MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA

 

August 8, 2006

 

 

 

The Board of County Commissioners of Brevard County, Florida, met in regular session on August 8, 2006, at 9:02 a.m. in the Government Center Commission Room, Building C, 2725 Judge Fran Jamieson Way, Viera, Florida.  Present were:  Chair Helen Voltz, Commissioners Truman Scarborough, Ron Pritchard, Susan Carlson, and Jackie Colon, County Manager Peggy Busacca, and County Attorney Scott Knox.

 

The Invocation was given by Pastor Jeff Peppers, North Merritt Island United Methodist Church, Merritt Island, Florida.

 

Chair Voltz led the assembly in the Pledge of Allegiance. 

 

 

 

Commissioner Carlson requested to pull Item I.A.2 for discussion.

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Pritchard, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to grant final plat approval for Daintree, Cortona, & Levanto Subdivision.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Pritchard, seconded Commissioner Carlson, to grant site plan extension for Wuestoff PSJ Clinic Expansion, with a new expiration date of February 4, 2007, in order to allow the applicant to redesign the proposed project.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Pritchard, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to grant site plan extension for Shoppes at Baytree & Wickham, with a new expiration date of January 30, 2007, in order to allow applicant to redesign the proposed project meeting the St. Johns River Water Management District and County requirements.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

Motion by Commissioner Pritchard, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to grant final plat approval for Heritage Isle Subdivision, Phase 6, subject to minor changes if necessary, receipt of all documents required for recording, and developer responsible for obtaining jurisdictional permits; and execute a Subdivision Infrastructure Contract with Lennar Homes, Inc., guaranteeing improvements in the Subdivision.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.  

 

 

                                           

Motion by Commissioner Pritchard, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to adopt Resolution releasing the Contract dated October 10, 2005 for the Fairway Lakes Subdivision.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Pritchard, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to grant final plat approval for Chelford Subdivision in Viera, subject to minor changes if necessary, receipt of all documents required for recording, and developer responsible for obtaining jurisdictional permits; and execute a Subdivision Infrastructure Contract with The Viera Company guaranteeing improvements in the Subdivision. 

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Pritchard, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to waive Section 62-2956(a)(1) to allow a 42 foot private road right-of-way with 10 feet in easements where 50 feet of right-of-way is required; Section 62-2956(a)(3) to allow a cul-de-sac diameter of 80 feet with 20  feet  in  easements  where  100   feet  is  required;   and  Section   62-2883(d) to  delete  the

requirement of the 15 foot perimeter buffer tract, for Lighthouse Cove Subdivision.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Pritchard, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to approve Legislative  Intent and grant permission to advertise a public hearing to consider an ordinance for proposed changes to Section 62-1481 and Section 62-1906 of the Zoning Regulations as they relate to
the conditional use of on-premises consumption of alcohol in the Restricted Neighborhood Commercial Zoning classification, BU-1-A.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Pritchard, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to execute a Binding Development Plan with Kabboord Properties Inc., for property located on the south side of Hall Road, 770  feet east  of  Savannahs Trail.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Pritchard, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to execute Binding Development Plan with Vineland Associates, L.L.C. (Coastal Properties/Richard Kern) for property located west of the western terminus of Clearview Drive.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Pritchard, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to execute Binding Development Plan with Daniel Wilder for property located on the southeast corner of W. New Haven  Avenue  and  City  Acres  Road.  Motion  carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Pritchard, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to execute Binding Development Plan with Carl Loggins/Theodore Rubbo for property located 200 feet north of Pluckebaum Road and 200 feet west of Range Road.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Pritchard, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to execute Binding Development Plan with Joseph Tintera for property located on the west side of U.S. 1, 700 feet south of Micco Road.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

Motion by Commissioner Pritchard, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to approve Cobblestone Subdivision to be consistent with the Binding Development Plan.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Pritchard, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to execute Addendum No. 2, Interlocal Agreement for Disaster Debris Removal, with the Town of Indialantic.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Pritchard, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to execute Amendment to Extend Right-of-way Use Agreement with The Springs of Suntree Property Owners Association, Inc. f/k/a Holiday Springs at Suntree Property Owners Association, for landscaping purposes along the sides of the streets in the premises for a ten-year period beginning   September   4,  2006.  Motion  carried  and  ordered  unanimously. 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Pritchard, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to approve the request for speed humps to be installed on Dune Lane in Cocoa.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Pritchard, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to approve the request for speed humps to be installed on Marvin Avenue in Port St. John.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Pritchard, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to approve the request for speed humps to be installed on Holden Road in Port St. John.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

Motion by Commissioner Pritchard, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to waive the Phase I Environmental Assessment, and execute Contract for Sale and Purchase and First Addendum to Contract for Sale and Purchase with Richard and Yola Migliore for Wickham Road Widening Project between Nasa Boulevard and U.S. 192.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

Motion by Commissioner Pritchard, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to approve the Temporary Construction Easement with Edmund and Barbara Terry, waive the Phase I Environmental Assessment, Deed and plat restrictions, title insurance, and all Florida Power & Light, BellSouth, and Public Utility easements for these parcels, and allow the Land Acquisition Office to order payment in the amount of $2,400.00 for this easement and conduct the closing for property needed for the Wickham Road Widening Project between Nasa Boulevard and U.S. 192.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Pritchard, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to accept Roadway, Drainage, and Public Utility Easement from John M. and Mary A. Coyle for the construction of a turnaround area at the southern terminus of Crystal Lane in Merritt Island.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Pritchard, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to waive the Phase I Environmental Assessment, and execute Contract for Sale and Purchase with Rebecca E. Talbott for Wickham Road Widening Project between Nasa Boulevard and U.S. 192.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.  

 

Motion by Commissioner Pritchard, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to approve the Temporary Construction Easement with George B. Turner, waive the Phase I Environmental Assessment, Deed and plat restrictions, title insurance, and all Florida Power & Light, BellSouth, and Public Utility easements for these parcels, and allow the Land Acquisition Office to order payment in the amount of $5,800.00 for this easement and conduct the closing for property needed for the Wickham Road Widening Project between Nasa Boulevard and U.S. 192.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.  

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Pritchard, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to approve the Temporary Construction Easement with Doris W. Striker; waive the Phase I Environmental Assessment, Deed and plat restrictions, title insurance, and all Florida Power & Light, BellSouth, and Public Utility easements for these parcels; and allow the Land Acquisition Office to order payment in the amount of $1,500.00 for this easement and conduct the closing for property needed for the Wickham Road Widening Project between Nasa Boulevard and U.S. 192. 

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Pritchard, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to approve the Temporary Construction Easement with The Ber, L.L.C., Betty E. Ranew, and MGRM; waive the Phase I Environmental Assessment, Deed and plat restrictions, title insurance, and all Florida Power & Light, Bellsouth, and Public Utility easements for these parcels; and allow the Land Acquisition Office to order payment in the amount of $11,200.00 for this easement and conduct
the closing  for property needed for the Wickham Road Widening Project between Nasa Boulevard and U.S. 192.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.  

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Pritchard, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to execute a Reclaimed Water Use Agreement with Duran Golf Club, L.L.C., for irrigation of its golf course.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

Motion by Commissioner Pritchard, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to execute the Federally-funded Sub-grant Agreement with Florida Department of Community Affairs in the amount of $243,043; approve a cash match of $44,861, and authorize the Chair to execute future  amendments  and  budget  changes,  contingent  upon  approval  of  the County Attorney

and/or Risk Management.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Pritchard, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to waive the requirement for Phase I Environmental Site Assembly for donation of land, Parcel #29-38-32-00-00502.00000.00 by David Gravas to Brevard County for management under the EEL program.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Pritchard, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to adopt Resolution; execute Public Transportation Joint Participation Agreement with Florida Department of Transportation for $330,000 to provide commuter assistance service from August 8, 2006 through September 30, 2007; and authorize the Chair to execute any amendments or addendums, contingent upon County Attorney and Risk Manager approval.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Pritchard, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to execute Agreement Extending Existing Contract with Space Coast Advertising, Inc. to provide marketing and advertising services for Space Coast Area Transit for an additional three months, retroactive to June 30, 2006 in order to complete the new Request for Proposal Process, until September 30, 2006.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Pritchard, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to approve Purchasing staff’s and a subsequent Protest Committee’s determination that a bid submitted by Synergon Solutions, Inc., d/b/a Stancil Solutions of Melbourne, Florida, was non-responsive to the technical requirements of the ITB; and authorize award of Invitation to Bid #B-4-06-22, Lease Digital Recorder System, to the lowest responsive and responsible bid submitted by Replay Systems of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, for a five-year lease amount of $601,027.70, with a total

cost including the annual lease, installation, training, maintenance for the length of the lease, and trade-in allowance.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Pritchard, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to adopt Resolution qualifying IAP Worldwide Services, Inc. as a qualified defense contractor and requesting the State waive the QDC local match requirement in lieu of the County’s tax exemption local match.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Pritchard, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to approve renewal of the Certificates of Public Convenience and Necessity (COPCN); and execute the COPCN with Brevard County Fire Rescue (ALS and BLS), Cape Canaveral Volunteer Fire Department (ALS), Coastal Health Systems of Brevard, Inc. (ALS and BLS), Kennedy Space Center (ALS and BLS), City of Palm Bay (ALS), Health First-Holmes Regional Medical Center-First Flight (ALS), City of Titusville (ALS), City of Cocoa Beach (ALS), City of Melbourne (ALS), City of Satellite Beach (ALS), City of Indialantic (ALS), and City of Rockledge (ALS).  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Pritchard, Commissioner Carlson, to appoint Scotty Carey to the Merritt Island District 2 Sports Committee, replacing Brian Rye, with a term expiring July 10, 2007.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Pritchard, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to approve bills and budget changes.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.  

 

Commissioner Pritchard stated a couple of weeks ago he took his grandson to work; and displayed pictures of his grandson, Carson.

 

 

 

Commissioner Pritchard commented he knows that he and Commissioner Scarborough have been having problems with trash pick up.  He noted his phones ring off the hook, and there are missed collections and chronic complaints from different parts of the District, alleging the same things.

 

Chair Voltz stated it is on the Agenda; with Commissioner Pritchard advising what is on the Agenda is contractual obligation to increase their fees per contract, and it is not a discussion.  He advised he has been visited by Waste Pro; and he requested Bob Hires to come forward.  He commented since there seems to be a problem on the north end of the County, maybe it is time to split the County and have competitors; and he asked Mr. Hires to give the Board a brief overview.

 

Bob Hires stated his company is looking for the opportunity in Brevard County to, either via bid or negotiation process, be able to handle the waste collection in North Brevard County; he noted he used to live in Brevard County; and he managed it from 1992 to 1996.  He commented he spent a lot of time with Commissioner Scarborough during that time and respects him a lot; and he also met with Commissioner Pritchard recently.  He commented he does not want to say anything bad about Waste Management, as he used to work there; and everybody has problems at one time or another.  He noted there has never been any competition in Brevard County; he used to manage all of the municipal contracts for Waste Management, so he is intimately familiar with it; and Brevard County is the only County in the State that has never had a bid for garbage service.  He noted Harris Sanitation was started in South Brevard 30 years ago; a company was started in North Brevard County by Larry Fleckinger, which was sold to Western Waste; and the other company was sold to Waste Management, and now the two have merged together.  He commented it would be good for the community to have some competition; and Waste Pro is the only company other than Waste Management that operates in Brevard County.  He stated Waste Pro started in Brevard in 2001, and it currently serves the Space Center, Patrick Air Force Base Housing, Patrick Air Force commercial and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.  He commented Waste Pro is contracted over all of Florida, serving 300,000; it is a well known company; he can give a list of references of 46 cities and counties in Florida, including Seminole County, St. Lucie County, Putnam County and Columbia County; he has been in the business for 30 years; and the company has a great service reputation.  He commented business is business and he truly thinks Brevard County needs some competition; Waste Pro gives very good service with competitive pricing; and requested the opportunity to be able to service the north part of the County through either a bid process or a negotiation process.

 

Commissioner Colon stated the Board is having a workshop on August 17^th with Solid Waste and she thinks it would be good to discuss the issue at the workshop.  Chair Voltz stated the major problems seem to stem from a lack of CDL drivers; and inquired how Mr. Hires would propose to find drivers if Waste Management cannot find drivers.  Bob Hires responded it is a problem, and it is evident everywhere in Florida; but his company has very little turnover and is a privately held company.  He stated his company can do a lot of things with its employees that public companies cannot do; it has no locations that are unionized; it pays very large bonus programs for safety and attendance; and once a CDL driver is hired by Waste Pro, at the end of a three-year period, they are eligible for a bonus.  He commented they provide the trucks with the best equipment available, with back-up cameras and audio, the best seats, and all trucks are air conditioned.  He added Waste Pro does a driver-driver combination, where it hires two drivers for a truck and then they can alternate back and forth throughout the day and take turns driving; and that is helpful if one of the drivers gets sick or is on vacation.

 

Commissioner Colon commented Waste Management is not present to defend itself; and the Board has to get to the root of the problem in the north part of the County, whether it is a supervisor problem or something else; the other three Districts are fine, and there is always room for improvement, but she thinks it would be more appropriate to discuss the issue at the workshop.

 

 

 

Commissioner Pritchard stated his office has been inundated with calls about the Fire Assessment, EMS, and fire fees.  He commented at the July 25^th Board meeting he was assured that the majority of taxpayers’ fire assessment rates would be revenue neutral for the flip of the fire control, MSTU, and EMS assessments in 2006/2007; and with the revenue neutral assurance, he voted to go forward, though not completely happy with the wording of the two letters.  He stated the majority of the calls his office received indicate the issue of the flip and its costs remain puzzling, often inciting extreme anger by the constituents.  He commented the Board has heard neighbor against neighbor with the same type and style of house, but with different rates; and the majority of square footage for single-family and mobile homes increased by 50% from 2005, and of these, the majority are owned by lower-income residents and fixed income seniors. 

 

Chair Voltz commented the issue is on the Agenda, and they should discuss it when it comes up; with Commissioner Pritchard stating the point he is going to make is that it is not what was promised and everybody is upset about it.  He stated those who can least afford it are being impacted the largest amount and the whole thing has to change.  He noted what is on the Agenda to be discussed is approval of the flip; it is not the methodology; and he will get into that when the item comes up on the Agenda.

 

 

 

Commissioner Carlson stated she would like to make a motion to appoint Jerry Sansom to the Titusville-Cocoa Airport Authority.  Commissioner Scarborough advised the point of order is that the Board found out that this is not to be confirmed by the Board, but it is under the Enabling Act, and Commissioner Carlson just needs to state the name.  Commissioner Carlson noted she would like the Board to recognize that she is going to make the appointment of Jerry Sansom; he is a pilot with great credentials and is willing to serve, and she thought he was a great person to put on the Titusville-Cocoa Airport Authority.

 

 

 

Commissioner Carlson stated her District had a wonderful grand opening of Viera Regional Park; there were approximately 1,000 people there; it was a wonderful opportunity to see the community coming together, and although it has taken a while to get there, it will be well used and appreciated.  She stated she wanted to make sure the proper thanks go out to the Parks and Recreation Department for doing a great job; Jeff Whitehead, Cheryl Page, and Greg Minor are the Supervisors, and they were under the gun to get opening day to happen. 

 

Commissioner Colon commented she would like to give credit to Commissioner Carlson’s office as well; with Commissioner Carlson stating it is hard to keep the ship headed in the right direction but there are a lot of folks paddling it; and she appreciates her staff, and she always has, as they have been very dedicated over the years trying to keep things on track.  Chair Voltz stated Commissioner Carlson worked very hard to get the park opened before she left office, and it all came together.

 

Commissioner Carlson noted on the same day as the opening there was an article in the paper regarding the Random Acts of Music at Wickham Park Amphitheater, which is also new, and was used for the Moving Wall ceremonies; and the County has a wonderful amphitheater in Wickham Park.  She noted the article mentions WFIT, and the Parks and Recreation Department, sponsoring Random Acts of Music, which is a monthly program; and for folks who want to utilize the amphitheater, they can go through Parks and Recreation for more information. 

 

Commissioner Carlson stated a gentleman approached her at the Regional Park opening and was concerned that the dog park was not open; and she wants to assure him that it is still in line
to happen, but it is going to take a little while.  She noted the dog park was one of those things that came after the fact; teams were already designated, as far as room and what they needed; and the dog park came up after that.  She stated they have been able to provide property, but it

is just a matter of getting it done.  She commented she would like staff to give her a report on the proposed dog park at Viera Regional Park, including the time line and estimated cost.

 

 

 

Commissioner Carlson commented a constituent came into her office regarding an animal control issue; he lives in Rockledge, was approached by an Animal Enforcement Officer, and was shown an affidavit that his dog had done something it wasn’t supposed to; but the gentleman was not shown the picture.  Commissioner Carlson stated he was just told that an affidavit had been signed, a neighbor reported that his dog was loose, and he was going to get fined because of it.  She noted because of the affidavit procedure, the person who was being told that his dog did something wrong was not able to get any background information about the circumstance; now he is going through the process with Animal Services; and it was not his dog, but it could not be proven by the pictures that were in the office.  She stated the gentleman was very upset because his animal had been accused of something it did not do; and she would like to have a staff report about the issue and the affidavit.  She commented the process is not fair; there was not justification at the beginning; and she would like to request a report from staff on the affidavit process for reporting animals at large or other animal violations.  She added anybody could come up to any of them and have a signed affidavit from Code Enforcement; then they would be fined because that person was willing to put his name on an affidavit; and it is something that is supposed to be upheld in a court of law.

 

 

 

Commissioner Carlson commented she asked Betsy Farmer to come to the meeting to talk about a grant that the Brevard Leadership Network and the Workforce Development Board have an opportunity to cooperate on; and introduced Betsy Farmer to the Board.

 

Betsy Farmer thanked the Board for its foresight and leadership in establishing the Persons for Disabilities Commission; and stated they have worked very hard over the last six months.  She commented she has been involved with the Employment Task Force, which designated employment and transportation as two top priorities for people with disabilities in the community.  She commented the Employment Task Force has worked very closely with Brevard Business Leadership Network to find national programs that can help meet the needs of some citizens with disabilities; and one of the issues students face is the need to have more vocational training and more on-the-job experience so they can leave high school and go to work.  She commented they have found a program in Cincinnati called Project Search which was started ten years ago at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital; and it is a unique business-led high school transition classroom for students with disabilities, in which the students actually are in a high school transition classroom at the businesses.  She noted it started out at the Cincinnati
Children’s Hospital and as of the beginning of this year, they will have ten other sites at banks, Parks and Recreation Departments, and a number of different large corporations in the Cincinnati area; and the students spend about 45 minutes in the classroom in the morning and then they spend the rest of the day doing internship rotations throughout the businesses.  She commented the Brevard Leadership Network has put together 13 agencies and corporations, including the School Board, and the Workforce Board; Mercedes Homes and Healthfirst have committed to a high school classroom within their corporations; the school system has committed to provide the teachers; and her network will be working with the Agency for Persons with Disabilities to provide the job coaches who will work alongside the students.  She commented the success rate of this nationally known award winning program for the students after the first year of being in the transition classroom has a 85% success rate for employment.  She stated  the  kids  make great  employees; they do very  well when they  have  hands-on work experience; and the employers find out that the kids can meet a real need that they have, which is the need for good, quality employees.  Ms. Farmer stated the Workforce Board is submitting a grant to Workforce Florida on behalf of all 13 agencies in the community and requested a letter of support to go along with the grant application; and advised her network is making great progress in the community.

 

Commissioner Carlson commented she has an email from Lisa Rice, who operates the Workforce Board; she mentions the grant is from Workforce Florida and is specifically geared to innovative programs that are meeting targeted populations such as the disabled youth in the community; it is a one-year grant with a possibility of second year funding; and the Partnership is planning on sustainability after the first year.  She noted it is a worthwhile partnership; and advised all of the Commissioners to look at the CD, because it is amazing.  She stated the program is everything they wanted to have in the community, in terms of transitioning the high schoolers, who really do not have any place to go; and she and Ms. Farmer have always been advocates of the program, as they have kids with disabilities, and it is a worthwhile project.  She thanked Betsy Farmer for all of her work. 

 

Betsy Farmer stated she and Bob Walters went to Cincinnati for a workshop in June and it was a life changing experience; there are 65 individuals employed in the hospital; and of those, only one works in food service, with the rest of the individuals with disabilities sterilizing surgical equipment, putting together surgical packs, or working in recovery and transport, or as couriers.  Commissioner Carlson commented it has been a learning experience and thanks to Ms. Farmer, they will be able to have it in Brevard County. Chair Voltz read aloud the letter of support. 

 

Motion by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Ron Pritchard to authorize the Chair to send a letter of support for the Workforce Services for Targeted Groups Grant and implementation of Project Search.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

Commissioner Pritchard stated when he was in high school they had a program called DCT, Diversified Cooperative Training, and what he likes about the programs is that they identify those who really need the help; and DCT, at the time, had the necessary training to get kids out into the workforce, but this program focuses on those who really need help; and they have the Board’s full support.

 

Commissioner Colon commented she is proud of Ms. Farmer, and she knew if one person was going to pull it off, it would be her; she is the one who has gone to Washington D.C. and Tallahassee; and she is the one taking her time.  She stated it is incredible the things Ms. Farmer has done for the community; she started it decades ago with early intervention for children with special needs, and she saw the bigger vision, went for it, and did it.  She stated on behalf of the citizens of Brevard County she would like to thank Ms. Farmer for all she has done.

 

 

 

Commissioner Colon stated school begins this week and for the last few weeks, they have been making sure that the working poor families in the community are able to send their kids back to school with some decent sneakers and backpacks; and one person can make a difference.  She stated she would like to ask the citizens to help out; and she would like to give out some names and numbers of organizations people can contact to donate:  CBC of Brevard, specifically for foster children – 752-4650 ext. 2015; School Board, Lynn Clifton – 633-1000 ext.  752.  She stated even if people can only give $10, it can get something nice for the kids; and they have had testimonies of young people who remember what someone did for them, and took the time out to give back.  She noted she was one of those kids; she is grateful for those teachers who went out of their way to help her; it is important to give back; and this is a wonderful opportunity to do that. 

 

 

 

Commissioner Colon stated Mike Myjak is the one who initiated Save Brevard, and is trying to put something on the ballot to try to help the Board in regards to all the growth that is going on.  She commented nothing is perfect; County staff has been throwing some language around and so forth; and she wanted Mr. Myjak to speak to the Board under her report  to give the Board some feedback to see if it is on the right track.  She noted nothing is written in stone by any means, and she just wants to be able to have something with some teeth, if it does go to referendum.  

 

Mike Myjak stated he received a copy of the amendment on Monday morning and he sent it on to his attorney for review, but he has not yet gotten an answer.  He noted from his own perspective on the first one, County staff’s comment was that if the referendum were enacted this way, then building permits would not be issued, and that is exactly tantamount to being opposite of what they are attempting to do.  He commented they do have to toe the line on new construction building permits, but what they are offering on the other hand is a methodology for actually paying for going forward; that is really the essence behind it; and they are not trying to stop growth.  He noted he has some initial questions that maybe Mr. Knox can answer; and he does not know if a Charter amendment can actually reference another document that is a lower level document, such as a Comprehensive Plan.  He stated where they have removed exceeding 100% of capacity and then removed the exemptions, the exemptions are what actually make it legal.  He commented there has to be an out-clause; if the exemptions are
removed entirely, then there’s no out-clause and he does not think that would be constitutional; and he thinks the changes that were made are essentially equivalent to a non-starter, but he has no legal basis to say that, and is just giving the Board his opinion.  He stated with regards to the annexation amendment, his first point at looking at requiring Interlocal Agreements, is that it does not require the agreement, but it offers the agreement as the out-clause; it says that if they do not want the residents residing in the affected area to have a vote, then they must form an agreement with the County, address the issues of land use and zoning, and figure out how they are going to deal with the zone in between density and low density; and he thinks trying to adopt an ordinance makes this one illegal as well, because a County Ordinance has no bearing or basis on cities that have a home rule Charter as well.  Mr. Myjak commented that is the whole basis of the home rule, the City Ordinance can override a County Ordinance, so he thinks these two changes are problematic.  He advised if the Board wants to make something stronger, then a suggestion or recommendation he would have is an issue of Code Enforcement.  He commented one of the situations they have seen in voluntary annexation efforts is the ability of certain developers to do things outside the current law, such as maybe not extending what would normally be a driveway to a single-family residence, but instead making a thoroughfare into another lot behind and then doing things that cannot be seen from the road, that would violate County Ordinance, and that are done without permits.  He advised one way to strengthen it might be to modify the enacting language in some way to also require an agreement that specifies this issue of Code Enforcement, impending fines, or penalties is on the table.  He noted he is not sure how that would be worded, but the Board has a qualified attorney to ask.

 

Chair Voltz commented the Board will be discussing the issue on August 23^rd; and inquired why they are discussing it now.   Commissioner Colon commented the reason is because Mr. Myjak has been really the one leading, and she wanted to make sure that he is on the record with any of his concerns.  She noted the Board is not going to discuss it today, but she wanted to be able to have on record the things that he is concerned about so that the Board’s legal department can do some tweaking and make sure that Mr. Myjak is working closely with staff.  She commented the Board is going to have a workshop where it is really going to go into more detail; time is of the essence; and the Board has been given a date of September 5^th, 2006.

 

Commissioner Colon stated there was one date set and then there was another one just in case the Board needed to have a second workshop; and inquired of Ms. Busacca of those dates; with Ms. Busacca responding August the 23^rd at 1:00 is the referendum and the backup date is August 31^st at 9:00 a.m.

 

Commissioner Pritchard asked Mr. Myjak if he is familiar with the letter Dwight Severs has written on behalf of the City of Titusville, as well as the League of Cities; with Mr. Myjak responding he has read it.  Commissioner Pritchard stated Mr. Severs raises a lot of concerns and obviously those concerns will be part of the discussion.  He commented when the Board voted to move this issue forward into legal review, it did not have the 1% certified voters from the Supervisor of Elections; Mr. Myjak promised that prior to the legal review, the Board would have that 1%; and inquired where it stands.

 

Mike Myjak stated he did not promise to have the 1%, but he said they were very close; and according to what he has back from the Supervisor of Elections, they have finished with Districts one through four, but they are still a few short on District Five, so they have people out collecting.  He commented they are moving along at a pretty good clip, and he is not concerned about that; and what they are asking is that the Commission consider putting their two amendments on the ballot.  He noted they wanted this to be a citizens’ effort; they were not asking the Commission to modify or alter them, but they were just asking the Commission to do what the citizens were asking, more as an expeditious maneuver than anything else, so that they do not have to go through yet another year of uncontrolled growth.  Mr. Myjak commented they have no problem moving forward and continuing to collect petitions, and they will put it on the ballot next year if it does not go forward.  He stated they are not concerned about that, and they believe that they will come back from legal review just fine.

 

Commissioner Pritchard noted before the Board would put anything on the ballot, it would have it go through legal review.  He stated he wants to be sure that the Commission has the 1% prior to the legal review, because what the ballot says is going to be Constitutional.  He advised he would want Mr. Myjak to live up to his side of it also; with Mr. Myjak stating they are doing their best to get the petitions collected.  

 

Commissioner Scarborough stated one thing that concerns him is if they have different concepts and languages occurring; Mr. Knox told him today was the day the Board should get everything submitted from attorneys who wanted to have the three-attorney panel consider it, and they are going to come back with remarks on the 15^th.  He noted Mr. Knox also stated the Board could ask them, if they find problems, to suggest solutions, and that could be beneficial.  He inquired even though the Board has the back-up of the 31^st, can they meet in time, with ideas coming forward and another legal review; and stated if the Board came up with a new idea on the 23^rd, and could not meet and come back on the 31^st, it defaults because the Board cannot put anything on the ballot because it does not have language that has been legally reviewed.  He noted Mr. Knox  also mentioned  that  one of the members of the panel suggested they could be present here.  He suggested this language be included and the Board ask the panel to make constructive suggestions if certain things could occur to meet legal requirements if they find them falling short; and secondly, for the panel to be present on the 23^rd.  He inquired if the panel says at that particular meeting, “there’s no way that I’m going to find that this meets the legal requirements”, why should the Board send it off to them to come back on the 31^st to tweak it again, and find out it has run out of time.

 

County Attorney Scott Knox commented he is not sure where this came from, but he has some issues with it, and he does not think he would want to forward this to the legal panel in its current configuration.  Commissioner Scarborough inquired if the Board can ask for constructive suggestions from the panel if, in fact, they find problems; and can the panel be present.

 

Scott Knox stated if the Board wants the panel present at the meeting, then they can be there; and in terms of constructive suggestions on how things can be cured, that was what they did last time, and he will make sure that they do it again.

 

Commissioner Scarborough stated he would like to make that as a motion so that the Board is well advised that this could be very complex when attorneys start making different suggestions and the Board is trying to meet them.  Commissioner Pritchard asked Commissioner Scarborough to repeat the motion.

 

Commissioner Scarborough commented the motion is, number one, if the panel finds problems, that they offer solutions to solving the problems with their report on the 15^th; and number two, that they be present on the 23^rd to render opinions as ideas come up, so the Board would not be

sending something on the 23^rd, only to find it missed a target.  Commissioner Pritchard inquired if it is the focus of a legal review panel to make recommendations or suggestions; with Commissioner Scarborough responding they can and they have.

 

Commissioner Scarborough stated he thinks anybody can suggest anything they want to, going through this process; with Commissioner Carlson commenting she does not have a problem listening to suggestions. 

 

Commissioner Colon requested Ed Washburn and Robin Sobrino be allowed to speak to the Board; with Commissioner Carlson commenting they have a lot of folks waiting for other issues today.

 

Commissioner Carlson stated she does not have a problem supporting Commissioner Scarborough’s motion to make sure the Board gets the best review.  Commissioner Scarborough noted his motion is procedural, to make sure the Board has the guidance when it needs it.  Commissioner Carlson commented her only concern was that the community came forward with two questions, and those are the two questions the Board talked about originally, when it passed it onto legal review; and she was never expecting to see somebody word-smithing those questions, because they were not the original questions.  She stated the people signed it and she is worried about the legal ramifications of that; and she is not sure if the Board should go forward with something like this, but certainly it can look at that option in a workshop setting and see what the possible ramifications are.

 

Commissioner Colon requested Ed Washburn speak to the Board; with Chair Voltz commenting the motion may not have anything to do with what Mr. Washburn says.  Commissioner Colon stated it does; and one of the things the Board talked about was the fact that it needed more signatures and that if it did not put it on the ballot this year, it will cost a lot of money to put it on the ballot next year, because it would be a Special Election.  She commented the Board is trying to avoid paying thousands and thousands of dollars next year, when there is a possibility of having it on the ballot this November.

 

Mike Myjak stated they could be paying millions and millions of dollars because if they allow growth management to be abated again, another year will go by without controlling growth; and his understanding is that transportation alone is $35 to $40 million dollars in the red.

 

Commissioner Colon stated a year ago, when the citizens came before the Board and asked to put something on the ballot, one of the things the Board discussed was the fact that it was going
to try to figure out if the Space Coast Growth Management Coalition was going to be able to have some joint planning agreements.  She noted the problem has been that ever since the folks came before the Board, annexation has still gone out of control and the Board has not accomplished anything; and municipalities keep annexing and annexing and annexing.  She asked Mr. Washburn, Robin Sobrino and Rick Enos to give the Board some feedback.  She added what was on the ballot needed x amount of signatures, but if the Board of County Commissioners took it upon itself, it would be able to put something on the ballot that is totally separate.  Commissioner Colon noted any Commissioner, at any time, is able to initiate something and the Board of County Commissioners can take action or not take action; and the Board is not trying to say one is better than the other, but it wants to make sure that once it is all said and done, whatever it puts on the ballot has some teeth, and that it does not give a false sense of security to citizens, that if they vote for this, it will just stop growth.  She stated she is frustrated because annexation is still out of control, and the Board has not accomplished much.  She commented the Board has an opportunity this year to put something on the ballot and hopefully, if it is legal, the Board will be able to put something on the ballot that is going to get everybody at the table whether they like it or not.

 

Assistant County Manager Ed Washburn stated Commissioner Colon asked his office to look at the wording and see what they could come up with for her to pass on to the Board; and he knows it may need to be tweaked from a legal standpoint.  He advised what they looked at on the first question was whether or not the levels of service conflicted with the current adopted Comprehensive Plan; and they believe they do.  He stated on the second question, they wanted to make sure that the opportunity was given to those cities that wanted to have a binding agreement, that they would allow that option to occur; and that is all those two questions do.  He noted there are two or three cities they are working with on the beltway and they are able to do certain things under the annexation provisions that they cannot do with respect to gaining right-of-way, so they wanted to make sure that if they had the opportunity to allow cities that wanted to have a binding agreement, they could do that.  He noted failing that, they would have to go to referendum with respect to annexations.

 

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to request the panel reviewing the Charter Amendments, make constructive suggestions if problems are found and include the suggestions in the report, and be present at the meeting on August 23, 2006 at 1:00 p.m. to render opinions as ideas come up.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

 

Commissioner Pritchard commented his church did a back to school drive and collected 60 backpacks and other school supplies.  He noted he went to the Merritt Island Youth Football and Cheerleading Opening Ceremonies last week; the program has a lot of participation from children who cannot afford uniforms, so the program got some help from businesses in the community and collected over $25,000, and now every kid has a new uniform.  He noted when these kids grow up, they will not forget the kindness that was shown to them at this young age; and encouraged everyone to contribute to the many different organizations in the area. 

 

 

 

Chair Voltz advised she will be out of the office from August 9^th to August 15^th, 2006 as she is going to her 40^th Class Reunion.

 

 

 

Chair Voltz advised there is an issue in Grant-Valkaria; and requested Morris Richardson comment.

 

Morris Richardson stated the issue is the Grant-Valkaria incorporation; and the Town Charter and the legislation did not provide specifically for the issue of building permitting and inspection, and who would be responsible for that.  He commented the people in Grant-Valkaria should not have to wait until November, when a Town Council is elected, to get the permitting services, as it is something that needs to be done now; and there are no less than 30 permits pending now, plus site plans and subdivisions that are already in the process.  He noted everyone in the County wants to get this done for those folks; and they do not want them to be left out in the cold because of some oversight of some of the incorporation issues that happened with the Town.  He stated the Attorney’s Office is asking for authority from the Board to do whatever is necessary to help Grant-Valkaria with the permitting issues, whether it is with an Interlocal Agreement, or whether they have to advertise and possibly amend the Building Code to include the new township, or some other avenue.  He stated he thinks it can probably be done by an Interlocal Agreement, so he is asking for authority from the Board to go forward, find a way to get it done, and bring it back to the Board with a solution; and in the meantime, go ahead with the permitting processes that are already underway.

 

Commissioner Carlson inquired if Mr. Richardson was saying he wanted to go talk to the Grant-Valkaria folks to find a way to do this, or if they have come to the Board saying it is an issue.  Chair Voltz commented there was a meeting in her office with Grant-Valkaria, and they realized the County was not able to move forward; with Commissioner Carlson inquiring if the 30 items Mr. Richardson mentioned have been approved for their site plan issues.  Mr. Richardson advised there are many issues in the pipeline that have been approved, but there are 30 that have not been permitted yet; and if those do not go forward, they will be waiting until at least November when a Town Council is elected, and probably longer than that, because it will take them some time to get Building Officials in place.  He commented everyone present has represented a willingness to help out; and Ed Washburn has championed the idea and Mike McCaughen and Carole Brown are willing to help out from the Building Department. 

 

Commissioner Carlson inquired if the Preservation Committee is asking for the help; with Morris Richardson responding yes, the interim council has asked for help. 

 

Motion by Commissioner Pritchard, seconded by Commissioner Carlson to allow the building permits to go forward.

 

Commissioner Carlson noted the motion cannot be to allow the building permits to go forward, as it is to work with them.  Mr. Richardson commented the County Attorney’s Office would like
the motion to also include permission to advertise to possibly amend the Building Code; although he does not feel the Board will need to do that.  Chair Voltz stated they also need to add the Interlocal Agreement to the motion as well.     

 

Commissioner Pritchard commented the motion could be simplified by saying Grant-Valkaria has requested the Commission’s assistance and it is able to provide to them, the same as they would to anyone else who requests a building permit within the County.  Chair Voltz stated maybe staff can look through the building permits and see if there are going to be any Building Code issues; with Attorney Richardson responding the only issue that would be there would be to amend the County’s jurisdiction in the Building Code.  He stated right now it just says unincorporated County, so it would be just an amendment to include the new Town of Grant-Valkaria; but he does not think they will need to do that. 

 

Commissioner Colon commented at the zoning meeting there were people who were not able to move forward, and she asked what will happen to them and all of the money they have already paid; and she is concerned about the people who have gone through the zoning process, as it is not their fault what has happened, and now they are caught in the middle.   County Manager Peggy Busacca stated what the Board asked staff to do about the financial issues was to come back to the Board and let it know what the hard costs were, then it can make a decision as to whether it wants to refund all of the money; and as far as rezoning, the Board has no jurisdiction in the municipal boundaries, so those people will have to wait until they have a Town Council in order to even apply for the rezoning.

 

Motion by Commissioner Pritchard, seconded by Commissioner Carlson to authorize staff to take whatever action is necessary to help the people of Grant-Valkaria with the Building Code/permitting issue, including interlocal agreement, permission to advertise to amend the Building Code to include the new township, or other avenues to be determined; and to proceed with the permitting processes that are underway.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

 

Chair Voltz commented another issue with Grant-Valkaria is Code Enforcement. 

 

Assistant County Attorney Terri Jones stated the County needs to have an interlocal agreement with Grant-Valkaria to provide its Code Enforcement; and the Town needs to change its Code Enforcement Ordinance, because the County’s Ordinance is based on a population of more than 50,000, and the Town does not have 50,000.  She advised the County is going to be passing Ordinances from now until the time Grant-Valkaria gets a Town Council; there are going to be inconsistencies in the Zoning Code, so the town is going to have to pass all of the Ordinances, because in order for the County to provide Code Enforcement, the Town has to be completely uniform with the County until it is ready to take over Zoning Code Enforcement.  She

noted she is not talking about Building Code Enforcement, as that is under the Florida Building Code.  She advised she has a  call into the   Sheriff to let him know that even though the County
cannot enforce Grant-Valkaria’s Codes, the Sheriff can still enforce the dangerous codes or public nuisances, because as a sworn Police Officer, he can enforce any Code in the municipality under Florida Statutes.

 

Chair Voltz inquired if the Board needed to make any motion today on the issue; with Attorney Jones responding no, as there is nothing the County can do right now.  She advised the Board has to wait for the Town Council to get together, fix its Code Enforcement Ordinance, and to pass all of the Ordinances the Town is going to be passing. 

 

Commissioner Colon commented she is having the same problem with all the annexation that is going on in the south end of the County in regards to jurisdiction; citizens are calling her office and trying to get assistance from Law Enforcement; they are being told to contact the City of Palm Bay; and the City of Palm Bay is telling them to call the Sheriff’s Office.  She stated the new municipalities and the annexed areas are going to have to pay for their own Law Enforcement, because everything that used to belong to the County is no longer the County’s, as it now belongs to that municipality.  She noted she would appreciate a meeting with the City Managers to be very clear of their jurisdictions and responsibilities; if they want to take over, they need to understand that there are certain things they need to do and pay for; and she would like for that meeting to take place as soon as possible.

 

Commissioner Pritchard inquired if Grant-Valkaria can, on an interim basis, adopt everything that the County has and work it out later, or does it have to be specific at this point and initiate what it is going to be living with.  Attorney Jones responded the Interim Council has very limiting

powers, but it can enact an Emergency Ordinance; and it is going to be up to the Town as to what it wants to do, as it is the Town’s jurisdiction.  Commissioner Pritchard stated if the Town is going to become the wild west, relying on the Sheriff, then people may be looking for continuous loopholes; and what Ms. Jones is saying is that the Town cannot adopt what it currently has through the County Commission.  Attorney Jones clarified if someone cuts down a tree in Grant-Valkaria, even though it does not have a mechanism to enforce it now, the County is documenting it for the Town, and they will be prosecuted when the Town’s Code Enforcement is up and running.  She noted there will be a consequence, and it may be delayed, but there will still be a consequence for violating the Code.

 

 

 

Chair Voltz commented at Thursday’s Zoning meeting, there was a video shown by Maureen Rupe and Mary Sphar regarding a parcel of land; and she wanted to bring to the attention of the Board that both women had permission to be on the property.

 

 

Chair Voltz stated she would like to appoint an alternate member to the P&Z Board, and his name is Frank Fletcher.

 

Motion by Commissioner Pritchard, seconded by Commissioner Carlson to approve appointment of Frank Fletcher as an alternate member to the P&Z Board.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

 

Chair Voltz commented there was an issue when Commissioner Carlson was on the Florida Association of Counties, as to who was going to be on the Board for the Florida Association of Counties, and they inadvertently appointed Commissioner Colon, who did not want to be on the Board because of other commitments.  Chair Voltz advised she agreed to be on the Board of the Florida Association of Counties and there is a Board of Directors retreat on the 24^th and 25^th of August, at Howie-in-the-Hills; and requested approval to attend.  She noted the last time she was on the Commission she was continuously harassed by Mr. Ellis about spending time out of the County, and asked why is it important for the Board to be involved with the Florida Association of Counties; she does not need that right now; and she wants to make sure the Board approves of what she is doing.  She reiterated it is the opinion of the Board that it is important for someone on the Board to serve on the Florida Association of Counties.

 

Commissioner Carlson stated the Board pays dues, and they ought to all be able to attend the Association. 

 

Commissioner Scarborough stated he is an attorney, and in order to maintain his license, he has to have continuing education; it is his understanding that teachers have the same requirements, along with nurses; it is nice to know what other people are doing, and the methodologies that are employed; and it goes without saying that they are meeting with people who are handling similar problems.  He noted they can never guarantee that they will come back with something, but from time to time things do come back that assist the Board tremendously; and it benefits the citizens because they are able to be a more effective Board.  He stated he fully supports what Chair Voltz is doing.

 

Commissioner Carlson stated the National Association of Counties has a wealth of information; and although it is difficult to get to Washington D.C., she has brought back many things that actually were worthwhile and have been instituted into their government.  She commented whether it is the National Association or the Florida Association, they learn from everybody and can bring things back; they do major seminars on all sorts of things that are not just affecting Brevard County, but affecting the entire Nation, and the Board needs to be on top of it.  She noted it helps them from the federal and State prospective; they pay dues for both associations should have representation at both; and they should not have to ask permission any time they want to go to either function.  Commissioner Carlson commented they, as a Commission, said that they would not have to ask permission for every single thing they do, when it is helping them become better educated and better public servants; she and Chair Voltz completed the
Certification Training for County Commissioners, and there was a lot of stuff they had to learn from a more global perspective; that was a good program and worthwhile; and she thought it paid for the dues.

 

Commissioner Colon commented Chair Voltz is going to the Association to bring something back to the other Commissioners; she learned recently that the YMCA needed her to go to Washington D.C., and she questioned the expense and did not go; but that would have brought millions of dollars to Brevard County, because there are seven other counties fighting for it.  She commented she thinks it is understood; and they do not have to discuss it anymore, and she can go to the Association and not have to bring it to the Board’s attention.

 

Commissioner Pritchard stated that is like the meeting they had with the Secretary of Transportation; and they boosted the guardrails on I-95, moved it up a year and a half, and saved millions of dollars.

     

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to approve travel for any Commissioner to attend Florida Association of Counties (FAC) or National Association of Counties (NACO) events.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

 

Chair Voltz stated the Commission should have received a letter from Budget Director Dennis Rogero regarding the issues they have with land acquisition; and she would like to put it on the Agenda for discussion sometime in the future, because the Budget Review Committee made the recommendations and the Board needs to look at them.  

 

 

 

Chair Voltz read aloud a resolution recognizing Eagle Scout Timothy Keck.

 

Motion by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Pritchard, to adopt Resolution recognizing Timothy Keck on his achievement of the rank of Eagle Scout.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

Chair Voltz presented the Resolution to Timothy Keck, who expressed appreciation to the Board.    He  commented scouting  has  been  a wonderful  experience  and  has  given  him  an opportunity to do things he would not have been able to do, such as camping, kayaking, and visiting other states; and he wishes more people had the opportunity to participate in scouting.  He stated he worked hard on his project and it was fun working with volunteers. 

 

 

 

Chair Voltz read aloud a resolution proclaiming the week of August 13 through 20, 2006 as Child Cancer Awareness Week.

 

Motion by Commissioner Pritchard, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to adopt Resolution proclaiming the week of August 13 through 20, 2006 as Child Cancer Awareness Week.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Commissioner Scarborough read aloud a resolution proclaiming August 8, 2006 as Elder Abuse Awareness Day.

 

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to adopt Resolution proclaiming August 8, 2006 as Elder Abuse Awareness Day.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

Commissioner Scarborough inquired if it would be possible for somebody to address the community at large how to be mindful of watching for potential abuse to seniors.  He noted unusual behavior maybe observed by a bank teller or a neighbor, everyone has a responsibility to their neighbor; and they need to be particularly concerned about the vulnerable seniors who are attempting to live independently, yet need assistance.

 

Ron Morgan thanked the Board for the recognition of elder abuse; stated elder abuse is still an on going problem; within the last few weeks, an elderly gentleman in central Brevard was assaulted and ended up in Holmes Regional in a coma; and in south Brevard, an 80-year old woman was mugged and robbed after the thief had run her down with a car.  He commented fortunately, in Brevard, there are great law enforcement agencies to protect the seniors.  He advised it is critical that everyone realize that any case of suspected elder abuse has to be reported to the Department of Children and Families, and those in elected office and several other State-appointed agencies are required to report any suspected elder abuse.  He commented that W.H.O. (World Health Organization) and the United Nations have formally passed, and now are implementing, a world wide program to educate the public and to stop elder abuse in every nation.  He thanked the Board again for its support on the critical issue for the County’s seniors; and noted there are other organizations such as the Elder Abuse Task Force, State Attorneys’ Joe Downing and Cathy Dudley, Circles of Care, and the Yellow Umbrella.  Mr. Morgan noted there are many organizations that are working jointly on the problem to make sure  everyone is aware of it; they  have  unfortunately  had some reports that a lot of the elder abuse is caused by elderly upon elderly, and that is usually home situations between husband and wife; and elder abuse is not only physical, it is psychological, mental, and financial exploitation. 

 

Commissioner Carlson noted there is cake and fruit provided in the lobby, and she appreciates all they do.

 

 

 

Commissioner Carlson read aloud a resolution recognizing Eagle Scout Mark David Siemer.

 

Motion by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Pritchard, to adopt Resolution recognizing Mark David Siemer on his achievement of the rank of Eagle Scout.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

Commissioner Carlson presented the Resolution to Mark David Siemer, who expressed appreciation to the Board.  He stated scouting has helped him, as he has memories that most people will never have, such as a 50-mile canoe trip in Minnesota that has special memories for him with his father and some friends.  He noted he wishes more people would join scouting, but for some reason, people do not.

 

Chair Voltz commented every Eagle Scout says the same thing, and she hopes someone is listening to them and decides they want to join the Scouts. 

 

Commissioner Colon commented the kids who are in Eagle Scouts are very active in the church, and she commends the church for getting kids active in the Eagle Scouts.

 

Commissioner Carlson noted Mark David’s comments on why he wishes more kids would join Eagle Scouts is one of his missions and he takes that with his vows when he gets his Eagle Scout Award on Saturday, that he will help other kids get involved and will show them the path.  Commissioner Pritchard noted he was speaking to Mark earlier and told him about when he was a Scout and all the things that he went through; he never attained the rank of Eagle; but he was working on a rank that required he learn the books of the Bible, and his Pastor can verify that he got pretty far into it.

 

 

 

Chair Voltz stated Randy Lyon will give the Board an update on myregion.org.

 

Randy Lyon stated he is the volunteer Chairman of myregion.org; and while the Board has been with them from the beginning, it may be helpful for the citizens in the chamber to know how myregion.org came to be.  Mr. Lyon noted myregion.org is a seven county effort and an initiative to promote regional collaboration among the seven Counties of Brevard, Lake, Orange, Osceola, Polk, Volusia and Seminole; and given those parameters, the region also includes 86 cities, three water management districts, two regional planning councils, five transportation organizations, and many other organizations that are often looking at the same issues but not necessarily working together.  He noted by the end of October they will celebrate in this country, the arrival of the 300 millionth American, and that is after having celebrated 200 million just a few years ago in 1967; and projections are that in 2046, the country will reach a population of 400 million.  He commented the rate of growth across the County and in Florida is driven by three primary ingredients: 1.) immigration; 2.) the rate of births over deaths; and 3.) in-migration.  He noted there was a key piece of research a few years ago that myregion.org shared with the Board from the University of Pennsylvania; it continues to be a benchmark for them; and it is the
Penn Design Central Florida Project, which showed what the region would look like, based on current population and development trends, and also the options for how it might grow differently.  He stated as part of the study, a Trend Land Use Scenario was created that depicts what the country would look like in 2050, in comparison to what it looked like in 2000; and when they look at the 2000 trend, the population was just over three million and roughly 16% of the land in the region was developed.  He noted if they maintain current trends, policies and practices, by 2050 the region’s population will reach more than 7.2 million and more importantly they will have developed nearly 52% of the land.  He stated once they got a lot of regional information it became apparent the next step would be to try to bring together both the citizens and the leaders of Central Florida to answer the question of How Shall We Grow as a region; and the result is a 15-month campaign where they are asking citizens, elected officials, and community leaders to work together to create a shared vision.  He stated it is a partnership being funded by both regional and State organizations who believe it is important to think about the future of the region.  He stated two of the primary partners, the Florida Departments of Community Affairs and Transportation, are not only funders, they are watching myregion.org because they see the work it is doing in Central Florida as critical to form a path for all of Florida’s great regions.  He noted it is a seven-step process and three steps have been completed; he is also delighted to report to the Board that nearly 3,000 citizens have participated in the process over the last couple of months; and of those 3,000, over 70% are new to the process and reflect the incredible interest that the communities have in their future.

 

He commented they started with 12 principles of growth to present to the community; out of those, across the region, people have voted on the principles in ranks of importance; and the one area that has moved up in ranking is the importance of choices in transportation.  He commented the Board will also notice that in comparison to the region statistically, there is almost no difference for the concerns among their neighbors in Brevard County with what matters across all seven counties.  He advised several themes have come out of the meetings and participants have realized that this is not easy; and other reactions have been that increasing density has met only very limited resistance; building up, instead of out, has become a common theme; and the embrace of increasing infill in existing urban areas has been strong.  He noted myregion.org asked the question of how they want their community to grow by playing a chip game, in which citizens had the opportunity to make decisions about what types of development they feel are appropriate for different parts of the county.  He stated they were also asked to designate the environmental areas in the county that are most important for conservation.  Mr. Lyon commented since WWII, low-density urban sprawl with unconnected streets has become a norm for what is really an auto-dependent development; open space is often forgotten and streets are abandoned; and this causes a dramatic increase in auto trips, which is what causes traffic congestion.   He noted one option for future development is to simply keep doing what they are doing today and that has a value for them in that they know exactly what it will produce.  He commented in the Penn Design Study it was estimated that it will cost nearly $90,000 an-acre to provide all of the roads, utilities, and services at current development patterns; and in other words, to develop the 1.16 million acres that the projections show would cost $104 billion dollars by 2050.  He noted if they seek an alternative that allows higher densities on just 25% of the land area, then nearly 420,000 acres could accept the 4.15 million new residents, and much of that higher density could be in town homes and low-rise
apartments; and the cost savings on infrastructure alone would provide enough money to buy all environmentally sensitive lands and pay for a transit system in the high-density corridors.  He commented if they continue existing patterns, it is a matter of local choice how they grow; but there really are regional consequences.  He stated low-density development is a traffic generator; by engineering standards today, they know it causes ten new trips per day for each new home; and the roads have become congested and ultimately there is gridlock.  He noted alternatively, mixed-use development can generate as little as four trips per day, which is 60% less traffic; and if they are going to go to alternative development patterns, then the questions are which ones, where, and who gets to choose.  He noted a Transect is a concept that was developed by a Miami architect, and it represents how they might describe different development choices going from preserved areas on the fringe, all the way into downtown urban living.  He commented there are some key questions when they look at alternative development policies, such as if they should be an option in their communities and what are the benefits; they think they will reduce costs, preserve green space, reduce auto trips; trade offs are that they do have higher density in some areas; and the bottom line is it is still a matter of local choice in Florida.   He commented during the dot game, residents were given dots that represent the different types of development, and each group was charged with selecting development patterns with the goal of achieving 100 points, because at 100 points, they will have represented 100% of new development for Brevard County.  He stated one key component of the game was understanding there are trade-offs with making different decisions, and because greater density takes up less space, for every urban or downtown development that was selected, participants were then given a corresponding green dot so they could choose to put it in an area where they felt preservation was appropriate.  He noted the choice of providing more density resulted in more green space and less density resulted in less green space, and while the green space dots were different sizes, the development dots were all the same with colors representing the difference.  He noted how that came out for Brevard County was that first of all, during the first round of sessions they asked the citizens to look at the areas of the County that citizens believed were best suited for different types of development as well as those important to preserve.  He stated the next step for myregion.org is to take the information, synthesize it with the help of the Regional Planning Council, and turn this information into regional vision scenarios that will show citizens that as they make different choices, what they will in fact look like and how they are available; that means moving into a second round of community meetings, and they have been scheduled and will begin in just a few weeks.  He commented he would hope the Board would have an opportunity to attend one of those meetings; and he would further request the Board have Space Coast Government Television (SCGTV) assist them with public announcements and spot advertising that promotes where meetings are taking place to encourage citizen participation.  Mr. Lyon stated the feedback from SCGTV is that it needs specific direction from the Commission in order to undertake that kind of supportive process; it is his hope the Board will grant that direction to SCGTV; and they have reached 3,000 citizens so far in this effort, and they have three million left to reach.  He commented these are the remaining steps in the process and he hopes the Commission will continue to support the project and encourage each of their neighbors to be engaged.  He noted they have technology outlets that are available to keep everyone updated during the campaign; they now have a blog that reflects all of the work that was done at those community meetings and an on-going community conversation about what is happening; that is howshallwegrow.org; and project
information can constantly be updated at myregion.org.  He stated finally, this morning, the Commission received invitations they can share with everybody to encourage wider support. 

 

Commissioner Pritchard asked if myregion.org was started in 2001 or 2002; with Randy Lyon stating 2001, and this is its sixth year.  Commissioner Pritchard commented he was part of panels they had at the Botanical Garden in Orlando and was privileged to serve on Transportation Communication and Economic Development; it has grown significantly; what began as a seed in the community has really blossomed and they are doing a good job.  He commented one of the things he brought back from the Regional Leadership Academy he was privileged to attend was that they need to really start focusing on the region; and the point he brought out at the Academy was that Brevard County does not think like a region, and how can Brevard County be part of a seven-county region, when within the County, they do not think as a region.  He noted Kristen Bakke was his team facilitator, and she heads up Lead Brevard; he told her at the Academy that the only way this is ever going to be brought out into the community is for someone to take the initiative, and the only initiative he can see is by Lead Brevard; and with that in mind, the Commission voted to give Lead Brevard $100,000 so it would take the message out into the community and facilitate the regional concept that is so important to the seven-county region.  He inquired of Randy Lyon if he had any suggestions as to ways the Commission can impact upon people that they have to stop thinking of their little corner of the world as the only area they need to be concerned about.

 

Randy Lyon stated this is a tremendous outreach effort and they see that people are getting involved, as in the proclamations the Board made earlier with the elder abuse and the young people in the Eagle Scouts.  He commented there is a greater communication; he thinks the electronics are helping; more people are paying attention as a result of the television, and all seven counties are now using their Government access channels to help communicate.  He noted as they move forward with How Shall We Grow, they will be announcing some very exciting communications strategies once they finish the second round of visioning, because ultimately this leads to a vote by citizens across the region on the several scenarios that come out of the process; they want that vote to include an enormous number of people; they are looking at a coalition that will include private cable providers and not-for-profit and for-profit television, but at the end of the day, it really comes down to neighbor to neighbor; and it is conversations like that, that produce interest in this process.   He noted as a region, they care about neighborhoods, great education, natural resources, and having interaction with them because they support the families. 

 

Commissioner Colon stated the Board should thank Commissioner Carlson, because she saw the regional vision years ago; unfortunately, she will not be with the Board after November, but this is something she should be proud of as part of her legacy; and the Board is thankful to Commissioner Carlson for showing it the bigger vision. 

 

Randy Lyon noted both Commissioners Carlson and Scarborough have been champions for myregion.org. 

 

Commissioner Carlson noted when she was elected in 1998, she wanted to make sure the community was in charge and leading the way, and not the Government; she thinks that is what they have done in Brevard County; and that has become an example for the myregion process as well.  She commented she is thankful that it has gone the way it has; the community is engaged and owns the process in Brevard County; and it is time now for the region to own the process.  She stated the private sector, non-profits, and government entities need to be collective in their thought process when it comes to looking at the region, because some of the pictures that are put out there in terms of what they could become is not what they want to become; and it is going to take a lot of education on the peoples’ and government officials’ parts, but these things are being addressed at the State and Federal level, and Brevard County will be a shining example in the State of Florida, if not the Nation, when it finishes the process.  She advised the next input session will be Thursday, August 31^st, at the Sandrift Community Center in Titusville and Commissioner Scarborough will attend that session; and she is going to attend the September 20^th Florida Tech session with Chair Voltz.  She commented Commissioners and City Officials need to go to the sessions and think about what it is that they are going to become, and how Brevard County, as a long, narrow county, will need to be focused on its future.  She noted it is critical that the County continue the path it is on, which is a good path, and she is very supportive of it and it is going to continue.

 

Commissioner Scarborough stated he has a continuing concern that growth can consume all of their thought process; how they grow eliminates certain other issues, and that is how they will evolve.  He commented on the conversations about the seniors and what role they play in society; and stated they are not only growing, they are evolving in the demographics and the nature of what and who they are.  He noted they are becoming more of an international community; there are different trends that are occurring within social problems; and he hopes that myregion.org does not strictly address the growth issue, but has a more holistic approach to the complexities of problems society addresses today.  He stated the environment, while it may appear to be something other than a growth issue, is critically a growth issue because growth draws out the environmental issue, and transportation issue; other issues become more suppressed in their discussion; he hopes that myregion.org is inclusive of all the issues the society addresses today; and that is one of his continuing concerns with the myregion.org efforts.

 

Randy Lyon commented myregion.org began as a look at how they would be competitive in the 21^st Century, and they very quickly, as a region, came to the realization that economics and competitiveness on a global scale had to do with a whole lot more than just how they do business, because they cannot do business successfully and have a great economy if they do not have a great environment, if they do not have great health care, and great respect for one another and the opportunities they need to be providing. 

 

County Manager Peggy Busacca stated there was a request about SCGTV running the public information spots, and she wanted to get direction from the Board.

 

Motion by Commissioner Pritchard, seconded by Commissioner Carlson to direct SCGTV to air public information announcements for myregion.org.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

Commissioner Carlson noted they also need to make sure they work with the School Board and County Commission to air the spots also.  She noted that Lead Brevard also has a good relationship with Brighthouse, so if they can engage them with anything they might be able to do, it would also be very helpful.

 

Commissioner Pritchard commented the last couple of summers, he and his wife have taken the Florida Cracker Tour; they went north to the panhandle, and last year they went south; and one could take the banner off of almost any newspaper, and it is the same information, regardless of where one is.  He noted the concerns that are recognized in the Academy are the DRI’s that are coming into play; when he and Commissioner Colon were on the East Central Florida Regional Planning Council there were four DRI’s off of I-4; one in Orange County and three in Osceola County; and Commissioner Colon asked where is the workplace, as there is a bedroom community with a 7-Eleven, but no workplace.  He stated because there is no workplace, people are now on I-4 or some other highway in order to get to work.  He stated the whole concept of where people are going to go and what they are going to have, has to be looked at in terms of what they have there, so that they do not have to travel, and he is hoping the DRI process will recognize that one cannot build a 5,000-unit bedroom community without wondering where the people will work and how they are going to get there.

 

Chair Voltz thanked Randy Lyon for addressing the Board.

 

The meeting recessed at 11:07 a.m. and reconvened at 11:26 a.m.

 

 

 

Chair Voltz stated she had passed out a couple of letters of support for the Grant Review Panel to the TDC and to the Community Cultural Grants panelists for the Melbourne Arts Festival; and requested the Board’s approval of the letters.

 

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Pritchard to approve the letters of support for the Grant Review Panel, to the TDC and the Community Cultural Grants panelists.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.   

 

 

 

Commissioner Carlson stated the item is in regards to execution of agreement to transfer roads in Pineda Crossing Subdivision Phase IV; and she understands there is a scrivener’s error, but she would like to have on record exactly what it is because there were questions about access on the sidewalks.  She stated her assumption was that if there was truly a scrivener’s error, it should have been picked up by the County during the inspection process.  She commented she did not know who was going to fix it.

 

Permitting and Enforcement Director Ed Lyon commented it was just brought to his attention that there may be some access ramps that are not installed, and he personally did not do the walk through, as it was done completely done by Road and Bridge staff and some of the Engineering Inspection staff.  He noted to the best of his knowledge everything on the construction plans has been installed, so at this time it would be left up to the Homeowners’ Association to install access ramps.

 

Commissioner Carlson inquired if it was a requirement of the County, and the County passed the inspections for the developers’; would it not be the County’s requirement to fix it; with Mr. Lyon responding it could be the County’s requirement to fix it, but he does not know.  Commissioner Carlson suggested Mr. Lyon  review it; and stated she does not have any problem with moving it forward, but if that is an issue, then they want to make sure they have the ADA standards in place and that they have been reviewed and inspected properly, and that the appropriate parties pay for putting them in.

 

Motion by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to execute Agreement with Pineda Crossing Corporation to transfer certain roads within the Pineda Crossing Subdivision, Phase IV, from Pineda Crossing Corporation to the Board of County Commissioners, Brevard County, Florida.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.  

 

 

 

Bea Polk stated she is there to get help in getting public records.  She noted she would like an investigation and some help from the County to get public records; and inquired what the Board can do.

 

Chair Voltz inquired if County Attorney Scott Knox is aware of what Ms. Polk is talking about; with Mr. Knox stating he is not sure, but it sounds like there was something that was done as an

investigation in one of the County offices.  Bea Polk stated that is correct, and it is finished and there is a memorandum on it; and it was finished in January.  She stated she asked for the e-mails, but she has received nothing; and if the public paid for it, then it is entitled to have it.  Commissioner Scarborough stated that it would be up to Mr. Knox to review the investigation for her.  Chair Voltz advised Ms. Polk to speak to Mr. Knox.  Ms. Polk stated she would appreciate that.  She stated she knows they can hire attorneys out of the County; but inquired why should they do that when they have a lot of lawyers in the County who need work, and why do they take it out of the County to Jacksonville.  She advised the Board to remember this when she brings it up at the budget hearing; she stated the Board would be surprised to know how much is taken out of the County.  She noted if it is something that cannot be found in Brevard County, then she agrees; and she asked if they are using it every time something goes wrong, and if they go to the County Attorney’s Office to hide it.  She noted this is not the first time she has been denied public records.

 

Commissioner Pritchard stated Ms. Polk, after she speaks to Mr. Knox, should see Rose Lyon from his office.

 

 

Joan Wheeler stated she lives in Titusville, and has been concerned about the referendum projects; and they are in the sixth year, with 15 more years to pay for them.  She commented the City seems to get anything it wants when the project is within the City; and she asked someone why the City gets anything it wants, and was told the CRA gets what it wants.  She commented Marina Park has engineering plans sitting in City Hall; but the CRA seems to be the one guiding the projects that are anywhere in its district; and she does not think Marina Park is owned by they CRA, the City Council, or the employees.  She stated the City and the CRA get whatever they want because the City owns the park; she is concerned as to who “the City” is; and she does not know if it is the CRA, the City Council, the City Manager, or if the people have anything to do with it.  She noted it seems like there are committees that work on the recommendations that come to the County Commissioners eventually.  She stated she would like to find out who the City of Titusville is, because it does not seem to be the people.

 

Commissioner Scarborough commented the CRA is the City Council, with a couple of other members.  Ms. Wheeler noted they are a different agency and are not the City Council when they are acting as the CRA.  Commissioner Scarborough commented they are City Council members who sit on the CRA; with Ms. Wheeler stating there are two appointed members, Jim Ball and Dr. Aker; and the CRA meets at a separate time from the City Council.  Ms. Wheeler stated the proposal is to find a consultant to find the best use for Marina Park; and the consultant should incorporate presentations to the Community Redevelopment Agency and the Brevard County Board of County Commissioners. 

 

Commissioner Scarborough stated the City and the County have an Agreement where MSTU funds are collected in the City of Titusville, and that is part of the relationship they have with the City, so they are taking money from the citizens and holding it for them; and there are some Agreements dealing with the North Brevard Parks and Recreation Board that has an authority that is independent of the City Council and the County Commission in directing some of the thought process.  He noted the parks are also owned by the City; it can put parks in or take parks out; and Marina Park is a different issue because the title is owned by the State of Florida, and the document is actually a dedication.  He stated it is like someone with a lease or right-to-use; it is strictly for recreation, but it is the City that has the relationship with the State, not the County; and to compound the problem, the County is the one that created the special referendum for the park projects, and the park projects monies were created with funds from the City and the County, so the Parks and Recreation Board has been assumed to have an authority on how those things are directed or redirected, even though that was from the City.  He commented there is a request for proposals that deals with the idea of a viability of an expanded Titusville Marina; and Ms. Wheeler was given a copy of the draft.  He advised it is still in draft form; it is going back and forth; and it has not come forward because there are still comments coming on it.  He stated he would invite anyone who wants to the see the draft and
make comments on it, to contact his office, because it is not something that has been agreed to yet; and he is open to all suggestions.  He stated the best thing for the City Council to do is understand the complexity of this; and the City of Titusville has directed its funds to the County to do a job.  He stated the County is under contract with the City to do a job on its property; and the county has a responsibility to listen to the City. 

 

Ms. Wheeler inquired why there are committees to make the recommendations if they do not count, and the citizens have to go by something from the City Manager.  Chair Voltz suggested Ms. Wheeler speak to City Attorney Dwight Seevers. 

 

 

 

Chair Voltz  called for the public hearing to consider Resolution vacating right-of-way in Section 19 and 30, Township 26 South, Range 37 East – CEG (Nathan Price).

 

Commissioner Carlson commented items VI.A. and VI.I, are in the area of Palm Shores, and the County has a Joint Planning Agreement with Palm Shores, and she has not met with the Mayor to find out what the items are about, so she would like to have an opportunity to do that, because they are close in proximity; and she would like to continue the two items until the August 22, 2006 meeting.

 

There being no further comments or objections heard, motion was made by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to continue the public hearing to consider a resolution vacating right-of-way (Old Dixie Highway) in Sections 19 and 30, Township  26 South, Range 37 East, as petitioned by Construction Engineering Group (Nathan Price), to August 22, 2006.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

 

Chair Voltz called for the public hearing to consider Resolution vacating unnamed right-of-way in Second addition to Indian River City – Dart Engineering LLC. 

 

There being no objection, motion by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to a adopt Resolution  vacating a right-of-way in Second  Addition to Indian   River

City as petitioned by Dart Engineering, LLC (Riveredge Property of Brevard, Inc.).  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

Chair Voltz called for the public hearing to consider Resolution vacating a portion of a right-of-way in plat of Brentwood Heights Subdivision.

 

There being no objection, motion by Commissioner Pritchard, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to adopt a Resolution vacating a portion of a right-of-way in Plat of Brentwood Heights Subdivision as petitioned by Four Communities Fire Department.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Chair Voltz called for the public hearing to consider Resolution vacating portion of public utility and drainage easement in Port St. John, unit four – Dorothy M. Sloan.

 

There being no objection, motion by Commissioner Pritchard, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to adopt a Resolution vacating a portion of a public utility & drainage easement in Port St. John, Unit Four as petitioned by Dorothy M. Sloan.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Chair Voltz called for the public hearing to consider Resolution vacating portion of public utility and drainage easement in Port St. John, Unit Six – Kevin and Patricia.

 

There being no objection, motion by Commissioner Pritchard, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to adopt a Resolution vacating a portion of a public utility & drainage easement in Port St. John, Unit Six as petitioned by Kevin B. & Patricia R. Burgett.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Chair Voltz called for the public hearing to consider Resolution vacating portion of unnamed right-of-way in Lund Gardens Subdivision – Henry Brandli and Charles Rhodes.

 

There being no objection, motion was made by Commissioner Colon, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to adopt a Resolution vacating a right-of-way in Lund Gardens Subdivision as petitioned by Patrick F. Healy, Attorney (Brandli/Rhodes).  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Chair Voltz called for the public hearing to consider Resolution vacating canal right-of-way in Section 30, Township 24 South, Range 37 East – Martin and Kristine Wilson.

 

There being no objection, motion by Commissioner Pritchard, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to adopt a Resolution vacating a portion of a canal right-of-way in Section 30, Township 24 South, Range 37 East as petitioned by Martin J. & Kristine D. Wilson.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

Chair Voltz called for the public hearing to consider Resolution vacating portion of public drainage easement in Sandpines, Section 3 – Mark and Monica Poole.

 

There being no objection, motion by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, so adopt a Resolution vacating a portion of a drainage easement in Sandpines as petitioned by Mark w. and Monica L. Poole.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Chair Voltz called for the public hearing to consider Resolution vacating right-of-way (Old Dixie Highway) in Section 19, Township 26 South, Range 37 East – Pineda Park.

 

There being no objection, motion by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to continue the public hearing to consider a resolution vacating right-of-way (Old Dixie Highway) in Section 19, Township 26 South, Range 37 East, as petitioned by Pineda Park, Inc. to August 22, 2006.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

 

Chair Voltz called for the public hearing to consider Ordinance rescinding tax abatements previously provided to select companies.

 

There being no objection, motion by Commissioner Pritchard, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to adopt Ordinance No. 06-46, rescinding tax abatement previously provided to a select company.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Chair Voltz called for the public hearing to consider Ordinance, granting economic development tax exemption for Premium Marine, Inc.

 

There being no objection, motion by Commissioner Pritchard, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to adopt Ordinance granting an economic development ad valorem exemption to Premium Marine, Inc., 603 Cidco Road, Cocoa, Florida; specifying the items exempted; providing the expiration date of the exemption; finding that the business meets the requirements of F.S. 196.012; providing for proof of eligibility for exemption; providing for an annual report by Premium Marine, Inc.; providing an effective date.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Colon, to adopt Resolution of Necessity; authorize commencement of condemnation proceedings for the acquisition of a parcel for Chain of Lakes Project needed to align the park entrance with the proposed intersection at Dairy Road and U.S. 1; and direct the County Attorney to utilize the quick take method.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

Motion by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Colon, to approve Stipulated Consent Order in Code Enforcement Case No. 06-2102 involving Michael and Warobick d/b/a U.S. 1 Golf Center, Inc.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

Chair Voltz stated she would like some kind of policy so the Board does not have to come back every six months, and maybe approve one year with a one year extension; with Commissioner Scarborough stating people could run into permitting issues with other agencies.  Chair Voltz inquired if the Board can approve it for a year, rather than six months; with Commissioner Scarborough commenting he does not want to tell anyone they cannot come before the Commission if there are extenuating circumstances; and suggested they get a report on the methodology.

 

Motion by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Colon, to approve a six-month site plan extension, from July 6, 2006 to January 6, 2007, for West Point Plaza, SP#01-020-002,

to allow the applicant to continue mitigations with St. Johns River Water Management District and the Army Corps of Engineers; and direct staff to provide a report on a different methodology so applicants would not have to return to the Board every six months.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

Transportation Engineering Director John Denninghoff stated there are no issues with the item but he wanted to add to the requested action that the Board authorize staff to assign the contract to the FDOT, without having to come back to the Board, go through the process; and FDOT would spend the money for the property, not the County. 

 

Commissioner Carlson stated the County Attorney’s Office does not recommend the hazardous waste warranty language; however, the Phase I Environmental Report has been completed with no further testing needed, and she is assuming that is okay; Mr. Denninghoff responding that is correct, and the objection on the part of the seller is normal and so is the Phase I.  He noted usually when they have an objection on the part of the seller, they go ahead and perform the Phase I, so they know up front, and it came up indicating no further investigation was required.

 

Motion by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Colon to accept the Contract change regarding the indemnity for hazardous waste; execute Contract for Sale and Purchase with Albert L. Gulledge for a parcel on the south side of Barnes Boulevard, west of the railroad crossing at U.S. 1, for the Barnes Boulevard/U.S.1 Intersection Project; and authorize staff to assign the Contract to FDOT.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.   

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Pritchard, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to execute Contract for Sale and Purchase and Addendum with Azan Temple Holding Corporation, Inc. for Parcel 102A for the Pineda Causeway Extension Project.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Pritchard, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to waive the five-acre requirement for two lots sharing the same access strip under Section 62-102(B)(b)(8) of the Code.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Pritchard, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to authorize sending letters thanking Congressmen Weldon and Feeney, and Senators Martinez and Nelson for their letters to Jacksonville District Army Corps of Engineers Colonel Grosskruger requesting the application for the Mid Reach beach restoration permit be kept open.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Pritchard, seconded by Commissioner Colon, to approve the Brevard County HOME Consortium’s FY 2006-2007 Consolidated Action Plan and Brevard County’s FY 2006-2007 Annual Action Plan; execute the required Certifications and SFS-424 Application for Federal Assistance for the CDBG and HOME Program Grant Agreements, the Disbursement Agreements with the four entitlement Cities of Titusville, Cocoa, Melbourne, and Palm Bay upon approval from HUD, and Contractual Agreements for projects identified in the Action Plan upon approval of Risk Management and the County Attorney’s Office; and authorize Facilities Construction or the Parks and Recreation Department, as construction managers, to use competitive bids, State Contracts, or sole sources to secure contractors to carry out the proposed projects.   Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to adopt Resolution qualifying IAP Worldwide Services, Inc. as an eligible business under the County’s Tax Abatement Program.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to acknowledge the finalized Guaranteed Maximum Price of $6,755,813.20 submitted by Ivey’s Construction for Phase I of the Jail Expansion; and authorize the County Manager to sign the required paperwork to increase the Contract amount.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to appoint Michael Raphael to the Internal Audit Committee, replacing Dave Zinsner, with term expiring October 26, 2008.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.  

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to grant permission to schedule an executive session for August 9, 2006 at 11:30 a.m. or as soon thereafter as possible to discuss strategy related to litigation in Palm Bay v. Brevard County, et al.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

The meeting recessed at 12:01p.m. and reconvened at 1:34 p.m.

 

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

 

 

Chair Voltz called for the public hearing to consider revisions to Merit System Policies.

 

Commissioner Scarborough suggested the Board go to 50%; and he thinks they should have an aggressive a County as possible in bringing in quality employees.

There being no further comments or objections, motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to approve revisions to the Merit System Definitions and References to expand the definition of an established position to authorize the County Manager to hire personnel when necessary as long as funds are available in the budget.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

 

Chair Voltz called for the public hearing to consider Transportation Impact Fee Ordinance.

 

Bill Huminski stated he is in favor of impact fees; he does not think impact fees inhibit growth; and they can see in other communities how higher impact fees have not inhibited growth.  He commented the imposition of impact fees on transportation is long overdue; it is necessary to share the cost of growth; and the Board should have taken the suggestion in 2002 to impose transportation fees when it was talking about putting fees in for school impact.  He inquired how much money the County lost by waiting; and could they have chipped away at the $420 million in projects; and stated he believes reasonable impact fees should be part of any smart growth management plan, just as the current Comprehensive Plan is.   He stated the Board should pass the ordinance to show the County it is serious about doing something to correct the budget shortfall, and this is a small step in the painful journey to find the funds for roads.  He noted he hopes the Board will approve the ordinance and end the controversy.

 

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

 

Mark Ryan, Economic Development Director, City of Titusville, stated he is present on behalf of the Mayor, City Council, and City Manager, to reflect that on June 13^th, 2006 the Mayor and the City Council unanimously voted to support the Board of County Commissioners in its proposal to increase transportation impact fees from the current 32½ %, to the 100% of the recommended findings in the 2000 study.

 

Ralph Perrone stated he is opposed to the commercial impact fees; and commercial impact fees are going to go from $2.80 a foot to $8.40 a foot.  He stated the fee for a 10,000-square foot building is going to go from $28,000 to $84,000, and he thinks that is a number that is unbelievable and hard to comprehend.  He commented he knows there is a need for impact fees but he thinks tripling impact fees across the board has not been looked at; Florida Today has done a horrible job at putting stuff in the newspaper about the subject; and everyone he has
talked to does not know anything about commercial impact fees tripling.  Mr. Perrone stated he is working on a building that is 17,000 square feet; the fees will be over $170,000; and he has contacted the engineer and pulled the plug on the project, because he can no longer build in Brevard County.  He requested the Board review the commercial portion and reconsider tripling that number; and stated he admires Commissioner Pritchard for what he said many years ago, which was to let projects get built and put them on the tax roll.

 

 

Commissioner Carlson commented in Section 62-815, under exemptions, credits, reimbursements, and deferrals, number six says, “all industrial land uses, as defined here and described in the North American Industry Classification, mining, utilities, construction, manufacturing, transportation warehousing, and waste management remediation services”; all of them were lumped into one pile; the Board needs to reconsider some of the issues; and it might want to readdress industrial uses altogether.  She commented when the Board first passed the impact fee, it was hoped that the Board was not messing around with the manufacturing, because the EDC was working to bring in manufacturing jobs; but she is not sure the Board meant to apply that to things like mining and other types of construction, because the big trucks are the ones that really make a huge impact on the roads.  She commented the Commission asked to re-look at the fees to see if it could update them; she has an email that talks about the various costs to update it, and it talks about looking at new land use categories for office and warehouse, and also addresses Lee Feldman’s suggestion that the Board develop a transportation impact fee rate specifically tailored to trip characteristics on County roads in Palm Bay and Melbourne.  She stated she wanted to address some of those things and make sure they are going to do something about it; and the last point on the email was that the Board might want to put together an updated Study Advisory Committee to review the various methodologies and assumptions during the development of a study.  She stated she is not sure what happened to the Board looking at a study to update them, because it is coming from an old study; the Board has been listening to other counties that are requiring much higher impact fees in transportation; and if the County does not have sales tax, and the Board is not looking at other opportunities for transportation, then it needs to look at other options and make sure the numbers it is getting from the previous study are truly the right numbers.  She stated although it will go to 100% today, it might take six months; and it might be worth it to readdress them and look at the Cities because of the complaints of County roads not being maintained within the cities.

 

Commissioner Scarborough inquired if Commissioner Carlson wants to delete paragraph six, or if she wants to tweak it; with Commissioner Carlson commenting right now the Board exempts all industrial land uses as defined, and she would like staff to give them feedback on paragraph six.  Commissioner Scarborough stated the citizens anticipate certain time frames of when they need to get in to be grandfathered in, and if the Board tables the item, it will compound that issue.

 

Commissioner Carlson inquired of Comprehensive Planner Steve Swanke how the industrial uses were handled in the 2001 study, in terms of what categories were exempt or not exempt.  Steve Swanke stated in the 2001 study, staff asked the legal consultants to give a legal opinion
as to whether or not staff could continue to exempt all non-residential uses, which Brevard County started to do in September, 1995, and continued up until 2001, when the new rate schedule was adopted.  Mr. Swanke commented the attorney advised staff that the amount of revenue that it was not collecting by doing an across-the-board exemption for all non-residential uses was so high he did not feel he could legally defend it if it were challenged; the attorney advised exempting the industrial land uses, which generally generate only 2% of the total revenue stream, could be defended, and the Board chose to continue that exemption.  He noted the definition may not serve the purpose the Board wants it to serve, but staff can look at options to amend it.

 

Commissioner Carlson inquired how long it would take to bring back a little more information on that particular discussion; and stated she does not have any problem going forward today, as they can always amend the Ordinance.   

 

Mr. Swanke stated it could be brought back to the Board at the meeting after the next regular meeting.  Commissioner Pritchard inquired if the transportation impact fee that was recommended by the consultant, provides leeway of exclusion of certain types of property.  Mr. Swanke responded the study calculated a transportation impact fee for each of the land use categories, including the industrial land uses, manufacturing land uses, and warehousing; and the Board chose to continue to exempt the industrial facilities with the intention that it felt like many of those would be bringing value added jobs to Brevard County.  He commented in the County’s rate schedule and in the Ordinance, a transportation impact rate for each of those land use categories was a policy decision made by the Board in 2001.  Commissioner Pritchard inquired if Mr. Swanke knew the wording of Senate Bill 360, regarding the adoption of the latest consultant recommendation; with Mr. Swanke responding there was an impact fee bill passed in the last Legislative Session, but it was not Senate Bill 360; and it did include a requirement that a local government would use the most current data in adopting its impact fee ordinances. 

 

Commissioner Pritchard inquired if the bill said to use the current data, where is the current data, and where is the exclusion.  Mr. Swanke advised the exemption has been in place since 2001, and what the Board sees in paragraph six corrects an error that was made then.  He advised at one point, staff updated its reference from the 1987 standard edition of the Standard Industrial Classification book to the 1997 edition of the North American Industrial Classification System; they did that one place in the Ordinance, but forgot to do it in the actual exemption section; so what the Board is seeing is correcting that oversight from five years ago. Commissioner Pritchard inquired if the Legislation said to use what the consultant recommends, how can the Board change that; with Mr. Swanke responding the language states to use the current data, but it does not preclude the Board from making a policy decision, if it is legally defensible, to exempt industrial development because it promotes economic development within the County. 

 

Chair Voltz stated it is a question for the County Attorney.  County Attorney Scott Knox commented the Board can exclude properties that were not excluded in the recommendation if they are basing it on the Statute; the Statute requires the most current data, and it does not preclude the Board from establishing legitimate exemptions.  

 

Commissioner Pritchard stated his concern on the commercial impact fee is that if it is going to go from $28,000 to $84,000, as Mr. Perrone said, the cost of doing something in this type of situation is going to prohibit the building of things.  He commented most of the people talk about the residential, and he does not think they realize the commercial application and the effect it is going to have.  He commented the justification says that in 2000, that would be the impact of a 10,000 square foot commercial office building; it would have an $84,000 transportation impact fee, and his assumption is that it is justified; and inquired if the justification takes into account the economic effect it can have on the community by not having a facility that people can work or shop in.  Mr. Swanke responded the equation looks at the number of trips generated per square foot of a commercial building, the length of those trips, and the cost of constructing the infrastructure to accommodate those trips; it does not place any value judgments on whether it is a desirable use, or undesirable use, and it only looks at the cost of providing transportation infrastructure to accommodate the traffic generated by an office building.

 

Commissioner Pritchard commented most of the commercial construction he is familiar with is on State roads; and inquired if the County maintains S.R. 3; with Steve Swanke responding he does not believe the County maintains S.R. 3, but staff has used the trip length that is associated with each of the land uses and does include travel on everything but Interstate 95 and S.R. 528.  Commissioner Pritchard stated his concern is that he does not think people realize the excess amount that the commercial enterprises are going to be paying; if they have Legislation that requires the Commission to go to a recommendation, then will end up in a position in which it will have to go along with what was said; otherwise, they are not eligible for State funding.  He commented the Commission would be doing the wrong thing if it allowed huge increases on buildings that would provide service to the community on existing roads that are traveled anyway; it is not like a subdivision is being built, and there is concern about the additional people on the roads; and for the most part, the commercial buildings are going to be servicing the community at large; so he thinks it is something the Board needs to look at, state there needs to be a limit on the increase of commercial impact fees, and realize that the justification is not there.  He advised about 65% of the tax base is derived from commercial properties; that is what pays the freight for the quality of life; and that is what Grant-Valkaria is going to find out that if it does not have the commercial tax base to pay for the quality of life, it is going to have a problem.  He commented if the Commission does something to eliminate or reduce this opportunity to get the higher dollar value property on the tax roll, it is going to have decisions; and the decisions are going to be what the people want by way of services, and what they want to see cut or what tax increase they want. 

 

Commissioner Carlson commented there is supposed to be an Impact Fee Group Study looking at impact fees in general; and inquired what the due date is for bringing something back; with Mr. Swanke responding there was an Impact Fee Task Force and he believes it has completed its report.  Commissioner Carlson noted she was speaking with someone from Sustainable Florida and was told the impact fee study had to be completed by 2008; with County Manager Peggy Busacca advising the only committee she is aware of that has to be done by 2008 has to do with the portability of Save Our Homes.  Commissioner Carlson stated she thought there was another committee looking at impact fees, and she thought it was part of Senate Bill 360.  Mr. Swanke commented the committee was created by Senate Bill 360; it had a series of meetings
over the course of the year; and it submitted its report to the Legislature.  He stated there were a number of impact fee related bills up for consideration in the past Legislative session, and the one that actually passed did not restrict impact fees substantially. 

 

Commissioner Carlson commented she is okay with the way the ordinance stands and would like to bring it to 100%; she would like to see the industrial exemptions reviewed; with commercial impact fees, commercial entities create a lot of traffic on the roads that may not have normally been there; the ten trips assessed to a resident might be greater; and whatever the difference is, it is applied to the commercial.   She noted she would like to see everybody across-the-board get the same impact fees assessed, based on the study, until they get a new study done.

 

Commissioner Scarborough commented he is concerned about having a study that is dated, as the study goes back to 2000; but the professional journal states that earth work, from 2003 to the beginning of 2006, increased from $4.96 per cubic yard to $15.40 per cubic yard.  He commented the cost calculations are enormous and all of these things need to be addressed; and he would like to go ahead and make a motion that the Board proceeds with the impact fees, then it can take subsequent motions to come back and fine-tune some of the issues.

 

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Carlson to approve transportation impact fees.

 

Commissioner Pritchard inquired when the Board can take subsequent motions; with Commissioner Scarborough responding he would like to do something today because he thinks the Board is at a fraction of what the new study would be, and that fraction could be 30%. 

 

Chair Voltz commented a hotel is going to be $2,700 per room; a motel is $1,400 per room; a resort hotel is $6,500 per room; a bank with a drive-through is $23,000 per 1,000 square feet; a convenience store is $34,000 per square-foot; a restaurant with a drive-in is $35,800 per 1,000 square feet; a golf course is $11,500 per-hole; a daycare is $11,800 per 1,000 square feet; and those are huge increases.  Commissioner Pritchard inquired about the fee for a church or school; with Chair Voltz responding churches have gone from $698 per square-foot to $2,500 per square-foot.  Chair Voltz inquired if schools will be charged because they are going from $75 to $273 per-student, and can the School Board afford it.  Mr. Swanke advised the impact fees do not apply to public schools or charter schools; with Commissioner Pritchard inquiring if the County has any private middle schools; with Mr. Swanke commenting charter schools are public schools, so they do not pay. 

 

Chair Voltz commented if and when the Board looks at a penny sales tax, she thinks that all of this needs to go away, as it should be able to collect enough money through sales tax, and impact the tourists who make an impact on the roads. 

 

Commissioner Pritchard stated the only problem with a penny sales tax is that it has been pretty well shown that the public will not support it; and the history has been that citizens do not support a 1% sales tax, even when it is specifically limited; Chair Voltz noted she did not think
the Board ever limited a sales tax for roads; with Commissioner Pritchard stating when he was with the City of Lauderdale, the Fire Prevention Bureau developed a plan to charge people for plan review based on square footage.  He stated it did not matter if it was a parking garage or commercial, and a plan review for a parking garage could be done in eight hours, but if it was a commercial structure of the same square footage it could take three weeks; they charged the same amount, which he thought was unfair, but he was told at the time not to rock the boat.  He commented he does not think what they have here is fair or equitable; he asked what they are supposed to do about the subdivisions; and what they have lost is the commercial aspect of it.  He stated the concern he has, because so much of the tax base is based on economic development, is that what they are doing is literally taking the wind out of the sails; and citizens may not have the convenience of a market or a tennis court or a movie theater, at $44 per-seat.  He commented the Commission is in a Catch-22; it has a recommendation and also Legislation that says it is supposed to do this, but it also has a policy that allows them to make some changes; he commented to Commissioner Scarborough that the broadness of his motion accepts the impact fees at 100%, and then the Board can come back and pick and choose.  He noted if the Board is talking about going to one-half the recommended impact fee for commercial, with the situation of the housing market flattening, the interest rates increasing, and insurance costs that are out of sight, his concern is that the Board will be taking economic development and giving it a slap instead of giving it a boost.  Chair Voltz inquired what the Board would have to do to phase in the impact fees; and stated she has no problem leaving the residential at 100%, but it should phase in the commercial; with Mr. Swanke advising all the rates increase by the same percentage.  Chair Voltz stated if it is over a three-year period to phase in the increase at one-third a year, then after three years they are at 100%; and inquired if that is a possibility.  Mr. Knox responded affirmatively.  Commissioner Scarborough noted it is more complex, because the Board wants to phase in portions and not all of it; and inquired if the phasing could be broken; with Mr. Knox responding the issue the Board will face is whether or not it is treating everyone equally.  Mr. Knox advised the general rule is that if the Board has a legitimate reason for doing it, it can; and if the board wants to encourage economic development and give a chance to adapt to the higher impact fee over a period of time, it is a legitimate reason.

 

Commissioner Carlson inquired in terms of the Cities that are doing the gradual increases, if they did it based on an up-to-date impact fee study; with Mr. Swanke responding Palm Bay did a new study and the phasing applies to all land uses, not just some.  Commissioner Carlson commented if it is done, it has to be done across-the-board; she is not sure that was the intent; it does not mean in the future that the Board cannot look at the various methodologies; but it has to be supported by some sort of concrete economic development.  She stated they exempted manufacturing for the reason of the EDC, in that the Board gives the EDC money to bring in jobs; she does not think that stands when looking at other exemptions, such as whether a 7-Eleven on the corner is an economic development point of reference, compared to bringing in a large corporation with 50 jobs and an average salary of $57,000; and she does not think the two can be compared.

 

Paul Saia inquired on the date of implementation of the impact fees; stated there is a large development of over 11,000 homes being built west of I-95; and inquired if they will be exempt
because their plan is in early, or if they will get the new or old impact fees.  He noted if they are going for the infrastructure, they are going to need a lot of money for the infrastructure for the new subdivision.  Mr. Swanke commented the language staff is using for vesting purposes says the developer has to submit a complete building permit application prior to October 14, 2006; anyone who does that will be entitled to use the current rate schedule; and for a new subdivision, unless the developer has a permit for every home, they are not going to be vested. 

 

Commissioner Carlson noted the other question Mr. Saia asked was about the 11,000 additional units and the substantial deviation that the Viera DRI might present; that has not been assessed

completely, nor has it been approved by any of the authorities it has to be approved by, and it is still in the process of being studied to look at the potential impacts.  She advised when, and if, that comes to the Board it will be applied at 100%, if it is the way it is today.

 

Commissioner Pritchard commented the three-year phase-in makes sense; and under the umbrella of economic development, as well as convenience, industrial manufacturing, commercial, and retail should be phased in.  He stated the impact is absolutely amazing; $2,300 to $8,600 per 1,000 square feet; $3,700 to $13,000 per 1,000 square feet; $6,000 to $23,000 per 1,000 square feet; and these are the buildings that pay the freight, as well as provide services for the community.  He stated just because a bank is built does not mean 16 homes are going to be built to support the bank, the bank will be built because the community desires a bank; and if the bank is charged an enormous fee, it will not be built.

 

Commissioner Carlson commented banks are built by the market driven population numbers, so if there is a large community, a bank will be built.  Commissioner Pritchard noted in the last couple of years there have been a dozen banks chartered in Brevard County, yet the residential growth has not been as significant as might be indicated.

 

Commissioner Scarborough commented if there is not going to be an amendment to the motion on the floor, he is ready to vote; but if the Board is going to amend the motion, he would like to discuss it further; and suggested they call the question and see if it passes.  Commissioner Pritchard stated he would like to amend the motion. 

 

Commissioner Scarborough commented if he had two pieces of property, and one was on a road and another was in the woods, and the property in the woods was a nicer piece of property, but it has minimal value because there is no connectivity to the community; community infrastructure is a fundamental part of the value of a piece of property, and value is added to property when roads are built.  He noted sometimes there is a road that is usable, but someone comes in and keeps using up the capacity to the point there needs to be more capacity; there is a value for a property to be on the road, and they are drawing from that value and diminishing the value of the road because it becomes gridlock.  Commissioner Scarborough stated they have a value that is contributed by the community that is created by what is outside, and everything that is a value to a piece of property is not located on the property.  He commented if his neighbors keep up their property and landscaping, his property is more valuable; if his neighbors want to work on used cars in the yard, or do not cut the grass, it devalues his property; and any realtor will advise that if a property is beside power lines or railroads, it
devalues the property.  He stated there is a value to the property owner in having a valuable roadway that operates; when the Commission started the impact fees, it started at 30% of a price that existed in 1999; people got a discount for seven years; and now all of a sudden they have to pay a historical value of what the price is, and they are still at a loss.  He noted he does not have a good feeling about it.

 

Chair Voltz commented she understands what Commissioner Scarborough said, but she has always thought the Board should not go ten years without an increase in water rates, and then all of a sudden they have to be tripled, when the rates could have gone up a little at a time, that is what the inequity is, and it is not the residents’ fault, it is the Board’s fault for not passing on the increases a little bit at a time. 

 

Commissioner Pritchard commented many of the projects are on State roads; the County does not put its dollars on State roads, so there is a huge amount of net the County makes off the impact fees without expenditure; and he understands it could be used somewhere else in the district for something else that might apply to it.  He stated his concern is the huge impact it is going to have and the potential of the negative effect, in particular on the retail and commercial.  He commented if the Board starts looking at the taxes and where they have gone, along with the fact that the commercial projects are not under Save Our Homes, such projects end up paying a lot of money based on what the consultant had to say; and the idea of having the phase-in is so that the impact is not so large.  He stated the federal government is talking about raising interest rates again, and insurance and taxes; a lot of the amenities they are looking to use are not going to be here; and maybe people do not want the amenities, but he thinks certain amenities are nice. He stated that is his concern and he is not going to support amending anything at this point. 

 

Chair Voltz commented she thinks it is important that they pay for the roadways and she is going to be supporting the impact fees; she does not like it; but she thinks it is necessary at this point; however, if, and when, they look at a penny sales tax in the future, they need to take the impact fees back to zero, or to where they are today.

 

Commissioner Pritchard commented the Board is stuck; Senate Bill 360 and the other Legislation say “if you want to play, you have to pay”; he thinks the phase-in is necessary, but there is no support for the phase-in, and if they do not support it, they will not be eligible for any State money, so they will end up in a Catch-22 for with the philosophy of less taxes, less government.  He noted if the County wants any money from the State, it has to do something, and he would only hope that the people at home realize the huge impact that this is going to have on their lives.  He stated it is going to be quite a surprise, once implemented, because of the effect it is going to have; and Legislation puts him in a position he does not like to be in.

 

There being no further comments, motion was made by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to adopt Ordinance amending Chapter 62, “Land Development Regulations”, Code of Ordinances of Brevard County, Florida; amending Article V “Impact Fees”; amending Division 4 “Transportation”; amending Section 62-803 “Findings” to revise and update Findings; amending Section 62-805 “Definitions” to create additional definitions;
amending Section 62-815 “Exemptions, Credits and Reimbursements” to create provisions that help to mitigate for the effects of higher transportation impact fees on the production of affordable housing and first time homebuyers and to revise existing exemption; amending Section 62-818 “Fee Schedule” to increase the transportation impact fed rate charges for each land use type; providing legal status; providing a severability clause; providing for area encompasses; providing for conflicting provisions; and providing an effective date.  Motion carried and ordered 4:1; with Commissioner Colon voting nay.  

 

 

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

 

 

 

Chair Voltz called for the public hearing to consider creation of MSBU for imposition of Fire Service Special Assessment on real property.

 

Fire Rescue Director Bill Farmer commented assessments, ad valorem and non-ad valorem all mean a very specific thing when it comes to the Legislation; but to the taxpayer it just means that if there is any money coming out of their pockets into the government pocket it is tax, regardless of what it is called.  He stated he appreciated his office fielding approximately 500 calls; and his staff has been abused by some of the callers.  He commented decisions are coming toward them and they do not like their hands being forced; the lawsuit from Palm Bay has driven the Board to have to find another revenue methodology; and it has no choice.  He stated an assessment means charges will be based on what is done and not on value of property; and on February 21^st he brought five ideas to the Board.  He noted if they get away from valuation, they will cause what some people might call a regressive tax; and it is more than not revenue neutral, it is more of a decrease.  He commented 90,000 parcels received letters in the last couple of weeks, and he apologizes if he led the Commission to believe that it would be revenue neutral to all 90,000 parcels; however, if they were to keep the Fire MSTU at 2.2035 mills, they would generate an additional $3.5 million, which is a tax decrease to Brevard County citizens.  He advised some of that decrease is coming from taxable value, and there is no way around that.

 

Chief Farmer commented it does not cost him any more or less to fight a fire at a 900 square-foot manufactured home than it does on a 1,600 square-foot home or a 2,000 square-foot home; but homes that are 3,000, 4,000, and 5,000 square feet are like small commercial buildings, and they may bring double resources to it.  He noted it is not the Board’s fault, as Legislation is very clear how the notices have to go out; and people are always hearing how the Board can go as high as it has advertised, or lower, but not higher; but it is different when dealing with a new assessment.  He stated anything above what the Board did would have to be re-advertised and re-mailed; his office had about 500 to 600 calls, which is less than 1% of the population; 99% of the population is unknown; and whatever change is made may have a ripple effect with those others; and they will again receive 500 phone calls complaining about the
methodology it was changed to.  He commented a new mailer could not be secured in time to have the roll certified by September 15, 2006.

 

County Manager Peggy Busacca asked Mr. Farmer to explain the methodology.  Chief Farmer stated today the Board is looking at the ordinance, which provides enabling language to create the methodology for the assessment; as the Board knows, this was done a couple of weeks ago; and the Board made a decision to change and exempt those properties, such as churches and schools, that had been previously exempt.  Chief Farmer commented they would have loved to have done that with single-family homes, but there would have been a valuation.  He advised on August 22, 2006 at 1:30 p.m., they will be back to discuss numbers.  He commented his office and the Commissioners’ Offices have gotten phone calls from people on very fixed, low incomes; they have to make a decision between eating, paying their bills, buying medicine, or paying their taxes; but if the Board were to attempt to do the valuation, it would not just affect those people, but would affect other people. He added he does not believe they can construct an assessment that only deals with the poor folks that are being inundated with increases across-the-board.

 

Ralph Perrone stated he considers himself to be a friend of the Fire Department; and his Company raised $7,000 in about four hours to run supplies out to the command post on S.R. 520 when they were fighting the fires.  He commented he has a building on Courtenay Parkway that is 15,000 square feet going from $258 to over $2,000, and no one in the Fire Department can tell him exactly how the math works.  He commented commercial buildings are the safest thing out there; they are getting raised the most, and he does not think it is fair.

                                                     

Chair Voltz commented she had a gentleman call her office who was livid that his taxes were going to go up; his square footage was 3,409 square feet and yet when they figured it out, his valuation is $521,250, and at the 2.2035 mills, he pays $1,148 for fire assessment; and with the new method he will pay with the .6529 mills, about $350 plus the $276, or is a little over $600, so he is saving around $500.  She stated if they look at mobile homes in her District, the assessments have gone from $61 to $212, which is a tremendous increase; the first guy with the $1 million house gets a $500 decrease, and the people in her District who live in mobile homes are going to be paying quadruple what they are currently paying.

 

Chief Farmer stated he does not believe that over the course of the next 12 months, they will be able to tier out the assessment again; and they have to make sure it stays a legal assessment and does not begin to look like a millage rate valuation duck, because then they will be stuck in the same position, lawsuit wise, as Palm Bay.  He stated they have to move forward and do something, and if over the course of the next year, the Board wants him to tier the assessment out greater on square footage, with the guidance of the County Attorney’s Office, he would be happy to do that; but the issue is they are looking at what it takes to respond to a fire; if they respond to a 900 square-foot manufactured home, it is the same as responding to a 1,600 square-foot home and a 2,000 square-foot home, and that is what is driving the assessment.  He commented he does not know how to create a completely neutral flip for every single person
when going from valuation to flat assessment, and he does not think it is even possible.  He noted in checking with some other departments that went through the same issue, they had some of the exact same issues, and it is the result of a new revenue methodology.

 

Chair Voltz commented if there is a shortfall, they cannot take it from Parks and Recreation or EELS.  She noted Mr. Farmer indicated he was looking at coming up with a million dollars; and inquired  if he  came up  with the number.   Chief Farmer  responded I.T. is  working  around the

clock to get numbers on what the valuation loss would be for the Fire Department; if the number is $800,000, they can absorb that by taking reserves down to zero; and they were only looking at that because they were hoping to avoid a mailer.  Chief Farmer stated since they were reducing the amount of revenue coming in and not increasing it, they thought that that would be fair; but the County Attorney’s Office’s opinion is that it cannot be done, as Legislation does not allow it.  He commented if they reduce the effect on some of the valuation homes, it is going to have to be a mailer; and if they have to do a mailer anyway, he would urge the Board not to accept the option of reducing the reserves to zero, because he does not think that is a good idea for the Fire Department, but was just trying to give an option to the Board.

 

Commissioner Pritchard inquired out of the 90,000 parcels, how many are paying more than they paid last year.  Chief Farmer replied he is not sure, but his staff can come up with something.   He advised on the date of the Rate Resolution, they are going to have computers set up so citizens can find out exactly what is happening with their tax bills as they apply to Fire Rescue and the Board; but it will show the effect from the School Board or some others.  He stated he and the County Manager’s Office feel there have been several occasions when the Board has reduced taxes, somebody else came behind and ate them up, and the Board has not gotten credit for the reductions it has done.

 

Commissioner Pritchard commented he is going to run through some numbers to show where, at least somewhat, the breaking point is as to whether they are going to see a decrease from last year’s taxes, or a slight increase.  He noted when he spoke to Mr. Farmer yesterday, he told him the assessment is a reverse Robin Hood, in that they are taking from the less wealthy and giving it to the Government.  Chair Voltz commented that is what the Board is doing; and thanked the City of Palm Bay.   Commissioner Pritchard commented a gentleman called him at home this morning and told him it is not the money he is concerned about, but it is the percentage that the rate is going up.  He stated a house that is assessed at $386,000 is going to see a $364 decrease; and that is from this year to last year, so if they paid $100 last year, they will pay $70 this year.  He commented the numbers do not always fall in line because it depends on the specifics of the tax roll that the Board used, and the individuals under Save Our Homes and where they fall in.   He stated someone with an $82,000 valuation will pay $44 more; $77,000 valuation will pay $51.00 more; $62,000 valuation will pay $71.00 more; and $51,000 will pay $85.00 more.  He noted the lower the appraisals, the higher the amount they are going to be paying; and in terms of Barefoot Bay, someone with a $41,000 valuation will pay $99.00 more; $26,000 will pay $106.00 more; and $31,000 will pay $113.00 more than last year.  He commented the assessment on a 453 square-foot home is $2,936, and they are paying $150 more.  He added anybody who does not think they are in a crisis is not aware, and they should
wait until they get their insurance bill.  He commented people reported to him their increases of $2,000 to $8,000, and others were higher than that; condominium associations are going up to unbelievable amounts; and the Board worried about Save Our Homes and keeping people in their homes so taxes would not tax them out, but there has been the reverse effect, and now people are taxed in their homes because they cannot afford to move.  He commented the fees are unbelievable, and it was mentioned there is going to be a consumer/taxpayer revolt.  He stated he was told by Representatives Randy Johnson and Bob Allen that he created the insurance crisis when he voted to combine the Office of Treasury, Fire Marshal and Insurance Commissioner, although the Insurance Commissioner was left to be appointed; so it is sort of like the Board brought it on itself with a Constitutional Amendment.

 

Commissioner Pritchard commented multi-family owners are receiving assessment letters for their units, their parking spaces, and in some cases, for their boat slips; and others are receiving additional assessments for detached garages and outbuildings on the same parcel of land their residence sits on.  He inquired if that is in addition to what a single-family residence would receive; with Chief Farmer responding it depends on how it is done in the Property Appraiser’s file; he has to use that database; and they do not have the technology to break out those specific types of parcels and properties.

 

Commissioner Pritchard commented the dilemma people are facing is whether they pay their taxes or pay their insurance; and if they have a mortgage, they better pay the insurance or they will be foreclosed on and be out on the street.  Chair Voltz noted tax is the same way.  Commissioner Pritchard stated if one’s property is homesteaded and one does not pay taxes, the County will file a lien and collect it down the road; and someone will purchase the tax certificate and use it as a revenue source somewhere. 

 

Chief Farmer replied the people with the boat slips who were paying into the MSTU were probably also paying the EMS assessment.  He noted he cannot tell the Board the exact number of units affected by where the breakeven number is; the valuation cutoff they picked was $50,000; he asked I.T. to run that information, and hopefully he will have that number to the Board by the end of the meeting.

 

Commissioner Pritchard inquired if the Board has the ability to negate the increase that people would be paying who are going to fall into the category of having a property assessed at less than $120,000; with Attorney Knox replying he will have to research that and get the Board an answer by August 22^nd.

 

Commissioner Scarborough commented he thinks the whole thing can remain intact and the bill will have to be paid; they could have monies with General Revenue to pay those particular cases Chair Voltz was mentioning where people who can least afford it are bearing the burden; and it is not okay to impact the people who are that bad off to the level that they are going to be impacted.  Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Pritchard, to direct the County Attorney to co come back with a methodology whereby the County could take General Revenue monies and pay the assessments in cases where certain factors are proven,
as a humanitarian act because the County has been compelled to do this by court action.

 

Chair Voltz commented there is also a move in the Legislature to approve another $25,000 homestead exemption; and she inquired if that has already been done; with Ms. Busacca responding it is going to the voters in November.  Chair Voltz commented it should pass; the Board can enact that ordinance or adopt an ordinance to use that exemption; and that may take care of the whole problem because their taxes would go down and they would still have the same fire system.

 

Commissioner Pritchard inquired if the Board can reduce the millage by half a mill, so it can use that as an analogy of charging less to begin with that might take them back to a pay neutral; with Mr. Knox responding he will look at that as well.

 

Chief Farmer inquired if the Board’s motion is going to amend the Ordinance to allow the payback program; with Chair Voltz responding stating that is what the Board is doing, and before it moves, she needs to know how much needs to be paid out of General Fund.  Commissioner Scarborough commented it is just a Commission request for legal advice, and it indicates the Commission wants to solve the problem. 

 

Commissioner Pritchard stated the line item in the letter refers to previous wildfires that were only paid by those in the unincorporated area; with Chief Farmer stating that is correct.  Commissioner Pritchard inquired why only those in the unincorporated area when the fires threatened the whole County.  Ms. Busacca stated the Board discussed this with the City Managers who said if the entire County has to pay for the vacant land, then they would send the County their bills, and that is when it was limited to the unincorporated areas.  Chair Voltz stated she thinks it is a mutual agreement because if there is a wildfire, the County goes and helps the Cities and they come and help the County.

 

Commissioner Pritchard commented when there is a fire, the Fire Department sends an alarm; if it needs more people, it calls a second or a third and strikes a second or third alarm; and the first response is three engines, a district chief, and a rescue; with Chief Farmer responding affirmatively.  Commissioner Pritchard stated the second response would be the same without the Chief; with Chief Farmer responding affirmatively.  Commissioner Pritchard commented the Chief is incident commander, so they bring in more people and more manpower.  He noted if they pull up to a wood-frame structure that is next to other wood-frame structures, they do not call for a second truck because of the structure that is involved, they do it for the exposure; with Chief Farmer responding that is correct.  Commissioner Pritchard commented he is having a tough time buying into the 3,000 square-foot delineation based on an expectation of having more manpower that would be coming to a bigger house because it is on fire, than for a lesser house.

 

Chief Farmer commented if the Board would like him, over the course of the next year, to look at a different tier structure, he can do that; and there are homes in some areas of Brevard County that are not homes, but are just small commercial structures, and so they made that line in the sand.  He stated he needs guidance from the County Attorney’s Office that it does not look too much like it is tied to valuation.  Commissioner Pritchard noted he does not think residential
needs a tiered structure; and they are not sending an aerial on a first or second alarm unless they have mutual aid, because the County does not have a aerial, unless it is going to buy one in the next few months; with Chief Farmer stating they will buy one in the next budget year.  Commissioner Pritchard asked if they will get a 105-foot stick; with Chief Farmer responding they are looking at 75-axle on the mainland and three digits on the beach because of the parking zones.  Commissioner Pritchard commented he disagrees with the tiered structure, and would rather it be eliminated, because he does not think people who have a bigger house should pay more for fire protection, as they are already paying more taxes because they have a bigger house.  Chair Voltz noted they are also saying the people who live in smaller homes will be paying more; with Commissioner Pritchard responding a fire response is a response, and it is not based on the square footage of the house. 

 

Chair Voltz commented she is looking at the bottom line; and the bottom line is the people who live in mobile homes in Barefoot Bay are being charged a ton of money; with Commissioner Pritchard responding he thinks they should all pay the same, whether it is $212, $110 or whatever it might be.  Chief Farmer noted he did look at that, and can bring it back to the Board next year; and when they applied the average of calls, 60% are from single-family residents, and if they say 60% of the budget should be paid by single-family residents they are going to do it across-the-board that was a very ugly number.

 

Chair Voltz called for a vote on the motion to direct the County Attorney to provide a methodology.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously; with Commissioner Colon absent.

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Pritchard, to adopt Ordinance for creation of an MSBU for imposition of Fire Service Special Assessment on real property; An Ordinance of the Brevard County, Florida pertaining to the creation of a Municipal Services Benefit Unit (MSBU) in the unincorporated area of the County and the newly incorporated Town of Grant-Valkaria for the imposition of a Fire Service Special Assessment on real property; providing for the continuation of the Fire Fighter Support Referendum MSTU; creating the Fire Service Non-Ad Valorem Special Assessment; providing for definitions; providing for the use of the uniform method for collecting Fire Service Non-Ad Valorem Special Assessment as provided under Florida Statute 197.3632; providing for severability; providing for an effective date.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously; with Commissioner Colon absent.

  

 

 

Chair Voltz commented she did not have a problem with the item; the Board has to pick an option; she preferred Options 2 and 3 together; and inquired what is the difference between Options 2 and 3.

 

Utility Services Director Richard Martens commented the difference is that Option 2 retains the old  Barefoot Bay Water Plant on-site; a new water plant would be built off site that would be primarily for the expanded service area to the south; and they would end up operating two separate water systems joined at the hip.  He stated Option 3 would be to abandon the old 1978

plant that is in the middle of Barefoot Bay and build a new plant on a remote site to provide service for the whole area from the one new plant.

 

Chair Voltz stated the Board can approve Option 3; Commissioner Scarborough commented Option 3 is cheaper; with Mr. Martens responding it is not cheaper, but the costs were very close.  Chair Voltz noted the water in Barefoot Bay is horrible.  Commissioner Pritchard inquired what is the age of the existing plant; with Richard Martens responding the plant operating today was last updated in 1978, when lime stabilization was added.  Commissioner Pritchard inquired if the plant was built by the developer; with Mr. Martens responding it was built in 1968.  Commissioner Pritchard commented it does not make any sense to maintain that facility, and there needs to be a newer facility with upgrades providing decent water.

 

Motion by Commissioner Pritchard, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to approve Option 3, and direct staff to initiate the process to establish a new Comprehensive Plan Water Service Area and initiate a new CIP project for the construction of a new plant to provide water to both existing and future customers.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously; with Commissioner Colon absent.

 

 

Chair Voltz requested George Geletko to explain why this was late.

 

George Geletko, represented Waste Management, Inc., commented certain circumstances happen that were not prepared for; and unfortunately, of the two people who were responsible for this, one was called for jury duty, and the other had a terminal illness situation in the family that required that person to be out of town.  He stated the CPI increase is not a merit increase or an unusual cost; they desperately need the increase just to keep up with the cost of living; fuel alone is eating them alive; and it is something they cannot control.  He requested the Board to support them in the CPI increase, as it is critical to their operation.

 

Motion by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Pritchard, to approve a Consumer Price Index (CPI) increase of 3% for the Solid Waste collection services provided by Waste Management, Inc. through the two exclusive franchise agreements for residential and

commercial customers.  Motion carried and ordered, with Commissioner Scarborough voting nay; and Commissioner Colon absent.

 

Commissioner Scarborough commented he has been terribly upset with Waste Management; it seems to him it does not want the County’s business; problems occur and he cannot reach
critical people, and he cannot support any increase.  He noted the sooner the Board moves with what Commissioner Pritchard suggested earlier, the happier he will be; and he will not be running for re-election, he will be gone two years from November, and he would like to be able to be part of a transition.   Commissioner Scarborough stated it is a disgrace the way Waste Management is behaving under its contract, at least in District 1; he has expressed that to Mr. Geletko; and he thinks he understands.

 

Mr. Geletko commented he understands, and he respects Commissioner Scarborough’s opinions.  Chair Voltz noted she was on the Board when the County had Western Waste and then went to Waste Management; now the same people who were running Western Waste are going to come back and think they are going to do a better job; and Commissioner Scarborough may be mistaken.

 

Commissioner Scarborough stated the reason why Waste Management took over Western Waste was not because of any action from the Board, but because of corporate mergers; for a period of time Waste Management was doing a good job; but in the last two years it seems they do not care.  He advised he has tried to communicate the problems, but he is ignored.  He noted Waste Management is at the point where it should want the business because its contract is vulnerable; and it is the lowest point the Board has had as far as service in his 18 years of being on the Board.

 

Chair Voltz commented when there were problems in the Grant/Valkaria and Micco areas, she went for a ride with Mr. Rodriguez and Mr. Geletko, and the majority of people who had complaints had mixed piles of stuff that Waste Management was not authorized to pick up, yet people were still complaining; and she thinks the Board needs to be very careful.  She stated she is not saying the complaints are not valid, but if Commissioner Scarborough thinks there is a problem, he needs to go out on the road.

 

Commissioner Scarborough stated he has been on the road; he heard that the employees were not reporting to work; he was unable to find out what was going on from Waste Management; and he was not getting answers.  He commented he has had it with Waste Management; and it is not a matter of taking a ride, it is a matter of Waste Management riding out of Brevard County, at least in District 1.

 

Mr. Geletko stated he has a meeting set up with Commissioner Scarborough on Wednesday with some people who will have the answers for him.  Commissioner Scarborough advised he does not need meetings, he just needs service for his people, and the people do not care that he is meeting with Waste Management, they just want things to work again.  Commissioner Pritchard commented the problems in his District are generally resolved quickly when he contacts the Solid Waste Office; but the problem he has is the number of units that are on the road, whether they are in good shape, whether they are working, and if there are missed streets.  He stated he has problems; the reason he brought in the other company is because he likes competition; and one of the reasons why he discussed the recycling program was to show the citizens they were paying $1.8 million for the service, which could probably be done better
by going to a compaction truck, putting all of the recyclables into a container, and taking them to a facility where it could be done.  He stated it would be less trips, less fuel, and less labor intensive, which would relate to the taxpayer as less money he or she would have to pay.  Commissioner Pritchard commented with the fuel and cost of operation, he does not think it is a way to hold Waste Management hostage, and he does not think it is right and he is hoping in the interim Mr. Geletko is making the necessary adjustments so they do not have the chronic and constant complaints.  He stated people are paying for a service and they expect that service.

 

 

 

Commissioner Pritchard inquired if this issue came about because of the large bus that was parked in the neighborhood in Melbourne; with Planning and Zoning Director Robin Sobrino responding affirmatively.  Commissioner Pritchard requested Ms. Sobrino remind the Commission why the item is in front of the Board and why it is in the position it is in, because apparently it was not aware when it created the Commercial Vehicle Parking Ordinance and the IN(L) zoning, that it created a conflict.

 

Ms. Sobrino stated the Institutional Light zoning classification was intended to blend very well into the residential areas; for the most part, in IN(L) there are certain design criteria that limit the scale and intensity of a use that can be in the IN(L); and the church use meets the IN(L) criteria.  She commented because of IN(L) meaning to blend seamlessly into a residential area, it does not permit commercial vehicles to be parked within it; and it was the complaint that there is a large Greyhound-style bus parked on church property that accommodates the worshipers of the church, but the IN(L) zoning does not allow commercial vehicles.

 

Commissioner Pritchard clarified the bus was parked almost next to the fence dividing the property line from the church to the residence; so the people looking out their windows across 20-feet of yard and six-feet of fence saw the huge bus, and it was not much of a view.  Ms. Sobrino stated that is correct and that is why she is presenting several options for the Board. She noted this is the first real Code Enforcement case that they have had regarding such a vehicle being parked in connection with a church, so it does not appear to be a prevalent problem.

 

Chair Voltz stated the Board rezoned all churches to IN(L), but a lot of churches are not in neighborhoods; with Zoning Manager Rick Enos responding there are two classifications, IN(L) and IN(H); and IN(L) is the low-intensity institutional use, which includes churches in neighborhoods, and the IN(H) tends to be on the highways.  Commissioner Carlson commented in IN(H) there are some limitations, such as they have to be screened on all four sides and be located behind the main structure; with Ms. Sobrino stating IN(H) is also intended to be situated in areas that are really rather commercial or non-residential in character.

Chair Voltz stated she does not think the Board should do anything at this point; the bus is not allowed; and she does not want to change the whole Ordinance for one bus.  Commissioner Scarborough commented the Board may want to consider Option 2, which says mini-buses or a van-type thing to carry people, that may not be as objectionable in a residential area.  Mr. Enos commented the typical passenger van, which most churches tend to use is permitted, so the Board does not have to do anything.

 

Chair Voltz stated the Board will take no action at all.

 

 

 

Natural Resources Director Ernie Brown, commented at the last Board meeting, the Board asked for a report from staff regarding the types of artificial reefs that are being used in general practice in coastal communities.  He noted in some situations there are costs associated with them; and he wanted to provide the information to the Commission and be open to any questions the Board may have relative to the reefs and their use in the County.

 

Commissioner Pritchard stated one of the reasons he became so interested in this is because every year the County spends a lot of money to dump sand on the beach, and every other year it goes to Sebastian; it is continuous; and they can thank all the cuts there are at the jetties.  He stated the north-south flow of sand is interrupted and they end up having to put more sand on the beach.  He noted the presentation he saw on the artificial surfing reef alleged that it would protect a certain amount of shoreline through severe wave action, and it also promotes accretion of sand in that area; when he spoke to Senator Martinez’s aide he said they should fund an artificial reef off of Brevard County and see what it does; and he was interested because it makes sense in the long term.  He stated it is $3.5 or $4 million for the reef, but if it protects a half mile of shoreline, it is worth it.

 

Chair Voltz commented they would still have to renourish; with Mr. Brown responding affirmatively.  Commissioner Pritchard stated they would not have to renourish to the same degree; with Environmental Management Director Virginia Barker advising they would still need to nourish, but hopefully not as often.  Commissioner Pritchard commented it equates to dollars at some point; so if the Board invests $3.5 million upfront and over the course of the next 50 years, it ends up saving $3.5, then it is neutral.

 

Ms. Barker commented she did an analysis of what the County’s cost would be for maintaining the project for the next 50 years; that cost was approximately $2 million per mile; the surf reef that John Herron presented to the City of Cocoa Beach, that Commissioner Pritchard is referring to, was $4.5 million based on his estimates, and he did not include any costs for mobilizing a dredge, which has always been over $1 million.  She stated she would expect that to build one surfing reef would costs 5-6 million and the 50-year cost for maintaining one mile of shoreline behind that beach is currently $2 million.

 

Mr. Brown noted the economics of building the reefs are one component of it, but there are also the multi-faceted benefits, including the economic returns for tourism, the ecological returns for the habitat, and some reduction in the renourishment, so it is not a balance out-of-net savings, strictly looking at the economics of beach nourishment or protection, and there are other elements that come in that make it a value to the community, if that is what the community would desire.

 

Commissioner Pritchard stated he has no idea what the Sebastian Inlet Surf Festival brings to Brevard County; with Mr. Brown responding last year it brought in $1.3 million, based on Mr. Herron’s research.  Commissioner Pritchard stated Sebastian is somewhat out of town from the rest of Brevard and that may restrict the amount of people who would come, whether they stay, and how much they spend; and they do not want to build an economy on tourism, but on the other hand there needs to be a viable tourism base.  He stated he looks at the reefs and wonders if they cannot somehow be one in the same and what the ancillary benefits would be to the economy by having more people coming to Brevard to spend their money.  He added a benefit would have to be provided to the municipalities that are going to be inundated with additional tourists, and they need to get their share also; and he asked Virginia Barker if there is any difference between fishing, snorkeling, surfing reefs, and if there is one reef that would fit all.

 

Ms. Barker advised there is not a single design that fits all; and they need to look at what kind of fishing and surf conditions they have and whether they are looking to create the best surf for a week-long festival during the time of year when they might have good surf anyway, or whether they are trying to produce surfable surf over 300 days a year, which would open tourism windows in a period of the year when there is not normally good surf.  She added there are many different design considerations to look at; and the community would need to prioritize those, determine what is of the highest importance, to rank those, and then come up with a design that maximizes all of those potential benefits.  Commissioner Pritchard inquired if they are just spinning their wheels when talking about the creation of an artificial surfing reef, or is there real potential or viability with it.  Ms. Barker responded it is a very exciting idea and it is worthy of looking into; they could put together a team of coastal engineers and an economist to work with the TDC and the City of Cocoa Beach about the market niche that they are trying to aim at and what sort of system would best maximize the benefits of a structure; and once they determine  what structure is best to meet their needs, then they can determine what the cost of the structure would be and the most appropriate way to fund it.

 

Commissioner Carlson commented she thinks it is a great idea; if they bring in the TDC, they can look at it not only for surfing but eco-tourism in general, and that is something that can be built upon.  Mr. Brown stated at one time in the County there was an artificial reef program, but it has gone dormant; he could take that study and expand it out to the multiple benefits of multiple reef structures and locations; and there were several permitted reef sites that are now expired that could be pursued and restarted primarily for fishing in many areas, and also for recreational diving and the surfing benefits.

 

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

 

Commissioner Pritchard noted item one states, “The fishing reefs can be constructed of clean demolition materials placed to enhance fishing.”  He commented in South Florida they used a variety of materials including jacks, boats, tanks and anything that was cleaned up and able to sink, and they really did enhance fishing; and Brevard is at the point it needs it too.  He noted there are bridges being built and others being torn down; he tried to get the S.R. 528 bridge, as it was being demolished, taken out and placed in the appropriate location to help with the bank, but that did not happen because of permitting.  Commissioner Pritchard inquired what the Board can do to use the demolished chunks of structure so it can protect something else.  Mr. Brown stated a possible approach to that is incremental; there are some expired sites that could still carry some more reef material; they could look into getting the permits opened back up; they are in discussions with non-profit organizations that reef vessels to Coast Guard standards, and there is a particular vessel that Fish and Wildlife and his office are dealing with to see if they can get it reefed.  He stated there are some challenges in Florida, and they may have to take the vessel all the way to Georgia, because Georgia actually wants them and the permitting is more streamlined.  He noted they could start an incremental process of trying to get some of the expired reef sites re-opened.  Commissioner Pritchard suggested they move expeditiously on the project because it is going to take years to get it done; it needs to be done because it is a fantastic fishing and recreational area, and the environment is incredible, and if they do not do something to enhance their ability to promote the environment through artificial reefs, they are missing the cut.  He added they need to take as much initiative as they can to ensure they have

a viable artificial reef program and if that means reactivating the permitting, then they need to start with that.

 

Commissioner Carlson suggested the Board bring a group together and reactivate, and also make some formal request to the Legislature to get DEP and DOT talking to each other to find out if there are some solutions to what Commissioner Pritchard is saying; and stated they need to have a working group also looking at the issue.  Mr. Brown commented on August 29^th his office is having a citizen round table regarding the Comprehensive Maritime Management Master Plan, of which artificial reefing is part of the all encompassing concept; the idea is to start a series of working groups around the topical issues and still provide an interwoven network so that nothing is done in isolation; and that may be simultaneous to anything the Board wants them to do officially through permitting.

 

Commissioner Carlson stated the invitation needs to go to some Legislators that might be interested.  Commissioner Pritchard inquired when and where the discussion will take place; with Mr. Brown responding it will be on August 24, 2006 from 9:00 am to 11:00 am at the Solar Center in Cocoa. 

 

The meeting recessed at 3:45 p.m. and reconvened at 3:56 p.m.

 

 

 

Chief Deputy Sheriff Tom Jenkins stated there is a substation in the Town of Malabar, but after this length of time, it is fairly reasonable to expect a resolution of the issue and that Malabar would begin to pay.  He stated the preference would be that the Town join the MSTU; Palm Shores did that several years ago, and it is the easiest way, if the Town wishes to have the Sheriff’s Office provide service; and the alternative is for the Town to form its own Police Department, which is an option if it wants to do that.  Mr. Jenkins stated the Sheriff’s Office would like to see the issue resolved so that the residents in unincorporated Brevard are not funding the service in Malabar.

 

Commissioner Colon inquired if there is an accident in Palm Shores does the Sheriff’s Department handle the accident, or does the Florida Highway Patrol; and advised she knows that in the town of Malabar, if there is an accident, Florida Highway Patrol comes out.  She inquired if that is the case with all the different contracts that the County has, or is it just unique to the Town of Malabar.  Mr. Jenkins stated in unincorporated Brevard, Florida Highway Patrol still does traffic accidents, as the Sheriff’s Office does not do primary investigation on traffic accidents; often there will be Deputy Sheriffs there assisting Florida Highway Patrol; but that is the system that has been in place in Brevard for many years.  Commissioner Colon asked how many Florida Highway Patrol Officers there are for Brevard County; with Mr. Jenkins responding he will get that information, but there are not too many.

 

Tom Eschenberg, Mayor of Town of Malabar, stated he was going to give the Board an update of what the Town of Malabar has been doing over the past year on the issue, but since there were some other things mentioned he thought he would cover a little bit of history.  He noted a year and a half ago, their Administrator, Town Attorney, and he came to Viera for a meeting; at the end of that meeting, the Town Attorney challenged the County’s Attorney to provide the Town of Malabar with some evidence of its contention that Malabar was required to pay the MSTU; and he recalls the person said they would get the information to Malabar, but he never got anything; so it was never settled whether Malabar is required to pay MSTU.  He commented he has an article from Orlando about the town of Belle Isle, which is a small community; it made its own arrangement with the Orange County Sheriff; and it apparently negotiated a good deal for itself.  He advised the article also stated the Sheriff’s Office would be required by law to respond to calls in Belle Isle, even if it did not have that arrangement.   He commented it appears the Sheriff is required by law to respond; a municipality can make its own deal with a county; and it is negotiable and not something the Sheriff would say to take it or leave it.  He stated the question was asked of the Sheriff, if Malabar joined the MSTU, what would it get, and how would its level of service increase; and the Sheriff could not commit to anything and stated he could not promise an increased level of service.  He noted in March they ran a survey and asked the people how safe they feel, and they seem to feel safe; and the recommendation from the Town Administrator, based on the results of the survey, is to have a referendum and ask the people which they prefer, an MSTU or a Police Department of their own.  He noted they have been investigating the cost of a Police Department; they have studies and presentations, one of which was done by Melbourne Beach and was an excellent presentation; and there was one from Melbourne Village that told the Town what it would cost to start its own department and run it.  He commented with the referendum coming up in November, the Council really did not know what to do as far as joining an MSTU or having its own Police Department; and he would suggest the County Commission hold off until after November to see what comes out of the referendum and see what the Council wants to do.

 

Chair Voltz commented the people in Malabar are satisfied with the services because they are getting the MSTU services, but they are not paying for it; the bottom line is everyone else in the community is paying for it and the Town is not; and she thinks putting it on the referendum is great and she appreciates that, but from the Commission’s perspective, it would love to see it as a binding referendum one way or another because then the Town will have to go back out and ask the citizens again if they want to pay.

 

Mayor Eschenberg stated the referendum is supposed to have the cost of each option on the ballot, so the citizens will know how much each one costs.  Commissioner Colon noted at that point all the Mayor is getting is feedback from the residents and then he would hope there would be some action in December so the Board can have a better idea of what it would be doing, such as a partnership with the MSTU or its own Police Department; and if the Town wants to have its own Police Department, then the Board wants to make sure it is as smooth as possible.  She recommended they all sit down soon after the referendum so they can have a good idea of what they have to do.   She inquired if that is something he thought they would be doing; with Mr. Eschenberg responding he thinks the Council would take that up within the first meeting or two after the election.  Commissioner Colon stated the Board should wait and allow the Town to vote on its referendum.  Chair Voltz commented that is the only way the Town is going to know which way the community wants to go.

 

Commissioner Scarborough commented the dilemma would be if the Mayor of another city were watching them, and thinking the City can eliminate its Police Department and let the people of the unincorporated area, through the MSTU, pay for the police; if the County does it for one, it should do it for another; and pretty soon there would be a collapse of the system.  He stated he hopes they resolve the issue, because the current situation, after three years, is not acceptable to him.

 

Mr. Eschenberg commented his understanding of the State Law that requires the Sheriff to respond does not apply to any municipality that ever had a police department.  Commissioner Scarborough inquired why should the people in the unincorporated area be paying for one city and another city not have that same advantage; cautioned the Board is treading on the whole basis of how the Commission works, with all the cities and all the unincorporated areas; and they cannot live with this exception beyond this point.

 

Mr. Eschenberg stated he understands; and he is not debating about the fairness.  Chair Voltz stated they do get better service with an MSTU, but right now they are not paying for it.   Commissioner Carlson stated they are going to be working with the Sheriff anyway to see what an MSTU might be in terms of costs, so they have those two numbers.  Mr. Eschenberg commented they have already been given that cost and he does not recall what it was, but it was approximately $186,000, or in that range.

 

Commissioner Pritchard inquired how much Melbourne Beach told Malabar it would cost to have its own Police Department; with Mr. Eschenberg responding the startup expenses were

$216,000 and the total yearly budget is $329,000; and that was what Melbourne Village, which is comparable to Malabar is paying.  Commissioner Pritchard stated he thinks the Board is all on the same page, in that there is no free lunch and it is not about to allow an exception to continue; this was identified three years ago; he is expecting in November for their voters to make a decision; and based upon that decision will be an action the Board is going to take. 

 

Mr. Eschenberg noted the voters have two choices, to join the MSTU or start their own police department; and they were not given the choice to do nothing.  County Manager Peggy Busacca inquired what action the Board wants staff to take after November; and does the Board want staff to bring back a report, or does it want to schedule a joint meeting.  Chair Voltz noted first, what the Town needs to do is give the Board the result of the vote; and if the result is to go with the MSTU, then the Board needs to sit down and do a contract. 

 

Mr. Jenkins commented the Sheriff’s Department understands the Board ultimately determines what the Sheriff’s budget would be, but in terms of additional revenues, it would be derived from Malabar coming into the MSTU; and the Sheriff is prepared to recommend to the Board that additional deputies be hired for south Brevard in that precinct, so there would even be an improvement in the current service if the Board is inclined to do that.

 

Commissioner Colon commented she thinks it is positive that the Mayor came to the Board to give them a status report; they just want to be able to get feedback and educate the citizens on how much it will cost them; and when they do make the hard decisions, they will have been able to see it in black and white. 

 

Chair Voltz commented she does not feel comfortable with a non-binding referendum; and inquired if that is something the Town can do; with Mr. Knox responding what the Town is talking about is a straw ballot, which would give the City Council guidance as to which way it should go, and it does not bind the City Council to do either one of them, but the Board has made it pretty clear what it wants to do if that happens.

 

Chair Voltz stated Mr. Eschenberg can go back and tell the Council that the Commission is willing to wait and hopefully, one way or another, it will be resolved in November.

 

 

 

Commissioner Carlson advised appraisals had to go out on the four pieces of property that are in Wickham Park that the Board is trading Mr. Rufo for, and the appraisals are not the same, but by doing the swap, the County is getting more for its money and will be able to consolidate any development in the park in one area.  She stated that is her reasoning was behind it, but there may be some mitigation-type impacts to the property, which is why they ended up with a 4 – 4 ½
swap.  She noted she  does not  have a problem with it so she will go ahead and move the item, as she just  wanted the  Board to be aware.  She noted there s only  one parcel left, and  it is in

the middle of the park; that person does not want to sell; the Board could probably prove that it can do eminent domain on that piece; but for now it will just leave it alone.

 

Chair Voltz commented the parcel is one for which the Board is not dealing directly with the owner; it is a third party transaction; she knows the Board’s policy is against that; and requested Mr. Knox address the issue.  Mr. Knox advised he does not think the policy is against it so much as a policy requiring full disclosure of all of the terms.

 

Motion by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Pritchard, to authorize staff to advertise and prepare the appropriate documents for a public hearing to exchange property with Paul R. Rufo for certain out-parcels within the boundary of Wickham Park.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

 

Commissioner Pritchard stated he had a meeting regarding the application of available money and the completion of projects; it still leaves a problem with Mitchell Ellington Park; and requested Don Lusk address the Board on that issue.  He commented with the available money that they have, approximately $972,000, they are going to be able to complete the restrooms and concessions at Manatee Cove, the tennis and basketball courts at Woody Simpson, a basketball cover and sod replacement for the fields at Tropical, a restroom and concession at Jefferson, and parking and stormwater at Mila; and that equals approximately $972,000.  He noted they also are going to be able to do Ellington Park, but they are going to have to break it into phases; the problem they ran into is the Parks Referendum; and what they will be able to accomplish under Phase I will be the baseball fields, the parking and concession for the baseball fields, and batting cage, soccer fields, and the associated parking.  He commented if they are able to move forward with the available money, they can accomplish that; and Phase II at Ellington Park will be football fields, the playground, the tennis courts, the softball fields, and the maintenance building; and Phase III will be either the pavilion or community center, and the dog park.  

 

Interim Parks and Recreation Director Don Lusk stated Commissioner Pritchard’s summary of what Parks decided in terms of priorities for District 2 is a good summary of what was decided.  He noted it is important to point out that the Commissioner talked about phases; for everything else the Board discusses about the next two items, nobody has suggested that they not complete something; it is a matter of prioritizing and deciding what comes next while they wait for the Supreme Court to make its decision; and it could be as late as fall or the summer of 2007

before there is any kind of decision from the Supreme Court.  He commented as staff, has not wanted to have this conversation with the Board and has held off as long as it possibly could;
staff appreciates what the Board is doing; and it makes it a lot clearer for staff to work with contracts with contractors.  Mr. Lusk stated the Board is doing today will help clarify the relationship and also give recreation groups some idea of where they  are on the schedule, and this will give them a chance to plan.

 

Commissioner Pritchard stated he has made a promise to the community that they are going to complete the projects and they will be completed; so with what has been allocated, between the elementary schools and two of the parks, they are going to be able to complete the items that need to be done; and Ellington Park will be done in phases.  He stated Phase I is quite inclusive; and inquired when that should be complete; with Mr. Lusk responding the goal is to have it ready in January, 2007. 

 

Commissioner Carlson commented when she did the briefing on the next item, she asked for real numbers in terms of the total project budget, which is based on how much is allocated for the referendum; on the far side of the sheet is the deficit; and the deficit reflects real dollars and real costs, so the numbers on the far left column are not reflective of the real costs, and she has not received those yet.  She stated she hopes staff has a copy of those numbers for the Board.  Commissioner Pritchard noted he has the numbers he just gave the Board, the $972,000; and the restroom and concessions at Manatee Cove are $277,000; Woody Simpson tennis is $72,100; Tropical basketball covering and sod is $124,000; the Jefferson restroom and concession is $290,000; Mila parking and stormwater is $214,000; and it ends up being $977,027, which puts them $6,700 to the negative, but they are going to be able to make that up with available funding.  He advised those are the numbers they worked out; they are the current and accurate numbers; and he does not see any increase.

 

Commissioner Colon stated she would like to figure out how the Board is going to have this discussion, because it is able to see each District and what the deficit is; District 3 is over $7 million; District 4 over $17 million; District 5 is over $9 million; and District 2 is over $6 million.  She commented she thinks the real discussion needs to happen today; they need to move the projects along; the reason the Board wanted to make sure Mr. Lusk took over was because it wanted to be kept abreast, on a regular basis, of the status; and she thinks the Board needs to discuss the deficits so it does not keep its citizens in the dark.  She stated she has encouraged staff to have a meeting with the South Brevard Citizens Advisory Board as soon as possible to make sure the citizens who are expecting these projects are fully aware that they are in a deficit, and that the dollars are not there.  She noted District 5 alone has a deficit of $10 million; and these are the types of discussions that have to happen now because this is exactly the reason the Board criticized the previous Administration for not telling it on a regular basis.  She noted she is trying to figure out, as far as the Board, how it addresses the issue; it needs to be discussed; and inquired legally what is the Board able to go after.  She stated there has always been criticism from the federal government that it starts projects, then all of a sudden runs out of money, and then the grass is growing and the buildings are deteriorating, because the job was never finished.  She advised the County cannot allow that to happen.  She commented Canova Park, Indian Harbor Beach Park, Rodes Park, and Palm Bay Regional Park are millions of
dollars in the hole; the citizens have been waiting a long time; and inquired at what point does the Board start having this discussion.  She inquired if the Board feels today is not appropriate, when will it be appropriate to discuss it.  Commissioner Colon noted the numbers only buy them

a few months, and she does not want to wait until the end of the year to let the citizens know where they are.  She stated she is more interested in what she requested, which is the referendum shortage by each District.

 

Commissioner Carlson stated what she asked for was the real numbers for each project; and if they look at District 4, from the Viera Regional Park to Pineda Landing, what they have under total project budget is $20 million, which is not a reflection of what it costs today.  She stated even though they show a deficit of a certain amount, if they look at Wickham Park and add the deficit to what the total project budget is, it is well over $10 million; so they know the real cost in today’s dollars is over $10 million to finish Wickham Park, and it is no longer $6.8 million.  She noted what she wants to be clear about is that staff brings the Board what the real dollars are, where the deficit numbers come from, and where the increases have actually been; and inquired has it just been in the cost of asphalt, the cost of labor, and because they have not met deadlines.  She inquired where the cost has been derived.  She stated as they go through the audit process, they are now learning that most of the offices do not have some of the backup numbers, and they need to have those today.

 

Commissioner Colon stated she was told by next month or October, the audit should be completed; and she hopes they have a status or at least an update of where they are with the audit because it really talks about the whole comprehensive approach, a history of the referendum, how they came up with the numbers, what they were based on, and what went wrong.  She added the Board needs that feedback now because Grant-Valkaria is a perfect example of not waiting until something gets approved, but actually do that research ahead of time to have some real numbers and discussions; and if the Board does not learn from the audit, the citizens of Brevard County will never trust it again with a referendum because they are going to want to know what the numbers are based on.  She noted there is a lot at stake, and it is not going to be so much just the finger pointing, but as a Board, it needs to know what it learned from it to make sure it does not do it again.  She stated that is her concern because right now they need $35 million to finish all the projects that have been started. 

 

Chair Voltz commented she thinks the other issue is that by the time they get the Court’s decision back, if they are able to proceed, the costs will have gone up at that point; and inquired where is the money going to come from.  Commissioner Carlson stated that is why she wants real costs today because the $19 million is still out there; they do not know if it is going to be a year or even if they are going to get to do it, so the $34 million cost is going to escalate $10 million more.  She stated they do not have hard numbers; the numbers that show on the deficit side are estimates, and not real concrete numbers; and they are not going to know until they start the work and get the job done.  She noted it is hard for staff to give the Board real concrete

numbers, but from their best estimated guess, which is what they based the referendum on, the Board needs to know what each one looks like in all the Districts.

 

Commissioner Pritchard inquired if the numbers for the parks, schools, and Phase I of Ellington Park, are up to date; with Mr. Lusk responding when his staff gives the Board numbers, if it is a number they have a contract on, and the bid has been out, then they have hard numbers to give

the Board.  He noted what they have done in each of the Districts on the estimates they have given the Board is a combination of hard numbers where there is a bid, and some estimation of what they think it is going to cost.

 

Commissioner Carlson inquired if that was the paid to date, and they are committed dollars in column two; with Mr. Lusk responding affirmatively.  Commissioner Carlson noted the numbers in column two are hard numbers, and the numbers she is concerned about are the deficit numbers that the Board is estimating it is going to cost it to get the job done, which are well over what the estimate was in the beginning.  Commissioner Pritchard noted the numbers he has, the hard numbers, are coming out of the deficit numbers; he has $972,000 and $977,000 worth of hard number projects, so they know they are about $6,500 in the negative; and they also know that they can find that money so that they can do all that they have planned and it will be done by January.  He noted he has the numbers it is going to cost; they will be looking at an alleged $34 million shortfall; they all know the problem they had with Parks and Recreation, and he would estimate it is going to be a $40 million shortfall by the time they finish.  He noted the majority of the Commission voted to increase the millage to the full 10%, which gives them about $8.5 million, of which Commissioner Scarborough mentioned he wanted to set aside $2 million for libraries.  Commissioner Scarborough commented that was a separate millage, independent of the General Fund.  Commissioner Pritchard stated he will go back to the $8.5 million that the 10% would derive; and if the whole thing was bonded, the estimate he got for 20 years was $20 million.

 

Ms. Busacca commented they estimated $98 million if the Board bonds $6 million for 30 years, but she thinks there is a legal issue that Mr. Knox may want to comment on.  Mr. Knox stated the Board cannot bond ad valorem tax money without a referendum.

 

Commissioner Pritchard stated, otherwise, they are stuck with the result of the Supreme Court decision; and if the Court gives them the affirmative, they are good to go, and if it does not, the Board is going to have a problem completing the rest of the projects.  Chair Voltz noted even if the Court gives the Board the go ahead, it still will not have enough money to finish the projects; and she thinks this is very unfortunate.  She suggested they go back to the voters and ask them, because they do not have the money to pay for it; and stated that is just the way it is.  Commissioner Carlson noted the Board can do that if it thinks it is going to go anywhere.  Chair Voltz stated they can tell the citizens the projects that have been started, but they were underestimated; a number of things went wrong; and the Board does not do anything perfectly all the time, but in this case it was not the Board.

 

Commissioner Carlson noted if the Board does that, it needs to make sure it determines how much additional  millage might be if they are saying they want an additional millage increase on the Parks and Recreation Referendum to pay for overages due to hurricanes and other things,
and how much it would actually cost them in addition to what they are paying for the Parks and Recreation Referendum. She noted the Board has to be very explicit; then it has to have very explicit numbers and justifications for anything from that point on; and it has to justify what it has, which an audit will help it do.  She stated it will show good faith in what it is trying to do, which is to accomplish the task that it originally intended back in 2000.

 

Chair Voltz inquired when the audit is coming; with Ms. Busacca responding Commissioner Colon stated she expected it by September or October.  Ms. Busacca stated she believes there is adequate revenue being generated from the current millage; the issue is that the lawsuit deals with whether or not they can use that to bond it; and she does not think they will have to ask the voters for additional millage to be allowed to use that additional revenue that is being generated under the current millage.

 

Commissioner Carlson commented that is true, but they wanted to compensate for the whole deficit, which is $35 million; with Ms. Busacca responding she believes they can do that under the current millage.  Commissioner Colon commented at that point the question would be asking the voters if they are okay with the Board using the existing millage to go forward; and if the voters say no, they are upset with the Board, then they are back to where they are right now.  She stated she pictures everything at a standstill before the end of the year, so they either make some hard decisions right now, or they wait until the grass grows.

 

Commissioner Scarborough commented District 1 is not listed, but to say District 1 does not have a problem would be inappropriate because he is meeting with people and they are seeing $30 million in additional projects they would like to undertake in District 1.  He stated the problem gets to be complex in some of the ways he has structured himself with some of the things, and he alone did not reduce to go to rollback on his MSTU because he wanted to have additional monies.  He inquired if the Board just looks at the other four Districts, then how would he deal with the people who want additional projects.  He noted he is not going to walk away from it and say it is their problem, but he is going to bow out because that is not the way he wants to do things; and he wants to help solve the problems, but he would hope that as a part of the discussion, the Commission understands the uniqueness of where he is coming from with a dissatisfied community who wish they had more.  He advised they will probably be contacting the other Commissioners about some of their frustrations; and he still has to deal with his constituents as well.

 

Chair Voltz inquired if Ms. Busacca stated the Board has enough money if it were able to spend it; with Ms. Busacca responding there is enough money that if they were permitted to bond the excess that has been generated above the bonds that they currently have in place, they would be able to finish the projects without additional millage; and that is essentially what they can do.  She noted the issue Mr. Ellis has brought forward is that he believes that under the existing referendum language, bonding is not acceptable, and he believes the Board will have to go out for referendum to utilize that additional millage. 

 

Chair Voltz stated she sees no reason to go back, and the Board is not asking for more money.  Commissioner Scarborough inquired what they would be asking the voters for; with Mr. Knox responding Ms. Busacca believes the existing millage that has been approved by referendum is enough to pay the bills the Board needs to pay to finish the projects; so all the Board will be asking the voters to do is authorize the Commission to use the excess for the purposes of borrowing the money necessary to finish the projects.  Commissioner Scarborough inquired if that would render the Supreme Court issue moot; with Mr. Knox responding he believes it would.

 

Chair Voltz stated if they come back to the Board with a referendum at the next meeting, they still have time to get it on the November ballot; with Mr. Knox stating they do, but he has to check with the Bond Counsel first.  Commissioner Scarborough stated that would allow him to allow his community to go in a different direction with the different methodology, since they are broken off in different component parts, and then it will not get bogged down in the different complexities. 

 

Commissioner Colon inquired what would happen if the Judge says it is okay, but the citizens say no; Mr. Knox responding the basis upon which they are able to use the existing millage is in the law already, so it would amount to a straw ballot at the point where the citizens say they do not want the Board to do that, but the Board would still have the legal right to do it.

 

Chair Voltz commented one way or another it is the best way for them to go.

 

Commissioner Pritchard stated with his $972,000 he is managing his projects; and he had to phase Ellington Park.  He advised they have a plan and the money to pay for the plan, including Phase I of Ellington Park; and if for some reason this all ends up going south, he will still have the schools, parks, and phase I of Ellington Park done, and the rest of Ellington will be a very big field.  He commented he wants to make sure everybody understands they do have a plan and he is managing the projects.

 

Chair Voltz noted in each of their Districts, they all have the number of parks identified in the agenda items, and are doing the same exact thing managing their parks; but the bottom line is, they do not have the money to finish them right now.  She stated if they wait until the end of the year, it is not going to be a pretty picture; and at that point she does not know if they would want to go back and ask the voters anything at all.   She stated she would like to have it researched and brought back to the Board on August 22^nd; with Mr. Knox stating if it is doable, he will bring ballot language back on the 22^nd. 

 

Commissioner Carlson stated she thinks staff is looking for direction as to where to go with each District in the south area; if they look at District 4, they will see an available budget; it is a negative budget, $5.487 million; and she said earlier that they opened the Viera facility so they have to pay for that.  She stated the priority for her after that has been to finish the Pineda Landing and some other projects; there will be some money leftover; and she is going to put that into the equestrian center. 

Commissioner Colon inquired what that means for the operation of community centers that are up; and are they in any danger; and for the parks that have been built are dollars for operations there and are they permanent.  

 

Mr. Lusk stated if they have opened the facility and are operating it now, those dollars are not in danger; and the dollars would continue to operate those parks and facilities. 

 

Motion by Commissioner Pritchard, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to approve the Merritt Island Interim Parks Referendum Project Plan (District 2) and funding allocations for the period of time while the Board is waiting for the Supreme Court to rule on the additional bonds approved by the Board in January 2006; and direct the County Attorney to research the issue and return with possible ballot language to allow the voters to decide if the bonding is acceptable.  Motion carried and ordered and carried unanimously.

 

Chair Voltz commented they talked about this issue last year; inquired what is the difference.  Commissioner Carlson stated she thinks the County is in a different position this year than it was last year.  County Manager Peggy Busacca stated the difference is that they know now there is going to be County pre-emptive legislation that will come forward; it worked its way through the process last year, and came very close to passing; and the proposed legislation would retroactively affect existing charter provisions.  She stated the Charter amendments the Board is discussing on the 23^rd could perhaps be retroactively eliminated should the Legislation pass.

 

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to approve funding of $5,000 to retain a lobbyist to represent a Charter County Coalition to oppose the Florida League of Cities’ effort to preempt charter county authority.

 

Chair Voltz inquired where the money is coming from; with Ms. Busacca responding there is $56,000 in reserves.

 

Chair Voltz called for a vote on the motion.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

 

Chair Voltz commented she got an official letter from the Clerk of the City of West Melbourne about the purchase of Rodes Park, asking the Board to give the City first right of refusal, which is exactly what the School Board did; and suggested the Commissioners respond to the letter that it does not wish to take any action at this time.

 

 

Upon motion and vote, the meeting adjourned at 4:59 p.m.

  

 

 

ATTEST:                                                                     ___________________________________

                                                                                    HELEN VOLTZ, CHAIR

                                                                                    BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

                                                                                    BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA

 

 

_____________________

SCOTT ELLIS, CLERK

        (SEAL)