August 18, 2009
Aug 18 2009
MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE BOARD OF
August 18, 2009
The Board of County Commissioners of
The Invocation was given by Pastor Patrice Spencer,
Commissioner Trudie Infantini led the assembly in the Pledge of Allegiance.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Motion by Commissioner Fisher, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to approve the May 26, 2009 Special Meeting Minutes. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.
RESOLUTION, RE: COMMENDING VOLUNTEER DENTISTS
Chairman Nelson read aloud the resolution commending Volunteer Dentists.
Motion by Commissioner Bolin, seconded by Commissioner Fisher, to adopt the Resolution commending Volunteer Dentists. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.
Dr. Heidar Heshmati, Health Department Director, stated he is honored to be in front of the Board; this program is one of the best modern practices nationwide; the dentists value over several million dollars coming to the Health Department, and they provide free health to so many needy patients; he is very happy to have the recognition; and the Surgeon General will be coming Friday afternoon to personally thank the dentists. He expressed appreciation to the Board for its support; stated his staff has worked for 15 years on the program; and it is a very important program to the needy people.
Dr. Lance Grenevicki, President of Brevard County Dental Society, stated the society has approximately 300 dentists, including specialists. He stated he is an oral and maxillofacial surgeon that has mostly a hospital based practice; the dentists contribute their time to the community through the local hospitals, as well as general care at the clinic; he is very proud of the dentists that volunteer their time; and they take a half day off at a time and volunteer in the staffing of the clinic throughout areas of the County where there is equipment. He noted there have been donations from the Dental Society to purchase major equipment.
Chairman Nelson stated Dr. Heshmati runs one of the most recognized health organizations in the Country; and stated the Board appreciates all he does for
RESOLUTION, RE: POSTHUMOUSLY RECOGNIZING MR. GEORGE REYNOLDS
Chairman Nelson read aloud the resolution recognizing Mr. George Reynolds.
Motion by Commissioner Infantini, seconded by Commissioner Anderson, to adopt Resolution posthumously recognizing Mr. George Reynolds. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.
Chairman Nelson stated he had the pleasure of working with Mr. Reynolds at the very beginning process of the Brevard County Marine Advisory Council (BMAC), he was incredible person.
UPDATE BY SHELLY LAUTEN, PRESEIDENT, MYREGION.ORG, RE: WHERE IN THE
WORLD ARE WE? – 2009 PROGRESS REPORT OF THE
REGION______________________________________________________________
Shelly Lauten stated she would like to talk not only about the new progress report, but to seek the Board’s reengagement and active participation in myregion.org, because with the difficult issues the Board is facing as a County, the region is also facing; and now more than ever before, the region has to seek new solutions for some of the issues it faces. She stated she will start by aligning the priorities of Brevard County with myregion priorities and show the Board how the linkages are so important; and the Board’s four key priorities, Economic Development, Infrastructure, Public Safety, and Social Services, align very much with the priorities that myregion started with over a decade ago. She stated the book, “Where in the World Are You”, gives a decade long look at how the region is doing in each one of the priorities; stated she is going to discuss a couple of pieces in hopes of interesting the Board; and she hope the Commissioners review the material. She stated the first book looks at some of the regional scale issues, and some of the indicators of progress, or not; and the smaller book compares each county with one another. She noted for example, in Economic Development the region wanted to look at itself, not only against one another, but how it compared to other countries of the world, as well as some of the world class regions of the United States; and when looking at the economy Brevard County has increased by almost eight percent over a seven-year period that data was it tracked; however, the Board can see Central Florida pales in comparison to other world class regions in the United States in its personal income, which says as a region new way need to be sought to diversify the economy; and it is critical if Brevard County is going to be a world class region. She stated infrastructure is an issue that is very important as an indicator of the region’s ability to be world class and competitive; one of the issues is having choices in the region; Brevard County falls short in allowing its citizens to have choice of alternative forms of transportation; but at the same time, Brevard County’s use of transit has increased three fold between 2000 and 2008; there is an increasing demand for transit; and as a region those choices are not provided to the citizens. She stated Public Safety and Social Services is critical priority for Brevard County; the filing crime rate in Brevard County increased by 31 percent over this eight year period of time; and the County is also one of the highest in terms of the number of low birth weight children being born in Brevard County, which is an indicator for healthy communities in the long term. She stated an issue from the quality of life standpoint is that Brevard County has the highest voter turnout in the region with over 80 percent being registered voters; that is an indicator of great commitment to doing the right things in a county or region; and Brevard County is one of the healthiest, as it has one of the highest rates of health insurance in the region. She stated Brevard has one of the highest high school graduation rates in the region at 93 percent; and it is one of the highest counties with the number of people having a college education, which is also an important indicator when thinking about global economy. She stated in the environment, Brevard has one of the lowest water withdrawals; and the Board is really focused by citizen mandate on conservation lands, which is a critical issue for the region. She stated the Board is aware of the Regional Airspace Workforce Initiative, which really demonstrates the importance of thinking and acting regionally. She stated she is concerned about the potential brain drain that might exist as a region if it is not thinking holistically about the kinds of opportunities for people in the aerospace industry across the region as the shuttle works its way to the next generation; and stated the next major project is how to begin making transportation investments that are tied to economic prosperity and diversification. She stated some look at transportation as an end itself, but myregion believes it is really a means to an end; inquired how myregion can tie together a 13 county strategy to enhance global competiveness; and noted she will be working across the 13 counties connecting Brevard County to Tampa Bay on economic prosperity and the need for more and aggressive transportation investments. She stated the region is the 45th largest economy in the world; but when adding it across the I-4 corridor to Tampa Bay, it moves from 45th to the 15th largest economy in the world; myregion has not figured out how to use that strength to its advantage; and if it could, she believes it would bring more success across the 13 county region. She stated it also has a real impact on transportation of social services; she noted she did a social services white paper study, and the social service provider stated the number one issue that could positively impact the delivery of social services was a better, more intergraded transportation system; and better transportation moves people much more quickly to a sustainable lifestyle.
She stated the Regional Water Strategy is another issue myregion.org is undertaking under the direction of the Congress of Regional Leaders; the goal is to create a reasonable water strategy because for the long term myregion has to think about the solutions necessary to provide that important asset; currently many counties and cities are lining up to sue one another on the issues of water supply and access; and myregion.org thinks that is a poor use of government funding. She stated the water strategy partners are State, Regional, and Local committed to figuring out what are the best practices related to water; and myregion.org has put together a Regional Steering Committee made up of government, business, and civic leaders to help think through some of the best recommendations to bring back to the Board for ratification and approval in the long term. She stated myregion.org is getting ready to celebrate the second anniversary of the “How Shall We Grow?” project, where 20,000 people told them, as leaders, how they would like to see Central Florida grow around some very basic tenants of conservation, countryside, centers of population, and corridors, alternative forms of transportation. She stated it now has over 60 percent of municipalities in the region who are using the tenants of “How Shall We Grow” to think about growth in new and more strategic fashion. She noted she is asking for the Board’s help; staff is waiting to hear from the Board if that is something it would like to participate in on Friday, August 21st as a Board of County Commissioners; they have seven municipalities from Brevard County, as well as the EEL program that will be there making presentations; and she hopes it will consider as a Board of County Commissions to hear the stories about the importance of these issues to Brevard County. She noted 60 percent of all the cities have participated and are actively engaged in moving this regional vision forward; 12 municipalities and organizations have reported using these themes in the way they are planning for growth in long term, that is a huge success in two years to have over 60 percent of the municipalities working under the same direction, and guidance is great complement to the leaders of the Congress of Regional Leaders, and each one of the County Commissions. She stated myregion.org hopes the Board will continue to commit, and engage in the three key projects that will be their priorities.
Mary Hillberg stated she is speaking on behalf of herself and many members of the community regarding the priorities of myregion being presented today; and stated she emphatically disagrees with the priorities of myregion as related on slide two of the presentation, which states economical development is number one, infrastructure was two, public safety was three, and social services was four. She stated public safety should always be foremost in the strategic plan of any endeavor for Brevard County, as well as in the hearts and minds of the elected officials; crime and birth weight are not the only parameters of public safety, as substantial changes in the populations and recent dramatic economic strains are important variables that effect statistics; and public health, traffic, and security issues are all components of public safety. She stated public safety has a particularly intense application to Brevard County in terms of storm surge vulnerability; infrastructure is, and should be, second in priority for a vulnerable coastal region; economic development always follows public safety and infrastructure in a community with a majority of Commissioners recently voting to suspend transportation impact fees for new and past development; and the urgent need for education is evident. She stated to list social services as a last of priorities is certainly not in the interest of the citizens of Brevard County; if citizens were to follow this path in light of Brevard’s economic pressures that are known to be coming, it may be the most significant error made in Brevard County; quality of life in the myregion presentation has been relegated to a subcategory and its strategic view, which she also staunchly objects; and the primary reason many residents choose to live here is because it is not Orlando, Miami, or Fort Lauderdale. She stated the County’s highly successful, resident-supported, environmental and ecotourism industry demonstrates Brevard is quite different in many ways; it is very unique, very special, and has a lot of different needs that other counties do not have; and stated quality of life is a core of the overall County mission, which is to, “contribute to enhancing and ensuring Brevard’s quality of life now and always.” She stated the projected economic pressure that Brevard will face in the next 48 months may only be effectively managed in the corporative and collaborative climate by elected officials who are focused on the needs of the citizens; stated she appreciates and agrees with several of the myregion ideas, but the priorities for Brevard County should be public safety, infrastructure, and social needs; and if those are done everything else will fall into place, allowing economic development to happen on its own.
Commissioner Fisher stated he has spent a lot of time talking with myregion; based on what happens with the Shuttle Program, Brevard County possibly will lose 4,000 to 5,000 jobs; another 12,000 indirect jobs will be lost; there are seven other counties that are part of myregion; and some of the workforce could possibly still live here, but be absorbed by some companies in other counties. He stated he views myregion as being part of the solution in helping with some of the workforce; hopefully everyone can still live here and drive to Orange, Volusia, Seminole, or Osceola versus having to move out of the area; if everyone starts leaving the area then the quality of life becomes an issue; stated he believes Shelly and her group are doing a great job; and he hopes the Board will continue to support myregion in some way.
Commissioner Bolin noted the Regional Workforce is trying to employ as many citizens as possible in the area.
Chairman Nelson stated he was appointed to myregion.org because he was the key doubter of the process; but he thinks it was good in respect that at key times he was able to have a discussion with the overall group about some of the issues listed; and he appreciated that. He stated one of the issues was the green map that started this process, and the group was able to become more representative of what really is preserved in
RESOLUTIONS, RE: RECOGNIZING EAGLE SCOUTS JOSH LASHBROOK, IAN
NOVAK AND SHAWN TODD_____________________________________________
Commissioner Fisher advised that Shawn Todd was the only Eagle Scout that could attend the meeting.
Commissioner Fisher read aloud the resolution recognizing Eagle Scout Shawn Todd.
Motion by Commissioner Fisher, seconded by Commissioner Anderson, to adopt the Resolution recognizing Eagle Scouts Josh Lashbrook, Ian Novak, and Shawn Todd. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.
Shawn Todd expressed appreciation to Doug for encouraging him to become an Eagle Scout, as it has made him the person he is today.
REPORT, RE:
Commissioner Fisher stated he met with Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) Secretary at Life Science Building with Senator Mike Haridopolos and Representive Ralph Poppell, along with Representative Rich Workman, some Nasa personnel, and Tom Harmer, Senior Director of Pizzuti Companies, regarding extending the road at the Life Science Building; it was a good meeting with good conversation and good dialog; and hopefully something can be put together.
Chairman Nelson stated people have to go through security to get into the Life Science Building; an outside fence location would allow utilization of that tech space without having to go through the Nasa security; and that would open it up to greater ease of utilization.
REPORT, RE:
Commissioner Bolin stated she would like to invite the Commissioners to the the grand opening of the
REPORT, RE:
Commissioner Bolin stated Space
REPORT, RE: TOUR OF NAVAL ORDNANCE TEST UNIT
Commissioner Anderson announced he and Commissioner Bolin had the opportunity to tour the Naval Ordnance Test Unit; and they toured a nuclear submarine. He stated the average age of the young men driving the multi-billion dollar piece of machinery is between 19 and 23; stated they are responsible for a nuclear piece of machinery; and they are keeping the Country safe.
REPORT, RE: TENTATIVE CONTRACT WITH
TIPTON_______________________________________________________________
Commissioner Anderson stated he has, for the Board’s consideration, the tentative contract with the County Manager elect, Mr. Howard Tipton; the unique point that he pushed to get in there was the evaluation section that is done commonly in the private sector; stated he wanted it written into the contract that it be done publicly, allowing the County Manager to know what initiatives need to take place; and it sets goals in measureable results for the Commission to discuss openly. He stated the first evaluation will happen in the first six months, and yearly after that; and that way, the
Commissioner Bolin stated putting in the measurements is very important; stated it is only as good as the Commissioners doing the evaluation; and stated she would like to stress very strongly to the new
Commissioner Anderson stated the evaluation has to be done in a public open forum; and it gives the Board and the citizens an opportunity to see if the goals and measurements that were set by the Board were proper for the
Commissioner Infantini stated she likes having the evaluation section in the contract; however, the contract appears to be somewhat one-sided, with the
Commissioner Anderson stated the proposed contract is tentative; stated as for the $180,000 salary, Mr. Tipton has 27 years of experience in government; the average salary in Central Florida for a County Manager is $215,000 a year; some of those people have far less experience in government; and there is one
Chairman Nelson stated he believes the salary is fair and reasonable given the responsibilities; stated a
Commissioner Anderson inquired if a deadline for renewal is something the Board is interested in. Commissioner Infantini stated she is interested in a deadline for renewal; when the past County Manager decided to leave, it was brought up in a meeting in November, then two months later she decided to leave; now, eight months later the Board is finally getting a replacement; she would rather have something be a little more progressive and proactive, rather that reactive; stated she is confident Mr. Tipton will do a fine job, but in the event that he is not, then the Board should have the opportunity to say it prefers not to renew the contract; and stated the proposed contract leaves it a little too open-ended and a little difficult to let someone go.
Commissioner Fisher stated the way the contract reads, at any point in time the
Frank Abbate, Human Resources Director, advised page one of the proposed contract should be amended to include Mr. Tipton middle initial, as it was inadvertently left out; and it should read Howard N. Tipton.
Motion by Commissioner Bolin, seconded by Commissioner Anderson, to accept the tentative agreement with County Manager Elect Howard Tipton; and approved the revision to page 1 of the agreement to read, Howard N. Tipton. Motion carried and ordered; Commissioner Infantini voted nay.
REPORT, RE: CITY OF
Chairman Nelson advised the Board received a plaque from the City of Cocoa for its participation in the fireworks last year; it was a great show, and the City is very appreciative of the Board’s help and support as well as the community’s; and noted the City of Cape Canaveral also contributed to the fireworks display.
DISCUSSION, RE: EAST
REPRESENTATION AND DUES___________________________________________
Chairman Nelson stated the Board is a member of the East Central Florida Regional Planning Council (ECFRPC); as Chairman he was able to appoint two members to go to the meetings; in a previous meeting there was expressed concern over House Bill 360 and its impact; and some of Commissioners stated they were not interested in participating. He stated he has listed some things that are coming before the East Central Florida Regional Planning Council that it is going to weigh-in on; the secondary issue is the dues; stated Phil Laurien, Executive Director of ECFRPC, expressed his concerns over that and he knows the County Attorney has opined on the Board’s requirement to participate; and Mr. Laurien is asking to Board reconsider that.
Mary Hillberg stated she appreciates the work ECFRPC has done for Brevard and thinks it is very important that Brevard have a seat on it; she is very saddened over the vote recently to not pay the dues, and also saddened the representatives were not able to attend any of the meetings; and she hopes that will change.
Maureen Rupe advised State Statute requires each County to be a member of the ECFPPC; if the County is mandated to be a member, a representative should attend; and stated without question, the Planning Council will go on planning regardless of whether Brevard is represented at the meetings or not. She stated Brevard County will be involved and affected, and Brevard will have no vote; there are 11 Florida Regional Planning Councils mandated by Florida Statute 186; one of the powers and responsibilities is to compare and adopt a strategic regional policy plan which will mean new growth in management laws and changes in State Statutes that will include Brevard County; and she urged the Board’s appointees to make these meetings
Rocky Randels, Mayor, City of Cape Canaveral, stated the purpose of serving on the ECFRPC is to review Development of Regional Impacts (DRI); he had the experience of serving on the Council for Hammock Landings in West Melbourne; he brought forward what West Melbourne needed, whether it was widening Hollywood Boulevard, or a bus shelter; he was able to convince the developer that these were needed items; and the Board needs to attend the meetings, because it does affect Brevard County. He stated the ECFRPC gets involved in individual municipalities, and
Chairman Nelson stated in addition to Hammock Landing, there were also things that the Council said were unnecessary, such as the issue of affordable housing and how it was being requested and that it did not make sense; and the Council came up with a better alternative than had been proposed. He noted the Council is also water conscious, and it wanted to install signage in several locations; some members thought that was excessive; and the Council struck the installation of the signage.
Commissioner Fisher advised he and Commissioner Anderson are the appointees to the ECFRPC; stated he made a comment at a Board meeting that if anyone wanted to take his spot they are more than welcome to do so; his calendar was definitely in conflict with a lot of ECFRPC meetings, and also the fact there was not much on the agenda having to do with Brevard County; and taking five or six hours out of his day to go to a meeting that does not affect Brevard, did not fit into his calendar. He stated if one of the Commissioners would like to take his appointment he would be more than happy to give that over; when he sees something on behalf of Brevard County he will try to attend; stated he is not sure of Commissioner Anderson’s position, but he is not sure they both need to go; and he is willing to let another Commissioner serve on the Council who might see more value there.
Chairman Nelson inquired if Commissioner Anderson still wishes to be involved. Commissioner Anderson replied his feelings are clear; stated he believes the ECFRPC has little authority anymore under new legislation; he will listen to the Board’s input, however, at this time he has a lot of tough things going on in his District with unemployment and such; and he would rather be where his constituents are.
Chairman Nelson stated that is a bit of a narrow view; some of the issues the ECFRPC has dealt with include the Port St. John Power Plant and Hammock Landing; he has had a call from The Viera Company because they have an amendment coming before the ECFRPC; if his two fellow Commissioners do not wish to attend then he is going to voluntarily remove the two of them, and he will take one of the seats, and pass the gavel to Vice Chairman Bolin and recommend Mac McLouth, who has a history of being on it with Port Canaveral as well as a Governor appointee to the Council.
Commissioner Fisher noted he is not saying he is not willing to attend; he wants to make that clear; there are some issues coming up in District 1, and he cannot attend the meetings on a regular basis; and if someone can attend the meetings on a regular basis, and then they can take his spot. He stated when something involves Brevard County he is more than happy to represent Brevard, but when Brevard is not on the agenda he does not feel like he needs to be at the meeting.
Commissioner
Chairman Nelson stated all the Counties have the same level of representation; he served on the ECFRPC for two years and issues come up at the last minute that are not on the agenda; one is the strategic planning related to the space program; if other counties had taken the same approach, and said the job loses are in Brevard, so why do they care, Brevard would not have received over $1 million in a grant for retraining of workers at the Space Center; members cannot only attend when it seems to be relevant; and stated projects that occur on county lines have an impact on Brevard, as Brevard has become regional.
Commissioner Bolin stated she is on the Regional Workforce Council, so she is already participating on a regional level by going over to
Commissioner Fisher stated he is on Myregion.org and that pulls him also.
Commissioner Anderson stated his original objection to ECFRPC is the $105,000 in dues comes out of the General Fund, which is taxpayer money going to another government bureaucracy.
Chairman Nelson stated the Board is mandated by the State to pay the dues. Commissioner Anderson stated he has read the legislation and it just says Brevard does not get voting rights if dues are not paid, and it does not say anything further than that.
County Attorney Scott Knox advised ECFRPC can sue to get the Board to pay the bill, which puts the Board back in the position of where it is today. Chairman Nelson stated Brevard has voting rights until October. Commissioner Fisher inquired, by Statue, does the Board owe the dues or not. Attorney Knox replied the Board owes the dues, the Council can make the Board pay the dues, and when those are paid, Brevard gets back its voting rights; but until the bill is paid, voting rights are lost. Commissioner Fisher inquired what happens if the Board does not pay the dues. Attorney Knox stated ECFRPC can still sue for the money. Chairman Nelson stated all the other counties would be voting on Brevard’s projects.
Chairman Nelson passed the gavel to Vice Chairman Bolin.
Motion by Commissioner Nelson, seconded by Commissioner Fisher to approve payment of dues and appoint Commissioner Nelson and Mac McLouth as
Vice Chairman Bolin passed the gavel back to Chairman Nelson.
Chairman Nelson stated he believes the ECFRPC is important, there is a benefit to it, and it is currently budgeted. Commissioner Fisher inquired if the dues are $105,000; with Interim County Manager Stockton Whitten responding the ECFRPC is reducing the dues by 10 percent below the $209,000; and he believes it was somewhere around $114,000 or less than that.
Commissioner Infantini inquired is it possible to get a copy of the ECFRPC’s budget to see how it is spending its money; and stated she believes it would be interesting to review. Chairman Nelson stated the Commissioners just received the annual report; and directed Mr. Whitten to request the ECFRPC’s audit.
ITEMS TO BE PULLED FROM THE CONSENT AGENDA FOR DISCUSSION
Commissioner Infantini advised she would like to pull the following items for discussion: Item III.B.1., Federally-Funded Subgrant Agreement with State of Florida, Department of Community Affairs, Re: Community Services Block Grant (CSBG); Item III.B.5., Agreement to Amend Contract with City Council of City of Titusville, Re: Operation of Titusville Veterans’ Memorial Fishing Pier; Item III.B.10., Resolutions and Supplemental Joint Participation Agreements with State of Florida, Department of Transportation, Re: Transit Corridor Grants for SR 520 and SR A1A Fixed Route Bus Service; Item III.C.3., Award of Bid #B-2-09-87, Re: Electrical Upgrades at Wickham Park and Long Point Park Campgrounds.
AMENDMENT NO. 2 WITH FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIROMENTAL
PROTECTION, RE: NORTH AND
PROJECT_____________________________________________________________
Motion by Commissioner Anderson, seconded by Commissioner Infantini, to authorize the Chairman to execute Amendment No. 2 to Contract 07BE2 with Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Beaches and Coastal Systems, for construction and monitoring of the Federal Shore Protection Project; and authorize the County Manager or designee to execute task orders and contracts to accomplish scopes of work approved by FDEP under the amendment. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.
BINDING DEVELOPMENT PLAN AGREEMENT WITH DONNA M. ADAMS, RE:
PROPERTY ON THE WEST SIDE OF
Motion by Commissioner Anderson, seconded by Commissioner Infantini, to execute Binding Development Plan Agreement with Donna M. Adams for property located on the west side of South Courtenay, south of Plantation Road. Said Agreement was recorded in ORBK 6014, PGs 2375 through 2383. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.
BINDING DEVELOPMENT PLAN AGREEMENT WITH SUNSHINE PETRO, INC., RE: PROPERTY ON THE WEST SIDE OF
Motion by Commissioner Anderson, seconded by Commissioner Infantini, to execute Binding Development Plan Agreement with Michael and Lori Melzer, and I.D.S. International, Inc. (Sunshine Petro, Inc.) for property located on the west side of Grissom Parkway, north of Port St. John Parkway. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.
APPROVAL, RE: PUBLIC HEARING DATE FOR VIERA DRI
Motion by Commissioner Anderson, seconded by Commissioner Infantini, to approve October 20, 2009 as the date of the public hearing to consider approval of the substantial deviation to the Viera DRI and the related Comprehensive Plan amendments and DRI development order. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.
RIGHT-OF-WAY USE AGREEMENT WITH CROTON RIVER HOMEOWNERS
ASSOCIATION, INC., RE: USE OF
EXISTING DECORATIVE WALLS AND LANDSCAPING AT ENTRANCE OF C
Motion by Commissioner Anderson, seconded by Commissioner Infantini, to execute
RIGHT-OF-WAY USE AGREEMENT WITH CENTRAL VIERA COMMUNITY
ASSOCIATION, INC., RE: LANDSCAPE IMPROVEMENTS WITHIN
RIGHT-OF-WAY AT INTERSECTION OF VIERA BOULEVARD___________________
Motion by Commissioner Anderson, seconded by Commissioner Infantini, to execute Right-of-Way Use Agreement with Central Viera Community Association, Inc. for installation and maintenance of landscaping and irrigation improvements within the public right-of-way of
RIGHT-OF-WAY USE AGREEMENT WITH RIVER COVE OWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC. A/K/A RIVER COVE HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC., RE: USE OF RIGHT-
OF-WAY FOR EXISTING SIGN, SPRINKLER SYSTEM, AND LANDSCAPING
ALONG RIGHT-OF-WAY OF RIVER COVE PLACE IN RIVER COVE SUBDIVISION,
INDIALANTIC__________________________________________________________
Motion by Commissioner Anderson, seconded by Commissioner Infantini, to execute Right-of-Way Use Agreement with River Cove Owners Association, Inc. for the use and maintenance of a portion of the north right-of-way of
AMENDMENT TO EXISTING AGREEMENT WITH TERRY J. RILEY AND BARBARA RILEY, RE: USE OF CERTAIN PORTION OF CRANE CREEK DRAINAGE
DISTRICT WHICH ABUTS THEIR PROPERTY FOR EXISTING FENCE____________
Motion by Commissioner Anderson, seconded by Commissioner Infantini, to execute Amendment to Existing Use Agreement to extend the Agreement with Terry J. Riley and Barbara Riley for a year, until August 18, 2010, for use of a certain portion of the Crane Creek Drainage District, which abuts their property, for an existing fence. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.
RIGHT-OF-WAY USE AGREEMENT WITH DEER RUN COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION, INC., RE: USE OF
Motion by Commissioner Anderson, seconded by Commissioner Infantini, to execute Right-of-Way Use Agreement to amend and extend the Agreement with Deer Run Community Association, Inc. for the use and maintenance of a portion of right-of-way on Deer Run for two (2) existing signs, existing landscaping, and to construct a retaining wall to include additional landscape improvements. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.
LICENSE AGREEMENT WITH FLORIDA POWER & LIGHT COMPANY, RE:
Motion by Commissioner Anderson, seconded by Commissioner Infantini, to execute License Agreement Renewal with Florida Power & Light Company for the operation of a reclaimed water exfiltration system on property owned by Florida Power & Light Company in Port St. John. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.
RECLAIMED WATER SUPPLY AND USE AGREEMENT FIRST AMENDMENT, RE:
Motion by Commissioner Anderson, seconded by Commissioner Infantini, to execute Reclaimed Water Supply and Use Agreement First Amendment with Indian River Colony Club (IRCC) to provide a mechanism for the delivery of reclaimed water to a small lake in the northern area of IRCC during the periods when sufficient volumes of reclaimed water are available, but restricts reclaimed water delivery during the drought period. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.
RESIDENTIAL/SHELTER GROUP CARE STANDARD CONTRACT WITH COMMUNITY BASED CARE OF BREVARD, INC. DBA BREVARD FAMILY PARTNERSHIP, RE: RESIDENTIAL SERVICES AT COUNTRY ACRES CHILDREN’S HOME________
Motion by Commissioner Anderson, seconded by Commissioner Infantini, to execute Contract with Community Based Care of Brevard, Inc. dba Brevard Family Partnership for residential services provided at Country Acres Children’s Home. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.
AGREEMENT WITH HUD, RE: COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT
RECOVERY PROGRAM________________________________________________
Motion by Commissioner Anderson, seconded by Commissioner Infantini, to execute Agreement with the Department of Housing and Urban Development for the Community Development Block Grant Recovery Program, contingent upon
APPROVAL, RE: 2010-2015 BREVARD COUNTY HOME CONSORTIUM ANALYSIS OF IMPEDIMENTS TO FAIR HOUSING________________________________________
Motion by Commissioner Anderson, seconded by Commissioner Infantini, to approve the 2010-2015 Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice; and authorized the Housing and Human Services Department to submit the plan to the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Fair Housing Office. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.
APPROVAL, RE: NAMING FIELD 1 AT
JAMES “JC” COWAN FIELD_____________________________________________
Motion by Commissioner Anderson, seconded by Commissioner Infantini, to approve naming Field 1 at
APPROVAL, RE: TERMINATION OF AGREEMENT WITH HOUSING AUTHORITY OF BREVARD COUNTY_________________________________________________
Motion by Commissioner Anderson, seconded by Commissioner Infantini, to approve the termination of the Agreement with the Housing Authority of Brevard County for the lease of
APPROVAL, RE: NAMING YOUTH FOOTBALL FIELD IN
GEORGE D. BALL/JAMES A. GOINS FOOTBALL FIELD______________________
Motion by Commissioner Anderson, seconded by Commissioner Infantini, to approve naming the Youth Football Field in
APPROVAL OF PROCUREMENT, RE:
2010 VEHICLE ACQUISITION FOR VANPOOL FLEET______________________
Motion by Commissioner Anderson, seconded by Commissioner Infantini, to approve the bid, advertisement, and acceptance from qualified firms for the acquisition of up to 37 replacement vanpool vehicles and up to nine expansion vanpool vehicles. Motion carried and ordered unanimously. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.
APPROVAL, RE: COST OF ADMINISTRATION AND COLLECTION OF BUSINESS TAX RECEIPTS, FORMERLY OCCUPATIONAL LICENSES________________________
Motion by Commissioner Anderson, seconded by Commissioner Infantini, to approve the projected cost of $206,289, as submitted by the Tax Collector, of administration and collection of County Business Tax Receipts for July 1, 2009 through June 30, 2010. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.
AWARD OF BID B#-2-09-80,
Motion by Commissioner Anderson, seconded by Commissioner Infantini, to authorize award of Bid #B-2-09-80, Tennis Court Replacement at
AWARD OF BID #B-5-09-65, RE: COUNTYWIDE CARPET CLEANING
Motion by Commissioner Anderson, seconded by Commissioner Infantini, to accept the findings and recommendations of the Protest Committee, and as a result of staff re-analysis, awarded Bid #B-5-09-65 to Grime Scene Investigators (GSI) to provide carpet, tile and furniture upholstery cleaning for County offices and facilities. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.
RESOLUTION, RE: QUALIFYING UNITED SERVICE SOURCE, INC. AS A QUALIFIED TARGETED INDUSTRY_________________________________________________
Motion by Commissioner Anderson, seconded by Commissioner Infantini, to adopt a Qualified Targeted Industry Resolution benefitting United Service Source, Inc. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.
APPROVAL, RE: PRECINCT LEGAL DESCRIPTION – ALTERED AND ADDED
Motion by Commissioner Anderson, seconded by Commissioner Infantini, to approve the revised precinct legal descriptions for the changes to existing precincts due to annexations by the Cities of Melbourne, West Melbourne, and
MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING WITH BREVARD COUNTY FIELD OF DREAMS, INC., RE: FACILITY FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES AT
Jim Tapp, President of Brevard County Field of Dreams, stated he is asking for the Board’s blessing on the Memorandum of Understanding with the
Denise Klenotich stated she is the proud mother of Brittney, the poster child for Field of Dreams in
Mike Klenotich stated he is Brittney’s father; stated Brittney played baseball in
Commissioner Infantini advised she has meet with Mr. Tapp in her office and she believes this is an excellent opportunity for
Commissioner Bolin inquired if there is no financial impact to
Commissioner Anderson expressed appreciation to Mr. Tapp and John DeVivo for working on this project; and when he was on the Palm Bay City Council, Mr. Tapp and Mr. DeVivo had been long time active residents in the
Commissioner Fisher stated it is a great project; and inquired if the County will continue to maintain and operate the fields, or is staff turning the fields over to them. Mr. Lusk stated Post, Buckley, Schuh and Jernigan (PBS&J) has donated some pro bono work to figure out where this could be sited on the existing park property; at this point knowing that the County is able to keep all of Rodes Park, those fields that are there currently are very well utilized; they can always use every field that is offered, so there is no plan to change the maintenance of those fields; and staff will continue to maintain them for the leagues and the public. Commissioner Fisher inquired what happens when a new park is built. Mr. Lusk advised even when a new park is built they will still be utilizing the existing fields. Commissioner Fisher inquired how is staff going to do that if the Board turns it over to Field of Dreams. Mr. Lusk replied the idea is to locate Field of Dreams within the bounds of Rodes Park No. 1, and that is why PBS&J is donating their time to figure how it can fit on the existing location without impacting those fields; and there may be no way that it can actually be done, but staff will not know until they get out there and start looking. Commissioner Fisher inquired if that could be done, would staff be willing to use one of those fields for Field of Dreams; with Mr. Lusk responding yes, if staff needs to they would work with the league down there. Commissioner Fisher stated he believes it is one of those quality of life issues and he is glad the Board can be part of it.
Commissioner Infantini stated one of the big issues about the Field of Dreams is the fact that Rodes Park is extremely low maintenance; and she supports of most projects that would require very little future funding.
Chairman Nelson stated when the referendum was passed, a new facility was going to be built and the old one was to be sold, because the County needed the money to pay for the new facility; and so the Board is moving away from that. He inquired if there are sufficient dollars to be able to operate both; stated the Board has just created a new park, even though it is an existing one; because staff could not expand the existing Rodes Park, the County was going to have to sell it for the highest and best use, which was anticipated to be commercial, although schools and churches have inquired about the park; and the proceeds would then be used to offset the development of the new facility; but that was before the second park referendum. He stated what the Board is doing by this decision is committing to maintain those facilities for the future, and while he agrees astro-turf-type facilities are easier to maintain, there are still restrooms, parking lots and all the things that go with park facilities.
Mr. Lusk advised he remains worried, just as he was about how far into the future the Parks and Recreation Department can maintain everything it is doing. He stated he recalls the conversation about old Rodes Park being mostly around construction dollars in terms of if there was not going to be enough money to finish the new Rodes Park; the sale of those dollars would go to the construction of the new park; it is at that intersection now where he feels pretty certain, based on the prices being lower, that it is not needed to finish the construction of old Rodes Park, including the improvements to the road that need to be done. Chairman Nelson stated the County is going to continue to operate Rodes Park, and he believes the County should; he is supportive of the project; the Board’s commitment is similar to any other organization, whether it is Little League or football; and these are the kinds of tough decisions the Board has to make, but he believes this is a positive one and certainly one he supports because he believes staff has come up with a good alternative. He stated if the County would not have had the second referendum it would be a much different discussion; and he believes a field needs to be dedicated to them as opposed to joint utilization.
Commissioner Anderson stated there are two variables that are making it different than a normal park; private corporations will be willing to donate a considerable amount of money to the project, which will help offset some things; and the park will inherit volunteers, making the support that much stronger.
Commissioner Bolin noted she wants to be clear on this; the Board is to understand the property is not going to be sold and put back on the tax rolls by making this motion; and stated because it is going to be used for this purpose she supports it, but everyone needs to understand the County is not going to be selling this property after the vote.
Commissioner Anderson inquired if the County was actively selling this property. Chairman Nelson stated two things have happened; the second referendum happened, and that negated the urgency; prior to that, there had been some discussion about selling it, but having a lease until the new park was finished; but there are no current discussions along those lines. Commissioner Fisher inquired if there was a figure the County thought it could get for the property. Chairman Nelson stated probably over $1 million for the 17 acres. Commissioner Bolin stated that is not to say that if the Board was going to consider it again, that the two organizations who wanted it would not come forward again. Chairman Nelson stated it is a good project, and he believes it is the right thing to do; the County is in the position to do it; and he believes it will get good community participation. He stated the area is growing, even with Rodes Park II the County is still going to need athletic facilities.
Motion by Commissioner Anderson, seconded by Commissioner Infantini, to approve and authorize the Chairman to execute Memorandum of Understanding with Brevard County Field of Dreams, Inc., a non-profit group interested in the development of a facility to support the sports/athletic needs for persons with disabilities at the
The meeting recessed at 10:38 a.m. and reconvened at 10:54 a.m.
FEDERALLY-FUNDED SUBGRANT AGREEMENT WITH STATE OF
DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY AFFAIRS, RE: COMMUNITY SERVICES
BLOCK GRANT________________________________________________________
Commissioner Infantini stated this would require about $48,000 in General Fund revenue; and it is cash match $4,800 plus services of resource allocation of $44,000.
Gay Williams, Housing & Human Services Director stated Commissioner Infantini is correct; the remaining match is in-kind match, which is what staff is already doing; the counselors are already providing services, or emergency services, and they would continue to and see clients through the door as well; and from the Board the two percent match is the cash match is $4,800.
Commissioner Infantini stated her concern is that the Department of Housing & Human Services had asked for two more staff members, not necessarily on this project; she thought it was on an agenda item on a different day where Ms. Williams requested two additional employees to be able to oversee the entire project she was working on. Mr. Williams advised that is within another item that is on the Agenda, for the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG), because of the new stimulus dollars; what the Board is looking at now is an annual contract; and stated the contracts that were approved through the Consent Agenda for CSBG were for the stimulus dollars, which require different tasks to be done. She stated the stimulus dollars require staff to develop employment and to go out and case manage each particular person that is coming in; for this particular program there is only one person assigned, and staff serves about 80 people per year; and in addition to that, not only those people they serve who come in the door that year for this program, staff has to continue on with the people until they reach self sufficiency.
Commissioner Infantini inquired if Housing and Human Services has refined the policy on which organization it will be paying tuition to; stated she would like to know whether or not staff has moved toward only going toward the community college to lower costs rather than going with the private organizations; she needs to stretch the dollars the County has to go as far as possible; and she wants to make sure staff has moved toward that policy rather than financing tuition reimbursement through outside organizations.
Ms. Williams advised all of her concerns were addressed; and noted some of the programs, such as the medical fields, allow someone to go with some services that might cost a little more, but they are being placed and might get through school faster.
Commissioner Infantini stated she cannot support this at this time until she knows the money is being used frugally to benefit the most taxpayers as possible; for the amount of money the County may pay for one student to go through a private facility, it could have paid the tuition cost for potentially three students.
Motion by Commissioner Fisher, seconded by Commissioner Bolin to execute Contract, contingent upon
AGREEMENT TO AMEND CONTRACT WITH CITY COUNCIL OF CITY OF
Commissioner Infantini inquired if this is a City park. Commissioner Fisher responded the property is in the City; referendum dollars built the concession stand; and the County has an Interlocal Agreement with the City of
Chairman Nelson stated in
Motion by Commissioner Infantini, seconded by Commissioner Anderson, to approve an amendment to the Interlocal Agreement (ILA) with the City Council of the City of Titusville, Florida, for operation and maintenance of the Titusville Veterans’ Memorial Fishing Pier; and authorize the Chairman to sign the Agreement. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.
RESOLUTION AND AGREEMENT WITH UNITED STATES AIR FORCE (USAF),
RE: FUNDING PARTNERSHIP WITH CONVEYANCE OF DEED OF EASEMENT ON
PORTION OF COASTAL JEWEL PROPERTY________________________________
Mike Knight, Environmentally Endangered Lands (EEL) Program Manager stated the Coastal Jewel Property has been pursued through the Endangered Lands Referendum since 1994; the project is a Florida Forever Project within the Brevard Coastal Scrub Ecosystem Projects, so it is eligible for future reimbursement if Florida Forever can never be refunded; the location of the property is within the Town of Malabar; the Town of Malabar has requested a consideration of a trail easement for the linear trail, Al Tuttle Trail, and consideration of easements for Marie Street; and the selection management committee has given that consideration and passed a motion of its willingness to work with the town to work it out. He stated the environmental significance of the property is primarily what staff is trying to do, connect the existing Jordan Scrub Sanctuary to the Oakmont Preserve mitigation parcel and the Coastal Jewel property is directly in between the two; the addition of this property will allow the potential for scrub jay habitats to expand beyond the extinction threshold; and once there are 10 families or more, then it has enough gene exchange within the population for the population to continue to grow as opposed to sink toward extinction. He stated the Air Force is contributing $900,000 towards the purchase to assist the Air Force in offsetting impacts to scrub habitat on the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station; and the price of the property is $2,490,000, which does not exceed the average of two appraisals.
Paul Schmalzer stated he has served on the Selection and Management Committee (SMC) for the Environmentally Endangered Lands Program since it began in 1990; he has worked as a plant ecologist in the county for 26 years. He stated he is here today to urge the Board to vote to approve the acquisition of the Coastal Jewel property and accept the U.S. Air Force funding for the conservation easement on this property. He stated this is an opportunity to acquire a large, intact landscape of high quality natural communities; this parcel provides habitat for populations of rare and endangered species and connects existing conservation lands, which further increases its conservation value; it will expand the existing Jordan Scrub Sanctuary and connect to the scrub mitigation area on the Oakmont Preserve development. He stated the primary goal of the EEL Program, as established by the 1990 referendum and extended by the 2004 referendum is to protect the biological diversity of Brevard County now and into the future; value for species, natural communities, and landscape connection all factor into ability to support and maintain biological diversity; this property meets all criteria for selection and has the unanimous support of the SMC, which reviewed and approved the general terms of the contract before it was submitted to the Board. He stated this property was added to the CARL Scrub Jay Refuge Projects since 1995; the Jordan Boulevard site, which includes Coastal Jewel, was considered an important addition to the CARL Project because it had high quality scrubby flatwoods with mesic flatwoods and freshwater marshes; and these communities provide actual and potential habitat to species dependent on scrub and flatwoods including the Florida Scrub Jay, gopher tortoise and several rare plants. He stated continued studies of Florida Scrub-Jay habitat and populations since then have indicated that this continues to be an important area for Scrub-Jay conservation; surveys for rare scrub plants located four Florida-listed species on Jordan Scrub Sanctuary; and based on the similarity in habitat, these plants would be expected to occur on the Coastal Jewel property. He stated acquisition of the property will substantially increase the Jordan Scrub Sanctuary; this will provide increased protected and managed habitat critical to the long-term survival of the Scrub Jay population in this area; small populations are vulnerable to extinction; this addition will significantly improve the chances that this Scrub Jay population survives; and the property will retain the characteristics for which it was selected in 1995. He stated the contract price for the Coastal Jewel property is the average of the two appraised values, which are current as of July 2009. He stated the United State Air Force has offered a funding contribution of $900,000 for a conservation easement on the property that will assist in meeting its environment requirements; the contribution constitutes 43.9 percent of the purchase price; and the partnership with the Air Force will help both parties.
Mary Hillberg stated she supports this issue, particularly the support from the Air Force; and she urged the Board to accept the offer.
Maureen Rupe stated she supports this purchase, and hopes the Commission supports the people; and asked the Board to remember this passed with 70 percent of the voters voting for the EEL program in the purchases.
Jack Lembeck stated he supports this purchase; when growing up he did not have to worry about continuous property and what property was in between; everyone has to start thinking about these thing more and more; and this is one of those times. He noted the County is getting help from the Federal Government, the most powerful military in the world, to help preserve property in a continuous form; and that is the best support of the EEL program that the Board has had since its existence.
James Durocher stated the Board has heard a lot of good reasons for preserving the land
and buying it for the EELs program, such as connectivity, species diversity, quality of life for
Suzanne Valencia stated she went on the tour to Coastal Jewel; it is a beautiful piece of property, and she did see Scrub Jays on property; and if the success of the Cruikshank Sanctuary is repeated at Coastal Jewel, people will see more and more Scrub Jays to know that he or she is on the right track.
Keith Winsten stated the peoples’ dollars are being well spent; there was a fire that went through the property and he could see the fire ended right at the managed EEL property; management is preventing fire from spreading; and the property under consideration for purchase has already been burned through, and is ready for Scrub Jays.
Bonnie Wilbanks-Free, Town Administrator, Town of
Chairman Nelson inquired what was the actual vote of the SMC related to the issue. Mr. Knight responded he did not have the motion with him, but it was the acknowledgement of the request by the Town to have the easement there, and willingness to negotiate with the Town; the primary issue is how to get around the issue of donating land purchased under the bond funds, which is the dilemma staff has to work through. Chairman Nelson inquired if it is an issue of the technicality of the bonds; with Mr. Knight responding yes, and the way the process established now is that the review and consideration of those things are handled through the SMC, and a recommendation is to the Board on how to handle it; and so there is still the issue of looking at the environmental impact of the Trail, and what those concerns are, and then providing that recommendation to the Board on how to move forward. Chairman Nelson inquired if it was the desire of the SMC to create the trail working through the details. Mr. Knight responded yes, he believes so; it is just issues of process that staff has to go through and staff cannot avoid the process unless it is at the Board’s direction.
Commissioner Fisher inquired if EEL is donating the land or just giving an easement across it; stated he heard Mr. Knight make a statement about how land is donated; and stated he just thought the Town was asking for an easement. Mr. Knight stated if an easement is granted, it would either have to donate or there would have to be some compensation to reimburse the EEL bond funds, because bond funds would be used to make the purchase; and unless the Board chose otherwise, the Board has the ability to donate land for the easement. Commissioner Fisher stated it seems like the Board could grant an easement without having to do a donation; and stated the Board grants easements all the time. Mr. Knight stated that is true, staff could work it that way and actually have the Trail exist on the site and just manage the Trail; it is his understanding the Town also has issues associated with Marie Street, which becomes a different issue because the Town has some improvements that need to be done to Marie Street because it has some commitment to properties to the south of Marie Street as well that the Town is obligated to provide access to, there is that aspect of it as well.
Commissioner Infantini inquired if it could be paid for out of the portion of the $900,000 that is being submitted by the Air Force and say that that portion is paying for the Town’s easement instead of the County’s portion. Mr. Knight stated he does not know the answer to that; the easement the Air Force is receiving is based on a per-acre price established in the appraisal for the easement, for their amount they are getting a certain number of acres, so it would have to be adjusted.
County Attorney Scott Knox stated the issue with the Trail, when looking at the bond documents, is going to come down to whether it is material impairment of the bond covenants; and he sincerely doubts that is going to be the case. Commissioner Fisher stated the Board can grant easement. Mr. Knox advised he believes the Board can, but he will confirm with the bond counsel.
Commissioner Bolin inquired if the donation has to be equal to what the Air Force is paying, or can the Board establish that for the Town of
Doug Sphar stated as a member of the EEL Recreation Educational Advisory Committee (REAC) he is looking forward to working on the Recreation Education Plan after it is purchased.
Vince Lamb stated he has lived in Brevard since 1970 and he has watched many natural areas give way to development; he is a strong advocate of the purchase and management of conservation land; and he is also a strong supporter of the EEL Program. He stated he believes the basic concepts of the EEL program, notably the SMC staffed with volunteer scientists, are outstanding; the management consistently shows good judgment; and the close relationship of the EEL program with the Nature Conservancy benefits the residents of Brevard. He stated Coastal Jewel fits the EEL program purchase criteria perfectly, 188 acres of scrub, pinewood, and wetlands located in Malabar on the Atlantic Coastal Ridge, which are the ancient dunes. He noted in his work, environmental activities, arts, and sports, he travels the County and interacts with many citizens; and from numerous conversations he is convinced that the majority of the people he has encountered strongly support the activities of the EEL program to conserve natural areas. He stated the residents, homeowners, and voters do not want the next wave of development to be allowed to destroy all remaining natural areas; and he asked the Board for its support.
Commissioner Infantini inquired how many acres of land is the Air Force mitigating with this acquisition. A representative from the Air Force replied none; the program that funds this is a Department of Defense program called Readiness and Environmental Protection Initiative; it is mandated by Congress to prevent encroachment around military installations that affects their ability to do their job; and the Air Force’s encroachment is from within, in that it has a very large population of Scrub Jays; and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has the Air Force by Section VII of the Endangered Species Act, that for every acre of scrub lost on the Cape, the Air Force has to compensate four to one on station. He stated as the Air Force develops to support its mission, pretty soon land will not be available; the Air Force only has 15,800 acres on the Cape and it is not all Scrub; so the Air Force is head-long into a point where it is not going to have any land left to mitigate; the thought behind this is that the Air Force will save habitat off base before the bases become the only scrub habitat left; this has been seen in the form of the commercial launch complex that was proposed on Kennedy Space Center; and that it will no longer happen because of potential environmental impacts. He stated this is what the Air Force is trying to avert to support the mission on the
Chairman Nelson stated the Air Force representative stated there is a U.S. Fish and Wildlife service package right now where an entity such as the Air Force can get recovery credit units for doing certain things; he will put in for that to see if the Air Force can get a couple acres; but with regards to Commissioner Bolin, if the Board supports this he is working on another proposal for next year also; and the Air Force will be in line to receive more of this money in the future to help offset these impacts, if the Board concurs.
Commissioner Infantini inquired if it is basically an acre for an acre for every acre the Air Force may disturb on its property, and it needs to offset that with an acre. The Air Force representative responded it is four acres of habitat or scrub that is overgrown; the whole point is to save some scrub throughout the State of
Commissioner Anderson inquired if he was to buy the property as a private individual and decided to develop it, would it be feasible to develop if the scrub jays are pervasive on the property. Mr. Knight replied there is really no way he can answer the question; one thing that the Board has to keep in mind is that appraisers use a comparable sales approach, so they are using similar properties that have potentially scrub habitat as well; and those properties that had been purchased for development reasons, those values were considered as the price this property was considered. He stated the main problem with this is there is no real way to figure out all those costs and reach a conclusion on how much one should adjust; because the only way one can reach that conclusion is to follow the path the developer might follow, which is to go through the process of putting together a development plan, putting together a mitigation plan, going through permitting and all of those costs; and figuring out where the mitigation costs are going to be for setting aside land elsewhere and end up with a figure to make that adjustment with; usually that is done while the property is under contract; and those costs would be excessive for EEL to go through the process, which is the main reason EEL does not go there.
Commissioner Fisher stated it really should not be appraised based on what it could be in the future, as far as what a developer might do with it; it should be appraised as is, what the current zoning is, and what the value is today; he believes the value would be higher if one tried to go in and put in a commercial shopping center, and he does not believe that is the appraisal approach; and he believes the appraiser is saying as is today and this current zoning, this is what the value of the property is. He stated if it has some environmental benefits could it affect how one would develop around it; and he believes one could still develop it but would have some setbacks and different restrictions to deal with.
Chairman Nelson stated he appreciates the Air Force and its participation in the program, as it is a great way to help the County’s dollars go much further in terms of the acquisitions; the appraisal process contemplated those kinds of issues; and the Board is looking at comparing comparable kinds of property that may have those same issues. He stated this is a very desirable piece of property, it matches the appraisals, and he believes the Board needs to move forward.
Commissioner Infantini stated one of the speakers said 70 percent of the people that did vote during the election have charged the Board with the responsibility of being good stewards of the EEL funds; she has seen in the past where she was not comfortable with some of the acquisition costs; and to not factor that in because the appraisal specifically excludes any situation where there could be species that were threatened or endangered, they specifically state that they are not factoring into their appraisal value. She stated another thing to point out is last year this property was assessed by the Brevard County Property Appraiser at roughly $500,000 and it decreased to about $400,000; it dropped by 20 percent in one year; and she does not believe that the purchase price has dropped by 20 percent in the last year. She stated the Board is paying five times more than what it is being assessed at on the tax roll; she questions the value, not the acquisition, so if she votes no it’s for the price, not for the acquisition because it is exactly the type of property that EEL is set out to protect.
Commissioner Anderson inquired when EEL referendums have ended, how will the maintenance will be funded; inquired if it is the General Fund; and stated if that is the case what does staff anticipate the cost for maintaining this particular piece of property. Mr. Knight stated his understanding is that unless there is a smaller referendum done just to cover management, then it would be covered under the general fund; staff anticipated beyond the upfront cost with fencing, the cost would be anywhere from eight and ten thousand annually; that is just staff time, to keep an eye on the site and keep the trails up, and conduct the controlled burns every couple of years, or when needed.
Chairman Nelson advised the process is that the acquisitions are reviewed by the Land Acquisition Review Committee, and their finding was that it did not identify that the appraisers made any errors in the facts or supposed application of County Development Regulations within their reports. He noted members of the Committee are Robin Sobrino, Director, Planning and Development; Ernest Brown, Director, Natural Resources; Scott Ellis, Clerk of Courts; Christine Lepore, Assistant County Attorney; Stockton Whitten, Interim County Manager; and Scott Knox, County Attorney.
Commissioner Infantini stated the EEL budget this year calls for about $3 million in operating expenses, not including land acquisitions; but the millage is only going to bring in $2.1 million; from a maintenance standpoint she is concerned how the County is going to manage the property; the Board is already reaching a $1 million shortfall in the current budget, based on the revenue coming into EEL and the expenditures going out of EEL. She stated the Board is already running with a shortfall on the general fund, and to start looking for more dollars to operate the EEL property, she believes the dollars that are still in the referendum budget should be used for management, which is one of the things it says in the referendum; and this is another reason she believes the Board should not be paying $2 million for the property, but perhaps just buy it for the $900,000 the Air Force is willing to contribute.
Chairman Nelson stated the General Fund will not be necessary until 2024, when the referendum goes away. Commissioner Infantini advised no, there is a shortfall this year; the EEL budget is $3 million; and the Board is only bringing in $2 million in EEL funding on the operating side. Chairman Nelson stated they are carrying forward dollars, it has to balance.
Mr. Lusk advised as done in other places, staff is making up the difference with reserves in order to help the entire budget.
Commissioner Bolin inquired if Commissioner Infantini feels the Board should not purchase this property. Commissioner Infantini replied she feels the Board should not purchase it at that price; and she feels the Board should purchase it because it is an excellent piece of property and everything EEL stands for when it comes to preserving property that is environmentally sensitive.
Motion by Commissioner Fisher, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to adopt Resolution and execute Agreement for Deed of Easement on the Coastal Jewel Property with the United States Air Force (USAF); and authorized the Chairman to sign the Deed of Easement to convey to the USAF on or after closing of the Coastal Jewel Property. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.
OPTION AGREEMENT FOR
PROPERTY THROUGH THE NATURE CONSERVANCY, RE: PROPERTY
LOCATED EAST OF
COAST RAILROAD (FECRR) WITHIN TOWN OF
Motion by Commissioner Bolin, seconded by Commissioner Fisher, to execute Assignment of Option for
RESOLUTIONS AND SUPPLEMENTAL JOINT PARTICIPATION AGREEMENTS WITH STATE OF
CORRIDOR GRANTS FOR SR 520 AND SR A1A FIXED ROUTE BUS SERVICE
Commissioner Infantini inquired of the cost to the County out of the General Fund. James Liesenfelt, Transit Services Department Director, stated to pull in the grant money for Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), the $700,000 does not require any match from the County; he uses the funds toward Route 4 and Route 9, which are the two heaviest and busiest routes; the estimate to operate the routes over a year is about $1.4 million; DOT is picking up about half the cost of operating the routes; and there is not a match to get the dollars in.
Commissioner Infantini inquired if the General Fund is contributing the other half. Mr. Liesenfelt advised it would be General Fund, some FDOT block grant money, fare money, and advertising; and stated it all gets mixed in coming from a variety of sources.
Chairman Nelson stated previously Mr. Liesenfelt received Local Option Gas Tax (LOGT) and the Board took it away from him and made him take General Fund; and noted that is how he got to utilizing the General Fund dollars, which was to offset LOGT so the Board could bond those.
Commissioner Infantini inquired if the two routes produce $270,000 in fare revenue. Mr. Liesenfelt stated yes, that is what he estimates. Commissioner Infantini inquired if it costs the County about $1.4 million to bring in $270,000, at what point should staff look at increasing the fare rate to the cost of a gallon of gas; and she understands it is going to be subsidized, but to what tune. She stated if the County could raise the fares, people are still going to go to work, they are still going to go on with their activities, but the County is subsidizing this really big.
Mr. Liesenfelt stated at the last workshop he was asked to get a listing of all the fares across the State; he has only one or two to get back before a memo is sent to the Board; but if the Board wants to raise the fares, that its decision; and he will take care of everything that is required and bring it back to the Board for a vote.
Chairman Nelson stated he is not interested in raising the rate; for the most part it is a combination of tourists and mostly service workers; and those are the kinds of people who cannot afford a rate increase.
Motion by Commissioner Infantini, seconded by Commissioner Anderson, to adopt Resolutions and execute Supplemental Joint Participation Agreements (JPA) in the amount of $350,000 each for Transit Corridor Grants for SR 520 and SR A1A Fixed Route Bus Service; and authorize the Chairman to sign any follow-up documents, upon Risk Management and
AWARD OF BID #B-2-09-87, RE: ELECTRICAL UPGRADES AT
Commissioner Infantini advised the Long Point Park upgrade is generating a revenue of profit at the end of the year; however, Wickham Park is operating at a $1 million deficit every year; stated she questions the funding, and how many more upgrades should the County be putting into Wickham Park when it is losing so much money year after year when the Board is having a hard time meeting expenses with the referendum monies coming in; and inquired if there is some type of cap, and how much more is going to go into Wickham Park. She stated the Board might be able to consider charging a fee to get in, like Sebastian Park or Long Point Park, which is why it operates at a profit; and if the Board started running Wickham Park like Long Point Park, it would start producing a profit.
Don Lusk, Parks and Recreation Director, stated the County has three campgrounds, and both Manatee Hammock and Long Point are different, as they are not mixed with any other park attributes; and
Commissioner Bolin stated the electrical upgrades would make it more accommodating to the more modern campers. Mr. Lusk stated the improvements will make it easier to take the larger campers with the higher amps; this improvement will help the revenue; and it also sets the Park up for expansion of about 36 additional spaces.
Motion by Commissioner Infantini, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to authorize award of Bid #B-2-09-87, Electrical Upgrades at the
PUBLIC COMMENT, RE: GOLF OPERATIONS
Daniel Koudelka stated he has been a Golf Operations Repair Technician for
Commissioner Infantini advised in looking at the organizational chart she found there is one Operations Manager overseeing three Golf Course Managers; each Golf Course Manager oversees two people, one being a repair tech, and another being an Assistant Manager; the Assistant Manager oversees pro shop attendants; and she questions the organizational structure and why there is one manager overseeing three managers. She stated if the Board is going to allocate the manpower resources it may want to rethink and put staff into the worker bees, instead of the manager bees; and stated perhaps the Operations Manager could be absorbed by the Area Managers. She stated maybe there could be a few less people in management, and more people on as the worker bees keeping the facilities running the way everyone wants because that is service; and she expressed appreciation to Mr. Koudelka for bringing the matter to the Board’s attention, because otherwise, she does not have a venue to discuss the issue.
Stockton Whitten, Interim County Manager, advised the Budget Workshop is the venue to discuss these issues, as the Board allows individuals that are on the layoff list to approach the Board; while he is sympathetic to Mr. Koudelka’s issues, he believes it is unfair for this him to come and present his perspective on maintenance issues and safety issues without benefit of having the Department to provide its perspective; and he believes the best forum for doing that is within the context of the Budget Workshops.
Commissioner Infantini stated there is going to be much to discuss at the Budget Workshops, as there are so many areas to look at; if the Board is not willing to provide direction to Mr. Whitten then he will operate as best he sees; the Commissioners are the elected officials and the Board needs to make a stand on where it believes there should be personnel.
Commissioner Fisher stated he feels for all of the 200 employees that the Board is talking about laying off, because if each of them had a chance to come and speak they would tell their story, and how they feel their position is valuable. He stated the Board sent a clear message a couple of weeks ago that those stories did not matter because the Board did not want to wait until they go through whole Budget Workshop, and the Board did not want get the other 17 departments to get their side of the story out; and the Board set a millage rate that is not going to allow Mr. Koudelka or the other 200 employees to have a job. He stated he does not believe his role as a Commissioner is dealing with the daily operation of departments; he believes that is the
Commissioner Infantini stated she believes the County can keep the same level of service if it has a slightly reduced staff of those that are out there providing the service; and realize many people can operate with very little supervision; she believes the County does not need that many managers. She stated she will be at the Budget Workshop with all of the organizational charts and how many people are at the different levels.
PUBLIC COMMENT, RE: CODE ENFORCEMENT
Lorrine Kadlec handed distributed pictures of her property to the Board and explained the location of her property. She stated her first Code Enforcement violation was November 2003; stated Code Enforcement told her to put up a privacy fence and everything would be fine; she did that and was left alone for a couple of years; but two years later Code Enforcement left a note on the gate asking her to clean out the whole property. She stated she was informed by Code Enforcement informed that it was not considered closed in; she had to move absolutely everything off her property; and it took six months of hard work, a storage shed, and attorney’s fees, which all added up to $10,000. She stated this year again there was a note on her gate, but this time she put plywood in the carport, behind the lattice work all on the side, closed in the front, put a door, and two barn doors in the back; and it is now completely closed in. She stated she went to a meeting in Commissioner Fisher’s office, and he said she is making progress, but is not in compliance yet; the property is zoned BU-1, which is commercial; it has been commercial for 100 years; and it is a historical hotel on SR 46. She stated this is her land, it does not belong to
Jerry Brinegar stated Code Enforcement is a serious matter; he read from the Bible Proverbs 11:12, 11:9, and 14:21. He noted in a meeting with Commissioner Anderson, Ernie Brown, Natural Resources Director, stated the neighbor snitch problem is a direct result of the degradation of society; neighbors do not talk to one another anymore; and the snitch problem is the problem. He stated Amanda Elmore, Supervisor of Environmental Permitting, stated almost all of the neighbor snitch reports are personal vendettas; and the conclusion is Code Enforcement is set up to encourage people to sin by snitching on their neighbor and helping to carry out personal vendettas.
Mr. Whitten stated the Board will approve, or consider, the approval of a Code Enforcement Workshop on October 15, 2009; and he assumes the members of the public will have an opportunity to provide specifics of the shameful and deceitful things that are being alleged.
Chairman Nelson stated there are two sides to every story; and he does not believe staff is out there doing anything other than professionally enforcing the Codes the
PUBLIC HEARING, RE: RESOLUTION VACATING
ESTATES, UNIT 5 –HERRILL HERRING & VERNON BECKER__________________
Chairman Nelson called for the public hearing to consider a resolution vacating
John Denninghoff, Public Works Director, stated the Board continued the item in order to allow the petitioners to facilitate a meeting with members of the neighborhood to see if there were any issues that might be resolvable. He stated the meeting was held in Commissioner Fisher’s office; notices were sent to everyone on the street, and they were invited to attend; and those who were in attendance were in favor of the petition. He stated it was agreed that all parties would support the vacating request subject to the condition of the zoning code, which still applied to the new property as a result of the vacating, which would prohibit parking commercial vehicles in the front yard, and payment of the cost to make modifications to the road system in that area; and staff has received a commitment from the petitioners on the issue to pay the cost. He stated there are three options; one is to continue the item again; the second option would be to deny; and the third option would be to approve, subject to the conditions spelled out in the requested action.
Chairman Nelson inquired if the people who were in attendance at the meeting were in agreement; stated there are people who sent letters previously who did not attend; and staff does know how they may feel on this issue. Mr. Denninghoff responded staff has not received any additional information from the neighbors; there was a citizen that appeared at the first public hearing on the matter; and her concerns were associated with the parking and commercial vehicles, and whether it be kept up or not. He stated staff has addressed the commercial vehicle question; and it would become subject to Code Enforcement, just like any other piece of property would as to whether it would be kept up or not.
J.R. Herring stated at the last hearing one of the neighbors spoke against the request; and stated he wants to clarify the things said about him his property. He stated he bought the house from his parents; he is looking to improve his property; and he has no intent to hurt anyone’s property values. Commissioner Infantini inquired why Mr. Herring needs the property vacated in order to improve. Mr. Herring stated people have been parking there, and he would like to have more yard area for his children to play.
Commissioner Fisher stated he met with Mr. Becker and Mr. Herring, and part of the confusion was his father parked some commercial vehicles there and it concerned the neighbors; but since Mr. Herring has taken over it does not happen. He stated his concern is Code states one cannot park commercial vehicles, but he would like to make sure it is part of the record with the vacating; that if the Board decides to vacate it there will not be any commercial vehicles and trailers on the property; and that was a concern of some of the neighbors; but Mr. Herring and Mr. Becker have agreed to make sure it would not happen.
There being no further comments or objections, motion was made by Commissioner Fisher, seconded by Commissioner Anderson, to adopt Resolution vacating Debbie Lane in Imperial Estates, Unit 5 in Section 27, Township 22 South, Range 35 East, with the conditions that the right-of-way will not be used for parking of commercial vehicles, equipment, etc. on the property; and directed that recordation of the vacating Resolution not occur until the commitment letters have been executed and total payment of the $2,638,23 has been received for signage and construction of a valley gutter. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.
PUBLIC HEARING, RE: RESOLUTION VACATING PORTION OF
PHILLIPS & SPACE COAST PETRO DISTRIBUTOR, INC.______________________
Chairman Nelson called for the public hearing to consider a resolution vacating a portion of
John Denninghoff, Public Works Director, stated the petitioner has requested a continuance to the September 15, 2009 Regular Board Meeting.
Sue Mathison stated she bought a lot that backs up to the roadway being discussed; before buying it she did her homework on what is in the area, and what is going to be in the area in the future; and it was trees, with herons, osprey and occasional alligators sounds. She stated when she bought the lot she was assured by the County if it was developed it will be a roadway; whatever is built back there will be 50 feet back from her back fence; and stated she was told it was an area of forestry.
Julian Mathison stated Roosevelt Avenue will have to be built sooner or later, because there are lots back there; the only way to have access is through a lot coming from Banana River Drive; the best place to put an intersection is at the north end, and that means vacating the property; and the County would be shutting off the best opportunity for an exit for the lots. He stated based on that, he believes it is not a good idea to close off the opportunity to the north end of
Roberto Plasencia stated he bought his home with the intention that his kids could look back one day and know that he provided for them; when he bought his home he was told the area was all wildlife; but after he searched the records, he found that the street runs directly behind his fence; but he decided to buy it anyway because he figured he would have a 50-foot buffer. He stated he cannot afford to sell his house and buy somewhere else; and he is stuck with the decisions of the Board.
Chairman Nelson stated during a staff briefing, some of the same questions were asked; staff is going to do some additional research about what the impact would be if the property were vacated; one question was who will end up with the right-of-way; the item certainly needs additional discussion, including discussion with the community; and inquired if there are going to be any opportunities for the neighbors to talk about what is going to happen to the property in order to get a better understanding of the potential of what could happen.
Mel Scott, Assistant County Manager, advised staff can prepare a memo discussing the implications of having the building envelope of the business enlarged via this vacation, and then the neighbors and the Board can understand how the setbacks will change, and the improvements that could, and could not, be made within their enlarged back yard. Chairman Nelson stated he would like staff to do that; and he will set up a meeting in his office to talk with the applicant as well as the neighbors.
There being no further comments or objections, motion was made by Commissioner Anderson, seconded by Commissioner Fisher, to continue the public hearing to consider resolution vacating a portion of London Boulevard fka Roosevelt Avenue in Map of Kelly Park, to the September 15, 2009 Board meeting. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.
PUBLIC HEARING, RE: ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTION 62-2118 OF
ZONING REGULATIONS GOVERNING SETBACKS FOR DOCKS ON MANMADE
CANALS______________________________________________________________
Chairman Nelson called for the public hearing to consider an ordinance amending Section 62-2118 of Zoning Regulation governing setbacks for docks on manmade canals.
There being no objections heard, motion was made by Commissioner Infantini, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to adopt Ordinance amending Chapter 62, “Land Development Regulations”, Code of Ordinances of Brevard County, Florida; amending Article VI, Division 6, Subdivision I, Section 62-2118 (D) (2) titled “Residential Boat Docks and Piers” for the purpose of creating language to support residential dock development spanning shared canal frontage; providing for conflicting provisions; providing for severability; providing for area encompassed; providing for an effective date; and providing for inclusion in the Code of Ordinances of Brevard County, Florida. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.
PUBLIC HEARING, RE: RESOLUTIONS ADOPTING SOLID WASTE SPECIAL
ASSESSMENT RATES, FEES AND CHARGES ($25,338,042) AND
RATIFICATION, CONFIRMATION AND CERTIFICATION OF SOLID WASTE
SPECIAL ASSESSMENT ROLLS ($34,759,434)_______________________________
Chairman Nelson called for the public hearing to consider resolutions adopting Solid Waste Special Assessment Rates, Fees and Charges ($25,338,042) and Ratification, Confirmation and Certification of Solid Waste Special Assessment Rolls ($34,759,434.)
Commissioner Infantini inquired if residents pay both fees. Euri Rodriguez, Solid Waste Management Director, stated if someone has a business and a house combined into one piece of property, they can end up paying a portion of each fee. He advised there are no rate increases in the proposed rate resolution.
There being no further comments or objections, motion was made by Commissioner Infantini, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to adopt the Annual Solid Waste Disposal, Special Assessment Rate Resolution; Solid Waste Impact Fee Rate Resolution; Schedule of Special Rates and Gate Charges; Special Rates and Charges for Improved Non-Residential Property and Compensation Rates to be paid the Collector; and other Resolutions Ratifying, Confirming, and Certifying the Annual Disposal, Collection, and Recycling Special Assessment Rolls. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.
PUBLIC HEARING, RE: ORDINANCE RESCINDING SELECT COMPANIES
TAX ABATEMENTS_____________________________________________________
Chairman Nelson called for the public hearing to consider an ordinance rescinding select companies’ tax abatements.
There being no objections heard, motion was made by Commissioner Infantini, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to adopt Ordinance repealing Ordinances granting certain ad valorem tax exemptions for failure to continue to meet the criteria for such exemptions; repealing Ordinance 05-28, relating to the Economic Development Ad Valorem Exemption granted Space Coast Truss, Inc., North Drive, Melbourne, Florida; repealing Ordinance 06-48 relating to the Economic Development Ad Valorem Exemption granted The Software Specialist, 2500 Port Malabar Blvd., Palm Bay, Florida; repealing Ordinance 06-50 relating to the Economic Development Ad Valorem Exemption granted IAP Worldwide Services, Inc., 7315 North Atlantic Avenue, Cape Canaveral, Florida; repealing Ordinance 07-01 relating to the Economic Development Ad Valorem Tax Exemption granted Allied Door & Hardware, Inc., 6975 TICO Road, Titusville, Florida; repealing Ordinance 07-07 relating to the Economic Development Ad Valorem Tax Exemption granted Southco Marine, 501 Haverty Court, Suite Ellis:, Rockledge, Florida; repealing Ordinance 07-47 relating to the Economic Development Ad Valorem Exemption granted Cabinet Designs, 596 International Place, Rockledge, Florida; repealing Ordinance 07-48 relating to the Economic Development Ad Valorem Tax Exemption granted Rockwell Collins, Inc., 795 West Nasa Blvd., Melbourne, Florida; repealing Ordinance 07-56 relating to the Economic Development Ad Valorem Exemption granted LRM Industries, LLC, 135 Gus Hipp Blvd., Rockledge, Florida; and providing an effective date. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.
APPROVAL OF SELECTION COMMITTEE’S RECOMMENDATION OF
METRIC ENGINEERING AND AUTHORIZE CHAIRMAN TO EXECUTE FINAL
NEGOTIATED AGREEMENT, RE: DISASTER DEBRIS REMOVAL
MANAGEMENT SERVICES, PROPOSAL #P-5-09-13_______________________
Motion by Commissioner Fisher, seconded by Commissioner Anderson, to accept the Selection Committee’s recommendation of Metric Engineering; award and execute an Agreement negotiated with Metric Engineering for Disaster Debris Removal Management Services; and authorized the Chairman to execute the final negotiated Agreement with Metric Engineering. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.
WAIVE PHASE I OF ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENTS AND EXECUTE CONTRACT FOR
______________________________________
Commissioner Infantini inquired why the Board is waiving the site assessment; and inquired if it is a Board Policy that it has a site assessment.
John Denninghoff, Public Works Director, advised in the case of strip acquisitions along an existing road right-of-way, the Policy allows for the Board to not have to get a Phase I Environmental Assessment. He stated staff does a cursory review to see if there are any outstanding reasons staff believes there would be contamination on the site that would indicate an environmental assessment should be done; and in that event, staff would do it anyway. He stated the Policy allows the County to do that from a strict Policy perspective; the County Attorney’s Office is of the opinion that staff ask the Board to waive that requirement; and it is a matter of disclosure to the Board that it is being done.
Motion by Commissioner Bolin, seconded by Commissioner Anderson, to waive the Phase I Environmental Assessments and execute Contract for
APPROVAL, RE: REQUIRED CERTIFICATION FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT
VERIFICATION TO APPROVE POTENTIAL TAX CREDIT PROJECTS_____________
Motion by Commissioner Fisher, seconded Commissioner Anderson, to authorize the Chairman to sign local government verification forms for future tax credit projects proposed for Brevard County that are consistent with the Board-approved Brevard County HOME Consolidated Plan and the State Housing Initiative Partnership (SHIP) Local Housing Assistance Plan (LHAP). Motion carried and ordered unanimously.
APPROVAL,RE: CONTINUING SERVICES CONTRACTS FOR WEATHERIZATION
ASSISTANCE PROGRAM________________________________________________
Motion by Commissioner Fisher, seconded Commissioner Bolin, to approve and authorize the Chairman to execute Continuing Services Contracts for the Weatherization Assistance Program, contingent upon
CONTRACT WITH STATE OF
RE: COMMUNITY SERVICES BLOCK GRANT (CSBG) AMERICAN
RECOVERY & REINVESTMENT ACT (ARRA) PROGRAM______________________
Motion by Commissioner Fisher, seconded by Commissioner Anderson, to execute Agreement with the State of Florida, Department of Community Affairs, in the amount of $399,680 for Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Program funds; authorize the approval of one full-time and one part-time position; and authorize the Chairman to execute future modifications and amendments, contingent upon the approval of the County Attorney and Risk Management. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.
APPROVE EEL PROGRAM SELECTION AND MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE’S
RECOMMENDATION, RE: PROPOSED WINDOVER ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE
MANAGEMENT________________________________________________________
Mike Knight, EEL Program Manager, advised as the Board is aware, the historical significance of the property is a bog burial site that was discovered in 1982; there are approximately 168 bodies of skeletal l remains that were pulled out; the remains are most well-know intact brain material that was found and able to be studied; it is estimated there are approximately 150 bodies that were not disturbed; and the bodies that were removed were placed back in the site. He stated in 1982, the property was donated to the Preservation Education Trust, which is a non-profit organization, to either pursue for preservation, or sell the property at some point in the future, although that was not the intent of the owner. He noted the Preservation Education Trust is pursuing an acquisition of the property by the State to put the property in protection in perpetuity; in order for the State to consider that, it has to have a manager designated; and the State has touched base with the EEL Program, and the Selection and Management Committee agrees that taking over management through its staff at Enchanted Forrest would be easy to accomplish. He stated in that process, staff put together a Concept Management Plan that addressed a higher level of public use than what it currently proposed; as the result of citizen feedback from the nearby residents, and a public meeting held in Titusville for the Windover residents, there is some extreme concern about having a level of public use that is unsupervised on the site; staff’s recommendation is that if the Board wishes for EEL to take over management, that it plan for just supervised tours, much like what happens there now, although there would be more control because there would be staff available to monitor the issues; and any tours would be organized through the Enchanted Forrest. He stated the cost is anticipated to be approximately $5,000 per year for staff to keep an eye on the site; if a bird-watching platform is not pursued, then the cost will go down approximately $3,000; and based on the feedback received, staff thought very limited use of the site would be the best approach, as it would not cause as much traffic issues and nuisance problems for the neighborhood.
Chairman Nelson stated it is his understanding that the owners of the property, which is the Preservation Education Trust, would use the dollars to put into another site, which is actually a County site that is leased, and it is the Williams House in Rockledge. Mr. Knight stated that is correct.
Danny Sharp stated he is the Vice President of the Windover Farms Community Association; the Association unequivocally opposes the County, or the State, managing the subject property; and the Association is requesting the Board deny the request for several reasons. He stated the site has done well by itself for 7,000 years, and it does not need any management; the site is already protected by State Statutes and Federal Statutes having to do with encroachment upon Indian Burial Grounds; the lots around the property are residential lots; and he does not believe anyone can develop those lots because of the possibility of finding any artifacts, which is why Jim Swan donated the lots to begin with. He stated any elevated use of the property will cause traffic problems in Windover Farms, as there is only one road that goes through the subdivision; it is in a curvy area that has already had a number of accidents; the residents do not want people parking on the street, nor do they want a parking lot put in; and the residents would like the property left alone. He stated the subject lots are deed restricted; the Community Association has every intention of enforcing those restrictions; no matter who owns the property, it is for single-family dwellings; and stated it is a waste of County and State money to purchase the property. He noted if the State wants the property, the proper channel is to condemn the property and then convert it to State use.
Commissioner Fisher inquired how many residents attended the Homeowners Association meeting when Mr. Knight and his staff were there to answer questions. Mr. Sharp responded he does not know, as he was in
Jack Lembeck stated he is a member of the Historical Commission; the importance of the site is obvious; everybody at the Homeowners Association meeting agreed to that; and he heard no one at that meeting opposed to the idea of preservation of that property. He stated most people are concerned about the property not being developed; and stated Mr. Knight’s presentation soothed the feelings of some people and their fears about the property being over-developed. He noted he lived on Sanibel Island for a long time; he understands the neighborhood’s feelings about encroachment of property and giving it to a non-profit organization, which then turns around and sells it; stated that is what happened to him on Sanibel Island; but in this case, the property is probably developable and can be sold privately; the profits from the sale are meant to go to the Williams House; and the property is part of the Florida Forever Program. He stated archeologically speaking, the Windover site is the most important site in the world, because what has been found is some of the earliest remains of people living in the area; the site contains approximately 200 bodies, with brain matter intact, that are preserved; and everyone knows it needs to be preserved, but the discussion is about how to preserve it. He stated the Florida Forever Program is the best program to preserve it; stated Florida Forever Program has a stipulation that it cannot preserve a property without it being managed; and the EEL Program is the closest program to the Florida Forever Program that can manage it in a manner that will hold it in perpetuity without any destruction or over-development. He stated out of respect, he has never visited the site, as it is a graveyard; but it needs to be preserved.
Sandra Clinger stated her parents were one of the first five homeowners in Windover Farms; her family was there when the dig on the subject property was underway; she is very familiar with the site; and she does not represent the Homeowners Association, but she is a long time Windover resident who attended the meeting. She noted her concerns are not with EEL management of the property, per se, as an entity; issues have been brought up such as, if the State purchases the land, it can eliminate the Subdivision’s deed restrictions and covenants, which is a huge concern to the residents; and she would not be opposed to EEL managing the property if the residents were to get commitments from the County. She stated the commitments include that any management done on the property would be done consistent with the deed restrictions and covenants of the long-established existing community, and that the EEL Program would manage the site consistent with the lowest management category; and it is her opinion that the site should not be open to the public, as it is a graveyard. She stated any public access should be for educational scientific purposes on a small scale, only through a limited number of permits issued through EEL, only allow access with an EEL staff member present at all times during a site visit to ensure no archaeological artifacts are impacted, and all site visitors and their vehicles should be kept off of surrounding neighbors’ properties, and no adjacent homeowners should be impacted in any way. She stated the homeowners would like to see the site minimally managed, undeveloped, and preserved as archaeological integrity; there are many more interesting sites that have larger trails and are staffed; if EEL does manage the site, she would like to see the site boundary marked in a manner that is aesthetically pleasing and unobtrusive, which would be consistent with the deed restrictions and covenants; and the physical location of the site should not be advertised. She stated she would like to address what she feels like is representation of history being changed to suit present-day conditions; there has never been anything written about the donation of the property that indicates that it was ever the intent of the original developer for the property to be sold; but quite the contrary, every article written says the bog site and four surrounding lots were to be donated and preserved in perpetuity; and it bothers her that the County is spending land acquisition funds for property that she thought was already protected. She inquired who is the author of the Windover Preserve Management Prospectus, which is in the Board’s package. Mr. Knight replied the State provided staff with that document; staff added some history and information about the property itself; and it was co-authored, but largely driven by the State. Ms. Clinger stated she spoke to Paula Allen on Friday, who said she submitted a one-page document and had no idea about what Ms. Clinger was speaking about.
Commissioner Fisher inquired if there was concern at the Homeowners Association meeting about if there was a management plan, that Mr. Knight and his staff would meet with the Homeowners Association. Ms. Clinger stated yes, there is concern that the homeowners should be involved; clearly, the HOA feels like the lots are platted residential; the bog itself is protected under the Unmarked Graves Law; but the homeowners would certainly expect to be included in any future discussions about what could happen on that site.
Chairman Nelson stated all the things Ms. Clinger is afraid would happen, could happen if the County does nothing; and if the County does nothing, then the organization Ms. Clinger is frustrated with could actually allow those things to happen. Ms. Clinger stated she understands that, and as distasteful as it is to her that donated land is now being offered for sale, she took the position that she would go with that as long as the residents are given some sort of protection that the deed restrictions and covenants are not able to be waived by the State or County. Chairman Nelson stated the list Ms. Clinger gave the Board of the commitments the residents are requesting is what he already understood to be the direction of the Management Plan; and the fallback is that now the residents have the ability to come to the Board and say it is out of line, versus a private body that does not care what the residents want; but there is a built-in commitment from the Board. He stated the issue of selling it aside, there is always a possibility of the organization folding, and that would create a bigger problem. Chairman Nelson stated it is a world class site, and there needs to be a world class solution that everyone can agree on.
Commissioner Infantini stated she questions the wisdom of moving forward to manage land that is already protected by the State; the Board already has a budget shortfall; and she cannot endorse going forward to take over more responsibility. She stated the site is already being protected and the homeowners do not want additional traffic; she does not know what kind of guarantees the Board can provide if EEL purchases the property because under the criteria, the Board is supposed to allow a certain amount of access; and inquired if that is correct. Mr. Knight replied yes, that is correct, and the State requires it too; staff has talked to the State and everyone agrees that very limited use can be provided, it would not be open for unsupervised use; and it would only be open through a scheduled tour process in which someone would have to go through the Enchanted Forrest or thorough the Brevard Museum. He noted the reason the site is a Category Two is because it is a product of having to go back through and the Selection and Management Committee because the Category Two is established in this interim proposal that staff put forward; staff fully intends to change that because with it being supervised use, that is the only category appropriate for it; the management plan would have to go through the process of the Homeowners Association reviewing it and having input, along with being approved by the Board; and so there would be an extensive process before anything could be implemented.
Chairman Nelson noted earlier in the meeting, the Board agreed to keep a park facility that it originally decided to sell, so he does not think it has reached a stage where for $3,000, it cannot do anything right by a particular site. He stated he is supportive of the acquisition, particularly with the kinds of conditions that Ms. Clinger pointed out that would be included in the management plan; to not protect the site by a public agency is a mistake because of the ramifications as to what could happen to it; and he does not want to lose that ability to have that control lost because the community has a much better opportunity to convince the Board on how to manage it than they would to be with a private organization that may see it as a way of gaining prestige through visitor participation.
Commissioner Fisher stated at one time there were some issues with parking added to the site; and inquired if those issues have gone away. Mr. Knight replied there was a concern; the original proposal included a small parking area; staff still believes there would have to be some sort of small parking for tours to get off of the street, and for few cars; it would be staff’s plan to gate it so that it would not be available except during tour times. He stated a big concern for the neighborhood is the site being a nuisance site for parties and hangouts; he understands that and does not want to create that problem; and the alternative is parking on the right-of-way, which is a bad spot because it is a blind corner. Commissioner Fisher stated people could park on the right-of-way now; and stated he does not know how many people visit the site at all. Mr. Knight stated some people do park on the right-of-way, but it is not a lot. Commissioner Fisher stated he is okay with the purchase; and inquired if it is a done deal if the State has not agreed to purchase it. Mr. Knight advised if the County is agreeable to being the manager, then tomorrow it will go before the Governor and cabinet; it is his understanding some emergency archaeological monies are being requested to be used from the Division of Historical Resources; and if the Governor approves that, then DEP will go through the appraisal process in negotiating out the purchase of the property.
Commissioner Infantini stated the State is already in a tough budget situation; the last thing she wants to do is have them tapping into emergency resources when heading into hurricane season. Commissioner Nelson noted they are different funding sources. He stated if Commissioner Fisher wants to make a motion authorizing the County to commit to the management, and take it before the Selection and Management Committee, and get the community involved, he would second it.
Motion by Commissioner Fisher, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to approve the EEL Program Selection and Management Committee’s (SMC) recommendation that the EEL Program be designated as the managing entity for the Windover Archaeological Site (Windover) property in Titusville, if the State’s Florida Forever Program (State) can acquire the site; approve including Sandra Clinger’s list of proposed management conditions; and direct EEL Program staff to meet with the Homeowners Association on a management plan that can be worked out. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.
Board recessed at 1:08 p.m. and reconvened at 1:20 p.m.
APPROVAL, RE: URBAN
Motion by Commissioner Fisher, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, approve the application for Urban County re-qualification with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to receive Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME funds; authorized the continuance of Cooperative Agreements with the cities/towns for fiscal years 2010, 2011 and 2012; and authorize the County Attorney to sign the attached mandatory letter for submittal to HUD. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.
SECOND AMENDMENT TO LEASE AGREEMENT WITH CITY OF
Rocky Randels, Mayor, City of Cape Canaveral, stated the City is asking for permission to temporarily use the meeting room of the City Library when the library is closed in the evening; and stated the reason for the request is that he wishes to turn over the existing council chambers to the Sheriff’s Department. He stated the City has come up with an agreement that was put together by Commissioner Nelson and Cathy Schweinsberg and he believe it is acceptable to all.
Chairman Nelson stated the City of
Commissioner Infantini stated she appreciates Mr. Randels’ wise judgment with not going forward and building something at this time; she believes it would not be prudent of Brevard County judiciary of operating the library and the funding being what it is, to be reimbursed for the County’s cost of occupancy.
Mr. Randals stated the City of
Commissioner Infantini inquired if the County pays lease costs to City of
Chairman Nelson stated the City of
Motion by Commissioner Nelson, seconded by Commissioner Fisher, to approve Second Amendment to Lease Agreement with City of
AGREEMENT WITH COASTAL HEALTH SYSTEMS OF BREVARD, INC., RE: INTER- FACILITY AND MARCHMAN/BAKER TRANSPORT SERVICES_______________
Motion by Commissioner Fisher, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to execute Agreement with Coastal Health Systems of Brevard, Inc. (CHSB) for non-emergency inter-facility and Marchman/Baker transport services. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.
AWARD OF PROPOSAL #P-4-09-17,
James Liesenfelt, Transit Services Director stated the County contracts maintenance to a private contractor; it has been done since 1988; under Federal rules it has to go back out to bid every five years; and staff went through the process for request for proposal. He stated there are two different vendors, First Vehicles Services and Ryder Transportation Rental, Inc., who have both bid on the contract.
Chairman Nelson stated there is a protest on this, and the recommendation is for the second lowest bidder; but there was a question about the bid itself.
Steve Stultz, Central Services Director, stated the selection committee scored and ranked the two proposals based upon reliability of services, which was 20 percent of the score; fees were 35 percent; financial capacity and experience was 15 percent; qualifications of the mechanics and staff was 15 percent; record keeping was 5 percent; and client satisfaction was 10 percent. He stated the committee considered the criteria and selected best over all; First Vehicle Services was No. 1, and Ryder Transportation Rental No. 2; stated Ryder filed protest within the established timeframe for the receipt of protest, claiming five individual issues; the first issue being that statements made by members of the selection committee, during the selection committee process, were detrimental related to their service over the past year as the incumbent contractor affected the scoring of other committee members. He stated Ryder contends that its proposed rate is substantially lower than its competitor’s and would save approximately $250,000 per year; Ryder’s third issue is that its proposal includes a higher number of staff assigned to the contract than its competitor’s proposal; issue four for Ryder has the means to maintain a supply of fuel in times of crisis; and Ryder’s fifth issue is that it has provided excellent year-to-date preventative maintenance. He stated the protest committee met and heard the issues of the protest, and comments from representatives from both of the proposals; the protest committee elected to send issues one and two back to the selection committee for reconsideration; the discrepancies from some of the selection committee members on Ryder’s past performance, and also the difference in the cost proposals. He stated the protest committee determined that issues three, four and five had no further consideration; number three, which related to the difference in staffing, Ryder proposed additional numbers for mechanics, however their mechanics were not indicated as having professional certification; First Vehicle Services are certified that they are proposing, and there was a consideration that the number of mechanics may not necessarily have an impact upon the actual service due to the difference in the training and certification. He stated issue four related to the provision of the fuel; the protest committee determined that both of the proposers would have the ability to provide fuel through their sources during any time of emergency situations; issue five really related back to issue one, and that was the concern over past performance, or performance levels. He stated the selection committee met again on July 31st, reheard comments from both of the proposers, and rescored; their determination did not change their rankings; at this point staff is presenting to the Board for consideration three options, one being to accept the selection committee’s original recommendation and proceed with award; option two would be at the Board’s discretion to award to Ryder as a lower cost proposal; and option three would be to reject all proposals and go back for re-solicitation.
Ken Adams, representing Ryder Transportation, stated they have been a
Aubray Felton, representing First Vehicle Services stated they are a global company, roughly $11 billion in size; they are the largest transportation services provider in the United States; First Vehicle Services owns 60,000 school buses; they operate over 7,000 transit buses; it owns Greyhound; it is the largest bus service of school children in the United States; and they are a very large organization. He stated in the State of
Commissioner Bolin inquired how to address the new amounts that the Board has heard. Mr. Liesenfelt stated Mr. Adams mentioned that two outside gentlemen are not familiar with operations on the committee; it was Tom Hare, Fire Rescue Fleet Services Manager; it is the first time he has been on the committee; and Chuck Stevenson is the Assistant School Bus Transportation Director for the County, and he has been on the committee for a number of years, so they are familiar with what staff does. He stated the RFP asked the vendors to supply staff with a fixed charge, which is paid every month no matter how many buses are running, rather than a mileage charge per vehicle; the older vehicles tend to have a high cost; then there is over $750 in repairs, those are designed so that staff can help control a little bit of the cost; the numbers the vendors are talking about staff put together last year, and spent approximately $463,000 on parts, things that are over $750; and that $750 can be accident repairs, it could be stuff that staff asked for; and as an example, there are some buses that have air conditioners that are not doing very well, so staff is putting on heavier tinting, replacing drivers’ seats, and things like that.
He stated there are a number of repairs above and beyond the normal routine maintenance; there are $463,000 in parts and about 2,200 hours in labor hours; then staff figures they use about 400,000 gallon of fuel, so staff took the vendors’ numbers in the RFP and put them together and that is how staff came up with the cost structure. He stated if it is a five year contract, with escalation staff has Ryder at about $13.8 million and First Vehicle at $15.1 million; and he cannot see how he can get the First Vehicle cost down to equal to Ryder’s bid.
Commissioner Bolin stated it sounds like Mr. Liesenfelt has gone into a lot of research so this is not just a figure pulled out of the air; at this point he is still estimating $160,000. Mr. Liesenfelt responded yes, he is confident of his cost numbers.
Commissioner Fisher inquired if Mr. Liesenfelt would recommend Ryder, and if staff is saying by going with Ryder the County would have a savings. Mr. Liesenfelt stated by comparing the two RFP’s, Ryder is $160,000 to $250,000 cheaper.
Commissioner Infantini stated it was not just about price; the evaluation was based on not just dollars, it was based on just dollars the County would have only had an evaluation based on dollars; the evaluation took place on the weight of everything. She stated if staff is going to turn it down to dollars that is what staff should have told the vendors just to prepare; the evaluation was based on everything, and based on everyone’s appraisal the Board should go with First Vehicle.
Mr. Liesenfelt stated that is the recommendation of the entire selection committee, it was voted twice, three to two to recommend First Vehicle. Commissioner Infantini stated First Vehicle won the bid twice; and it would seem prudent of the Board to go with First Vehicle, or else why have people evaluated.
Commissioner Bolin stated to be a good steward of the money the Board should go with Ryder.
Commissioner Fisher stated his concern is it seems like the scope of work is not real clear, because the Board seems to be getting different numbers; one company says they do this, and the other company does not; and inquired if that the case on this. Mr. Liesenfelt replied he does not believe so; he has been involved in this five times with the RFP’s, it has been structured similarly, there is always a little bit of arguments what gets covered in the $750.00 cost; but staff understood it and he believes both vendors understood it. Commissioner Fisher inquired if the RFP stated what gets covered in the $750 cost. Mr. Liesenfelt responded affirmatively.
Mr. Stultz stated yes, staff took a longer time developing the scope of services on this particular RFP; he believes there is on the cost proposals as they were presented, there are areas of subjectivity that have to be looked at because of the way they were presented; but as far as the scope of services and the way the RFP is presented to the vendor community, he believes it is a very good package.
Commissioner Anderson inquired about the issue with the warranty on work and the differences between the two bids. Mr. Liesenfelt responded he does not know how huge of an issue it is; staff went back and has had two cases this year where the County has been billed back for rework; those are the only two instances out of four or five sheets of excel line items of repairs they do. He stated different vendors will have different rework goals for what percentage it has on rework; if the Board wants to look at an impact for any rework, it is buses on the street; the County is federally mandated that it is not supposed to have a spare ratio of more than 20 percent; if the County is running eight buses it can only have two in the garage at any one time, so that is where the rework hits the County, not so much on the cost, because if someone does not fix it right he is not going pay it.
Commissioner Fisher stated from a personal standpoint he believes it is best value, he does not believe it is always dollars or contract price; what is the best value for what the County is going to get service wise, and one of the questions he has, the value has been determined very clearly; and then staff could accept the bids a lot easier; he is still confused on whether that has happened here.
Frank Abbate, Human Resources Director, stated he can address one issue because he was on the Protest Committee; one of the points he specifically asked was what was the level of service that the incumbent Ryder was now providing since the initiation of the RFP and the prior issues, and it came back that the quality of service; service was at a much higher level, and during the protest committee they asked both vendors whether or not with the three year contract, with a two year renewal option, whether or not they would be agreeable to having in the contract a 30-day without cause clause that would allow staff to go out if their satisfaction level of quality was not there; and they both agreed to do that.
Chairman Nelson stated he talked with staff about doing a more comprehensive job of documenting any performance issues. Mr. Liesenfelt stated the operation’s staff has a meeting once a month, and the maintenance contractor is the first item on the agenda, and the Ryder staff is in there; and whoever gets the maintenance contract will be in the middle of it. He stated he is looking at part of the contract because he wants the maintenance provider to sit down with the bus driver individually without the supervisors to go over some of their concerns. Chairman Nelson stated what he is referring to is moving it from a discussion at a meeting to a documented problem on a piece of equipment by equipment bases; something frustrated someone in this process, but the Board does not have a trail to find out exactly what caused that. Mr. Liesenfelt stated staff has maintenance records on any vehicles that show what the repairs are, and roll call records.
Commissioner
Chairman Nelson inquired in the past was there an ordinance that allowed a process that where the Board had a circumstance, he or she could not work with both vendors to clean up the document where there may be conflicts between the documents as they exist right now, and ask for a best and final offer.
Scott Knox,
Chairman Nelson stated he would like the Board to consider an ordinance that allows the Board to sit down, clean up any questions causing problems, and get a final and best so the people who went through the process are still in the process.
Mr. Stultz stated the online enrollment RFP had a provision that allowed the County to actually come back and call for best and final; if is was advantageous, this particular RFP did not include that provision.
Motion by Commissioner Fisher, seconded by Commissioner Anderson, to approve Option 3, to reject all proposals for Proposal #P-4-09-17, Space Coast Area Transit Vehicle Fleet Maintenance and Repair Management Services, and re-solicit a Request for Proposal; extended Contract with Ryder Truck Rental, Inc. d.b.a. Ryder Transportation Services, Inc. for 150 days; and direct staff to bring a Request for Proposal recommendation back to the Board within 120 days. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.
APPROVAL, RE: CODE ENFORCEMENT AND COMPREHENSIVE PLAN
WORKSHOPS_________________________________________________________
Motion by Commissioner Infantini, seconded by Commissioner Anderson, to approve assigning October 15, 2009 as the Code Enforcement Workshop and October 29, 2009 as the Comprehensive Plan Workshop. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.
LEGISLATIVE INTENT AND PERMISSION TO ADVERTISE NOTICE OF PUBLIC
HEARING, RE: PROPOSED ORDINANCE PROHIBITING USE OF ATV’S AND
SPECIFIED MOTORIZED VEHICLES ON NON-REGISTERED PRIVATE PROPERTY
Commissioner Infantini inquired if any other counties have an ordinance like this. Scott Knox,
Commissioner Fisher stated a group met in his office, along with the State Attorney and Attorney Knox; the real problem is that they do not have a place to ride; in the meanwhile they are destroying County property, and private property; and there are 50 vehicles parked in front a subdivision with their trailer, and they are out riding all night long. He stated the Sheriff’s Department does not have a way of enforcing these individuals; the ordinance tries to give some authority to the Sheriff’s Department. He stated the real solution is that people need a place to ride; but meanwhile the Board has to slow down what it is doing to neighbors, private property, and public property; stated he asked the Sheriff to monitor this because otherwise people had to come in and register the property with the Sheriff and pay the fee; the Sheriff would go through his data base and figure out whether or not the property is registered; the Sheriff wants to be the housekeeper on this; and stated he is asking for the Board’s support.
Commissioner Bolin stated the Sheriff is going to get the phone calls either way; and the Board needs to give him some support.
Attorney Knox stated he spoke with Commander Drinkwater and he indicated there are a few changes he would like to see in the ordinance, which he can work on between now and the time it comes back to a public hearing; and Commander Drinkwater also talked about the issue of whether the Sheriff should be the one responsible for this, and he believes it is moving in that direction now.
Chairman Nelson stated he agrees it is an issue that needs to be addressed. Commissioner Anderson stated when people buy an ATV they pay a fee, and some of the money is State allocated for where one can ride; the fee far outweighs the amount of money being expended; and it is very unfortunate the riders pay this fee and have no where to go.
Commissioner Fisher stated he had a group in his office to let him know there are some State dollars available for ATV parks, but no one is really asking for them; he noted he asked the Miami Corp if it could possibly build a park on some of its land, and they are considering it.
Motion by Commissioner Bolin, seconded by Commissioner Fisher, to approve legislative intent and granted permission to advertise proposed ordinance prohibiting use of ATV’s and specified motorized vehicles on non-registered private property. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.
DISCUSSION, RE: MERCEDES HOMES, INC., ET. AL. BANKRUPTCY PLAN
OF REORGANIZATION__________________________________________________
Scott Knox,
Motion by Commissioner Fisher, seconded by Commissioner Anderson, to vote to reject Mercedes Homes’ Plan of Reorganization. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.
LEGAL SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH THE MAHER LAW FIRM AND LOVELL
MITCHELL & BARTH, LLP, RE: TOURIST DEVELOPMENT TAX RECOVERY
Scott Knox,
Commissioner Infantini inquired if the firm only offered the rate in the event they get other counties to join. Attorney Knox responded yes. Commissioner Infantini stated the firm is not actually offering the rate unless the firms get other counties; and so right now the Board should go forward on the rate on the fact the rate is the same. Attorney Knox stated that is correct. Commissioner Infantini stated she will make a motion for the
Chairman Nelson stated the Board can certainly get a cheaper price but that does not mean it will get cheaper representation.
Commissioner Fisher stated no other firm offered this service. Commissioner Infantini stated they did not know the County was out there in the market. Commissioner Fisher stated the Board did not know it was in the market. Chairman Nelson stated there is no expense to the County; he is comfortable with the fact the firm has done this on a national basis; he believes it has the strength to make an impact; and the Board can get cheaper, but not necessarily get better.
Commissioner Infantini stated she does not have a comparison to know the firm has the highest expertise, as there was no grid made to compare them against other firms.
Attorney Knox stated the reason staff pursued this quickly is because there was a rumor that Congress was going to take action to cut any claims like this after it enacted the law; the Board has a Senate Bill in the drafting stage, which is exactly that, it cuts off the kinds of claims that are being discussed. He stated the only exception from that cut-off is anybody who has had their claims filed before the bill passes, so that is something the Board needs to consider; and another thing is the Tourist Development Council (TDC) went around and did some searching and considered other firms, and they are satisfied this firm is the best qualified to do the job; they have succeeded in doing it. He stated the rates the firm is charging is less than what to be expected for some law firms in Florida who are by ethical constraints and statutory constraints limited to 30 percent of the recovery.
Motion by Commissioner Fisher, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to approve Legal Services Agreement to contract firms of Lovell, Mitchell & Barth, LLP and The Maher Law Firm to represent Brevard County in pursuing recovery of underpaid tourist development taxes from certain internet travel companies (ITC). Motion carried and ordered; Commissioners Anderson and Infantini voted nay.
SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT WITH CITY OF
Scott Knox,
The Board reached consensus to table Settlement Agreement with the City of
Upon Motion and vote, the meeting adjourned at 2:22 p.m.
ATTEST: ______________________________________
CHUCK NELSON, CHAIRMAN
BOARD OF
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SCOTT ELLIS, CLERK
(S E A L)