all the citizens of the County.   

 

Chairman Scarborough inquired if Mr. McKnight or his staff had an opportunity to meet with Dyer Riddle on some of the findings; with Mr. McKnight responding they have had meetings with County staff, but not Dyer Riddle.  Chairman Scarborough stated that is critical; with Mr. McKnight responding he understands.  Chairman Scarborough stated the devil is in the details; and there are a lot of details that have not been addressed this afternoon.  Mr. McKnight stated he is hoping as they move through the process, they will have that opportunity.  Chairman Scarborough reiterated it is critical; many times they have talked about how cities impact the County; Viera is a reverse case; and this has put the Cities of Rockledge and Melbourne in a reactionary mode.  He stated it impacts the cities’ capacity for what they may want to be in the future; and they cannot be good neighbors and ignore those facts.  Mr. McKnight stated the City appreciates that; and at some point he would like an answer about whether Barnes Boulevard is 100% funded or needs to be part of the list.  .    

 

Robert Usherson stated he is a new resident of the County; and he was encouraged by what he just heard about providing staff with additional assistance to review this.  He noted he does not have an in-depth understanding of the Comprehensive Plan of the County or its procedures; but he is concerned that what he sees and reads is pushing something ahead of the information on which a fully informed decision could be made for a significant expansion like this.  He stated he was encouraged to hear that the Board is on top of the important issues; and he agrees that Viera has been developed in a beautiful fashion.  Mr. Usherson stated the land planning is exemplary; and advised he was a land planner for 30 years, but is retired.  He stated pushing a DRI and a Comprehensive Plan amendment at the same time will put the Board and staff on a rigid calendar; as the attorney for the applicant indicated, it is a jigsaw puzzle; and all of the pieces fit together very tightly so it is hard to wiggle them around as they move forward.  He advised transmittal will put pressure on the Board and staff as this comes to a culmination in August; and to transmit without having the data and analysis that the Administrative Code requires is a very risky step to take.  He stated when he took a cursory look at this, he was looking for arterials and north/south arterials other than I-95 or Wickham Road; and he did not see any.  He stated he is aghast to contemplate further westward expansion without north/south thoroughfares; everything is either going to have to  move onto I-95 or Wickham Road; and the effort to expand I-95 is being deferred due to lack of funding.  He stated he read that Wickham Road had moratorium issues because of development commitments along that corridor; and he learned that there is not a thoroughfare plan to accommodate further expansion of the development of regional impact.  He stated it may be premature to transmit before there is even an idea of how things will be solved without putting traffic on existing roadway; when I-95 shuts down, north/south travel in the County is shut down; and given the geography of the County, without alternative corridors this is a significant Comprehensive Plan decision.  He stated site planning does not seem to be a big issue; The Viera Company does beautiful site planning; what he has seen of the new expansion area site plan is even better with a lot of good urban qualities; but this is a Comprehensive Plan issue at this point, not a site plan issue.  He stated the Board should at least understand what the solutions are before locking into a site plan issue; and reiterated he was encouraged to see that there is to be additional assistance for staff. 

 

Mary Sphar, representing Sierra Club, Turtle Coast Group, stated she would like to comment on some remarks by Mr. Woodson regarding the memorandum from Ernest Brown to Steve Swanke, dated February 12; there seems to be a major miscommunication on the friendly amendments that Mr. Brown submitted; and it was her understanding and Mr. Brown’s that The Viera Company’s language and the language submitted by staff meant the same thing.  She stated the intent was supposed to be the same; but they have moved from the olives and pimentos on the left hand side of Mr. Woodson’s slide to the four intact olives and one pimento on the right hand side, in the opinion of her and Mr. Brown, so there is a miscommunication on that, which hopefully will be resolved.  She stated the conservation organizations including the Sierra Club, the Audubon, Florida Native Plant Society, and the Partnership for a Sustainable Future have been meeting with The Viera Company and staff to resolve differences over the Comprehensive Plan amendments; and they have reached an acceptable compromise on most issues.  She stated there are three issues that need to be resolved today or targeted for further work; and they are the lack of preservation requirements in the amendment text for the Viera development and other future large scale developments on agriculture lands, the size of the upland buffer for the new conservation area comprised of wetlands near I-95, and the wording of the wetlands policy 5.2.3.1.c, which Mr. Brown tried to resolve in his memorandum.  She stated all the information The Viera Company has provided might give the false impression that the Comprehensive Plan amendment contains a requirement for preserving a certain acreage or percentage of land; but the Comprehensive Plan amendment text says nothing about acreage or percentage of land to be preserved.  She stated those statistics are in the backup information provided by The Viera Company; and this needs to change.  She stated the Comprehensive Plan amendment should take the lead in stating requirements for preservation; putting preservation requirements in the text amendments should pose no problem for The Viera Company; but it will not happen unless the Board insists on it.  Ms. Sphar stated The Viera Company may be agreeable; but the Board is the one that is going to have to ask for preservation requirements in the Comprehensive Plan.  She stated to its credit, The Viera Company is coupling urban centers in cluster development with large contiguous conservation in rural areas; other similar projects to develop agricultural areas should also be required to preserve a large percentage of land; and the regional How Shall We Grow? initiative concluded that people do not want to continue the present pattern of sprawling development, and citizens much prefer future growth to be concentrated in urban centers so that important natural areas can be preserved.  She stated the Board has the opportunity to ensure that all large scale urban development of agricultural lands is coupled with significant land preservation; and it can add language to Viera’s text amendment today to spell out preservation requirements for all large scale mixed use development in the County.  She stated the second issue that needs to be resolved involves the upland buffer size for wetlands that will be preserved near I-95; and Karina Veaudry of the Florida Native Plant Society will address it.  She stated the third issue is Policy 5.2.e.1.c; and staff’s alternate friendly amendment best ties Policy 5.2.e.1.a and 5.2.e.1.c together.  She noted much progress has been made on conservation issues in the Viera Comprehensive Plan amendments, but three unresolved issues remain; and requested the Board take action today to solve the three issues.

 

Karina Veaudry, representing the Florida Native Plant Society and many citizens who promote preservation of native ecosystems, stated the second issue that Ms. Sphar just addressed is preservation of an upland buffer or ecosystem protection; and requested the wetland upland ecosystem combination be considered by the Board at this level.  She stated a lot of times things get lost down the road; but this is very important.  She stated this is the only treed ecosystem in the DRI area that is on the property outside of the ranch lands and sod farms that have already altered the landscape; The Viera Company is proposing a nice plan of parks and connectivity with parks to be built essentially after development; but once ecosystems are gone, they are gone and cannot be re-created.  She stated it is important to make it definitive that this will happen and the ecosystem will be preserved; it is teeming with birds and wildlife; and it is connected to a large wetland system that is going to be part of the conservation.  She stated ecologically speaking, wetlands function with their upland counterparts; uplands and wetlands work together to function properly; The Viera Company is proposing a 50-foot buffer, which would be a strip around the wetlands; and what her group is proposing can be seen from the aerial views.  She stated there is a print of a treed upland area around the wetlands, which are in the center; and recommended preserving the whole thing in its entirety to give it the respect it needs.  She stated the location is beneficial for this because it is not in the middle of the DRI development urban centers; it is off to the side adjacent to I-95; and it would be easier to preserve in the mix of the development.  She noted the wilderness area is a lot of acreage set aside for conservation; but what a lot of people do not realize is that a lot of that acreage is already required mitigation for all of the wetlands that will be developed.  She stated the idea is it is not economically feasible to preserve all the wetlands in the DRI area; so they are going to develop over all of them and then provide mitigation in the conservation wilderness park corridor, which is a good idea; but some of the acreage in the wilderness park is not pristine ecosystem.  She requested the Board look at the huge development and realize what a jewel is there; stated it is an upland/wetland combination of a pristine ecosystem that has made it through to today; and it is the only thing out there.  Ms. Veaudry requested the Board direct staff to work with The Viera Company and the environmental groups to make this a reality. 

 

Maureen Rupe, representing the Partnership for a Sustainable Future, stated the group has been meeting with The Viera Company for five or six months now; and thanked the company and its consultants for their willingness to solve some of the problems in a pleasant manner.  She advised there are still issues on the table; nobody can deny it is a great concept; and she wishes it had been done a long time ago in the County.  She stated her biggest concern is the issue of guarantees that conservation areas will be protected in perpetuity; during the early meetings The Viera Company always referred to the conservation areas as having protection; Mr. Woodson reiterated it today; and much that was agreed to by the environmental community was dependent on protection of this large acreage of land for future generations.  She stated Steve Johnson wrote a guest column in the Florida TODAY newspaper referring to the great achievement of protecting the environment for the future; and they assumed throughout the meetings that there would be changes in the Comprehensive Plan Future Land Use Element requiring Viera and any other large development to guarantee the preservation.  She stated otherwise conservation areas should not be considered anything other than a development savings account with the villages scattered so there would be potential sprawl; West Viera is a 20-year plan; the current Board will not be seated in 20 years; and a future Board may only be thinking of increasing the tax base, especially if one State legislative proposal goes into effect such that property tax increases can only be based on the number of new buildings generated within a city or county.  She stated it is imperative that there is a guarantee in writing in the Comprehensive Plan’s Future Land Use Element; and no reasonable person would think this request was unreasonable. 

 

Doug Sphar, representing Sierra Club and Coalition of Partners, stated the environmental community supports the form of development proposed for West Viera; it should be the model for future land scale developments in the region; and the development forms clusters of development into walkable communities while preserving large swaths of environmentally sensitive land.  He stated the environmental community has experienced good dialogue with The Viera Company and with the consultant, Glatting Jackson, on the conservation issues that surround West Viera; the Natural Resources Management Office has also been a partner in that dialogue; and thanked both groups for their time and support.  He advised the handout shows the three unresolved conservation issues along with potential solutions; and these issues could easily be resolved today as part of this hearing.  He stated the Board has heard others comment on suggestions on how to resolve the issues; and recommended the Board work today to close out the concerns of the environmental community, and then worry about traffic. 

 

Dan Evans, Evans Butler Realty, stated he is present to express support for the transmittal of the Comprehensive Plan amendments to the State; he is active in the business of attracting employers to the County; he finds himself very impressed with what Viera has done; and his prospects agree when they see a master plan community that is as planned and executed as well as Viera.  He stated the Board normally does not have opportunities to see such a gigantic impact; and he applauds the past efforts of the Board as well as what it has ahead of it in the future.  He stated Viera is a focal point of the community; it has very adequately addressed some aesthetic concerns, economic concerns, and environmental concerns; and he hopes the process can move forward and have a continued dialogue, because of the standards required and the development of regional impact.  Mr. Evans stated he hopes the community’s support for moving this to the State will be honored.

 

Billy Joe Brewer stated he has a business in the County, Brewer Paving and Development; he lives in Merritt Island; and he is not just recommending the Board get the transmittal to the Department of Community Affairs quickly, but he will have someone take it up.  He stated they need jobs; everyone in the County has seen the downturn in the economy; in the construction industry the recession started in June 2007; and they saw the downturn start in September 2006.  He stated the DRI will help everyone; they have reduced their forces from 130 to 53 since January 2007 due to lack of work; his company only works in Brevard County; and most of the Board has known him for many years.  He stated he was in the County in the late 1980’s when there was a small downturn in the economy; and the one thing they said was they needed jobs.  He stated it will not just bring construction jobs; and commented on the effect on purchases of small goods, groceries, clothing, and fuel when people are not working.  He stated people said it was just affecting the housing industry; but now everyone in every aspect of life is affected.  He stated they can pray, which will help; but they have to get out and create jobs.  He stated the Board and staff know what to do about the environment; he had the good fortune to be on the property with Joseph and Ferdinand Duda back in the beginning; and not once did they suggest he come on a weekend to fill a swamp so they could build because they want things to be here for their grandchildren.  He stated those are the type of people the Board is dealing with; they need to try to move forward; and they need to get the transmittal to the Department of Community Affairs as soon as possible so they can try to stimulate the economy as much as possible. 

 

 

The meeting recessed at 3:17 p.m. and reconvened at 3:36 p.m.

 

 

Chairman Scarborough stated he has asked Mr. Woodson to come back up because his perception of where they are in the process with the transmittal is important; and Mr. Woodson’s belief is that transmittal in no way defines what is ultimately approved.  Mr. Woodson advised that is correct.  Chairman Scarborough stated what the Board transmits can be augmented by additional technical research, discussion on environmental issues, and all the other issues; with Mr. Woodson agreeing.  Chairman Scarborough requested Mr. Denninghoff introduce the consultants from Dyer Riddle Mills & Precourt, Inc. (DRMP). 

 

Transportation Engineering Director John Denninghoff stated two experts from the firm of DRMP who have acted as the County’s consultants in the review of the transportation aspect of the application for the last several months are present; and they have a series of comments that they want to make with respect to the application. 

 

Robert Rutledge stated he is the transportation planning manager for DRMP; and also present is Richard Rank who is the traffic operations engineer.  He stated he is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners; and Mr. Rank is a licensed professional engineer.  He advised he sits on the Florida Model Task Force and on the Model Advancement Subcommittee of the Florida Model Task Force; and that is why Brevard County asked them to review the traffic impact study prepared for Viera DRI substantial deviation number two.  Mr. Rutledge stated there are four major areas of concern with the study as presented; and the first is reducing the approved phase three buildout to the year 2010.  He stated the existing development order has an approved phase three buildout year of 2020; the applicant is requesting a new buildout year of 2010 for phase three; the Florida Statutes allow an approved development phase to be extended by seven years before it is presumed to become a substantial deviation; and reducing the phase three buildout to 2010 will enable the Viera DRI to extend phase three to year the year 2017 while only analyzing phase three impacts to the year 2010.  He stated the second concern was the traffic simulation model developed for the study, which projects the future traffic impacts on existing and proposed roadways in the study area; there were issues with the traffic simulation model as presented in that the model included multiple roadway segments that do not exist and are not included in the Capital Improvements Program as funded projects; and that thereby would provide greater capacity than is actually available.  He stated at the first submittal Mr. Kamm of the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) requested the traffic consultant perform a mini-calibration on Wickham Road because the MPO knew from the last validation of the Brevard County model that Wickham Road did not accurately simulate existing traffic; and additional origin-destination surveys were requested to justify the high rate of internal capture used in the study; but neither were provided.  He stated they were able to resolve the modeling issues for this particular traffic study, knowing that County staff will make sure that these and other modeling issues are addressed in the monitoring reports that will be required in the new development order.  He stated the third concern was the mitigation program proposed for the impacts generated by the addition of phase three development to the existing approved phases one and two-A; there is an issue with the actual list of roadway and intersection improvements required by the approval of phase three of the Viera DRI; the applicant’s initial proposed mitigation was approximately $56 million with $20 million of that going to the Washingtonia extension; but DRMP’s initial mitigation requirements total $110 million, assuming the Washingtonia extension was already built, since it was included as an existing roadway in the traffic study.  He noted DRMP was brought in at the very end of this on the day the second sufficiency was submitted; the second sufficiency is generally the end of the review period for a DRI application for development approval; and there were other estimates before that; but the first one that DRMP saw and reviewed was the one he is speaking of.  He stated the fourth issue is the cost estimates prepared for the proposed roadway improvements and intersection improvements; a large portion of the difference in the proposed mitigation involves the cost estimates used fro the construction of roadways and intersections; and there are many variables that need to be considered in construction costs besides the cost of just laying the pavement.  He stated some are difficult to determine such as business damages along Wickham Road and utility relocations; these are costs that generally cannot be determined until the design phase; and cost estimates are still an issue, but can be dealt with in a way that will assure fair cost estimates will be prepared at the time the developer will pay the construction costs.  He stated there is language in the Florida Statutes that could be used in the development order, which says, “The developer will pay the construction costs at the time of payment.”  He stated the most recent list of needed roadway improvements addresses impacts of phase three and the requirements that would become part of the development order; and the Viera DRI will be a good neighbor and asset to the County.  He stated with the information they have they will be able to work out the related issues to the impacts of phase three and the corresponding mitigation program. 

 

Chairman Scarborough stated this is not closing the door; he always says the devil is in the details; and the Board will be able to go to those devils and weed them out as it employs DRMP to provide additional information.  He stated he wanted to move expeditiously; but he does not know how the rest of the Board feels.  He stated they have 6,000 units; but the total buildout is just under 30,000 units, which is a fivefold increase; and he cannot tell the Board what Barnes Boulevard or Wickham Road will look like, but they will be different.  He stated they do not have a crystal ball; but with the window being open and the methodologies that are being suggested, he is trying to work a thought process for transmittal without selling the County short because this project will absorb every road dollar in the County.  He stated it will not just be a problem on Wickham Road, but it will be a problem to meet the needs throughout the County, although the current Commissioners will probably be at the happy hunting grounds for Commissioners at that time.  He suggested getting a scope of services; stated DRMP did not do what it would have done if it were doing it originally; and there may be other things that they would look at beyond what was presented if they were looking at it anew.  Mr. Rutledge advised he would have prepared it differently.  Chairman Scarborough stated the Board does not want to restrict DRMP; it wants to get the company on board quickly; and there may be some things that Mr. Woodson or Mr. Swanke wish to readdress. 

 

Mr. Swanke stated staff is looking for some direction in terms of whether or not the Board wants to add performance standards to the affordable housing policy language and what it wants to do in terms of the environmental language. 

 

Chairman Scarborough inquired if the Board can transmit and leave the door open or does it have to hammer those out this afternoon.  County Attorney Scott Knox stated based on Viera’s representations and on a motion that would be qualified, the Board can transmit, it will come back, and the Board can work on the same issues again.  He reiterated that is the case as long as the Board makes sure the motion reflects that. 

 

Commissioner Nelson stated a lot of what has been heard are still concerns, but they are not necessarily concerns associated with the transmittal; and if the Board can come up with a motion or appropriate methodology to create the transmittal but preserve the ability to continue to work through the issues, which The Viera Company already committed to, then he would be supportive of that.  He stated there would be an understanding that the issues have not gone away and the Board would make sure it did not lose any of its ability to deal with those issues.  He stated for the second part, he and Mr. Swanke talked in terms of the timing issue because there was some concern related to time for approval; but because this is a DRI process, the time constraints do not apply.  Mr. Swanke advised that is correct; under ordinary circumstances the local government has 60 days after receipt of the Objections, Recommendations, and Comments Report to adopt or not adopt the proposed amendment; but when it is associated with a DRI, there is no time limit.  Commissioner Nelson inquired if it is fair to say the Board would move along in a timely fashion but would not be constrained to a specific statutory timeframe; with Mr. Swanke responding that is correct. 

 

Commissioner Bolin stated they have come a long way; and commended staff for the long hours of work and The Viera Company for its cooperation.  She stated there are a couple of issues that she would like to address; and one of them was mentioned by Chairman Scarborough.  She stated DRMP has been essential to helping understand the entire process of the road situation; they have also helped The Viera Company work forward; and having the consultant continue with the County is going to be vital to having a smooth transition.  Commissioner Bolin inquired if The Viera Company would assist the County as far as the funding of the consultants as they go forward.  She stated that is one of the items she would like to have answered before the Board goes forward; and the second thing is the letter from February 27.  She requested a paragraph be clarified; stated it says, “The Viera Company agrees that the issues to be resolved before the development order shall include consideration of an adjustment mechanism to assure the amount is proportionate share”; and she would like to remove the words, “consideration of.”  She stated she wants to make sure that The Viera Company gets all the impact credits it is due and wants to feel secure that the citizens of Brevard County will receive all they are due in the proportionate shares of the impact as far as the roads.

 

Commissioner Colon stated one thing that Mr. McKnight hit on which is important is that what the Board is looking at is huge; it has nothing to do with how anyone feels about The Viera Company or the Duda family, which is a family of integrity; and the Duda family’s commitment to the community goes without saying.  She stated thanks to the Duda family there is a beautiful community with incredible planning; and she wants to make sure the record is straight because that is not even in question.  She stated she was part of the Growth Management Coalition, which was put together by the cities and the county; and one of the things it focused on was not just looking at one community without looking at the regional impact.  She stated two years ago she made it perfectly clear to the previous Board, when the last transmittal was presented by The Viera Company that she did not approve.  She stated the vote was four to one; and the concerns she had then are the same that she has now.  She stated time was of the essence back then; and she had a problem with that because just because it is an emergency on someone else’s end, it is not an emergency for the Board.  She stated the kind of planning done by the Board will have ramifications ten, twenty, or forty years from now; so when the Board makes these kinds of decisions, it cannot be rushed.  She stated she was under the impression that the Board was supposed to have a workshop on this item, but that did not happen; and the next thing she knew this was on the agenda and the Board is going forward.  She stated she made it clear that Melbourne and Rockledge had to be part of the discussion; she shared with The Viera Company that she could not meet with them unless Melbourne and Rockledge were at the same table; and she wants to make sure that when The Viera Company says everything is okay with the municipalities that are affected that is the case.  She stated The Viera Company has met with the cities time and time again; but there is a still a great deal of concern; and the biggest concern is the burden to the transportation system.  She stated it is definitely a regional impact; that is what the Board will be focusing on in terms of the transportation flow that goes from north to south; everything right now flows to Viera Boulevard, Wickham Road, or Barnes Boulevard; and that is not acceptable.  She stated they need to make sure that everything is spelled out correctly, and that they are not assuming that Washingtonia and the other roads are already considered before the case.  She stated they talked about the impact plan; it gives the things that they are looking at prior to submittal, which must be worked out; and the Board should not vote today, but should hit the brakes.  She stated the Board absolutely should not transmit today; it is premature; and there should be workshops.  She stated every time this has been continued, and that is fine; she does not mind looking at this scenario; but she would have preferred for this to be workshopped so everyone could share their concerns.  She stated there must be a firm commitment in regard to what the County is going to see from The Viera Company; they have done it in the past; and she wants to see it now.  She stated when she came to sit on the Board eight years ago, she had great concerns about the kind of growth she was seeing; the Board has done tremendous scrutiny of fellow communities such as Melbourne, Rockledge, Cocoa, Titusville, and Palm Bay; and the Board has always had tremendous concerns when the municipalities have transmitted anything to DCA, so this is not any different.  Commissioner Colon stated the Board has put Titusville, Cocoa, and Palm Bay through this kind of scrutiny; time and time again it has hit the brakes on Palm Bay; and as this project is under the County’s jurisdiction, it must be under that same kind of scrutiny.  She stated it should not be treated any differently; if anything, this is even more of a concern because of where it is located and the kind of impact that it would cause regionally; and therefore, the Board needs to rely on the professionals.  She stated The Viera Company has always been very cooperative and would not have a problem with this; and she hopes there is no rush on this.  She stated the ramifications are huge; the present Commissioners may no longer be on the Board when this is happening; but they want to be able to be proud.  She stated the Duda family would want things to be done the right way; that is the kind of family they are; and that is why she has a great deal of respect for them and admiration for what they have done in the community.  She stated folks know she is a straight shooter and tells it like it is although it might not be what folks want to hear; but when it comes to the Duda family, she is extremely respectful and admires them greatly.  She stated if there is any motion today regarding transmitting, she will be voting to deny it as she has in the past because it should not be rushed.  She stated she does not mind looking at this with all the right numbers and the right data in the future; and possibly she could change her vote if she had that comfort level; but at this moment, it would be impossible to support something of this magnitude.  She stated she hopes that folks understand this is a huge undertaking; and it must be taken very slowly and seriously. 

 

Commissioner Voltz stated there have been a number of issues identified; Commissioner Nelson mentioned the Board would transmit outlining the issues that need to be identified; and they are transportation, environment, and affordable housing specifically.  She stated when Palm Bay transmitted, it had a huge Comprehensive Plan change; and the Board did send a letter identifying some concerns.  She stated Melbourne and Rockledge need to do the same thing; the County has the same concerns as those municipalities; and if this was a final and those issues had not been addressed yet, she would have to vote no; but there is time.  She stated this has not been overnight; it has been a couple of years; when she was Chair a couple of years ago she appointed former Commissioner Sue Carlson to the Regional Planning Council because she thought this was going to come up under her term; but Commissioner Carlson is gone and now she is serving on the Regional Planning Council, so this has not happened overnight.  She reiterated this has been a long process for everybody involved; issues have been identified that definitely need to be taken care of; and they are not supporting transmittal thinking everything has been taken care of because it has not.  She stated there are several issues that need to be addressed; the three issues that have been identified are transportation, environmental, and housing; and there are 120 days before the Board hears the final.  Commissioner Nelson advised there is no time limit.  Commissioner Voltz stated she was looking at the timeframe The Viera Company gave as far as transmittal, which says March for the transmittal hearing, two months for report from DCA, then July for the LPA, and August for the Board to hear it again; and there is time to work out all the issues with the consultants.  Mr. Swanke stated if they are going to adhere to the schedule that was put forth this afternoon, the Board would have that amount of time.  Commissioner Voltz stated the Board does not have to have the final hearing until all the issues are addressed; with Mr. Swanke advising that is correct.  Commissioner Voltz stated she wanted to put on the record that the Board is not going to be looking at final transmittal until those issues are addressed, so she does not think the Board needs to stop the transmittal.  She stated when Palm Bay did its huge transmittal, there were several people who wanted the Board to stop the transmittal, but it could not do that; but it did write a letter; and suggested Rockledge and Melbourne may need to do the same thing. 

 

Commissioner Nelson stated he also sits on the Regional Planning Council; when the Palm Bay changes came before the Regional Planning Council, it went over it with a fine-tooth comb and came up with a lot of things that even the Board had not addressed; and sometimes it is possibly to play with something long enough that it breaks it.  He stated the Board has been working on this and will continue to work on it; but there would be some benefit to having comments from the DCA and Regional Planning Council to also look at as part of the process.  He stated a workshop may be appropriate based on what the comments are so he is not saying that the Board should not necessarily have a workshop; but having the comments in hand would be beneficial.  He stated the Board has two members on the Regional Planning Council; the cities can certainly attend the meetings; and he would encourage them to go to the Regional Planning Council and make their comments.  He stated that is a normal part of the process; this is far from being rushed; and he wants to make sure the Board understands that there is not a statutory timeline.  He stated the Board is going to do this in a timely fashion based on how the information evolves as opposed to having to vote yes or not or make changes at some point in time.     

 

Commissioner Bolin stated one of the good things that would happen if this was transmitted is that other agencies would be looking at it and giving input; it will be going before the Department of Community Affairs, Department of Transportation, the East Coast Regional Planning Council, and other agencies that want to look at it; and she wants to get their input because she wants to get this right.  She stated the Board needs extra eyes assisting on that; and that is why she is supporting the transmittal.

 

Commissioner Colon stated she respects where the other Commissioners are coming from; but there are 10,000 homes that are going to be put in; and for the Board to explain that to the community, it needs to go through scrutiny.  She stated Commissioner Bolin mentioned having The Viera Company help pay the tab; and she would be totally against that because whoever holds the purse is who is in charge of the consultants.  She stated the Board does not want to give the perception to the community that the consultants are under The Viera Company because they are paying the bill.  She stated that is also good for the consultants because they do not want that kind of scrutiny; and they need to make sure there is complete independence.

 

Chairman Scarborough stated he had a conversation with Mr. Denninghoff; they are talking about tens of millions of dollars; and $100,000 is nothing.  He stated the Board does not want to be beholden to The Viera Company for how much it is willing to pay the consultant; if it is $100,000 and as they get into it they need another $50,000 because they find things, he needs to be able to come to the Board and say another $50,000 is needed; and if this is done right, the County will be right, but if it is done wrong, Brevard County will be wrong.  He stated Brevard County will be what this is; the decision will define the County in 30 years; and it is an important decision.    

 

Commissioner Bolin stated the consultants are straight shooting guys; and she does not think who is paying or assisting with the money has any bearing on their professional attitude. 

 

Commissioner Colon stated it is not so much that; the County has used DRMP before; but it is the perception in the community.  She stated in government they must keep the difference; if The Viera Company wanted to pay, that would be wonderful; but the Board needs to have the objectivity that only comes from the County paying.  She stated this is a huge project; anything the Board decides is either going to be something the community is proud of or people will be looking to see who was sitting on the Board in 2008; she has looked to see who was on the Board when a certain thing was approved; and that is the kind of thing that is so important.  She commented on the benefit of having experts to help the Board figure out this huge task.   

 

Commissioner Bolin inquired if the Board needs to discuss approving the expenditure. 

 

Chairman Scarborough stated the board needs a scope of service; and they may get it to the Board at the Zoning meeting on Thursday night.  He stated he wants to get the consultants on Board as rapidly as possible; and inquired if Mr. Woodson wants to weigh in. 

 

Mr. Woodson stated he would like to respond to some of the comments.  He stated Commissioner Bolin asked specifically about the February 27 letter from Steve Johnson; and she requested deletion of the word “consideration” in reference to an adjustment mechanism for cost in the future.  He stated if that would make the Board more comfortable, that would not be a problem.  He stated the Board also heard Commissioner Bolin ask that The Viera Company help pay for the consultant as they move forward; the Board then heard Commissioner Colon ask that The Viera Company not pay for that; and they would be happy to meet with Commissioner Bolin and staff to figure out what the Viera contribution should be.  He stated there were some environmental issues that were left dangling as both Commissioner Voltz and Commissioner Nelson mentioned; he is working off a sheet that was passed out by the environmental community; The Viera Company has enjoyed working with the environmental folks; and some of their suggestions have improved the project.  He stated The Viera Company is committed to working with the environmental community as well as Mr. Brown; and they are in agreement that for purposes of transmittal, they will leave out the policy language in Policies 92 and 5.2, with the commitment that The Viera Company will continue to work with the environmental groups and staff so that language can be incorporated in the final version of the Comprehensive plan for the Board’s consideration, whenever that may come up.  He stated that addresses each of the issues including the issue of the buffer zone for what is now being referred to wetland number one. 

 

Commissioner Nelson inquired if that is acceptable.  Mary Sphar advised the environmental group would rather have it resolved now before transmittal.

 

Chairman Scarborough stated the question is whether the Board is going to try to resolve things; if it is, he is going to weigh in more with Commissioner Colon because he does not think this is the way to make things work; and there are time limitations.  Ms. Sphar advised she understands.  Chairman Scarborough stated the Board really does not get to the bottom of things when a person only gets three minutes to talk; and inquired if they are going to keep the door open to all of these issues with the understanding that there is no promise of approval. 

 

Chairman Scarborough stated this is as dead as anything is dead; the Board is just sending a dead body to the DCA; and if everybody understands that it is a dead body, it is okay; but if it is something the Board has breathed life into, then there is a problem and the Board needs to get into it.  Ms. Sphar stated that is correct.  Chairman Scarborough stated he was trying to get Mr. Knox to weigh in on this; the procedure is what is going to drive his vote; and inquired if the Board can submit with objections to the policies and the Board reserving all rights to reject if any of the issues are not resolved to the Board’s satisfaction at the time of final hearing; with Mr. Knox responding affirmatively.  Chairman Scarborough stated everything is basically clearly open; and otherwise the Board will have to resolve these things. 

 

Commissioner Voltz stated she understands that, but she thought that was what the Board was doing, sending a dead body.  Commissioner Bolin stated if they sent a dead body, then DCA can bring life to it; and a lot of things can change at that level also.

 

Chairman Scarborough stated when they submit there can be objectors from the outside; DCA objects through its Objections, Recommendations, and Comments Report; then it comes back; and the County responds to the other objectors; but the Board has never submitted something it is objecting to.  He stated the Board does not like the transmittal in its current format; and inquired how the Board says it is objecting to what it is submitting.  He stated the Board has to send it with County objections and have The Viera Company say it understands that the Board is under no legal compulsion to consider this favorably when it comes back if it is not completely happy with how things are resolved.  He stated if they are getting into resolving things now, then the Board should not submit and should beat everything out; in that case, the Board should hold off until it gets information back from the consultants; and it can submit in August.  He stated it is one way or the other; and Mr. Woodson says it is okay to submit something the Board does not like and say it is objecting to what it is submitting.           

 

Mr. Woodson stated he would like to change the analogy; he would hope the Board would be transmitting an amendment to the Comprehensive Plan that it mostly likes, but it has issues with environmental, transportation, and housing issues.  He stated that is how he would phrase it in hopes there would be life in the body as it goes forward; he fully recognizes that unless they can reach an agreement on transportation, housing, and the three environmental issues, they will not have three votes to approve this thing.  He requested the Board transmit. 

 

Chairman Scarborough stated he would like to go a bit further; the normal process is to have objections before DCA; he wants to be an objector before DCA; and he would like to have it couched in the language that Brevard county has transmitted but also Brevard county is an objector.  He inquired if Mr. Woodson understands; with Mr. Woodson responding affirmatively. 

 

Commissioner Voltz inquired if that would be the word, objector; with Chairman Scarborough responding yes, it is an objection.  Commissioner Voltz stated if the Board has not worked out the issues, but is planning to work out the issues before final adoption, she does not know if the word objection is the right word.  Chairman Scarborough stated he cannot vote for the motion unless the word objection is there; the Board has to object to DCA; that is the word that is used; and that would give the Board standing as an objector. 

 

Commissioner Bolin inquired if they are clear with Mr. Knox that there can be a motion like that; with Mr. Knox responding the Board can do that motion; but if he was going to send the motion to DCA, he would specify the particular areas that the Board is concerned about, unless the Board is objecting generally to everything.  Chairman Scarborough stated he is not trying to say that; the Board is submitting, but it is objecting to certain things, just as an objector would; and even though there is going to be a motion to go forward, it may be best to bring the language back delineating the items that the Board is going to be objecting to and how it is objecting.  Commissioner Nelson inquired if it would be appropriate to bring that back on Thursday night; with Mr. Knox responding that is fine.  Chairman Scarborough stated the Board needs to capture the environmental issues, affordable housing issues, and the transportation issues; and it needs to delineate them clearly enough and broadly enough that those are objections. 

 

Commissioner Voltz inquired if the Board will go forward today or will it wait to transmit on Thursday.  Chairman Scarborough stated there can be a motion to ask that the language be prepared for the Board’s consideration.  Mr. Knox stated before that, the Board needs to ask The Viera Company if it agrees to extend it again.  Commissioner Voltz suggested voting today and then doing the language on Thursday.  Chairman Scarborough stated the advantage to Mr. Woodson is he will get to see a little bit more of the language and how it is being put together; and suggested taking the comments that were set forth in today’s meeting and stating them as objections of the Board to DCA. 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to approve transmittal of the 2007-C Comprehensive Plan amendments to the Florida Department of Community Affairs relating to the Viera Development of Regional Impact West Expansion Area, with objections as to affordable housing issues, transportation issues, and environmental issues; and direct staff to bring back language relating to how the Board is objecting to such issues.  Motion carried and ordered.  Commissioners Scarborough, Nelson, Voltz, and Bolin voted aye; Commissioner Colon voted nay. 

 

 

Commissioner Colon stated the Board should send a clean transmittal, and should not be transmitting right now.

 

Mr. Knox stated the Board also may want to make it a point of record that it is reserving the right to come back and consider all issues when the comments come back from DCA.  Chairman Scarborough stated as part of the objection, the Board is reserving rights to deny when it comes back.  Mr. Knox advised the Board always has that right.  Chairman Scarborough directed the County Attorney to bring back whatever additional language should be included.  Mr. Knox stated the Board needs to make it clear on the record that it wants to reserve the right to consider and evaluate the issues that it has objected to during the course of the decision.  Chairman Scarborough stated they will have to be resolved to the Board’s satisfaction. 

 

Chairman Scarborough inquired if that was part of the motion; with Commissioner Voltz responding yes.  Commissioner Bolin stated it was part of her second.  Chairman Scarborough stated when he voted that was his intent.  He stated Thursday night the Board will see the scope of services.  Mr. Denninghoff stated staff will work on the scope of services and the fee associated with it; and the Board can deal with that on Thursday night, March 6, 2008. 

The meeting recessed at 4:21 p.m. and reconvened at 4:33 p.m.  

 

 

 

Chairman Scarborough called for the public hearing to consider a resolution vacating plats and/or portions of plats and rights-of-way in Scottsmoor Subdivisions, Sections 37, 40, and 41, Township 20G South, Range 34 East, as petitioned by Scottsmoor Partners.

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to continue the public hearing to consider resolution vacating plats and/or portions of plats and rights-of-way in Scottsmoor subdivisions, Sections 37, 40, and 41, Township 20G South, Range 34 East as petitioned by Scottsmoor Partners to April 1, 2008. 

 

 

Chairman Scarborough called for the public hearing to consider resolution vacating public utility easements in Barefoot Bay, Unit 2, Part 10, as petitioned by Barbara Wolpov Levy.

 

Transportation Engineering Director John Denninghoff advised there are no objections to the request.

 

There being no objections heard, motion was made by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to adopt Resolution vacation public utility easements in Barefoot Bay, Unit 2, Part 10, as petitioned by Barbara Wolpov Levy.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

Chairman Scarborough called for the public hearing to consider a resolution vacating utility easement in Viera North PUD, as petitioned by William Glover, Inc. (Margaret Campbell). 

 

Transportation Engineering Director John Denninghoff advised there are no objections to the request.

 

There being no objections heard, motion was made by Commissioner Bolin, seconded by Commissioner Voltz, to adopt Resolution vacating utility easement in Viera North PUD, as petitioned by William Glover, Inc. (Margaret Campbell).  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Transportation Engineering Director John Denninghoff stated this is an acquisition of a parcel along the Hollywood Boulevard corridor; and the Board had set aside funds for this purpose; and the owners have agreed to sell at the appraised value. 

 

Commissioner Voltz stated this is the first purchase of many, and is just the start.

 

Commissioner Bolin inquired what will be done with the structure; and inquired if it will be torn down or rented because it will be a few years before everything along this row is purchased.  Mr. Denninghoff stated the ordinary procedure would be to demolish the structure after any hazardous materials have been removed; in this case it could be a substantial period of time between now and when construction is started; so the need to demolish immediately is not as serious as it normally is; and there are options that could be considered.  He stated staff can bring options back to the Board; but not demolishing the building will incur some degree of liability that would not be there if there was no structure. 

 

Commissioner Voltz stated she talked to Mr. Denninghoff about renting the building, and he advised the County is not in the rental business, so that is not an option. 

 

Commissioner Nelson stated it may be that when the County is ready to go on the project, it would have to find other locations for the renters. 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to execute Contract for Sale and Purchase with Rogelio Calas for property in Section 7, Township 28 South, Range 37 East that is needed for the Hollywood Boulevard Widening Project.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to execute Task Order No. 07-03 with Jones Edmunds & Associates, Inc. (JEA) to prepare construction level design drawings, technical specifications, and permit applications necessary for construction of the Phase IV closure project (south slope) at the Central Disposal Facility.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Nelson, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to execute Right of Entry Agreement with Department of Air Force 45^th Space Wing for access through Patrick Air Force Base property during the Emergency Sand Berm Maintenance Project.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

   

 

Motion by Commissioner Colon, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to execute Cost Participation Agreement No. 26 for design, construction, operation, and maintenance of the C-1 Rediversion Project with St. Johns River Water Management District as required in the environmental resource permit for Max K. Rodes Park.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Commissioner Voltz stated she talked to Chief Farmer about this; many people have asked why the County does not charge an out-of-town person for response to a major accident; and taxpayers feel they are paying for out-of-town drivers who use the County’s services.  Fire Rescue Chief William Farmer advised it is a Board policy decision; but it is being done in other locations.  Chairman Scarborough requested Chief Farmer provide a report.

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to approve Legislative Intent and grant permission to advertise a public hearing to consider adoption of the proposed special operations billing ordinance; and direct Fire Rescue staff to provide a report to the Board on the possibility of charging non-residents for response to accidents.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Motion by Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to approve canceling the May 8, 2008 Government Efficiency Workshop and rescheduling it to May 13, 2008 at 9:00 a.m.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Bolin, seconded by Commissioner Voltz, to approve scheduling two Fire Assessment Consultant Workshops on March 27, 2008 at 1:00 p.m.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Nelson, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to ratify the Settlement Agreement between Brevard County and The Authorized Trustees of Marshall Lodge #292, A&A Scottish Rite of Free Masonry, Edward G. Williams, Trustee, et al, which was brought to the Board’s attention on February 19, 2008 in Executive Session.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Chairman Scarborough stated he got some information from Finance Director Steve Burdett and Assistant County Manager Stockton Whitten; with SCAT there is a move of $1 million from balance forward into operating supplies; and Mr. Burdett asked why this is being done now and why it could not be part of the discussion at mid-year.  He inquired why is a million dollars being moved at this time to a non-specific item; normally the bill folder is for defined items as they are ready to expend; but this is basically moving something that could be moved outside of a balance forward back into general revenue to help with the budget.  He advised he does not know much about it, but he did get calls; and suggested approving the bill folder without the item and getting more information. 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to approve the bills and budget changes with removal of the transfer for the Space Coast Area Transit System; and direct staff to provide more information.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

County Manager Peggy Busacca stated staff contacted everyone’s office concerning rescheduling the April 29, 2008 Space Workshop to April 28, 2008; and this date works better for Congressman Feeney as well as Senator Nelson.

 

Chairman Scarborough stated Congress is in session on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday; and if the Board holds the workshop on Monday, it may get all the Congressman to attend.  He stated there are a couple of commitments and they are working on others; they all fly out of Orlando airport in the morning, and could fly out in the afternoon.

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to approve rescheduling the Space Workshop that was scheduled for April 29, 2008 to April 28, 2008 at 9:00 a.m.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Upon motion and vote, the meeting was adjourned at 4:42 p.m.

 

 

                                                                        __________________________________

                                                                        TRUMAN SCARBOROUGH, CHAIRMAN

                                                                        BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

ATTEST:                                                         BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA

 

 

 

_____________________

SCOTT ELLIS, CLERK

   

          (S E A L)