Attendee Name	Title	Status	Arrived
Robin Fisher	Chairman / Commissioner District 1	Present
Chuck Nelson	Commissioner District 2	Present
Trudie Infantini	Commissioner District 3	Present
Mary Bolin	Commissioner District 4	Present
Andy Anderson	Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5	Present

 

 

 

The invocation was given by Pastor Lambert Mills, Frontenac Baptist Church.

 

 

 

Commissioner Nelson led the assembly in the Pledge of Allegiance.

 

 

 

The Board approved the July 19, 2011, July 20, 2011, and July 21, 2011 Workshop minutes.

 

 

 

 

Commissioner Anderson read aloud a resolution recognizing Eau Gallie High School Air Force Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC).

 

A representative from the United States Air Force expressed his thanks to the Board for the Resolution; and expressed his thanks to the  Brevard County Public Schools that provide JROTC.

 

Sam Hartford, JROTC Team Captain, stated he and his team worked extremely hard to achieve the recognition; the team won first place in basic math, science, history, and English at the JROTC Tri-Service Leadership and Academic Bowl; and he would like to recognize every educator who has helped the team train.  He added the team spent five days in Washington, D.C., attending a national competition and meeting people from all across the United States.

 

 

The Board adopted Resolution No. 11-157, recognizing the Eau Gallie High School Air Force Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps for winning first place among Air Force JROTC's at the JROTC Tri-Service Leadership and Academic Bowl.

 

MOVER:            Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5

SECONDER:     Trudie Infantini, Commissioner District 3

AYES:                Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

 

 

 

Commissioner Nelson stated he attended the Change of Command ceremony in Port Canaveral for Captain James Kuzma who is retiring; Captain John Hetherington was welcomed as the replacement; and stated he is looking forward to having Captain Hetherington of the Naval Testing Ordinance Unit come before the Board in the future.

 

 

 

Commissioner Bolin stated she and Commissioner Nelson received a letter from Jim Ford, Property Appraiser; and read the letter aloud, "I am sending you this letter in response to inaccurate comments that have been made against you and my office.  I listened to recent recordings of County Commission Workshops and budget discussions wherein I heard Trudie Infantini repeatedly allege that my office mailed the 2010 TRIM notices late which caused them to reach taxpayers after the 2010 primary election, and that if I had not done so, neither of you would have been re-elected.  The mailing of the TRIM notices was not late at all, but in full compliance with the statutory time frame for such mailings, contrary to Trudie Infantini's allegations.  I also heard Matt Nye make similar allegations stating that he had been informed that TRIM notices had never traditionally been received by taxpayers after the primary election.  These comments about late mailings are not only erroneous but irresponsible unfounded political rhetoric.  If Mrs. Infantini and Mr. Nye were well informed or did their research, they would find that the State Legislature changed the election law during the 2007 session wherein the primary election date was changed to be held 10 weeks before the general election to avoid it falling on the Labor Day weekend.  Apparently, the Legislature either took no recognition of the fact that, in certain years, the primary election could precede the receipt of TRIM notices, or the Legislature thought such was insignificant since they are only proposed millage rates that can subsequently be lowered.  Obviously, that is why this had never happened in the past.  Nevertheless, we endeavor to get the TRIM notices mailed as early as feasible.  However, if you recall, the Legislature substantially revised the requirements as to the content to be displayed on the 2010 TRIM form.  This change required all Property Appraisers to revise their TRIM notices and obtain approval from the Department of Revenue as to those changes.  This lengthened the process because, in addition to seeking Department of Revenue  approval, we also had to change programming, processing, and printing.  We could not rush this process because errors on these notices can be very costly if corrections must be made and notices re-mailed.  In summary, the issue lies with the change in the primary election date in 2007, together with legislatively mandated changes to the TRIM notice for 2010, and any complaints regarding that should be taken up the Legislature rather than fabricating erroneous conspiracy theories.  Sincerely, Jim Ford."    

 

 

 

Commissioner Bolin stated she has information that she believes is very import for the citizens of Brevard County; and she read aloud a statement, "It is very apparent that during the budget process much misinformation has been spread throughout the County.  This misinformation is filled with fiction and not facts, such as this Commission is increasing tax millage way beyond the factual number.  Fiction, we are laying off Sheriff's Deputy's; fiction, we are proposing increases.  The fact is, even with the millage rollback, we are proposing operating the County with approximately $90 million less than last year.  Fact, no motion had been made by any Member of this Commission during the budget Workshops, to reduce the County portion of the budget, to reduce the Sheriff's budget, to reduce the Property Appraiser's budget, to reduce the Supervisor of Elections, and to reduce the Clerk of Court's budget.  Not one motion of recommendation has been made by any Commissioner during the budget Workshops.  We are currently in an economic that is hurting and it is this misinformation that is leading to fueling the increased desperation among our citizens.  As each of us knows, the Board of County Commissioners has a Policy in place that deals with perceived or actual threats.  On Friday, the District 4 office received a phone call from an individual displaying the willingness to offer harm, and to clearly have harm, including death, to be personally due to me and also to District 2 Commissioner Nelson, due to their views on the budgetary issues.  This matter, as necessary and required, is reported to the Sheriff's Office and they have opened up an investigation to this important matter.  It has been reported that the individual who admitted placing the phone call, had second thoughts regarding the content of that phone call.  I believe that each of us on this Board serve because we believe we have something to offer and that in the end we are all attempting to do the right thing.  Let’s ensure that we do not fuel anymore desperation with misinformation to misguide the citizens of Brevard County.  Thank you to Sheriff Parker and his Deputies, for serving our public, protecting us all from harm, and for addressing these threats."           

 

 

 

Commissioner Anderson expressed his thanks to the Parks and Recreation Department, which gets a lot of attention during budget meetings.  He stated after 15 years he went back into the boating arena; he has been using Christianson's Landing because it is an outstanding facility; on Sunday his Aide, David Isnardi, was with him when storms rolled in, and there were four open slips, plus two more further to the north; with all of the boats needing to get out the water they were able to get out quickly; and it was pretty amazing to see that many boats getting out of the water so quickly.  He stated there were many delays in opening the facility, but it serves the purpose of public safety when lightning storms come up.  He mentioned a couple of budget meetings ago he was talking about charging .50 a car to get in there; and now that he has seen how important it is for people to get off of the water, he probably will not be entertaining that idea anymore.    

 

 

 

Chairman Fisher stated the Board had been working with Congresswoman Sandy Adams about the City of Titusville being a Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone); he did not know that Congresswoman Adams wanted the entire County to be a HUBZone, but it would make Brevard County more business friendly; and assistance from the federal government will be given when the time comes to pursue federal contracts.  He advised there are a couple of letters in the Agenda package in reference to it, and he would like to know if the Board would like to send a letter of support for the County being a HUBZone.

 

Commissioner Bolin inquired if Chairman Fisher will explain the benefit of being a HUBZone.  Chairman Fisher responded with what is happening with the Shuttle Program and the status of commercial space, a HUBZone will give advantages any time a company bids on federal work, there are some credits that are favorable if the company has employees living within the HUBZone; and if the entire County is a HUBZone, most of the employees are assumed to be living in the County and it could be more competitive in winning federal contracts, which will create economic growth and jobs. 

 

The Board authorized Chairman Fisher to sign letters to the Honorable Bill Posey and the Honorable Sandy Adams supporting Brevard County as a HUBZone.   

 

MOVER:            Mary Bolin, Commissioner District 4

SECONDER:     Chuck Nelson, Commissioner District 2

AYES:                Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

 

 

 

Commissioner Nelson stated he would like to pull Item III.A.2., Permission to Advertise, Re:  Public Hearing for Exchange of Property for Mitigation Credits with Swallowtail LLC (Miami Corporation), for discussion.

 

 

 

The Board approved legislative intent and granted permission to advertise housekeeping amendments to Chapter 22, Buildings and Building Regulations, as follows:  updating provisions related to adoption and administration of the Florida Building Code; replacing outdated building maintenance codes with a new County property maintenance ordinance; and repealing outdated provisions of those duplicative of other ordinance chapters and agencies.

 

MOVER:            Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5

SECONDER:     Mary Bolin, Commissioner District 4

AYES:                Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

 

 

 

The Board executed the Contract for Sale and Purchase in the amount of $342.00, and accepted the Temporary Construction Easement (TCE) from James Capers; and waived the appraisal, and Phase I Environmental Assessment Survey Requirements, on property located in the West Cocoa area in Section 36, Township 24, Range 35.

 

MOVER:            Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5

SECONDER:     Mary Bolin, Commissioner District 4

AYES:                Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

 

 

 

The Board accepted the Deed from Thomas G. Winar, Trustee under Trust dated March 11, 1993; and waived Phase I Environmental Assessment and Survey Requirements on the property, which will be used for the lift station associated with the Town and Country Sewer Project/Brevard County  Right-of-Way Permit Application No. 10RW-01026.

 

MOVER:            Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5

SECONDER:     Mary Bolin, Commissioner District 4

AYES:                Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

 

 

 

The Board authorized the County Attorney to enter into the Stipulated Settlement Agreement and Joint Motion with AJDC, LLC, in connection with the Order of Taking of property needed for the Barnes Boulevard Widening Project.

 

MOVER:            Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5

SECONDER:     Mary Bolin, Commissioner District 4

AYES:                Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

 

 

 

The Board executed the Contract for Sale and Purchase in the amount of $830.00, and accepted the Temporary Construction Easement (TCE) from Willie B. Hubbard and Clifford Mae Hubbard (H&W) for the A-Lane Drainage Improvements Project; and waived the appraisal, Phase I Environmental Assessment, and Survey Requirements, on property located in the West Cocoa area in Section 36, Township 24, Range 35.

 

MOVER:            Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5

SECONDER:     Mary Bolin, Commissioner District 4

AYES:                Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

 

 

 

The Board approved the submitted Budget Change Requests.

 

MOVER:            Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5

SECONDER:     Mary Bolin, Commissioner District 4

AYES:                Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

 

 

 

The Board acknowledged receipt of the FY 2012 Proposed Budget for Willow Creek Community Development District.

 

MOVER:            Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5

SECONDER:     Mary Bolin, Commissioner District 4

AYES:                Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

 

 

 

The Board executed a Contract with the State of Florida, Department of Community Affairs, for the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) in the amount of $142,349; approved a cash match of $2,847; and authorized the Chair to execute future modifications and amendments contingent upon the approval of the County Attorney and Risk Management.

 

MOVER:            Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5

SECONDER:     Mary Bolin, Commissioner District 4

AYES:                Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

 

 

 

The Board appointed/reappointed Ashley Molozaiy, to the Community Action Board, with term expiring December 31, 2012.

 

MOVER:            Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5

SECONDER:     Mary Bolin, Commissioner District 4

AYES:                Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

 

 

 

The Board executed an Agreement to extend the Interlocal Agreement with the City of Titusville for a one year extension to complete the Downtown Urban Parks Project.

 

MOVER:            Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5

SECONDER:     Mary Bolin, Commissioner District 4

AYES:                Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

 

 

 

The Board authorized the Chairman to sign a Bus Service License Agreement with Melbourne JCP Associates to allow bus service to continue on Melbourne Square Mall property.

 

MOVER:            Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5

SECONDER:     Mary Bolin, Commissioner District 4

AYES:                Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

 

 

 

The Board adopted Economic Tax Abatement Resolution No. 11-158, qualifying Pharma Chemie, Inc. as an eligible business under the County's Tax Abatement Program; and authorized a public hearing to consider adopting an exemption ordinance.

 

MOVER:            Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5

SECONDER:     Mary Bolin, Commissioner District 4

AYES:                Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

 

 

 

The Board adopted Resolution No. 110159, benefiting Pharma Chemie, Inc. as a Qualified Targeted Industry.

 

MOVER:            Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5

SECONDER:     Mary Bolin, Commissioner District 4

AYES:                Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

 

 

 

The Board amended Brevard County Investment Policy BCC-49, Investments.

 

MOVER:            Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5

SECONDER:     Mary Bolin, Commissioner District 4

AYES:                Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

 

 

 

The Board appointed/reappointed Veronica Clifford to the Titusville-Cocoa Airport Authority, with term expiring July 7, 2014.

 

MOVER:            Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5

SECONDER:     Mary Bolin, Commissioner District 4

AYES:                Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

 

 

 

Commissioner Nelson stated this is a request to have a public hearing to discuss exchanging properties in the north area near Farmton; he agrees with the concept, but is not sure if right now is the time to be exchanging property when it is value for value; there is no immediate need for the property for mitigation purposes, and as time goes by, the value will increase and the County could get a better deal for its money; and he prefers to hold off to let the market come back unless there is some urgent reason to do so at this moment in time.

 

John Denninghoff, Public Works Director, stated it certainly can wait; he is not sure how long it can wait, but he knows the reason the County acquired the parcels was for mitigation purposes; the rules have been changed for mitigation which makes these acquisitions made less successful at mitigating with less credit; and noted the property was acquired at virtually no cost.  He stated there will be more mitigation credits received by doing the swap than by retaining it under the current rules; but the rules can always change.

 

Chairman Fisher stated he is glad Commissioner Nelson pulled the Item because he was not sure from a value standpoint if it is a fair price compared to what private citizens pay.  He inquired if Commissioner Nelson is wanting to make motion to not approve the Item.

 

Commissioner Nelson stated he would like to continue discussions and get a better understanding of what the value could be in the future related to these.

 

The Board denied the request to authorize a public hearing to be held August 23, 2011, to consider the exchange of mitigation property for mitigation credits with Swallowtail LLC (Miami Corporation), in order to have continuing discussions to get a better understanding of what the value could be in the future for the properties.  

 

MOVER:            Chuck Nelson, Commissioner District 2

SECONDER:     Mary Bolin, Commissioner District 4

AYES:                Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

 

 

 

Chairman Fisher called for the public hearing to consider a resolution vacating a portion of a Plat in Addition No. 1 June Park/Max K. Rodes Park - Parks and Recreation Department.

 

John Denninghoff, Public Works Director, stated the Item is a petition to vacate a portion of the plat that affects the new John Rodes Park; the Board previously vacated road right-of-ways; and by approving the vacating, it will unify all of the parcels within John Rodes Park, making it one parcel of land rather than many different individual parcels.

 

There being no comments or objections, the Board adopted Resolution No. 11-160, approving petition to vacate a portion of a Plat in Addition No. 1 June Park/Max K. Rodes Park -  Parks and Recreation Department, in Section 12, Township 28 South, Range 36 East.  

 

MOVER:            Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5

SECONDER:     Trudie Infantini, Commissioner District 3

AYES:                Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

 

 

 

Chairman Fisher called for the public hearing to consider a resolution confirming the preliminary assessment roll for the Powell Road Dirt Road Paving Multiple Services Benefit Unit (MSBU).

 

John Denninghoff, Public Works Director, stated the Item is the next step required in the policy and statute for establishing the MSBU for the Powell Road Dirt Road Paving project; it creates the preliminary assessment roll; and is necessary in order to move forward.

 

There being no comments or objections, the Board adopted Resolution No. 11-161, confirming the special assessment liens for the Powell Road Dirt Road Paving Municipal Services Benefit Unit.

 

MOVER:            Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5

SECONDER:     Mary Bolin, Commissioner District 4

AYES:                Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

 

 

 

Chairman Fisher called for the public hearing to consider a resolution uniforming Method of Collection for Non-Ad Valorem Assessment for Powell Road Dirt Road Paving Multiple Services Benefit Unit (MSBU).

 

John Denninghoff, Public Works Director, stated the Item establishes a method by which the County collects the assessments from the benefited property owners by going through a bellow-the-line portion of their tax bill, and then construction can more forward.

 

There being no comments or objections, the Board adopted Resolution No. 11-162, proving for a Uniform Method of Collection per Chapter 197, Flroida Statues, and Board Policy BCC-53, for the Powell Dirt Road Paving Municipal Service Benefit Unit.

 

MOVER:            Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5

SECONDER:     Mary Bolin, Commissioner District 4

AYES:                Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

 

 

 

Chairman Fisher called for the public hearing to consider ordinances for adoption of Comprehensive Plan Package 2011-1 Plan Amendments.

 

There being no comments or objections, the Board adopted Ordinance No. 11-24, Ordinance Amending Article III, Chapter 62, of the Code of Ordinances of Brevard County; entitled "The Comprehensive Plan", setting forth plan amendment 2011-1.1; amending Section 62-501, entitled "Contents of the Plan"; specifically amending Section 62-501, specifically amending Section 62-501, Part X, entitled Coastal Management Element, providing for internal consistency with these amendments; providing legal status; providing a severability clause; and providing an effective date;  adopted Ordinance No. 11-25, Amending Article III, Chapter 62, of the Code of Ordinances of Brevard County; entitled "The Comprehensive Plan", setting forth plan amendment 2011-1.2; amending Section 62-501, entitled "Contents of the Plan"; specifically amending Section 62-501, specifically amending Section 62-501, Part XI, entitled Future Land Use Element; providing for internal consistency with these amendments; providing legal status; providing a severability clause; and providing an effective date; adopted Ordinance No. 11-26, Amending Article III, Chapter 62, of the Code of Ordinances of Brevard County; entitled "The Comprehensive Plan", setting for plan amendment 2011-1.3; amending Section 62-501, entitled "Contents of the Plan", specifically amending Section 62-501, Part XIII, entitled Capital Improvements Element; providing for internal consistency with these amendments; providing legal status; providing a severability clause; and providing an effective date; and adopted Ordinance No. 11-27, Amending Article III, Chapter 62, of the Code of Ordinances of Brevard County; entitled "The Comprehensive Plan", setting forth plan amendment 2011-1.4; amending Section 62-501, entitled "Contents of the Plan"; specifically amending Section 62-501, specifically amending Section 62-501, Part XI, entitled Future Land Use Element; providing for internal consistency with these amendment; providing legal status; providing a severability clause; and providing an effective date.   

 

MOVER:            Chuck Nelson, Commissioner District 2

SECONDER:     Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5

AYES:                Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

 

 

 

Chairman Fisher called for the public hearing to consider resolution for The Great Outdoors Development of Regional Impact (DRI) Notice of Proposed Change #7.

 

There being no comments or objections, the Board adopted Resolution No. 11-163, approving The Great Outdoors Development of Regional Impact (DRI) Notice of Proposed Change #7.

 

MOVER:            Chuck Nelson, Commissioner District 2

SECONDER:     Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5

AYES:                Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

 

 

 

Howard Tipton, County Manager advised Item VI.A needs to be considered before Item V.F.  He stated the item has to do with the City of West Melbourne asking for a Community Redevelopment Area (CRA) to be established; it would be a joint area both in the unincorporated area and with the City boundaries; and stated it is a Finding of Necessity (FON), which is necessary for the creation of the CRA.

 

Commissioner Bolin inquired of the vote count needed for the item.  Chairman Fisher responded a super-majority vote is needed for this Item and Item V.F. 

 

Scott Knox, County Attorney, stated only Item VI.A requires a majority vote; and Item V.F requires the super-majority vote.

 

The Board adopted Resolution No. 11-164, accepting the Finding of Necessity (FON) for the creation of a Community Redevelopment Area (CRA) in the City of West Melbourne within the following unincorporated areas encompassing non-residential properties along New Haven Avenue, Wickham Road, and Ellis Road.

 

MOVER:            Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5

SECONDER:     Mary Bolin, Commissioner District 4

AYES:                Robin Fisher, Chuck Nelson, Mary Bolin, Andy Anderson

NAYS:                Trudie Infantini

 

 

 

Chairman Fisher called for the public hearing to consider an ordinance for Delegation of Authority for the City of West Melbourne/Joint County Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA).

 

Howard Tipton, County Manager, stated the Item has a different format from the previously proposed CRA, encompassing non-residential properties along New Haven Avenue, Wickham Road, Ellis Road, and John Rodes Boulevard corridors; and the revised proposals before the Board today delete the John Rodes Boulevard corridor, but otherwise is basically the same proposal.  He stated CRA's are designed to address blighted conditions and focus on particular areas; the City of West Melbourne has been the driving force in trying to improve the gateway coming off of Interstate 95, going east on U.S. 192, including sewer for businesses rather than septic, and increasing capability terms of traffic flow, landscaping, and facade improvements that are all necessary for further economic development.  He stated there have been discussions of the CRA in the past, but the only change right now is the deletion of John Rodes Boulevard corridor.

 

Christine Michaels, Melbourne Regional Chamber of Commerce, stated the Chamber offers its support for the City of West Melbourne's CRA; she recognized the City Council for identifying the conditions of blight along those crucial corridors on New Haven Avenue, Wickham Road, and Ellis Road; it is thought that the district will achieve its stated goals to arrest the increase of vacancy rates along the corridor of commercial retail and other business; and to assist businesses within the city limits that on their own do not have the funds to improve the visual appearance of their sites.  She added it could also address road volume and capacity issues, assist in the appearance of unincorporated areas of U.S. 192, and create an identify for those areas since the City of West Melbourne does not have a true downtown; the concept supports private or public partnership to achieve and assist in economic development and job creation; and the Chamber encourages the County to work with the City of West Melbourne, to create the designation of a joint-redevelopment authority.

 

Scott Morgan, City of West Melbourne, stated he is asking the Board's support of this proposal to jointly partner with Brevard County; there have been many discussion opportunities to discuss this; it is hoped that the Board will support the CRA; and he looks forward to working together to improve the business community and job creation in this important part of Brevard County.

 

Commissioner Infantini stated she is opposed to the proposed ordinance because it enables the CRA to condemn properties; the CRA could condemn certain properties and force people to move; and the CRA would be able to issue bonds without going to the voters, thereby holding the County responsible to continue funding the CRA, even in an economic downturn.  She stated the CRA will encompass portions of unincorporated Brevard County with the City of West Melbourne, which theoretically sounds good, but there is nobody from the unincorporated area on the Board that would regulate the CRA, and who were not elected by the individuals from the area; and she will be voting nay.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated he does not think the City of West Melbourne would anticipate condemning any properties; and he know the Board would not do so because it would need a super-majority vote.

 

Commissioner Nelson inquired if those issues raised by Commissioner Infantini will be addressed in a follow-up document between the County and the City of West Melbourne.  Scott Knox, County Attorney, responded yes.  Commissioner Nelson stated there will be abilities precluding condemnation, establishing membership, and how it will be done; and there will be another document that will address all of those issues.

 

Commissioner Infantini stated she would like to have those issues addressed because while the current management may not foresee condemning property, boards change every few years, so just because the current leadership does not plan to do something does not preclude or prevent it from happening; and she would like to have that verbiage stricken from the record.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated he wants to ensure there is language in the document that alleviates those concerns when it comes back to the Board.

 

There being no further objections or comments, the Board adopted Ordinance No. 11-28 relating to the Delegation of Powers to create and maintain a Community Development Agency, making finding; authorizing the creation of the West Melbourne/Brevard County Joint Community Redevelopment Agency, delegating certain powers; providing for the repeal of certain inconsistent resolutions; providing a severability clause; and providing an effective date.

 

MOVER:            Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5

SECONDER:     Mary Bolin, Commissioner District 4

AYES:                Robin Fisher, Chuck Nelson, Mary Bolin, Andy Anderson

NAYS:                Trudie Infantini

 

 

 

Mr. Denninghoff stated the subject before the Board today is the question of whether or not a road will be built to connect to the south end of St. Andrews Boulevard; he has a PowerPoint Presentation demonstrating where it terminates now inside of Suntree, to the north end of Brisbane Boulevard, which is just south, and runs to the Pineda Causeway Extension; in 2002, the Board directed staff to not consider filling the gap until after the Pineda Causeway Extension was completed and the connection to the interchange was open to traffic; and reason was there was a great deal of concern expressed by Suntree residents, that making the connection prior would have a negative impact on the community.  He stated since the interchange was connected in May 2011, there have been a number of inquiries from the public about when the connection will be built.  He stated the presentation on June 28th was actually the second presentation because he had appeared before the Homeowner's Association (HOA) for Suntree in March; following that there was a public meeting, conducted by Commissioner Bolin at the Pineda Causeway Presbyterian Church; and it was well attended by the public.  He stated the public response as of late last week in favor of making the connection are 91 in favor, 38 against, 10 neutrals; travel time concerns raised by the public had to do with why people would, or would not, be traveling through Suntree if the connection is made; and it was found to be useful to look at the travel times, by commonly taking points of destination for a lot of the public.  He stated the next map is a representation of the question of St. Andrews Boulevard and Interlachen Boulevard, showing the gap and calculated times to get to Home Depot, which is on Wickham Road; the existing way to get there in the shortest distance and time would be on the yellow route seen on the map shown, with the current travel time being about two minutes; if the connection is made an alternate route in blue can be taken, which is about 8.7 minutes; and the map shows the traffic coming out of Suntree to go to Home Depot would go south because it is a shorter travel time. He stated there are two Publix stores, one to the north at Interlachen Boulevard and Wickham Road, and another near Post Road; when looking at it from the intersection of Estuary Boulevard, Brisbane Boulevard, and Pineda Causeway, the yellow route coming out of Brisbane Boulevard or Grandhaven subdivision is the route to take for the south Publix, and the north Publix option would be to north onto I-95 to this location, which is about 6.3 minutes versus 6.6 minutes; and if the connection was made on St. Andrews, the blue route could be followed, which would take 9.4 minutes and would actually be a longer route.  He noted it is important to recognize that the cut-through to go through Suntree actually takes longer than it does to go around.  He stated the I-95 northbound route takes about eight minutes in the current route from the intersection of St. Andrews and Interlachen Boulevard; the alternate route if having the connection would take about 7.5 minutes; the I-95 southbound route has to go past Suntree Elementary School taking about 10.5 minutes, and going the other way up on Interlachen Boulevard is taking about 10.8 minutes; and if the alternate route in blue is taken in the connection is would take about 6.4 minutes.  He stated Wickham Road and Pineda Causeway is a common route that a lot of people will take to either go out to the beaches, Patrick Air Force Base, Merritt Island, or Melbourne; the existing route from Interlachen and St. Andrews intersection is 6.1 minutes, again going past the school; and it is almost the same at 6.6 miles going the alternate route.  He stated the hospital has a great deal of interest in the intersection of St. Andrews and Interlachen; calculated travel time to the hospital on the existing route was 10.1 minutes; it is fairly balanced to go the alternate route if making the connection again, to go south, then north on I-95 to the hospital which is 9.6 minutes; and if the existing south end is looked at, without the connection the yellow route will have to be taken and the calculated travel time would be is 12.7 minutes.  He advised the emergency response conclusions are the initial response times will remain the same within Suntree; but for secondary response, law enforcement will have a pretty big improvement; and travel time for ambulance transport will be substantially shortened.  He stated staff prepared all of the analytical work associated with the travel times; traffic modeling is very mathematical, algorithmic, intensive, and computer programmed; and it does a good job predicting travel patterns and volumes, but is difficult to actually predict what the results are going to be.  He added the TPO consultant performed that traffic modeling, and what they did was look at the 2010 traffic year conditions with, and without, the St. Andrews connection; and it looked at future conditions 10 years from now.  He stated when all of the information was boiled down there was a reduction of 2,400 vehicles, or a 44 percent decline in volume going past the elementary school.  He stated the cut-through conclusion would be that 99 percent of the traffic will continue to be from Suntree with a majority of it from south of Suntree; stated the graphic shows the big difference that occurs without the connection approaching the Interlachen intersection with 4,600 vehicles a day; and making the connection, it goes down to 1,600, so there are about 3,000 choosing to go south.  He mentioned even though it is a significant increase it is still only about 25 percent of the capacity of a two-lane road at 3,000 vehicles per day; and it is quite low in terms of what the road can handle.  He stated none of the traffic in Suntree will require widening to four-lanes; it will stay as two-lanes with the same speed limits that are posted; the emergency response concluded the connection will improve emergency transport to the hospital; and it provides a second emergency response route for law enforcement.  He added if the connection is made it adds an emergency response route, an evacuation route for the residents of Suntree, a reduction of transport times to the hospital, and reduces the traffic volumes throughout Suntree with the exception of Brisbane Boulevard, which is actually outside of Suntree.

 

Charles Cain stated he lives in St. Andrews Isle; he is in support of the extension; several years ago, he opposed it very strongly, and the reason for his opposition was there was no information on the future of the exchange; and the conclusions made by Mr. Denninghoff are very valid and it indicates a very positive movement.  He stated last week he measured the timing distance from the extension to the Pineda Causeway at the Wickham Road intersection; going north it was one and a-half mile longer than going south; travel times at different times of the day with different types of automobiles will vary constantly; and Interlachen and the St. Andrews Boulevard intersection is the dividing lane.

 

Scott Holcombe stated he lives in Brisbane Point; he is against the completion of the proposed connection; he represents the 18 families of Brisbane Point, both current residents, and those residents that are under contract for homes; and they are unanimously opposed to this action.  He stated the community in and around the Pineda Causeway in Suntree area is a collection of gated and non-gated neighborhoods, each with its own character and ambiance; this is accomplished by each neighborhood having accessed egress through a four lane arterial road off the Pineda Causeway extension or Wickham Road; and completion of this road will make the two-lane road of St. Andrews Boulevard and Brisbane Parkway a noisy intrusion into quiet neighborhoods.  He stated completion of this road would negatively impact the quality of life, property values, and the ambiance of the neighborhood; nine years ago Suntree homeowners presented a compelling agenda to the Board to keep the road closed; and he believes those issues raised at that time all still exist.  He stated it would be a negative impact on the surrounding nature preserve, and the increased traffic would endanger wildlife; the minimal convenience of those living at the southern end of Suntree seem pale compared to the potential impact to the adjoining neighborhoods; and  noted the only residential neighborhood affected by the 2010 model negatively is the Brisbane Parkway neighborhoods of Brisbane Point and Brisbane Isle.  He stated the Suntree homeowners purchased their homes without any assurance or promise that the road would be connected, they were perfectly willing to purchase their homes and use Wickham Road for access to I-95 northbound and southbound; and he is proposing that practice continues. 

 

William Klein expressed his thanks to Commissioner Bolin for the Town Hall meeting she held; and 60 to 65 percent of the people present, were in favor of the project.  He stated he has lived at his residence on Cape Sable Drive for about 10 years; when he purchased, the whole neighborhood understood that the connector was going to open up; and when it started to come up again, he questioned himself if he really wanted the connector opened because he lives at the terminus end, which is quiet, but then he realized it is a public safety issue.  He went on to say in the presentation by Mr. Denninghoff, emergency medical services will have a much quicker response time; it is strictly public service and safety to him; and if the road is not opened it is going to put residents in jeopardy. He asked the Board to approve opening up the road.

 

Jeff Rogers stated he strongly supports completion of the gap between Suntree and Brisbane Boulevard; his reasons are safety for the children with less traffic up and down the roads,  resident egress, emergency vehicle ingress and egress, and economics because of the reduced driving distances; with respect to safety, it is clear for him that opening the road promotes safety by reducing traffic up and down the roads of St. Andrews Boulevard and Interlachen, by 2,400 vehicles per day on Jordan Blass, and in front of the elementary school. He stated it will give residents a second egress out of the neighborhood, which was not the case in the past; Tropical Storm Fay marooned the residents because there was only one way out, and it was flooded; and then there were the wildfires in March, with the first response vehicles having trouble getting in to deal with the fire; and he does not want residents to be in a position such as that again.  He stated several concerns related to this are the reduced traffic on St. Andrews and Interlachen, meaning there would be even less of a chance for the need to widen the road; and he has heard concerns that it may cause a widening of the road, but it is actually the opposite. He concluded that this small, but highly impacting project should be approved; to him, it just makes sense, and he strongly recommends it to the Board.

 

George Passmone stated he supports the opening of the extension; he added there are 3,000 vehicles going onto Wickham Road right now out of Suntree; if the bypass is cut through, there will be 3,000 less people traveling on Wickham Road because there is alternative of going a different way; if it is opened up there would be a different route instead of going by other homes within Suntree where there is a school; and a lot of people will take the new route because it is shorter and quicker.

 

Jeff Murray stated he recently had to make a trip to the emergency room at the Viera Hospital; he can assure everyone that the additional three minutes was much more than a minimal inconvenience to him, as it was not a fun trip; but he wants to remind everyone of some Board actions taken on March 7, 2006 and again on July 27, 2010.  He stated the Board authorized the Chairman to execute a County Incentive Grant Program accepting $2 million from FDOT to assist in the completion of the Pineda Causeway Extension, as part of that, the statue established minimum criteria to quality for the funds, some of which are to be consistent with the Florida Transportation Plan, the TPO, and any Comprehensive Plans; and if each were looked into, they essentially talk about enhancing community livability, conserving non-renewable resources, and maximizing the use of existing transportation infrastructure.  He stated his concern is if the road is not completed the County could actually receive a bill from FDOT, requesting those monies back; and he wanted to bring that to the County's attention; and stated it is one additional reason to consider the project.

 

June Mikell stated the Board has heard many of the Suntree residents' concerns about the proposed project; the traffic study proved there is a significant time savings for Suntree residents, south of Interlachen, to the new Viera Hospital; and the rest of the time savings would be miniscule and only for a very small percentage of the community.  She stated four Suntree communities south of Interlachen would use the extension as a time saver of a few minutes to access I-95; and the other 70 sub-communities would continue to use the other four streets already in place. She stated last year before the election, Commissioner Bolin spoke at the Suntree Master Home Owners Association meeting, and said after the Pineda Extension was completed there would be a waiting period of six-months to determine if there was a need to extend St. Andrews, and after that time frame, a traffic study would be completed and presented to all the residents of Suntree to decide if St. Andrews should become a through street; and Commissioner Bolin also stated she would stand behind whatever the community wanted, as long as she was in office.  She stated Commissioner Bolin was also quoted in the Florida TODAY in October 2009, stating once the Pineda Extension opened, she would wait six-months to let things settle, and complete a traffic study; and stated the Pineda Extension opened in May and the traffic study was completed in June, so there never was a six-month waiting period.  She advised there are 4,506 residences in Suntree, comprising 74 sub-communities; and Commissioner Bolin's office received several unsolicited emails that were primarily from two very organized communities at the most southern end of St. Andrews; and if she recalls correctly, Commissioner Bolin stated at the Town Hall meeting in June that the emails received were about 70 percent in favor of opening St. Andrews.  She stated in order to get what the majority of the community wants, this issue needs to be put to a vote that reaches out to all residents, which is the only way to determine what the Suntree and Brisbane residents really want.  She stated when she left the Town Hall meeting in June she felt pretty deflated because residents were told that the project had already been funded; the County was willing to spend $350,000 to extend a road to accommodate a couple of communities at the southern most end of St. Andrews Boulevard; and spending $350,000, to satisfy the wants of a very small percentage of residents seems very extravagant, unless there is an underlying plan.  She added when she looked at the County's long-range plan, it looked like if St. Andrews would be made into a through street, opening construction for St. Andrews to meet Judge Fran Jamieson Way via Stadium Parkway; the project would be a new four-lane road; it would join Suntree and Viera; and she inquired if the growth of Viera may be the driving force behind this issue.  She advised the Board to consider allowing the wonderful community to remain the quiet, tranquil, and safe community that it is now.

 

Ernie Dorling stated he is the Vice President of the Homeowners Association; he is speaking today for himself, but he would like the Board to know that he is also speaking for the overwhelming majority of the people who live in the St. Andrews community, as well.  He stated his entire career has been in law enforcement; he started out as a police officer many years ago in South Florida before he went to the federal government; anyone on the receiving end of needing a police officer in a matter of minutes knows how important it is for response time; and opening the road allows for emergency responders to get to people quickly.  He stated it is a no-brainer, based on cutting traffic to the school, reducing the traffic that the school has to deal with, and the hospital response times; the people who oppose this are afraid that the tranquility of these communities will be disturbed; it has nothing to do with the economics, the response time, giving people an additional egress to get out in case of disasters, and so forth; and he is hoping the Board will vote in favor of the extension today, and that it moves forward with all due deliberate speed in opening the road, and not be delayed in the bureaucratic process any longer.

 

Bob Taylor stated Suntree desperately needs the Board's help; most of the Suntree residents are opposed to spending tax money to open St. Andrews Boulevard at Brisbane and Pineda Causeway; Mr. Denninghoff said the estimated cost is $350,000 to open St. Andrews; and he thinks Mr. Denninghoff slipped up and said the money is already in the budget.  He stated everyone knows what happens to estimated costs; construction costs can grow from $350,000 to closer to $1 million before the job is completed; and with Brevard County's budget shortfalls, employee cut backs, and tax increases, the St. Andrews extension plan will become another sign of wasteful spending of tax dollars.  He stated St. Andrews has been enclosed for over 10 years; it was never a problem; safety was never an issue in those 10 years except until recently when there was an excuse to come up with a safety issue; and it is unfortunate that many believe the decision has already been made to open the gap between St. Andrews and the Pineda extension.  He stated emails and letters in favor of the extension have been quoted and only represent a very small, well organized, cross section of the community, which is Sawgrass and St. Andrews Isles; those communities are near the end of the St. Andrews Boulevard and would benefit the most and suffer the least if the road is opened; they all live in gated communities with limited access, and do not have to worry about people coming through there if they do not want them to; and stated the majority of people in Suntree are not receiving adequate representation in this issue.  He stated the Master Homeowners Association has quoted vote counts that totally disagree with the figures Commissioner Bolin is using; and the traffic study by the engineers does not adequately address traffic flow issues.  He believes if the Board is genuinely interested in the people of Suntree, it should set up a steering committee, made up of Suntree residents and the Suntree Master Homeowners Association; the residents do not need Commissioner Bolin ramming decisions down their throats, as it can negatively affect lives, and deflate home values and community safety.  He inquired if the St. Andrews Boulevard gap is opened, what can the community expect in the future; he stated it can only expect increased crime, more traffic, more accidents, higher speed limits, and the eventual widening of Interlachen and St. Andrews to accommodate the increased future traffic; and he inquired if any Commissioner is willing to step down after making a decision that turns out to be incorrect.

 

Ed Lankenau stated he has been a resident of Suntree for 26 years; a couple of people who spoke before him said the issue should not even have to be discussed because Suntree was promised a six-month period of time before the situation was studied; it appears it is a done deal; and it has not been six-months since the Pineda extension was finished.  He stated the St. Andrews Extension is an unnecessary road that does not need to be done; it is a waste of County money; and there are literally hundreds of roads in Brevard County that need substantial improvements.  He mentioned a number of people are concerned about access for an emergency in case of a fire; it is a gated community of people who chose to live there, and is surrounded by a chain link fence, further surrounded by a moat and a locked gate that enters the community; and they can hardly be worried about instantaneous access.  He stated a number of figures that were shown are obviously slanted toward approving the project by listing traffic flowing out of Suntree; there has been little mention of potential traffic that could now flow into Suntree, as it will have easier access coming from I-95 through the Pineda extension; and stated Suntree has been a pleasant community, and he is asking the Board to let it remain that way.

 

Larry Gulledge expressed his thanks to Commissioner Bolin and Mr. Denninghoff; stated everything he has seen has been nothing but a positive effect for Suntree roads and residents; he hopes the Board is not influenced by the not-in-my-backyard-group; and the Board needs to do the right thing and open the road.

 

Darrah Moore stated he urges the Board to look at what has become a very emotional issue, in a very logical way; and the work done by Commissioner Bolin and staff should be commended.  He stated the issue is not whether it is three minutes to the hospital or 19 minutes to the hospital, or whether the police can arrive in 15 minutes or 22 minutes, but the issue is, if the road is blocked south of Interlachen, it is blocked and it cannot be accessed; and he would like the Board to use that type of logic when considering the proposed extension.  He stated he does not blame the residents of Brisbane at all for having concerns; however, if there was a fire in the wastelands behind St. Andrews Isle, the people of Brisbane would not be able to get out at all without this extension; and fire trucks and emergency vehicles would block them from making the egress to the causeway.  He stated there should be some traffic concerns, which is the type of logic he is asking the Board to use; people have voiced their opinions about the safety and concerns of the community; there are sidewalks the entire length of St. Andrews, most of which are a minimum of 10 to 15 feet off the side of the road, and when cars are going by people will still be able to walk safely; and in his opinion, if there are any safety issues in Suntree, it would be that parents let eight and nine year old children drive golf carts with four or five people in them.  He stated the key issue is, no matter what time it is, without the extension there is a blockage south of Interlachen, and in an emergency people cannot get out. 

 

Candace Rogers stated at the June 28th Town Hall meeting there was a vote of 70 percent asking Commissioner Bolin to connect St. Andrews Boulevard with Brisbane Boulevard through Pineda Causeway; Commissioner Bolin can affirm there was no vote, only a show of hands requested by Commissioner Bolin, and she judged it a draw; the Master Homeowner Association President, Jim Parsons, presented the survey of 102 homeowners against and 98 for the extension; and had a 75 percent response to their opinion survey with 70 percent of the 40 homeowners against the extension, while Florida TODAY and Viera Voice both featured front page stories stating Suntree homeowners were in favor of the extension; and neither paper was accurate in representing the facts.   She stated the controversial extension can be resolved with a compromise that gives both sides the things that it is most interested in having; a key to an emergency gate can legally replace the jersey barriers for easier ingress egress for emergency vehicles, much the same, as used today to enter gated communities; and the County can also open the gates for evacuations, if necessary.  She stated there are safety issues and site problems; at the last Town Hall meeting it was stated no signals or stop signs would be put in place with the extension; and she feels that instead of a traffic trip count, there needs to be an impact study done to make sure the Comprehensive Plan is being upheld.

 

John Valenti expressed his thanks to Commissioner Bolin for doing an excellent job at the Town Hall meeting; she was totally impartial, and he appreciates that; and he opposes the extension because he is about one mile from connecting to I-95.  He stated he feels safe in Suntree because there are no outlets from his home; if somebody commits a crime in Suntree, law enforcement has to go all the way through the neighborhood because there is no easy access out to I-95; and he and his wife love Suntree.  He stated the proposed extension is a change, and whenever something is changed, it is normal for a person to resist the change; but in his mind and heart, Suntree is perfect, and he wants to leave it as it is.  He stated the best thing for the Board to do is listen to the community and not make a decision today, but have an impact study done; and if the people of Suntree can make the decision, he will feel good no matter which way it goes.

 

Mario Busacca expressed his appreciation to Mr. Denninghoff and his staff for doing an excellent job and providing a lot of data; stated he has lived in the area since early 1969 and has lived in Suntree since the early 1980's; and it has always been his expectation that there would be an extension.   He stated according to maps from 20 years ago, there was actually a right-of-way from Wickham Road all the way to I-95, and his house sits on that right-of-way; the County gave up the right-of-way so that short-term development interests were met, and the philosophy then was to go through where Windsor Estates is, then Windsor Estates built a big entrance, and the Commissioners had said it was not going to do that; and what happened was the local business person with a car wash was kicked out, and millions of dollars were spent buying a new right-of-way.  He stated Interlachen use to be named Turtle Mound Road, and the reason it was named Turtle Mound was is was supposed to connect to Turtle Mound further south, which was a short-term development interest; that connection was broken and never brought back, and eventually it was named Interlachen; but the bottom line is there needs to be a reliever.  He urged the Board to act today and vote to open the extension so the safety and transportation issues can be addressed.

 

Vito Spinelli stated he moved to the area from New York in 2000; the community is great; every time he drives down Interlachen onto St. Andrews he reaches those barriers; and he wants to know why it is not connected.  He stated the project has to be completed; the project on the Pineda extension is great, he used it last night, and had to do the whole loop around to get to his house; and he can guarantee that when the barriers are down, the Suntree residents will make it a road automatically.  He stated there are a lot of people who question it; he thinks it is unfair to the engineer's integrity; and the project has been presented fair and square.

 

Mr. Denninghoff stated regarding the funding, he does not believe that on June 28th it was stated that the money was allocated; it may be just a manner of semantics; there is money that is available, but it has not been allocated; and the Board of County Commissioners are the ones who have to allocate that, not staff or anyone else; however, the funds that are spelled out in the Agenda Report are impact fees that have been paid for the purpose of creating capacity in the transportation network and are not tax dollars, per se.  He advised there would be sidewalks on the road, and the sidewalks were included in the cost estimate up to this point in time.  He mentioned there was a comment made about the possibility of St. Andrews Boulevard being four-lanes; he honestly does not know where that is coming from, and he is very curious to see if there is a cost feasible plan that shows that St. Andrews is intended to be widened four-lanes; and he can assure everyone that there are many other roads that need to be widened to four-lanes more than St. Andrews would ever need to be.  He stated one of the comments made was the study did not account for traffic that would be flowing into Suntree; all of the traffic volumes shown in the presentation were two-way traffic coming in and out of Suntree; and the model accounts for the traffic in Brevard County, not just Suntree, but only Suntree was in the presentation, so everyone did not have to look at the entire County, which is really unnecessary.  He stated the land is not County owned; there is a deed for it that has been executed for the County to own it, subject to the Board's acceptance; and if the Board approves Option 1, as spelled out in the Agenda Report, it would allocate those impact fees, accept the Deed for the property, and basically direct staff to begin the process to get the design and permits necessary to build it.  He stated currently there are no plans to add stop signs, but it is something that can be looked at; the addition of stop signs is something that is regulated under the Manual Uniform Traffic Control Devices, which is federal law; it is a process to determine whether stop signs would be added; and that has not been done, but certainly staff can take a look to see the results of what that kind of a study would be. 

 

Commissioner Bolin inquired if the development was being newly built today, would that road have been completed.  Mr. Denninghoff responded in his opinion, yes it would have; an important thing to look at is the Comprehensive Plan and consistency with good transportation practices; it would let distribution of traffic over the transportation network; and the bottom line is, it would have been expected to be completed under a normal set of circumstances.

 

Commissioner Bolin commented that it was stated that she said it would be six-months after the Pineda was completed when the study would be done; the time frame had moved up because of safety issues with wildfires; and inquired if Mr. Denninghoff was still able to get adequate information even though the time frame was moved up. Mr. Denninghoff responded yes; in his discussions with Mr. Kamm on the traffic modeling, he feels confident the information needed was captured; the travel time studies were able to be done all along; and the factual information was able to be presented.

 

Commissioner Bolin expressed her thanks to all of the residents in the Suntree area, the homeowners association, and anyone else who attended the June 28th meeting, it was a lively meeting, and it was wonderful seeing and hearing the citizens voicing their opinions.  She stated she made a very strong point to be neutral until all of the information was received; as of today, she has received 129 emails, with 99 of them in favor of the gap being closed, and 42 against it. 

 

The Board approved Option 1, authorizing staff to proceed with the design, permitting, and construction of St. Andrews Extension Project, with anticipated design and permitting costing approximately $50,000, construction costing approximately $300,000, and the funding can be allocated from funds in Central Mainland Impact Fees Reserves; authorized approval of any Budget Change Requests; approved acceptance of the Special Warranty Deed from St. Andrews Isles, Inc., conveying Tract B of St. Andrews Isles Subdivision (right-or-way needed for the project), including waivers of the title insurance, Phase I Environmental Assessment, and survey requirements; and authorized recordation of the Deed.

 

 

The Board recessed at 11:00 a.m. and reconvened at 11:13 a.m.

 

 

MOVER:            Mary Bolin, Commissioner District 4

SECONDER:     Trudie Infantini, Commissioner District 3

AYES:                Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

 

 

 

Commissioner Bolin read aloud a resolution supporting electronic filing for candidates.

 

Lori Scott, Supervisor of Elections, expressed her thanks to the Board for supporting the Resolution; it is actually taking the next step into the electronic age and it helps with transparency of all the candidates who qualify through her office; and it allows candidates to file campaign treasurers reports electronically on-line and as soon as it is in there anybody can see what any candidates contributions are, and what they are expending.  She stated on behalf of Brevard County's voting population she knows they appreciate it, as does she.

 

The Board adopted Resolution No. 11-158, supporting the requirement of campaign finance reports of certain candidates for elective office within the County, of political committees registered within the County, and of county executive committees of political parties to be filed with the Supervisor of elections electronically in accordance with the provisions of sections 106.07(2)(a)2, 106.07(3), and 106.29, Florida Statues.

 

 

Chairman Fisher stated Matt Nye was present before the Board and announced he was running for candidacy; and inquired if there is a rule of reference to what can be done on County property, as far as campaigning during election time.  Ms. Scott inquired if Chairman Fisher is meaning actually campaigning on property, or announcing on property.  Chairman Fisher inquired if a person can do any campaigning solicitation in County buildings.  Ms. Scott responded she is not sure; there may be something listed in the Charter, and there may be something for different County offices that prohibit it for employees; but her office does not have anything in a statue that does.  She stated Chairman Fisher might be thinking of the State legislature, as they do not take contributions inside its buildings; and she is not sure if the County has anything regarding it or not.

 

Howard Tipton, County Manager, stated it would be a local County rule; it varies county-by-county; in other places he has worked there could be different events, but they were very specified and localized; and advised Brevard County does not allow political campaigning on County property.

 

Chairman Fisher noted it was brought to his attention that it might be happening in the County's facilities; and inquired if Scott Knox, County Attorney could give some clarity.  Attorney Knox responded Ms. Scott is correct about accepting campaign contributions on County property, by State law; but otherwise, it is a County policy.

 

Commissioner Bolin inquired if a candidate can come into the Board room and handout political flyers for his or her campaign.  Attorney Knox responded no.

 

Chairman Fisher stated there may be a misunderstanding out there, and he would like for Ms. Scott to remind the candidates of such.  Ms. Scott stated she would be glad to make it part of the candidate packet, to help clarify.

 

MOVER:            Mary Bolin, Commissioner District 4

SECONDER:     Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5

AYES:                Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

 

 

 

The Board authorized advertising a Request for Bids for hauling of soils from Pine Island Salt Marsh Restoration Project to KSC Exploration Park property; authorized staff to negotiate a construction contract with the lowest responsive and responsible bidder; approved any necessary budget change request; approved a 14-day advertising period; and authorized the Chairman to award and execute the contract.

 

MOVER:            Chuck Nelson, Commissioner District 2

SECONDER:     Mary Bolin, Commissioner District 4

AYES:                Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

 

 

 

The Board executed an Interlocal Agreement and County Deed; and adopted Resolution No. 11-166, for the transfer of property (road right-of-way) to the City of Titusville parcel located in Section 26, Township 22 South, Range 35 East.

 

MOVER:            Mary Bolin, Commissioner District 4

SECONDER:     Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5

AYES:                Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

 

 

 

The Board executed an Interlocal Agreement to allow participation in a purchasing arrangement to be known as the Brevard County Public Entity Purchasing Cooperative; and appointed Leslie Rothering, Purchasing Manager, as the County's representative to the Brevard County Public Entity Purchasing Cooperative.

 

MOVER:            Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5

SECONDER:     Mary Bolin, Commissioner District 4

AYES:                Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

 

 

 

Steve Stultz, Central Services Director, stated the Item pertains to the ranking of the Selection/Audit Committee ranking of the proposals that were submitted for the County's external auditing services; the subsequent award of the proposal would be for a three-year term; and advised the Selection Committee was formulated in accordance with Board Policy.  He advised as a result of the posting of the rankings by the Audit Committee, a protest has been filed by the number two ranked firm, Berman Hopkins Wright & LaHam CPA's & Associates, LLP (BHW&L), of two issues consisting of its local vendor affidavit eligibility form, which would have affected the awarded points for its local vendor eligibility and scoring because of the experience and expertise of performing audits, by one of the members of BHW&L.  He advised the Protest Committee consists of Mel Scott, Assistant County Manager, Alphonso Jefferson, Budget Director, and Euripides Rodriguez, Solid Waste Director who met on August 1st, heard the issues from BHW&L, and the number two ranked firm, Cherry, Bekaert & Holland, LLP; as a result, the Protest Committee rejected both issues of the protest; and the original Selection Committee's ranking is being submitted to the Board today for further action.

 

Phil Hayes, Berman Hopkins Wright & LaHam CPA's & Associates, LLP, stated he has been a resident of Brevard County since he was five-years old; his partners are also residents; and approximately 50 staff members live in Brevard County as well.  He stated the firm has a satellite office in Orlando with three employees; the Orlando office will not have any staff members working on the County's audit; but in the process of going through the proposal, there were some clarity issues regarding the firm being local.  He stated the initial proposal that was submitted in response to the RFP has the CPA licenses of each staff member who was certified with a Brevard County address; in addition to that, it was noted several times in the oral presentation that the firm is local.  He stated six out of eight staff members in the proposal of its staff are local residents of Brevard County, and that in its sense, meets the ordinance; he inadvertently marked the local affidavit of eligibility for being a local firm incorrectly; and for that, he cannot tell the Board how sorry and humbled he is because that is the reason for being present today.  He stated if the scoring sheets are looked at, specifically Tax Collector Lisa Cullen's, it shows if BHW&L was awarded the local preference the credit scoring sheet would have added an additional one and a-half points, and BHW&L would have been ranked the number one firm.  He advised it is clear in the Selection Committee minutes, after leaving the presentation, that there were some questions regarding local status from Commissioner Nelson and John Sternagel; he read aloud a portion of the minutes, "Steve Stultz said for whatever reason, they may not claim they are a local business when in fact, they are"; when BHW&L made its oral presentation, it was stated it is a local firm and would get credited for local preference; and he did not realize the form was marked incorrectly until after the final Selection Committee made its decision.  He noted the same story was told to the Protest Committee.  He stated if the intent of the local resolution is to award these types of contracts to a local business, with local staff, then his firm qualifies for the local preference credit, and he is asking the Board for assistance with correcting it; and furthermore, as a professional in Brevard County, he has been on the Board of the Space Coast Economic Development Commission for over 10 years, he has been the Chairman for the Ad Valorem Tax Abatement Committee, he has helped and talked to many local businesses to retain and expand jobs in Brevard County; and he is asking the County to help him retain jobs.  He stated the impact of this contract will affect eight to ten jobs in his firm, which are eight to ten people in Brevard, and it will affect how much money is reinvested back into the County; if he understands the intent of the resolution it is to reinvest money back in the County, and keep people employed in Brevard; and he is asking the Board to consider his technical error on the proposal. 

 

Commissioner Anderson stated it was said that the Tax Collector scored low based on experience, but right now, as it stands locally, the firm only has one government contract, which is Brevard County.  Ross Whitley stated that is not correct; BHW&L is under contract with the City of West Melbourne, and the Towns of Indian Harbor Beach, Palm Shores, Grant/Valkaria, and Indian River Shores.  Commissioner Anderson inquired if those are comparable to Brevard County.  Mr. Whitley responded yes, BHW&L is under contract with Jacksonville Housing Authority, Tampa Housing Authority, Miami/Dade Housing Authority, and San Francisco Housing Authority which are very similar in size to Brevard County. 

 

Commissioner Anderson stated BHW&L is in the business of conducting audits; and inquired when the mistake was caught.  Mr. Hayes responded it was not until after the award; BHW&L did not fill out the local affidavit eligibility correctly, but its information, proposal, and oral presentation provided to the contrary and there were no clarifications to that.  Commissioner Anderson inquired if BHW&L are awarded local preference today how many years it will have continuously with Brevard County auditing its records.  Mr. Whitley responded 30-plus years.

 

Commissioner Anderson inquired how many contractors, other than Waste Management, have had 30-plus year relations with the County.  Mr. Stultz responded he does not recall that there are any.

 

Mr. Whitley stated BHW&L was not privy to the scoring sheet until after the rankings were given out, and he requested from Purchasing the copies of the individual scoring sheets; and that was the first time BHW&L had any idea that three firms were given the same local preferences of only being a Florida firm and not a Brevard County firm.  Commissioner Anderson stated he appreciates that information; before he became a Commissioner there was a big controversy with Commissioners basically negotiating a contract from the dais, and here it is again; he is very adamant because he went through this with two other contracts; and he believes that the arms-length approach, as far as the bidding and protesting with any firm or any business, is very important. 

 

Commissioner Anderson inquired if any of the gentlemen from BHW&L have been in anyone's offices.  Chairman Fisher, and Commissioners Bolin and Nelson responded no. Commissioner Anderson stated five years should be the maximum time frame that somebody audits any records.  Commissioner Nelson stated it is a Board Policy.  Commissioner Anderson stated he knows it is a Board policy, but it is wrong, especially in today's financial conditions.  Commissioner Nelson stated the Board asks for experience; and what Commissions Anderson is saying is if a firm has experience then they cannot bid; and if that is the Board's policy, that is fine, but it is not, and a policy cannot be created in the middle of a bid.  Commissioner Anderson stated he warned the Board six months ago that he was going to use that as a criteria; and he believes it is too long for somebody to audit any entity, and not just Brevard County. 

 

Mr. Hayes pointed out that over that period of time there have been five different partners performing the audit; and when there is partner rotation, it helps with the situation Commissioner Anderson is referring to.

 

Commissioner Infantini stated there is a policy that says the Board wants experience and there is no limitation on the number of years a firm can serve; she personally is against that policy; however, that is the policy and if someone does not like it, it needs to be changed; but it does not get changed midstream in a process.  She stated she cannot believe there is a debate over whether or not BHW&L are a local firm; she worked for them almost 20 years ago; there are no other relationships or contacts; she does not understand the ranking process as to why less than two points were given; but Commissioner Anderson is correct that it is not the Board's responsibility to catch the oversight, but it was caught.  She inquired if it was protested.  Mr. Hayes responded it was protested.  Commissioner Infantini inquired why it was not granted if it was a mistake.  Mr. Hayes responded, he thinks the Protest Committee believed it would be bold to interpret it being an obvious mistake; in the RFP guidelines, it says if there is an obvious mistake it has the right to clarify the mistake; and the Protest Committee believed that it was not an obvious mistake, which he found to be unusual.  He stated the purchasing policy also says if it is an irregularity, which is not as great as an obvious mistake, then the Commissioners can waive the issue; and based on those two things there does not have to be a waiver.  Commissioner Infantini stated she believes it was the intent of the policy to give the two points; for the record, she is 100 percent opposed to BHW&L having the contract for 31 years, but if that is the policy, the rules needs to be followed regardless if she agrees with them; and then going forward after today, she is suggesting to have the policy changed, but not retroactively.  

 

John Hopkins, Berman Hopkins Wright & LaHam CPA;'s & Associates, LLP, expressed his apologies to the Board for its mistake; he is embarrassed by it, but the fact is, BHW&L is a local firm that employees a lot of people in Brevard County; there are eight to 10 people who work on the audit at one time; and there were several opportunities, in the process, to award the two points to BHW&L because the form was filled out prior to the Selection Committee not having the opportunity to discuss whether or not BHW&L is local or not, and give the two points.  He point out that in paragraph five of the RFP, it say that the Purchasing Department has the right to correct obvious mistakes; it says the same thing in Brevard County's Purchasing Manual; and BHW&L are requesting the one and a-half point be award. 

 

Wayne Cooper, Cherry, Bekaert & Holland, LLP (CB&H), stated he is a partner of Whitaker Cooper Financial Group, which has been in Brevard County for 25 years.  He stated he has been a very viable part of the community; he serves on the EDC and has been very involved in charities; he has learned a lot and thought being ranked number one means a lot because it meant there was experience and expertise; and he later found out it did not mean anything.  He stated in the last three years he took it upon himself to get involved in the County; he met Commissioner Anderson who put him on a couple of boards, he is on the School Board's Auditing Committee, the EDC, Space Coast Early Intervention Center, and Promise; and Whitaker Cooper Financial Group is a local firm who is also involved with CB&H.  He added he has known CB&H for 13 years, they bought his ex-firm in Virginia Beach, Virginia; and he is financially connected with them.  He stated the selection process is over, and CB&H has been ranked No. 1 this year and three years ago; it came very close to getting the 50 percent, as it did not go for the local County extra two points, it got one-half of a point; and he did not push for more, but if it means that much then it will be pushed to get the extra two points to put them on par.  He stated Lisa Cullen was not very happy prior to the audit process because she had a lot of questions about certain things; and changing her rankings from one to two and vice versa, he would think that the Board would need to talk to her personally because she might have something to say. 

 

Commissioner Infantini inquired why Mr. Cooper does not get the local preference; and stated she did not realize he was with CB&H.  Mr. Cooper responded he took the conservative approach, he was not quite sure how many people could be allocated, but given how important it is, five to six people can be allocated; and that would put them at 50 percent.  Commissioner Infantini stated she does not understand why he is not receiving the local preference.  Mr. Cooper pointed out there were no errors made; auditors are supposed to catch errors, but are only human and can make them; and it means a lot to his firm to be able to bring people to the area to purchase homes and items in Brevard County.

 

Commissioner Anderson inquired if CB&H can fill the local preference requirements if needed.  Mr. Cooper responded yes.  Commissioner Anderson stated if it going to be awarded to one, it needs to be awarded to both today.

 

Commissioner Bolin inquired how many people currently working for Mr. Cooper physically live in Brevard County.  Mr. Cooper responded all of the 20 people in his office live in Brevard County.  Commissioner Bolin inquired how many are going to be working on the audit. Mr. Cooper responded six people can work on the audit. 

 

Commissioner Nelson stated he sat through the presentations, most of which were about CB&H and now Mr. Cooper is substituting what was previously said about its experience; and now Mr. Cooper is saying he, as his firm, Whitaker Cooper Financial Group, is going to do it; and that was not in the presentation.  Mr. Cooper responded the presentation was made that way because it was specifically said that Whitaker Cooper Financial Group brings the local flair and local knowledge to the table; and he cannot win this audit based on his experience.  Commissioner Nelson stated he understands Mr. Cooper, but the evaluation made was based on the experience of CB&H.  Mr. Cooper stated CB&H would be overseeing the audit with Whitaker Cooper Financial Group doing the work.

 

Chairman Fisher inquired if local preference was qualified for when making his presentation.  Mr. Cooper responded yes, but he did not commit those six people because he played the conservative approach.  Chairman Fisher inquired if he committed to putting six people on it and told individuals on the panel of such.  Mr. Cooper responded he did not tell the people on the panel that.  Chairman Fisher inquired if the local preference box was checked.  Mr. Cooper responded no, he did not check the local preference box.  Chairman Fisher inquired if Mr. Cooper was trying to get local preference credit.  Mr. Cooper responded he was not trying to get any local preference; he did not think it meant a lot because experience and knowledge means a lot in this; and CB&H has that for sure. 

 

Commissioner Infantini stated her understanding of the policy is that local preference is to be awarded if there is a strong local presence within a community; and she is happy to have statewide expertise on the audit.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated he thinks a resolution to this is, since neither party properly or diligently claimed local preference at the time of presentation, give both parties local preference to settle it; and then it is very clear-cut that the rankings remain the same.

 

Commissioner Nelson stated what strikes him is what the Committee saw is different today than it was the day presentations were given because it was represented that CB&H was going to be the lead with its expertise and experience, that Mr. Cooper's firm was going to be working with them and gaining expertise; but the expertise was based on CB&H, who are a quality firm and there is no question about that, which is why it got three number one rankings, but so did BHW&L.  He went on to say, in effect, there was a tie; the minutes reflect that there was confusion over why BHW&L did not get the local preference, which surprised everyone because it is known; and he thinks the big difference is a firm whose organization is in Brevard County and had the expertise for years versus one who is going to oversee another firm, who, on their own merit, could not have got the bid.  He noted Mr. Cooper admitted his firm does not have the experience; and if there was a presentation heard on his experience, even with CB&H as a second to it, he thinks his vote has to go with those who have the greater experience.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated the vote with the experience was with the Tax Collector; the Board has no knowledge of how it would have been voted; now with the local preference coming up on both sides, Commissioner Nelson's vote may not of changed; and he does not think the Tax Collector's vote would have changed, based on conversations.  He stated the Board can award both local preference, do it for three years, and then they can bid again; and that is how the system should work to keep the politics out of it.

 

Commissioner Nelson inquired if Commissioner Anderson is being political.  Commissioner Anderson responded he not being political, he is being ethical; he is from a company of which there is no way an auditor would audit books for 30 years straight; and he would like to see one private, Fortune 500, Company that has one.  Commissioner Nelson advised it is unethical to change the rules in the middle of the process.  Commissioner Anderson stated that is being done right now; and if local preference is given to one, it needs to be given to the other because Mr. Cooper just stated he qualified for it.

Ron Conrad, Cherry, Bekaert & Holland, LLP, stated he would like to emphasize the fiduciary aspects of what the Board's decision amounts to; CB&H employs people from Brevard County who own properties, and have grown up here; he has a resume on his desk right now from someone in Cocoa Beach; and there is a lot of local presence with local experiences.  He stated he has over 20 years of experience himself; he wrote a national book for the previous firm he worked for, which is nation’s largest accounting, auditing, and development firm before working for CB&H, which he thinks give him some credentials; his primary expertise is county government; and there are six counties in the State of Florida CB&H handles, consisting of Orange, Lee, Hillsborough, Martin, Charlotte, and Monroe Counties.  He stated from a fiduciary standpoint for the County as a whole, and its citizens, it is very important to consider the amount of expertise and best practices CB&H will bring to the County with how to save things for the people of Brevard County.  He advised CB&H has six people from Brevard County it can bring to the table with its team; and the number two ranked firm has six people from Brevard County, so there is really not much of a difference; and what is really being discussed here is a fiduciary responsibility and getting the expertise the Brevard County needs to improve its operations for its citizens.  He stated CB&H has a great thing it can bring to Brevard County; the 30-plus years have already been mentioned that the other firms has provided for the County; he looked at the BHW&L presentation, and it has county experience of Flagler County which rotated after three years; it has experience of Okeechobee County that also rotated after three years; and there are no other counties.  He stated after 31 years, he does not know of any other county in the State of Florida who has this situation; the Board owes it to its citizens to provide the fresh perspective and expertise from the other counties, and CB&H has been ranked number one this time and the last time, with a totally different Selection Committee; and the counties supported by CB&H has ranked them number one as well. 

 

Chairman Fisher inquired how old is Mr. Conrad's firm.  Mr. Conrad responded it was established in 1947.  Chairman Fisher inquired what is the longest contract CB&H has had with any entity.  Mr. Conrad responded 10 or 11 years; and when dealing with government and not-for-profit organizations, there is a need to rotate.

 

Commissioner Nelson inquired if CB&H would bid again on the contract it has for 10 or 11 years, and what would its presentation be.  Mr. Conrad responded Orange County has a penalty it put in place; and if CB&H does an audit again it will be penalized, and that was not considered in this selection process.  Commissioner Nelson stated that is a policy, which is like Commissioner Infantini was talking about creating a policy and everyone playing by the rules; he is sure that CB&H bids on contracts that have been in place for three, four, and five years and will continue to bid on them as long as possible, and will say it has the best experience and it should be the one selected; and inquired why should it be taken away because in this particular circumstance it works to CB&H's advantage.  Mr. Conrad responded those entities mentioned will change; some have mandatory rotation policies to where he cannot bid; others will have penalties against him if he does bid; and others will simply say CB&H have been in place long enough. 

 

Commissioner Nelson stated it is the Board's choice, but the contracts would be bid on failing any of those kinds of circumstances because Mr. Conrad is a business person, continuing, and wanting the experience, and that is all that has happened here; if the Board wants to change its rules, it can, but the rules are in place right now, which is based on experience, and CB&H qualifies; and it is a bit ingenuous to argue one has been here too long.  Mr. Conrad stated he would expect a change in auditors; and the citizens would expect a change.  Commissioner Nelson inquired as a firm, why not decide arbitrarily that anything over three years, not to bid.  Mr. Conrad responded CB&H is not in the fiduciary responsibility, it is independent auditors, and in fact, it is not CB&H's responsibility to make the decision of whether or not they are worthy auditors.

 

Commissioner Anderson reiterated he has tried to entertain that; and it was his feeling that the Board was unwilling to put a policy in place, in effect, to favor the incumbent.

      

Commissioner Infantini stated when she ranked the firms there were percentages that each firm was given, and whomever got the highest percentage got a score of one, the second highest got a score of two; if it was scored based on raw numbers one through five and both receiving local preference, CB&H would win; if it was scored based on percentages allocated and both receiving local preference, CB&H would win; if she took away the local preference based on percentages, CB&H would still win; and scoring would be 570 points compared to 565. She stated, assuming the intent is to make sure that it is a local firm is strongly represented, both firms fit the bill, but its bringing extra expertise from out of the County, which she thinks is not a bad thing, it is a good thing because she likes to always tap into other experts for her information; and she does not see it as a negative. 

 

Commissioner Nelson added he has a concern about the scoring process because there could literally be someone who gets four number ones and end up being in second place; the Board literally has someone who got four ones and ended up being in second place; he does not know what needs to be done to change that, but the same thing happens with percentages, if somebody wants to give a bad percentage, they can basically skew the scores; and he is puzzled by the one score, he does not know how it happened, but it clearly happened and he thinks the two firms that were one and two deserve to be ones and twos.  He stated he could have given CB&H a five on the one that had 50, because he wanted a firm to possibly not get the bid; and could do that, but he did not because he scored CB&H just behind BHW&L; but if CB&H wants to make sure somebody does not get it and they are a Selection Committee Member, the accusation can be made.

 

Mr. Conrad pointed out the Tax Collector voted CB&H number one; he believes that every Selection Committee Member gave ranking of the firm; the rankings are done and the Protest Committee heard everything; and CB&H are ranked number one right now based on the ranking.  Commissioner Nelson stated CB&H is ranked number one based on the secondary votes; he explained CB&H had three points; BHW&L had three points; and it was the secondary votes that caused CB&H to end up number one.  He stated had he given CB&H a three, as opposed to a two, it would be a tie again; the point is there is a system in place that needs addressing; he is not saying it is CB&H's fault or BHW&L's, it is a system that ends up with potentially someone who did not have a consensus as being the number one choice; and he thinks there is something wrong with that.  Mr. Conrad stated he does not think the Tax Collector's vote would have changed, regardless of the points.  Commissioner Nelson stated he is not saying that it would; but what he is saying it is a three-three. 

 

Chairman Fisher stated if experience and expertise with BHW&L is looked at, it has one member ranking it a 30, with others ranking it a 45; the fact of the matter is, is 30 a realistic score for experience.  Commissioner Anderson stated he thinks BHW&L have been doing this for too long and objectivity is lost.  Mr. Conrad stated it is totally consistent from the ranking three years ago; BHW&L have no other counties it audits; and CB&H has added more counties and has 40,000 hours of experience among its team.  Chairman Fisher stated unlike the other Commissioners, he came into this process with an open mind; he did not start the selection process saying someone has 30 years of experience and they are not worthy of it.  Mr. Conrad stated he would like for the Board to do the right thing for its citizens.

 

Jim Fallace stated he is the attorney representing the number one ranked applicant CB&H/Whitaker Cooper; the issue he wanted to address with the Board has changed dramatically, in light of Commissioners Anderson's and Nelson's comments; Commissioner Nelson said that the system in place needs addressing; and the State legislature had anticipated a system needing addressing could be flawed, as Commissioner Anderson said, by second guessing the Selection Committee and the Protest Committee and going back to re-evaluate what had already been done.  He stated the applicable section in the Florida Statues is 218.3.91.4.(a), which says once the Selection Committee selects and qualifies the minimum of three applicants, the governing body has three options in sub-paragraph (a), which read, "If compensation was not one of the factors considered by the Selection Committee, the governing body shall negotiate a contract with the firm ranked first"; and stated it contemplates the Board is not supposed to go behind the Selection Committee and re-evaluate its evaluations; but it says 'shall negotiate'.  He stated if the Board conducts the negotiation and fails to reach a meeting-of-the-minds contract, then it shall go to the second ranked applicant; he recognizes there are two other alternatives; one is the alternative that creates what Commissioner Nelson was saying about a system that needs addressed, and the governing body may negotiate a contract with one of the applicants if it announces an appropriate alternative negotiation method, which no one has done; and applicants do not know what factors are being used.  He stated a County staff report was written recommending that CB&H and Whitaker Cooper be awarded as the best ranked firm; as the representative for CB&H and Whitaker Cooper, he is recommending the Board to follow the statue and negotiate with the first ranked firm, and not undermine what its Selection, Audit, and Protest Committees, or staffs determination of best interest, which recommends that the contract be awarded; if the system needs to be addressed, and there are other facts to be considered, the Audit Committee under the first two paragraphs of this statue say it can state what factors are going to be considered; and CB&H is just as confused as BHW&L are by what some of the Audit Committee members put down as votes. 

 

Commissioner Nelson stated Mr. Fallace's clients started changing the nature of the original presentation by saying instead of it being CB&H, it is going to use Whitaker Cooper as the primary source of personnel; and that led Commissioner Anderson to say they should get the same local preference.  He stated it is kind of contradictory that the firm Mr. Fallace represents came before the Board today doing the same thing, which is trying to change the outcome based on new information that the Audit Committee did not see.  Mr. Fallace stated CB&H and Whitaker Cooper is not asking to have the experience errors seen; and it is should be noted that there may have been some confusion as to his role in Whitaker Cooper.  He went on to say to come before the Board and say eight jobs will be lost if it is not awarded to the second ranked applicant is not entirely fair if combined with the experience issue; local preference is one factor that the Board decided to put into the total bundle of factors for this contract; it is not the determining factor; and it needs to be understood that CB&H took the conservative approach.

 

Jim LaHam stated he has been a partner of BHW&L since 1992; he has been a resident since 1989; and he was the managing partner for a little over 15 years.  He stated after hearing a lot of the discussion, he needs to be clear that BHW&L is a very strong government-based auditing firm; and government auditing is an extensive part of its auditing practices, much more so than most firms in the country.  He stated CB&H is a very good government firm, but he does not want any misunderstandings of BHW&L's experience; and there was a clear, obvious, unambiguous mistake that could have been corrected all along the way, but for some reason it was not; it has been apologized for, the error should have been picked up by several people along the way.  He stated going back to Mr. Fallace's argument about what the statues say and if the obvious error is fixed, BHW&L would have been ranked number one, and the process would have been complete; BHW&L is not asking for any additional consideration; he finds it very troubling that Whitaker Cooper is now all of the sudden going to be responsible for managing the audit when they do not have the capacity at this moment in time to have those folks on this type of job; CB&H certainly has a very solid staff; and he thinks it is unfair to now change the rules to say that CB&H is now going to redirect its entire staff.

 

He stated BHW&L is correcting its error; the rules seem to be changing along the way for CB&H; these two firms are extremely talented firms that will make the County proud; and there will not be a loss, from the County's perspective, in its choice to choose between the two firms.  He added if it is looked at fundamentally, BHW&L have won fair and square, and he is asking the Board to consider that.

 

Motion by Commissioner Anderson, seconded by Commissioner Infantini to accept the Selection and Audit Committees ranking; and authorized negotiations with the best ranked firm.

 

Chairman Fisher stated both firms received three number one rankings; he is familiar with BHW&L being a local firm; and upon observing Lisa Cullen's rankings, if BHW&L would have received the two points for local preference, BHW&L would have received four number one rankings and CB&H would have had two number ones.  He added citizens have been telling the Board for years that they are taxpayers and want to know why more business are not given local preference; that Board even created an ordinance for local preference, to try to give crecits; and stated he will not be able to support Commissioner Anderson's motion.

 

Commissioner Infantini stated often times people have a predisposition of who is wanted to end up on the top; there are 50 points for one criteria and 30 to 40 for another criteria; she has nothing against BHW&L; she did not come in with a predisposition, but based on facts she does not see how the Board can overturn two years in a row what an Audit Committee has determined; and she thinks it will be a little bit tough.

Commissioner Nelson stated the local preference issue needs addressed in order to move forward, if it is believed than an error has been made, and make it correctable, if appropriate.

 

Mr. Stultz added the Resolution establishing local preference with procedures was presented to the Board; it was drafted by a committee that consisted of contractors and vendors that were interested in establishing a local preference policy; when the categories are looked at it is not just the physical address of the businesses being located in Brevard County to acquire the highest points; an established business should have at least 50 percent of the employees assigned to the awarded contract residing in Brevard County; and the intent is to make sure tax dollars remain in Brevard County.  He stated the categories and applied percentages are very clear in the Resolution, and not subjective evaluations; in this instance qualifying for a category one, the company receives two points; if qualifying for a category two, which is a Florida business that is hiring at least two percent of its staff from Brevard County, the company receives one point; and Florida companies that are established in Florida received one-half of one point.  He stated Purchasing staff have to take what the contractor claims on its affidavit of eligibility because it is dependent upon meeting all the compliances of the employees being assigned to the contract; he clarified why it did not appear to be an obvious mistake; it is known by all Purchasing staff that BHW&L has a long standing presence in Brevard County; and when the form was completed it only stated it was a Florida company, and it is felt it was not an obvious error. He stated BHW&L's proposal says its staff works out of two offices to service clients throughout Florida, and its offices are located at 8035 Spy Glass Hill Road in Melbourne, and at 255 South Orange Avenue in Orlando; and to meet its needs, BHW&L has organized a team of its most qualified professionals utilizing its resources from each office.  He stated if BHW&L had stated in its original proposal that it was going to staff the contract with employees specifically out of its Suntree office, it would have been classified as an obvious error; in the affidavit of eligibility from CB&H, it claimed it was not just a Florida business, but a local Florida business receiving the same assessment of points; it provided a footnote at the bottom of its affidavit of eligibility saying Whitaker Cooper qualifies for category one; and Whitaker Cooper's and CB&H's personnel are expected to be less than 50 percent of current residency in Brevard County.  He emphasized it further proves that the Purchasing staff can only take consideration of what is applied by the contractor or proposer; staff cannot second guess what is trying to be said, or what should have been said; and he thinks to do so would skew the fair and equal playing field that public procurement standards go by.

 

Commissioner Nelson stated he does not think that anyone has said that Purchasing made a mistake.                       

 

Mr. Stultz stated he understands; he questions why BHW&L claimed it was only a Florida business; there have been 300 solicitations since the Board adopted a local preference Policy; Purchasing routinely takes note that there are local businesses that claim a lesser category; and he thinks one of the reasons for it is, as an example, Orange County has a reciprocity rule in its procurement policy meaning if a firm receives a local preference from another county, that preference percentage is added to its score; and it is basically a reverse local preference rule.  He stated he cannot second guess whether BHW&L considered that or why it completed the form it did; and he does not believe the Purchasing staff can make any assumptions on one bid or proposal versus another.

 

Scott Knox, County Attorney, stated he would like some clarification of the issue brought up by BHW&L during its presentation today; in their oral presentation it was indicated that they were a local firm; and inquired if that is accurate.  Mr. Stultz responded he believes it is a fair and accurate statement.  Attorney Knox inquired if the Purchasing staff and the Selection Committee reviewing it all had that information in front of them.  Mr. Stultz responded that is correct.

 

Commissioner Nelson inquired if the issue of local preference needs clarification as an error.  Attorney Knox responded yes, it would be an appropriate step.  Commissioner Nelson stated at the time of the presentation, he thought it was an obvious error; he does not know how it got to this point now in this way, but it is something that needs addressed; and he thinks the Selection Committee was confused by the local preference, which can be read in the minutes; and based on that, it is clear with the information received that BHW&L is a local firm, and deserves to have been scored as such.

 

Commissioner Infantini stated she thinks Commissioner Nelson has lived in Brevard County since about 1990; the Board has worked with BHW&L since before 1990 or 1990; and she inquired why Commissioner Nelson did not correct the local preference then and give the two points for local preference.  Commissioner Nelson responded it was already written on the score sheet and he did not have a choice to make that interpretation, as it was already on the score sheet for; and it was questioned at the meeting.  Commissioner Infantini inquired if it was allowed to be corrected at the meeting so that everybody would know exactly what number ranking they were going to end up with, and were not permitted to make any changes.  Commissioner Nelson responded no.

 

Mr. Stultz stated Purchasing staff applied the local preference based upon what is stated on the vendor affidavit.

 

Chairman Fisher stated if the score sheets are handwritten scores of local preferences.  Commissioner Infantini stated it was questioned, but she does not understand why it was not permitted to make the a change and corrected right then and there.  Chairman Fisher stated he thinks it was questioned after the rankings came out. 

 

Commissioner Nelson stated that discussion took place at the time of the ranking process, and they were told that was what they requested; and the scoring was unable to be changed.  Mr. Stultz stated Purchasing staff has consistently applied the local preference scoring since the adoption of the local preference, for the fact of providing a better opportunity for an accurate analysis by the Selection Committee; and it could not be used as a way of backing into a score.

 

Commissioner Nelson stated he thinks Commissioner Infantini is right, the process should have been stopped at that moment for the ability to address the issue of whether or not BHW&L deserves the local preference, and resolve that issue; and then get the committee back together to complete the process; but it was unable to be done.

 

Commissioner Infantini suggested maybe the process should go back to re-rankings, so that everybody has an equal opportunity, because at this point it is second-guessing what was understood or what was not understood, by allowing one firm to make a change, but not allowing another firm to make a change; both firms are really great firms, but she does not want to repeat the mistakes of a previous Board.  She stated she does not think it is appropriate that the Board should be re-ranking them; either let the Selection Committee re-rank it completely, and then both firms would go in with full disclosure between the two; and she does not think it is appropriate. 

 

Commissioner Anderson stated he believes that any contract that comes before the Board, whether it is these individuals, or whomever, it is incumbent upon the applicant to have their paperwork right; that is a part of doing business in America; and especially when talking about audits that require a high level of detail; and regardless if it was caught of not, if the opportunity is going to be afforded to BW&L, then it can be afforded just as easily to Cooper Whitaker. 

 

Attorney Knox stated he would like clarification from Commissioner Nelson of the reason he is not going to be selecting the highest ranked firm.  Commissioner Nelson stated he would like Attorney Knox's guidance, in terms of the process itself; and stated he believes local preference is deserving and needs addressed.  Attorney Knox stated if local preference is going to give BHW&L enough points to become the number one firm, then that would be a reason not to select the original number one firm.  Commissioner Nelson responded yes.

Commissioner Infantini inquired how can one firm receive local preference and not the other.  Attorney Knox responded in this case, it is obvious to him that an oral presentation was made to the same group that made its decision based upon a point five ranking for local preference; during the presentation, it was made clear that BHW&L are a local firm, so clearly there was a mistake someplace; and he thinks there is plenty of evidence to support that decision.  Commissioner Infantini inquired why it was not caught by the Protest Committee.  Attorney Knox responded he does not know what went through the Protest Committee Members minds, but they did not know about the oral presentation.

 

Chairman Fisher inquired if it is true that CB&H said in their presentation that they would not use people who are mostly from Brevard County.  Mr. Stultz responded yes, there was a footnote on the affidavit that indicated they may not meet the 50 percent requirement. 

 

Commissioner Anderson stated there are three votes on the dais; BHW&L is going to get awarded regardless of what happened; and he cannot go to his residents and tell them he has a good feeling about the audits being presented to the Board.  Chairman Fisher stated the only problem he has with Commissioner Anderson's comments is that he started this process prejudice against BHW&L.  Commissioner Anderson stated it is because a 31-year timeline for any contract is ridiculous. 

 

Commissioner Anderson inquired why the Board is afraid to have a new set of eyes placed on the financial integrity of this County.  Chairman Fisher stated he does not have a problem with another firm winning the audit; he haves no strong ties to the firms, either way; and he respects them and thinks they do a good job.

 

Commissioner Nelson reiterated both firms are quality firms, he does not think the Board would be hurt by either being selected; he thinks the question is asking to ignore something the Board  has placed on its own package, which is local preference; and there may be a simpler process in terms of length of time.

 

Commissioner Infantini stated she has read the audits, and they are comprehensive and complete audits; the management report is extensive; the last thing that management report seemed to do was to show any bias or any favoritism toward Brevard County government and its operations; the disclosure was incredible; and she is not worried about its auditing going forward, at all.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated he is not against the company, but nobody can tell him that after 31 years they have auditors that do not have relationships with elected officials; and there is no way a person can separate that.  He stated unless he is proven otherwise, he will tell his constituents that he does not think there has been a lot of scrutiny in the County's finances; and it goes back to the millage and the budget.

 

Chairman Fisher inquired if Commissioner Nelson's motion is for Berman Hopkins, based on the fact that they deserve local preference; with Commissioner Nelson responding affirmatively.

 

The Board approved ranking Berman Hopkins Wright and LaHam CPA's & Associates, LLP as the number one ranked firm with deserving facts of being a locally based firm, responding to Request for Proposals (RFP) #P-1-11-09, External Audit Services for Brevard County; and authorized the Chairman to execute the subsequent negotiated contract. 

 

 

Mr. Stultz reminded the Board there is an additional item on the Agenda Report to establish a negotiation committee; and inquired if the Board wanted to choose an additional member.  He advised currently the committee is comprised of County Finance Director, Mike McDaniel, and Assistant County Manager, Stockton Whitten; and there needs to be one additional appointee of the Board.

 

Attorney Knox stated the first thing the Board needs to decide is whether or not the negotiation is going to be based solely upon compensation or not; if a member is not going to negotiate solely upon compensation, there is additional ground for moving away from the number one ranked firm; and that would be his recommendation.  He explained, Mr. Fallace came before the Board and pointed out several options that the statute gives the Board; the last option was that the Board can ignore the number one ranked firm and go to another firm if the negotiation is going to be conducted in a manner that is different than what the Board originally contemplated, which is a committee of three; and if the predominate factors are not going to be compensation, it is considered by that group of negotiators.  He stated it would bolster the Board's position today to direct the negotiating group not to negotiate predominately based on compensation, and to create a different forum of the negotiating committee than what it originally proposed to do.  He advised the Board could add people or delete people from the committee, or it could turn it over to one person.

 

Attorney Knox recommended the Board direct the County Manager not to use compensation as the predominate basis for the contract negotiation.

 

Motion by Commissioner Nelson, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to direct the County Manager to not use compensation as the predominate basis for the contract negotiation.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

MOVER:            Chuck Nelson, Commissioner District 2

SECONDER:     Mary Bolin, Commissioner District 4

AYES:                Robin Fisher, Chuck Nelson, Mary Bolin

NAYS:                Trudie Infantini, Andy Anderson

 

 

 

The Board authorized the current refunding of the South Brevard Recreation District Limited Ad Valorem Tax Bonds, Series 2001, Merritt Island Recreation Municipal Service Taxing Unit Limited Ad Valorem Tax Bonds, Series 2001, and North Brevard Recreation District Limited Ad Valorem Tax Bonds, Series 2001; and adopted Resolution No. 11-163, outlining an Interest Rate Lock Agreement with PNC Bank regarding the refunding Bonds.

 

MOVER:            Trudie Infantini, Commissioner District 3

SECONDER:     Chuck Nelson, Commissioner District 2

AYES:                Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

 

 

 

Howard Tipton, County Manager, advised the Item is an acknowledgement notification by the City of Titusville regarding some modification to its Downtown CRA Redevelopment Plan; and is involves the use of incentives by the City of Titusville.

 

The Board acknowledged the receipt of the City of Titusville's notice to amend the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) Downtown Redevelopment Plan, per F.S. 163.346.

 

MOVER:            Chuck Nelson, Commissioner District 2

SECONDER:     Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5

AYES:                Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

 

 

 

Paul Novick, owner/operator of the Complex Cafe, stated something was skipped when his rent reduction was negotiated, which was that several times during the year he is virtually out of business; those times include when the Judges are on conference, when it is a holiday week, when there is virtually no activity in the courthouse, and also when the County is closed for holidays; and he respectfully requests that he be exempt from paying rent on those days.  He noted he still has the cost of doing business, because unlike the County, he cannot furlough his employees; he has a small staff of good people, but he is not going to be able to keep those people if he tells them they cannot work on those days.  He stated he would like the exemption to be retroactive to when the new Agreement was signed.

 

Commissioner Nelson suggested the Board direct staff to look into the fiscal impact for the Board if it grants Mr. Novick the exemption.  Commissioner Anderson concurred, and suggested the County Manager draft some language for the Board on the subject. Commissioner Nelson stated the Board is willing to consider it, but it needs to know more details about what it means financially.

 

Howard Tipton, County Manager, stated staff has taken a look at what the total amount of rent-exempt days would be, and it is approximately 13 days per year that would be impacted, equaling $780 less in rent.

 

Chairman Fisher announced he will abstain from the vote, as he has a possible conflict in that he does insurance business with Mr. Novick.

 

The Board acknowledged the request of Paul Novick, Complex Cafe, to amend the contract providing rent relief at the Moore Justice Center when Judges re having conference, and on holiday weeks; and directed staff to move forward with the reduction of rent.

 

 

 

Upon consensus of the Board, the meeting was adjourned at 12:57 p.m.

 

 

 

 

 

ATTEST:                                                                                                                                

                                                                        ROBIN L. FISHER, CHAIRMAN

                                                                        BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

                                    _______                      BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA

MITCH NEEDELMAN, CLERK