August 22, 2001

The Board of County Commissioners of Brevard County, Florida, met in special session on August 22, 2001, at 9:00 a.m. in the Government Center Florida Room, Building C, Third Floor, 2725 Judge Fran Jamieson Way, Viera, Florida. Present were: Chairman Susan Carlson, Commissioners Truman Scarborough, Randy O'Brien, Nancy Higgs, and Jackie Colon, County Manager Tom Jenkins, and County Attorney Scott Knox.

DISCUSSION, RE: LEGISLATIVE CHANGES ON POLITICAL COMMERCIALS

Commissioner Scarborough expressed appreciation to staff for getting the information together on the Legislative package; congratulated Senator Howard Futch on his election; stated as part of the election process, money from outside the community came in; and as a part of good government, people need to know where people are coming from with special interest money who depend on slanderous half truths to make a point to better their interest. He noted as part of the Legislative packet, the Board may want to consider suggesting that the Legislature look at it; when one opens a campaign account, they have to disclose everybody who gives money to them and every expenditure. He stated a special interest group can circumvent the entire law; and there could be people who have not disclosed tremendous amounts of money and spend it in the most reckless manner. Commissioner Scarborough requested the County Manager meet with Carol Laymance and report back to the Board with suggestions.

Commissioner O'Brien stated a person can run for Governor, and the National Republican or Democratic Party can run ads on television on his/her behalf; if that person runs the ad, it has to say, "Approved by (name) Campaign for Governor"; and if the National or State Party does the ad, it says, "Paid for by the National or State Party". He inquired why would the rule be different than the campaign laws in the State of Florida, which have to be approved by the candidate for every ad that comes along; and stated whichever group is going to put up the money and nasty ads needs to include, "Approved by . . ."

Commissioner Higgs stated there is a concern about the freedom of speech issue; however, the freedom of speech would not be limited as long as the people say who is doing the campaign and disclose the source of the funds that are funding it. She stated the Supreme Court has drawn the line, and those groups can say things; someone may say under freedom of speech a number of things; and the Board is simply asking that a disclosure of where the money comes from and who is contributing it be a part of the State of Florida law.

Commissioner Scarborough stated the voters have a right to know who is putting up the money to trying to influence them, and if the group has its own special agenda; and he does not know if most people would agree with their agendas or not.

DISCUSSION, RE: LEGISLATIVE CHANGES ON POLITICAL COMMERCIALS

Commissioner Colon stated it could be slander and does not necessarily have to be true; perception is everything; if a citizen is seeing a commercial that is attacking someone, at least they could go to the person and make them accountable; and right now there is nothing that enables them to do that. She noted the Board has a right to fight for its citizens as they need to know the truth; if there are lies being told, the people need to be accountable; if it is not stopped now, it is going to take a life of its own in the State of Florida; and it needs to be taken seriously.

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Higgs, to direct staff to provide a report on possible legislative changes to provide that all political commercials be required to indicate full disclosure of the source of funds. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

REPORT, RE: APOPKA LITTLE LEAGUE BASEBALL TEAM

Commissioner O'Brien stated the Apopka Little League Baseball Team has done a fantastic job; and it would be appropriate for the Board to send the Team and City of Apopka a resolution or letter congratulating them for their accomplishment. He requested staff bring a resolution to the Board's meeting on Tuesday.

County Manager Tom Jenkins suggested the Board wait until the series is over to see if the Team wins prior to wording the resolution. Commissioner Colon stated even if the Team does not win, Brevard County is proud of them.

DISCUSSION, RE: IMPACT FEES

Methodology

Planning and Zoning Director Mel Scott stated the purpose of the workshop is to review the basic principles of the impact fee structure for residential; and Bill Merrill and Bob Wallace are available to assist in the presentation.

Bob Wallace, representing Tindale-Oliver and Associates, Inc. (TOA), stated TOA is the Consulting Team that did the impact fee update for the Board approximately one year ago; and summarized the Impact Fee Program for the Board and audience. He noted an impact fee is a fee that charges growth for the share of infrastructure, be it roads, fire stations, or correctional facilities that a unit of land use consumes of that infrastructure; there are technical methodologies accepted Nationwide that are used to calculate what those impacts are by land use; and it creates the demand side of the impact fee equation. He stated the Team also reviews how much it costs to construct the facilities, a lane mile of roadway, a bed of a

DISCUSSION, RE: IMPACT FEES

correctional facility, and a new fire station; the information goes into the cost component; the demand for services times the unit cost to provide the services gives a unit cost for each land use; and it creates the gross impact fee cost that is mentioned in the report. Mr. Wallace stated the new land uses also generate additional revenues to the County, some of which are used to pay for capital facilities; an impact fee is for capital, not maintenance; and because the additional revenues are collected from other sources, such as gas taxes and assessments used for capital, a credit has to be given against the cost so the County does not double-charge development for their fair share of the costs. He noted if the County did not do that, then it would charge the impact fee at its full rate; it would collect gas taxes and development would be paying into gas taxes, which are used to help fund roads to some degree; it would be collecting the impact fee and would be partially overcharging development; and in order to avoid doing that, it very carefully looks at the revenue streams and backs out any monies that are used to build the facilities that come from other revenue streams.

Mr. Wallace stated the gross impact fee minus the credit is what creates a cost for each of the land uses that are in the fee schedules for each of the program areas in the impact fee report; it is done for each one of the program areas, including transportation, emergency medical services, correctional facilities, and fire rescue; additional program areas were reviewed, including library services and parks and recreation; and they are optional program areas that are also included within the report. He noted that in a summarized overview how the impact fee is put together for each of the program areas are included in the Impact Fee Program in Brevard County. He stated there were also some questions raised at the July 24, 2001 meeting; Section 12 of the report talks about different techniques for exemptions, waivers, or deferrals that help first-time homebuyers or people in low-income brackets to be able to have either the impact fee deferred, waived or exempted; there are several counties that have embarked in such programs that allow for this to occur in terms of either an exemption or a waiver; and Collier and Lake Counties have programs that allow for waivers of impact fees, and they reimburse the lost impact fees from their SHIP funds or from another unrestricted source of county revenues. Mr. Wallace stated it has the effect of waiving the impact fee for the first-time homebuyer or the person who meets certain federal guidelines in terms of income; it also has the ability of keeping the Impact Fee Program whole because the county is paying for the impact fee from another source of revenues; legally it is the safest way to go about implementing a waiver for impact fees; and they are usually substantiated by policy statements in the Comprehensive Plan Housing Element that eludes to the necessary economic development that supports those. He noted his Company wanted to make sure that if the Board wanted to look at this in the future, it had appropriate policies and objectives in the Comprehensive Plan that supported the practice of waiving the impact fees for low-income or moderate-income people who wanted to build a house.

Commissioner Scarborough inquired is a retiree who comes to Brevard County and buys a house for the first time considered a first time buyer; with Planner III Steve Swanke responding someone cannot have owned a home in the past three years anywhere in the United States. Commissioner Scarborough inquired what if an individual has a moderate home in the County and finds it advantageous to move from the Titusville area working for Kennedy Space Center to

DISCUSSION, RE: IMPACT FEES

the Palm Bay area to work for Harris Corporation; with Mr. Scott responding they still cannot have owned a home in the past three years.

Commissioner Higgs stated the individual may qualify for one of the other programs that assist people in certain income levels in acquiring and getting home ownership.

Rosa Reich, Staff Specialist IV, stated there are a number of other programs besides Brevard County's First Time Homebuyer; and the State, through Brevard's Housing Finance Authority, has the Bond Program in which someone can receive a low interest rate.

Commissioner Scarborough inquired can the County gear the impact fee to a particular segment of the community. He stated the Board wants to get people into home ownership because as it acquires equity, it ties them to the community, and they are less likely to take a job in Austin, Texas; and they will stay with Brevard County and begin to have a commitment to the community. He noted Brevard County wants to keep the people here; and having them in a home is beneficial.

Commissioner Higgs stated if the County wants to be of assistance to people in general in certain income categories, it needs to craft the programs as oppose to direct it at the impact fee; the impact fee is simply the cost of hooking up a home to a utility; the County has no problem in rationalizing that if someone is going to hookup to sewer that he or she pays; and it is part of the ability to have the home. She noted if the County wants to assist people, it has other programs that do that and not the impact fee program. Commissioner Scarborough stated the impact fee is paid by the SHIP funds. Commissioner Higgs stated SHIP assists people in buying homes in a variety of ways. Commissioner Scarborough noted he does not want the impact fee to harm the other concept, as the impact fee will hit the person much harder than it will somebody in the upper bracket. Chairman Carlson stated it needs to be in the discussion of a waiver scenario and not the impact fee itself. Commissioner O'Brien stated the impact fee is paid for by the contractor and builder of the house; it is paid indirectly by the buyer; and it is a pass-through cost.

Chairman Carlson stated impact fees should be fairly distributed on an equitable and even basis. Commissioner Scarborough stated the impact fee is much more of an impact where the person has limited resources; and it could disqualify that person from getting the home as opposed to the person who is moving here from up north and has sold his home there. Commissioner Higgs stated the way the whole tax structure works is that the person who buys the house at a higher price and higher assessed value pays more annually than the person who has an $80,000 home; the person who owns a $250,000 home is paying considerably more; although there is an impact fee, which is roughly equal across-the-board and everybody pays the same, the structure changes as they continue through the years to own the home; and the person with the $80,000 home pays considerably less in terms of their overall taxes, so it works out over time. Commissioner Scarborough stated it is the initial issue when someone asks if he or she can buy a home; the person is crunching the numbers, but he or she cannot qualify; the retiree has the cash, does not have any debts, and everything is paid off; but with the young family, everything will determine whether or not they are going to have a home or not. Commissioner Higgs stated if the Board were to raise impact fees $400, a person is only paying 27 ½% of what the real cost is; $400 over a 30-year mortgage equates to not very much in terms of the monthly payment and qualification of the buyer to buy the house; and inquired how many people are disqualified from buying a home because of the impact fee, and how many people are not going to want to buy a home in the community if it is garbage to live in. She stated that is where the Board has to weigh the issues; if the Board does not support the infrastructure it is going to be garbage; and the big deal is providing a community in which people would like to live. Commissioner Scarborough stated if the Board goes in that direction, he wants to be sure it is not impacting the capacity for people to own a home; and the Board needs to look at home ownership as something that is to be valued.

Commissioner Colon inquired is the County discriminating if it has a clause or waiver if it wants the impact fee to be lower to citizens of Brevard County if they are moving from one part of the County to another, versus someone coming from outside the County; and would it be illegal. She stated in the past, impact fees have been challenged. County Attorney Scott Knox responded he does not have a quick answer at this time, but he has not seen an impact fee structured that way.

Bill Merrill, representing Icard, Merrill, Cullis, Timm, Furen & Ginsburg, P.A., advised that type of impact fee arrangement would be illegal, as the County would be treating people differently based on things that are not related to the impact fee formula in the dual rational nexus test, which is the legal test for an impact fee. He stated the various exemptions and formulas that are summarized on Page 4 of Section 12 of the Report include various ways to address affordable housing issues and people at low and very low income levels; and whether it is pure exemptions, exemptions with repayments, forgivable loans, or rebates over time, his Firm provided a number of different options; and to discriminate between someone who is currently a resident and wants to buy another house in Brevard County versus someone who is coming from Massachusetts and wants to buy a house in the County, it cannot be done under the impact fee laws.

Commissioner Higgs stated if $400 is divided over 30 years, it is $13.30 per year, not including interest; it is approximately $1.00 a month; maybe with interest, it would be about $1.50; and it is not going to disqualify somebody from owning a home. Commissioner O'Brien stated with the $85,000 house, when $400 is added to it, $1,200 for sewer connection, $300 for emergency medical services, $5,000 to build for hurricane protection, and other added government regulation fees those can make the cost of the house $105,000; and that is where it is out of reach for the young people of Brevard County. Commissioner Higgs stated the County is still one of the most affordable places in the Nation in which to live. Commissioner O'Brien noted that is good; and inquired why does the Board want to change it. Chairman Carlson stated it is good as long as the County can pay for its growth; and that is the problem. Commissioner O'Brien stated the County could add property taxes and more impact fees, and ask the public if it also wants to pay a sales tax; but if it starts climbing the ladder, the public is going to say no to the sales tax because the County has added other things and only wants more money; and the public is going to get fed up with it.

Commissioner Higgs stated the mistake was made in not bringing impact fees along from the 1988 figure; the Board has not increased the fees in a relationship to the Consumer Price Index (CPI); they are still at the same 1988 rate; she believes the public will say that they want growth to carry a fair share; and that is all that the increase is doing. Commissioner O'Brien stated the County can collect impact fees off of every building permit there is and put them all into building one road, but still cannot finish one mile, as it cost $1.8 million to build one mile of road. Chairman Carlson stated the County has an imbalance right now that has accrued over time because it has not applied impact fees to try to level out the playing field.

Commissioner Scarborough noted the studies on impact fees have to be legally defendable; impact fees have been attacked and litigated; there has to be a methodology that can stand the test; and when there is a new house, there is a capital impact on the infrastructure. He expressed concern that some people look to impact fees to cure past problems, which cannot be done; stated the fees cannot be used to enhance and improve the community; Brevard County does not want to be an average County and wants to excel; the sales tax could do that; the impact fee has the ability to bring in funds from those people impacting the infrastructure; and they are blended together, but are two separate concepts. He noted the sales tax improves creating a quality community; and the impact fee is so the County does not have to pay for those impacts caused by additional people coming in through general revenue and other sources; and expressed concern that there may be certain things occurring within the community, which the County would not socially want to occur, that is preventing young people or others who are less fortunate from acquiring houses. Commissioner Scarborough stated it can be handled; even if it is $400, if there is a methodology of shifting SHIP funds in, he wants to go that route; he wants people to own homes, as home ownership creates social values which are good; and it is a commitment to the community when one owns a home in the community.

Commissioner O'Brien inquired how many people at low income have a house built or buy a brand new house. Commissioner Colon responded in Palm Bay someone can do that; individuals are taking full advantage of it because the City of Palm Bay has incentives and programs that are able to assist with the $10,000 down payment, etc.; there are programs in place at a municipal level and in Brevard County to address the concerns; and the average home in Palm Bay is $85,000. She noted it is a beautiful home brand new; a person is better off building a home in the community than buying a used house; it is affordable; and the building community knows that.

Chairman Carlson inquired is there a mechanism the County might be able to track if it is displacing a potential homebuyer; with Ms. Reich responding not that she is aware of, but she can research it. Chairman Carlson stated if the County applied the impact fees and tried to do some tracking to see if it was repositioning people in a way that might be negative, it could reassess it at that point. Commissioner Colon stated the only thing she can use as an example is the City of Palm Bay; it has had impact fees for a very long time; and it has not discouraged anyone from building in the community. She noted the Board is discussing something that is already happening throughout the municipalities; and the County is trying to get back in line with what it used to do in the past and stopped 10 years ago.

Commissioner Scarborough stated Brevard County is not losing people because it cost too much and the taxes are too high; but it does not have the arts, amenities, and education; it needs to put its money upgrading to compete with Princeton; and it is the lack of quality that is the problem. He noted government lives off the private sector and not the reverse; if the private sector identifies Brevard County as the place to be, it will find that the home building industry will be improved as there will be people moving to the County due to the better quality of life; the richest counties in Florida have lower millages; and the poorest counties have the highest millages and everything is falling apart. Commissioner Scarborough stated the County needs to show the world that it is a place to spend money; and that takes quality and investing in itself.

Commissioner Higgs stated the studies support that those communities that are showing they are going to pay for their growth and are going to insure that they are a quality community will attract the better businesses and will weather economic hard times better.

Chairman Carlson stated intellectual infrastructure says a lot about a community; Commissioner Scarborough is saying the County does not have that; it is what attracts the businesses, higher wages, and the pools of knowledge that a lot of the entrepreneur venture capital-type people want; and Brevard County does not have it.

Franck Kaiser, representing Homebuilders and Contractors Association of Brevard, stated affordability of housing is what it comes down to; it would be excellent if there could be some identification and a program to look at first-time homebuyer programs, and those that are participating in down payment assistance; there are bond programs available in Brevard County for entry-level housing for young families that are first coming into the market; and they can get up to $15,000 down payment assistance and no money down. He noted someone can move into a new house for $500 or $600 out of pocket through the programs if he or she qualifies as a first-time buyer and in a low income range; there are limitations; there are a lot of those houses being built in Brevard County; and most of them are in Palm Bay due to the affordability of the lots in the $3,000 to $4,000 range as opposed to $30,000 in Viera/Suntree. Mr. Kaiser stated Holiday Builders builds more affordable entry-level homes in Brevard County than any other builder; they turn people down all the time because individuals are $200 short; some people are scraping everything they can to get the $500 down payment with the $15,000 down payment assistance; and $400 or $500 in impact fees makes a difference and comes into the qualifying ratio. He noted lenders do not want to give someone a loan if the mortgage payment and taxes and insurance is more than 28% of his or her income; the mortgage payment on a $85,000 loan at 7% is $532 and on a $86,000 loan it is $539; taxes and insurance on $85,000 is $80 and $81 on $86,000; and the minimum income needed for a $85,000 house is $26,250 based on the ratio and 10% down payment. Mr. Kaiser stated the number of households in Brevard County that can afford that is 140,247, according to the U.S. Census Bureau; and the $26,559 is the minimum income needed for an $86,000 house. Commissioner O'Brien inquired where were the figures derived; with Mr. Kaiser responding they were provided by the National Association of Homebuilders based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Mr. Kaiser noted at the $26,559 level, 139,434 households can afford it; there is a difference of 814 households for the $1,000 difference in the price of the house, based on the minimum income needed; in the income range of $23,876 to $27,286, in Brevard County, there are 8,987 households; it has a significant impact; and $400 or $500 makes a difference. He stated what the County is talking about is whether it is fair for somebody, who has been living in an apartment and has been using the roads and infrastructure to move down the street into a house, to pay the impact fee; they are still here; and it is the same family and the same use. He stated the roads, water, sewer, and everything in a development such as Suntree or Viera go into the price of the lot; and they have been paid for and nobody else is having to pay for it. Mr. Kaiser stated the main things the Association are concerned about is the affordability of housing and protecting private property rights; the higher-priced homes pay a lot of taxes, and the County is going to make money on that growth; with the lower-priced homes, it takes a while for the accumulative affect to increase the tax base and paying for itself; but it produces the commercial support in the community and the whole economic picture that does pay for itself and contributes more to the tax base. He noted the County needs to analyze how it is managing the government structure and the services it has to provide; one of the major concerns is transportation and roads; there is still five cents in Local Option Gas Tax (LOGT) that has not been used; other communities have maxed it out; and they can receive other assistance from the State once they max out their LOGT.

Mr. Kaiser stated Brevard County has not used that capability; he has noticed in the last week that gas prices have fluctuated approximately seven cents; gas is still being sold and people are still driving their cars; and it is not helping the County with the roads. He noted the concern is the trips on the roads and everybody using them; about 70% of the people moving into new houses already live here and about 32% of them are coming in from out of town, according to the University of Florida study that was done; the population is shifting; it makes sense to not look at impact fees as a possible solution and penalize those people who are buying a new home and not the people who are buying a resale home or the people who just moved here from New Jersey and bought a resale home; and they are not paying anything, but have an impact on the community. Mr. Kaiser stated it makes more sense to address the transportation portion with a gas tax as everyone that has a car on the road, whether they live here or just moved here, pays for it.

Commissioner Colon stated when a community gets into a bind, the building community and local government team up; her office is getting realtors together with the Housing Director to discuss the first-time homebuyer; there is a waiting list as the word is out that the County has the Program; and realtors have offered to help the County with paperwork or whatever. She noted she hopes there would be more of a partnership is involved; the building community is considering having people talk to them about year-around schooling; and she supports it so that it does not stop growth development from coming into the community.

Mr. Kaiser stated the partnership is what the building community is trying to accomplish; impact fees are regressive and not bondable; there are other solutions; the building community is offering alternative solutions; and the construction community supports the Board in a tax increase, whether it is the sales tax or gasoline tax, to pay for the things that are needed. He noted such community is also offering solutions for the school overcrowding problem.

Commissioner Higgs stated Mr. Kaiser indites the impact fee as regressive; but there is nothing more regressive than a gas tax or sales tax. Commissioner Scarborough stated with the sales tax and gas tax, the County is able to reach those people who are not residents of the community who use the infrastructure. Commissioner Higgs stated with a commercial impact fee on restaurants, hotels, and other facilities, the people pay and share the cost; if the County depends solely on property tax, it will get a higher percentage and it is non-regressive; and there are a variety of revenue sources to fund the necessary infrastructure. Mr. Kaiser stated the building community is willing to be a partner, part of the solution, and pay its share of taxes; taxes have to be paid; a tax increase is in line if the County wants to have an excellent community and one that is attractive and has a quality of life; and impact fees have never been the solution and will not pay for much. Commissioner Scarborough stated if the County goes to a sales tax and it has not discussed the impact fee, it is not going to get the sales tax or the gas tax; and it is going to end up with a sorry county. Mr. Kaiser stated if the County had the sales tax, on the $85,000 home, it would add another $400 to the price of the home; a builder pays an average of $2,400 per house today for a $85,000 house; and $2,400 is paid in sales tax on building materials. He noted if the County increases it 1%, it would be another $400; it would be up to $2,800 per house; and it is some growth paying for itself that people are not considering.

Commissioner Higgs stated a good point to be made is that the affordable housing argument is discounted when advocating the sales tax. Mr. Kaiser noted a sales tax impacts the price of the house, just as it increases the price of lumber, but everybody would pay a sales tax and not just the people who live here; and overall, the sales tax would generate enough money to pay for the infrastructure needs, while the impact fee will not.

Commissioner Colon stated she still wants to be a partner so that the County and building community can work together. Mr. Kaiser noted the building community is a partner with the County right now; County staff works with the Home Builders and Contractors Association of Brevard presently; the Association is trying to be part of the solution and not part of the problem; and it understands what the County's needs are and wants the quality in the community also.

Maureen Rupe stated she listened to the Local Planning Agency (LPA) meeting earlier in the week; Mr. Kaiser brought up some issues that she has a hard time understanding; he stated that the Census 2000 showed that young families are leaving Brevard County; and inquired where Mr. Kaiser derived the figures. She noted if young families are leaving the County, it is not because taxes are high; the present Board has cut taxes very low for the last few years; and Mr. Kaiser stated that since young families are leaving Brevard County, they should be given an incentive to stay in the County by not raising impact fees. She inquired if it occurred to the building community that their prices have risen so high that the $400 will make a difference; stated the County has done a lot to keep costs down, but prices go up; and inquired if the Home Builders are willing to decrease their prices to 1990 levels and freeze them, or freeze the prices now until impact fees increase. Ms. Rupe stated houses are being built every day in Port St. John; every road, apart from Fay Boulevard, is sub-standard; the Port St. John Library was built for 8,000; there are 23,000 people in Port St. John; and the Library is very noisy. She noted it has been created solely by the impact of new residents and yet the citizens are paying for the expansion of the Library with $1 million in commercial paper, not from impact fees. She stated Mr. Kaiser indicated he would support any other tax on Brevard citizens other than impact fees; however, impact fees are legally not a tax, but a fee for the impact of another house in Brevard County. She noted Mr. Kaiser is willing for all Brevard County citizens to subsidize their own sales; and as a taxpayer, she would be very unhappy doing that.

Robert Gamin, representing Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), stated whenever there is growth it also creates tremendous public safety demands; the FOP supports what is on the table today; the County has to build new fire stations and new sub-stations for deputies to write reports and transmit them; it needs to pay the additional gas for the deputies to drive to new subdivisions; and it is putting miles on the cars. He noted there are always increased costs when there is growth; and when people move into new subdivisions and new areas, it directly creates costs for the County and all the public safety components.

Commissioner Colon noted the more growth there is in Brevard County, the more of an impact there is on services and safety. Commissioner O'Brien expressed concern about increasing impact fees on residential homes; stated the County talks about why there are working couples and both parents have to work; it drives the children into the County's Child Care Association Program; and the Board has to give the Association "x" amount of dollars per year to help day care take care of the children. He noted there are other problems that are caused by increasing impact fees that cannot been seen in such fees; there are also Medicare costs as a lot of people do not have health insurance; the County starts seeing the whole social problem begin to unravel; and impact fees are not the answer. He stated he would support putting a referendum on the ballot to ask the public what they want to do concerning a one-cent sales tax; but he cannot support increasing impact fees and keeping the price war going to the point it stays out of reach for people who make $26,000 a year, which is $13.00 per hour. Commissioner Scarborough inquired if the Board was able to structure impact fees where there would not be a negative impact to the individual who is at the $26,000 a year entry level, would Commissioner O'Brien have a problem with the impact fee; with Commissioner O'Brien responding yes. Commissioner O'Brien stated the average age of people in the jail is around 30 and not 55 or 60 years old; and the County is talking about the same people that it wants to give a break to that are causing the impact.

Commissioner Higgs inquired what is the percentage of the homes in Brevard County that are deemed affordable; with Ms. Reich responding she does not have the statistics, but can research it. Ms. Reich stated the definition of affordable is that no more than 30% of the gross income goes toward housing costs; and for the first time homebuyer, $90,000 is the maximum cost for a house for someone to qualify in the Program. Commissioner Higgs stated the statistic nationwide is 59.8% of housing deemed affordable.

The meeting recessed at 10:30 a.m. and reconvened at 10:40 a.m.

DISCUSSION, RE: IMPACT FEES

Bob Wallace, representing Tindale-Oliver and Associates, Inc., stated the Board requested his Company review the feasibility of implementing and developing a library impact fee; it looked at establishing the level of service standard for libraries, which is a two-prong standard based on the number of volumes per resident, how many books the library houses per resident, and how many square feet the County has constructed to serve the residents; and in Brevard County, it totals .6 square feet per resident and 2.16 volumes per resident. He noted it becomes a level of standard that is used in calculating the impact fee; the next part of the process is the cost component; in a library, cost component is the building, land, furniture, and fixtures in the building, and library items, including periodicals, films, books, etc.; and that comprises what the cost side is that is used in the impact fee component. Mr. Wallace stated the Company also reviews any other funding sources that have been used for capital items in the library program; it looks at the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) over the last five years; it comes up with a capital cost per resident that the County already invested into the libraries from various funding sources; and it is subtracted from the total cost, which is how the Company comes up with the cost per resident for the library system. He noted it is how many units of space and how many books when a new resident comes in; it is equated out to a cost per resident; the cost is approximately $91.30 per resident; and it is applied only to residential land uses as the library services, by in-large, are only used by the residential land uses and not used directly by commercial uses, restaurants, or retail stores. Mr. Wallace stated the Company takes the net cost of $91.30 and multiplies it by the number of persons that reside at a single-family detached home, an apartment, and a mobile home, and create a simple fee schedule for libraries; the report shows that a single-family detached home would have an impact fee of approximately $224, a mobile home would have an impact fee of $163, and an apartment would have an impact fee of $133 per unit; and it is money that could be collected from the imposition of a library impact fee and used to fund land, buildings, equipment, and books. He noted when the Company did Brevard County's study, it reviewed how the County compared to other communities and library systems in the State of Florida; the County has made a significant investment in the construction of facilities; its .6 square-foot per person is very high compared to many other communities; the County's 2.16 books or items per person is in the lower third of what other library systems have throughout the State; and most of them are in the approaching three books or units per person. Mr. Wallace stated the Board may choose to spend the impact fee monies collected from a library on capital facilities; when he was talking to the Library Services Director, there seemed to be a much greater need for books and materials, and to try to raise over time the amount of books per capita per person; the intent was to document that the Board could implement a library impact fee; and his Company has developed a cost and the rationale to do that, following the methodology that he previously mentioned.

Commissioner Scarborough stated if the Board wanted to increase the number of volumes per capita, it does not sound like an impact issue, but a sales tax issue as the County cannot enhance and can only cover the impact; and if it were to regress from 2.16 to 1.99, the impact would preclude that from happening by keeping the number of volumes consistent with the population. Mr. Wallace stated Commissioner Scarborough is correct; impact fees cannot be used to create a solvent existing deficiency; and it would not be charging the residents to solve an existing deficiency, but charging them at today's standard to keep that standard.

Commissioner Scarborough stated he wants the citizens to understand that by this impact fee, the County is not going to have more volumes of books; if it does nothing else, it would have an ability to sustain the volumes; and if the residents wants to have enhanced library services, they need to seriously consider the advantage of the sales tax one year from November.

Commissioner Higgs stated what the County has done with its library revenue today is to keep up; it has done a very aggressive program in terms of building and kept its volumes at 2.16; if the cost of the new growth can carry a greater share, then it would seem that overall the County would elevate its system even under its current revenue stream, except it is adding new facilities; and that cost is going to increase.

Mr. Wallace stated the County cannot charge today at a higher level than the 2.16; but if his Company came back three years from now and did a re-analysis, and found that the volumes per resident had increased through additional revenue sources and it was now 2.41, the Board could change the standard, which would have the affect of increasing the impact fee slightly.

Commissioner O'Brien stated it is not that the County does not want libraries; libraries enhance the quality of life; and inquired has anyone determined what percentage of the population uses the libraries. Library Services Director Catherine Schweinsberg responded it is currently around 42% of the population that have library cards. Commissioner Scarborough inquired how does it compare with other counties; with Ms. Schweinsberg responding Alachua County has 80%, and one of her goals this year is to try to get that increased. Ms. Schweinsberg stated nearing 50% is quite good in the State of Florida. Commissioner O'Brien inquired what impact the use of Internet is having on the use of libraries. Ms. Schweinsberg responded people have said that they thought the use of Internet would make the use of the library decrease; but she has not seen that, as statistics show it has increased; people come to the libraries who do not have computers in their homes; and the library staff teaches them how to use the computers and obtain information they need. She noted the individuals also get books and check out videos; and the usage is not decreasing.

Commissioner Higgs inquired is the $91.30 figure the combination of items and facilities. Mr. Wallace responded $91.30 is the combination of the facility cost in Table 2, plus the item cost in Table 3, minus the credit cost, which is $42.82; that is how the $91.30 figure was derived; and the total cost of providing the building facilities and items is $134.12. Commissioner O'Brien inquired about the projected capital cost of $5.7 million over the next five years, did the Company factor in the $750,000 it thought may be collected from impact fees, and how much per year would be collected for the library tax every year after a house is built and on the tax roll. Mr. Wallace responded his Company did not look at other sources of revenue that are used to fund the library system and only looked at the capital side in order to develop the impact fee and the corresponding revenue that would be generated from the impact fee, which is $750,000. He stated the remaining capital funding is approximately $6.8 million over the five-year period, which averages to about $1.4 million a year; and he is not sure of the specific funding sources and how it is currently funded. Commissioner O'Brien expressed concern that the County collects $750,000 in impact fees when houses are built; houses go on the tax rolls every year; and the amount of the cash builds up. Mr. Wallace stated the County has additional operating cost and other costs associated with the library system that the funds are paying for; it becomes how the County balances its budget in terms of making adjustments to the surtax servicing units that are funding the library system; and if the revenues keep going up, then the overall rate of taxation could come down as the Board tries to balance its budget. He stated his Company's task was to review the capital side of the program as that is what impact fees are allowed to be expended on; it looked at the capital funding sources; to be conservative is to assume the capital funding sources are going to continue, so the credit side was calculated conservatively; and it has the affect of off-setting the additional revenues so that people are not charged twice. He noted how the rest of the program is funded and affects rates, he is not sure how, but it is something County staff could review with the Board.

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Colon, to direct staff to advertise a public hearing for October 2, 2001 to consider library impact fees and affordable housing provisions. Motion carried and ordered; Commissioner O'Brien voted nay.

Commissioner Scarborough requested the Board get the information from Lake and Collier Counties; such Counties had dealt with the first-time homebuyer and affordable housing issues; he wants to have that discussion simultaneously on August 28, 2001; and he is not prepared to proceed unless the Board proceeds with assurances that it is coming together for the people who want and need to buy homes. He noted it is not complex; he has talked to County staff; they are going to be prepared to be at the August 28, 2001 meeting; and he wants clear direction from the Board.

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Higgs, to direct staff to provide assurances about affordable housing provisions at the August 28, 2001 Board meeting. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

Ms. Busacca stated staff can provide options that other communities have done; and as far as the information that Commissioner O'Brien requested as to what percent is affordable housing that Brevard County currently has, she does not know if that information is readily available. She noted the Board has adopted impact fees and had some lag time before the effective date, in order to exclude people who are currently under contract; it may be possible on August 28, 2001 to go forward on residential impact fees, making the effective date at the lag time, which would give the Board plenty of time to put in effect the affordable housing portion.

Chairman Carlson stated it sounds fine to her if the Commissioners can receive the information to get the assurances. Commissioner Scarborough noted the issue can be discussed on August 28, 2001 and the public hearing advertised for October, 2001. Ms. Busacca stated staff will provide all the dates for the Board.

Commissioner Scarborough inquired when is the Board going to commit to a sales tax on the November, 2002 ballot.

DISCUSSION, RE: IMPACT FEES

Mr. Scott responded the Board reinstated commercial impact fees for the four existing impact fee programs, including transportation, emergency medical services, fire, and corrections; transportation impact fees were reinstated at 27 ½% of its justifiable maximum rate; the EMS, fire, and corrections were advertised and passed by the Board in the Ordinance at 100% of the justifiable rate; and in putting together the Ordinance, staff relied upon the impact fee update study to obtain those figures, which listed the three impact fees at 100% of the justifiable rate. He noted it has recently come to staff's attention that the update study had scrivener's errors in it for the three impact fee programs, including EMS, fire, and corrections; and the numbers that the Board was adopting at 100% of the rate were only 20 to 80% of the justifiable maximum rate. Mr. Scott stated staff provided paperwork which identifies the adopted rate; instead of being at 100% of the justifiable maximum, they are only at a range of 20 to 80% of the justifiable maximum; the methodology and basis for the numbers are not in question; and it was simply a scrivener's error that listed the wrong figures in the columns staff used in putting together the Ordinance.

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to grant permission to advertise an ordinance correcting scrivener's errors in the existing impact fee rates.

Commissioner O'Brien expressed concern that the impact fee for a church with 10,000 square feet would be $12.34 per 1,000 square feet; and a day care center would be $137 for 5,000 square feet. Mr. Scott reiterated the methodology is not in question, it is the figures due to a scrivener's error; and they are the impact fees generated at 100% of the justifiable rate.

Chairman Carlson called for a vote on the motion. Motion carried and ordered; Commissioner O'Brien voted nay.

Upon motion and vote, the meeting adjourned at 11:15 a.m.

ATTEST:
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SUSAN CARLSON, CHAIRMAN
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA
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SCOTT ELLIS, CLERK

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