MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA

 

 

October 23, 2007

 

 

 

The Board of County Commissioners of Brevard County, Florida, met in regular session on October 23, 2007, at 9:00 a.m. in the Government Center Commission Room, Building C, 2725 Judge Fran Jamieson Way, Viera, Florida.  Present were:  Chairperson Jackie Colon,  Commissioners Truman Scarborough, Chuck Nelson, Helen Voltz, and Mary Bolin, County Manager Peggy Busacca, and County Attorney Scott Knox.

 

 

The Invocation was given by Father Michael E. Giglio, St. Teresa’s Catholic Church, Titusville, Florida.

 

 

Commissioner Chuck Nelson led the assembly in the Pledge of Allegiance.

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to approve the Minutes of the August 16, 2007 Special Meeting.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Commissioner Bolin read aloud a resolution recognizing December 7, 2007 as Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy Day in honor of its 50^th Anniversary as an Academy. 

 

Motion by Commissioner Bolin, seconded by Commissioner Voltz, to adopt Resolution recognizing December 7, 2007 as Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy Day in honor of the Academy’s 50^th Anniversary.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

Commissioner Bolin presented the Resolution to Headmaster Catherine Ford, who expressed appreciation to the Board for the Resolution and advised of the history of the Academy.  Ms. Ford stated in addition to celebrating their 50^th year, they are also celebrating the victory of golfer Vicky Hurst who won the Regional competition yesterday.   

 

 

 

Commissioner Bolin read aloud a resolution recognizing October 30, 2007 as Weatherization Day. 

 

Motion by Commissioner Bolin, seconded by Commissioner Voltz, to adopt Resolution recognizing October 30, 2007 as Weatherization Day.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

Commissioner Bolin presented the Resolution to representatives of Housing and Human Services.  Assistant Housing and Human Services Director Chenita Joiner expressed appreciation to the Board for support; and recommended everyone take the Change a Light Bulb Challenge and participate in the Weatherization Day activities to be held at the Government Center on October 30, 2007. 

 

 

 

Commissioner Scarborough stated a lot of people wanted to be present for this item, but could not be here because of the launch.  He read aloud a resolution celebrating 50 years in space. 

 

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to adopt Resolution celebrating 50 years in space, and encouraging Congress to fully fund continued space exploration.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

EDC President Lynda Weatherman expressed appreciation to the Board for recognizing space, and for its continued commitment to addressing the challenges.  Ms. Weatherman stated NASA sends thanks and appreciation to the Board for its commitment to space and all that it does on NASA’s behalf. 

 

Ron Morgan encouraged the Board to think about establishing a space wing bulletin board in Building C; and stated he would be happy to contribute some pictures for it.  He stated he participated in every Apollo and Shuttle launch from 1964 through 1994 when he retired from the Program; he was blessed to be one of the Apollo 10 manned space flight honorees; and his name is in a time capsule that has been on the moon since 1971.  He stated he has been to the Government Center a number of times, but has never noticed any space photos. 

 

Commissioner Scarborough stated when they celebrate the 50^th anniversary of space, they are celebrating the many individuals in the community who made it possible for the nation to achieve what it did in space; and it will be the County’s capacity to attract and regenerate a new age of exploration.  He stated the Resolution will be presented at a later time. 

 

Chairperson Colon noted the Board will be taking a break later to view the Shuttle launch.

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Voltz, to adopt Resolution welcoming Leon Russell as the guest speaker at the North Brevard County Branch of NAACP 2007 Freedom Fund Dinner and Awards Banquet on October 27, 2007.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

Commissioner Scarborough stated the Resolution will be presented at the banquet on Saturday night.

 

 

 

Commissioner Bolin stated District 4 has chosen to honor Loren Rapport; and her prayers are with him with the illness of his child.  Mr. Rapport advised he is doing much better.  Commissioner Bolin stated Mr. Rapport is the Landscaping Operations Manager; and he is being applauded because of all his hard work, going above and beyond for Brevard County.  She thanked Mr. Rapport for designing, installing, and overseeing the landscaping projects which include the roadway medians and County facilities, like libraries and courthouses.  She stated when someone comes into a community, their hearts change when they see beautiful things; and because of Mr. Rapport, Brevard County has that.  She stated numerous landscaping projects under Mr. Rapport’s direction have won prestigious awards from Keep Brevard Beautiful, area Garden Clubs, and the Florida Federation of Garden Clubs; and Mr. Rapport’s co-workers report that he is helpful, friendly, and always ready to help them.  She stated she has only known Mr. Rapport for a short time, but she has found him to be innovative, driven, and an artistic professional; he always gets the job done; and thanked him for his hard work toward the success of landscaping projects in all of Brevard County.

 

Assistant Road and Bridge Director Ed Gardulski stated Mr. Rapport has a great team of workers; he presented awards this morning for the projects that they have completed; and he is proud of Mr. Rapport.  Mr. Rapport stated he had opportunities to work with each of the Commissioners; and his job is a passion, not a job.      

 

Chairperson Colon stated the Board gets compliments all the time about County staff; and she knows County Manager Peggy Busacca is also proud of them.  

 

 

 

Commissioner Scarborough stated the State is purchasing the last 52 miles that will hook up the Trail; they will be setting up a meeting with the five counties through which the trail will run; and Barbara Meyer will present what she will present to the five counties. 

 

Bicycle/Pedestrian Coordinator Barbara Meyer stated on September 19, 2007 the Governor and the Cabinet enthusiastically supported the acquisition of the rail trail; and Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink advised that projects like this infuse economic vitality and opportunities for sustainable eco-heritage tourism, and she cannot wait for the field trip.  She stated they all know the benefits of trails; and while she could talk about trails forever, she will not do that today.  She stated 11 miles of the trail are in Brevard County and the rest is within Volusia County, with a spur out to Edgewater. 

 

Commissioner Scarborough noted it is going to be a 200-mile loop trail.  Ms. Meyer stated it is exciting because a lot of people have worked a long time on this; projects like this do not happen without successful effective partnerships; and Brevard County has developed that with Volusia County, the East Central Florida Regional Planning Council, the Office of Greenways and Trails, County staff, and the leadership of Commissioner Scarborough and Commissioner Pat Northey of Volusia County.  She stated the success of what is being achieved now has grown into a 200-mile loop that will connect the oldest northern European community in North America to the Kennedy Space Center; and they are excited about seeing that going on.  She displayed a slide showing the corridor; and stated the County’s parcel is totally intact.  She distributed posters to the Commissioners showing the unique opportunities and sites that are within reach of the trail in Brevard County.  She stated when the rail trail comes to the Chain of
Lakes, all kinds of wonderful things are happening; the trail will cross over to the Chain of Lakes which already has a trail system; and they are working toward getting the trail out to the Space Center.  Ms. Meyer stated they are designing the trailhead museum; it will be in concert with the Chain of Lakes Park; and the museum will be located centrally overlooking the lakes and property that is owned in partnership with the Brevard Community College and the St. Johns River Water Management District.  She stated the museum is evolving; it is being designed to get maximum use and to provide all of the trail users with a wonderful experience; and described what is planned, including places to eat, places to shop, and places to rent bicycles and canoes.  She stated the trailhead museum will include exhibits that will tell about the history of the trail as well as the experiences along the trail; and displayed slides showing the trail. 

 

Commissioner Scarborough expressed appreciation to Brevard Community College, Jim Drake, and the Board of Directors; stated they are in the process of working out an Interlocal agreement; the trailhead museum will be on BCC’s property; Dr. Rachel Wentz is assisting in the design of the museum; and there are some wonderful partnerships. 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to adopt Resolution celebrating October as Greenways and Trails Month.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

Commissioner Scarborough presented the Resolution to Ms. Meyer and other staff members. 

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Nelson, seconded by Commissioner Voltz, to appoint Chris Cook to the Merritt Island Redevelopment Agency, replacing Ralph Perrone, with term expiring December 31, 2008.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Commissioner Voltz congratulated former County Attorney Terri Jones who will be going to be the interim City Attorney for the City of West Melbourne. 

 

 

 

Commissioner Voltz stated the City of West Melbourne will be doing a visioning for the City; everybody is invited on November 2, 2007; and anyone wanting more information can call her office or City Hall. 

 

 

 

Commissioner Voltz stated there was a Valkaria Airport meeting with the citizens and the Grant-Valkaria Council; and it was very successful.  She stated helicopters are the big issue, and they
made some headway; representatives of Silver State were present; and they have set up another meeting with Assistant County Attorney Morris Richardson, the attorney from Melbourne Airport Authority, the Town of Grant-Valkaria, and her to try to work out what can be done to resolve the issue of the helicopters.

 

 

 

Commissioner Voltz stated the Crime Conference is coming up on Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Stone Middle School; and recommended anyone wanting to attend call her office for reservations.

 

 

 

Commissioner Voltz stated she would like to welcome Sharon Walker to her office; she will be the friendly voice on the telephone when someone calls; and she has split Mr. Holton’s former job between Chris Cook and Jan Conrad. 

 

 

 

Commissioner Voltz stated the Space Committee that she was appointed to has been going very well, moving very fast; and it is accomplishing a lot.  She stated she will keep the Board updated on its progress.

 

 

REPORT, RE:  CRIME CONFERENCE  (CONTINUED)

 

Chairperson Colon stated she is looking forward to the Crime Conference; some people from Cocoa will be attending; the Mayor is sending representatives; and if crime is affecting the County, they need to tackle it.  She stated this is not the County if someone wants to break the law.  She stated a lot of people have moved to this community from other large cities; and she wants to make it perfectly clear that Brevard County does not want to become Orange County.  She commented on teamwork between pastors, police chiefs, and elected officials; and stated participation is needed to make sure Brevard County does not become Miami or Orlando. 

 

Commissioner Voltz stated the staff of Stone Middle School has been wonderful in helping coordinate this.  She stated the reason the conference is being held there is because it is within the community; and they felt people would go to something within their own community. 

 

Chairperson Colon expressed appreciation to Stone Middle School for opening its doors to the conference; and thanked Commissioner Voltz for taking the lead and bringing this to Brevard County.  She stated there are only three areas that are getting the kind of help that Brevard County is getting from Amer-I-Can and from Representative Needelman.

 

 

 

Commissioner Bolin stated she gave a speech before the Suntree Rotary; one of the customs is to raise a dollar for a happy note; but today she is going to raise a dollar to say she has a happy event.  She stated she will be flying out tomorrow morning to go to Chicago for her mother’s 85^th birthday.  

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to execute Memorandum of Agreement with Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Office of Coastal and Aquatic Managed Areas for the Environmental Field Station, located at 3783 North Indian River Drive in Cocoa.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to approve the legislative intent and grant permission to advertise a public hearing to consider adoption of the proposed amendment of Chapter 62, Article XIII, Division 4, Subdivision 1, Code of Ordinances of Brevard County, Florida, Land Alteration.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to execute Agreement with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Beaches and Coastal Systems, for monitoring of the North and South Reach Shore Protection Projects.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to execute Lease Agreement with Oce North America, Inc. for lease of a scanner, printer, monitor, and related equipment for the document management section of Building Code for three years.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to approve waiver to Article VII, Chapter 62-2956(a)(1) and 62-2956(b)(2) of the Land Development Code to allow Houston
Lane to be reduced by 15 feet, to a 35-foot width where 50 feet of right-of-way is required and allow a six-foot sidewalk on one side of the street where five feet of sidewalk is required on both sides of the street; and allow speed humps on a public road.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to approve the project funding recommendation adopted by the Technical Advisory Committee for the Central Mainland Transportation Impact Fee Benefit District; authorize the Budget Office to execute any budget changes required to implement project appropriation; and authorize the Chairperson to execute a Disbursement Agreement with the Town of Palm Shores.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to grant permission to advertise for Continuing Geotechnical Services; appoint a Consultant Selection Committee consisting of Transportation Engineering Director John Denninghoff or his designee, Road and Bridge Construction Manager Charlie Burton or his designee, Interim Traffic Engineering Director Gil Ramirez or his designee, Engineering Review Specialist Bruce Auchter, and Engineering Review Specialist Devin Swanson; appoint a Negotiating Committee consisting of County Manager Peggy Busacca, County Attorney Scott Knox and Transportation Engineering Director John Denninghoff or their designees; authorize the Chairperson to execute the Professional Service Agreements with the Geotechnical firms; and authorize the County Manager or designee the authority to execute renewal option as outlined in the agreements.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to authorize the Chairperson to execute an Amendment to the Right-of-way Use Agreement with Post Road Cascades Homeowners Association, Inc. for landscaping improvement purposes within the public right-of-way, known as Post Road, in Melbourne, Florida.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to approve Change Order 1 with Met-Con, Inc. for the North Brevard Water Treatment Plant and Elevated Tank
Improvements, decreasing the contract amount by $29,986.97 for a new total of $473,013.03.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to authorize execution of Agreement with Circles of Care, Inc. for FY 2007-2008, retroactive to October 1, 2007 in an amount not to exceed $1,786,548; and authorize the Chairperson to execute any future amendments/renewals to the Agreement, contingent upon approval of the County Attorney and Risk Management.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to approve the recommendation of the Community Action Board to provide $30,000 to Big Brothers/Big Sisters, $37,000 to Brevard Achievement Center, $133,000 to Brevard Alzheimer’s Foundation, $32,500 to Central Brevard Sharing Center, $152,673 to Child Care Association of Brevard, $172,500 to Community Services Council, $50,700 to Eckerd Youth Alternatives, $25,000 to Family Counseling Center, $15,000 to Links of Hope, $25,000 to North Brevard Charities, $35,000 to Prevent! of Brevard, $35,000 to Salvation Army North/Central, $36,516 to Senior Care of Brevard, and $200,000 to South Brevard Women’s Center for a total of $979,895 in funding to community-based organizations; and authorize the Chairperson and/or County Manager to execute agreements and/or future amendments, contingent upon approval of the County Attorney and Risk Management.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

  

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to adopt Resolution amending Resolution No. 05-053, amending the designated meeting schedule for the Environmentally Endangered Lands Program Recreation and Education Advisory Committee.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to waive the requirement for Phase I Environmental Site Assessment for donation of land parcel #29-37-26-78-2.0-1, 29-37-36-00-574, 29-37-36-00-526 by the Ram Land Holdings LLC to Brevard County for management under the Environmentally Endangered Lands Program.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.      

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to authorize advertisement for and acceptance of proposals from qualified organizations for the management and operation of the Wickham Park Equestrian Center; establish a Selection and Negotiating Committee; award contract to the best qualified proposal; authorize the Chairperson to execute the negotiated Contract; and delegate to the County Manager the authority to execute renewal options and amendments as outlined in the Contract, contingent upon County Attorney and Risk Management approval.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.  (Reconsidered and tabled later in the meeting.)

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to execute Professional Services Agreement Amendment No. 10 with Architects in Association Rood & Zwick, Inc. for architectural services for Standard Park Building Structures.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to acknowledge Canaveral Port Authority Resolution adopting FY 2007-2008 Budget and Estimate of Revenues and Expenses.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to acknowledge Parrish Medical Center’s Resolution establishing FY 2007-2008 Revenue and Expense Budget and Millage.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to reappoint Philip Nohrr, Roberta Bechtel, Pamela Gatto, Joy Gilliland, and William Potter to the Brevard County Educational Facilities Authority with term to expire December 31, 2008.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to adopt Resolution authorizing extension of time for mandatory sewer connection to five years for the properties in Merritt Park Place, South Tropical Trail, and Magnolia Avenue sewer service areas.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.    

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to execute a FY 2007-2010 Category B – Beach Clean-up Grant Agreement with Keep Brevard Beautiful in the amount of $135,000 each year for FY 2007-2009, with funding to be negotiated 90 days prior to the end of FY 2008-2009; and authorize the TDC Executive Director to execute Amendment to Agreement for FY 2009-2010 funding, if necessary.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to execute Agreement with Wagner, Hohns, Inglis, Inc. for expert witness testimony and environmental services in the case of Courtney Roberts and Carol Roberts v. Brevard County, Case No. 05-2003-CA-057511-XXXX-XX.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.    

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to approve a workshop with the Brevard County Legislative Delegation at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, December 6, 2007, in the Florida Room.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to execute an Agreement with Robert Walker/Wexler and Walker Public Policy Associates, who will assist with and/or represent the Board of County Commissioners in policy, legislative, appropriations, and technical matters related to the space industry which come before the President, Cabinet, Congress, and Federal Agencies.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.   

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to execute the 2007-2008 Emergency Management Preparedness and Assistance Grant and Emergency Management Performance Grant Agreement; and authorize the County Manager or her designee, to submit and execute any additional changes, documents, or amendments required for the Grant Contract.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to approve the revised precinct legal descriptions for changes to existing precincts due to annexations by the Cities of Melbourne and Rockledge.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to appoint Barry White to the Economic Development Commission of the Space Coast replacing David Matte, with term expiring December 31, 2007; and reappoint Joseph Hale to the Melbourne-Tillman Water Control District, with term expiring September 30, 2010.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

William Riley stated he is speaking on behalf of himself, Chris Riley, and Richard Davis; they own approximately 25 acres in South Brevard, which they have continuously preserved, used, and accessed for 30 years; about three years ago the State acquired lands adjacent to their property that is now managed by the EEL Program; and these lands are presently known as the Grant Flatwoods Sanctuary.  He stated for three years they have been harassed and threatened with arrest; and the managers of the EEL Program have confiscated their personal property.  He commented on his statutory rights that have been ignored by the EEL Program managers; and stated in written correspondence they have been personally singled out, threatened with arrest for trespassing as they access their properties, and harassed with written false statements.  He stated their personal property has been confiscated and vandalized; and the EEL Program has been and is presently violating operating guidelines set forth by the Board, in particular implementing a practice of de facto eminent domain, which is prohibited by Policy 9.6 of the EEL Program Land Acquisition Manual.  He stated there have been threatening letters from EEL Managers denying them access to their properties; and there have been offers for purchase of
their properties as recently as August and September 2007.  Mr. Riley advised the manuals have been ignored; direct threats of arrest and trespassing are outside the scope and authority of the EEL Program and are in direct contradiction to the provisions of Florida Statute 704.01, which allows them access to their properties without constituting trespass.  He stated State law supersedes County Ordinances; the Sunshine Law has been violated by the EEL Program Managers; approximately 22 minutes of the September 26, 2006 and October 17, 2006 EEL meetings containing public dialogue were omitted from the published meeting minutes; the Statutes do not provide for the selective omission or editing of public meeting content; and in doing so, the spirit and intent of the law have been violated.  He stated his allegations are fully documented in writing and videotape format. 

 

Chairperson Colon advised Mr. Riley’s time has expired; but he can continue briefly.

 

Mr. Riley stated clearly there are unwarranted and outrageous violations of State law and County policy in denying them their rights afforded under State law.  He submitted pictures to the Board. 

 

Chairperson Colon stated the County Manager and County Attorney will review this as there are legal questions that have been raised.  She advised there are always two sides to every story; and the Board wants to make sure, before it jumps to any conclusion, that there is research on what Mr. Riley has brought to the Board’s attention.  Mr. Riley inquired when he should contact the County Manager and County Attorney; with Chairperson Colon requesting Mr. Riley provide his phone number to staff, and she will be sure to get the information to him. 

 

 

 

Commissioner Bolin stated she thought she had pulled the item before the meeting, but she has been informed that it needed to be removed at the meeting.  She requested the Board reconsider the Wickham Park Equestrian Center Management Services as she would like to have more public discussion before moving forward.   

 

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to reconsider previous Board action concerning Wickham Park Equestrian Center Management Services.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Bolin, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to table consideration of approval to advertise, acceptance of proposals, execution of contract, and delegation of authority for renewals for the Wickham Park Equestrian Center Management Services to November 13, 2007.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Marlene Adams stated the last time she was before the Board she touched on public trust; and she is sure each of the Commissioners wants it, needs it, and has to have it to be elected and
re-elected; but it has to be earned.  Ms. Adams stated the citizens want and need to trust the Commissioners to make the right and legal decisions; but the Commissioners do not quite have it.  She stated Florida TODAY did an unofficial poll in recent weeks; and out of 245 total votes, just 47 said they trust the Commissioners to make the right decisions regarding budget cuts.  She stated people like her should not need to go researching to find out why the Board is making the decisions it is making; she should not need to go up to the Supervisor of Elections Office and dig into campaign files to find out who is who; and she knows it is not illegal, but she finds campaign contributions to Commissioners from entities that stand to gain major contracts with the County.  She stated contributions were made in the entity’s names, the manager’s name, the manager’s wife, and the wife’s maiden name; and inquired if they are trying to hide that, what else are they trying to hide.  She stated since she was last before the Board, she had to put her life on hold because she felt the need to find facts, and in doing so, she gained a lot of public trust; and the Board has to make its legal and right decisions based on facts.  She stated she gained a lot of support from diverse groups because she has gained that trust; but she has also received something disturbing in that she has gotten a lot of comments expressing concern for her safety and the safety of her house.  She stated people think if she speaks before the Board, there are issues with fear of retribution and fear that something horrible will happen to her house.  She stated she hopes nothing like that ever happens to her house; but people should not feel that way.  She reiterated people do not trust; and thanked those who helped her during the last six weeks to dig up facts and do research.  She stated the County has excellent staff.

 

 

 

Chairperson Colon called for the public hearing to consider a request to withdraw petition to vacate 14-foot alley in Merritt City Subdivision as requested by Mark D. Sutton.

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to approve withdrawal of petition to vacate 14-foot alley in Merritt City Subdivision as requested by Mark D. Sutton.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Chairperson Colon called for the public hearing to consider an ordinance amending Section 62-507 of Brevard County Code of Ordinances, to provide for consent vested rights determined by a Special Master and establishing the criteria for consent vested rights.

 

There being no comments or objections heard, motion was made by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to adopt an Ordinance of the Brevard County Board of County Commissioners amending Section 62-507, Code of Ordinances of Brevard County, Florida, by adding a new subsection 62-507(a)(8) providing for consent vested rights determined by a special master; establishing criteria for consent vested rights; providing for severability; providing for an effective date.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Chairperson Colon called for the public hearing to consider a resolution approving the Fourth Quarter Supplemental Budget for FY 2006-2007.

 

There being no comments or objections heard, motion was made by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to adopt Resolution approving Fourth Quarter Supplemental Budget for FY 2006-07; and approve budget changes as necessary to implement the adopted changes.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Rachel Aumuller thanked the Commissioners who voted to purchase the Thousand Islands; and stated they are beautiful places that people in previous years have enjoyed.  She stated although she has never been on the trip, she has asked many sixth graders, and they loved it; but if the Board votes no, the fifth graders would never be able to experience this wonderful trip.  She requested the Board reconsider and vote yes to support the purchase of the Thousand Islands.

 

Macy Weston thanked the three Commissioners who already voted yes for the purchase; and stated she supports the purchase of the Thousand Islands for education and recreation.  She stated every year students from Freedom 7 Elementary go on a trip through the Thousand Islands; and taking these islands away will prevent hands-on education for these kids and many more.  She stated by preserving these islands, they will attract more tourists, which will provide more money for the community.  She stated she hopes the Board takes this into consideration and votes to purchase the Thousand Islands.

 

Michaela Steele thanked the three Commissioners who voted to buy the Thousand Islands; and stated she supports the purchase.  She stated she recently took a trip to the Thousand Islands; they were beautiful and had many interesting animals and plants; and tearing them down would harm the environment known to the animals and plants on the islands.  She stated there are also many people and travelers including the fifth graders at Freedom 7 Elementary School who are going to experience this trip to the Thousand Islands; and taking this privilege from them would be a shame.  She stated buying this land could save the many exotic features of the Thousand Islands for future exploration; and she hopes the Board takes their thoughts into consideration.

 

Daisy Payne stated she is currently an eighth grade student at Cocoa Beach Junior/Senior High School; and she is here on behalf of the fifth grade Freedom 7 students to ask the Board to donate the money to save the Thousand Islands.  She stated the Thousand Islands have been an important part of the community for over 40 years; and advised of the benefits of the islands.  She stated these important pieces of land, by no means pristine, are still very important for education and recreation; the Freedom 7 students meet after school for a trip in kayaks around these islands; and described the trip which includes a scavenger hunt and identifying native and non-native plants and animals, and landmarks that make the islands unique.  She stated while kayaking they can spot rare fish and snakes in the water, spot dolphins and manatees, and enjoy the beauty.  She advised they have become familiar with devices such as compasses and

other safety items, how human activity is affecting the lagoon, and the ecological effects that the lagoon and the islands are undertaking.  Ms. Payne stated when she was in seventh grade, she and her friend would canoe up on the islands on cool days and do their homework, community service, and enjoy each other’s company while admiring the true beauty of these small pieces of land.  She stated they could spot rare turtles, beautiful birds and fish, marsh rabbits, manatees, and many other beautiful animals not commonly found; and she fears if the islands are not saved from development, these animals may be lost as other animals have been lost in the development of cities along the coast.  She stated the islands are not only a place of beauty, but are a recreational sanctuary and meet educational needs; and they are habitat for many animals and plants.  She stated as the natural flow of the water has already been disrupted by the building of Minuteman Causeway, if houses are built upon these sanctuaries, she fears the disruption will be great; people who need to take a boat to and from their houses will also need places to park their cars and boats; and there will be other adjustments to the way of life on the islands.  She stated this will not only cause a disruption to the community but will deprive future students from the opportunity to appreciate and enjoy the natural beauty still existing in Cocoa Beach.  She stated just because the developers in Cocoa Beach feel a need for more money, people should not build on a piece of land that serves for educational needs; there is a saying, “no student left behind”; but students in the future, after the development of the Thousand Islands, will be left behind, not having the valuable knowledge obtained from the field trips.  She stated if the Board cares for the kids of the future learning how to save the habitats, it should vote to save the Thousand Islands.       

 

Bailey Underill stated she supports the purchase of the Thousand Islands because people will be able to enjoy them if they are saved while few families will be able to enjoy them if houses are put there.  She stated many animals rely on the Board’s decision for their life; and if the Board saves the islands, her children and grandchildren will eventually be able to explore this great nature. 

 

Kiara Barrett stated she supports the purchase of the Thousand Islands; and commented on people being able to go see endangered species that live on the islands.  She stated the students have an educational field trip to the islands; and if the Board does not buy them, it will not be able to do that.  She stated she knows there are many other things to spend the money on, but Cocoa Beach has offered to pay for some of it; and the City really cares about the purchase, not just to make Cocoa Beach more beautiful, but to keep the wildlife living in the best way. 

 

Sarah Johnson thanked the three Commissioners who voted to purchase the Thousand Islands; and stated she supports the purchase.  She stated if this beautiful habitat is destroyed, little of what Florida used to be will remain; the islands are amazing and extremely educational; in fifth grade, her class was lucky enough to go on a kayaking trip to the Thousand Islands; and they learned a great deal on survival skills, wildlife, trees, and many other interesting specimens.  She stated if they continue to build, all these creatures will have no home and nowhere else to live; and inquired how the Commissioners would feel if someone barged into their homes and told them to leave because they wanted to build a shopping mall.  She stated animals have feelings too; and requested the Commissioners put themselves in the animals’ position.  She requested the Board purchase the Thousand Islands to preserve them for others to learn about and enjoy. 

 

Brianna Morales stated she supports the purchase of the Thousand Islands for education and recreation; and thanked the three Commissioners who voted yes on the purchase.  She stated she would like to address Commissioners Voltz and Colon; she understands that purchasing the Thousand Islands is expensive; but she knows it would be worthwhile.  She stated when she was in fifth grade she had the privilege to kayak to the Thousand Islands; and she was able to enjoy the wildlife as well as the plants while having a fun and educational exploration.  She stated taking away the Thousand Islands to build houses for a mere 20 people would keep thousands, maybe millions more from enjoying the beauty and wildlife of the islands.  She requested the Board reconsider its vote and support the purchase of the Thousand Islands.   

 

Avery Ellegood stated he supports the purchase of the Thousand Islands; and there are many empty houses that could be torn down to build the houses they are trying to build on the Thousand Islands.  He stated the islands are right behind his house; he goes kayaking with his friends and they park on the islands; they take hikes and play games; and if this is taken away, many people will suffer.  He stated he hopes the Commissioners’ votes will go for the greater good. 

 

Thomas Payne stated he supports the purchase of the Thousand Islands for education and recreation; and thanked the three Commissioners who voted for the purchase of the Thousand Islands. 

 

Robby Breininger stated he is supporting the Thousand Islands; and commented on endangered plants and animals such as the manatee needing the Thousand Islands for their homes.  He stated he hopes to be able to thank all five Commissioners if they vote for the purchase. 

 

Commissioner Voltz stated she will be supporting the purchase today because they have a better deal with a lower price.  She stated there is another item on the Agenda that is $5 million less than the appraised value; so while the Board cannot always get the price it wants, last time there was an issue about paying too much; and it is still a lot of money; but it is worth it.  She thanked the students for coming today.

 

Chairperson Colon stated one of the things she said to the teacher earlier is that the students will always remember coming to this meeting and being able to speak; and they are the future leaders of the community.  She stated she was sharing with them that she was class president in sixth and seventh grade, captain of the school patrol, and all of that good stuff; and she never imagined that she would go into politics.  She stated she is proud of all the students; that is what today is about; and if they watched the last Board meeting, it was not to go ahead and have developers develop the Thousand Islands.  She stated it is like buying a home and trying to get a better price; the original price the Board was going to have to pay to purchase the Thousand Islands was $3.2 million; it is now down to $2.5 million; and what the Board is looking at is making it able to justify because the number it has is about $1.7 million, and there is a big difference between $2.5 million and $1.7 million.  She stated what is wonderful is that the Commissioners of Cocoa Beach have been kind enough to donate to this purchase; but on top of that, they took time out to be able to justify because the Board has been through a hard time this summer with budget cuts; and a lot of folks think that EEL money can go for roads, which is
incorrect.  Chairperson Colon stated EEL money can only go for these kinds of purchases; and the letters that are coming in from folks regarding putting the money somewhere else are not correct.  She stated that is some of the educational part that has to be given; and Cocoa Beach has been able to prove very clearly that it has paid way above that in taxes towards the EEL Program.  She stated the Thousand Islands are beautiful; she has been out there; the Board clearly does not have an open check just because it is government; and it needs to be able to justify the purchase.  She stated the Board would have been able to get three votes easily; the reason why four votes was needed was because there is a policy that says if the appraisals are under what is being paid, four votes are needed; and that is what happened.  She stated obviously there was a little problem with the purchase price; so that is just a little bit of where the Board was going.  She stated it had a bunch of testimonials to listen to; it was important for everyone to give their input; and the Board is grateful that the students took time out to come to the meeting.  She stated they have a beautiful school; she was able to see the students there playing; not a lot of kids are able to get in their kayaks and go to the islands to play; she thinks that is why everybody moved to Florida; and thanked each of the students. 

 

Tony Sasso stated he would like to thank the three Commissioners, but would also like to thank the other two for the time they gave to him and to Ken Griffin.  He stated he is a Cocoa Beach City Commissioner; and he is also representing the Space Coast League of Cities.  He submitted paperwork; and stated what is being passed around is a unanimous vote of the board of the Space Coast League of Cities in support of this purchase.  He stated if this vote goes the right way, they will have lots of happy dollars for the Board, and they will be happy to contribute.  He stated he got a call from Representative Altman last night who expressed his support for the purchase, and likewise, Mayor Beeler who cannot be here because he is at the launch, sends his regards and support for the purchase.  He stated even though the students go to Freedom 7, which is a Cocoa Beach school, they are from all over Brevard County; and they are awesome.  He stated they have been working on this for six years; there were lots of folks; and they started with a group called the Cocoa Beach Green Space Committee, which turned into the Friends of the Thousand Islands, which are hundreds of people on an email list that have been supporting this throughout the entire six years.  He stated when he got on the Cocoa Beach Commission six years ago, the Commission decided to try and purchase the Thousand Islands; he was designated as the observer negotiator in that group; and they sat down with the Reynolds folks.  He stated, as the Board knows, there are two parcels; the Reynolds parcel, which is made up of a trust committee, was an unwilling seller; and it took a lot of work over a few years of meeting for them to become willing sellers by the slimmest of a majority.  He stated after the 3-2 meeting the last time on this issue, he talked to EEL Manager Mike Knight and some other folks to ask if he could speak to Ted McGowen who is the representative for the Reynolds family; and he was told they could not get anywhere, were dead in the water, and had shifted support from selling the islands to developing them.  He stated after talking with Mr. McGowen he went back and was able to get a last chance deal to do a match up to $100,000 with the City of Cocoa Beach; that night the City passed $100,000, so that was $200,000 on the table to help with the purchase of the islands; in addition to that, there is $200,000 through the FCT grant with Crawford and $500,000 with the Reynolds property; and both are contingent upon both properties being bought, so that is $900,000 today.  He stated that brings it to $2.3 million, from a $3.2 project minus $900,000.  He stated the Board has a packet from Cocoa
Beach Development Services Director Tony Caravella; it is absolutely clear and factual; and they do not want to get very public with it, but those islands are able to be developed. 

 

Chairperson Colon inquired if Mr. Sasso said the original contribution was going to be $3.2 but now it is down to $2.2; with Mr. Sasso responding it is $2.3 based on the $900,000.  Chairperson Colon stated that is almost a million dollars difference.  Mr. Sasso stated that is correct. 

 

Mr. Sasso stated people look at the islands and say they will never be developed; but there are totally self-contained island communities in Florida that have no water or electricity; and they are self-contained including sewage.  He stated one of the premier entities is in Cape Canaveral, AJT, which has the dragonfly system, which is totally self-contained; and it is working on one of the gaming ships right now so it is not spewing pollution out into the ocean.  He stated he has learned a lot over the past six years on this project; it is not a science and there is a lot of guesswork; reading the appraisal, there were opinions and assumptions, so they are kind of guessing at this; and no offense to the appraisers because it is very difficult, talking about submerged lands, uplands, island communities, and some contiguous property that is part of Cocoa Beach.  He stated putting all that together is a nightmare for anybody trying to do an appraisal; and as they did this they had four different ways to do it and 21 disclaimers, so he is not sure how strong an appraisal that is, but he is sure it is as good as appraisals get.  He stated the attached sheet provided by the Development Director has an evaluation of development of lands with the Cocoa Beach Future Land Use Map designation of conservation; there are five bulleted items; and all those figures are from the City’s Comprehensive Plan.  He stated the rear page is the table for conservation land and the last page shows if the City were to apply the previous Comprehensive Plan, which was even more conservative at one dwelling unit per five upland acres, the subject 275-acre parcel, made up of approximately 50 acres of uplands could accommodate only ten dwelling units.  He stated he knows Chairperson Colon went over some numbers of land values; the numbers are directly out of the appraisals; that is a few years old, but using extremely conservative numbers, going 25% to 30% less based on market, he thinks the Board will agree they are looking at realistic prices at $300,000.  He stated $300,000 times ten is $3 million; if they want to be a bit more assured, they can look at three to four buildable lots; they know there are three and possibly four on the Fourth Street property which is contiguous with Cocoa Beach; they have road access, so those are absolutely buildable lots with water, power, etc. available; and giving a real price of $446,000 times three, that is $1.34 million.  He stated any way they want to crunch the numbers, it gives a pretty good deal; and the Board can play with the numbers any way it wants; it still has $900,000; it has millions of dollars of net worth for actual property that is buildable and by the Comprehensive Plan, can be developed, so Cocoa Beach knows how important this is; he knows Brevard County knows how important it is; and the EEL Program knows how important it is because it made it a top priority.  He stated he wanted to give the Board some of the numbers and facts to enable it to make the right decision today; and thanked the Board for its time and hard work.

 

Chairperson Colon stated EEL money is strictly supposed to be for the purchasing of EEL property; she has been supportive of the Thousand Islands from the beginning; but as an elected official, she took an oath which is very clear in regards to making sure they are watching taxpayers’ dollars.  She stated they will never apologize for making sure they are diligent; that is the Commissioners’ job and what they took an oath for; they do not have a lot of money in EEL’s; and there has been a savings of almost a million dollars since the last Commission meeting.  Chairperson Colon stated this is definitely something that the taxpayers are thinking about, especially with some of the discussions she shared of the kind of scrutiny they have of the paperwork that was given to them for this purchase; and it is very clear where it says upon completion of the appraisals The Conservation Fund will prepare a negotiation strategy memo authorizing the commencement of negotiations based on the higher of two appraisals, which at that point was $1 million.  She stated those things are important to folks who are listening at home and for folks who are present; those decisions are not anything to sneeze at; and commented on inability to put a value on something of the magnitude of the Thousand Islands.  She stated it is very clear the $1.7 million was based on information that the financial folks have put together regarding appraisals and making sure the Board is comparing apples to apples; the discussion they had yesterday was critical because folks need to know that in 2003, the Cocoa Beach City Commission made sure that piece of property was protected; and commented on data that was provided by Mr. Sasso and Mr. Griffin separately.  She stated it is a pretty good chunk of money; that is some of the concern that has been stated; and thanked Mr. Sasso for all the hours he has put into putting the numbers together.  She stated as an elected official she will never apologize for watching taxpayers’ dollars; and if it is difference of a million dollars, that is another million dollars that will go towards purchasing EEL properties.  She stated she does not want people to think that money will go into something else; and it has to stay within the EEL pot. 

 

Mr. Sasso stated they are two separate pots; and he appreciates and understands Commissioner Colon watching out for the taxpayers money.

 

Chairperson Colon thanked Mr. Sasso and the City of Cocoa Beach; and stated $100,000 at the municipality level is nothing to sneeze at.  She stated the residents of Cocoa Beach have been paying a great deal of money towards EEL’s; and it says a lot about the community in general. 

 

Tim Kozusko thanked the Board for its support on this; and stated he had had the good fortune to attend Freedom 7 as he was born and raised in Cocoa Beach.  He stated then Principal Bob Fritz had not a field trip, but an ordeal called “Operation Stretch” where they were taken out and dumped on an island for a weekend with just water and a plastic sheet; they could not begin to do something like that now; but they have followed with the field trip called “Kayaks and Compasses” where the children are taken onto the Crawford property for the compasses portion and then through the Reynolds property.  He stated they are able to take the children through the maze of canals in just about any weather; it is safe from the wind; and the children get a lot from that trip.  He thanked the parents for allowing the children to take the field trip; thanked the Board for its support; and thanked everybody who has been working on this.   

 

Scott Ellis stated it needs to be made clear that the purchase price is still $3.2 million, of which $100,000 will be reduced by the seller, which nets a $3.1 million cost to the taxpayers, regardless of which taxpayer pot it comes from; so when the Board makes its motion, it needs to be clear what the purchase price is.  He stated when the County takes the islands, the goal is to eliminate invasive species; people who think the islands are going to be left alone by the County are wrong in their beliefs; and the County is going to remove Australian pines and any other invasive species that are on the islands.  He stated there are no developers knocking on the door to develop these islands, although that has been stated by a few people; the islands do not

have a development plan; and while they have heard prices for lots of $300,000 and $400,000, there is a very down real estate market.  Mr. Ellis stated those prices were raw land not including development costs; house prices in Cocoa Beach have fallen; and the Board is paying a price that is triple the assessed value of the property.  He stated anybody can say something is priceless, but everything has a market value; the appraisal came in at about $1 million on the property; and the County is getting ready to pay triple the appraised price.  He stated the precedent was set with the Crawford purchase; and as the Board continues down this road, there is another bigger item coming today.  He stated for those who say you cannot buy riverfront property for $30,000 an acre, it is possible to buy mosquito impoundments up and down the Indian River, Banana River, and Sykes Creek for $10,000 an acre because the County is looking to buy two of those on East Merritt Island, so there is a big difference between riverfront property that has a true river bank and is developable and riverfront property that falls off into a marsh.  He stated the Thousand Islands are already marsh; there are 50 acres of uplands and 4^th Street could be developed; but 4^th Street could have been developed ten, twenty, or thirty years ago as well.  He stated just because property is riverfront does not mean it can be equated with riverfront properties in the County because there are different types of riverfront; and riverfront that falls off into salt water or fresh water marsh is not nearly as developable as other properties.  He stated rather than developing property on the Thousand Islands, it would be cheaper and easier to develop property on East Merritt Island where there is already a road system and it is not necessary to access the property by boat.               

 

Chairperson Colon inquired about invasive species; with Mr. Knight responding it would be one of the primary goals for the program to manage the invasive species on the islands; the primary goal of the program is to manage and increase biological diversity; and one of the ways they do that is to make the plant species much more diverse so there are not monocultures of exotic species.  Mr. Knight stated they have been working with the City of Cocoa Beach to insure that there is a plan that everyone will agree to; and they are working toward a five-year phased in approach.  He stated there is still a long way to go with that, but they are on the same page; and he is confident they will be able to find a solution that everyone can live with. 

 

Chairperson Colon stated Mr. Sasso was kind enough to share information with her yesterday about what happens with the whole effect because it is such a beautiful area; and one of the things is that the visual part is key; but Mr. Sasso was able to explain what happens with that process.

 

Mr. Sasso stated he is not a scientist, but is learning a lot from the nature folks who have been studying this; and most of Cocoa Beach is shoulder-to-shoulder on this.  He commented on the five to seven-year program for changing the islands from non-native invasive species; and stated he loves Australian pines, but he has come to learn in the last six months how terribly bad they are for the environment.  He stated Australian pines leach toxins into the soil; burrowing mammals cannot burrow where they have a thick mature mat of pine leaves; and advised they are not really needles because Australian pines are not really pine trees.  He stated they leach toxicity not only into the land, but into the water; they invade and take over so other species cannot grow; and all those things affect the lagoon and the water clarity and content so they do not get all the shellfish that would normally be right at the water’s edge.  He stated there is a limited mammal population of mice; increasing their habitat means they will be looking at more birds of prey such as hawks and bald eagles; and it will be a much healthier area that will be better for the entire lagoon.  Mr. Sasso stated the fisheries are going to increase because there are going to be better mangroves at the water’s edge; Australian pines, although he loves them, tend to kill anything along the water’s edge and erode the islands; and it is like a bad relationship, in that they know they need to break up with Australian pines.

 

Cocoa Beach City Commissioner Ken Griffin stated the future leaders of the community have spoken much more eloquently than he could so he is not going to talk about the wonders of the Thousand Islands.  He thanked Mike Knight and the EEL’s group for compromising on the Australian pines; he is fan of the Australian pines and hates to see them go; but there is now a five to seven-year plan before they have to actually go; and knowing how government works, it may be longer than that.  He stated he agrees with everything Mr. Sasso said; he looked at all the facts the Board is looking over; it did look like they were paying three times the price of the islands, which would bother the Board; but he knew better than that.  He stated if they are talking about money, there is a strip of land there, about 3.15 acres on South 4^th Street, that has at least three lots; lots have to be 80 feet by 100 feet in order to be developed; and those could have been developed before 2003.  He stated in 1963 there was an entire plat on the islands and a bridge to get to it; a private owner could have built on South 4^th Street with no problem at least three homes and possibly four; but in 2003 the Cocoa Beach City Commission voted to change the classification of that land on the Future Land Use Map and the Comprehensive Plan.  He advised it was changed to B-1, which is conservation or recreation, and it cannot be built on; but if the EEL Program does not get the land, a future Commission could very easily change it back.  He stated lots are going for somewhere in the ballpark of $400,000 to $500,000 a lot; and that little strip of land on South 4^th Street alone is easily worth $1 million to $1.5 million, or maybe $2 million.  He stated if that is knocked off the price, the whole package becomes much more affordable; nobody has been talking about the three developable lots because they have been keeping them a secret until this got tied down good and tight; but they had to bring it forward and be honest with the Board that they are worth a lot of money, which should equate the price for the Board; and he hopes it is satisfied with that.  

 

Chairperson Colon stated when they sat down and looked at the numbers, one of the things she was perfectly clear about was that it was not just a matter of emotions and having folks come before the Board; numbers are numbers and facts are facts; and that is what is important for the Commissioners.  She stated it is based on the information; they have to be open minded; some folks said this would never be able to be built on; but she and Commissioner Griffin were able to find a plat from 1963 for the Crawford property, which was scary.  She stated in 1963 it shows very clearly the operation that was going to be looked at in regard to the Thousand Islands; and that was quite scary because in 2007 there is technology, so she can imagine how creative people could get.  She stated they could be pretty much self-sufficient when it comes to the islands, so that would not even be an issue; and thanked Commissioner Griffin for sharing that with her.  She stated she made it clear last week that the information she had was not very good; and that her vote would not change based on the information she had; but then folks took the time out to give her an entire history of what was going on, and the commitment is quite clear.  She stated the numbers are as of yesterday; they went right to the Internet and looked at the Property Appraisers’ site to look at condominiums and homes in that area; and she also walked the site and saw that there are uplands in that particular area, although some of the blogs said they were strictly wetlands.  She requested people ride over and look at the area; and stated this was not discussed very deeply, but it is a critical component to the discussion. 

 

Chairperson Colon stated it is not based on emotion but is critical in regard to the facts; and thanked Commissioner Griffin for taking the time to inform her of the facts. 

 

Commissioner Voltz stated Commissioner Griffin said the City designated that particular property as conservation; and inquired if it was private property; with Commissioner Griffin advising it was the Reynolds property.  Commissioner Voltz inquired if that was done through the Comprehensive Plan; with Commissioner Griffin responding affirmatively.  Commissioner Voltz stated it must have been recently because there were no comprehensive plans in 1963; with Commissioner Griffin advising it was in 2003.  Commissioner Voltz stated in order to develop it, someone would have to change the Comprehensive Plan; and the City might not support that, but DCA probably would.  Commissioner Griffin stated for the Comprehensive Plan to be changed, there would have to be five Commissioners who would vote to change the Future Land Use Plan; but it could be done that way, although he does not think that a private developer could change the Comprehensive Plan without going to court, which would probably take a lot of doing.  Commissioner Voltz stated she was just wondering, if the City designated something conservation, if that would be a property rights issue in that the City is basically telling someone they cannot develop their property.  She inquired if that is what the City might have gotten itself into; with Commissioner Griffin responding they were nervous about that; it is possible; but fortunately at the time no one from the Reynolds people objected.  Commissioner Voltz inquired if the Reynolds people knew it was happening; with Commissioner Griffin responding he does not know if they knew or not, but the City did not send them a special letter.           

 

Rebecca Johnson stated her daughter has gone on the trip; she is in Freedom 7; and it was a wonderful experience.  She stated the Thousand Islands need to be preserved for education, recreation, and the environmental; if they keep building and letting things be taken away, they will see the effects of what is happening in the world, and it gets down to money and which pocket it goes into, which is sad.  She stated it is all about the children of tomorrow. 

 

Skip Williams stated he is current Chairperson of the City of Cocoa Beach Waterways and Wildlife Advisory Board, and there are former and current board members present.  He stated for the 15 years he has been on the Advisory Board for the City, it has always been a goal to try and complete the package to get all of the Thousand Islands purchased and designated never to be developed so they will remain for the kids and future generations to enjoy.  He stated it does his heart good to see that they can get the last piece today; and it will be a real benefit to future generations. 

 

Maureen Rupe, President of the Partnership for a Sustainable Future, submitted a letter to the Board; and stated Commissioner Voltz was right a few minutes ago about property rights because even if it is zoned for conservation, a 1992 U.S. Supreme Court ruling provided an owner could develop the property.  She stated the case was Lucas versus South Carolina Coastal Council; and the U.S. Supreme Court reversed a South Carolina Supreme Court decision that found the South Carolina Coastal Council action preventing the plaintiff from developing two beachfront lots within a designated critical area of the State’s sand dunes did not constitute a taking and the U.S. Supreme Court held that a regulation that denies all economically beneficial or productive use of the land constitutes a taking.  She stated she feels sure in the courts the Reynolds property could be developed.  She stated she wants to bring up one more point that Mr. Ellis brought up, which is that when it comes to property values, appraisals are meant to be development tools to determine market value; but the appraisal does not take into consideration the public benefit value, which includes water quality before and after the development, loss and protection of lagoon habitat, loss and protection of sea grasses, as well as the recreational value.  She stated value is what somebody is willing to pay; and she believes Brevard County and all the people are willing to pay for this property. 

 

Laura Kozusko stated she is pleased that her students have been able to be a part of this process, showing their support for something that they value.  She stated the students who are present are just the tip of the iceberg; there are hundreds of students who have gone through the program; there are letters from many of them; and they got to hone their persuasive writing skills when they sent their letters to the Commissioners.  She displayed pictures; and stated she sees the islands functioning as a school; and inquired when is the last time a school was built in Brevard County for under $5 million.

 

Vicki Murfin stated she supports the purchase of the Thousand Islands; she worked to gather signatures on a petition outside of different libraries and food co-op; and the support was overwhelming.  She stated the signatures will be presented later. 

 

John McDonald stated it has been a pleasure listening to the kids who really care about their environment.  He stated there is concern about how much the property costs; he has only been in the County for five years; but he has watched changes and building going on; and it is time to stop paving over paradise.  He spoke in support of the purchase and leaving something for future generations. 

 

Cheryl Smith stated she would like to voice her approval of the Thousand Islands purchase; and inquired what better education can there be for everyone.  She stated she has kayaked the waters numerous times; and every time she learns more and her experience is unique.  She stated she has shared these beautiful waters and islands with her children and grandchildren; and there is no better way to bring a family together.  She stated her children and grandchildren have learned about picking up litter, taking care of animals, and being more ecologically aware; and she does not know what they would do if they did not have something like that.  

 

Judy Edwards stated she was fortunate enough to go kayaking around the Thousand Islands yesterday; and it was a stunning day.  She stated it is a really complicated issue, but it is all a question of perspective; and her perspective is the Thousand Islands are a treasure and when dealing with numbers that are subjective, they can be manipulated any way one wants.  She stated if one’s perspective is that it is the right thing to do to save the Thousand Islands, the numbers will work that way; but if it is one’s perspective that the purchase is too expensive, the numbers will be worked that way.  She requested the Board do the right thing and vote the right way.  

 

Linda Janse commented on the civility and respect displayed by the kids who spoke; and stated she wants to voice what Ms. Rupe was talking about in terms of appraisals being based on real estate.  She stated she is not sure about that, but she does know that in terms of value in the future, the value that the Thousand Islands will bring in terms of tourist dollars will be tremendous; and that is a huge part of the economy in Brevard County.  She stated if anybody
questions that, it is a huge contribution that is always taken into account when the Board approves other projects. 

 

Jim Durocher stated this could be a great day for coming together for the County; the Board has a great opportunity; and it has two properties that it is looking at today that will fulfill the mission of the EEL Program and what is expected.  He stated he is an avid paddler of the Thousand Islands with 25 years of experience paddling in that area; and he is also a kayak nature guide.  He stated the Thousand Islands are a natural formation; they have all three species of mangroves there that grow in North America; and they are prolific in their existence there, which is important.  He stated there are also seagrass beds that are really healthy; and this is the nursery ground for the Indian River Lagoon and the ocean.  He stated the healthy islands will have a profound effect on the Indian River Lagoon as a whole; the economic impact will be great as ecotourism fills up hotels and brings tourist tax dollars back to the County; and recreationally this is going to be for tourists and locals.  He stated the Indian River Lagoon puts over $300 million into the local economy so it is not a small amount of income that will be derived from this.  He stated he thought this was a done deal; but he is glad the County got a better deal.  He stated he was at the July 11, 2007 Board meeting where there was a unanimous vote to purchase the Crawford property; there has been a lot of discussion about the ability of the islands to be developed; and advised of Commissioner Pritchard’s comments at that meeting concerning the potential of developing the Thousand Islands.  He stated former Commissioner Pritchard advised that Keith Fountain from The Nature Conservancy said that the islands could be developed, the developers would litigate Cocoa Beach to death, and anything can be developed in Florida with enough time and money.  He noted Commissioner Voltz added for anybody to say that the possibility exists that the land would never be built on is not reasonable; he agrees with that; and Commissioner Voltz went further to support the purchase of the Crawford property.  He stated the Crawford property was $1.2 million or $80,000 per upland acre; the Reynolds property is only $62,000 per upland acre, so the Board is getting a much better deal; and for the gross acres, the County paid $19,000 per acre for the Crawford property and the Reynolds property is coming in at $11,000 per gross acre including the 4^th Street property, which is connected to roads and utilities.  He stated as a Florida real estate broker, he is giving his professional opinion; the property is a great buy; and presented a video of the television ad that was made with Preserve Brevard in 2004.  He noted 70% of the people in Brevard County voted for the referendum; the County already has the Crawford property; and it will lose $200,000 on that purchase if it does not get both properties. 

 

Tom Atkinson stated he has the same facts; he is the custodian of the petition that everyone has been talking about; and complimented the Board on its patience and the way it puts speakers at ease.  He stated between the last meeting and today, they put together an informal petition; and it was the easiest petition they have ever done.  He advised he sat in front of the library and not a single person objected.  He stated a previous speaker asked if the South 4^th Street property was going to be developed, why it was not developed yet; but what has not been mentioned today is the concept that they are on the verge of a tsunami of baby boomers retiring; and conditions in Cocoa Beach and Brevard County are not going to be the same ten years from now as they were ten years ago.  He commented on the baby boomers influencing everything in society from 1946 until today; and the person who said if the 4^th Street property was going to be developed it would be developed now should wake up and smell the coffee.  He

stated the petition is to preserve the Thousand Islands, and says, “We, the undersigned Brevard County residents, urge the Brevard County Commission at its October 23 meeting to approve the purchase of the south Thousand Islands, the Reynolds property using the Environmentally Endangered Lands Program in order to preserve this natural resource and to protect it from future development.”  Mr. Atkinson stated people were anxious to sign; and in the little time he had to do it, 1,525 people signed.  He submitted the petition to the Chairperson. 

 

Chairperson Colon stated they went over the numbers that a lot of folks said in regard to the contribution; the contribution from the County now is $2.3 million; but the numbers from the City of Cocoa Beach alone are way over that.  She stated the contributions from the City are in the millions since the conception of the EEL Program. 

 

Robert Day stated he is going to take a little different tack; and thanked the Board for reconsidering this last time rather than letting it drop.  He stated everyone is going to benefit from getting a better deal; and it is headed in the right direction.  He stated a few years ago he stood before the Board more than a few times; and hopefully this will be the culmination of a long partnership between the County and the City of Cocoa Beach.  He stated back in the days of the Beach and Riverfront Program, the County partnered with the City of Cocoa Beach to buy the North Thousand Islands; a year ago it partnered to buy the Crawford property; and hopefully today they are going to close that out and buy the Reynolds property.  He urged the Board to close the deal and buy the property. 

 

Richard Powell thanked the three Commissioners who have supported the purchase; and stated he would love to be able to thank five Commissioners by the day’s end.  He stated there has been a lot of talk about the financial aspect of it, so he does not need to elaborate further; but for him it is more of a question of a moral subject and what the right thing to do is.  He stated Florida is often regarded as the State with unchecked growth; that is sad but true; there is a lot of growth in this State; and the natural areas are shrinking.  He commented on responsibility to the children, not allowing the area to become like Miami, respect for God’s creation and the earth, and responsible decision making.  He stated looking around in the day to day world, it is obvious that development has reigned; what the people are asking is for the Board to look for change; it is obvious from the petitions and the money that the people want this; and reiterated he hopes by the end of today he will be thanking five Commissioners.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

 

Phyllis Mansfield stated she would add her voice to the hundreds of people in her community that are asking the Board for its vote to purchase the Reynolds property in the Thousand Islands; she would never be as dynamic as the kids in telling the benefits of the Thousand Islands; but it would also benefit her grandchildren, great grandchildren, and great great grandchildren.  She stated anyone who has not been to the Thousand Islands in a kayak should do so. 

 

Chairperson Colon stated it is an excellent point in regard to it not just being people from Cocoa Beach, but people throughout the County; anything that goes on in Brevard County is Brevard County’s problem; it is not territorialism; people pay into EEL’s to look at the entire picture of preserving the County; and she is glad that it was mentioned that it is all of the County, and not just Cocoa Beach.  

 

Jack Dubois stated he is a Cocoa Beach resident and appreciates the opportunity to comment on the purchase of the Reynolds property.  He stated the Thousand Islands is a unique ecosystem and worth preserving for use and enjoyment of future generations; and for anyone who has not had the opportunity to experience the Thousand Islands firsthand, he will be showing slides of a kayak trip.  He stated the islands are an integral part of Cocoa Beach, but they are visited and enjoyed by visitors from all over the world; and as for the points that have been made about the development aspect, the conventional thinking is they can be developed.  He stated it has been said there is a strong belief the islands can be developed; and what is wanted is a guarantee that they cannot be developed.  He stated the cost and value of the islands has been raised; and they can argue in different ways about how they value the islands; but one aspect that he believes is the recreational value of them and that the configuration for appraisals does not do justice to that aspect.  He stated the other part of the consideration is if they are not preserved, the City of Cocoa Beach may have extreme costs in having to litigate to oppose development; and having paid, as a taxpayer from Cocoa Beach, for the EEL Program, he would resent having to pay for litigation to oppose development in the future.  He stated on that basis there is reason to purchase the islands which goes beyond the actual cost the Board is facing today; and displayed slides of the kayak trip.  He stated the Reynolds property is probably the most interesting from a recreational and nature point of view; there is easy access from the City of Cocoa Beach so there is frequent use; and the trails that are available are more extensive than those in other places.  He stated although the northern islands are very interesting, there is not the kind of easy access for recreational use; the Reynolds property, if anything, has some additional value for field trip kinds of activities; and they are easily accessible to Freedom 7 school.  He stated the fact that the islands are of huge recreational value should factor into the pricing and the valuation, and should be recognized beyond a straight appraisal for business value. 

 

Bill Hillberg stated he was chastised for not wearing green, but he feels good because all of the students are also wearing blue shirts.  He thanked the Board and people like Maureen Rupe and her people who are doing so much to try to save property and the lagoon.  He stated he is not a resident of Cocoa Beach, but he had the privilege of going to one of the City’s recent meetings; and he saw firsthand a unity within very serious thought concerning this purchase and the work that went into talking to the Reynolds people.  He stated every one of the Cocoa Beach City Commissioners was unified; and Tony Sasso impressed him very much.  He stated the Board will be getting some more signatures; he has never seen so many people come to sign a piece of paper; and the signatures were from a lot of people who could not get off today to make an appearance, so the petition is their way of taking part in the whole procedure.  He stated he approves of the purchase and would very much like to see it passed. 

 

Mary Hillberg stated she would encourage the passage of this purchase; and submitted additional signatures for the petition, for the people she is speaking for who could not be present today. 

 

Sara Joyce Webb stated she is representing herself and her family; she lives on Merritt Island; she has a kayak; and when she has an opportunity, if she does not have a lot of time, she goes to the Thousand Islands.  She stated she is not as eloquent as the students; but they said it all; and she hopes the Board will pass this.   

 

Dean Pettit stated he is an employee of United Space Alliance; and today he is missing a shuttle launch to be here to talk to the Board about the Thousand Islands.  He stated a lot of things have already been said today, so he is not going to elaborate; but he does want to impress on the Board exactly what it is purchasing today.  He stated driving over any causeway along the Indian River Lagoon, the majority of the islands one sees are spoil islands, created in the 1940’s when the intercoastal waterway was dredged out, which means they are islands with very low biodiversity.  He stated they do have ecological value; they provide nesting places for birds where shorelines have been developed elsewhere; but the Thousand Islands are an ancient delta that was formed about the same time that the barrier islands were formed, which was toward the end of the last ice age approximately 7,000 years ago.  He stated these islands have had thousands of years to develop the biological diversity that they currently have; they are probably one of the most pristine examples of mangrove habitat and its integration with the seagrass flats that are left in the County; and this is definitely a very worthwhile purchase, which should be a keystone of the EEL Program.  He stated he hosts a website called Titusville Outdoors, which is about the kayaking, hiking, bird watching, and fishing opportunities around the Titusville area; he gets email from all over the country asking where to go kayaking in the Cocoa Beach area; and he has sent quite a few people from the United States and Europe to outfitters and guides in the Cocoa Beach area because he knows when the guides take these clients into the Thousand Islands, they are taking them to a world they have never seen.  He stated a lot of email asks where they can see dolphins, manatees, or alligators, things that the residents take for granted, but to tourists are strange and exotic; and for that reason the economic value to the Cocoa Beach and greater Brevard County area cannot be underestimated. 

 

G. S. Sachidanandan stated he is the Chair of the Turtle Coast Sierra Group; he represents 1,600 members of the Sierra Club; and they support the purchase of the Reynolds property as well as the Hunters Brooke properties.  He stated the Board has heard from the future generation; he is a psychologist by profession; when he listens to young people, their perception is unfettered and unbiased; but most of the time adults do not listen to them.  He stated quality of listening to those unbiased things is rare and sometimes ignored; and recommended not ignoring those comments because they are very good and focused in one area.  He stated they may or may not understand all the implications but their perception is very important; the future generation will enjoy this thing; and he was amazed at the comments from the young people.  He stated his granddaughter is eight years old; she has attended Board meetings twice; and when he talked to her about the Thousand Islands, she said she could not go to the meeting because she was sick, but requested he tell the Commissioners to save the Thousand Islands so that when she has children, she can take them to show them what a beautiful place it is.  He stated the Board should do the right thing and consider future generations.     

 

Lisa Smith stated she is speaking in support of the Thousand Islands; the Board has been given so much information that she does not want to repeat; but one of the most important qualities of a community leader is to have foresight; and the decision the Board makes today will affect future generations.  She reiterated she supports the acquisition for long-term conservation, recreation, and education of the community; and advised she also supports the Hunters Brooke acquisition in Titusville.  

 

Laurilee Thompson stated her positions on conservation and education are well known; the economic value of the Thousand Islands to tourism means a great deal to her since she primarily makes her living in the hospitality industry; and she is present to help the Board feel better about paying what it is going to pay for the Thousand Islands.  She stated she has an article that was in the newspaper on concerning the fight against pollution; it says Merritt Island runoff is putting the lagoon at risk; and it is a very good article about how the lack of land to build stormwater retention ponds in Merritt Island is a big issue.  She stated Cocoa Beach also has the same issue; the City is built out; there are no big parcels of land available for stormwater parks or ponds; but the Thousand Islands sit right next to Cocoa Beach; so it is a natural amenity doing the job that stormwater retention ponds are designed to do, which is to filter the lagoon.  She stated there is 200 acres of natural salt marsh; she should have checked with Mr. Sasso to find out what the average price of an acre of land in Cocoa Beach is; but she is going to guess that $100,000 an acre might be a reasonable amount.  She stated if they value the acreage in Cocoa Beach at $100,000 an acre and there is a 200-acre stormwater facility just sitting there that they do not have to spend a dime on to fit it out to do its job, that equals a $20 million value; and the Thousand Islands are a real bargain. 

 

Commissioner Scarborough advised the space shuttle will be launched in five minutes. 

 

 

The meeting recessed at 11:32 a.m. and reconvened at 11:48 a.m.

 

 

Cocoa Beach City Commissioner Don John stated the Thousand Islands are a very important part of Brevard County; in the course of the EEL Program, the residents of Cocoa Beach have paid approximately $15 million to help buy land throughout the County; and the Cocoa Beach City Commission wants to be a good steward of the residents’ money and have some of it brought back to Cocoa Beach for the purchase of the Thousand Islands.  She stated most of the people in Brevard County think that the Thousand Islands, as they are now, are worth hundreds of times more than what they would be if cut up and built on; and they are something that needs to be saved.  He stated when he watches television he sees auctions and people paying millions and hundreds of thousands of dollars for bottles of wine; the bottle of wine was not worth that when it was made; but some people are willing to spend the money and think it is worth it; and he thinks the Thousand Islands are worth it.

 

Carol Hamilton stated she is a retired realtor; she did a lot of work with vacant land; and an appraisal is only the opinion of the appraiser.  She stated if five different appraisals are done, every one will come back at a different price; they are based on what comparables were used; and that is how they arrive at the price.  She stated the Thousand Islands is a unique piece of property; it should be not passed up; and the same is the case with Hunters Brooke.  She stated she was trying to think of what groups would not benefit from the purchase and could not come up with even one group; but she jotted down a few that would benefit, including the people of Brevard County, future generations, the Indian River lagoon itself, tourists, boaters, recreation lovers, birds, animals and wildlife, and fishermen.  

 

Chairperson Colon stated she received a submittal from second graders at Sea Park Elementary; and thanked them for doing their own campaign.  Commissioner Bolin stated the school is in her district, so she is very in tune to that.  Chairperson Colon stated it is going to be a win-win for Brevard County because it has almost a million dollars more to spend now for EEL’s and will also be able to have this beautiful area; it is difficult for elected officials because even if something is dear to their hearts, they are still stewards of taxpayers’ money; and she feels bad about the kind of pressure that has been put on staff.  She stated when the price of land was going up just two years ago, the Board kept saying, hurry up and buy; at that point it was almost like it was irrelevant how much the land was worth at the time because the Board was scared that the money it had was not going to be enough to buy in terms of the kind of priorities; and the priorities have been set in regards to the EEL Program by the Selection Committee, which has gone to tremendous scrutiny.  She stated the properties are not just picked out of the whim; a lot has gone into that kind of study to make sure there is a priority; and this is one of the properties that was top priority.  She stated the majority of the Board would have had those numbers already at the last meeting, so the votes were there; it was in regards to the numbers; and thanked the children and the parents who are present.  She stated they are examples to the children; and commented on the behavior of the Board and leading by example.  She stated based on all the facts and the numbers that were presented to her last week, things were not looking good; she still did not have the numbers; and thanked the Finance Department and Director Steve Burdett who spent hours with her answering questions so she could be sure the Board looked at all the different appraisers because this is taxpayers’ money.  She stated this cannot be taken lightly; Mr. Burdett took time out to share with her; at that point, she was at $1.7 million, but they were still at $2.5 million and trying to get there; and expressed appreciation to Tony Sasso and Ken Griffin for educating her.  She stated that is why when they were talking about the trees, she wanted to make sure they shared with the community because there is so much misconception.  She stated this is a win-win for everybody; this is about making sure the Board does what the homeowners want and being able to justify how the dollars are spent; and she is very thankful for everyone who gave her all that information, so she will definitely be in support.     

 

Commissioner Nelson stated he also wants to thank Commissioners Voltz and Colon who had questions at the last meeting; and Commissioner Voltz wanted some information about the program.  He stated they needed to look at the long-range goals of the program and where it was going; and Commissioner Voltz challenged them to come up with information, which has been provided; so they are better in terms of understanding of where EEL’s is going as a program.  He stated Chairperson Colon challenged the staff to say there has to be a better deal out there, and the community stepped up; and thanked Mr. Sasso and Mr. Griffin, as well as Skip Beeler and Kevin Pruett who have all been involved in this and have come together.  He stated in the days leading up to the original meeting, they were fighting over the Australian pines and did not realize they did not have the land yet; and that was a little difficult; but once the reality set in, they all pulled together.  He thanked the City of Cocoa Beach for stepping up; and thanked the community for coming out because next to solid waste assessments, he has gotten more emails on this issue, so it is clear it is near and dear to everyone’s hearts.  He expressed appreciation to the children who are present and to Ms. Sickle’s second grade class for their work; stated they made their point; and the challenge of the Board is to decide what kind of deal it is.  He stated when he read in the newspaper today about the Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge, the point was that the County is glad today that it has that; he does not know if that was the best deal when it was bought and there is no way of knowing that; but he is glad that somebody had the foresight to acquire that property.  He stated the Board is in a situation today where it will never know if this was the best deal; but he is comfortable that it is a fair deal because none of the Commissioners would spend taxpayer dollars if they did not believe it was a fair deal.  Commissioner Nelson stated it is a fair deal from his perspective because it is an acquisition that the community wants; it is the heart of Cocoa Beach; and it has all come together, so he is looking forward to thanking his four fellow Commissioners for supporting this acquisition.

 

Motion by Commissioner Nelson, seconded by Commissioner Voltz, to execute Assignment of Option for Sale and Purchase of the Reynolds property; authorize staff to exercise the Option for Sale and Purchase on or before January 23, 2008; and accept donations from the City of Cocoa Beach and the Reynolds partners as funding partners. 

 

 

Commissioner Voltz thanked the Cocoa Beach City Commission; and stated the City stepped up to the plate.  She stated it was not just $100,000 from the City but also $100,000 from the Reynolds Trust; and that was a blessing.  She stated the County still is paying $3.2 million for the property; but the value that provides is priceless; and she has not been out to the islands but she made arrangements for the trip today.  She stated she can go to a store, look at a dress, and say no; but if she looks at something she really likes, she does not even look at the price tag because it is what she wants to buy, so to her it is worth something.  She stated in this case, she and Commissioner Colon were criticized in the newspaper for their decisions; they were criticized because they were running for office; they were criticized because Florida TODAY played the development card on them again; but neither of them voted against it because of those issues, but because of the price.  She stated the value is there to the community for the future and future generations; and there is no way to put a dollar value on that, so she seconded the motion and is pleased to be able to come back one month later and do so. 

 

Chairperson Colon stated everyone watched the last Board meeting; it was very clear why some folks were voting a certain way and why some folks were going another way; the reporter came to ask why she did not support; and she advised in round two, there will be better numbers.  She noted she does not read the Florida TODAY but her staff does because that is part of their job.  She stated it is critical to know that Brevard County is one; there is no north, south, and central; and the job of the Board is to make sure it protects the beautiful community that it has.  She stated the criticism is just part of being an elected official; elected officials need to have a tough skin; they need to listen to all of the feedback; that is just how it is; and if one cannot handle the heat from the kitchen, he or she has to come out of it.  She stated she has been a public servant for 13 years; and the biggest thing she learned was to make sure she had town meetings, which is where she did most of her learning.  She stated folks would tell her everything that was going on in the community; and the town meetings are what made her what she is where she questions things.  She stated the majority of the Board has been 100% supportive from the beginning; Commissioners Scarborough, Bolin, and Nelson were not questioning what it was; and it is very difficult to put a price on something of that magnitude.  She stated the kids did an incredible job sharing that with the Board; she is proud of the community; and the Board may be a little slow at how it does things, but they are able to prove if they work together they are able to accomplish things.  She stated it is almost a million dollars back to EEL’s; that is what the contribution from Brevard County is going to be; it is $2.3 million, not $3.2 million, which is not bad; and there are other projects to consider today that will determine the future of the County. 

 

Chairperson Colon called for a vote on the motion.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

The meeting recessed for lunch at 12:04 p.m. and reconvened at 1:08 p.m.

 

 

 

Commissioner Voltz stated this was sent back to the Special Magistrate for the second time, and he rolled in the same direction, so if there are no other issues she will move the item, knowing that he has to abide by the current zoning and Code before he builds.  Planning and Zoning Director Robin Sobrino stated the recommended order of the Special Magistrate is to find in favor of vested rights for Mr. Mellin; the recommendation is narrowly written to only recognize it from a perspective of zoning and Comprehensive Plan vested rights; and it makes it clear that any other types of developmental requirements that would be imposed must be met in order to obtain the building permits.    

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, to approve the Special Magistrate’s Recommended Order to grant the Vested Rights petition of Rawland O. Mellin, Case #06-03. 

 

 

Chairperson Colon stated there are individuals who wish to speak to the issue.

 

Rawland Mellin stated there are a few things he would like to go over with the Board so it will know his understanding of his property that he had since 1979; the house was built in 1961; he bought it in 1979; and the house burned down in 1982.  He stated he had homestead exemption on the property in 1982; looking at property law, property is a bundle of rights, duties, powers, and disabilities, which include the right to exclude; and this is a basic characteristic of property.  He stated it provides immunity against having resources taken without one’s consent and is a right to use and enjoyment; people have a right to use their resources as they see fit to enjoy the benefits of their property; this is a qualified right; and it exists so long as it does not interfere with the rights of others.  He stated his place will not interfere with the rights of others; and there is a right to transfer property during one’s lifetime or after death to anyone one chooses on the terms that one chooses.  He stated this case on the vested rights hearing came before the Brevard County Special Magistrate on February 21, 2007, who after due diligence and study, recommended that the Board grant his vested rights.  He stated on April 24, for whatever reason, the recommendation was to send it back to the Special Magistrate for review; on July 18 the Special Magistrate, after extended research and due diligence again found no reason to deny his request, and recommended again that the Board grant his vested rights.  He stated he has talked to a lot of people on the streets; he knows the Board received over 200 faxes,
emails, and phone calls from responsible citizens who have heard his story and expressed their
thoughts on the moral and legal rights regarding his right to rebuild his home.  Mr. Mellin advised the Vero Beach Press Journal has peaked the interest of many people with stories and
pictures of his plight; three different times there have been stories; and now he is raising his voice in unison with the many citizens to ask the Board to vote yes to grant his vested rights according to the recommendation of the Special Magistrate.   

 

Virginia Barker stated she and her husband own a home adjacent to the applicant’s parcel; and requested the Board consider the precedent the Special Magistrate’s interpretation would set for future vested rights request.  She requested the Board reverse the recommendation of the Special Magistrate and set in motion a process to clarify the Code to avoid similar confusion in the future.  She stated in October 2002, the applicant was denied vested rights when he failed to demonstrate any act or omission by the County; the applicant has now requested vesting through a criteria for existing single-family residents utilized as permanent residences and established prior to the Comprehensive Plan adoption on September 9, 1988, even if inconsistent with the Zoning Code; and how to apply this convoluted sentence is the foremost question at hand.  She inquired is the single-family residence supposed to exist now; was it supposed to exist at the moment the Comprehensive Plan was adopted; or did it just have to exist at some time prior to September 9, 1988.  She stated the Special Magistrate’s interpretation is inconsistent with how the County addresses nonconforming uses in other situations; further, for consideration of a vested rights claim, the Code requires the applicant to demonstrate compliance with vested rights criteria by a preponderance of substantial competent evidence including evidence that granting vested rights will not create imminent peril to the public health, safety, or general welfare of the residents of the County.  She stated the applicant has failed to provide much, if any, substantial evidence that public health, safety, and welfare will not be harmed; the applicant’s property was subdivided from its parent tract without undergoing zoning review or approval; buildability of this land was destroyed in 1979 when it was severed at a size substandard to the Zoning Code; and no legal habitable structure has existed on the parcel for 25 years.  She stated now the question is whether the slab of a structure that burned 25 years ago meets the definition of an existing single-family residence; the Special Magistrate suggests that the language could be meant to apply to structures existing at any time prior to adoption of the Comprehensive Plan, where there are no facts that would indicate abandonment of use of the property as a single-family residence; and the Special Magistrate suggests that bulldozing the slab and converting the property to some other use would indicate abandonment of the residential use, whereby a vested right would not be warranted.  She stated she researched County Code for language that would differentiate between single-family residence and an abandoned use; and the only thing she could find was Section 94-1 that defines single-family residents as any building or structure designed or constructed for and capable of use as a residence for one family, regardless of the type of structure.  She advised a slab is not capable of being used as a residence; she also searched the Florida Building Code; to be a single-family residence a structure must have a certificate of occupancy and not be condemned; and slabs do not carry certificates of occupancy, so she does not believe the presence of a slab is the most appropriate test for abandonment.  She stated following the Special Magistrate’s logic led her to examine the applicant’s taxes, her taxes, and the taxes of her neighbors to look for signs of abandonment; and the records provide evidence of the Property Appraiser’s assumption that the applicant’s substandard size parcel is what is called speculative land or what County employees call unbuildable.  She stated the neighbor has a vacant lot of a similar size to the applicant’s property and with identical zoning; but the taxable values and property taxes on the adjacent parcels are radically different; the 2007 proposed taxes for her 11.62-acre tract and home are $5,271; and she does not begrudge

the County that money because taxes are the price people pay to live in civilization.  Ms. Barker
stated prior to purchasing her home, she visited Planning and Zoning, like any member of the public can, and asked if the applicant’s lot was buildable because there was no home on record since 1988; and since the parcel size did not meet the Zoning Code, she was told it was unbuildable, but unfortunately she did not get that in writing.  She stated the applicant’s proposed taxes for his .83-acre of vacant land are $51.12, which is more than a hundred times smaller than her own; his estimated market value is $3,400; and inquired when was the last time anyone saw a buildable .83-acre lot in the County valued at $3,400.  She stated the proposed taxes for the adjacent one-acre vacant lot are $903 with the land valued at $60,000; and inquired why are the neighbor’s taxes and market value eighteen times as much as the applicant’s when the parcel is only a small fraction larger.  She stated it is because the neighbor’s one-acre parcel meets the Zoning Code and is buildable, while the applicant’s .83-acre property fails to meet the Zoning Code and its use is purely speculative.  She stated she confirmed at the Property Appraiser’s office that similarly low taxes have been applied to the applicant’s land since at least 1994 and probably longer; and as Chairperson Colon said earlier, the numbers are the numbers and the facts are the facts.  She stated by applying the Special Magistrate’s logic to an annually revised certified and accepted tax record instead of an old cement slab, she concludes that the applicant abandoned use of the property as a single-family residence every year that he accepted a tax bill that was based on the Property Appraiser’s assumption that the parcel was unbuildable; and if the Board decides today to set precedent that cement slabs meet the existing permanent residences criteria for vested zoning, then she is requesting the Board withhold granting the vesting until the applicant provides evidence that his proposed development will meet other pertinent vesting requirements regarding imminent period to public health, safety, or general welfare of the residents of the County.  Ms. Barker advised the applicant’s entire parcel falls within a regulatory floodway where development is prohibited without a no rise certification; and she has a photograph of the applicant’s property under flowing water conditions during a small flooding event in 2002.  She stated she has witnessed two to four-foot floodwaters rushing across the applicant’s entire property after hurricanes because the base flood elevation is six feet but the lot’s highest elevation is 3.8 feet, going down to 0.6 feet.  She stated the regulatory floodway is the most strictly regulated type of flood zone; for Brevard County to meet its FEMA agreement for the current flood insurance rating, which allows flood insurance to be sold in Brevard County, the County must prohibit encroachment including fill, new construction, substantial improvements, and other development within the adopted regulatory floodway unless it has been demonstrated through hydrologic and hydraulic analyses performed in accordance with standard engineering practices that the proposed encroachment would not result in any increase in flood levels within the community during the occurrence of a base flood discharge; and such engineering analyses are commonly referred to as no rise certification.  She stated according to the County’s Floodplain Protection Ordinance, construction of a residential unit on this parcel would require elevating the primary structure, the perimeter buffer, the accessory structures, onsite sewage disposal system and buffer, and access to the primary and accessory structures above the hundred-year floodplain; the fill volume necessary to meet these elevation requirements would likely redirect storm flows in  a manner that could negatively impact adjacent and upstream properties; and according to a memorandum prepared for the Special Magistrate by the Transportation Engineering Department, elevating the driveway by placement of fill would eliminate the possibility of a satisfactory no rise certification.  She stated even if the house, driveway, and sewage treatment system were all constructed on pilings, extensive debris carried by floodwaters could form a dam across the pilings and back up floodwaters onto her property and that of other neighbors upstream; if the Board allows development contrary to its FEMA agreement and is subsequently

judged to be administering in a manner inconsistent with the purposes of the program, then the County would be subject to possible probation and suspension from the National Flood Program; and in this case, all flood insurance premiums Countywide would go up by a surcharge.  Ms. Barker stated the situation is contrary to protecting the general welfare of County residents; but the Board could hold the County harmless from risk by requiring the applicant provide a no rise certification prior to determination of the vested rights.  She stated given significant public interest conflict with developing in a federally-regulated floodway and the evidence from the Property Appraiser that use of the land as a single-family residence was abandoned years ago, she would ask the Board to deny vested rights, or as a fall-back option, withhold judgment until the applicant provides an acceptable no rise certification and stipulate that all other requirements of the County Plan and implementing Ordinances must be met in whole.  She requested the Board also direct staff to set in motion a process to clarify the Code to prevent abandoned slabs or foundations in every Commission District from becoming vested as single-family residences.   

 

Chairperson Colon inquired if Mr. Mellin would like to comment in regard to what was just said.  Mr. Mellin advised both the NFIP and the NAI seek to require the safe and proper development of land subject to hazard; and neither the NFIP nor NAI floodplain and stormwater management require or support government regulations which keep people from their property.  He stated he has been through the same old story with Ms. Barker; everything she had said does not affect his property; it affects only her property; and Ms. Barker has an over 3,000 square foot house which is only 200 feet away from his.  He stated her driveway is lower than his; after rain, there is water over the road; and anything Ms. Barker said is an effort to stop him from rebuilding because of financial gain.  He stated the most important thing is nothing Ms. Barker had to say has anything to do with his vested rights. 

 

Commissioner Bolin stated she wants to make sure if Mr. Mellin’s vested rights are given to him that he understands that this is only for the zoning being in residential; and it does not state anything about the requirements he is going to have to fulfill to build.  She advised the Codes are very strict; with Mr. Mellin responding he understands.  Commissioner Bolin stated all this is doing is approving the lot size; it has nothing to do with Mr. Mellin’s ability to build; and she does not want him to have any hope that the Board is telling him he can build.  She stated if this is approved, all the Board is saying is that the lot size is going to be approved by Zoning and brought into compliance; but Mr. Mellin will still have to meet the Building Codes and all the requirements as far as the floodway; and inquired if Mr. Mellin is aware how strict the regulations are.  Mr. Mellin responded he has talked to engineers and others in the County; he knows that there is quite a bit that has to be done; he has to have a hydraulic analysis done to see if he can put pilings in; and there is quite a bit involved.  He stated there are a lot of hoops to jump through; he understands that; and he is willing to take those one at a time as far as he can go so he can get an opportunity to rebuild.  He stated if he fails somewhere down the line that is on his shoulders; and he understands that.  Commissioner Bolin stated it will be strictly by the book; and she wants Mr. Mellin to know where she stands on this because the Codes are going to be strictly enforced.  Mr. Mellin stated he understands that; and expressed appreciation to the Commissioners. 

 

Commissioner Nelson stated his issue continues to be the question of a 25-year old slab constituting a single-family residence; he does not know how they get there; and he is sorry for the loss of Mr. Mellin’s home 25 years ago, but setting a precedent today would be unacceptable.  He stated there are certainly other slabs in the County; if he had enough money he would be trying to find them because given this type of interpretation there is no limit to what one might be able to do; but he will not be supporting the motion.

 

Commissioner Voltz stated anybody who has the same issue as Mr. Mellin would have to come back for vested rights determination also so there is no precedent being set.  She stated the Special Magistrate made the same decision twice; Mr. Mellin has been through a lot with his neighbor; and he understands that the possibility exists that he may not be able to develop his property.  She stated this is just the first step; and she agrees with Commissioner Bolin that everything will have to be done by the book with no bending of the rules.

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, to approve the Special Magistrate’s Recommended Order to grant the Vested Rights petition of Rawland O. Mellin, Case #06-03.  Motion died for lack of a second.

 

 

Chairperson Colon inquired if the Board must make a motion to deny.  County Attorney Scott Knox advised if the Board moves to deny the request it must be done in writing, so an order will have to come back to the Board.  Chairperson Colon inquired what Mr. Knox’s recommendation is since the Board is not taking any action.  Mr. Knox responded if the Board takes no action that constitutes denial, so the Board will need to direct him to return with a written order.

 

Motion by Commissioner Nelson, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to deny Special Magistrate’s Recommended Order to grant Rawland O. Mellin’s Vested Rights Petition; and direct the County Attorney to prepare and bring back the Written Order for the Denial.

 

 

Commissioner Scarborough stated the Board needs to recognize that it has torn the issue apart; right now the Board is just talking about the question of what it is doing; and it is not waiving anything.  He stated Commissioner Nelson’s point is based on whether a slab in itself is a basis for approval; and he hopes Mr. Knox’s order reflects the comments that were made. 

 

Commissioner Voltz inquired what Mr. Mellin’s next step is; with Mr. Knox responding he could go to court, but there is another process available, which is a taking claim if he wants to bring that.  He stated Mr. Mellin can come before the Board and ask if it wants to buy the property before he goes to court. 

 

Chairperson Colon called for a vote on the motion.  Commissioner Voltz voted nay. 

 

 

Chairperson Colon inquired when the Board will see the Written Order; with Mr. Knox responding in approximately two weeks. 

 

 

 

Mike Cunningham, Chairman of the Marine Advisory Council, stated what the Board has before it is a request to approve the Comprehensive Maritime Management Master Plan; two years ago
the Board gave direction to put this together; they have been working on these items for seven years; and this is the final draft.  He stated this is where they get the Board’s approval and get kicked in the pants to keep moving; and that is what they want.  He stated the Council has done it with the idea not what it wanted as an Advisory Board, but in conjunction with the University of Florida, Natural Resources Management, and the stakeholders, which are the citizens of the County.  He stated they have worked for the stakeholders and their interests; and all they have done is coordinate the information, which the Board has in front of it.  He stated the Council is requesting the Board’s approval; it wants to go ahead with it; it thinks it can do a better job than it has done so far; and it is proud of what it has done up to this point. 

 

Ron Morgan stated this has not only been a joint effort by the residents of the County, but it includes everyone with an ecological interest in the program, such as the Audubon Society, the Manatee Society, the marinas, the fish and tackle interests, power boaters, sail boaters, kayakers, canoeists, swimmers, and everyone involved in the waterways; and it involves a combination of federal, State, County, and city Marine Patrols that maintain and protect the waterways.  He stated there were five major public meetings including in some cases 40 to 50 participants; and this has been a major coordinated effort.  He stated the individual Brevard County citizen or even a tourist bringing a boat from another State has to understand there are federal, State, County, and city laws, which do not necessarily agree in any one particular part of the County, so depending on where one stops, one might be stopped for federal, State, County, or city issues; and that is one of the things the Council wants to look at in the program as it goes ahead.  He expressed appreciation for the tremendous participation and leadership of Extension Services Director Jim Fletcher, Natural Resources Management Director Ernie Brown, and Vivian Garfind, Dave Herbster, and Ann Lazaro of the Department of Environmental Protection as well as the St. Johns River Water Management District; stated this has been a total County/State effort in all regards; and requested the Board’s approval of the plan to move it ahead. 

 

Chairperson Colon thanked Mr. Morgan for how much he gives back to the community and for his many years of dedication. 

 

Steven Webster stated this excellent work has gone on over the past five workshops; and expressed appreciation to Commissioner Voltz who had the idea to host the facility siting workshop.  He stated then Ernie Brown came on board, took that horse, and ran it down the track; and now with Matt Culver taking the lead there is an opportunity to do something in Brevard County that no other county in Florida has done.  He stated there are some templates and paths to follow in Broward and Duval Counties; but Brevard County is taking the lead on something of critical importance.  He stated the shuttle went up; everyone went out to watch it; and when they are in space looking down at Brevard County, they see something that is one-quarter surface water.  He stated it is time that was addressed; and they took great consideration of the value that water brings to everyone’s lives.  He thanked the Board for its support. 

 

Commissioner Nelson stated the Council did a great job; having looked at the tasks in front of them, he would not want to be Mr. Culver because this is going to be quite an undertaking with so many important items; but they have to start somewhere. 

 

Motion by Commissioner Nelson, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to adopt the Brevard County Comprehensive Maritime Management Master Plan outline as submitted by staff; and authorize staff to move forward with plan development to provide direction and prioritization relative to the Plan’s goals, objectives, and tasks.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

Mr. Morgan stated both the motion for this plan and the one on the EEL Program are two of the most outstanding steps forward that the County has taken in the Communities for Lifetime Program; and they more than satisfy the State requirements for comprehensive planning for hopefully at least two generations.  He expressed thanks to the County; and advised of letters sent in support of the cities and the County.     

 

 

 

Commissioner Bolin stated this is one more piece of the Pineda Extension project.

 

Motion by Commissioner Bolin, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to execute Lease Modification and Easement and accept Quit Claim Deed to clear leasehold interest of the cell tower company, American Tower, LP as Lessee in preparation of conveyance of same to the Florida Department of Transportation in conjunction with the Pineda Causeway Extension and Interchange Projects.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to execute Application for Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to approve amendment to the Contract with DRMP, Inc. for review of the revised traffic impact study for Substantial Deviation #2 to the Viera DRI; and authorize the Budget Office to execute any budget changes required to implement project appropriation.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

County Manager Peggy Busacca stated the item includes options 1 or 2; and stated option 1 is a lump sum payment; and option 2 is for reimbursement of time and materials.  Assistant County Manager Mel Scott stated The Viera Company has agreed to the $38,000 cap, so all parties involved are in mutual agreement to that number.   

 

 

 

Commissioner Scarborough stated Roger Molitor came to speak in favor of the item, but had to leave.

 

Scott Ellis stated this is the Hunters Brooke item, which is the largest single expenditure in the County’s history at $25 million for one purchase; and one would think on a $25 million purchase, the County would have carefully read through the appraisals.  He inquired if that is correct; with Environmentally Endangered Lands Program Coordinator Mike Knight responding yes.  Mr. Ellis stated reading through the appraisals, the initial purchase of the property two years ago was disqualified; the property was purchased for $15 million in 2005; so at the peak of the housing market, the property was purchased for $15 million and is now being sold to the County for $25 million, after the subtraction of uplands property that the owner chooses to keep.  He stated according to Duke Woodsen, representative of the property owners, the reason it is disqualified in the appraisal is because the purchase was somewhat distressed due to litigation; in a court of law that would be purely conjecture; but they have deliberately thrown out the purchase price of the same property two years ago.  He stated he found it interesting when the lady who was a realtor spoke to the Thousand Islands and talked about comparable sales; there were two appraisals done; and there are comparable sales from Volusia and Flagler Counties, but none from Brevard County.  He stated the EEL Program is supposed to hire independent appraisers; he expects them to work independent of each other as that is the definition of independent appraiser; and if he wanted to get two appraisals from the same company, he would pay someone to run it off a ditto machine.  He stated each appraiser used the same properties for comparables; two different appraisers each used the same parcels in Volusia and Flagler Counties for comparables; and not only did they use the same properties but they even have the same verbiage about each property word for word.  He read aloud from the Pomeroy appraisal and the identical language from the Miller appraisal; and advised it is unusual that each has the same verbiage and comparables.  He stated that is okay because staff has read the appraisals and he is sure they picked up on that; they should have also picked up on the fact that not just are there greater uplands but two of them have PUD’s; and the subject property is not zoned other than at one unit per two and one-half acres.  He stated the two appraisals are similar because they also happen to have called the same people at Brevard County and the same people at the City of Titusville; one appraiser quoted Gwen Heller of Land Development; and what is even stranger, the other appraiser also spoke to Gwen Heller of Land Development and included the same quote.  He stated the first appraiser spoke to Courtney Harris, Planning Director for the City of Titusville and the second appraiser uses the same verbiage from Ms. Harris.  He stated they have challenged the EEL Program that the appraisals are not correct; but they have been told that they are not qualified to look at the appraisals because they are not appraisers; but even though he is not a mechanical engineer, if he is going to take a two-inch pipe and hook it up to a four-inch pipe, he knows he needs an adapter.  Mr. Ellis stated he does not need to be a certified appraiser to see that two different appraisals that were supposedly picked independently have the same language word for word and the same comparables.  He stated he was told that the appraisals were done independently and just happened to pick the same parcels in Volusia and Flagler Counties; he could understand if he picked a house in Cresthaven in Eau Gallie that was a Crosley Model, and he found three other Crosley models all built in 1966 that sold in the last two years; but he would like to know how two independent appraisers have the same comparables; and the answer is they would not if they were truly independent.  He stated the fact is the property was bought for $15 million two years ago; that sale was thrown out and disqualified, based on an opinion by the seller who had everything to gain by disqualifying that sale; and inquired who is to say it was a distressed sale.  He stated the Board does not know it was a distressed sale; the only people who know if it was a
distressed sale are the people who sold the property; and no one else knows that for a fact.  Mr. Ellis stated the sale at $15 million was disqualified; two years later the Board is paying $25 million in a real estate market that is down 20 to 30% since the peak of the bubble; and the only place people can turn a profit on real estate bought in 2005 is with the County, which is why they keep coming in on the EEL properties and the County continues to pay these prices.  He stated if the County is going to keep spending this kind of money, it will need to put somebody on staff who knows how to read an appraisal because it does not take a brilliant scientist to understand that there are two appraisals that say the same thing with the same thing and are not independent; and they are for a $25 million purchase, the largest purchase in Brevard County history, one half of all the money left on the EEL’s bond. 

 

Chairperson Colon inquired about the two appraisals; with Mr. Knight responding there is no rule that the appraisers are not allowed to share information.  Mr. Knight stated he is not able to speak to Mr. Ellis’ comments as to why the appraisers might have some of the same language in their reports; but it is his understanding that the purpose of the appraisals was for them to determine independent values, which they did; and those values are different.  He stated if they have access to the same comparable sales, they are often pulled from the same places.  Chairperson Colon requested a staff person be present to respond; and stated she wants a clear answer in regards to the appraisals because she does not like the way it sounds.  She stated she was under the impression that they are supposed to be independent; she is not happy about them sharing information; there was that issue with the Sarno Landfill; she does not think any of the Commissioners have amnesia regarding that issue; and ever since then she twitches every time those issues come up.  She stated when a question comes up like that, there should be a clear answer; and suggested continuing and then coming back to address the questions.

 

Jim Durocher stated he did get to see the property; the Selection and Management Committee had a meeting there and did the look-see; and he was very impressed with the property.  He stated there were two things he thought were valuable; one is that there is a Native American midden there; and some of it is on the lakefront, which gives another recreational resource and makes it more valuable for the County.  He stated he was under the impression that the County was paying around $15 million, not $25 million; but he will wait to see the outcome.  He stated it is very nice property; and he would be in favor of getting it.

 

Chairperson Colon inquired exactly what dollar amount is the Board entertaining; with Mr. Knight responding the property was appraised at $28.3 million by one appraiser and $30.6 million by the other; and the purchase price is $25 million.  Chairperson Colon inquired how old were the appraisals; with Mr. Knight responding four months old.  Chairperson Colon inquired how many appraisals were there; with Mr. Knight responding two with a third review. 

 

Mary Hillberg stated she is present to speak on behalf of the EEL’s purchase of the Hunters Brooke property for the connectivity and location; the property does connect the south, west, and east to other EEL’s properties at different conservation areas; and this allows movement and preserves a lot more than she can describe in a few minutes.  She stated 70% of the Board’s constituency voted to tax themselves to buy these kinds of properties because they wanted these things kept; they can always be destroyed, but they cannot always be kept; and the money is coming from what the public willingly paid in taxes.  She stated they do not let go of their money for much else, but the people voted to tax themselves; and requested the Board take that into consideration and vote to allow EEL’s to purchase the property.

 

Maureen Rupe, President of the Partnership for a Sustainable Future, stated the group supports the EEL purchase of Hunters Brooke; the property would make an excellent addition to the EEL Program and as connectivity to Fox Lake Park, St. John’s National Wildlife Refuge, Salt Lake Wildlife Management Area, and Seminole Ranch Conservation Area; and at approximately $10,000 per acre, it is a bargain to protect an area of this size.  She stated the site is valuable to the EEL Program because it is within the highest priority acquisition zone as identified by the EEL Programs Selection and Management Committee; there is connectivity with publicly owned conservation lands to the north, south, and west; urban interfaces are absent from most of this property, which makes fire management easier; and the property includes several terrestrial plant communities including scrubby flatwoods, mesic to hydric flatwoods, flatwood ponds, marshes, live oak hammocks, cabbage palms, savannahs, and floodplain marshes.  She stated the flora of the site is predominately native and the extent of invasive, exotic plant populations is lower than what is normally encountered; and this is a great location for scrub jays, gopher tortoises, and any number of other protected species.  She requested the Board take this opportunity to purchase the property; and stated she was under the impression that a 50% State grant would go along with this. 

 

Dean Pettit stated the Board already heard about the diversity of habitats in this particular project and the connectivity between the property and other conservation areas; but there is one point he wants to make as far as the connectivity.  He stated if the property were to be developed, it would completely sever the connectivity to the north and south amount terrestrial habitats; if all the uplands were developed, the only thing that would be left would be wetlands and Titusville; and it would be eliminating a crucial habitat that certain animals such as bobcats and other terrestrial species would need.  He stated there is a chance there may be a Florida panther in the area; he cannot verify that; but some people have claimed to have sightings.  He stated there are rules in place that protect the wetlands; but there are not many rules that protect the critical uplands; and wetlands and uplands really need each other.  He stated the wetlands produce an incredible amount of food sources; they benefit the uplands; but in turn, the upland animals, when they utilize the food sources, they pass away and decay, so the nutrients are washed back into the wetlands.  He advised he had some conversations with a wetlands biologist; they have been talking about the 25-foot buffer that is typically put around wetlands; developing all the uplands around wetlands can render the wetlands biologically sterile within a fairly short period of time; and it has a tremendous effect on the reduction of the biodiversity.  He stated this is a unique project because there is an opportunity to protect a mosaic of habitats where the interconnectivity remains intact; and for that reason he is asking the Board to support the purchase.

 

Mary Sphar stated the Hunters Brooke property happens to be her favorite on the EEL acquisition list; but she was surprised to see how the discussion has unfolded.  She stated the Board’s job is to protect the integrity of the EEL Program, more than purchasing her favorite parcel or approving someone’s favorite paved trail; and the Board’s job is to look out for the science based EEL Program.  She stated the Board is supposed to be careful in all aspects, careful in its appraisals, scientific in its selection of properties and in its determination of how to manage them; and she would not be surprised if this did not come back to the Board. 

 

Laurilee Thompson stated she supports purchase of the property; and eventually she is sure it will all be worked out.  She stated she likes it for the trails; as a child she rode her horse all over this piece of property and knows it well; it is a gorgeous piece of property; and it would be a wonderful addition.  She stated less than a year ago there was a piece of property that was bought almost directly across the St. Johns River, west of this piece of property; it was a Joshua Creek purchase by the St. Johns River Water Management District; and it had full support of Governor Bush.  Ms. Thompson stated the cost per acre of that purchase was approximately $10,000 an acre; and in her opinion, $10,000 an acre is a reasonable price for this property. 

 

Michael Myjak stated this property is in his neck of the woods; it is one of the very few EEL purchases north of S.R. 528; and this parcel completes a connection across to the St. Johns River to the west and wraps around  Fox Lake Park to the north and the south.  He stated the one section, which was identified by the Penn Design folks, is an area that should remain conservation land.  He stated he had an opportunity to canoe through there after the 2004 hurricanes; the water elevation went into this area; they toured past the Indian middens, which abut two lakes; and the property is a tremendous greenway connector throughout the center part of the County and State, so he supports the purchase.  He stated he does not think the property is that far out of line; the Board heard the definitions of the lands as Ms. Rupe presented them; it has the definitions from the EEL Program; but more important is the fact that this is science-based effort.  He stated the Selection and Management Committee and the scientists have determined that this parcel is of the utmost importance and why it is before the Board today for purchase, so he supports the purchase. 

 

Chairperson Colon stated she wants to make it clear that the discussion is about to happen at the Board level, and not with the audience yelling back and forth; it is a wonderful task that the Board is about to look at; and she is extremely supportive because the inventory that is put out in regards to potential development in this area is very critical.  She stated this is one of the most important purchases the community is going to be making; but she is uncomfortable hearing time and time again about the appraisals and how the Board is comparing apples to oranges.  She stated she would like for this to be put on the agenda as far as appraisals in general for the Board to have that kind of discussion; folks in the community get emotional about it; they are willing to pay millions above the appraisal if it is something that is close to their hearts; but that is not the Board’s job.  She stated the Board’s job is to have that kind of scrutiny and be very clear about how this works; and it is taxpayers’ dollars they are talking about, so questions have to be asked.  She stated it is unfortunate that the discussion is coming up right now, because then her confusion might be in regards to the particular project; but she wants to be able to at least ask a couple of questions and have this come to the Board at a later date to have experts and discussions concerning appraising; and inquired if they have learned nothing after the Sarno Landfill incident.  She noted she did not vote on that purchase; but the citizens were angry; and just because this is an EEL’s purchase or something is a Parks and Recreation purchase does not mean they are supposed to look the other way.  She stated there is supposed to be scrutiny of everything that comes before the Board; and that is where she is starting to have a little bit of a problem because it becomes anti-EEL’s, but that is not what this is about.  She stated everyone needs to be under this kind of scrutiny; and the Board needs to be clear about that.  She stated any time Mr. Ellis comes before the Board, people get upset; but he is asking questions that need to be asked.  She stated the Board needs to make sure it is transparent; all five Commissioners want that kind of transparency; if they have learned nothing this summer after going through the painful budget process, they have learned that the citizens want to know where every penny is spent; and the Board owes that to the community.  She stated wonderful projects are coming before the Board today; but the people also need to have a comfort level that there is going to be that kind of scrutiny.  She stated she is not an appraiser; she does not have a clue how this works; but it is a very uncomfortable feeling to know that the appraisers shared information with one another when she was under the impression they were supposed to be independent.  Chairperson Colon stated that is probably something that is very normal; but the people who are watching at home are probably confused; and the Board is going to get educated on the subject.  She stated if that is the case, she still needs to make sure that in the future the Board continues to have discussions; and requested staff address the questions that have come up today. 

 

County Manager Peggy Busacca stated staff has not had a chance to review Mr. Ellis’ document but on page 8, the document says, “The Millers pages correspond to Pomeroy’s pages”; and inquired if that is correct; with Mr. Ellis responding that is correct.  Ms. Busacca inquired if Mr. Pomeroy was the review appraiser.  Mr. Knight advised Mr. Krauss and Mr. Miller were the appraisers; and he does not know the name of the review appraiser off the top of his head, but it could very well be the name of the company that Mr. Krauss belongs to.  Ms. Busacca inquired if Pomeroy is Krauss; with Mr. Knight responding yes.  Ms. Busacca stated that is what she is asking because she sees something referred to as Krauss, then something referred to as Pomeroy; and she did not know if that is the review appraiser or the second appraiser.  Mr. Ellis advised Mr. Pomeroy is one appraiser and Mr. Miller is the other; with Mr. Knight advising that is correct. 

 

Transportation Engineering Director John Denninghoff stated Holly Pardi deals with the appraisers more than he does; neither he nor Ms. Pardi has reviewed the appraisals or looked at this particular piece of property, so they cannot speak to the particular issue at hand in terms of the purchase of the property; it is not at all unusual to have appraisers compare data in the appraisal process, particularly on a larger purchase.  He stated the reason for that is the data for larger purchases is rarer; and one does not see large purchases of property very often, so options of comparables are much more restricted.  He stated it is unusual to see identical language in one appraisal compared to another; the data can be identical as far as having spoken to a Zoning Official, Building Official, or Development Director; and that is not unusual; however, the exact same language is a bit unusual.  He stated with respect to coming back to the Board with respect to appraisals, they are working on a new set of contracts and contract language with respect to that; and it will be coming back to the Board.  He stated ordinarily appraisers call staff when they are dealing with appraisals to let staff know they are going to talk to another appraiser on the particular property, so staff is aware of it; staff knows it is happening; but the appraisers do formulate their own opinions and appraisers are very independent minded individuals.  He stated normally he would expect that while they may have shared data, their opinions are not shared; he has no idea in this particular case; but he will be happy to respond to questions.

 

Chairperson Colon stated when she and Mr. Denninghoff met at the beginning of the year, one of the things she was uncomfortable with, and brought to the attention of the Board, was that everyone needs to be playing by the same rules; it is taxpayers’ money whether it comes from one pocket or another; and that was her biggest concern.  She stated she said she wanted to discuss it with the Board at a later date and put it on the Agenda in regards to having other eyes and ears looking at this kind of data that is coming in; it is not fair to have a Director who does not deal with land acquisitions on a regular basis to all of a sudden be an expert at land acquisition and how appraisals work; and that is extremely unfair, not just to Mr. Knight but to any director who is put in that position.  She stated the County has Land Development staff who deals with land acquisitions on a regular basis; and they perform that kind of scrutiny.  She stated Mr. Denninghoff has answered her questions about appraisers; commented on having appraisals done correctly; and requested Ms. Pardi explain the process.  Holly Pardi of the Land Acquisition Division stated on a large project, they will often ask appraisers to share information so they will have the same information, such as the size of the land; staff will want the appraisers to have the same background information; but appraisers are very independent minded and most are very credible; so they may share information and the Board should not be concerned about that.  She advised what the Board may need to be concerned with is that they have just gone through the process and dotted all their “i’s” and crossed all their “t’s”.  Chairperson Colon inquired how long Ms. Pardi has been doing this for the County; with Ms. Pardi responding three years for the County, but she has been in the business for more than 30 years.  Chairperson Colon stated that is why it is important to bring experts in; and what might not make sense to the Commissioners might be perfectly acceptable to the industry.  Assistant County Manager Mel Scott stated there is an opportunity to look at the process; this is something that has not just been reviewed by EEL’s; it has also been reviewed by the County Manager’s Office, the County Attorney’s Office, and people in the Planning and Zoning Office; and those people have a feel for what is happening in the market, although they may not be certified appraisers.  He stated it is important to recognize that they have opinions regarding the value; in this particular case with the down market, as Mr. Ellis said, that is why the County is getting a deal that is below market; and that is the point staff looks at.  He stated staff is looking at irregularities; but they are not able to get into a civic arena and uncover why a purchase would be distressed and kicked out; and they leave that opinion up to the appraisers.  He stated they also recognize that in a piece of property that is approaching 4,000 acres, there may not be many purchases in the last couple of years for properties of that size; so they are left with pro-rating something; and in this case, they found three identical comparables.  He stated it is important for the public to recognize that this is an offer that is below the appraisers’ assessed values; it is reflecting a down market; and after that, it is about the buyer and the intangibles coming into play, which is why the Board makes decisions on these types of purchases.  Chairperson Colon stated there was a third review; and inquired if all three went to the same exact properties.  Mr. Scott stated as Mr. Denninghoff pointed out, they have experienced purchasing hundreds of property on behalf of the County; as the property becomes more unique, the database becomes smaller; and this is a very unique piece of property.  He stated they were trying to get a comparable in the last three to five years for property approaching 4,000 acres; and there are not that many examples in the database.  Chairperson Colon stated with all due respect to the Committee, she would be more comfortable with Land Development and Ms. Pardi who has 30 years experience; she is a fish out of water when it comes to those kinds of discussions; and that discussion will be held another day.  She stated she is very supportive of the fact that they have been able to identify a piece of property with that much land; connectivity is what is exciting; and she is supportive of the purchase.  She stated she does not want to muddy the waters; but the Board is very concerned with regards to how they are doing these kinds of appraisals. 

 

Commissioner Voltz stated she has not had a chance to go through the material from Mr. Ellis yet; but the things that he talked about are very important; and while this may be a good purchase, she is not sure that she is ready to make a decision.  She stated she was in full support of it and is probably going to support it eventually; but appraisals are not scientific; the Program is scientific; and the Board will have to match the two up.  She stated she was blindsided by some of the things Mr. Ellis brought up; there is a lot of information; and she assumes staff is going to be looking at that.  She stated when there are a couple of people saying the same thing, while it may be aboveboard, she is not comfortable with it; and she would like to meet with Mr. Denninghoff, Ms. Pardi, and Mr. Ellis about the process.  She stated

there was an EEL’s audit done; but the Board has not had a workshop on the outcome of the audit.  Ms. Busacca advised that is correct; the minutes reflected where individual Commissioners requested it, but there was never a vote to move forward to do that; and if there is a motion to do it, she will schedule it. 

 

Commissioner Voltz stated she would like to make a motion to schedule that; the Board needs to go through those things and get all the issues on the table so it does not have to deal with this every time there is a purchase.  She stated if there are things that the Board needs to do, she wants to put them on the table and get it over with. 

 

Chairperson Colon stated she would prefer for the Board to have a motion today to go forward; it is a no-brainer when there is a $28 million appraisal that was done four months ago; one is a $28 million appraisal and one is $30 million; and the contribution from the County is supposed to be $25 million.  She stated any second grader can do that math on that one; and that is why she did not want to muddy the waters.  She stated this is coming below; it is the kind of stuff the community wants the Board to talk about; the housing market and land have come down tremendously; and that is why the Board does not want to play games.  She stated if the value has come down, the Board should take advantage of those kinds of values; and requested the Board be prepared to take action today on these matters. 

 

Commissioner Nelson stated it is his understanding that the appraisers that the County uses are qualified and selected by the State of Florida; with Mr. Knight advising that is correct.  Commissioner Nelson stated the County is not going through a process to select the appraisers; and they are State approved appraisers; with Mr. Knight responding that is right.  Commissioner Nelson stated they do that because it facilitates reimbursement; if they use an appraiser outside of that list, the State will make the County get additional appraisals from the list to be able to be eligible for reimbursements. 

 

Commissioner Voltz stated she understands and supports it because it is under appraised value; but that is not the issue today.  She stated today the issue is the process and how things were brought forward; she is not comfortable knowing the way the appraisals were done; they may have been done appropriately; but she would like to meet with Mr. Ellis, and Mr. Denninghoff or Ms. Pardi so she will feel she has made a good decision.  She stated she supports the project; it needs to go forward; but she is not comfortable with the way it was done.             

 

Commissioner Scarborough stated Ms. Busacca indicated the item could be tabled to the next meeting; Commissioners Voltz and Colon have indicated some concerns; and the problem is that the Board just got the memo from Mr. Ellis.  He stated he knows Mr. Ellis puts a lot of time on these things; the property backs up to the federal property and the St. Johns River Water Management District property, and is a tremendously valuable property; but he does not know what harm could be done by tabling it until the next meeting so Mr. Ellis’ work can be reviewed by Mr. Denninghoff and Ms. Pardi, so the questions can be answered.  He stated the Board does not have to make a decision today; it can get additional information; and the Board has fiduciary responsibility to do that.  He inquired if the County Attorney has concern.

 

County Attorney Scott Knox stated just to clear the air it could be sent out to a new review appraiser who could take a look at it and report back to the Board in two weeks, just to say whether it is good, bad, or indifferent.  Commissioner Scarborough inquired if there was already a review appraiser; and stated there were two and then a review.  Mr. Knox stated he is talking about specifically looking at Mr. Ellis’ complaints about the appraisals, comparing the appraisals, and having the report come back to the Board saying they are good, bad, right, or wrong.  Commissioner Scarborough inquired if that can be done by the next meeting; with Mr. Knight responding it would be hard to do that in two weeks, but they can try.  Commissioner Scarborough stated neither Mr. Denninghoff nor Ms. Pardi has looked at this; and when questions are raised, and the Board is not forced to make a decision, there is no harm in getting answers.

 

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Voltz, to table consideration of purchase of the Hunters Brooke Titusville, LLC property for two weeks; and direct staff to get an independent review as well as review by Mr. Denninghoff. 

 

 

Mr. Knight advised the next meeting is in three weeks.  He stated he would like to have an opportunity for Mr. Fountain to speak on this issue because he is more in tune to the details of the contract; and it is important for everyone to understand that perspective as it looks at this decision. 

 

Keith Fountain, representing The Nature Conservancy, stated he wants to touch briefly on a couple of the issues that are floating around today; those who have been sitting in the Selection and Management Committee meetings over the last year have watched the excitement as the property became available for negotiation and then came under contract; and if the Selection and Management Committee was present today, it would unanimously say that this has been its number one tract for acquisition and has been the jewel of the program for years.  He stated they tried to purchase it from the previous owner but were unsuccessful; and commented on the size of the property and the price.  He stated the appraisers are selected from a list that was selected by RFP/RFQ process by the Division of Lands; it is a list of appraisers who do a lot of work in this field and are deemed to be well qualified; Mr. Krauss does a lot of appraisal work for Volusia County; and both do work for other agencies.  He stated Bob Sutte was the review appraiser on this project; Mr. Sutte used to do a lot of lecturing and teaching nationwide on behalf of the Appraisal Institute, as to the standards in the appraisal practice; so the appraisals were done by professionals that are used throughout the agencies around the State.  He stated there was some commentary as to the comparable sales; the purchase price today is below all of the comparables and significantly below two of the comparables; it is significantly below the appraised value; and Mr. Scott and others touched on the number of comparables.  He stated it is a slow real estate market right now; he would take issue as to how depressed it is for large speculative development tracts like this; but it is a slow market with not a lot of movement.  He stated the appraisers selected comparables that were most beneficial and appropriate; the appraisal is four or five months old; the County has a good price; and it would behoove the Board to vote for this today. 

 

Commissioner Scarborough inquired if there would be harm in bringing it back in three weeks because the Board has not had a chance to look at it; with Mr. Fountain responding he understands the position the Board is in with the Clerk’s report; but he does not have a copy of it.  Commissioner Scarborough stated the Board needs to spend some time looking at it; and inquired if there is not a problem in tabling it for three weeks; with Mr. Fountain responding he does not think so.  Mr. Fountain stated there is a seller who does not want to spend tens of thousands of dollars on due diligence for a transaction that is now in limbo. 

 

Chairperson Colon stated it has supposedly been scrutinized three times; the numbers she is showing are $28.3 million and $30.6 million; and inquired what was the third review.  Mr. Knight advised the review appraisal does not look at the value; and all it does is make sure that the appraisers are following the standards.  Chairperson Colon inquired if the review appraiser was comfortable that all the appraisals were correct; with Mr. Knight responding yes.  Chairperson Colon stated if the Board hires another person, all he will do is look at the appraisals; he will not go out and appraise anything; and all he will do is look to see whether it was done correctly and whether certain procedures were followed.  Mr. Knox advised that is not necessary; the review appraiser can look at the standards and whether the appraisals comply with the standards; but he could come up with an independent value if he thinks the appraisals are not correct or are off.  He stated that is up to the review appraiser; what the Board needs to keep in mind is that Mr. Ellis is the pre-auditor of any funds expended by the County; and if he thinks there is something wrong with the purchase and the appraisals, he can stop the sale.  He stated the Board needs to make the Clerk satisfied that standards have been followed.  Chairperson Colon inquired, in regards to the different appraisals that have been presented, does the Board have to go back to the same list to select a fourth appraiser.  Mr. Knight responded the rules for the EEL Program already use State-approved appraisers; normally, although they are not required to bid them out, they do; and they could go back and request some bids from individuals on the State list and try to accomplish what the Board would like them to do.  Chairperson Colon stated if that is the direction the Board wants to go, it would have to figure out whether it is just scrutinizing the ones that have been to the Board or if it is an actual independent appraisal by the individual on his own.  She stated the scope of service has to be determined by the Board; and recommended getting feedback from Mr. Ellis.  She inquired if the Board goes ahead with a fourth independent appraisal, what is the scope of service that the Board needs to be looking at. 

 

Mr. Ellis apologized for the late filing of the report; and stated he did not find out what was going on the Agenda until last Wednesday, so it cannot be done any faster than they did it.  He stated his point is whether it is common practice for two independent appraisers to not just use the same comparables, but exactly the same language; the Board can have Mr. Denninghoff and Ms. Pardi go back and look at things; and even without going to another review he would say there are zero times when two appraisers come in with exactly the same comparables with exactly the same language.  He stated the Board will provide the appraisers the information they are looking at, but then they go out, look themselves, and come back.  He stated the comparable is supposed to be independently selected by the appraiser; and commented on selecting comparables.  He stated his point is the first thing they should do is look at what they have gotten in the past and see if this has ever happened before; and if the answer is no, it has never happened before, then the Board needs someone who has used the standards to see if it is legitimate for two people to plagiarize each other on something like this. 

 

Chairperson Colon inquired if the suggestion is for the Board to go after the fourth appraiser; with Mr. Ellis responding specifically what the Board is looking for is not the value but the fact that two independent appraisers literally have the exact same information.  Commissioner Scarborough stated it is a procedural issue; and the question is whether this is an anomaly that should raise so many red flags.  Chairperson Colon stated that is what she said from the beginning; she said the discussion would be taking place at another meeting; and she is ready to vote on the price.  She stated the comfort level was there on the price; but she had difficulty concerning the procedure; and the Board needs to take time to say it is uncomfortable in regards to this.  She stated that needs to be a meeting on its own without muddying the waters; the numbers are not what is being questioned; and what is being questioned is how they can have exactly the same opinion.  Chairperson Colon inquired if someone was sitting at home, would they be uncomfortable; stated now folks are saying that is standard; and they need to have some experts present.  She stated Ms. Pardi is considered one of the County’s experts; and they can have that fundamental discussion of exactly how appraisals work because this has a bad taste in the mouth.  She stated Mr. Ellis is not questioning the appraisal that is four months old; and it is the procedure that seems to be in question. 

 

Mr. Ellis advised the comparables are not comparable; if there were two different sets of comparables, the Board would have a better feel for that; and it is looking at 2,400 acres, and the comparables are a 700-acre piece, a 1,200-acre piece, and an 800-acre piece.  He stated it is not as though there are three pieces of property that are right-on, 30% uplands and 2,400 acres; the comparables must have higher percentages; they have PUD’s; and they are smaller properties.  He inquired how they could end up with the same three comparables in each appraisal when clearly they are not working with the mirror image of the property being purchased.  He commented on making changes for percentage of uplands, size of property, zoning for PUD, and changes for utilities; and inquired how is it possible to flip a coin and land on heads three times in a row or to get the exact same pieces of property selected by supposedly very independent appraisers. 

 

Mr. Knox reiterated his suggestion to get a third-party review appraiser to look at it; and stated the Board has to make sure it complies with use PPAP standards.  He stated the issue has been raised by Mr. Ellis whether that is the case; and if the Board does not have the review done and it turns out they are not compliant, it may never purchase this property. 

 

Chairperson Colon stated that is not what was just said; her question to Mr. Ellis was whether the Board would hire a fourth appraiser; and the answer to the Board, was if it is comfortable, then the answer would be yes. 

 

Commissioner Scarborough stated it would render the procedure moot if there was a fourth appraiser that came in totally independently and came up with something $5 million in excess; rather than trying to figure what happened, the Board can get someone totally new on board and let them do their own comparables, which makes a lot of sense, rather than getting into the procedural discussion.  He stated he does not think they are mutually exclusive because Mr. Ellis raised an issue that is of interest to him, which is to what extent one should plagiarize another and whether that is appropriate procedure; they can be answered as well; and he is going to reiterate his motion.     

 

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Voltz, to follow the suggestions of County Attorney Scott Knox to get a fourth appraiser and Clerk of Courts Scott Ellis to find out if this is an anomaly and unusual to have this much plagiarism; and come back to the Board in three weeks. 

 

 

Chairperson Colon inquired if this is realistic, to get a fourth appraiser in the time period.  Holly Pardi advised she does not think the Board is going to be able to get a turnaround in two weeks.  Commissioner Scarborough advised it would be a three-week time period.  Ms. Pardi advised it would probably take a month.  Chairperson Colon stated it is October 23, 2007; that means the Board will be looking at this at the end of November if it is lucky; there are different scopes of services; and if no one is having a beef in regards to the amount, she is in favor of looking at the procedural part.  Ms. Pardi advised she could direct the question to Mr. Sutte, who is the expert on appraisals and is also the reviewer. 

 

Commissioner Scarborough stated he would ask Mr. Sutte whether it is strange to have similar language in the two appraisals; he knows procedures; Mr. Fountain indicated that Mr. Sutte lectures on the subject; and suggested forwarding the Clerk’s entire memorandum to Mr. Sutte for response.  He stated there is a concern whether the County will be able to close; he does not know if the Board can get something back in three weeks; and expressed concern about going beyond to the following meeting.  He stated there could be a two-part motion; the first is a response by the reviewing appraiser as to the Clerk’s comments, which the Board should be able to get back easily; and the second is to, if possible, get a fourth appraisal.  He stated the words “if possible” are key; if not, the Board needs to come back and have this conversation with whatever information is before it; but at least each Commissioner would be able to further review the Clerk’s comments and get some comments back from staff and others about the nature of appraisals.  He stated his problem is the whole thing will be denied if the Board goes past the closing date.  Mr. Knox advised if the Board does not meet PPAP standards, including procedures, and a court of law determines the appraisals are invalid, or one of the appraisals is invalid, then the Board does not have two appraisals; and if that happens, the purchase cannot go forward.  He stated at this point, he would not give it back to the reviewing appraiser; the Board needs to have someone independent come in and look at it; the reviewing appraiser has already looked at it; and Mr. Ellis had a list of things that are of concern that the appraiser did not address.  He stated plagiarism is a pretty blatant issue; and he would be concerned if someone did not pick that up.  Chairperson Colon stated the Board is looking for a fourth appraiser; with Mr. Knox responding the Board should look for a fourth appraiser, and he thinks someone can be found to do it in three weeks as the appraiser would be from the same list the County approved.  Chairperson Colon inquired what date the Board is looking at; with Ms. Busacca responding November 13, 2007.  Chairperson Colon stated the Board is going to do its best to make sure it gets on this as soon as possible to have a fourth appraiser review; and as long as the appraisal is above $25 million, they are in business.  She stated she hopes that is the case, noting she is comfortable with an appraisal that is four months old. 

 

Chairperson Colon called for a vote on the motion.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

Commissioner Voltz inquired if a motion is needed to table the issue; with Commissioner Scarborough responding the purpose of the motion included tabling.  Commissioner Scarborough stated independent of that, the Board can ask procedural questions of Mr. Denninghoff and Ms. Pardi.

 

Commissioner Bolin stated she would still like to get the appraiser who did the evaluation to look at it and give some statement regarding his thought process when he saw the same wording.  Commissioner Scarborough stated he hopes that is a part of the action because that is a very good comment; and the Board paid the reviewing appraiser, so it should get that information. 

 

Commissioner Voltz inquired if the County goes out for bid on this, can it waive the bid process; with Mr. Knox responding he wants to be clear that the Board is looking for a fourth appraisal versus a fourth appraiser, looking at the two that have already been done.  Commissioner Scarborough stated the fourth is totally independent; but he would like for the memo from Mr. Ellis to be reviewed by Ms. Pardi, Mr. Denninghoff, and the reviewing appraiser because they have an ability to make some comments on it.  Mr. Knox stated he thinks a review appraisal can be done that gets the Board a value and gives an analysis of the document the Clerk has provided in the three-week period; but he agrees with Ms. Pardi that the Board is never going to get a new appraisal done in three weeks.  He stated if the Board wants a review appraiser to do it that can be done; and it will give the same net result, because the Board will find out the values. 

 

Commissioner Bolin inquired if doing that would fulfill the requirements that would make Mr. Knox comfortable with this situation; with Mr. Knox responding yes.  Commissioner Bolin suggested clarifying that what the Board is asking for is another review person, not a brand new appraisal.  Mr. Knox stated that is what is needed at this point.  Commissioner Bolin inquired if the Board needs to make an adjustment.  Commissioner Scarborough stated he misinterpreted Mr. Knox’s comments; with Chairperson Colon responding she did too. 

 

Commissioner Scarborough advised what Mr. Knox is saying is that the Board will get someone to review the material from the Clerk and the prior work by the appraisers and the review appraiser, and get that back in three weeks; with Mr. Knox responding that is correct. 

 

Chairperson Colon stated that is not what she understood; but if that is the case, then the appraiser is not going to take weeks to do an actual appraisal; the scope of service is totally different; and inquired if everyone is on the same page now; with Commissioner Voltz responding yes. 

 

Commissioner Voltz inquired if that is what Mr. Ellis was asking for; with Mr. Ellis responding it is up to the Board.  Commissioner Voltz stated because the Clerk is going to sign the check, she wants to make sure that what the Board is doing is okay.  Mr. Ellis stated the Clerk’s role is to determine whether it is legal or illegal, not whether it is wise or unwise; and he can comment as to whether he thinks it is wise or not wise, but legally he cannot withhold the check.  He advised even if he disagrees with the purchase, the appraisal, and the price, he cannot withhold a check because of that.  She requested Mr. Ellis contact her office to set up a meeting. 

 

Chairperson Colon stated the Board has taken action; and inquired if Ms. Busacca is confused; with Ms. Busacca responding no, but she has a question.  Ms. Busacca inquired if the discussion about appraisals is something the Board would like to have at a regular Board meeting or as a workshop.  Commissioner Scarborough stated he would like to have a workshop as this is a difficult issue.  Chairperson Colon inquired if the Board wants to wait until December 2007; with Ms. Busacca advising it will be scheduled after this discussion.  Chairperson Colon stated it will be after this discussion in a complete workshop; and expressed appreciation to the Board. 

 

Commissioner Voltz suggested along with that, the Board look at the EEL’s audit because a lot of stuff was in there about appraisals; she knows there were appraisals on the parks; but that is a separate issue. 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, to direct staff to include the EEL’s audit in the workshop.  Motion died for lack of a second.

 

 

Commissioner Nelson stated the Board is talking about muddying the issue; that is all it is going to do because the issues were related to that element of the appraisals and those kinds of things; and if the Board can fix that, then there is no reason to talk about the rest of it.  He stated he is frustrated because since he has been on the Board, he does not think there has been an appraisal that has not had issues raised related to it; the review appraisal is supposed to make sure the standards are met; and the Board is saying it does not even believe the appraiser it paid to do that.  He stated the Board has to fix this; it is broken at this point; and either the Board does not trust itself or it does not trust the appraisers; but it should not be this way every time. 

 

Chairperson Colon stated it is just appraisals, which is exactly what the Board just said.  Commissioner Voltz stated she agrees with that; but she is saying the EEL’s audit in general, separate from the other issue, is something that needs to be looked at.  Chairperson Colon stated that will happen at another time; with Commissioner Voltz agreeing, but indicating something should be set up for it.  Chairperson Colon stated the Board is very clear that the workshop it wants to have in December is strictly to discuss appraisals in Brevard County for every single department to have that kind of scrutiny; it has to do this; after the Sarno Landfill, the Board was very clear that no one is above the law and everybody needed to follow the same procedures; and that is what the Board is talking about.  She stated if the Board does not muddy the waters, it is talking about December and will be able to have this back on track; and on November 13, the Board will see the item again.                          

 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Voltz, to table consideration of acceptance of donation of property by Hunters Brooke Titusville, LLC, to November 13, 2007.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

The meeting recessed at 2:53 p.m. and reconvened at 3:03 p.m.   

 

 

 

Marlene Adams displayed a PowerPoint presentation; and stated the last time she was before the Board, it directed Chief Farmer to figure out what could be done to make the fire fee more equitable and fair.  She stated she guesses it was a daunting task so now Chief Farmer is bringing forth a proposal to spend $50,000 to $80,000 on a consultant to try to do that; and in the effort to save taxpayer dollars, she is opposed to that.  She stated she has been looking at other areas to find out what they are doing; some of them are pulling the number out of a hat; and Miami is doing it based on calls.  She stated Chief Farmer said staff came up with the numbers based on calls, but he has never been able to nail down that calculation.  She stated she also did a handout that did not show up on the PowerPoint; and it shows the statistics for 2005.  She stated there were 551 structure fires and 9,029 total fire responses, not including EMS or brush fires, which are paid for out of taxes; but the 9,029 would be paid from the special assessment.  She stated based on responses to assessed properties, it only makes sense that the percentage to those properties would pay that much percentage benefit that they are
receiving; so out of 551 fires, dividing the total of 9,029, one gets 16.38 or one in sixteen responses to structure fires or just 6% of the total.  Ms. Adams noted most responses are vehicle accidents, miscellaneous citizen assists, cats in the tree, and whatever; so only 6% are actually going to structures, which is not just houses, but all structures.  She stated the City of Miami utilized a medical priority dispatch system; all it takes is residential; there were 3,640 responses to residential and 2,164 to multifamily, so taking those percentages, they come to 100%.  She stated if they needed $26 million, taking 6% of that amount and rounding off, she gets $1,560,000 to all actual structure fires; and calculating for 100,000 homes, that is just $15.60 per home.  She stated the City of Miami did just that; single family was $15.00 per home; and that has gone down significantly.  She stated the City was legally challenged in 2003 and had a big refund to give to the people; and then the City was legally challenged again, so the assessment steadily went down.  She stated just for greater than 200,000 square feet in 2005, it was $19,371 assessment, down to $8,529 assessment, down to $4,298, so as the City was legally challenged, it went steadily down to the actual benefit for the property.  She stated the last page of the handout shows the assessed rate; it went to exactly what the City is assessing its properties per single-family, multifamily, and public housing, so she does not think the Board needs to be spending $50,000 to close to $100,000 for a consultant to figure out how to do this when that wheel has already been invented. 

 

Commissioner Nelson inquired how they created the calculation; and stated if the rates are going down, he suspects the City is offsetting with some other revenue stream.  He inquired if they are switching or converting part to ad valorem; with Ms. Adams responding she read that this just partially funds the fire department.  Ms. Adams stated in Brevard County the assessment is primarily paying for most of it with the exception of EMS, the ad valorem for the referendum, and then the added for brush fires; and that is all the ad valorem pays for, so the rest is in the assessment.  She stated that pays for vehicle accidents and not just special benefit to each property.  She reiterated Miami was challenged to the point where now it has actually gotten down to the actual assessment and the actual benefit per property.  Commissioner Nelson inquired how they created this formula; and was it done internally or was someone hired; with Ms. Adams responding she does not know.  Ms. Adams stated even if they did hire somebody, it is already done and shows the percentage of calls per resident, multifamily, and public housing; it is just too simple; and she is sure out of 551 structure fires, the County should not have any trouble making a determination.        

 

Buddy Spakes stated he is opposed to hiring a consultant; it is a waste of money; and what he just heard is it is simple math to figure out the benefit to the property.  He stated in 1984 the County chose to hire its own legal staff; at this point there are three highly paid, highly skilled, and highly trained personnel at the top, the County Manager, Fire Chief, and County Attorney; and he would expect them to be able to come up with something rather than spending another $80,000.  He stated if they cannot do it, maybe they should pay for it instead of the taxpayers.    

 

Commissioner Nelson stated the Board had this discussion last time; and the problem is how to get to a fair number.  He stated his concern is that they are asking the same folks who did it last time; they heard that they did not do the job as well as they should have; but they are being asked to go back and look at it without some other specific direction, so they may be setting this up for failure again.  He stated they have a little bit of time; he would like to know more about the detail of how Miami did this, the numbers, the formulas, and the basis of it; but one of the things they are going to see is that the densities in Miami are much greater, so that is why the City’s numbers are much lower.   

 

Commissioner Scarborough stated the Board needs to move off the dime; and commented on hiring a consultant and using the same people.  He inquired if there is a way to get a fresh renewed view; and stated if he does not do anything, he is going to end up with the same people saying the same things they said three weeks ago.  He inquired if he brings in somebody else, how will he get somebody who will look at Miami and other places that may have different methodologies; and does Mr. Ellis have a thought on how the Board could approach it.  Clerk of Courts Scott Ellis advised Mr. Knox may be able to take a look at the test cases of who has been challenged in court; and if the Board can find out who has been challenged, then that will sort out the big part of the hurdle, which is what is lawful and what is not lawful.  He stated different people do it different ways; but they have not necessarily been challenged legally in court; with EMS, they found one in Ft. Lauderdale; and the fire fee that Ms. Adams brought up was big in Miami as there was some sort of scam going on with who got the rebate.  He stated the decision has to be made by the Board whether it chooses to fund fire with a fee or with property taxes; it is a big decision; and what Ms. Adams presented would be a small amount to an MSTU type of fire service, so that is the real question.  He stated EMS was decided for the Board by the courts; for fire there is a somewhat open door; the legal cases would tell how big that door is; but the Board has to decide how it wants to fund it, with the fee or with ad valorem.  He stated the Board may want to address those questions first before going with a consultant; from a realistic point of view, the County is already in the next budget year, so it is not like the Board is in a rush to have this back by the first of December; and it could probably have this back in February or March so it could make its decisions when it sets its ad valorem budget.  He stated there is time to research what other areas have done before going to a consultant, if the Board chooses to go that way; and recommended having a workshop once all the information has been collected from around the State. 

 

Ms. Busacca advised March is the date when the annual assessment rates have to be confirmed; so the Board has between now and then to create those.  She stated she does not know how much public input the Board wants; but that is the deadline to make any changes for the next year. 

 

Mr. Ellis stated that gives the Board time to make its decision; and in mid-November, it can turn to a consultant if that is what it chooses to do; but it needs to make its decision as a Board on whether it wants to continue to pursue a large part of the fire service with a fee or go back with a larger part based on property assessment on ad valorem. 

 

Mr. Knox stated staff can get an analysis of the legal parameters in three weeks. 

 

Commissioner Scarborough stated there is another problem; the County did the flip because it had to; it was not like the Board wanted to do it; but there was litigation.  He stated the County did the flip, and it ended up moving away from valuation to a fixed fee; and there were people with much larger homes who were much more affluent who are paying less while people who have less capacity to pay went up.  He stated Commissioner Voltz has made this point repeatedly that it is not fair; and the Board would love to figure out a way to get away from that scenario where the least able to pay are paying more than they had historically.  Commissioner Voltz stated she is not sure at this point because of the limitation on how much the Board can increase the millage.  Commissioner Scarborough stated that is the Board’s next issue.

 

Mr. Ellis stated the County is pinched in a few places on this; but the Board wants to make sure that legally it is on solid ground with whatever it does.  He stated the Board got in a bind with the
fire fee a year ago; it was rushed through; and then this year the discussion did not take place that the Board had planned; so now is the time to make sure the Board has that discussion in February or March of next year.  Mr. Ellis stated only the Board can make the decision which way it chooses to go; the law can only guide the Board; and there are no easy decisions on this one. 

 

Commissioner Bolin stated the comment was made that if the three people who were involved look at it again, they are just going to reiterate; and inquired is it possible that instead of having a consultant to do this that staff can go out and look at like communities again.  Deputy Chief Dennis Neterer advised a statewide survey was conducted through the Florida Fire Chiefs Association, which targeted like agencies; they have gotten a handful of results back; but they did not get anything from the City of Miami such as Ms. Adams provided today.  He stated for the most part it seemed that the other agencies were using a flat rate for residential, very similar to what the County did, but the County had a lot more stratification per earlier Board direction to split it up a little bit.  He stated staff can research more options; but it is in the best interest to go out to a consultant and have professionals piece together the assessment. 

 

Assistant County Attorney Morris Richardson stated he has looked at this; they have done a legal analysis as far as what can be accomplished with the special assessment; and most of the other jurisdictions have retained a consultant, specifically an economist.  He stated a special assessment is not based on how many calls go out but on the benefit conferred to a property; that benefit in this case is not the actual calls, but having the availability of fire service; and that has some tangible measurable benefits such as reduction in insurance rates; but it also has some harder to measure benefits such as the knowledge that if someone needs fire protection, it is going to be available.  He commented on economists coming in and doing area specific studies; and stated it will be a different analysis in somewhere like Miami than for Brevard County based on densities, how far apart the stations are, and things like that.  He stated while the County Attorney’s office can provide a full legal analysis of the special assessment issues, it would be worthwhile to have an economist come in and find out exactly how to measure that benefit conferred to the residences and commercial properties; and that would give staff what it needs to defend the decisions that the Board will ultimately need to make because it is going to be based on data provided by an expert.           

 

Ms. Busacca stated the question of transferring this to an ad valorem tax is one which was the Board’s objective last year; however, the Board may not know until after the Legislative Session in May exactly what its obligations or restrictions are going to be when it comes to the millage rates, so the Board could do a great deal of deciding about transferring this assessment, reducing it, or moving it above the line only to find out in May that the Legislature has put some additional restrictions and it cannot do that.  She stated at that point it would be too late to change the assessment, so there is a lot of uncertainty because of the legislative actions that could happen.   

 

Commissioner Voltz stated there is a lot of uncertainty; she has been one to push this because there was a definite inequitable issue; but after hearing what Ms. Busacca said, maybe the Board should not do anything until it knows for sure what is going on with the State.  She stated Chief Farmer said everybody has a flat rate; that is the way he has done it and the way it has been done in multiple places; but the Board has wanted it to be done differently, with different homeowners charged different prices based on whatever square footage.  She commented on the value of going out for a consultant today and what it would do if everything changes next year; and stated she is wondering if the Board ought not do anything.

 

Ms. Busacca stated staff could provide the information about Miami to the Board next week because that is not something that has been looked at; and she was trying to figure out a way to give the Board more information to make this decision easier. 

 

Commissioner Nelson suggested starting the process without awarding the contract; stated right now it is structured so they could go all the way through; his concern is the timing and running out of time; and if they get to a point where they do not have time to do the RFP, they will be fighting over flat versus percentage.  Commissioner Voltz inquired if they fight, but then the rules are changed in the middle of the game, what have they accomplished.  Commissioner Nelson stated he does not disagree; but he thinks the Board needs to have as many options as possible; and one of the ways is to allow Fire Rescue to go ahead up to the point of negotiating a contract for Board approval.  He stated that will give the Board a number and also the ability to award it if at that point it has decided; if between now and then the Board comes up with a better way, it can stop the process and move on.  He stated that will give the Board two options instead of waiting for one option which may be a bad one, so his suggestion is to allow them to go up to the point of determining the value of the contract, and also do the research about Miami and some of the other areas to see if there is a simpler solution; and they should be done concurrently.    

 

Commissioner Scarborough stated the thing about Miami is very interesting; page 1 shows a building in square footage; that is not the same as valuation; but when one goes to valuation, it gets to its own peculiarities with Save Our Homes and all the other things.  He stated they are getting back to the concept that the person with the smaller unit probably has less ability to pay than the person with the larger unit, so there is a sliding scale; the thing with Miami is contrary to what the Board has been led to believe could work; and commented on deciding on an assessment, abolishing it, thinking it can be flipped to ad valorem, actions of the Legislature, and having to close the County. 

 

Ms. Busacca stated the County already does commercial, industrial, and institutional based on square footage; it also uses one additional criteria based on how much flammable material there is; and residential is the one where there is question. 

 

Chairperson Colon stated she agrees; the Board needs to follow through; they are concerned about January 29, 2008; but at the rate the legislature is doing, there is probably not going to be anything put on the referendum for January 29, which was always her fear because she never likes the unknown.  She stated that does not mean that business in the County and decisions that have to be made stop; the County has to keep going and at least get to a point where the Board has a comfort level; so she agrees that they need to keep the ball rolling. 

 

Commissioner Bolin stated she agrees with what Commissioner Nelson is saying; the Board should bring it to the point except for authorization for the Chairperson to execute the contract with the consultant; and the Board will make the final decision at a later date once information has been brought forward. 

 

Motion by Commissioner Bolin, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to approve the RFP for the purpose of selecting a consultant to review and recommend action to the Board concerning the Fire Service Special Assessment; appoint a Selection Committee consisting of Chief William Farmer, Assistant County Manager Stockton Whitten, Deputy Chief Dennis Neterer, and Assistant County Attorney Morris Richardson or their designees; appoint a Negotiating
Committee consisting of Chief William Farmer, Assistant County Manager Stockton Whitten, and Assistant County Attorney Morris Richardson or their designees; and direct the negotiated contract be returned to the Board for approval. 

 

 

Commissioner Scarborough stated it would be beneficial if each Commissioner got a copy; and inquired if an RFP is going to be prepared; with Ms. Busacca responding this is the RFP. 

 

Commissioner Nelson stated there is going to be follow-up to this, which is to give staff direction on the research associated with the Miami information.  Commissioner Scarborough stated that would be within the scope as the Board gets into that. 

 

Chairperson Colon called for a vote on the motion.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Henry Saunders stated he is speaking for the Crystal Lakes Water Access Owners; and he will provide a brief history.  He stated in 1962 the Plat of Crystal Lakes was drawn up and water access tracts were recorded in a plat of record; over the next 40 years individuals purchased these tracts, built docks on them, and paid their real estate taxes; and the Property Appraiser has the use code as waterfront dock sites.  He stated later when the County started passing regulations and zoning, a lot of the owners went through the proper channels and obtained variances and building permits to build the docks; at one point in recent history, the County offices decided not to approve any more permits for the docks and the sites; but in December 2005 the Board of County Commissioners deemed that allowing the waterfront dock sites in a residential subdivision served a valid purpose and set forth to amend the Ordinance to allow the conditional use of these properties.  He stated recommendations were made by the Marine Advisory Council, the Building and Construction Advisory Committee, and the Local Planning Agency to approve the amendment; there were quite a few residents at the LPA meeting in support of the amendment and no one was against it; and the Planning and Zoning Board approved it.  He stated there was one issue about combining riverfront and canal front lots, but they decided to just deal with what they have; on July 24, the amendment was brought to the Board, but it found it was unacceptable; and it was determined that all dock owners should take their cases to a vested rights hearing.  He stated that is an arduous process and very expensive; he has been through it; and the Board is asking people who have paid for their land and their docks and paid their taxes over all these years to pay again to make sure they can still use what they already have.  He stated all the people who are affected by this signed petitions to bring to the Board; and what they are asking is to have an opportunity to address all the concerns that were brought up in the last hearing, work with County staff, and see if they can come up with an amendment that would satisfy everybody so there are no people tearing down docks.  He stated this could go on forever; there are pictures; the docks are nice; there are no complaints; and there have not been any problems in there.  He advised there was one complaint; but if they had the opportunity, they could come up with an amendment or some vehicle that would be satisfactory and solve the problem once and for all. 

 

Kristen Saunders stated this is a neighborhood in South Melbourne Beach that, as her father said, has been platted since 1962; and she has highlighted on the plat the lots that they are talking about.  She stated there are approximately 16 lots in the neighborhood; approximately ten or eleven already have docks on the lots; and most of them went through the variance process, got building permits, and built their docks; but now they are being told the docks were illegal and they have to go through vested rights to retain the rights to their docks, which is ridiculous because they already relied on what the County told them when it gave them variances and building permits.  She stated the owners of the four or five lots that do not have docks have useless pieces of property; her lot is .01 acre, is assessed at almost $30,000, and she pays $450 a year in taxes; she just heard a gentleman say he had .8 acre and is paying $51; and they are paying a lot of money in taxes.  She stated nobody has an issue with the lots; the only reason this came to the Board is because someone was parking boat trailers or something on their lot; but nobody has had a problem with anybody using the boat dock lots.  She stated they have been there for years and years; and inquired who is the County serving by asking all these people to take down their docks and have useless pieces of property there.  She stated at the LPA meeting and the Board meeting, there was not one person stand up against it; at the LPA meeting there were six or seven people who supported it; and she thinks the problem was that a lot of people heard what the LPA had to say, were happy with what the LPA came up with, and did not realize it had to go to a County Commission meeting and be accepted, so nobody showed up for the Board meeting.  She questioned why people who went through the right channels to get their building permits are being asked to go through the vested rights process; and stated they would like the County to allow them to have a community panel, made up of members of staff, members of the community, and dock owners to come up with some kind of amendment to the Ordinance to make everybody happy.  She stated they want to keep paying their taxes; they want to keep using their boat dock lots; and that is why they are asking to form a community panel to come back with an amendment that will be acceptable to everybody.       

 

Chairperson Colon stated in regard to folks that go to the LPA that has not been her experience; those people definitely know it needs to come before the Board; and requested feedback from the other Commissioners about how they feel in regard to this issue. 

 

Commissioner Voltz stated this issue is in her District; within a month of being elected, she started dealing with the Puleios on this issue; they have been through vested rights, but she is not sure they are going to be able to do vested rights; but they are not alone as there are lots of people who have docks down there.  She stated she does not see any harm in allowing them to work with staff to try to come up with something. 

 

Chairperson Colon inquired if it is fair to them after all the folks already went down that path.  Commissioner Voltz advised the Puleios are in a different situation than the Saunders.  Commissioner Nelson inquired if Commissioner Voltz is referring to allowing docks to be constructed on the remaining lots; with Commissioner Voltz responding no, just the ones that are there.  Commissioner Nelson stated he does not have as much concern about that; the Board was setting a precedent with the ordinance that would have allowed it throughout the County; and there was concern because there are other nonconforming lots and it would have opened that door.  Commissioner Voltz stated they are dealing only with the docks that are already built, nothing else. 

 

County Manager Peggy Busacca stated this morning the Board adopted a new provision relating to vested rights, which is much simpler; and the people who already had a building permit may be able to go through this process.  She stated under this provision the County Manager can waive or reduce the application fee; so it may be that the Board has solved a majority of these problems with its previous action this morning.  She suggested staff work with Mr. Saunders and his neighbors to find out how many have building permits; and stated if it meets the criteria, most may have already been solved.  Commissioner Voltz stated she totally agrees; that is what they should do; and what the Board is doing is asking them to work with staff because of the action the Board took this morning. 

 

Chairperson Colon stated the reason she asked was because time and time again the hands of County staff have been tied; the part that has been extremely aggravating has been that it has been an error on the part of the County; and if the County allowed a permit and the dock owners are able to prove that in good faith they went through all the proper channels, the Board wants to give a mechanism to staff to agree.  She stated that is what this was all about; but it is so fresh the Board did not even realize it had something in place to be able to do that. 

 

Planning and Zoning Director Robin Sobrino stated the Ordinance the Board considered today will help to expedite those circumstances where there clearly was demonstrated error on the part of staff and it is uncontested;  but she would like to clarify in terms of the cases the Board is talking about today.  She stated legally established docks previously would not be subject to being torn down; they are only looking at the substandard parcels of land that were not approved for docks, not only in Crystal Lakes, but throughout the County; and therefore, the Consent Vested Rights process would not necessarily serve those circumstances.  She stated for example, in the case of the Puleios, which is the first case that has brought this issue up, there was no evidence of any action on the part of the County; and that was the difficulty because they could not demonstrate vested rights.  She advised she does not believe the Consent Vested Rights Ordinance would necessarily be the solution to the issue at hand; what the Board is dealing with is a number of lots that have been illegally utilized for docks without benefit of County approval; back in the 1990’s there was a period of time when the variance process was used by the County to allow for docks to be established on substandard parcels that were not accessory to a single-family home; but ultimately the County Attorney’s office rendered the opinion that was considered to be a use variance as opposed to a non-use variance.  She noted staff was cautioned that would no longer be a mechanism; and as a result that is the reason the variance process is no longer available to remedy this issue. 

 

Chairperson Colon stated the key thing is when it was done, it was based on the rules and regulations of that particular time; and inquired if that is what is being taken into account.  She stated when the people did this obviously they did it through the mechanism that was acceptable per County regulations.  Ms. Sobrino stated anything that is existing and was done in accordance with County regulations is considered to be an acceptable nonconforming use at this time; anything that was built without the benefit of permits or County approval that is now coming back to look for County approval to legalize them is a different circumstance; and that is the circumstance that most of the property owners in Crystal Lakes and other areas are facing.  Chairperson Colon inquired in that case would it not be important to look at the dates to see who meets the threshold for the dates when it was acceptable and who does not meet those dates after the fact when regulations were changed.  Ms. Sobrino stated zoning creates a legislative action and cannot be for the benefit of selected identified parcels throughout the County; she would appreciate the County Attorney correcting her; and it is a matter of being cautious on how the Ordinance was constructed so it would be legislative in action but descriptive enough to allow any parcels meeting the criteria listed as being allowed to have the docks.  Ms. Sobrino advised it is not a matter of saying these 21 parcels that are identified on this map are hereby declared to be legitimate docks parcels, but rather the Board had to craft an ordinance that generally described a series of circumstances that would allow those particular properties to have docks.  Chairperson Colon stated based on the discussion that took place in her office the reason why they wanted to put an ordinance together like this was to make sure that it was on an individual basis because the Board did not want to say okay in this particular case, that goes for everybody; and the discussion that took place in her office was strictly in regard to establishing the ordinance so every single piece of property could be taken into account individually.  She stated Mr. Saunders heard some of the things that the Board has been discussing; and inquired how many of his folks could actually prove they went through the proper channels.  Mr. Saunders responded the property has been in existence since 1962; and he does not think zoning was in place until the 1970’s.  Ms. Busacca advised it was in place in 1958.  Mr. Saunders advised he does not think there was anything that addressed docks back then, although he may be wrong.  Ms. Sobrino advised it probably was considered as an accessory structure.  Mr. Saunders stated it is going to be difficult for some people to prove, especially since the docks have transferred hands and some have been there for a long time; at the last meeting the Board gave everybody 94 days to apply for vested rights, but he does not think anyone has applied; he does not think that is the vehicle to do it; and they are just asking for the opportunity to try to put something together.  He stated obviously the County has found certain things wrong with what they were trying to do; the staff spent a long period of time trying to come up with something to work this out; when the amendment came to the Board, he could not be present; but when he came before the Board, the Board had problems with it.  He stated he would like to see if they can straighten all the problems out so there might be a vehicle they can still use. 

 

Chairperson Colon stated the only ones she is comfortable coming through the procedure that the County has now are the ones who are able to prove it; and based on what Ms. Saunders mentioned there was a site plan that showed that they were all basically done legally; that means the folks will be able to prove they went through the proper procedures and regulations at that particular time; and if they are not able to prove that, there is a problem because the policy that is put in place is for those who are able to prove that they did everything by the book. 

 

Ms. Saunders stated the problem is there are approximately 16 lots there; they had a date going with the last Ordinance that everything in existence as of May 22, 2007 was done and there would be no more after that and no splitting of lots or whatnot; and everybody was happy with that.  She stated that leaves the 16 lots there; those people have their docks; but the problem is there are four or five that do not have docks on their lots.  She stated some people can prove; a few people do have all their paperwork; but a lot of the docks were constructed in 1988 to 1997; and they changed hands since then.  She stated people have purchased them from other people; and some people do not have all the documentation; the County gave some people variances and permits, but other people cannot prove it; and it is not very equal property ownership.     

 

Chairperson Colon stated it is not equal; but unfortunately once the Board tries to help one person, it opens a Pandora’s box; and that is where it is really difficult for the Board because it is

trying to make sure that folks are going by the rules and regulations that exist.  Chairperson Colon stated when ever the Board tries to help it seems that all of a sudden now everybody thinks that they qualify; and recommended not taking any more time with this issue.  She stated the folks need to sit down with staff and try to figure out if there are some that might apply or if some might be a gray area; and they may all be a gray area.  She stated at that point the Board would have to decide whether this is something it wants to look at or not.  Ms. Saunders stated they would be very grateful just to have a chance to work with staff to see if they could come up with something that works for the County and for the property owners; and if they cannot do that, they cannot, but they would like the opportunity.  Chairperson Colon stated she wishes them luck; and they will see what happens.

 

Commissioner Scarborough inquired is this a platted subdivision; with Mr. Saunders responding yes.  Commissioner Scarborough stated they can change a plat with all the parties agreeing to change the plat; and inquired if a platting change would be a means to do it independently of the Board’s actions.  County Attorney Scott Knox advised  potentially if they can get the proper number of consents, they probably could; but if they change it on their plat, the zoning is still not going to do that. 

 

Chairperson Colon stated that is the danger; the Board tries to help some folks, then it is opening other issues; and the Board needs to be careful.  She requested the legal staff be part of the discussions; and requested meetings be set up with staff and staff report to the Board on whether they are on the right track or if it is something that is not going to be feasible. 

 

 

 

Chairperson Colon stated she found a card that Mr. Myjak submitted to speak on a previous item; and apologized for not allowing him to speak.

 

Michael Myjak stated he was just going to ask the people in the room to stand up in support of all of the EEL Programs.  He stated he is present as a citizen representative of the Building and Construction Advisory Committee; he was a member of the Building Code Construction Advisory Committee for a number of years; and he was asked to speak on behalf of a Resolution that was put forward to the Board on sustainable building.  He stated they started talking about this kind of construction shortly after the proposal came from Sam Dettra and the housing folks about sustainable and workforce housing because one of the things that was missing was the aspect of energy efficiency and fortification of structures; Mr. Dettra advised those things were missing because they are not required anywhere in the Building Code; and shortly after that, they got a copy of the St. Johns River Water Management District’s Water Resource Plan, which they discussed at length in terms of the perils faced with water shortages in this area, to the tune of 250 million gallons per day 20 years from now.  He stated it is really not a question of whether they have water; it is a question of how much water is going to cost; and that got them thinking.  He stated they had several presentations over the course of several months, including the Deputy Director of the Florida Solar Energy Center who advised that half of all the oil in the world has been consumed in the last 25 years; and inquired where is the other half going to come from, where is it going to go, and what is going to happen when it is gone.  Mr. Myjak stated they are envisioning skyrocketing prices for energy costs in the coming future; there are simple things that can be done now that are not done or required in the Code that would be supportive of energy efficiency; and some things on the list are light colored exterior surfaces, low energy use appliances and lighting, insulation up to R30,  low friction low loss duct systems, regular testing of AC blowers, solar hot water heating, ceiling fans, cross ventilation, and orientation of the house on the property; and these things can be very inexpensive, but so far the Building Code has not required them.  He stated they then were presented by the County with a low impact development workshop, which was hosted by Commissioner Bolin; and that rang and resonated with him and several others on the Committee because whereas historically they tend to think of a large plot subdivision and how stormwater is structured so everything from the rooftops to the driveways to the streets is focused on conveying water to a big deep pond, which does not do anything to clean the water.  He stated such a retention area is too deep to support plant life; it has to be fenced off to keep children out of it; it is an eyesore; and what it could be is a system of constructed wetlands within the same subdivision.  He stated small sections of each person’s property would become a rain garden that helps to start filtering the water right from the beginning; it would more emulate the natural processes of rain falling in a forest, ponding, water soaking into the ground locally, and therefore there being no need for a large stormwater containment area; and they do nothing like that in Brevard County.  He stated the last issue has to do with the kinds of materials that are used, reused, or abused; and by that he is talking about material consumption, material reuse, and material recycling.  He stated a good bit of recycling is done in Brevard County; but they do not even recycle at the curbside corrugated cardboard, which is one of the most highly valued produces that is produced and used everywhere, because there is no space on the trucks and they would have to make more trips to the landfill.  He stated what is needed is a green Building Code toward sustainable living; sustainable communities and policies would respond effectively to real limits of ecological systems, still fostering an unprecedented opportunity for all people; and to these ends, sustainable communities are a valuable resource for staff and for area residents.  He stated sustainable development means that it meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs; that is what is being done by filling up the landfills and consuming water at a rate faster than they are able to produce new; and sustainable development enhances people’s well being by living within the ecosystems’ natural carry capacity; but the County is not doing that within its current Building Code.  He stated sustainable development acknowledges the natural limits that are currently denied and identifies many opportunities that are overlooked like recycling; and inquired if the community today, with today’s Codes, can survive seven generations.  He stated the Board looked at what MyRegion has to offer in just one generation; and inquired where the area will be seven generations from now and are its systems and practices viable for the long term.  He stated changes will be made over time; but the question is whether some of today’s practices are eliminating choices that the people will wish they had tomorrow.  He stated they got focused on the City of Austin’s green building code; and part of what they are proposing for the Board to think about is emulating a program similar to what the City of Austin does, which is a point value system that focuses on six areas, energy consumption and being as efficient as possible, recycling and the efficient use of materials, recycled content in using recycled materials, water quality and water usage, indoor air quality, and indoor humidity and moisture.  He stated they crafted a resolution on the Building Code Advisory Committee that is based around three focal concepts, the environment, economic growth and viability, and social equality; and those three things need to be stitched together.  He stated they are not going anywhere without a viable economy and they have to have social equality; so what they are proposing is for the County to begin looking at a sustainable community.  Mr. Myjak stated he would like to see the County pass along to the children a community that they will thank the current residents for as opposed to the alternative; he would like to not deplete the finite natural resources or weaken the economic or social structures as the County moves forward; and everyone would like to see the economic viability this could bring.  He stated to make the final point, sustainability is really not an option, but is a necessity; and suggested standing up a tiger team, much like was done with the Landscape Ordinance; they can handpick people from the community who are experts in their areas and let the team work out a solution; what Austin chose to do was divide and ultimately come down to a point rating system; and there is also the Florida Green Building Coalition as a guideline.  He noted the Coalition does not apply points to structures; but if rating every structure produced in the County, be it commercial or residential, is a simple thing that the public can understand, then the public will start looking for those structures that are not zero stars but are three or four stars.

 

Chairperson Colon inquired if Mr. Myjak is representing the Brevard County Building and Construction Advisory Committee; with Mr. Myjak responding he was asked to come before the Board as a citizen of the BCAC, of which he is a member.  Chairperson Colon inquired if he is representing that group; with Mr. Myjak responding yes. 

 

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

 

Nonnie Chrystal stated she and her husband Mark Baker are creators of Florida’s Showcase Green Envirohome; Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne destroyed her mother-in-law’s home; it was a complete and total loss; and the Department of Health condemned it because there is no such ordinance in Brevard County.  She stated she is a native of New Orleans; and within 11 months, her mom and dad and sister lost everything in Hurricane Katrina.  She stated after extreme displacement on both sides of the family, they decided to build a house that theoretically would never have to file an insurance claim again; and in the process they met the grandfather of green building, who devised the first green building protocols in the United States in 1989 in Austin.  She stated in the resolution, Mr. Myjak did not bring up durability; energy efficiency is great and they are in the Sunshine State; but inquired if the house is not standing what good is indoor air quality or energy efficiency, so even though they are following 12 sets of green building guidelines, Fortified for Safer Living came to the forefront because it is an advocate for 220 insurance companies.  She stated her insurance has gone up over 300%; many people’s insurance in the County has gone up 500%; but if one gets certification showing a house has been deemed as durable for hurricane resistance, wildlife resistance, flood resistance, tornado resistance, earthquake resistance, etc. then the house is considered a lower risk.  She stated insurance premiums seem to be a huge thing; and some people have told her that their insurance is actually costing more of the mortgage than the principal and interest payment for their home, so what they are doing is opening their home for an entire year to the public so that people can see some of the advanced technologies that are not that expensive upfront to incorporate.  She displayed pictures showing the effects of Hurricane Frances; and advised the house was stricken with black mold, which is when the Department of Health advised if her mother-in-law moved in it would pose a distinct health risk, including possibly death. 

 

Commissioner Scarborough inquired if Ms. Chrystal has the information printed out; with Ms. Chrystal responding she does not have a copy for the Board.  Commissioner Scarborough suggested she print out the presentation and send it to the Commission offices; with Ms. Chrystal indicating she will do so.  Ms. Chrystal displayed the green building guidelines they are following; stated she is sure the Board has heard of Energy Star; but the Department of Energy’s Building America is actually doing the verification process, and would like to get up to 50% energy efficiency compared to the average Building Code Home.  She stated Florida Water Star, EPA Watersense is coming out soon as a sister program to Energy Star, but most people are not aware of it.  She commented on Fortify for Safer Living, destruction in Orlando by Hurricane Charley, and having the first whole house graywater reuse system, using tub and clothes washer water for flushing toilets.  She stated they have made major strides with the Building Department, which did not understand it; they are the first ones; they have broken ground for a lot of other people who want to follow in their footsteps; and displayed letters from the County congratulating them as being first. 

 

Chairperson Colon inquired if this is Ms. Chrystal’s business; with Ms. Chrystal responding they did not have the money to build the house back where they would never have to file an insurance claim, so they ended up getting sponsors, and in return they are educating the public at no charge.  Ms. Chrystal stated when Chairperson Colon asks if this is their business, she is not sure they actually have a business right now.  Chairperson Colon inquired is that part of the contract and is this being used as a model home.  Ms. Chrystal advised it was part of what they offered; the Department of Environmental Protection is helping them create DVD’s for education for stormwater management; and they heard from Governor Crist’s office last week that the Governor is very interested in this project.  She stated when people come through like government, industry, and commerce, consumers will get an idea that they can cherry pick certain things; and advised they are going to showcase a solar air conditioner, which represents 38% of ones electric bill.  Chairperson Colon inquired if Ms. Chrystal lives in this home too; with Ms. Chrystal responding they are going to; and they are going to show proof of performance through live data so when people come through they can say this really works.  Chairperson Colon inquired about after they meet their contractual obligation; with Ms. Chrystal responding then they go back to normal.  Chairperson Colon stated she is being very upfront that she wants to know what this is about; people do not do anything just for showing it; and she wants to be clear what this is about.  She stated she wants to make sure where Ms. Chrystal is coming from and be able to understand; and inquired if Ms. Chrystal’s life will go back to normal once everything is old.  Ms. Chrystal advised her husband has 35 years of construction experience; and she is sure he is going to get a lot of interest by allowing the public to come through the house at no charge; but they support green building protocols.  She stated she used to live in Sarasota; and commented on various companies that are going green.  She stated they talk about where the future is as far as mega-trends and where the money is; and in the last six months there has been a craze in going green.  

 

Mark Baker stated they are keeping all of their stormwater runoff on the property, as Mr. Myjak was alluding to earlier; and they are doing it because it is their responsibility to do so and it is an easy thing to do.  He stated they are capturing all their rainwater in gutters; they have a cistern that they are keeping the collected water in to use for irrigation, not only of the grounds but also green roof areas; and the goal is to build more of these.  He stated this type of building needs to go on; it is easy to do; and commented on the ease of assembling the panels for the building envelope.  He advised the insulation is already in it; both exterior and interior are finished so it is quick; and the strengths are built in.  He stated all the guidelines they are following make sense; and commented on his mother’s house being a mold incubator after Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne.  He stated the technologies they are using will keep that from ever happening again; the house is his mother’s house; and it was his motivation to build it back right as he did not want to put his mother in a place where this could ever happen again.  Mr. Baker stated he is here on behalf of Michael Myjak to make an example of what they are doing to further his purposes. 

 

Chairperson Colon stated the Board appreciates that; and inquired if folks want to get in touch, how would they do that; with Mr. Baker responding the website is fsge.net. 

 

Commissioner Nelson stated a lot of time and effort has gone into looking at this area; and the one thing he wants to emphasize is that the Committee is talking about a voluntary program because if they want to build a program and encourage sustainability, it has to start as voluntary and probably needs to remain that way.  He stated people should grab onto a good idea; and he would like to have at least some staff discussion about how to accomplish this; Mr. Myjak has talked about a tiger team; and he would like to ask that staff be directed to look at an outline of a program to address the recommendations of the Building and Construction Advisory Committee, see how those might be implemented, and bring that back to the Board.       

 

Chairperson Colon inquired since the Building and Construction Advisory Board is an advisory board and looks at whatever direction the Board gives, would that be the group that should look at this.  Commissioner Nelson stated it may be expanded because it is now going to get in some areas that are outside.  Chairperson Colon stated the Board is going to give some to-do work.  Commissioner Nelson stated the Board needs to let Mr. Scott talk with them and figure out exactly who should be on that; and if it is just the Committee, that is great, and if it is the Committee plus, that would be good too.  Chairperson Colon stated they need to get feedback from folks from the industry; that is why they have the Building and Construction Advisory Committee; and that is why she does not know what kind of work the Board is about to give them in regards to being able to review.  Commissioner Nelson stated that is why an outline of what it would take before sending the BCAC on a mission would be worthwhile.  Chairperson Colon stated one of the things she has a problem with is that in the past Boards just kept putting committees together without goals; committees have to have missions and not just feel-good things; and if it is something that is voluntary, at that point, she would caution to not take up so much of staff time.  She stated Mel Scott will work very closely with the Advisory Committee.  Assistant County Manager Mel Scott stated it would be his pleasure; he understands the spirit of the Board direction very clearly; this is a great idea and a wave of the future; and they will focus on a bottom up approach to the idea as opposed to top down and government chaperoning it.  Chairperson Colon stated one thing the community does not want to hear is more of government telling them what to do; this is more of a volunteer thing; and there may even be some incentives that they can think of to try to get the community to realize that these are the kinds of things that can be done, such as solar.  She inquired what kind of direction the Board is giving.  Commissioner Nelson requested Mr. Scott put together an outline for the Board to review before sending him off on the final mission; with Mr. Scott responding it would be his pleasure. 

 

Commissioner Bolin stated this is the wave of the future; the Board needs to look into it further; and she likes the idea of having the BCAC be the spearhead on it so the Board does not create another entity.  She stated she concurs with having Mr. Scott looking at this further and bring it back to the Board. 

 

 

 

Marlene Adams began a PowerPoint presentation; and stated since she was last before the Board she has been questioning the fire assessment, and it has brought all kinds of questions as to what an MSBU is as opposed to an MSTU.  She stated she has learned the B is for benefit and the T is for tax; the B means a benefit to property; and T is a tax for services or other things that benefit people or all the community.  She inquired about time limits for speakers.  Ms. Adams stated on Commissioner Colon’s website it says an MSBU is a special assessment authorized by a Statute to provide for improvements and/or services to a specifically defined area of the County and financed by a special assessment to only those citizens receiving the benefits of those improvements or services.  She advised Code 98-39 specifically talks about the procedure for imposition of assessments; special assessments for improvements for road paving, street lighting, and things of that nature require a vote of the neighborhood and approval of at least two-thirds before the Board considers it; and commented on a two-pronged test to determine the validity of special assessments, one being whether the services at issue provide a special benefit to assessed property and two being whether the assessment for the services is properly apportioned.  She commented on an Attorney General Opinion that although a non-profit is exempt from taxes, nothing exempts them from special assessments; and stated that raises the question on the fire assessment from which the County has exempted certain properties that are receiving the assessment.  She stated historically it has been a tax so those properties were exempt as they are tax exempt entities; but this assessment is not a tax.  She stated she looked around at other places and is finding that most special assessments are not exempted to churches, non-profits, and so forth; one for the Charlotte Community Mental Health Facility shows an assessment of $3,145 for fire and zero in taxes; and displayed a copy of the tax bill showing zero in taxes with a zero assessed value and $3,600 in assessments.  She stated in November 1998 the voters in Brevard County voted for a referendum that says no new non ad valorem special assessments can be levied without the approval of all the voters residing within the District; that passed overwhelmingly in 1998 and has been around ten years; but there have been at least two special assessments put on the people and they have not been able to vote.  She stated there is the same thing in the Charter with an exclusion for MSBU’s; and ten years ago that was fine because an MSBU was nothing more than a road paving, stormwater, street lighting, or whatever and required two-thirds of a neighborhood to say it was okay.  She stated she does not know how that exclusion got in there; she went to the Supervisor of Elections and started digging; and that is where her handout came from.  She stated the Charter revision proposal in January 1998 shows that Property Appraiser Jim Ford brought it forward; in February 1998 there was an attorney’s office for the Charter Review Commission that said it was legal; the next page of the handout shows that proposed Charter amendment in June 1998; and it shows no exclusion in there.  She stated even with the supporting documentation, there was no exclusion in there; and not until August 1998, when the Board adopted Resolution No. 98-212 did that exclusion get put in.  She stated she was wondering why that exclusion was not in the advertisement telling people about the referendum and why it was not on the ballot because it completely changed the meaning of the Charter with the fire assessment.  She stated the fire assessment is $276 on average per household; that is a non ad valorem assessment and should have clearly been brought to the voters based on the Charter amendment; and displayed a slide showing that the overall ad valorem special assessments for fire went way up over the last two years, in comparison to actual growth.  She stated the tax revenue is off the chart; and people are wondering where the money is going, why there is no money for roads and things of that nature, and why there is a $276 assessment where there is such carryover in the Fire Department for 2008. 

 

County Attorney Scott Knox stated he can address the MSBU issue; the MSBU is an exception in the Charter provision that Ms. Adams brought up; it was in the Charter proposal that came out of the Charter Review Commission and was given to the County Commission to put on the ballot; and all the Board did was put what was given to it on the ballot, as required under the Charter.  Mr. Knox stated when that was approved by the voters, the exclusion was included in the Charter provision so any time there is an MSBU, it is permitted without a vote; and that is the simple answer to that question. 

 

Chairperson Colon stated Ms. Adams also had a question regarding whether this should have been on the ballot as a referendum. 

 

Ms. Adams stated the exclusion got put into the Charter because the supporting documentation had it sometime between June 22, 1998 and August 18, 1998 when the Resolution was passed to go to the Supervisor of Elections; and when she asked how that wording got on the ballot, the Supervisor of Elections staff told her the Resolution had it.  She stated the exclusion changed the whole meaning, purpose, and outcome of the Charter amendment; excluding MSBU’s and creating a $276 on average MSBU for fire services that were historically funded with a tax still smells like a tax; and she disagrees with saying that the benefit of just having fire service should be assessed to all those properties when there are only 551 structure fires as opposed to 7,771 other responses.  She stated she is sure it has been challenged in Miami and other areas; it is still new territory; and inquired if the Board is going to wait until it is challenged here and then have lawsuits and refunds. 

 

Mr. Knox stated it is pretty well established territory that fire assessments are valid; the situation that Ms. Adams is referring to is in Miami or in Pembroke Pines; and where they get into trouble with assessments versus taxes is when they try to fund their entire fire department using assessments because portions of what Fire Services provide are not related to property.  He stated Brevard County has a .6543 mill fire tax as well as the special assessments, which goes to funding Fire Services, so there is a big distinction between 100% funding through special assessments and some portion of it being funded through taxation as well.  He stated as far as the MSBU exclusion, that came from the Charter Review Commission and under the Charter the Board is duty bound to put it on the ballot as it gets it. 

 

Commissioner Nelson stated that was actually from the Charter Review Commission as opposed to the Board changing or doing anything with it; with Mr. Knox advising that is correct. 

 

Ms. Adams stated the .65 mill for the MSTU is for specific purposes and was also on the ballot as a referendum in 1998; it was voted on as an increase to the MSTU in 1998 for specific purposes only; and then the additional MSTU is just for the previous year’s brush fires, not for regular fire protection services.  She stated EMS is in the General Fund; so the majority of Fire Services is funded by the special assessment, which is even admitted by Chief Farmer in a letter last year. 

 

Commissioner Scarborough commented on the assessment, actions of the Legislature, and creating a problem by doing away with the assessment and putting it as a tax above the line.  He stated one of the things Ms. Adams has the Board thinking about is giving it to the electorate; and it could be done with the Presidential Preference Primary.  He stated it could be put forward that the Board does not like the assessment, but still needs to fund this function to have safety in the County; and the question could be whether people would like to move it above the line.  Mr. Knox advised what Commissioner Scarborough is talking about is a straw ballot; the question is whether it is a general election; and it probably qualifies as a general election since it is the Presidential Primary.  Ms. Busacca stated the question is does that exempt the County from the 10% cap.  Mr. Knox stated maybe he understood it differently; it has no bearing on the 10% cap; and what he understood the question to be was would the people like to move it above the line.  Commissioner Scarborough stated philosophically the Board had trouble moving it below the line because of the disparity of ability to pay, which created a conversation that has continued; the Board can move it above the line as long as it does not run into something the Legislature is doing; and inquired if there is an ability, if the people say yes, they want to move it above the line.  He stated when the Board was proceeding with its discussion on taxes, there was conversation on how to move up from the millage rollback or roll forward; and the thing that trumped everything was approval by the electorate.  He inquired if the Board takes it to the electorate and the electorate says yes, can the Board do something regardless of what the Legislature does subsequently.  He noted one never knows what the Legislature may do; and it may say it is no longer applicable or that Brevard County can go bankrupt.  Mr. Knox advised the first question is what is the Legislature going to do; but even going based on the history, including the Special Act that Ms. Busacca is talking about with the 10% cap, the Board can still, with referendum approval, go above the 10% and above the budget limitations set out in HB 1-B.  Ms. Busacca advised that is for a two-year tax; a special assessment under the Statute is defined as one that is a period of two years, which is why they still had to worry about the referendums for parks because they were for longer than two years, so that is the exclusion that is currently under the legislation that the County deals with today. 

 

Commissioner Scarborough requested staff look at this and get back to the Board; and stated the Board needs to know when it needs to let the Supervisor of Elections know it wants to do it because if it works, that is one sure cure.  He stated the Board is going to imitate some city, then that will be struck down, and it will be back again; and he does not know where this will go without having the electorate buy into how it wants it to be handled.  Mr. Knox stated he will look at the referendum issue, when to have it, and under what circumstances it can have it; and inquired if it is specifically for fire.  Commissioner Scarborough stated that is significant because it is what is bothering the Board and continues to bother it because of the inequity when it did the flip; but he is not speaking for the rest of the Board. 

 

Chairperson Colon advised when the Board did the flip, it was not that the Commissioners flipped on their votes; and Mr. Knox will be able to do a little bit of research and advise the Board. 

 

Commissioner Nelson stated the Board is only talking about the unincorporated areas of the County, not about what is in the cities; with Chairperson Colon advising that is a good point. 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Nelson, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to grant permission to file a Petition for Writ of Certiorari to the Fifth District Court of Appeal for review of whether the
Circuit Court departed from the essential requirements of law in ruling that the Brevard County Code Enforcement Special Magistrate erred in finding a violation and imposing costs on Frank J. Hunter.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Upon motion and vote, the meeting was adjourned at 4:38 p.m.

 

 

 

                                                                        _____________________________________

JACKIE COLON, CHAIRPERSON

                                                                        BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

ATTEST:                                                         BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA

 

 

 

_____________________

SCOTT ELLIS, CLERK

   

          (S E A L)