May 24, 2011 Regular
May 24 2011
CALL TO ORDER
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Title
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Status
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Arrived
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Robin Fisher
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Chairman / Commissioner District 1
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Present
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Chuck Nelson
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Commissioner District 2
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Present
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Trudie Infantini
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Commissioner District 3
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Present
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Mary Bolin
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Commissioner District 4
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Present
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Andy Anderson
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Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5
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Present
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INVOCATION
The invocation was given by Pastor Greg Phillips, Church on the Rock, Melbourne.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Chairman Fisher led the assembly in the Pledge of Allegiance.
The Board approved the April 5, 2011 Regular Meeting Minutes; and May 5, 2011 Zoning Meeting Minutes.
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Mary Bolin, Commissioner District 4
SECONDER: Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5
AYES: Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson
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Commissioner Anderson read aloud a resolution recognizing Eagle Scout Christian Alexander Van Zandt II.
Christian Van Zandt II stated he started out in Troop No. 51 then he transferred to Troop 257; he did a lot of camping, learned survival skills, and citizenship; he led a group of 64 boys who painted storm drains with a big stencil that said "No Dumping"; and helped the City of Palm Bay.
The Board adopted Resolution No. 11-103, recognizing Christian Alexander Van Zandt II for his outstanding efforts in obtaining his Boy Scout Troop Eagle Scout Award; and offered congratulations and best wishes for a successful future.
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5
SECONDER: Trudie Infantini, Commissioner District 3
AYES: Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson
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Commissioner Anderson read aloud a resolution recognizing Eagle Scout David J. Kverek.
David J. Kverek stated Scouting has been a big part of his life; the first Merit Badge he earned was Music, which is what he is choosing to pursue in life; his Eagle Scout project was a big success; on the morning of his project it looked a little sketchy because not a lot of people were there; but as the day progressed, he ended up with 24 workers, which made for a successful project.
Scout Master Kverek of No. 257 in Palm Bay, with Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church stated that the church has been a great resource and inspiration to the Troop and for the young boys who are learning leadership skills and earning numerous religious awards for the Catholic Church; and he is very proud of all the Scouts in his Troop and throughout the United States. He stated 2010 is the 100th Anniversary of Scouting; they all wear a special badge that signifies it; and he expressed his thanks to the Board for having them present today.
The Board adopted Resolution No. 11-104, recognizing David J. Kverek for his outstanding efforts in obtaining his Boy Scout Eagle Scout Award; and offered congratulations and best wishes for a successful future.
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5
SECONDER: Trudie Infantini, Commissioner District 3
AYES: Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson
Commissioner Nelson read aloud a resolution recognizing Kyle Morgan.
Kyle Morgan stated "What Patriotism Means to Me" was a History assignment given by his teacher; he took it very serious; he wrote about a trip he took in the seventh grade to Arlington Cemetery; and seeing how many Unknown Soldier's had died and sacrificed their lives to protect America for Freedom had really inspired him to write the essay. He stated he would like to thank God, Fleet Reserve Association (FRA), his teachers, and Ms. Bounds by ensuring the essay arrived at FRA; and he expressed his thanks to the Board for the Resolution.
The Board adopted Resolution No. 11-105, congratulating Kyle Morgan for winning the FRA Essay Contest on, "What Patriotism Means to Me".
Dean Schaaf, Fleet Reserve Association (FRA) representative, stated FRA would like to present Mr. Morgan with three $1,000 Savings Bonds; he has already received several plaques; but there is another one to present to him with a National Award Certificate that goes along with the Bonds. He stated he would like to recognize Arlene Bounds who is the teacher that has supported FRA over the years; she does make the essay an assignment; a majority of entries come from Merritt Island Christian School; and he is honored for the success.
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Chuck Nelson, Commissioner District 2
SECONDER: Mary Bolin, Commissioner District 4
AYES: Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson
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Chairman Fisher read aloud a resolution proclaiming May, 2011 as Civility Month.
Samuel Bookhardt III, Brevard County Bar Association President, expressed his thanks to the Board for the Resolution; and the Bar Association is in full support of the Resolution.
The Board adopted Resolution No. 11-106, proclaiming May, 2011 as Civility Month; and called upon all citizens to exercise civility toward each other.
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Trudie Infantini, Commissioner District 3
SECONDER: Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5
AYES: Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson
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The Board adopted Resolution No. 11-107, proclaiming June 5 - June 11, 2011, as Management Week in Brevard County; and extended its congratulations to the FSCC upon celebrating its 30th anniversary.
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Mary Bolin, Commissioner District 4
SECONDER: Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5
AYES: Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson
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ITEM I.F. RESOLUTION, RE: CONGRATULATING KEEP BREVARD BEAUTIFUL UPON THE CELEBRATION OF THEIR 30TH ANNIVERSARY
Chairman Fisher read aloud a resolution congratulating Keep Brevard Beautiful upon the celebration of their 30th anniversary.
Pat Brown, Keep Brevard Beautiful, Inc. Executive Director, stated Keep Brevard Beautiful is very proud to be a part of Brevard County and helping to keep it nice, clean, and beautiful.
Tony Sasso stated the partnership is enjoyed with Brevard County; he hopes Keep Brevard Beautiful delivers a lot more value than it receives; and its goal is to satisfy the County and every resident in the area.
Chairman Fisher stated the services that Keep Brevard Beautiful pays for saves the County millions; and he appreciates what is done.
The Board adopted Resolution No. 11-108, congratulating Keep Brevard Beautiful upon the celebration of their 30th anniversary; and wished them continued success in their efforts to create a better community for the citizens of Brevard County.
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5
SECONDER: Mary Bolin, Commissioner District 4
AYES: Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson
ITEM I.G. RESOLUTION, RE: RECOGNIZING AND COMMENDING THE BREVARD COUNTY PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT 2011 S.N.A.P. AWARD
Commissioner Nelson stated as Commissioners, the Board has to ensure the Permitting Services are streamlined, effective, and timely because time is money in the business world; the Simplified Nimble Accelerated Permitting (S.N.A.P.) got together and worked with the business community; they have done a remarkable job of changing how the County handles Permits and Permitting; and as a result of that, the Economic Development Commission (EDC) has awarded S.N.A.P. with certification. He read aloud a resolution recognizing and commending the Brevard County Planning and Development Department 2011 S.N.A.P. award.
Chairman Fisher stated he is very proud because there are only four communities that received the award; and the Planning and Development Department has gone out of its way to improve the process, which he thinks is wonderful.
Robin Sobrino, Planning and Development Director, expressed thanks to the EDC, Commissioners, and the County Mangers staff for support throughout all the efforts made; this award represents a collaboration of all Departments in Building A that are involved in development; and they all need to be acknowledged and recognized for this fine effort. She stated when the challenge was presented. people got going on it to face the challenge, and she is proud; and this can be looked at as a baseline for next year, to continue to improve performance and continue to be a place of economic development for Brevard County.
The Board adopted Resolution No. 11-109, recognizing and commending the Brevard County Planning and Development Department 2011 S.N.A.P. award.
Chairman Fisher stated this means this is a business friendly Planning and Zoning Building Department that goes through all the efforts to get things done quick, and to make it easier for the applicants and developers.
Commissioner Infantini expressed her thanks for all the efforts made; she has been working towards this for the last two years; and it is a job well done.
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Chuck Nelson, Commissioner District 2
SECONDER: Mary Bolin, Commissioner District 4
AYES: Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson
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Howard Tipton, County Manager, stated there was an email received last night from Ernest Brown, Natural Resources Management Director, regarding the Wetlands Working Group update; he read aloud the update for the audience, "The Floodplain and Wetland Working Group reconvened under Resolution 11-032, on February 22, 2011, for the expressed purpose of deliberating specific issues, and providing recommended changes for the Board of County Commissioners regarding Policies related to commercial, institutional, and industrial land uses in wetlands; the Working Group has diligently been working towards consensus on these issues; they completed six wetland specific meetings between March 15th and May 17th; however, they anticipate at least three additional meetings to allow them to present the most comprehensive recommendations possible. As the Resolution states that Members shall serve until completion of the report and presentation to the Board, no extension of the Resolution is necessary." Mr. Tipton advised there is no action required by the Board; and the Working Group will continue to meet until the work is done.
Commissioner Infantini inquired if Tom Schuller would come forward because she thinks that some of the Members are having a hard time continuing to serve because they thought their time frame would be up at this point; she knows there have been incredible strides made in improvements and at this point, so many Members are going to start falling off and some of the benefits already attained will be lost; and it could possibly start changing the direction of where the Board goes.
Tom Schuller, Farm Bureau representative, stated he has had the privilege of serving on the Wetlands Working Group as a representative for Farm Bureau; he is present today to urge the Commission not to extend this deadline; the Group has made great strides working through the issues for three months on interchanges; a unanimous vote was taken allowing impacts on wetlands around the interchanges of the I-95 corridor; consensus was made on developing industrial and commercial corridors, and allowing some impacts on some wetlands within those corridors; and he thinks the Group made great strides. He inquired how many Board Members know the greatest minority on the face of the earth; he advised it is the individual; and that is why a representative form of government is needed and individuals would be represented without mob-ruling. He stated the Working Group has a lot of grey input and ideas, but the individual gets left out; he thinks there have been some great strides made, but he would like to see the Board take the work done and look at all of the consensus's made; the final thing being work on is a map that showed the very few industrial and commercial corridors that were left within the County; it is miniscule the amount of wetlands that are owned by the County, State, and Federal Government; the point now of the committee is half the group has dug-there-heels-in saying no, they want to control growth through policy, not zoning; and he and the rest of group are saying freedom and liberty ought to be the Litmus test and it should protect individual rights. He stated there is a property owner present today that he met at the Wetlands Working Group who is an individual, who owns a piece of commercial property that he bought as an investment; if growth is trying to be controlled through policy, it is going to affect him greatly; he is urging the group to look at the work done and for the Board to make a decision and not fall back on these working groups; and if people do not like it, there are elections in November and things could change. He stated the Group that was put together is too diverse and it will never get a consensus; his first recommendation is for the Board to make the tough decision; and second, if the Board has to extend it for one meeting, go ahead and extend it and then get it over with.
Tony Alfaya stated he is one of the land owners that will be affected by the Board's decision; he provided the Board with a map of the area; he was not involved in the process; and he heard about it from someone telling him the Working Group is going to evaluate the commercial corridors that were established in the County many, many years ago. He stated he happens to be an individual who is a hard worker, who bought a piece of property with the expectation of one day using the funds to fund his children's college; he bought the property at the corridor of State Road 5A and U.S. 1, where there is a visual of I-95; the property is zoned commercial, which was his intent, to be able to develop the property, and make a profit just like everybody else who invests in a 401K or a retirement account. He stated someone told him the Working Group is in process; he was not notified; he asked the County why it did not notify the individual land owners; and he was told that it could not notify everybody in the County. He stated he is specifically talking about the northern section of the County; if the red dots on the map are looked at, there is really not that many large parcels at all; he was not notified as an individual; he does have the responsibility as a citizen to follow up on these things; he got the chance to read the minutes from the Working Group, but he started noticing the group has a real serious vent towards the conservation environmental area; he is raising his three children in Brevard County, he loves the environment, he lives on a cattle ranch, he is a very good manager of the resources; and he believes God gave that to his family, and he is going to protect it. He stated he had a little bit of a problem when he started reading the minutes of this Commission; the minutes really started leaning towards just the environmentalist speaking and speaking; there may have been one or two advocates for land development; he is not speaking of a large, Super Wal-Mart because that is not what is done in North Brevard; but he would like the opportunity to be able to open up a farmers market or some kind of small, commercial development. He advised his piece of property is 2,000 feet road frontage on U.S. 1 right where it intersects S.R. 5A; when the Florida Department of Transportation built this, it did not put in any swells; all of the runoff goes right into his property; the wetland was created that runs parallel to U.S. 1 and is a couple of feet wide; it restricts access to the rear part of his property; and the problem is, under the current legislation and rules, he cannot penetrate the wetland to access the rear part. He went on to say when he got up and tried to speak last week, the environmentalists said they did not want any development and the wetlands need protecting; and he does not believe in protecting the wetlands because all he is asking is to let it mitigate. He inquired why a wetland would be wanted next to a major highway, that is a large arterial road that feeds I-95. He stated he would buy two or three acres to his one to move these wetlands to a place that all could use and enjoy; yet the policy of this Group was absolutely no development; he bought the land, which cost a lot of money, he pays his taxes, interest on the property, and is still paying taxes; he wants to be treated fairly; and he is the guy who makes the payment and would like to have a voice on the committee. He stated if it was not for one or two people who stood up and inquired about the land owner, he would not be present today; that was said all they were interested in is saving the County through legislation and rule; he appreciates the opportunity to voice his speech; the Constitution says, we can petition the government; and he advised that is what he is doing today.
Commissioner Anderson stated he spoke with Mr. Schuller yesterday; there has been great strides made and a lot of recommendations were provided; a couple of representatives have not made a couple of the meetings who had probably been more friendly towards commercial development than they were the environment; he thinks the burden and the illness of these decisions fall upon the County Commission; and it does not need to be drug out any longer and it needs to start moving forward. He stated economic development will be discussed today; this is a great place to start by freeing up some degraded wetlands by developing there; save some good wetlands; and make the decisions, as elected to do.
Commissioner Infantini agreed with Commissioner Anderson; she stated the Board will be considering some economic development policy; the County is its own worst enemy against growth and development; the County wants to help people grow and develop their properties, yet the Board is the one who is putting all the rules in place and blocking people from doing so; if the rules were eliminated, maybe there would be growth and development in the areas needed the most; and she is in favor of closing down the Wetland Group.
Commissioner Nelson stated it is the first time he has ever heard a Group get criticized for taking public input; one side has been heard and the Board has not heard the other side; the whole purpose of the committee was to bring those issues back to the Board; and he likes Mr. Schuller's suggestions, but when it comes back, he would like to know what the specific issues are, that remain unresolved because then the Board would have some information it could actually deal with, as opposed to just hearing one side of it. He stated the Board has shown a willingness to talk about wetlands, particularly around the commercial nodes, but he would like to see what the issues are on both sides of that, and not just the one side heard so far; he would like to have one more meeting; and when it comes back, if there are any unsolved or unfinished issues, have those brought to the Board as well.
Mr. Brown stated he had staff direction from the Board to have one more meeting to provide the Board with a presentation as to what the findings of the group is.
Commissioner Anderson inquired if it can be made clear to the Cattlemen's Association and Soil and Water Conservation District, that they need to be at the meeting, since it is the final meeting, so one side does not have a stronger attendance than the other side. Mr. Brown responded he will make sure all the representatives are duly notified, so there is adequate representation; but he stated it will probably be a little bit longer of a meeting than normally held, with plenty of advanced notice to ensure all the information is available to the Working Group, so they can make informed decisions to present recommendations to the Board.
Chairman Fisher stated in all fairness he does not think he saw an environmentalist as part of the Group; but he looks forward to getting some recommendations back.
Commissioner Nelson stated he thinks everyone received the email from Bill Cannon, Fair Manager, advising the Brevard County Fair received its third consecutive Blue Ribbon Award for its Fair; it is a family, friendly event; and he appreciated and congratulated the great job done by the Fair Association.
Commissioner Nelson stated one of his greatest regrets since he has been in office is he had a gentleman who was heading to Iraq contact him; he wanted to take a County flag with him and one could not be sold to him; his issue is with Policy BCC-50, it says a County flag, because the County Seal is on the flag, cannot be used; and he thinks those flags should be sold to people who feel they want to fly them. He added, the State of Florida has the seal on the flag and they seem to have gotten passed that issue; if someone is so inclined to want to fly the Brevard County flag, he thinks they should be made available at cost; it strikes him that the Policy is out of touch with the County's constituents; and if a person is proud enough to fly the flag then it should be allowed.
Commissioner Bolin inquired if Scott Knox, County Attorney, can give any reason why this would not be able to be done. Attorney Knox responded Florida Statute allows the Board to approve use of the County Seal; and it would be appropriate.
Commissioner Anderson stated some municipalities have taken it a bit further by selling koozies and stuff to generate a little bit of funds; and he thinks if somebody wants to take the Brevard County flag to Iraq, he would buy it for them.
The Board approved amending Policy BCC-50, to allow the sale of Brevard County flags to the public.
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Chuck Nelson, Commissioner District 2
SECONDER: Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5
AYES: Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson
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Commissioner Bolin expressed the need for a special prayer for the Air Force Reserve 920th who left yesterday; and it was the largest deployment in two years from Patrick Air Force Base.
ITEM II.F., REPORT, RE: BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA DODGE BALL TOURNAMENT
Commissioner Anderson stated he is now the Boy Scouts of America, Riverside District Chairman, for Brevard County; he challenges the Districts in North Brevard, in recognition of National Civility Month, to a corporate Dodge Ball Tournament coming up on June 25th at Viera High School; and the cost is $30 a player. He stated he is trying to get a ringer team together; the prize is $1,000 for the winner; the proceeds go to the Boy Scouts of America; it is actually for any corporation who wants to get involved; 40 teams are wanted to support these young men who do so much for the community and are going to be great leaders one day; and for more information, or to sign up, please call (321)253-6611.
Howard Tipton, County Manager, stated he participated last year and he had a blast; if someone has not played dodge ball in a long time, it is now a whole new game; and it is a lot of fun.
Chairman Fisher stated there was a letter to Delta Air Lines' Sky Magazine on the Agenda; and he needs to get ratification of that letter.
The Board authorized Chairman Fisher, to sign a letter of introduction supporting Delta Air Lines Sky Magazine special feature on the Space Coast.
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Mary Bolin, Commissioner District 4
SECONDER: Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5
AYES: Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson
ITEM II.G.1., REPORT, RE: WINNERS OF THE 4-H/TROPICANA PUBLIC SPEAKING PROGRAM
Vanessa Spero-Swingle, University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, Brevard County Extension, 4-H Agent, stated 4-H is a Youth Development Program that teaches leadership, citizenship, and teamwork skills to use throughout the County; it is open for five to 18 year olds; it has community clubs and School Enrichment Programs; Tropicana falls under the School Enrichment Program; and it is open to all public and private schools throughout the County. She went on to say there were 16 schools participating this past year, with over 2,000 youths participating; they actually create a speech in their classroom lesson plans, then compete at the classroom levels; the winners go on to the school competition; those winners go on to the County competition; and those County winners go on to the District competition. She stated today the two District winners are present; Tropicana is an incredible Program; it is teaching public speaking, which is great to improve listening, reasoning, and writing skills that all help later on in life; and it is open for fourth, fifth, and sixth graders. She introduced Miranda Roub, from Roosevelt Elementary, and advised her speech is "Pollution-Why It's Bad"; and she introduced David Ward, from Gardendale Elementary, and advised his speech is "Smoking Kills". She expressed her thanks to the Board for its continued support with 4-H.
The Board recognized the winners of the 4-H/Tropicana Public Speaking Program, Miranda Roub and David Ward; and listened to their winning speeches.
The Board recessed at 9:58 a.m. and reconvened at 10:07 a.m.
Chairman Fisher stated there are three Community Redevelopment Agencies (CRA) that are actually going to be discussed today; he provided the Board with a handout of the order heard by District; this has become his item; and he would like to go over some things that was discussed at the last meeting, and clear up some things so there is no confusion today. He stated people wonder why create an economic development zone in North Brevard now; the reason is North Brevard is in a crisis; the highest percent of job loss is due to the end of the Shuttle Program, which will occur at the same time the entire County is experiencing an unemployment rate; the projected layoff in North Brevard is a loss of $100 million in annual income; and each job lost at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) will ripple down to an additional 1.8 jobs. He stated he has received a letter from United Space Alliance (USA), which is the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN); it lists all the different jobs and titles that are going to come available here; there is also an article in the St. Petersburg Times; it tells of the 1,942 jobs lost on Florida's Space Coast; and it is being called the second largest mass layoff in the history of Florida, and the contributing factors that cause North Brevard to lag behind in growth. He stated last week he showed the Board the purple and all the other colors are on map he is holding up, is an indication of the properties that are exempt in his District, that has no tax base, KSC, Federal, State, County, City, School Board, and non-profit owned properties; it shows 50 percent of his District is actually tax-exempt, which creates a huge concern for the North Brevard area; it has 20 percent of the population and one-tenth of the County tax base, which is about $3 billion of the $30 billion that is actually collected throughout the County; and he will explain what the proposed zone can do for North Brevard. He stated this is a Dependent District Board (DDB), which will administrate the funds within the District, and it will be set up similar to a CRA; and the concept and thought right now is there will be three appointments from the Board, three from the City of Titusville, and three as a joint-appointment. He stated funds will enable North Brevard to offer competitive incentives to businesses seeking to relocate; there have been examples shown of the Fort Myers area where several companies have taken those incentives and moved jobs to that area because it was incentive based; and the DDB will bring back to the Board an economic plan if it is successfully approved today. He asked what does a North Brevard economic zone look like; stated there are some concerns about his entire District being inside the zone; the other Commissioners concerns were listened to, that map he showed before was changed to show all the residential was pulled out of this proposal, so there is no residential at all, and no agricultural property in there, just the red property will be the ones that would be affected; and it will basically be use by Use Codes, which will be pulled out and not be charged. He stated since the last meeting all the residential and agricultural uses were stripped out, only the commercial and industrial uses are affected; the zone has been re-titled and no longer using the word 'enterprise' because emails were coming in about the word 'enterprise' being confusing to people; it is now called North Brevard Economic Development Zone; the two CRA's in the City of Titusville are excluded in this proposal; and the City of Cocoa is also excluded. He went on to say when it shows it includes the whole District, it needs to be understood that it does not include anything in white, the City of Cocoa area, or anything below S.R. 528; and he thinks if all the red was clumped together, it would be something similar to a CRA in most of the District's. He stated that is the new proposal after hearing the concerns of the Commissioners; and he now will listen to all the speakers who filled out speaker cards.
Mayor Jim Tulley, City of Titusville, stated the Board will eventually be talking about a resolution and two ordinances, which one ordinance and the resolution exclude the CRA's in the City of Titusville plural, and the ordinance under Item V.C., has CRA singular; and he spoke with Scott Knox, County Attorney, and it is a discrepancy that needs to be corrected. He stated he is not present today speaking on behalf of the City Council of Titusville; it has not been discussed; and he is speaking for himself, but obviously in his position, he is someone relatively knowledgeable about some of these kinds of things. He stated he comes from a school of leadership that says when the path ahead is not clear, try something; and he genuinely supports Chairman Fisher's efforts to try something for North Brevard. He stated there are always a thousand reasons why some things should not be tried; a person reasonably talks themselves out of good things that ought to be done; there are always naysayers that provide those thousands of reasons to not do things; some things people said two weeks ago, "it is just big government at work" and, "it is just new taxes for all of the County"; there are probably a lot of things going on in Brevard County that probably should be dismantled because there are already CRA's all over the County, but what it is really about is the allocation of resources; and as elected officials, that is what they are elected to do. He stated for example, that is why beach replenishment is done because even though it is understood that it may be inequitable in the short-run, in the long-run it benefits all; the five Board Members sit with him on the Transportation Planning Organization (TPO); it is known that a larger proportion of the transportation dollars go to the south end of the County; he does not believe that he has ever voted against those dollars going south because that is where the need is; and resources are allocated accordingly to handle that because it is rarely linear, it is never easy, and sometimes things are done in the short-run that appear inequitable so everyone benefits in the long-run. He stated sometimes things are over simplified and people tend to like to think that this is an ecstatic world where only one thing is going to change and everything else stays the same; if that were the case, if taking this tax increment financing and applying it to the north end and everything else were the same, he would agree with Commissioner Infantini that it is allocating resources to the north end that might be better spent from the General Fund and that reallocation would be true, but this not an ecstatic world, it is a very dynamic world where everything done affects everything else; he thinks a good case could be made with the fact that if tax increment financing is used to benefit the economic development of the north in those commercial and industrial sections with those property values going up, all those residential areas that are not part of this economic zone will prosper as well, and their assessments will go up, thereby actually expanding the tax base; and the Board might actually see a case where taxes would go down because of a broader tax base. He stated the problem is it will not be known until it is tried; the beauty of American democracy is the fact that if something is tried and it does not work, the Board has the power to try something else; and he invited the Board to visit the City of Titusville, drive through the downtown area, and see its CRA working. He mentioned he was at the space launch last week and he cannot tell how many citizens, from all over the world, commented to him about the beautiful downtown; the downtown and its beauty would not have been possible without tax increment financing of its CRA; it does work; it can work; and for those kinds of reasons he supports this. He stated the implementation is up to the Board, but certainly the concept is in keeping with a lot of the things already being done in Brevard; he thinks it will be helpful to the north end of the County; and he urges the Board to consider this in a positive way.
Alice MacDonald stated she is present today to voice her disapproval of the resolution; she has read Chairman Fisher's proposal from District 1; she finds it lacking in the following regard, as it raises a number of questions, such as where is the plan, what is the money going to be used for, and what specifically hopes to be accomplished by implementing the economic zone; for example, in the presentation Chairman Fisher mentioned the unemployment rate being 11 percent; inquired if it will be reduced by the expenditure of these monies; what are the projected revenues for the first five years of the proposal; and since they could have a life of 35 years or more, what is the projected revenue for the remaining years. She added, in addition there is no mention of the amount of money that will be taken from tax increment funds; and she inquired who would govern the money and be accountable for how it is spent. She mentioned she had the opportunity to visit the City of Titusville this past weekend; she noticed a lot of empty buildings, strip malls in disrepair, and benches facing empty lots or walls; it is obviously not a result from the layoffs from KCS; and she inquired if this is more of what can be expected and who will get to voice how the money be spent. She concluded, if property values continue to decline, property tax revenues will decrease as well, which will result in a General Fund deficit; this economic zone boundary expansion will capture more tax increment funds with no end in sight; and property taxes would have to increase for the entire community. She stated she would appreciate if the Commissioners would look at this proposal very carefully before making a decision on it.
Peter Fusscas stated he is not in opposition to helping space agency workers find new jobs or help existing businesses remain viable; he has some real serious concerns about this ordinance; and it is predicated on no financial projections. He inquired what are the District's revenue projection; how will this revenue be spent; what are the infrastructure needs and costs; how will the assets be financed under what bond procedure; who holds the liabilities for these assets; will the County have title; will the Special District has title to the assets; will the County be a guarantor if bonds are used to finance the projects; how many jobs will be created in the next five years on the incremental income of new construction; what is the impact on County General Fund and property taxes; and has there been an analysis performed. He stated revenue that would have gone into the General Fund will be going into the special district; the tax revenue must be replaced in order for the County to meet its budgeted obligations; inquired how will that revenue be placed and by whom; based on the revenue projections, what will be the estimated increase in County millage rate; and who will pay for this increase in taxes. He stated there have been a number of questions raised regarding the oversight of budgets, reviews, audits, Code of Ethics, and the lack of performance standards and measurements; if the district is being created will be a Dependent Special District, then the ordinance should specify that this District should be governed by the provisions of Chapter 89 applicable to Dependent Special Districts; and in the absence of any prevailing legislation, he presumes this District will be open and its Charter will be created and govern the administration of this District. He stated if Chairman Fisher is correct that there will not be an increase in property taxes, then every District can benefit from economic development for little or no cost; if that is true then why not create a economic development zone out of the entire County and everybody can shoulder the cost of that zone.
Matt Berringer expressed his thanks to the Board for addressing this issue and participating. He advised he is a resident of Titusville, he is not a part of KSC because opportunities in that area for him had been difficult to find; he is a soon to be college graduate, a veteran with service in the U.S. Army, and he has been a restaurant business owner within the County; and due to family health concerns, he sold his business and chose Titusville as his home. He stated in the past year it has been a difficult choice to do so, but he committed to it, just like the commitment to the purchase of his house; and his neighbors who have been unemployed for a year, they want to work, are not lazy, and it truly is based on opportunities that are available. He stated the talent that is there can be used, because there is a consortium of engineers who meet once a week; there are currently 100 engineers who are laid off; the best avenue to maintain that talent pool right now is they meet at the Village Inn, which is a restaurant on U.S. 1 in Titusville; and the struggles they face are is it better to sell the house now and eat the cost or move away on what maybe a six-month opportunity so they can put food on their table. He stated he hopes with the addressing of the redevelopment it will make it a viable area where businesses can come in and establish; it is not just outside businesses that may be pooled from other communities in other parts of the country, which he believes is a very large component, but there is an intellectual talent-pool right now that is worth value, and will be lost because there are not enough jobs for the engineers; he understands the impact that, that has; and he believes this is a very educated population, as well. He went on to state, 88 percent of Titusville has a high school education and almost a 25 percent has a bachelors or above; he is not talking about people who cannot use opportunity once it is given, and creating opportunity to work diligently, as well; but right now there truly needs the options and support to do so. He stated he hopes for this demographic of people, those that will be continuing to work and support while others may be able to retire and call Florida home, will have that opportunity to do so within the County so there is no need to leave.
Carolyn Fausnaugh stated she was out of town when this issue came up and she is trying to catch up; she inquired if the Board has been given estimates of the revenue that will be produced by the tax abatement; stated one of her concerns is that right now there are seriously, depressed real estate values; how soon those values might recover is an important issue because as those prices recover there will be changes in the revenue; and unless the Commissioners, at that time, which may not be this group, seriously watch those numbers and adjust the millage rates accordingly, there will be significant money flowing into this economic zone. She proposed the tax appraiser be asked to provide estimates to the people developing the plan or even to the Board before it decides for the zone; these estimates should be for each of 10 years, under three different scenarios; a pessimistic scenario, this is the expectation scenario, and an optimistic scenario as a realistic plan cannot be prepared without these estimates; she does not know if the Board is familiar with scenario planning as a technique, but it is really important in this instance that forward projections are done, and it really be looked at. She stated she remembers when the internet became public rather than being government controlled; a tremendous economic boom was experienced based on the technology of the internet; this is a similar thing that could indeed happen with the work that Elon Musk is doing at KSC, that the private ownership of space travel could actually result in some very good news for this County, if he is successful with what he is doing; and so far he has been hitting his targets when he has had his test launches, and is looking pretty good as an entrepreneur doing this. She added her background is strategic management with an emphasis in entrepreneurship. She stated her second set of comments she is going to make is that providing funds to public concern does not guarantee that the issue will be addressed successfully; the preparation and systematic reporting and review of performance measures, is becoming the primary accountability tool for government managers and legislatures, such as the Board; and in fact, she just returned from attending a conference put on by the Association of Government Accountants and Performance Measurements. She stated citizens want the Board to be accountable for the expenditure of the public funds; this is a nationwide thing that is heard and looked at the substance of what is being heard; and it is the people wanting accountability. She stated if the zone is created, to please be specific about the goals for the zone, not simply to say jobs because that is too amortize; the gentleman who spoke before her was talking about engineers; she inquired if jobs for engineers are going to be the kinds of things that will be generated by the funds for the economic zone; and at what cost to the remainder of the County will this flow of funds be. She advised the ordinance needs to include acceptable measurements, baseline computations, as of September 30, 2011; and time frames for updates on the measurements of probably not more than every six months. She stated for measurements to be effective, they need to be timely that the management by measurement is very much coming into its own in the focus of governments across the United States; and this reporting of these measurements should occur in practical time, after the close of the period, which is not six months.
Matt Chestnut, Space Coast Economic Development Commission (EDC), stated EDC is responsible for economic development in North Brevard; it obviously supports Chairman Fisher's plan, as another tool in the tool box for EDC; when EDC competes, it competes globally against other states, cities, and countries that have financial awareness of all that participate; it encourages people to move in, businesses to expand, and helps to do so as investments in their community; and that is what Chairman Fisher's plan is to do, by reinvesting that money back into the community and the area to grow and be successfully done at a faster pace. He stated he knows it will be successful in Titusville; the framework is there; the timeline needs to be pushed forward so it can happen now, as opposed to waiting 10 to 15 years; now is not the time to wait, it is the time to move forward; and he thinks Chairman Fisher should be commended for trying and doing something and being flexible in his plan to see what can be done. He stated in marketing the area, the companies can see what is being done by reinvesting back into the community, which is a positive thing; once the EDC comes in there, it is not just there, it will help by allowing the community to grow and make it everything that it is today, and what it can be in the future; EDC supports this, it is a great plan, it gives other officials a tool to go out and utilize necessities of growing the community, and creating growth with new jobs for the area to have the ability to be competitive across the board; and not just in the State of Florida, but globally when competing with the future.
Stephany Eley, City of West Melbourne, stated she had the opportunity two weeks ago to speak to the Board and advocate for this program; at that time, she stated the fact that she had lived through this, as a child, and watched her neighbors parents move from this area because of job losses; she does not want to see that happen again; and she believes there is opportunity to learn from the history of past experiences, to make better choices, and take action. She stated she has received a number of emails from different constituents who are concerned about the process; she believes there does need to be some parameters on this, such as how long is it going to last and how will it be managed; and she thinks that is a very important consideration that needs to be put into the plan. She stated she has heard redirect that is not accurate, and when she asked one of her constituents what their thoughts of what government should be doing, she was told provide infrastructure and get out of the way; her thoughts are from her understanding of whole idea of CRA's is typically provide infrastructure that is not there that the entities themselves cannot provide because it is not going to be economically feasible to those particular entities, such as stormwater management or water and sewer to different buildings in order to allow this to be economically developed; that is a function of government; and she feels she needs to lend a helping hand because this is a crisis situation and North Brevard needs a helping hand in order for this economic development to occur. She stated there needs to be investment for this area in order for the economic development to occur; she thinks structure needs to be looked at so it not just open ended; this is a critical juncture for all of Brevard County because it will have a definite trickle-down effect, affecting every aspect; and she is a school teacher and it is going to dramatically affect the public school system if something is not done with North Brevard.
Commissioner Infantini stated she would like to correct for the record that stormwater is provided by the County because it collects stormwater fees from all of unincorporated Brevard County, to provide that for unincorporated.
Barbara Knick stated she has been a Brevard County resident since 1976; since 1980 she has owned a custom home design business designing and drafting house plans; her business died with the declining economy; she has not received government aid and was forced to retire long before she intended to; she looked for ways to cut expenses when business started slowing down, by closing her office, moving it back to her home, eliminating unnecessary expenditures, and tightening her belt; and she loves designing homes and hopes the day will come that her business will return. She stated most of the builders that she dealt with in the past 30 years have gone out of business too; and in order to build a house there must be a plan, obtain a slew of permits, pay an endless number of fees even if a person is paying for the house out of their own pocket, go through inspections, reviews, submit to the whim of each regulatory agency involved. She inquired if there is a plan for the North Brevard economic redevelopment zone; what are the target industries; what is the goal; how many jobs are needed to reach the goal; what is the average wage of jobs to be created; how will it be known that it is successful; what gauge will be used to measure success; will there be a review by the Board or other elected officials; will there be audits and by whom; and will the other districts make up for the loss of revenue by raising taxes. She inquired since 50 percent of District 1 is federal land and not taxed, how is taking more land off the tax roll beneficial to the whole County, which is also suffering from the economy; she stated space workers live as far south as Palm Bay; inquired what kinds of infrastructure might be needed and who will pay; will there be a fail-safe date to cancel the redevelopment zone if it appears not to be working; and how will conflict of interest be avoided within the zone. She asked does Chairman Fisher have any current business interest that could benefit him and should he abstain himself from the vote; is this similar to having to pass the bill to find out what is in it; and how might the redistricting affect the North Brevard economic development zone. She pointed out she tried to do research when it was called enterprise zone, which she is not sure of the difference between an economic development zone and an enterprise zone, as they seem to be referring to the same thing; she found some study findings from the National Conference of State Legislatures stating to spite the popularity of enterprise zones as an economic tool, significant disagreement still exists as to whether it delivers the proposed benefits to states and communities; in addition, concern of the revenue loss is a result of the tax break having exacerbated states physical difficulties; and a major complaint about the programs that data collected for program evaluation was incomplete and did not allow for meaningful analysis of the program’s effectiveness. She stated she found a study called the Public Policy Institute of California that told their main finding is on average enterprise zones have no effect on business creation or job growth; she found a third study on the impact of enterprise zones on resident employment and evaluation of enterprise zone programs of California and Florida; Joel A. Elvery, an Assistant Professor of the Maxine Goodman Living College of Urban Affairs, Cleveland State University, concluded the enterprise zones of California and Florida had, at best, no measurable impact on the employment of residents after the first three years of the Programs; and this provides further evidence that at the least, at the historical level of expenditures, enterprise zones are not an effective way of increasing the probability that the residents of distressed communities are employed. She stated she does not see how creating more government bureaucracy in these economic conditions is a solution to the problem; less government regulation is needed and less spending; the free market will work if government gets out of the way; she has no bad feelings for Titusville; it is a nice community; when business was booming in housing, she thought Titusville would be the next place to boom because everything moves north; but it did not get that far because of too much government interference creating its disaster.
Penny Canales stated she has maps to hand out to the Board of all the various types of enterprise zones. Chairman Fisher inquired if Ms. Canales is aware that this is not an enterprise zone, and these maps would not be a factor. She responded yes, she is aware, but it has different types of economic development zones on the map; she stated there were other people who wanted to attend today, but were unable to do so because they are working and have businesses to take care of; and everyone does wish the best for Titusville. She stated everyone has known the Shuttle Program was going to retire; it is not a surprise and it was known on April 2006, when the National Aeronautics and Space Administration published its Phase Out Plan; and in June 2010, the Department of Labor announced that it would spend $15 million specifically in programs to help transition space workers to other jobs. She stated she is wondering what jobs did the EDC bring for those workers; their contract was renewed for $1.5 million, the budget doubled between 2009 and 2010, and now to attract new businesses, there is the establishment of economic zones, which would siphon increments and new property tax revenue from District 1 out of the entire County's General Fund, and funnel it back into District 1; and it could end up with a tax increase to cover the General Fund deficit created by new infrastructures needed. She stated she would like for everyone to imagine the slush fund that would be created if the housing market bounces back in five years; the increments would grow and be transferred to the District's trust fund for 26 years; it is a 31-year incentive program; in Merritt Island, the boundaries get expanded so the need for funds continues; and she thinks there is not enough bang for the buck with this. She advised while doing research on economic, enterprise, requirement, energy, development zones, and whatever other zones might be used, the reports were not favorable; she has those reports and she can provide them to the Board; studies show that these are not job creators and do not bring long-term results; this adventure is risky and nothing more than a gamble with tax money; and it is a pneumatic tribe of white followers where people in businesses flee from one area to leave another, leaving a Code Enforcement nirvana in their wake. She stated currently there are over 50 economic development types of zones in Florida; one is in Oak Hill and another is in Cocoa; and the more zones there are, the less effective they are, because they start to neutralize each other, and the need for more incentives increases. She stated in 1982 the Cato Journal reported Jack Kemp's original idea under ergonomics, which is to eliminate government ownership and promote private business with reduced taxes, relaxed regulations to create a climate where free-market enterprise can thrive based on community needs and skills of the local workforce; that is not what is happening; now the pyridine is cherry-picking businesses for specific areas and showing them favoritism while neglecting existing businesses; and she considers this a type of discrimination against existing businesses. She feels maybe the experts can use their education, experience, and credentials to craft an enterprise zone, as it was originally intended, rather than continuing to follow a fraudulent system; she thinks when she speaks to industrial business people, some of the incentives that they are looking for are a skilled, reliable workforce, less regulation, and reliable utilities with reasonable rates; and she inquired why not create an economic liberty zone for the entire County and eliminate government ownership, promote private business, reduce taxes, relax regulations, and create a climate where free market enterprise can thrive. She requested the Board table the item, hold a workshop, let the citizens come forward and give input so a really good, viable solution can be came up with, rather than following things that have not worked and are not working; and she thinks there are people with education and experience to help the need of doing something innovative and outside-of-the-box.
Reverend Glenn Dames stated it is a privilege to be present today and he cannot think of a better, noble project to bring the County together, as a whole; this is a particular project that has deep roots; as of yesterday Oprah Winfrey is going off the air, and they planted 25,000 trees; he thought that was spectacular because it left a strong legacy with deep roots; and he believes this particular economic development zone will create strong roots that would assist the particular North Brevard area, which is uniquely special because of the layoffs. He stated he heard a previous speaker tell of the empty buildings in Titusville and did not think those were created by KSC; he thinks most of them are created by a loss of revenue in some way, shape, or form from KSC; this particular adventure is more than just doing something, it is doing something extremely special; and he encouraged the Board to affirm the resolution today so that North Brevard can continue to grow strongly and continue the deep roots for the County as whole.
Mary Schneider stated she has lived in Brevard County for 45 years; her husband worked at KSC in the 1970's, he was laid off and they had five children to raise; while he was laid off, they had to try new things like commercial fishing and creating an installation business; and no one gave them any monies to start their business. She stated she has watched the Board meetings from last week while she was in South Carolina; she owns property in Brevard County, they are residents living there, and vote in Brevard; but because of the economics of what has happened, her husband who has been retired, had to come out of his retirement to pay the approximate $15,000 in County taxes on the property they own, and at 72 years old has gone back to work with employment in other areas, and has been traveling. She feels she is a part of Brevard County after being in it for 45 years and paying that much in taxes; the properties she owns are not rented due to the economic situation, which is an economic situation that is throughout the country; when she hears crisis and pour more money into a crisis situation, she thinks stepping back a little bit and look into what is going on; and there needs to be some goals, and then to meet those goals. She advised she would like to see growth and parity for North Brevard; there has already been funding from the Economic Development Council and it should represent North Brevard; she inquired why there should be separate Brevard economic councils for North and South Brevard, it should be done as a whole; she can remember when she first came to Brevard County years ago, that everything was in Titusville, such as County Offices and applying for permits and such; and now a person has to go to Viera. She stated she did not know of the CRA's in Brevard County, how much of the tax dollars they get, and how long they have been receiving them; she was surprised by the amount of revenue collected by the Space Coast Development Council going from approximately $250,000 to $900,051, which according to its web page, it was generated from one condominium that was built; and the people who live in the condominium use the roads of Brevard County and its infrastructure, but the tax money that would have gone to the General Fund now goes to the Space Coast Redevelopment Fund. She stated she wants to be a better informed citizen; she thinks there needs to be a more specific plan with specific measured goals with a cut off of money that is given to any zone or agency; she thinks the zone should not include the Farmton area because it is a community that is already planned; but if Farmton comes in, it will be a new enterprise that is during this time and all of the tax money it received would go towards it. She stated it would better serve to make a strong Brevard Economic Council and any tax indicatives would be voted on by all the Commissioners and not just someone of that region; she thinks there needs to be out-of-the-box thinking and make a strong Brevard Economic Council to give more parity for all parts of Brevard County; and she mentioned she has heard Ms. Fausnaugh speak before, and the Board needs to have her has an advisor.
Dale Young stated this is about District 1; it is a very selfish proposal; NASA is not about District 1, and the loss of 7,500 jobs, it is about the entire Brevard County; and fractionalizing the Ad Valorem taxes and concentrating the increases into District 1 does not help Melbourne Beach, West Melbourne, or any of the CRA's. He advised NASA has been in place for over 50 years; he has not noticed it to have a significant impact on Titusville; and he does not know if the efforts towards concentrating the tax increases in one fund is going to help the rest of Brevard County. He stated a fact is known if the General Fund money is captured, somebody else is going to make it up; he is hearing there will be no tax increases, and that is not possible, because if money is taken out of the General Fund, somebody is going to see a tax increase, it is inevitable; there are over 30 CRA's in Brevard County; CRA's are to capture funds of money for non-elected officials to spend in the way they sees fit; it is going to consider Merritt Island and spend $1.2 million to extend a sewer; there is a County agency that is in charge of sewer construction; and there is no need for a CRA to do that. He stated District 1 has 55 percent of its property tax-exempt; the entire County is more than 55 percent tax-exempt, in accordance with Property Appraiser Jim Ford's analysis; and it is not a District 1 problem. He inquired about Ad Valorem taxes because the State Constitution says it cannot commit Ad Valorem taxes for a period of more than one year without a referendum; these Ad Valorem taxes are definitely being committed for more than one year; he understands legislature said it could be done; but he disagrees with it. He stated the General Fund is for the entire County; it is for the administration of the entire County; District 1 should contribute its amount just like every other District; the list of people who currently are in the increase of the industry business are Space Coast EDC, 30 CRA's, Brevard County EDC, Florida Enterprise Fund, Florida EDC, Progress Energy, Small Business Development at Brevard Community College, Florida Institute of Technology, and the Rural Economic Catalyst Project; there are many others, but it is taking money out of the County and putting it into District 1; and he is opposed to it.
Chairman Fisher reiterated it is not taking any money out of any of other District; it is money that is collected in District 1 and will be spent in District 1; it is not a tax increase; and there has to be development for it to generate dollars.
Frank Meyer inquired if taking the word enterprise out of the new resolution and replacing it with economic changes anything; and is all of the things with CRA's still relevant. Chairman Fisher responded it will work like a CRA, yes. Mr. Meyer stated he was in Titusville Sunday at an auction on Julia Street off of U.S. 1; he rode around through parts of Titusville; there seemed to be a lot of empty stores and buildings; he does not deny the fact that he thinks Titusville needs help, but the State of Florida, the County, and the whole nation needs help because of going through Stimulus One and Two; and he questions whether all of those Stimulus dollars were spent wisely. He stated he has not seen the plan on any of the websites he has visited; someone mentioned planting trees, which do make a neighborhood look nice, but does it really encourage a business to come; he use to have a small business and he found that the restrictions and licensing was prohibitive versus his experiences with his businesses in New York; and he thinks it needs to be more business friendly, get rid of the restrictions, and make it attractive for someone to reach in their pockets and invest money into a business, which he is not seeing happen in any of the areas he is familiar with. He stated in Chairman Fisher's original proposal he told the unemployment rate is 11 percent; he inquired what is the projection if ‘X’ number of millions of dollars are going to be spent can it be projected and unemployment if it is going to go down to 10 percent, eight percent, or will remain the same; it seems to him the public could have some input; and it would be in everybody's interest because if it works in Titusville, it is going to work everywhere else. He stated his research on CRA's found there is one in Cocoa that started in 1981; it is going to run for 30 years and expires this year; and there is one in Titusville presently that started in 1982 and will expire next year. He inquired where is the measurable goal to accomplish; he thinks that is what got most people upset because speaker after speaker have said pretty much the same thing; he agrees with Mr. Young, there is no free ride, money comes from the taxpayers pocket; and he hopes the seven members on the Board pay taxes. Chairman Fisher advised he is paying more than he likes to. Mr. Meyer provided the Board with a handout of information; and stated he does not know if it there is a conflict of interest, but he would like for the Board to look at it.
Mark Conklin stated he is in support of the economic development zone; he expressed his thanks to all of those in opposition today for giving support for passage of this proposal; a need has been clearly highlighted; but today there has been none identified for where the money that comes out of their pockets really comes from; it has been said over and over again that the funding strategies is disproportioned with no parity; and the City of Titusville has not been getting its fair share with TPO actions, roads, beach re-nourishment, and projects across-the-board. He stated since his residency in 1979, he can assure that without the CRA there would not be a downtown with the façade grants going to maintain some of the structures there have staved off the inevitable, the eventual erosion of the down town; the hundreds of billion dollars spent at the Space Launch Complex have failed to offset the erosion of the community; and the only thing that staved it off is the investment of CRA funds and the active work of citizen advocates who mention their experiences on a personal level in the County. He stated most of his work is done in the Viera, Melbourne, and Melbourne Beach areas; he is a kitchen and bath remodeler, he travels out of the City of Titusville because of the lack of industry there for him to apply his trade; gas prices are killing him; one year and one-half ago he had to go back into business for himself after working three years for a designer in the Melbourne area; and he established business relationships, and he is taking it all on the chin despite all those things and the economic pressures that he is feeling, as a business owner. He stated he manages to give 20 to 30 hours a week volunteering and trying to enhance his community; he shows up at community workshops, city council meetings, and County Commission meetings for that single purpose of sheering up his community because there is a need; the prima fascia evidence here is what has occurred, not what might occur; there cannot be projections made of how much economic development will occur, and to not simply say not do this because it is unknown how much it will generate; and he stressed the reality is there is not much money received based on population, as the rest of the County does. He added, the money in the Board's pocket today come from a disproportionate disbursement of those funds; he hopes it is burning a hole in its pocket; and if a countywide comprehensive economic development council has to be looked at as an alternative to this proposal, that would adjust what it is doing; if there is a continuance of what is always done, there will be a continuance of what has always been gotten; and this is something different, he is invigorated about it, it is refreshing, and it changes the way of doing business. He stated this is needed in Titusville and North Brevard; there is economic blight and it will continue to get worse if nothing is done about it, doing something that comes from an internal moral compass, a gut level barometer; he encouraged the Board to do the right thing about what has been going on for so long; it is unfair, he is tired of taking it, it is hard to listen to, he is not hearing any opposition from the City of Titusville, but continues to hear about Melbourne, Melbourne Beach, West Melbourne, Satellite Beach, and Palm Bay; and asked how it will be taking money away for them. He stated the truth of the matter is the opposition, they are taking money away from Titusville, and it is time to make it fair and equitable; he cannot help but support this because this has a meaning on his kids working in the community, that he does not have to drive from Titusville all the way to south end of the County to forge a living anymore; to return to his community and put in 20 to 30 hours of volunteer efforts into supporting his community, he needs some help; and this is the kind of help he thinks will make a big difference.
Laurie Smirl stated she has lived in Brevard County for 27 years, most of that time until this past December was in Merritt Island; she has worked for all of those years throughout the County; all but the past seven years, she has worked in Central Brevard, but now works for Jess Parrish Medical Foundation in Titusville; she is in favor of the economic development zone for North Brevard; and not because she works in North Brevard, but because she thinks it is very much needed. She stated County support for any type of actives that are going to promote economic development should be supported; by voting in favor of this initiative, the Board will not be disadvantaging its own Districts, rather it will be allowing increases from new commercial growth; and the increases that originate in North Brevard will go to North Brevard. She stated North Brevard County is more affected than other areas of the County by the Space Shuttle retirement; it was known that it was going to happen, but it was not known that there would not be a follow-on to the Space Shuttle Program; she is involved with a group of citizens who are called the Greater Titusville Area Renaissance who are working hard to try to make an effect in North Brevard; she has been on other groups in the County; she does volunteer work a lot; but this particular group is trying to do some things that are different. She stated the North Brevard economic development zone will advance those initiatives; it will help to make long lasting effect in North Brevard that will have that trickle-down effects to other places in Brevard County; if one votes against the economic development zone, it will actually be a vote against jobs; she does not think anybody wants to do that and no matter where those jobs are, one should be proud that those jobs came to Brevard County; and she is urging the Board to vote in favor, give all the details some consideration, and consider it before it is too late because the County needs to thrive.
Keith Rigler read aloud an email letter from Marty Adams, a Rockledge resident who was sent to Chairman Fisher: "Hello Commissioner, I am away presently, however a friend has offered to read this aloud. Recently I sent an email to Robin Fisher and also sent him a recent study, which evaluates efforts by governments to stimulate growth in employment in difficult times because this subject affects the entire economy, it is appropriate for the full Commissioners to hear these views. I have been following discussion regarding efforts to stimulate employment in economic growth in your District. Your District's situation being connected mainly with the reductions coming from the Space Center. It is totally understandable that elected officials will try to take action in efforts to address economic stress in their region, as I understand it would like to place some incentives, which could be created within Brevard County for this purpose, regardless of the title whether it be called an enterprise zone, community redevelopment area, or some other name; and these efforts have a poor track record of accomplishment and often they are counterproductive. I read several different studies of enterprise zones and other similar efforts, mostly within the United States, but also in U.K. and France. The discoursing conclusions are nearly unanimous in every nation, in every state; moreover these efforts may give the illusion of growth while actually inhibiting the development of the knowledge based on entrepreneurs and jobs, which are really the better category of jobs you want to attract. The attached study is from the U.K., it is the best written of the Ben-All, it includes U.S. in its scope. The fundamental findings are well stated and this is a quick read, also the study makes the point that any scheme regardless of what you label it to temporarily reduce taxes, relax regulations, create other special incentives, etcetera, and diverts from what really should be the focus long-term of sustainable policies. The attraction of the particular area to the entrepreneur who is thinking about relocating, or a new start-up business is not much based on short-term government incentives. Always focus on the long-term factors, which affect profit potential of those factors, demands skill labor, stabile tax environment, reasonable and efficient regulatory purpose processes, and good infrastructure are dominant. Giving the declining revenue base across the County now is the time to focus on the basics, as a business person realizes when sales are down, management must look for every non-essential expense and eliminate it, next look for every possible opportunity to economize. There are many opportunities within Brevard County budget to reduce, eliminate, and economize. Do we need every park? Do we need every library? Do we need every Fire Rescue Station? Do we need every Deputy? Do we need to continue to purchase Environmentally Endangered Land (ELLS)? Do we need another Special District for enterprise zone? As a former business owner and business broker consultant, I know what I am talking about. To effectuate true budget reductions some things must be eliminated, rather than merrily ruined by reductions in operating budgets. Now is the time for leadership. Encouraging voters that are hungry for leadership and statesmanship will reward elected leaders who demonstrate the insight and encourage and seriously get our Brevard County's financial house in order. Nothing encourages business more than the consistent actions of government leaders who are truly committed to efficiency and low cost, and with a focus on reason and regulation and taxation. Take 10 minutes to read this study and then please discuss the implementations before taking any action."
Reggie Correll stated her concern is public oversight; she is a fifth-generation Californian; her husband is a native Floridian who grew up in Coral Springs; she is in Commissioner Nelson's District; she used to be in charge of security at the Cape; she used to fly here from California; her husband was in charge of the Satellites in the Engineering Department when they were being launched; it was always their dream to move to Merritt Island; and they have been on Merritt Island for about six months now. She stated there is no written plan and now it has changed from a CRA to enterprise zone to North Brevard economic development zone; the public needs to have a voice in this and put both sides together so what is going on can be seen together because there are going to be people pointing fingers at the Board because it was who made the decision; and it does not look good. She stated she read an article in Florida TODAY called "Preventing Corruption" and she read an excerpt aloud, "Port Canaveral is trying to keep any hint of impropriety and it will not be tolerated. It appointed the Chief of Police as the Ethics Officer. It appointed an Orlando attorney to serve outside the Ethics Council, and set up a hot line for a report of misconduct." She inquired if there is an ethics officer for the economic zone and she suggested appointing a Chief of Police; she stated the steps Port Canaveral is taking so that everything is aboveboard and it will not be like what just happened with the Healthcare Bill; when House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said, "You will find out what is in it after we get done passing it." She stated she will be damned if anybody is going to do that here because she moved to a place where she can feel like the public officials work for the citizens and not the citizens working for the public officials. She read aloud a Florida TODAY article, "Statewide grand jury reported it found Florida to be the most corrupt in the nation."; it was the most horrible thing she had read, she does not know exactly what the Board is going to do, but she knows both sides need to be brought together with citizen involvement; Ms. Canales has worked for a long time on this and she knows everything about it; there are engineers that are out of work along with many other advocates from other parts of the County; and it involves everyone.
Shirley Ann Severin stated she lives close to Titusville and uses Titusville extensively, however, the taxpayers of Brevard County are funding the coffers; many people are running out of funds; it has been heard over and over, there are enough taxes; the Board is the elected officials and is in charge of doing the best it can for all; in looking through tons of information on the different programs, which all sound good on the surface, there is no real plan except for the incentives to businesses; those incentives are to cut sales tax on building equipment, income tax credits, sales tax refunds, property tax credits; and those are called minus for the taxpayers. She stated it is understood that the Board is in a global, competitive world, and it is trying to do its best, but everyone is depressed; and perhaps, the budget needs to be rethought as everyone has had to do, and help the people of Brevard County so the people of Brevard County can help the Board.
Carol McCormack, Town of Palm Shores Mayor, stated she is not familiar with this program; she can tell the Board that CRA's work; CRA's are regulated; there are strict and stringent laws that are required in the Community Redevelopment Program, which included being audited every year, having a plan with dollar amounts on what is planned to be done; she has not read this particular plan and she is not familiar with it; but she can tell the Board that the Town of Palm Shores Community Redevelopment has been successful. She stated everybody on this Board is aware of what has been accomplished with the new businesses that it brought in; she stated eliminating blight is the first step and having a blight study to show where to eliminate the blight to encourage new business; and facade improvement programs for the businesses is a partnership with the business paying one-half for the new signage or facade, and for the Community Redevelopment Program paying the other half. She stated there are so many things that will make CRA's work; not everyone is a crooked, elected official; there are ethics, integrity, and she is proud of what is being done, the Town, and the accomplishments; and she does not know exactly what the Board's program is, but she does know that anything that encourages new growth, new business, brings hope in with a sense of pride to the community, and getting the community involved is successful. She mentioned she would be happy to advise anyone who wants to know how a CRA program works.
Laurilee Thompson stated she is the co-owner of Dixie Crossroads restaurant in Titusville; one of the previous speakers mentioned the fact that people used to go to Titusville to do their government business; Titusville is still the County Seat, but it was more equitable to move the center of government down to the central part of the County; it has worked well, but that move destroyed the businesses in downtown Titusville; and with the introduction of the downtown CRA, the downtown Titusville has been revived and it is coming back. She mentioned one could drive downtown Titusville and look at the improvements that came about as a result of the resurfacing of U.S. 1, and downtown looks good now; and before the resurfacing project, the CRA was having results and doing positive things by helping to revive the downtown area. She stated there has been a lot said about the loss of the high-tech jobs at KSC, but nobody has talked about what the trickle-down-effect from that is; she is seeing it every day with dozens of people that come and apply for jobs at her restaurant; it is really hard to look those people in the face and say that she cannot give them a job because she is struggling to try and provide a living for the people who work for her now; and the looks on their faces is very hard to deal with. She stated the people in North Brevard County have been investing in the south end of the County for years; the inequity in the amount of economic development money that North Brevard has been receiving has been much less, with having 20 percent less of the population in the County, but have received six percent of the economic development money; and it is not being asked to take any money out of anyone's pockets, it is just asking for a chance to get some help.
Mark Ryan, City of Titusville's City Manager, stated the City Council has not acted upon this request at this time. He stated he does support this proposal; he commended Chairman Fisher for presenting it to the public and the Board for its consideration; this is a unique time; it was known that the Shuttle Program was going to end; but $40 million was promised to help renovate or bring back the economy in the Space Coast Region, which never came. He stated other things were promised that never came from Tallahassee; now there is an opportunity to do something different; businesses are trying to be recouped and some areas have been successful; the Board recently approved Professional Aircraft Accessories (PAA) by having an incentive to provide 50 new jobs at the Space Coast Regional Airport; Embraer is a huge success for Brevard County that brought 200 plus jobs to the area; there were incentives with that; and now are trying to provide a revenue-stream for those similar tax incentives for the next Embraer or PAA. He stated this is an opportunity to get into the long journey of recovery; what happens in Titusville can affect other parts of the County; what happens in other parts of the County affects Titusville; this is a joint effort to solve the economic problems as a County, which Titusville happens to be the epicenter of the layoffs; and what is trying to be done is provide opportunity. He mentioned this is a global economy; it is competing with other entities whether it is Alabama, Georgia, Utah, Arizona, Korea, or wherever; and every item that can be put in that tool belt gives the opportunity to be a player in the game. He stated he is very proud of the community in Titusville and their investment back into the community; this is an opportunity for that investment; and he commends the Board for bringing it forward.
Commissioner Anderson inquired if there is a reason the Titusville City Council has not adopted a resolution in support of this concept. Mr. Ryan responded it is due to the meeting schedules; and it will adopt one before the July 12th meeting.
Paula Slater stated she would like to keep this very simple; all of the fancy business work and legal terms with financial stuff and the changing of the terminology is stuff she does not care about because that is why she elected Robin Fisher for Commissioner; and she goes to the doctor because she does not go to the biographical and anatomical classes to learn, she goes to the doctor to trust that person. She mentioned she trusts the Board; she did not know Chairman Fisher until he was running for Commissioner; and she gives him credit because he initiated the YMCA for Titusville. She stated to her this is the trickle effect with tax dollars that are coming out of people’s pockets, that is going to help build this; the main thing is it is bringing jobs in; it will have a tremendous affect on the businesses in that area and that is what is important to the tickling effect for the businesses; and it is not one bit County dollars that is going to go into this thing. She stated she trusts the Board; there is a reason for it, it is because that is going to have a continual effect all the way around, that is why she knows when she goes to the South County area, she sees a lot of busy stuff going on; in Titusville and Port St. John areas it is little piddle-paddle stuff going on; it is not just one business, it is going to be one business helping a lot; it will help the teachers and doctors right now; it is one step at a time because it cannot help the whole County, State, government, country, and the world; it can affect a little bit; and she expressed her thanks to Chairman Fisher for getting it started.
Walt Johnson, City of Titusville Vice-Mayor, stated tax increment financing is based on increase of Ad Valorem from a baseline basically with new growth; there is no direct increase in taxes; it is a change of use of those taxes; and it is hard to give the specifics on the funding when the funding is based on what will happen in the future. He inquired if the information from the governing Board is spelled out in the ordinance. Chairman Fisher responded that is correct. Mr. Johnson stated one person mentioned a KSC worker who worked in Palm Bay, but lives in North Brevard; logically the entire County will benefit from this initiative with people outside of North Brevard who will be working in North Brevard when jobs are created there; and he is only speaking for North Brevard and Titusville because this has not been voted on yet. He stated the Mayor, City Manager, and economic development experts were heard at the last meeting, and today people with different views have been heard, which is good thing because it is part of democracy; and at this point, he frankly thinks everything has been said. He stated Titusville does not have single-member Districts, so when something happens in one District, all members are equally responsible to resolve the problem; the County has a different pyridine in single-member Districts that can sometimes be a challenge, which he understands; and in this case, he is asking the Board to realize this is one County and vote for this initiative.
Rodney Honeycutt stated there are a lot of jobs lost at KSC; the big lay off has not happened yet; the businesses closing in Titusville are a part of the trickle effect; the north end is hit the most; 20 plus years ago one of the area’s biggest employers moved to Viera, which was Brevard County; and a lot of jobs were lost then. He stated what is being asked for is incentives to bring jobs back to Titusville; some jobs that will help open those shops back up, that will help put people back to work, and he feels it is the right thing to do; and he expressed his appreciation to the Board for its support.
George Mikitarian, Parrish Medical Center President and C.E.O., stated the Board has taken some tough comments today and he reminded the Board that there it is a great example of the leadership it provides; Parrish Medical Center (PMC) is the County's only public hospital; it is an independent taxing district; the Board has outlined in its proposal of having involvement in the appointment of the Board of Directors at PMC, in fact, it is the identical structure being proposed by Chairman Fisher; and the Board has shown it can lead and identify other leaders to represent and express its concerns and opinions. He stated he hopes this does not turn into a win or lose yes or no issue; he is hoping it turns into an opportunity for all of the opinions and comments to be put on the table for the best District in the County to be established; the proposed ordinance identifies the establishment of a Charter plan, and as a District Board having involvement in; the opinions heard he thinks are a great outline to make sure that as the Charter plan and budget is developed, that all sides and opinions can be expressed and considered in its con corporation into the documents; and with the great comments from all sides will get people involved in Districts the way they should be involved. He advised on behalf of PMC, he expressed his thanks to the Board for demonstrating in the County that its involvement and leadership can make a District work; he is thankful for the Board, he is appreciative of the tough decisions the Board has, and he knows the Board's leadership has been demonstrated; and at the end of the day, he believes the Board can make a decision that incorporates the issues and concerns of both sides.
Chairman Fisher stated it has been indicated that because of his real estate holdings or other investments that he may have a conflict of interest or some financial gain with this issue; he advised it is not true, unless someone wants to argue that when an entire community benefits then everyone benefits, and he is guessing that he would then be guilty of that if it happens; he is guessing that anyone can make an argument anytime there is a zoning change or one votes on incentives for jobs in the community that the Board has a financial gain from it, which can be insinuated also; and one could argue rather it is true or not. He stated every year he signs an affidavit with the State of Florida on what his financial interests are, what he owes, invests in, and what his assets are; he will say that he is probably the only Commissioner that attaches his entire tax return to that affidavit, so he is way aboveboard with his assets and investments; and he confirmed he owns real estate in Titusville, Fort Pierce, Orlando, North Carolina, and South Carolina, and he is not going to apologize for that. He advised he is a business owner and investor, which he has done before he became a Commissioner; he will continue to do so long after being a Commissioner; he has created jobs, employees people, has a payroll to meet, and he does pay taxes; it is interesting to him when last year he lead the charge to increase the roll back and to make sure services stayed in the area, it was not saving him money, it was costing him more money, but it was the right thing to do; and no one came to him at that point in time and told him it was a conflict, which is very interesting to him. He stated his focus has always been creating jobs and making North Brevard better; he votes that way and handles himself that way, and he will continue to handle himself in that way; he wants to make it clear that he does not have a conflict of interest and none of the funds from this economic zone would go towards anything that he personally owns or operates; and he hopes he has made it clear enough for the citizens of Brevard County. He advised Ms. Thompson said, there is $4.1 million going out in CRA's in Brevard County; North Brevard is getting $280,000 out of the $4.1 million, which is about seven percent of that; he does not know if it means North Brevard has been subsidizing South Brevard; he disagrees with that; but if it is indicated, then it has been going on for years. He added, what is being asked is at the end of the day if there is new construction and if 90 percent of those new construction dollars will get reinvested in the area that it collected in; it is not taking money from any other area of the County; and with the fact that the residential has been taken out of this by the direction and guidance of the other Commissioners and anytime there is an increase in the future with property values; and the Board does a good job at creating jobs; there will be an increase and those increase dollars will go into the General Fund that will help offset any future expenses. He mentioned people said enterprise zones do not work; in Fort Myers it seems to work; a bio-fuel company received $10 million from Lee County to open a facility in Fort Myers anticipating creating 108 new jobs with an economic impact of $123 million; another company, Alorica, received $199,000 from Lee County to operate and expand in Fort Myers to create 242 new jobs with an economic impact of $9.81 million; Garitor received $160,000 from Lee County, $1.3 million from the State to expand its facilitates in Fort Myers anticipating to create 200 new jobs; there were 16 projects, six remain unannounced, and are expected to create 1,816 jobs for the next three to four years; the economic impact is estimated at approximately $575.14 million according to its officials; and Jim Moore, Regional Partnership Director of Fort Myers, said to a group in Clay County that he feels that in these economic times, pursuing business the way he is can make a difference. He stated the truth of the matter is for those who are conservative and tax concerned, in the past, every time there seems to be an opportunity for Brevard County to create jobs, it goes into reserves, to try to add a pot for incentives like with SEMITECH and Embraer coming out of reserves; there has been commitment of several things over the last few years to fund economic development out of reserves; and he thinks it is not a sustainable formula. He stated there are some other ways to fund economic development like increased taxes; he thinks there would be a good crowd showing for that issue; he is not increasing taxes and he needs help in North Brevard, it is a very difficult district, and all he wants to do is if some economic development is generated in his district, to be spent in that district for jobs; it is not increasing anyone’s taxes or taking anything away from the south end of the County; if one believes incentives work, then he needs the funding to be able to do that; and the only way that he can come up with the funding without increasing taxes is to use this fund. He advised he has some other ideas in mind, but it would be called a tax increase and he does not think he can get any support for it; he is finding a way to create some opportunities in North Brevard by trying to get some kind of parity; with the amount of CRA's dollars going south, to have some for his district; and it happens to be each one of the Board's districts because if North Brevard does well, then all of the remaining districts will do well too. He stated a board is created to have input and decision making, but everyone wants the Board to sit on the Diaz and make a decision the day before it ever gets the plan; a plan will come back, but it has to be approved by these five Commissioners; and it will be careful because it does not want everyone to come out of the woodwork thinking by opening a pizza shop, it is an economic job; he is leery and careful; and he wants to make sure there is a good plan in place between the City and County to appoint people with good business sense to help make a plan work that can help drive jobs. He requested staff clear up the remaining issues.
Howard Tipton, County Manager, stated with the committee working with the economic development plan is really the planning and guiding document for the activities within this economic zone, in terms of the forecast and performance measures with all good things that should be agreed upon to be in there and part of the document; that does come back for the Board to review; there was a question about re-districting and because of the population growth in the south, the districts are likely to migrate south; there should be no re-districting impacts related to this particular zone; and auditing was mentioned, and the Board will be audited as per the Status required for financial disclosure and reporting. He expressed he has a lot of respect for Ms. Fausnaugh and had worked with her on a couple of items; there is an item today that she spearheaded, as part of the Charter Review Commission; and she had spoken of Elon Musk, who is the entrepreneur for SpaceX and by having that company begin commercial crew cargo launching has the opportunity for those jobs to come to Brevard County. He went on to say several Commissioners and he had the chance to meet with SpaceX a few months ago; the interest right now is not in coming to Brevard County; they are very happy in Hawthorne, California; at this point, they are not making any plans to relocate to Brevard County; however, as commercial crew cargo increases, they may be enticed to relocate, it is not going to happen magically, it will have to be an enticement in order to get them here; and he imagines part of this economic development zone will be the funding for it and part of that solution. He mentioned Professional Aircraft Association, Inc. in Titusville is a $100,000 commitment to keep that company in Titusville, but not only to keep them but to grow by 50 jobs; those kinds of funding opportunities present themselves regularly; there is no sustained force of where those dollars would come from; and this economic development zone would be a part of that solution. He stated this is not the only solution; this a challenging time for the entire County and many folks, but this is one tool in the tool belt, as been mentioned; and in the absence of other activities and actions, staff is supportive of this, and in moving forward by committing and making sure that the performance measures, accountability, and transparency are all a part of the committee and this plan, as it goes forward.
Scott Knox, County Attorney, clarified there is a second ordinance that is being considered today for introduction for the July 12th meeting; what that ordinance does is create a special district, which would administer the tax increment being considered today; what Chairman Fisher is attempting to do is set up a means of collecting revenue to fund economic incentives for future efforts, to bring new businesses or expanded businesses into Brevard County; and the mechanism that he has come up with is the tax increment district, that is part one of the process. He stated the part that everyone seems to be interested in is what the goals and plans are going to be for the expenditure of those funds, that is part two of the process; a district is going to be created July 12th if the Board decides to vote in that direction, which will actually be responsible for adopting that economic plan; that is when the goals, objectives, amounts of money, restrictions, and types of projects are discussed and when everyone needs to be getting involved with it; the comments become important because there will be a body of nine people who are going to be appointed to head that effort, to put the plan together, and will be taking comments from everybody; and that is the plan that eventually will have to come back to this Board to be approved once it is recommended by the other group. He advised today's efforts are introducing it today for advertisement purposes for July 12th; and he thinks that is where most of the comments heard today will need to have its focuses made in July.
Commissioner Bolin stated as far as setting up the CRA for District 1; she is approving it; she thinks it is going to be necessary because there has been a lot of industry looking at Brevard County; SEMITECH was lost because of money and New York came in with a lot more money and that is where it went; if anything can possibly be done to make the incentives better for the District 1 area for new industry to come, it is her obligation as an elected official to try everything possible to keep Brevard County as economically stable and encourage it, by giving incentives to businesses already established to be able to survive; policies will be looked into; and it will be watched very carefully in July. She stated big government has been seen before; it promised the world and then turned around and walked away, so there is nobody out there except the Board to be able to pull the County out of this; and she is going to be voting for it to give the effort to save Brevard County.
Commissioner Anderson stated he is saddened and he knows Chairman Fisher well; he thinks his intentions are pure, his heart is in the right place, and he is an ethical individual; he may disagree with him on more than one issue, but he would vouch for his character; he wants to take that off and out of the public perception; and will fight vigorously to defend his character because he is a fine man. He stated the Board knows his feelings after the SEMITECH issue and a couple of others things; it has become very evident and clear to him that local government, whether it is city or County, cannot entice the big players to the game, which is what it needs to suck up these specialized skill trades, it is the State that has to do it; he thinks Fort Myers may have been successful, but it blew the whole amount of money it had on one success; and Brevard County needs a whole lot more than 1,800 jobs. He stated he knows the intentions of Governor Scott is to take a fund that he has dedicated to help local governments based on projects creditably and priority to entice those companies to come to Florida; but he believes Florida is not in the game by itself. He mentioned a concern, he does not know if it was intentional on staff or any Commissioner’s part, but there is an economic development district, an expansion of a redevelopment area, and a CRA in West Melbourne, which is in his District and he does support it; it seems to him like dog piling with these CRA's; why not take the commercial properties from the economic development zones and take the increment that tags businesses because he is afraid it will end up with have and have not's and he does not mean insult upon anybody; but as an example, in Commissioner Bolin's District, if Satellite Beach wanted to have a CRA along A1A, the economy starts recovering, and those properties increment along the beach is going to fly-off-the-charts compared to an area in Palm Bay where he lives; it would get to take that CRA money and put it into infrastructures and pave streets with gold; however, the Bay Front Redevelopment District is not going to see that kind of increase and will be left out of the picture when it comes to enticing people to move into their area; and he thinks caution needs to be used because there are 19 CRA's. He advised Ms. Fausnaugh presented very good evidence as to why the Board needs to step back and maybe workshop it; there are always economic development sessions with EDC's and the Board; he thinks there needs to a countywide economic development conference and invite everybody to figure out if this route needs to be taken of having these 19 CRA's distinctly separate; and it is not based on the merits of Chairman Fisher's proposal, it is just getting out of hand. He stated on one Agenda there are three different CRA's; he is not going to support it; and quite frankly, he might not support the other two either.
Commissioner Bolin commented that Satellite Beach does have a CRA, she lives there; and there is no gold anywhere on the streets. Commissioner Anderson advised he was just using a comparison because if one area is taken there will be haves and have not’s because those property values are going to increase dramatically quicker than somewhere else inland.
Commissioner Nelson stated the beach side community already feels like it pays more than a fair share; it is an argument everyone has heard from the beach side communities; and the CRA's are a mechanism to the County. He stated he shares Commissioner Anderson's concern with the comments made towards Chairman Fisher. He mentioned he did hear about Oak Hill, which is in Volusia County not Brevard, but the community is interested in making sure there is a plan; Commissioner Anderson mentioned the idea of a workshop for the concept, if the ordinance is approved, it creates the discussion about the plan; he thinks until getting to that point there cannot be a discussion; it is either have the discussion or not; if the discussion takes place, approve the ordinance, and go to the next step, which is the plan; but once there and if it does not work, it dies at that moment. He stated he thinks oversight is extremely important and the thing that he likes is in the Agenda it says a dependent special district under Section 189.403 (2) the County would reserve the right to remove a member of the governing board of the District during an unexpired term, so in effect, the Board controls the membership of the board at that point; and he inquired if he is correct. Attorney Knox responded yes, there is a list of reasons that are given, but the last reason that is going to be added to it is; in fact, there is a new draft that the Board does not have yet; it is for the best interest of the County; and if for any reason if a Commissioner feels it to be important, something can be removed. Commissioner Nelson stated the Board has the ability to step in at that point in time and say there needs to be some changes made; he thinks that is important, particularly for the oversight aspect of it; if there is no growth shown in incremental tax funding, then no money will be seen because it is not residential; and he thinks the Board's biggest failure would be to do nothing. He stated this is the worst economic time ever seen; it is going to call for some very unique solutions; he applauds Chairman Fisher for doing something because it is really taking the limitations and using them in a way that can benefit the community; and he will be supporting it.
Commissioner Infantini stated it is understandable that Chairman Fisher wants an economic development zone for his District; District 2 created such a zone and thus they are receiving $2 million or 44 percent of the Countywide redevelopment funds; it is recognized that Districts 3, 4, and 5 receive 49 percent; Chairman Fisher is requesting to receive the same benefits as District 2, which is understandable because he is only receiving seven percent; she respects what Chairman Fisher is attempting, but the affect on the rest of the County has to be considered for establishing this economic development zone; the CRA monies keep being discussed and going to Districts 1 and 2; and where does the incremental appreciation from all the other Districts go, it goes to the rest of the County. She stated economic development zones force the County to expend funds in these established areas while neglecting other parts of the County; an example being in September 2009, the Board voted to spend $2 million to purchase land for stormwater retention in the Merritt Island Redevelopment Zone; however, in July 2010, the City of West Melbourne was denied funding for a $1.2 million project to ensure safe drinking water for its residents; priorities need to be considered and the opportunity costs from choices made; she is in favor of establishing a program possibly for a five-year period; a 31-year commitment on all of Brevard County residents is excessive; this program encumbers property and tax dollars that will be needed to support the infrastructure of a growing County; and she would like to know what happens if this program establishes its goals in five years and there is still commitment for the remaining 26 years. She advised in order for an economic development zone to be successful, concrete goals must be established and the program must be terminated when the goals are met; she asked Commissioners Bolin and Anderson if they are willing to burden their constituents for the next 31 years to subsidize this economic development zone when it helps only a few people; it has been done for Merritt Island and they have been receiving 50 percent of the redevelopment monies for the last few years; she does not blame the other Commissioners for feeling it has been disproportionate because it has; but rather than create another economic development zone there should be reorganization of where the existing community redevelopment monies are going, rather than pouring more money into it.
Commissioner Nelson stated it seems apparent that there should be no success awarded because the CRA on Merritt Island has been successful; he pointed out that Melbourne has seven CRA's; he supports the fact that it has agencies but it has seven of them; there will have gone 40 years, which is 10 years longer than the Merritt Island one, so he did not hear Commissioner Infantini criticize any of her constituent cities during that discussion; he does not know why she focuses on Merritt Island, but it is apparent that she has concerns; CRA's have a purpose, they should not be punished for success; and the fact that this is a terrible economic circumstance means some other alternatives need to be looked at; and he makes the motion to approve Items VII.B.1, V.C., and VII.C.2.
Chairman Fisher inquired if Item V.C cannot be included with this motion because there are speaker cards, and it is a public hearing. Attorney Knox responded the Chairman needs to call the public hearing on Item V.C.
Commissioner Nelson advised he will withdraw Item V.C. from his motion.
Commissioner Infantini stated Commissioner Nelson is correct, most of Melbourne's CRA is shared by Commissioner Anderson and herself; it has 14 percent yearly average on its money that the County has given to the for the last 28 years; it has other redevelopment districts that have received nine percent and another one that has received 15 percent for the last 10 years; it is compared to the MIRA that has been in existence for 22 years and has earned only seven percent of the money the County has given it; and the one that was established for 20 years has given an eight percent return. She stated Merritt Island and Melbourne have one district that are both losing four percent of its money; she is suggesting awarding success with the ones that are doing well; but at some point the goal needs to be seen and when it gets there it needs to be cut off and put it back into the General Fund. She advises General Funds should not be used for stormwater retention because there is a mechanism in place already to fund stormwater; and right now some of the General Funds that are collected from all districts are being used to do stormwater retention in one area, when the rest are using tax dollars for it.
The Board adopted Resolution No. 11-121 certifying the Brevard County Property Appraiser information required for the calculation of the establishment of a dedicated increment value with the Economic Development Zone.
RESULT: ADOPTED [3 TO 2]
MOVER: Chuck Nelson, Commissioner District 2
SECONDER: Mary Bolin, Commissioner District 4
AYES: Robin Fisher, Chuck Nelson, Mary Bolin
NAYS: Trudie Infantini, Andy Anderson
.
Chairman Fisher called for the public hearing to consider North Brevard Economic Development Zone tax increment ordinance.
Richard Ware inquired what is the proposal going to do that goes beyond the Board's present ability to do as a governing body and why does another governing body need to be created to do what this Board is already supposed to be doing; he commended Chairman Fisher for Professional Aircraft Accessories, Inc. (PAA) by taking leadership to get the City of Titusville onboard; he inquired if another governing body is really needed, does the Board not trust itself or the people who follow them in office to make responsible decisions on how to spend economic development money needing to be separated out of the General Fund; and he is seeing it to be going beyond what is necessary. He mentioned the possibility of allowing special interests to have too much input into how money is going to be spent and to hide input of how it is being done, in terms of visibility to the general public, because a lot of time the more layers created in government, the more it becomes less visible to the public who the government is supposed to serve; he inquired why does the district need to be empowered for 31 years; and stated he agrees with Commissioner Infantini about it being too long. He stated the State of Florida requires every agency to account for itself under the Sunset Laws, by justifying its existence every seven years, which is a shorter period of time; there are bigger agencies that have more of a scope than any Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) would have in the northern part of Brevard County; he inquired what the amount of money is expected to be generated and what is the expected need for it to have any impact with the concepts meshing together, or does waiting 30-years generate enough money to actually have an impact, because if there is no increase in property values after five years, as stated in the plan, then if the money is not generated, the incentive is not there, and why even bother to try and do it if there is no clear idea of what is needed or where the money comes from in the long run of things. He inquired if there is a cap on how much money is generated to accomplish the goal and end the program; he stated he did not see anything regarding that in the resolution in the Agenda packet; the idea and the concept is very noble to help north Brevard; but however good the intentions are, does not negate bad policy; he is seeing this as bad policy as one of the North Brevard people who is pretty well educated in government; and he has a Masters Degree in Public Administration, he understands the management of government and private business, but this is not going to be something in long-term that will have the expenditures associated with it and the extra government entities involved in it having a positive impact. He suggested if this is such a great idea, put it on the ballot, and have the citizens of Brevard County who will be affected vote on it so there is the option of having public input into creating a special taxing district.
Earl Medlen stated he thinks everyone is looking at this the wrong way; Chairman Fisher is an upstanding man; there was nobody that said Chairman Fisher has a conflict of interest; and it was just a question someone asked. He went on to state he is in favor of development and if not he would not have brought up the fact that Caterpillar was thinking about moving out of Illinois; the Board needs to get them to move to Brevard County; he thinks the biggest problem is government itself; government is not the solution; and if one is not part of the solution, he or she is a part of the problem. He stated he knows Brevard County did not do this, it came from the State, but in 1991's the Building Code Enforcement Manual was small; the 2007 Building Code Enforcement Manual is large; he thinks Assistant County Manager Mel Scott and the rest of his office who has to enforce; the manual needs repealing with some of these intrusive, heavy-handed rules and regulations that are choking the life out of businesses and people, and Chairman Fisher's Band-Aid solution would not be needed; and the five things he needed government to do is get out of his life, face, wallet, off of his back, and leave him alone.
Scott Knox, County Attorney, recommended removing the work redevelopment from the ordinance as it appears in two places where it should not be.
Chairman Fisher inquired if the language of CRA should be plural versus singular has been changed. Attorney Knox responded it has been changed.
There being no further comments or objections, the Board adopted Ordinance No. 11-16, creating the North Brevard Economic Development Tax Increment.
RESULT: ADOPTED [3 TO 2]
MOVER: Chuck Nelson, Commissioner District 2
SECONDER: Mary Bolin, Commissioner District 4
AYES: Robin Fisher, Chuck Nelson, Mary Bolin
NAYS: Trudie Infantini, Andy Anderson
Chairman Fisher advised the individuals who filled out a speaker cards are no longer present.
The Board accepted legislative intent, and authorized advertisement of the North Brevard Economic Development Zone Special District ordinance, by title, for an adoption at the public hearing scheduled at the July 12, 2011, Board of County Commissioners meeting.
RESULT: ADOPTED [3 TO 2]
MOVER: Chuck Nelson, Commissioner District 2
SECONDER: Mary Bolin, Commissioner District 4
AYES: Robin Fisher, Chuck Nelson, Mary Bolin
NAYS: Trudie Infantini, Andy Anderson
ITEM VII.B.2., RESOLUTION, RE: ACCEPTANCE AND ADOPTION OF FINDING OF NECESSITY FOR THE EXTENSION OF MERRITT ISLAND REDEVELOPMENT AREA
Sue Nisbet Lawrence stated as a business owner and a realtor for 34 years, she cannot see that CRA's are anything but a win-win situation in Brevard County; she is sorry that there is so many people who do not see all of the details that have gone into it; and MIRA is a CRA that the community would be proud to show as an example. She advised she is the current Merritt Island Redevelopment Agency (MIRA) Chairman, and she has served proudly on the board with other members who are present today in the audience. She stated the opportunity for a win-win is the County would not only have extra money that comes in because of the work that the Board and its many volunteers have done; and she would like Kurt Easton to show the Board some of the details of what MIRA has done and the hopes of it expanding the district with what MIRA wants to do. She stated the boards that serve the County Commission in creating the policies in Commissioner Fisher's new area will show exactly how those dollars can be put to work; and a board will be created that cares as deeply about that part of Brevard County as the MIRA board does about its district. She introduce Kurt Easton, President of Urban Network, who has vast experiences with Brevard County and the MIRA district; and following Mr. Easton will be Greg Lugar, MIRA Executive Director, and he will be available for questions.
Kurt Easton stated he represents MIRA and has a long past with MIRA, as well as a lot of experience with most of the redevelopment districts in Brevard County; and he would like to commend the Board of County Commissioners for tackling these tough issues, as the Board must invest in its community, or else it will come back to haunt the Board, because Brevard County is competing with everyone else. He stated when looking at Brevard County, those people who have instituted redevelopment programs in their communities can point to improvements that have given the Board in return, not just in property values, but in other tax revenues related to sales tax, state sharing tax, tourist tax, et cetera; and it is the best investment that the Board can see in terms of a return on the tax dollars that are spent. He stated he was hired to take a look at the conditions in Merritt Island to potentially expand the boundaries of their redevelopment district; similar to Commissioner Fisher's District, the MIRA expansion is limited to commercial areas and industrial areas; MIRA would like to extend north on North Courtenay Parkway, on both the east and west sides, up to the barge canal and S.R. 528; to the south, MIRA would like to expand essentially the industrial area that is just south of Cone Road and north of the airport; and MIRA had to look at these areas as they relate to the requirements of the Statute. He advised what the Statute basically says is that the area has to have non-appreciable value increases in Ad Valorem taxes over recent years; the areas suggested met the criteria, as they have been losing money at a rate of three percent per annum for the last three to four years; the areas must also be of economic distress; and he does not think that point even needs to be belabored, given what has happened with the space industry. He stated once the first two criterias were met, the agency had to look at additional criteria that is detailed in the Statute so that the Board can make a decision that the conditions warrant the expansion and/or creation of MIRA; only two criteria needs to be met; but five additional criterias were also met. He state along North Courtenay Parkway, the design of the road has numerous curb cuts and a center turn lane provides for unsafe access management issues; and the area in general, not only on the major corridors, but all of the other streets within the area have no sidewalks, which lend themselves to unsafe conditions. He displayed a photograph to the Board and explained that is was of a drainage canal on the north side of Cone Road; noted road and drainage improvements are paid by the County, but the County's budget is so small it cannot address those types of issues; but a redevelopment district has the ability to apply revenues to help support the County's expenditures in order to address that type of condition.
Commissioner Infantini inquired if Mr. Easton was aware the Commissioner Nelson was given $10 million to address road improvements, sidewalk improvements, and drainage improvements in his District. Mr. Easton stated apparently the money did not go far enough to be able to address the types of conditions as seen in the photo. Commissioner Infantini reiterated that Commissioner Nelson was given $10 million specifically to address road, sidewalk, and drainage improvements; and stated she thought that perhaps Mr. Easton was not aware of that when he put together his presentation. Mr. Easton advised tax increment revenues can augment those resources so that drastic conditions can be addressed, as well as conditions such as those along North Courtenay Parkway where the road is completely unmaintained; there are 30,000 cars on that road everyday, but no sidewalks. Commissioner Nelson stated the $11 million he received almost brings him up to what Commissioner Infantini has received in the south; and $11 million allows him to repair 100-miles of road, out of the 300-miles of road that needs to be done.
Mr. Easton continued his presentation with the photograph of a drainage ditch; and stated with a lack of sidewalks on a major corridor, people are being put at risk, both with vehicles and pedestrians. He further stated the Statute goes on to talk about deterioration of site and other improvements, which ultimately leads towards a lack of the investment into the community, because people who are going to invest their money in private property are taking a look at the physical conditions in the area; and if those issues are not addressed, there is a negative investment image. He noted vacancy rates are increasing, as well as lease rates dropping, which is a result of the market, but it will also be compounded as things move forward with the layoffs at the Space Center; and there has to be proactive solutions to what is going to impact the community in the future. He stated having met the statutory criteria, he recommends that the boundaries of MIRA be expanded, and that the redevelopment plan be updated to address these issues so that economic development can move forward in the community in the future.
Greg Lugar, MIRA Executive Director, stated this is step one of two steps; if approved today, MIRA will come back to the Board with an updated plan within the next four to six months that will identify what the work program would be; and that is when the Board would consider allowing MIRA to expand the district, as well as expanding the trust fund by ordinance. He stated Commissioner Infantini was correct in that one district that was added in 2005 has been in the negative, and that is up to S.R. 3 up to Merritt Island High School; from that point on, MIRA would like to expand northward; according to the Property Appraiser that whole area has been in decline for the last two years; and he felt the decline would be felt for the next four to five years. He noted MIRA believes it will take eight or nine years for the property value of the proposed expanded areas to start increasing in terms of value; by re-investing funds MIRA currently has in those areas, whether it is commercial facade or improvements to the area, would be a big boost to the area; and that is why MIRA has stepped up at this time.
Commissioner Anderson inquired if it were true that incorporation of the redevelopment areas would take care of some of the issues. Mr. Lugar replied it could. Commissioner Anderson stated it is something that always gets discounted; he knows the residents would never vote for it; but there is an alternative other than expanding the redevelopment agency. Mr. Lugar stated Commissioner Anderson is correct; at the same time, if something like that did pass, the County's coffer, in terms of the State revenue going to, it would be coming out of the Board's pocket. Commissioner Anderson stated he did not mean anything against Commissioner Nelson or the residents, but he likes to explore all aspects. Mr. Lugar stated that has been the undertone on Merritt Island for at least the last year and a half since Commissioner Infantini brought it up.
Frank Meyer stated he would like to bring to the Board's attention to an audit that he brought before the Board at the February 22, 2010 meeting; according to the audit, Merritt Island had almost $4.7 million leftover cash balance; according to Statutes, the money should either be returned to the governing agency, or used for payment of debt; and inquired if that is true. Scott Knox, County Attorney, replied that is true to the extent that the money has not been appropriated to pay for specific projects. Mr. Meyer inquired if a cash balance means the money has not been used. Attorney Knox responded if it has been appropriated and designated for certain projects that are ongoing in the CRA, then the money does not have to be returned. Mr. Meyer inquired if the $4 million could be used for the proposed expansion of MIRA. Attorney Knox responded he is not sure if MIRA appropriated the money for the expansion or not. He stated at the end of the budget year, if a CRA thinks it is going to have a surplus and the MIRA Board voted for that purpose, then the money could not be returned; but if the CRA did not do that, then the money could be returned. Commissioner Nelson noted the money is used to fund the work program that the redevelopment agency has; instead of borrowing money, which is what other redevelopment agencies have done, MIRA has been a pay-as-you-go agency, so they have built up the dollars because they did not go out and borrow the money and use it just for debt retirement; and so there is a difference. Mr. Meyer stated he is for economic development, but all of the CRA's should be looked at because it seems to him that three Commissioners can approve a project, then if it goes badly, it is difficult to get rid of; and inquired if CRA's are able to be renewed and continue in perpetuity. Commissioner Nelson responded he will use Melbourne as an example; Melbourne had one of the first CRA's in 1982; the CRA came to the Board with a modification to its plan in 2006; and at that time, the Board approved extending it. He pointed out that if a CRA is meeting its purpose, or if the purpose is being modified, that is what the Commission looks at, evaluates, and makes its decision on whether or not a CRA should or should not be; and in the case of the Melbourne and Cocoa CRA's, the Board thought it was important enough. He stated additionally, the money is going to public purposes; he would not have an issue with Melbourne redeveloping Hibiscus Boulevard and some other street, because that is what it was supposed to do; but it just took longer to get there. Mr. Meyer stated there should be a provision in the whole economic development scheme of things to have a plan resubmitted every three or five years.
Mr. Lugar stated MIRA's revenues in terms of cash forward into next year is a little over $2 million, not $4 million; and he would be more than happy to meet with Mr. Meyer to provide any other information regarding MIRA.
Commissioner Infantini stated she would like to put into perspective the amount of funds that are received in CRA monies on Merritt Island; five cities actually assess their residents less money in Ad Valorem taxes than the entire County gives to Merritt Island alone; Indialantic collects less than $2 million, which is very close to what the Board gives to MIRA, from all funds countywide, to run the CRA; and if MIRA wanted additional funds for just its area, they should incorporate like all the other municipalities, because those municipalities collect tax dollars in addition to what gets paid to help subsidize County government. She stated that is why she has always pushed for Merritt Island to incorporate; Cocoa alone collects $4.5 million and has approximately half the amount of residents as Merritt Island; and she thinks incorporation would be more prudent so it would not tax the rest of the County to subsidize their improvements.
Commissioner Nelson stated the dollars that actually come from Merritt Island are the dollars that are funding MIRA; the County is not taking it from anywhere else in the County; they are tax dollars paid by Merritt Islanders; and it is a mis-statement to say that money is coming from somewhere else and is being given to Merritt Island. He noted the other benefit is that the remainder of the properties along the corridor have increased in value; what the County saw was improved taxable values of the entire island, not just the corridor; and that is the whole purpose of CRA's. He stated he had the opportunity to meet with the representatives of the mall regarding the stormwater project; there is retention onsite that was discussed to have it diverted over to the County's stormwater pond, letting the developer fill the retention ponds and use them as commercial properties, which will be a benefit to the entire County by having a mall that is able to do that; and other properties will be coming up for redevelopment in the next few years, in which developers will be able to pay stormwater credits, which will help offset the cost.
Commissioner Infantini stated when an area that is unincorporated forms a CRA, money is taken off of the firefighters Municipal Services Taxing Unit (MSTU); $149,000 came out of MIRA that would have gone to the firefighters MSTU, but it goes back to MIRA, as well as $235,000 coming out of the law enforcement MSTU. Commissioner Nelson noted that is true for the firefighter MSTU, but not for the Sheriff's Office MSTU.
Stockton Whitten, Assistant County Manager, stated the law enforcement MSTU has never paid into MIRA.
Commissioner Bolin stated when the expansion plan comes back to the Board she would like to discuss the length of time of the renewal.
The Board accepted the Finding of Necessity for the extension of the Merritt Island Redevelopment Area; adopted Resolution No. 11-122 relating to the extension of the community redevelopment area and making certain findings and determinations; authorized the amendment to the Redevelopment Plan; and authorized related administrative tasks and procedures.
RESULT: ADOPTED [3 TO 2]
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 recessed at 1:01 p.m. and reconvened at 1:17 p.m.
Commissioner Anderson stated for the record last time this item was before the Board it was thought to be in Commissioner Infantini's District, but it is in his District.
Commissioner Nelson stated he is going to withdrawn his objection that he had at the last meeting.
The Board adopted Resolution No. 11-119A, and transferred common area property Tax Deed File Number 95-100 to Venetia Townhomes & Villas Homeowners Association, Inc. at no cost to said Venetia Townhomes & Villas Homeowners Association, Inc.
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5
SECONDER: Trudie Infantini, Commissioner District 3
AYES: Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson
ITEM VII.B.3., RESOLUTION, RE: ACCEPTANCE AND ADOPTION OF FINDING OF NECESSITY FOR CREATION OF A COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AREA WITHIN UNINCORPORATED BREVARD COUNTY
Stockton Whitten, Assistant County Manager, stated in March or April the Board directed staff to work on the ordinance delegating the authority to the City of West Melbourne and jointly to the County to develop the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA); it is a joint proposal the Board has to adopt a Finding of Necessity; the City undertook the work on the Boards behalf; and this item is a resolution accepting and adopting the Finding of Necessity report that was created for the unincorporated area; Item V.D. is the ordinance that is required in Charter Counties to delegate the authority to the City of West Melbourne and the County for the joint creation of the agency, by outlining the steps and the process for cooperating jointly with regards to potential projects in the CRA area; and ultimately, the redevelopment plan will have to come back to the Board for its approval.
Scott Morgan stated he recommends approval of this item.
Stephany Eley stated this in not just for the City of West Melbourne, in fact it is a major corridor coming into Brevard County; the condition that it is in right now is prohibiting economic development throughout all of South Brevard because it is the major corridor and she is trying to get that major corridor in a condition that is going to help drive economic development; and there is a property on U.S. 192 right now that has an old, dilapidated wooden building on it; the building is not up to Code; the owner finally agreed to demolish the building; now the property is sitting vacant, it is a very narrow parcel; and in order for the owner to build on that parcel there needs to be stormwater retention and if part of the property is used for stormwater retention there is not enough left to do anything with the property. She stated a CRA could come in and do a group Stormwater Management Project, that would not just benefit the owner, but other properties around that area who want to develop, would make it economically feasible to do so; as it stands right now that property is going to sit vacant unless there is some relief; and that is how a CRA can help. She stated it is just augmenting the process so that capitalism can work at its best, to allow those entities to then be able to do what they want to do with the property; but unless those improvements are made their hands are bound.
William Ferrell stated this is a window of opportunity for the County; when people are coming in from the job clusters at Lake Nona or coming up Interstate 95, there are a lot of dilapidated building in that area; it makes sense to beautify and clean up the area to make it pretty and attract tourism and visitors; it is good planning; and he applauds the efforts being made. He stated some of the old things from by-gone-days need to be cleaned up and is not conducive to good economic development or have good street-scathe; it is all about how things look; and it is appearance oriented with a lot of the things.
Chairman Fisher stated there are two Commissioners in that District that it will affect.
Commissioner Anderson stated he feels this is a very good project, but again it goes back to his comments earlier that he thought for whatever reason all the CRA's were thrown together to be on the same sheet; he lives by integrity, he is not going to make the motion to support this because he told Chairman Fisher that he did not support his and he told Commissioner Nelson that he did not support his; he is not going to be a hypocrite; and that is the way he operates in life and is something he is going to stick to.
Commissioner Infantini thinks tax dollars should be gathered in this way; there should be a countywide redevelopment area, so the entire County is benefiting because what is good for one part of the County is good for the entire County, not just different sections; it is a representation of the whole County; she wants to have a better allocation of all the tax dollars going to the redevelopment district, and she would be a hypocrite to approve it at this point.
Commissioner Anderson stated West Melbourne has put a lot of work into this; the timing is bad; he thought this was going to be a simple narrow-and-scope CRA, which it is; but he does not want it to become a situation where he is held hostage on other decisions because of this CRA.
Commissioner Nelson stated the study has been done; it shows there is a need for it; he has supported CRA's because he thinks they do provide a valuable tool for communities to pull themselves up; he is not going to suggest that the area between become incorporated; he thinks it is a good plan, it is needed, and it will be one of the two gateways to the community; and he plans on supporting it.
Motion by Commissioner Nelson, seconded by Commissioner Bolin to approve, and continue discussion.
Chairman Fisher stated he remembers when he originally talked to the City of West Melbourne, it was a certain area that seems like it got expanded; he does not know if that was the total intention of West Melbourne at the time and maybe Scott Morgan, City of West Melbourne, can help him address the reason it got larger; and he is not sure if Mr. Morgan cares that it got larger or is comfortable with what it was in the beginning.
Mr. Morgan stated the area was expanded to incorporate John Roads into the proposal; and the suggestion is John Roads needs to carry some additional traffic carrying capacity. Commissioner Anderson mentioned it was his request; and he wanted it to be known.
Chairman Fisher stated he is concerned now there that is no support from those Commissioners in that District and John Roads being thrown into it and it not the original criteria of West Melbourne; and he inquired if Mr. Morgan cares if it is in it or not. Mr. Morgan responded West Melbourne has a proposal that has passed the West Melbourne City Council and the Board had it on it on its Agenda six or seven weeks ago; and then moved it to this Agenda for some notice reasons. He stated there are some opportunities if it is so inclined to make it somewhat less; West Melbourne was prepared if the County did not want to partner with them; it will just be a City CRA so it would have sort of the database that is city and the database that is County; and it is West Melbourne's thought, that it would be good to partner with the County to look at the whole corridor, which is still thought to be a good idea; if there is some notion among the Commission that it should be less, one of the ways of doing that would be just to not have to do the finding of necessity for the unincorporated areas, but go straight to the delegation of authority, then it is just a straight City CRA, just like Melbourne, Cocoa, or Titusville; then the County would not be West Melbourne's partner for those unincorporated in between, which would be an alternative if the Board was not inclined to support the finding of necessity for the unincorporated area; and it could still do the delegation of authority for the properties within the City if it is wanted to be made smaller, as a suggested alternative.
Commissioner Anderson stated if the unincorporated areas were taken out, he would feel more comfortable and he would support it at that point; but it would just be hypocritical of him to support unincorporated CRA's.
Chairman Fisher stated he wants to do what is good for West Melbourne; and he inquired what the County Manger or the Assistant County Managers thoughts are; it is one thing when there is Commissioner support of the CRA's in a District, but it is another thing when there is not; and he hates to be approving something when he does not have the support by the Commissioners that represent that group. He stated he is also a man of his word and he would like to work through this with West Melbourne.
Howard Tipton, County Manager, stated from his perspective of working with West Melbourne it was moving forward as a joint-project; and the gateway concept is trying to be embraced coming off of I-95 into the area; it is an area that certainly meets the definitions and need for redevelopment and creates a strong commercial capability of opportunity there; and from his perspective the original proposal was worth considering, but certainly he is not on the political end of things so he would defer to whatever direction the Board is in.
Mel Scott, Assistant County Manager, stated from a planning perspective he concurs with Mr. Tipton's comments; right now the current condition of U.S. 192 is clearly a gateway; there are properties identified in the unincorporated segment of U.S. 192, that are on septic tank; that is how there is constrained economic expansion opportunities because there are relegated, very small 1950's era buildings and until their Central Services are brought down that street, it would be one of the key investments that would ideally come from the CRA; likewise with Ellis Road, he thinks the long-term plan to be seen is it tying in with a expanded interchange presence and Ellis Road widening being a gateway to the Airport; and certainly the CRA would help that in the future certainly with a time frame identified for the investment to be put in place, which is for 30-years.
Ms. Eley stated from her perspective U.S. 192 is the most important and critical junction for the County; she is not parochial, but it does no good for the City of West Melbourne to improve properties and the County not to improve properties; in fact, most people in the City of West Melbourne do not know what is theirs versus what is the County's; people are calling and complaining about properties that are in the County and asking is the City not doing anything about it; the reason is nobody knows what is City or County; she was so thrilled when it passed 5:0, the first time because it makes sense to look at it as an interlocal agreement and improve all those properties along there. She stated this is infrastructure; she inquired if that is a function of government; she thinks it absolutely is because that is what is hamstringing these properties from being able to develop is the fact that the infrastructure is not there; she inquired will there be infrastructure when there is one property that is in the County and one property that is in West Melbourne, unless there is infrastructure that connects all those properties together; and there is no way that is going to happen.
Chairman Fisher inquired if Ms. Eley is comfortable speaking for herself on the U.S. 192 corridor. Ms. Eley responded she would like to speak on the whole thing with Ellis Road because she sits on the Transportation Planning Organization (TPO); TPO is looking at that corridor for doing the interchange with I-95; the problem is that there are drainage issues and there is the canal, that canal is going to have to be somehow piped in order for the widening of Ellis Road in order to make that interchange; this is all tied together, they are not separate entities; and the TPO had a proposal that came in looking at all of the transportation arteries coming and surrounding Kennedy Space Center and nobody had done that before of how everything is tied together, which is what is being discussed now. She stated it makes sense to her to be looking at this because it can be augmented with the kinds of things the TPO wants to do, by using CRA money; she thinks the critical need is U.S. 192, but the Board brought up Ellis Road; and she thinks it is a valid concern.
Commissioner Anderson stated the County's projections made by Mr. Whitten, went out with the tax increment, it was only going to be $225,000 total over the next 10 years projection. Mr. Whitten stated he thinks just the unincorporated portion was looked at. Commissioner Anderson stated it is variable like with the $20 million for piping Ellis Road. Mr. Whitten stated it is going to take all of the CRA's because of the projected drop in the property values.
Ms. Eley advised she is not talking about that.
Commissioner Anderson stated the water and sewage can be remedied through property owners if they wish to annex into the City of West Melbourne; and it is an option, as a private property owner on U.S. 192.
Commissioner Infantini inquired if the interlocal agreement can be done; and her understanding from one of her briefings is, she was told there could be an interlocal agreement between the City of West Melbourne and Brevard County. Ms. Eley mentioned that is exactly what is being proposed. Commissioner Infantini stated she is talking about interlocal agreement she is not talking about CRA; it does not actually require a CRA; and one of her problems with encompassing the CRA at the unincorporated portions into the CRA is because she has spoken with business owners and residents of the unincorporated area close to where it would be annexed for the CRA boundaries and they are not in favor of it, which she was not aware of at her first vote because she had not reached out and touched as many people as she had after that vote, as they were calling her. She stated that is why she is not in favor of having all of the unincorporated area within that boundary.
Commissioner Anderson stated there was some fear by some of those owners of involuntary annexation, which as a Commission it was not asked. Ms. Eley reiterated that is not being asked for.
Commissioner Infantini stated the effectiveness of that fight can be seen today, that is why she has tried to caution the Board.
Ms. Eley stated if West Melbourne wanted to go and ask them to annex then, then it could obtain that entire corridor and it would not even have to be here today asking for this; that is specifically what is not being asked to do; they are allowing and wanting them to be able to stay in the County if that is what they chose; allowing the County to get the money from the property taxes; they are asking for a consolidated effort to improve that corridor; and because the way it is configured currently and are not advocating configuring in any differently. She stated it is going to take a joint effort.
Commissioner Bolin stated it has been talked about doing the U.S. 192 corridor, as option 1; now she is hearing option 2, is to do the corridor, John Roads, and Ellis Road; the motion Commissioner Nelson made included the entire are as presented; upon discussion, she would like to remove her second and go for option 1, which would be the corridor she thinks is the main thing; and the reason why she is pulling her second off of Ellis and John Roads is because she agrees 100 percent that U.S. 192 is going to be the most important corridor and it should be cleaned up as fast as possible with all of the new industry coming in, such as Embrear and their clients. She stated there needs to be a nice presentation for the area; in the future a CRA there could be looked at just like what is being done in Merritt Island, by reaching out once the U.S. 192 is succeeded.
Commissioner Nelson stated he will withdraw his motion.
Chairman Fisher stated there is no a motion.
Motion by Commissioner Bolin, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to include the U.S. 192 wording of unincorporated, and continue discussion.
Chairman Fisher stated he feels really weird voting on this without having all of the Commissioners support; and he feels like he is forcing something down those Commissioners throats, but what he is really doing is hearing the representative from West Melbourne saying it is needed, that is why he is in support of it; and it bothers him.
Commissioner Nelson stated he has the same concerns because the discussion earlier puts this in context for the Board, but he has been supportive of CRA's because he thinks there is a value to them, that discussion has been had; he thinks Ms. Eley has done a great job with explaining the benefits; but he is troubled about the District Commissioners not supporting it.
Commissioner Anderson stated he wants to be very clear about his remarks being remembered from before, he thinks the Board needs to look at other areas for economic development; he does not think CRA's are the solution, unless the data proves otherwise, but he is not convinced of that; and he thinks the State and Tallahassee needs to step up to the plate, instead of stripping money out of Transportation Trust Funds and things like that, they need to concentrate on economic development; and hopefully the Governor’s Office is doing it.
Commissioner Infantini stated she is not completely opposed either, but she wants to redistribute the existing funds that were already going out; right now there is just a disproportionate amount of funds going to one District, which is what she is not in favor of; if reallocation wants to be done, that is fine, but that is not what is being done so that each District got its fair share; but that is not happening.
Commissioner Anderson advised that is not his argument; and he wants that to be clear.
Chairman Fisher stated that is not on the table either.
Commissioner Nelson stated reallocation cannot be done; he is not going to vote for it and removes his second; after listening to the last two comments, he has concerns, and if they would like to go back and talk with their constituents in their community between now and the next meeting, he suggests doing so.
Commissioner Bolin stated she is pulling her motion.
Commissioner Anderson stated he is fine with that; and there has not been a lot of support for this from the constituents in his District, unless Commissioner Infantini has had it.
Commissioner Infantini stated she has not.
Chairman Fisher advised there is no longer a motion or a second on the floor; at this point he is guessing it needs to go back and hopefully West Melbourne's leadership can meet with Commissioners Anderson and Infantini; and he is supportive of U.S. 192 if a consensus can be made and some Commissioners support.
Commissioner Anderson stated he will support it as long as it is not used as a leverage for the other two, to use CRA's; this is very small and narrow in scope; it is a small CRA, but he is just afraid politically that it will be used as leverage against him; and he is not going to play that game right now.
Chairman Fisher stated sometimes politically, if they do not like a Commissioner and they throw he or she out, it is okay; and that is just the way he looks at it; and if they get tired of him, they can throw him out, and he will find other things to do.
Commissioner Bolin stated she hopes this is a point where Commissioner Anderson needs to look at what is the best point for his constituents.
Commissioner Anderson stated there are a lot of his constituents in red shirts today, that stated they are not really big on CRA's; and he has not heard a lot of opposition in his District.
Chairman Fisher stated he feels bad for the City of West Melbourne; he hopes this can come back in the next meeting in July; and maybe these Commissioners can talk to their constituents and West Melbourne can fine-tune the line. He thinks it keeps getting thrown at Commissioner Nelson because of taking money from the CRA's and then getting the blame for creating the CRA's, when the Commissioners in the District does not want it; and that is not fair on the three Commissioners that soon will be willing to support the effort. He stated he is confused; and he is surprised by it, as it was a 5:0 vote a couple of weeks ago.
Commissioner Anderson reiterated that he thinks the other two issues were thrown on here to try to leverage another vote; he is not willing to play those political games because enough of that happens in Washington, D.C. and Tallahassee; and he is not doing it on a county level.
Commissioner Infantini stated when it was a 5:0 vote, this was such a limited small scope, and since then all of the sudden the item came on third out of three; originally Chairman Fisher's project was scheduled virtually all of District 1 scoped-down, which she sincerely appreciates; all of the sudden there was a last minute expansion of an already huge CRA, so because of that all of the facts and circumstances changed.
Chairman Fisher stated it did not change for Commissioner Infantini's constituents; it was voted on 5:0 and unfortunately it got yanked from underneath them, which is not fair; and in part of whether it is Washington, D.C. or Brevard County there is compromise, and not everybody always gets what they want, which is why he compromised on his CRA.
Commissioner Anderson stated he agrees; that is why he said Commissioners Fisher and Nelson's heart is set in the right place; it would have been very hypocritical of him to support a CRA in his District after voting against theirs; and it is just not the right thing to do.
Mr. Tipton stated in terms of bringing the this Item back to the Board, he is happy to meet with the City of West Melbourne, as they have been, and from staff's perspective, it supports that corridor concept on U.S. 192; but the Board needs to tell staff when it is ready to have the discussion.
Chairman Fisher inquired if it can be re-agenda for July 12th; he is planning to meet with West Melbourne; the Board broadened the scope from where West Melbourne originally came; he is supportive of that because that is what the Commissioners in that District wanted, but now that has changed, so West Melbourne might rethink their scenario and might be somewhat flexible of what the scope is; but he thinks they are deserving of a CRA on U.S. 192 and he wants to help them get there. He wishes it could be done with a 5:0 vote; he stated it is okay with the two Commissioners that they did not vote for his and he voted for theirs, his feelings will not, and if it is the right thing to do for their constituents he suggested it be done.
Mr. Tipton stated for the consideration of the Board on July 12th; it will be brought back for consideration of the U.S. 192 corridor in both incorporated and unincorporated CRA.
Commissioner Anderson stated bring it back on July 12th, it will give time to mull-it-over; he is a man of his word and if he goes after one of his fellow Commissioners, he has to be able to take his own medicine; and that is how he is looking at it.
The Board tabled consideration of a resolution of acceptance and adoption of Finding of Necessity for creation of a Community Redevelopment Area within unincorporated Brevard County, to the July 12, 2011 Board meeting.
RESULT: ADOPTED [3 TO 2]
MOVER: Chuck Nelson, Commissioner District 2
SECONDER: Mary Bolin, Commissioner District 4
AYES: Robin Fisher, Chuck Nelson, Mary Bolin
NAYS: Trudie Infantini, Andy Anderson
ITEM V.C., PUBLIC HEARING, RE: NORTH BREVARD ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ZONE TAX INCREMENT ORDINANCE (CONTINUED)
Chairman Fisher stated Scott Knox, County Attorney, cleaned up some language in the Ordinance for Item V.C.; and he would like for him to explain it.
Attorney Knox stated he removed the reference to 'redevelopment' in two places where it referred to redevelopment initiatives; one other place where it referred to redevelopment in prudence, if the redevelopment was maintained in the areas that were excluded from the District, which included the areas in the Titusville Redevelopment Areas, which were left in; what he has done is present to the Board a copy of the ordinance as it has been revised and asked if the Board could move to reconsider it; and adopt this version of the ordinance, as it was not the one that was presented at the beginning of the meeting.
The Board approved the changes to the adopted Ordinance No. 11-16, creating the North Brevard Economic Development Tax Increment.
RESULT: ADOPTED [3 TO 2]
MOVER: Chuck Nelson, Commissioner District 2
SECONDER: Mary Bolin, Commissioner District 4
AYES: Robin Fisher, Chuck Nelson, Mary Bolin
NAYS: Trudie Infantini, Andy Anderson
ITEM V.D., PUBLIC HEARING ORDINANCE, RE: DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY, CITY OF WEST MELBOURNE/JOINT COUNTY COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY
The Board continued consideration of an ordinance delegating authority to the City of West Melbourne to establish a Community Redevelopment Agency, to the July 12th Board meeting.
RESULT: ADOPTED [3 TO 2]
MOVER: Chuck Nelson, Commissioner District 2
SECONDER: Mary Bolin, Commissioner District 4
AYES: Robin Fisher, Chuck Nelson, Mary Bolin
NAYS: Trudie Infantini, Andy Anderson
ITEMS PULLED FROM CONSENT AGENDA
Chairman Fisher stated there are speaker cards for Item III.B.6., Approval of Agreements, Re: The Dori Slosberg Driver Education Safety Act/Driver Education Safety Trust Fund.
Commissioner Anderson advised he will be voting no, on Item III.A.22., Permission to Execute Task Order 00-60 with S2L, Inc., Re: Partial Response for "Request for Additional Information" (RAI) for Environmental Resource Permit for U.S. 192 Site; and it does not need to be pulled.
Howard Tipton, County Manager stated he needs to pull Item III.B.8., Approval of Professional Services Agreement Amendment, Re: Accepting Assignment from Post, Buckley, Schuh & Jernigan, Inc. to Atkins North America, Inc. because it is under further legal review, from the Agenda.
Commissioner Infantini stated she would like to pull Item III.C.4., Acceptance, Re: Parks and Recreation Financial Condition Review and Library Services Financial Condition Review, from the Agenda.
Commissioner Nelson stated he would like to pull Item III.A.23., Approval of Addendum 6, Re: Harris Sanitation and Western Waste (Waste Management) Contracts to Reflect Changes to Residential Recycling Curbside Collection in the Solid Waste Collection Agreement; and Item III.B.7., Approval, Re: Community Based Organization (CBO) Funding Request for Proposal Process, from the Agenda.
The Board authorized the Chairman to execute a contract between Brevard County (grantee) and the Florida Department of Emergency Management for 75 percent State cost-share for completing the Crane Creek Outfall (Lamplighter - Stage II) Project; approved legal venue, attorney fees, and jury trial provisions that are standard State contract language; authorized the Chairman to execute any subsequent contract amendments approved by Legal and Risk Management that do not increase project costs; and approved budget change requests to reflect this grant revenue.
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Trudie Infantini, Commissioner District 3
SECONDER: Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5
AYES: Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson
The Board executed Binding Development Plan Agreement with Bruce L. Anderson for property located on the south side of Dalhi Street, approximately 170 feet west of Knoxville Avenue, in Canaveral Groves.
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Trudie Infantini, Commissioner District 3
SECONDER: Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5
AYES: Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson
.
The Board executed Binding Development Plan Agreement with White Sands Buddhist Center for property located on the south side of Aurantia Road, approximately 0.2 mile east of I-95.
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Trudie Infantini, Commissioner District 3
SECONDER: Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5
AYES: Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson
The Board granted final plat approval for Stadium Corners at Viera, 10SD-00858, with the developer, The Viera Company, responsible for obtaining all other necessary jurisdictional permits; and authorized the Chairman to sign the final plat.
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Trudie Infantini, Commissioner District 3
SECONDER: Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5
AYES: Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson
.
ITEM III.A.6., RESOLUTION, RE: ADOPTION OF FEES FOR THE REVIEW OF A MINOR SUBDIVISION PURSUANT TO THE MINOR SUBDIVISION ORDINANCE
The Board adopted Resolution No. 11-110, adding to the fee schedules for the Planning and Development Department, Public Works Department, and Natural Resources Management Office, to defray costs associated with staff review of minor subdivisions.
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Trudie Infantini, Commissioner District 3
SECONDER: Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5
AYES: Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson
The Board executed an Amendment Interlocal Agreement with the School Board, providing for administration of the Educational Facilities Impact Fee Program.
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Trudie Infantini, Commissioner District 3
SECONDER: Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5
AYES: Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson
ITEM III.A.8., INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT WITH THE CITY OF PALM BAY, RE: POWELL ROAD DIRT ROAD PAVING MSBU PROJECT
The Board executed the Interlocal Agreement with the City of Palm Bay for the Dirt Road Paving for the Powell Road Municipal Service Benefit Unit (MSBU).
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Trudie Infantini, Commissioner District 3
SECONDER: Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5
AYES: Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson
ITEM III.A.9., ACCEPTANCE OF DONATION FOR REAL PROPERTY, RE: M. VONE BOWLY AND MELINDA K. TROTTER, CO-EXECUTORS OF THE RUTH HENDERSON TROTTER TRUST
The Board accepted a donation for real property from M. Vone Bowly and Melinda K. Trotter, Trustees of the Ruth Henderson Trotter Trust; and waived the Phase I Environmental Assessment, survey requirements, and the Title Schedule B-II, Restrictions, Reservations, Easements, and Conditions.
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Trudie Infantini, Commissioner District 3
SECONDER: Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5
AYES: Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson
ITEM III.A.10., SURETY BOND ACCEPTANCE, RE: STADIUM PARKWAY FOUR-LANE WIDENING, PHASE 1 - DEVELOPER: HEINKEL, GRIFFIN, AND RUFRANO CONSTRUCTION, INC.
The Board accepted the Surety Performance Bond for roadway infrastructure improvements for the Stadium Parkway Four-Lane Widening Project, Phase I, with the developer, Heinkel, Griffin, and Rufrano Construction, Inc., responsible for obtaining all other necessary jurisdictional permits.
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Trudie Infantini, Commissioner District 3
SECONDER: Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5
AYES: Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson
ITEM III.A.11., APPROVAL, RE: RIGHT-OF-WAY USE AGREEMENT WITH THE VIERA COMPANY FOR LANDSCAPE IMPROVEMENT AND MAINTENANCE ON JUDGE FRAN JAMIESON WAY
The Board executed the Right-of-Way Use Agreement with The Viera Company for a 10-year term until April 5, 2021, for landscape improvement maintenance on Judge Fran Jamieson Way between Stadium Parkway and Lake Andrew Drive.
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Trudie Infantini, Commissioner District 3
SECONDER: Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5
AYES: Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson
ITEM III.A.12., CONTRACT FOR SALE AND PURCHASE WITH WILLIE WOOD CONSTRUCTION, INC., RE: DRAINAGE, UTILITY, AND SIDEWALK FOR CDBG WILEY AVENUE IMPROVEMENT PROJECT
The Board executed the Contract for Sale and Purchase, and accepted the easement from Willie Wood, President of Willie Wood Construction, Inc., for the CDBG Wiley Avenue Improvement Project; and waived the Phase I Environmental Assessment and survey requirements on the property located in Mims, Section 17, Township 21, Range 35.
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Trudie Infantini, Commissioner District 3
SECONDER: Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5
AYES: Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson
ITEM III.A.13., CONTRACT FOR SALE AND PURCHASE WITH MATTIE BROWN, RE: DRAINAGE, UTILITY, AND SIDEWALK FOR CDBG WILEY AVENUE IMPROVEMENTS PROJECT
The Board executed the Contract for Sale and Purchase, and accepted the easement from Mattie Brown for the CDBG Wiley Avenue Improvement Project; and waived the appraisal, Phase I Environmental Assessment, and surety requirements on the property located in Mims, Section 17, Township 21, Range 35.
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Trudie Infantini, Commissioner District 3
SECONDER: Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5
AYES: Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson
ITEM III.A.14., ACCEPTANCE OF UTILITY EASEMENT WITH SEBRON E. DAY AND PATRICIA A. KAY, RE: MERRITT ISLAND REDEVEOPMENT AGENCY SOUTH TROPICAL TRAIL SEWER EXTENSION PROJECT
The Board accepted the easement from Sebron E. Kay and Patricia A. Kay for the Merritt Island Redevelopment Agency South Tropical Trail Sewer Extension Project, on property located in Section 35, Township 24, Range 36.
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Trudie Infantini, Commissioner District 3
SECONDER: Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5
AYES: Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson
ITEM III.A.15., ACCEPTANCE OF UTILITY EASEMENT WITH CAROL J. STARKEY, RE: MERRITT ISLAND REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY SOUTH TROPICAL TRAIL SEWER EXTENSION PROJECT
The Board accepted the utility easement from Carol J. Starkey for the Merritt Island Redevelopment Agency South Tropical Trail Sewer Extension Project, located in Section 35, Township 24, Range 36.
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Trudie Infantini, Commissioner District 3
SECONDER: Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5
AYES: Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson
.
ITEM III.A.16., ACCEPTANCE OF TWO UTILITY EASEMENTS WITH FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF MERRITT ISLAND, RE: MERRITT ISLAND REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY SOUTH TROPICAL TRAIL SEWER EXTENSION PROJECT
The Board accepted two utility easements from First Baptist Church of Merritt Island for the Merritt Island Redevelopment Agency South Tropical Trail Sewer Extension Project, located in Section 35, Township 24, Range 36.
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Trudie Infantini, Commissioner District 3
SECONDER: Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5
AYES: Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson
.
ITEM III.A.17., CONTRACT FOR SALE AND PURCHASE WITH BARNES ROCKLEDGE, LLC., RE: BARNES BOULEVARD WIDENING
The Board executed the Contract for Sale and Purchase and Addendum with Barnes Rockledge, LLC, for the Barnes Boulevard Widening Project; and waived the Phase I Environmental Assessments and survey requirements, and Deed Restrictions, on property located in Section 21, Township 25 South, Range 36 East.
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Trudie Infantini, Commissioner District 3
SECONDER: Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5
AYES: Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson
ITEM III.A.18., RESOLUTION OF NECESSITY, RE: ACQUISITION OF PARCELS FOR THE BARNES BOULEVARD ROAD WIDENING PROJECT - FISKE TO MURRELL
The Board adopted Resolution of Necessity No. 11-111, for the Barnes Boulevard Widening and Improvement Project from east of Fiske Boulevard to east of Murrell Road in Sections 21 & 22, Township 25 South, Range 36 East; and directed the County Attorney's Office and staff to proceed with this action in accordance with the statutory requirements set forth in Chapters 73 and 74 of Florida Statutes applicable to "quick-take" proceedings.
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Trudie Infantini, Commissioner District 3
SECONDER: Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5
AYES: Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson
.
ITEM III.A.19., RESOLUTION, RE: INITIAL ASSESSMENT RESOLUTION FOR THE POWELL ROAD DIRT ROAD PAVING MUNICIPAL SERVICE BENEFIT UNIT
The Board adopted Initial Assessment Resolution No. 11-112, ordering the acquisition and construction of assessable improvements for the Powell Road Dirt Paving Municipal Service Benefit Unit (MSBU).
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Trudie Infantini, Commissioner District 3
SECONDER: Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5
AYES: Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson
ITEM III.A.20., AGREEMENT WITH CITY OF ROCKLEDGE, FLP #2, LLC AND LOWE’S HOME CENTERS, INC. TO DONATE LAND, RE: BARNES BOULEVARD WIDENING PROJECT
The Board executed the Agreement with the City of Rockledge, FLP #2, LLC, and Lowe's Home Centers Inc., for properties needed for the Barnes Boulevard Widening Project, located in Section 20, Township 25 South, Range 36 East, in the City of Rockledge; and accepted the associated right-of-way and easements as provided in the Agreement, including the waiving of the Phase I Environmental Assessments for those parcels.
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Trudie Infantini, Commissioner District 3
SECONDER: Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5
AYES: Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson
ITEM III.A.21., APPROVAL, RE: RESOLUTION AND JOINT PARTICIPATION AGREEMENT WITH FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AND INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT WITH THE SPACE COAST TRANSPORTATION PLANNING ORGANIZATION FOR ADVANCED TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
The Board adopted Resolution No. 11-113, executed Joint Participation Agreement (JPA) with Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), and executed Interlocal Agreement with Space Coast Transportation Planning Organization (TPO) for the maintenance of the Advanced Traffic Management System (ATMS) Expansion Project; authorized hiring of a new position and purchasing of all equipment necessary to provide maintenance of the ATMS Project as outlined in the Agenda Report; and approved all needed Budget Change Requests associated with this request.
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Trudie Infantini, Commissioner District 3
SECONDER: Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5
AYES: Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson
.
ITEM III.A.22., PERMISSION TO EXECUTE TASK ORDER 00-60 WITH S2L, INC., RE: PARTIAL RESPONSE FOR “REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION” (RAI) FOR ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCE PERMIT FOR U.S. 192 SITE
The Board executed Task Order 00-60 with S2L, Inc., Solid Waste's continuing engineering consultant, for Preparation of Partial Responses to "Requests for Additional Information" for FDEP for the environmental resource permitting for the U.S. 192 Site; but the Task Order does not include the preparation of a wetland mitigation plan, which will be prepared after certain issues have been accepted by FDEP and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
RESULT: ADOPTED [4 TO 1]
MOVER: Trudie Infantini, Commissioner District 3
SECONDER: Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5
AYES: Robin Fisher, Chuck Nelson, Trudie Infantini, Mary Bolin
NAYS: Andy Anderson
The Board executed Joint Participation Agreement #423974-1-94-01 with Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), for funds related to the design and bidding services for rehabilitation of Taxiway "B", aircraft parking apron, and construction of new Taxiway "A"; and authorized the Chairman to execute the anticipated FAA Grant for preliminary project design, final design, bidding phase services, and construction phase services, and all associated budget change requests.
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Trudie Infantini, Commissioner District 3
SECONDER: Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5
AYES: Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson
ITEM III.A.25., APPROVAL, RE: ITEM ASSOCIATED WITH VALKARIA AIRPORT MASTER PLAN/NEW HANGAR-D PROJECT
The Board executed Joint Participation Agreement #429822-1-94-01 with Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), for funds related to Phase 1 of New Hangar-D Project, for design permitting, and site preparation.
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Trudie Infantini, Commissioner District 3
SECONDER: Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5
AYES: Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson
.
ITEM III.B.1., APPROVAL, RE: BUDGET CHANGE REQUESTS
The Board approved the Budget Change Requests as submitted.
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Trudie Infantini, Commissioner District 3
SECONDER: Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5
AYES: Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson
ITEM III.B.2., AUTHORIZATION, RE: MUNICIPAL REVIEW OF LOCAL OPTION GAS TAX (LOGT) PERCENTAGES ALLOCATIONS
The Board authorized the Clerk to the Board to mail a copy of the Local Option Gas Tax (LOGT) percentage allocations to each municipality for review; and authorized final review of the allocations at the July 12, 2011, Board meeting.
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Trudie Infantini, Commissioner District 3
SECONDER: Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5
AYES: Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson
ITEM III.B.3., ACCEPTANCE, RE: 2010 COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY (CRA) ANNUAL REPORT FROM THE CITY OF ROCKLEDGE
The Board accepted the 2010 Community Redevelopment Agency Annual Report from the City of Rockledge.
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Trudie Infantini, Commissioner District 3
SECONDER: Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5
AYES: Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson
ITEM III.B.4., APPROVAL, RE: ACCESS AND USE AGREEMENT BETWEEN BREVARD COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT AND CHILDREN’S HOME SOCIETY OF FLORIDA
The Board executed Access and Use Agreement between the Brevard County Health Department and Children's Home Society of Florida for property leased by the County at 2275 South Babcock Street, Melbourne.
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Trudie Infantini, Commissioner District 3
SECONDER: Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5
AYES: Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson
.
The Board reappointed Wade Ivey and Nancy Sewell to the Community Development Block Grant Advisory Board, with terms expiring December 31, 2013.
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Trudie Infantini, Commissioner District 3
SECONDER: Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5
AYES: Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson
ITEM III.B.8., APPROVAL OF PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT AMENDMENT, RE: ACCEPTING ASSIGNMENT FROM POST, BUCKLEY, SCHUH & JERNIGAN, INC. TO ATKINS NORTH AMERICA, INC.
The Board removed consideration of a Professional Services Agreement Amendment No. 036, accepting assignment from Post, Buckley, Schuh & Jernigan, Inc. to Atkins North America Inc. for Parks and Recreation Department Contract #1515 for Architectural Engineering Services for two South Area Referendum projects, from the Agenda.
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Trudie Infantini, Commissioner District 3
SECONDER: Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5
AYES: Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson
ITEM III.B.9., PERMISSION TO BID AND AWARD BID, RE: KELLY PARK EAST DOCK, SEAWALL, AND SIDEWALK REPLACEMENT
The Board granted permission to bid and award for construction on the east dock, seawall, and sidewalk replacement for Kelly Park East Dock; and authorized the Chairman to execute the contract.
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Trudie Infantini, Commissioner District 3
SECONDER: Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5
AYES: Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson
ITEM III.B.10., APPROVAL TO TWO AMENDMENTS TO MEDICAID WAIVER SERVICES AGREEMENT, RE: SPACE COAST AREA TRANSIT’S FLORIDA MEDICAID PROVIDER NUMBER FOR MED-WAIVER COMMUNITY-BASED SERVICES TRANSPORTATION PROGRAM
The Board executed two Amendments to Medicaid Waiver Services Agreements with Florida Agency for Persons with Disabilities for the Home and Community-Based Waiver/Family and Supported Living Waiver Program.
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Trudie Infantini, Commissioner District 3
SECONDER: Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5
AYES: Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson
The Board adopted Resolution 11-114, accepting deeds needed for Wickham Road Widening Project.
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Trudie Infantini, Commissioner District 3
SECONDER: Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5
AYES: Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson
The Board adopted Resolution No. 11-115, approving Prime Solution, Inc. (PSI) as a Qualified Targeted Industry (QTI).
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Trudie Infantini, Commissioner District 3
SECONDER: Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5
AYES: Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson
The Board adopted Economic Development Tax Resolution No. 11-116 qualifying Prime Solution, Inc. (PSI) as an eligible business under the County's tax Abatement Program; and authorized a public hearing to consider adopting an exemption ordinance.
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Trudie Infantini, Commissioner District 3
SECONDER: Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5
AYES: Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson
The Board adopted Resolution No. 11-117, revising Resolution No. 09-11, changing the Internal Audit membership of the committee from seven to five members.
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Trudie Infantini, Commissioner District 3
SECONDER: Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5
AYES: Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson
The Board authorized the Insurance Director, Jerry Visco, to bind/secure placement of the County's property insurance coverage with an effective date of June 1, 2011.
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Trudie Infantini, Commissioner District 3
SECONDER: Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5
AYES: Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson
The Board adopted Resolution No. 11-118, commending Douglas F. Major for 29 years of service with Brevard County; and expressed its sincere appreciation and thanks for his dedicated service to the County and its citizens, and extended best wishes for good health and happiness during his retirement.
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Trudie Infantini, Commissioner District 3
SECONDER: Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5
AYES: Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson
.
ITEM III.C.8., PERMISSION TO EXECUTE GRANT DOCUMENTS, RE: RAPID ID DNA DATABASE INFRASTRUCTURE EXPANSION
The Board executed grant documents for the Rapid ID DNA Database Infrastructure Expansion; and authorized any necessary budget amendments.
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Trudie Infantini, Commissioner District 3
SECONDER: Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5
AYES: Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson
The Board appointed Samuel Gutierrez to the recently vacated County seat on the Brevard Family Partnership's Board of Directors, due to the resignation of Helen Voltz.
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Trudie Infantini, Commissioner District 3
SECONDER: Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5
AYES: Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson
The Board reappointed Hugh Normile to the Housing Finance Authority, with term expiring May 24, 2015.
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Trudie Infantini, Commissioner District 3
SECONDER: Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5
AYES: Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson
The Board approved the Billfolder as submitted.
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Trudie Infantini, Commissioner District 3
SECONDER: Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5
AYES: Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson
ITEM III.B.6., APPROVAL OF AGREEMENTS, RE: THE DORI SLOSBERG DRIVER EDUCATION SAFETY ACT/DRIVER EDUCATION SAFETY TRUST FUND
Christina Williamson, Educators Inc., stated she is present today on behalf of the many schools that were invited to participate in the Dori Slosberg Education Safety Act/Driver Education Safety Trust Fund that is designed to provide support for those schools in Brevard County who offer a Drivers Education Program; it is provided to public and non-public schools; not all non-public schools are private schools, and one sector involved in that is the Home School Grouping; and in Brevard County there are over 11,000 Home Schooled students. She advised when this program first came together 18 years ago, there were only 400 students involved; and she is a parent with three children in all three sectors of schooling and understands the system. She stated there were many schools that were not selected to participate due to the budgets; the monies awarded totaled over $62,000, which were awarded to a non-school entity; she does not have any hard feelings toward the entity who received the funds; however, the Brevard County Sheriff's Office (BCSO) received $62,000 out of this fund; the fund is clearly laid out in both County and State Ordinances, and designed specifically and only for public and non-publish schools; and when the board that she went to allotted $62,015 of its $238,000 budget, it cut out many of the school entities. She stated between the Brevard County Public School and the BCSO, they received over $120,000 out of a $238,000 budget; one requirement is it cannot be a sole source of income; the Sheriff said he receives his funding directly from the Dori Slosberg Foundation; he does not have another funding for this particular program; his representatives at the east precinct have said this is not a school and there will not be any schooling, it is strictly a program for education of the drivers; and she is asking the Board to go with what it put in the County Ordinance and allot the monies to the schools. She stated another issue that was brought up was the monies cannot be used for administrative costs; the National Safety Council, that the Brevard County schools and the Brevard County Sheriff use, when she contacted them, she was informed that the program is offered to government entities for free; and she inquired if the program is offered for free to BCSO then why is $62,000 being allotted and the private sector cannot have it for free. She stated she has issues with there being two private schools north of the Pineda Causeway that were given any funds; the remainder of the schools given funds were south of Pineda Causeway; Merritt Island alone has over seven high schools that are private; Merritt Island, Cocoa Beach, Cocoa, and Titusville cannot rely on the teachings with just two schools of Temple and Lighthouse who do not fund enough money to take of all of the private sector students; and she is not asking to take money away from Brevard County schools, however, she is asking that the laws be followed, that the Board has put forward for the citizens to follow, and to give the money to the schools not to BCSO.
April Radley, Educators Inc., stated the money is actually being misappropriated through the public school system; the public schools was awarded the $120,000, however, if the budget is looked at, it shows it was actually split between the public schools and BCSO; she understands the public schools may be sharing that fund with BCSO, but BCSO would be servicing those public school students, as well as the public schools servicing the public students; there is still a need for the private and home schooled students who do not have the money to attend an Drivers Education Program; and there is not enough programs in Northern and Central Brevard County to be able to supply the need with the grant money. She stated she and the ladies present with her today went to a meeting in front of a five-member board who were five individuals from different counties; one, represented the Florida Highway Safety Patrol, as well as the BCSO; and she thinks it is a conflict of interest that there is a gentleman who is on that board who determines whether or not these schools go forward or not because BCSO was or is potentially receiving funds from this grant.
Ian Golden, Housing and Human Services Director, stated this fund every year gets dollars from traffic fines and fees that are associated with the fines, which is a $5 added fee; this year there was $235,000 available that was put out through a Request for Proposals (RFP) process, that notification does go out to every school that he is aware of; it goes out to private schools, and in this instance it went to a consortium of home schools. He advised the committee that gets together looks at the applications, makes recommendations based on what the agency puts in that application, the budget that is submitted, and the number of students that it feels it can serve; this year’s recommendations did include, as it has in the past years, under the School Board's application, so the BCSO did not put in a separate application, the Sheriff is in part, a partner with the School Board under their application, for the Sheriff's Teen Driver Education Challenge, which is a supplemental program that is offered to any student within Brevard County in public, private, or home schooling; and all a student has to do is apply to be a part of that program. He stated the seven out of eight agencies were recommended for funding; two of the seven are being recommended for less funding than applied for; one School Board will be getting less than it applied for because it has unexpended dollars from previous years that need to be expended; another school is a brand new to this program and it was felt that the budgetary figures were a little bit off and it received a little bit less; one other school is receiving a little bit more funding than it requested because when their application was submitted and it gave presentation to the committee, it explained that it did not realize what was going to happen with gas prices and it underestimated its gas prices; and the committee looked at that and its previous history with that agency being very good with the dollars it gets, it serves the number of kids it says it will serve, and it had additional students that it could serve if there were more dollars.
Stockton Whitten, Assistant County Manager, stated the committee is represented by Florida Highway Patrol, Fire Rescue, School Crossing Guard Program, Parks and Recreation, and the Medical Examiner's Office; and there is no awareness of any of those committee representatives representing the BCSO.
Ms. Williamson stated she is not sure of whom she spoke with, but someone from the County told her the representative was Paul O'Neal from BCSO.
Mr. Whitten stated whoever gave the information was mistaken because Mr. O'Neal is retired from Florida Highway Patrol.
Ms. Williamson suggested taking the $62,015 that is being allotted to BCSO, whether it is through Brevard County public schools or not, given that it is a government entity the BCSO is using for free; Brevard Community College is giving the BCSO their area for free; it is not supposed to be used for administration; and the Board should divide the $62,015 and give it to the other schools north of Pineda Causeway, so it can be servicing evenly.
Commissioner Infantini inquired what the Teen Driver Challenge Program is. Ms. Radley explained Teen Driver Challenge is a program that is offered by the BCSO through the State, as a program of the Florida Sheriff's Association, in an initiative to save lives; it is for permitted drivers and regular issued drivers licensed driver's; however, there is no funding received from any other entity to help them create and initiate this program; the only way it works is based on the Dori Slosberg Foundation; it is stated in the Dori Slosberg Foundation, that it has to be supplemental to other monies coming in for that program; and it cannot be the sole basis for it. She explained Brevard County schools offer a driver's education program, but it also gets grant funding from other places, not just the Dori Slosberg Foundation; the Dori Slosberg Foundation is just a supplemental, for any program that is implemented; unfortunately, without the Dori Slosberg Foundation, the BCSO would not be able to fund its program at all, unless it found funding from another source; and there is no other source according to the East Precinct that she spoke with a few days ago.
Chairman Fisher stated he knows a little bit about the Brevard County Teen Driving Challenge; it is a great program that does more of a defensive driving type test; with him being an insurance agent, he has seen the presentation; it puts the teen in a difficult situations so he or she knows how to react when the ground is wet, when a car pulls out in front of him or her, an exercise of texting and driving while going through cones, and all types of other real life situations; he thinks it is a good program; he is not sure how the funding mechanisms work; and it is offered free to all Brevard County residents.
Ms. Williamson reiterated is it a great program, but she disagrees with the use of the Dori Slosberg funds because it states it has to be a school and a supplemental source of income; by taking it from other schools, it taking from other students; and she does like the program, but not where the funds are coming for it.
Ms. Radley stated in the past, a lot of private, home, public, and charter schools in Brevard County were able to participate in the Dori Slosberg Foundation; but now all of the funding has been cut because 50 percent of it has gone to the public schools and half of that has gone to the BCSO, which is not even a school, it is just a program.
Commissioner Anderson inquired if there is a deadline to get this in. Mr. Whitten responded he is not sure of a deadline; the School Board partners with the BCSO and these funds are not the sole source of funding for the School Board; the BCSO is merely a partner with the School Board to provide the program; and he thinks it is an eligible use of the dollars because the applicant is the School Board. He stated the committee is a committee that votes to give funds to those eligible applicants; the School Board is an eligible applicant; the BCSO is merely a partner with the School Board; he thinks there is no legal issue with regards to the use of the funds; and if it were an issue this particular group was not recommended for a reason that was different than just merely a lack of dollars there.
Commissioner Infantini stated the BCSO program is exceptionally good and why he created this program was because of the Sheriff's own daughter and anything else that can be done to save the young people who will be soon be on the road; it is available to everybody; she is in favor of keeping this program because there are so many choices young people have to make and if there is an opportunity to teach them how to make good choices, she wants to keep it.
Ms. Williamson stated she does not want to get rid of the program; the BCSO is offered this for free, from the Highway Council; if it is used for direct education, it is free; and inquired why does BCSO need the $62,000.
Ms. Radley stated most public high and junior high schools offer drivers education; in Northern and Central Brevard County not so much; but with Viera High School and other high schools in the south, they offer many programs for drivers education; and she inquired what is the need of offering programs through the public schools, as well as through the BCSO; if it was just solely the BCSO doing this program for all public schools, that would be great; but there is double-dipping.
Ms. Williamson stated it is double-dipping with public schools taking the money for BCSO; the BCSO is doing a program and the school is doing a program; it is double-dipping off of civil dollars; and the concern is the schools north of Pineda Causeway should be considered for the $62,000.
Ms. Radley stated those private and charter schools are not able to receive the funding that the public schools are able to receive for programs like this; and private foundations like the Dori Slosberg Foundation is relied upon; when the Dori Slosberg Foundation was contacted, she was told it was not the first time this has happened; and they were advised by the Dori Slosberg Foundation to go before the Board.
Commissioner Nelson inquired if there is urgency with this item because he would like an opportunity to discuss it further, to ensure he understands what the circumstances are.
Mr. Whiten responded he does not think there is an urgency; the Sheriff is a partner with the School Board; the Sheriff provides three programs under that teem driving program; he is sure those are actually in place around the County; and he thinks it is not fair to characterize it as double-dipping. He stated the School Board provides two different types of programs under drivers education; it is traditional driver education programs and one partners with BCSO; the School Board is the primary applicant with the BCSO providing services; the County is paying the School Board who is providing directly for those services; and he does not think these are administrative dollars going to BCSO.
Commissioner Anderson inquired if this can be postponed until the July 12th meeting to give the Board opportunities to have discussions with BCSO. Mr. Whitten responded he not aware of any time constraints and he is not sure if these programs take place during the summer; and he suggested staff inquire and come back to the Board with those answers. Commissioner Anderson stated that is fine; one side has been heard; and he would like to hear the other side.
Commissions Nelson suggested bring it back to the Zoning meeting May 26th.
The Board tabled consideration of agreements for the Dori Slosberg Driver Education Safety Act/Driver Education Safety Trust Fund, to the May 26, 2011, Board meeting.
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Trudie Infantini, Commissioner District 3
SECONDER: Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5
AYES: Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson
.
ITEM III.B.7., APPROVAL, RE: COMMUNITY BASED ORGANIZATION (CBO) FUNDING REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL PROCESS
Commissioner Nelson stated he pulled this because the criteria has changed, the revision of the minimum is from $12,000 to $15,000 and the maximum is from $150,000 to $75,000; his understanding for that is to spread the money out; inquired if they are indeed being prioritizing, does it mean somebody at the bottom gets money that maybe did not actually deserve it, in terms of the program versus some of these agencies that are a little bit larger than others that provide multiple services; he stated by putting that constraint on it that it would be considered during the award process; it is fine the way it is now, but the process itself creates the funding level and not just putting an arbitrary number in there that spreads the money out; but it does not necessarily give the best allocation of those dollars for services.
Commissioner Bolin stated she agreed with Commissioner Nelson; there is no need to put any maximum or minimum on it because it is the discretion of the committee; it needs to have that flexibility; and she does not want to have those statements or maximums changed either.
The Board approved the recommended changes to the FY2011-2012 Request for Proposals to solicit Community Based Organization funding to provide services for residents of Brevard County with the exception of revising of the minimum (from $12,000 to $15,000) and maximum (from $150,000 to $75,000) amount of funding per agency.
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Chuck Nelson, Commissioner District 2
SECONDER: Mary Bolin, Commissioner District 4
AYES: Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson
.
ITEM III.A.23., APPROVAL OF ADDENDUM 6, RE: HARRIS SANITATION AND WESTERN WASTE (WASTE MANAGEMENT) CONTRACTS TO REFLECT CHANGES TO RESIDENTIAL RECYCLING CURBSIDE COLLECTION IN THE SOLID WASTE COLLECTION AGREEMENT
Commissioner Nelson stated the reason he pulled this item is the Board had to make a decision and were kind of conflicted over whether or not to go with a lump sum on recycling or to go with the market; it decided not to go with the market because of concerns; it has turned out that the County made more money in recycling than it would have if it had gone to market; and he would like a brief explanation from the Solid Waste Management Director.
Euripides Rodriguez, Solid Waste Management Director, stated last year there was a small change with the resale of recyclable's brought to the Board; at that point in time, it was encouraged to stabilize the revenue; he presented to the Board to put more items into the recycling bin and also to get a flat-fee per home, like other municipalities have done; at that time it was approved at .20 per home to come out to about $220,000; the revenue at that time was 50 percent of the sale of the recyclable's, that equated to around $60,000 to $80,000; currently that price-per-market has not gone up; the items added to it have increased the percentage being recycled; but under the current conditions, and viewing what was done, the County is still ahead by $135,000.
Commissioner Nelson stated he thought it was beneficial to point out that decision actually has netted the County $135,000; he expressed his appreciation to Mr. Rodriguez, because he knows he was doing a lot of work to ensure that.
The Board executed Addendum 6 to Western Waste and Harris Sanitation's curbside collection Agreements reflecting the expanded residential recycling program implemented October 1, 2010.
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Chuck Nelson, Commissioner District 2
SECONDER: Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5
AYES: Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson
ITEM III.C.4., ACCEPTANCE, RE: PARKS AND RECREATION FINANCIAL CONDITION REVIEW AND LIBRARY SERVICES FINANCIAL CONDITION REVIEW
Commissioner Infantini inquired if the auditors who prepared this audit report are present. Stockton Whitten, Assistant County Manager, responded no.
Commissioner Infantini stated this Item is the audit of the Parks and Recreation referendums from 2000 and 2006; in her briefing she was told that the auditors would be available for discussion; she would like to accept these, but she would also like to place this on the Agenda for July 12th, so she can have the auditor present to go over all of their findings; this audit report is very comprehensive on all the issues facing the County, including budgetary shortfalls that will be coming in the year 2013; she thinks it is important if auditors are going to be hired to prepare internal audit reports that the Board should probably find out what it is they have to say and have them do a presentation; and she would like this to be placed back on the Agenda for July 12th, so before going into the budget talks, there is awareness of what the shortfalls are within the Parks and Recreation Department.
Commissioner Bolin stated she indeed wants to approve the acceptance of it; she thinks this is going to be a very good discussion to have actually at the budget meeting, so that it can go into greater detail; and she thinks the Commissioners would be able to talk with the auditors on an individual basis up until that meeting.
Commissioner Anderson stated he is fine with that, but the County pays for the auditors; and he would like them present to discuss it in a public forum.
Commissioner Infantini stated she will place this on the Agenda, as one of her Agenda Items.
Commissioner Anderson inquired if there was a request by one of the Commissioners to be present today, and they failed to show. Commissioner Infantini responded she requested it at a briefing with the County Manager.
Commissioner Anderson inquired if Mr. Tipton can tell if they were requested to be present today. Mr. Tipton responded he did not make that request.
Commissioner Anderson advised he wanted to make sure the request was not being ignored for some reason.
Mr. Tipton replied no, it was not being ignored; it was originally thought that because of the nature of the budget discussion it would be appropriate; it is certainly going to be something that Departments are going to be working with to develop their budgets; it can certainly be discussed on the 12th; and he will have the auditors present then.
The Board accepted the Audit Committee Report for Parks and Recreation Financial review and Library Services Financial Condition Review.
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Trudie Infantini, Commissioner District 3
SECONDER: Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5
AYES: Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson
.
ITEM V.A., PUBLIC HEARING, RE: RESOLUTION TO VACATE PUBLIC INTEREST SECTION 36, TOWNSHIP 24 SOUTH, RANGE 35 EAST, CATALINA VILLAGE SUBDIVISION
Chairman Fisher called for the public hearing to consider resolution petition to vacate public interest for Section 36, Township 24 South, Range 35 East, Catalina Village Subdivision.
John Denninghoff, Public Works Director, stated the citizen who put in the speaker card has left; he spoke with him; there are a couple of issues associated with this vacating request; and he is requesting the Board continue the public hearing to the July 12th Board meeting.
The Board continued the public hearing considering vacating the public interest of land dedicated to the County, located on Tomlin Drive in Catalina Village subdivision in Section 36, Township 24 South, Range 35, to the July 12, 2011 Board meeting.
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
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 approval of supplemental budget for the Fiscal Year 2010-2011.
Alphonso Jefferson, Budget Director, stated this is a budget supplement for the Board's approval; it is consistent with Florida Statues, Chapter 129; in the Agenda package it recognizes as the supplemental $120,000 that is primarily utilized for the Sheriff and Transportation projects.
There being no further comments, the Board adopted Resolution No. 11-119 approving the Supplemental Budget for the Fiscal Year 2010-2011; and approved the budget changes and such actions as necessary to implement the adoption changes.
RESULT: ADOPTED [4 TO 1]
MOVER: Mary Bolin, Commissioner District 4
SECONDER: Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5
AYES: Robin Fisher, Chuck Nelson, Mary Bolin, Andy Anderson
NAYS: Trudie Infantini
.
Chairman Bolin stated the meetings to date have been very favorable with the railroads; and she gives Scott Knox, County Attorney the authority to work out the details in the next 60 days and send notices of meeting dates.
Commissioner Nelson advised he is supportive of continuing discussions with FEC Railway; and he will be talking with staff about the transportation project.
The Board adopted Resolution of Necessity No. 11-120, authorizing the filing of an eminent domain proceeding for the acquisition of an easement over the Pineda Causeway railway crossing in the event County staff is unable to negotiate the purchase of an unconditional easement over the area licensed within 30 days after the termination of the license agreement; and authorized the filing of a declaratory judgment and/or injunctive relief, if necessary, to prevent removal of the existing crossing improvements.
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Mary Bolin, Commissioner District 4
SECONDER: Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5
AYES: Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson
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ITEM VII.A.1., APPROVAL OF SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT WITH FARMLAND RESERVE, INC., DBA DESERET RANCHES, RE: SOLID WASTE PERMIT FOR CELL 1 AT THE U.S. 192 SITE
Scott Knox, County Attorney, stated David Dee, P.A., who is the council for the County is present today.
Mr. Dee stated he has been assisting the County with environmental law issues concerning the permitting of a landfill; approximately two years ago, the County filled out an application for the first phase of the class III landfill to be build on the U.S. 192 site; the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) approved the County's application; it was then challenged by Deseret Ranch; a fair amount of discovery had been gone through; and they are preparing for a hearing in July. He stated Deseret's Attorney indicated they would be willing to discuss settling the case; he has been trying address the issues that have been raised by Deseret Ranch, by showing a willingness to work with them on the issues; are Deseret Ranch thought it was appropriate to see if the rest of the issues could be resolved without having to go through a formal hearing and incurring the expenses associated with a hearing; based on the discussion, there is now a settlement agreement in front of the Board including a number of provisions that go beyond what DEP could normally require the County to do. He added it provides rights to Deseret Ranch that are above and beyond what they would normally receive under a permitting process, so it does provide some additional protection to them; for example, the County agreed to install two additional ground water monitoring wells to monitor the quality of groundwater. He stated additional monitoring has been agreed on for surface water; it has agreed to take additional steps to close some of the artesian wells that are on-site, that are causing some adverse water quality impacts on the property; the County has agreed to make some minor changes in the landfill itself, it has agreed to implement plans with regards to odor, fire, litter, dust, and mosquito controls that might be associated with a Solid Waste facility; and he can promise there are plenty provisions that he does not particularly like because they are more than what has to be done. He went on to say he is sure there are lots of things about this facility that Deseret Ranch does not like; in the spirit of compromise, there has been a coming together with an agreement on those issues, such as visual screenings along U.S. 192 to prevent the view of the landfill from the area immediately south, landscaping at the entrance of the property, a 2,000 foot buffer around the edge of the class-III facility, which as it turns out is the smallest buffer that was already planned for the class-III area on the other side; it was already planned to be 3,700 feet on one side, 4,000 feet on another side, and 6,000 feet on the final side; and Deseret Ranch is allowed to come onto the property and inspect the operations and review the County's records concerning operations, and odor monitoring plans with steps being investigated for the odor determination at the property boundary. He stated if those problems continue to specific, steps will be had to eliminate those concerns; and those requirements will all be included as permit conditions in the permit to be issued by DEP, which means Deseret Ranch will have a contract with the County that it can enforce; it can pressure DEP to take enforcement action if need be; but hopefully that will not have to be done because DEP will enforce the permit conditions. He stated because it is a permit condition, it will give members of the public the ability to sue under existing State Law, to enforce the terms of the permit; if the County is agreeing to implement certain safeguards for Deseret Ranch, the County needs to live up to those obligations; and DEP has the right to enforce it. He stated Deseret Ranch is trying to be extra careful in this case; it has signed the Settlement Agreement with the County, but it is now trying to negotiate a settlement agreement with DEP that would implement the process to get the permit issued; it wants to have a contract with DEP and to ensure that the permit issued by DEP includes these conditions the way it was intended; it was able to get a signed contract with DEP last Friday; it was too late for him to get a second agreement on the Board's Agenda for execution; and he is proposing to bring that agreement back to the Board at its July 12th meeting with staff recommendations to be executed. He advised he did not want to ask the Board today to approve something that it has not had the chance to read yet; James Payne, Farmland Reserve Inc., is present today to execute the document on behalf of Deseret Ranch, but his approval is contingent upon the Board approving the second document in July.
Commissioner Infantini inquired how much will it cost the County to implement all of the safeguards; and if it can be made contingent upon Deseret Ranch owning the property, so that the privileges, burdens, and responsibilities on Brevard County are not transferable in the event Deseret Ranch relinquishes control. She stated she is aware of something at Sebastian Inlet where it has a burden placed on Sebastian Inlet's District, that it has to keep rebuilding sand into perpetuity, which is a very long time; she is trying to see if perhaps this could not be transferred so that if Deseret Ranch transfers it property the County could be relinquished of this burden; and it seemed like a good idea to her. Euripides Rodriguez, Solid Waste Management Director, responded it does not go with the property; any negotiations that have been done related to the solid waste permit with Brevard County; and if this property were to never get permitted, never gets to used as a Solid Waste Facility and gets sold, this agreement does not go with the property. Commissioner Infantini inquired why not make it go with the property instead of with the permit because then it does not go into perpetuity; and stated she is worried about burdening future commissions, unless she is misguided.
Mr. Dee pointed out, this settlement only addresses the permit for the solid waste facility; it does not address the stormwater, wetland, and other permits that will come along; Deseret Ranch will have the right to challenge the County on those other permits if it objects; he told Mr. Payne this morning that he would be delighted to meet with him, at his earliest convenience, to start talking about what can be done to resolve his concerns with regards to those other permits; and he hopes moving forward will continue with the other issues to avoid additional litigation. He stated this agreement does go with the property; in paragraph 33, it states its intended to be a restriction that runs with the land; however, if the property is never developed, the conditions would go away, and there is no obligation to do anything on the part of the County; if the facility is developed and there is a landfill there with these conditions that will stay in place for as long as the landfill is operated and up until the time it ceases operation and ceases long-term care, which could be for another 30 years or beyond; and in terms of the cost, as a group the cost is expected to be quite nominal in the overall scheme of things, especially in the overall cost of developing the facility in the long-term with two additional groundwater wells, some additional monitoring, the testing and analysis that go along with the monitoring, and the design will have to be changed somewhat. He noted that Mr. Rodriguez and he have always anticipated there would be buffering and visual screening along the property; as it turns out, the existing buffering takes care of virtually all that the County would have to do under this agreement; the only place where significant money could come in is if there are odor problems that were not adequately controlled and they had to keep escalating the type of odor control system utilized with a multi step process; and the most expensive process is the one Deseret Ranch has been advocating all along. He explained if the odor control system step is taken for the cell, it would be $1.5 million, but the expectation is it will never get to that point; there have been no odor problems at the Sarno Landfill for eight or nine years now; if there were an unexpected problem, the goal would be to take less expensive interim steps to try and address that problem without having to go all the way to the most expensive option.
Mr. Rodriquez clarified when he stated it does not go to the property, he was assuming it was not going to be used as a solid waste facility; he is estimating the cost of this to be between $100,000 and $150,000 without the odor control issues; and if DEP requests the County implement a odor control system like Deseret Ranch has asked, there is obligation to do it with or without an agreement.
Chairman Fisher inquired if Mr. Payne would like to speak because he has a speaker card filled out. Mr. Payne responded no.
Commissioner Anderson stated he thinks it is funny that the U.S. 192 corridor can be talked about with Community Redevelopment Agency, but a landfill is going to be put in where a person enters Brevard County; he is not happy with that; but if everyone is happy with the settlement agreement, then he is standing by with Deseret Ranch.
The Board executed Settlement Agreement with Farmland Reserve, Inc., DBA Deseret Ranch regarding the Solid Waste Permit for Cell1 at the U.S.192 site.
RESULT: ADOPTED [4 TO 1]
MOVER: Chuck Nelson, Commissioner District 2
SECONDER: Mary Bolin, Commissioner District 4
AYES: Robin Fisher, Chuck Nelson, Trudie Infantini, Mary Bolin
NAYS: Andy Anderson
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ITEM VII.B.4., APPROVAL, RE: SMALL AND LARGE SCALE ACQUISITION, REHABILITATION, AND NEW CONSTRUCTION PROGRAM POLICY
The Board approved the Small and Large Scale Acquisition, Rehabilitation, and New Construction Program Policy.
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Mary Bolin, Commissioner District 4
SECONDER: Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5
AYES: Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson
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ITEM VII.B.5., RESOLUTIONS AND SUPPLEMENTAL JOINT PARTICIPATION AGREEMENTS WITH THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, RE: TRANSIT CORRIDOR GRANTS FOR SR 520 AND SR A1A FIXED ROUTE BUS SERVICE
The Board adopted Resolution No. 11-123 (SR 520) and Resolution No. 11-124 (SR A1A); executed Supplemental Joint Participation Agreements (JPA) with the Florida Department of Transportation in the amount of $99,445 each for Transit Corridor Grant for SR 520 and SR A1A Fixed Route Bus Service; and authorized the Chairman to sign any follow-up documents and budget changes upon Risk Management and County Attorney approval.
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5
SECONDER: Mary Bolin, Commissioner District 4
AYES: Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson
.
ITEM VII.B.6., TERMINATION OF CONTRACT WITH NEW ENERGY SERVICES, INC., RE: BREVARD COUNTY GOVERNMENT CENTER NORTH HVAC CONTROLS
The Board approved termination of the Contract for Convenience with New Energy Services, Inc., relating to the U.S. Department of Energy - Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant.
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Chuck Nelson, Commissioner District 2
SECONDER: Mary Bolin, Commissioner District 4
AYES: Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson
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ITEM VII.C.1., RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR, JOHN DENNINGHOFF, TO ACT ON COUNTY’S BEHALF, RE: BARNES BOULEVARD WIDENING PROJECT
The Board adopted Resolution No. 11-125 authorizing John Denninghoff, Public Works Director, to act on the County's behalf in condemnation proceedings regarding the Barnes Boulevard Widening Project.
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Mary Bolin, Commissioner District 4
SECONDER: Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5
AYES: Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson
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ITEM VII.C.3., AMENDMENT TO CONTRACT BETWEEN BREVARD COUNTY, RECEIVER FOR SAN SEBASTIAN WATER, LLC AND FLYNN SERVICES, LLC D/B/A/ PRO-TECH WATER WASTEWATER, RE: EXTENDING CONTRACT CLOSING DATE
Commissioner Infantini stated she thought the Item had been pulled.
Scott Knox, County Attorney, advised no, this is an extension of a closing date until June 24th because it should be finished before it is supposed to be in May.
Commissioner Nelson inquired what if there is another need for extension; and noted there is no Board meeting scheduled until July 12th. Attorney Knox responded it can be authorized for the end of July.
The Board executed the Amendment to Contract for Sale and Purchase to extend the closing date to August 30, 2011.
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Chuck Nelson, Commissioner District 2
SECONDER: Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5
AYES: Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson
.
The Board approved the proposed Board Policy that outlines the process for receiving and reviewing citizens recommendations for effectiveness and efficiency improvements in Brevard County Government.
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Mary Bolin, Commissioner District 4
SECONDER: Andy Anderson, Vice Chairman / Commissioner District 5
AYES: Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson
.
The Board recessed at 2:41 p.m. and reconvened at 3:00 p.m.
ITEM VII.E.1., CITIZEN REQUEST, RE: BARBARA ARNOLD OF SANDY PAWS - DOG BEACH PROPOSAL
Frank Kneiser, Animal Advisory Board, stated at the Animal Advisory Board meeting in February, Barbara Arnold was present with a complete proposal to afford a section the beach for dogs; the motion was unanimous at the Animal Advisory Board; he would like for this Board to approve it as well; and he introduced Barbara Arnold of Sandy Paws who will be giving the Board her PowerPoint presentation of a dog beach proposal.
Barbara Arnold ofSandy Paws stated she has been before the Board in the past proposing a dog park; the County has come a long way with its thinking; the current state is there are no dogs allowed on the beaches of Brevard County; and Sandy Paws is proposing a beach be allowed for dogs for one to two miles, not 60 or 70 miles, permitted with or without a leash during the hours of operation. She went on to say there are several models in the State that has them both; she thinks doing a six-month to one-year pilot program would be a good way to do it, and maybe starting with on leash, select a few miles of beach that would be appropriate, and provide signage to make sure people are aware; and ideally, have the park located in a central area, not in a heavily populated area with homes or condominiums. She stated it is beneficial for the dogs and the owners to promote exercise, socialization, promoting responsible dog ownership, and directing people who are illegally taking their animals on beaches currently to an appropriate, approved area. She stated one thing she thinks is beneficial for the County is it is good business; there are a lot of other communities that have found that being a pet-friendly county promotes tourism; the State of Florida has a pet-friendly website and Brevard County is not currently on it; based on Brevard County's population it is estimated that there are 80,000 dogs in the Brevard County area; there would be fees and licensing for beach access dogs; and more and more people are taking their pets on vacations, and Brevard County is missing out on this targeted group. She stated she has 500 signed petitions on paper and 3,500 signatures of people in the community who have signed the on-line petition, mostly residents of Brevard County, who have an interest allowing dogs on beaches; and there are 1,500 people who have joined the Facebook group showing an ongoing initiative similar to the Friends of Jupiter Beach Council who have monthly clean-ups. She mentioned the public support given when signing the on-line petition is not just about dogs, it is the quality of life for residents, as well; there were a lot a comments made on the petition and she read aloud one from Susie Bond, "I would love for my dog to be able to enjoy our beautiful beaches and to walk with me as I stroll along the shoreline". She stated in the past there have been talks about health considerations; she contacted several agencies in and outside of Florida; the waters around the beaches have not been shown anymore contaminated than other areas; none of the beaches she contacted had any closures due to fecal matter or other chloroform issues; and it is very important to encourage people that they do have to clean up after their pets, which is not an issue stopping other counties. She suggested some measures that are really not that different, that would be at a dog beach or park that currently exists; appropriate signage, double-gated entry, rules and regulations posted at the entry, a shower, restroom area, drinking fountain, two dogs per adult, no aggressive dogs, and dog beach volunteers to help monitor and clean the beach regularly; she has many other suggested measures to tell the Board; but she noted, several businesses have offered support by having clean up and bag stations, which is a way to help, due the costs and economics can help defray the costs of clean up. She stated the Board has the full proposal in its package; and it does have some frequently asked questions and details of information.
Eric Ellebracht stated he is a native born son of Brevard who has always owned a dog and lives within six miles of the beach, which he feels makes him qualified to comment; he thinks having dogs on the beach is illegal and is one of the most ignored laws in the County; this subject is one of the most potentially politically labial subjects that is very controversial, but it could be a potential cash-cow for the County; it is common knowledge that Animal Control will not respond to complaints of dogs on the beach unless the dog is acting out; but if there is an illegal thong on the beach the, S.W.A.T. Team would be there. He stated an area for dogs could be designated, but it is going to be ignored unless fences are put up, but that cannot be done on the beach; he does not see why any one would want to have a dog off-leash anywhere; and he thinks dogs should be on-leash regardless. He stated there is already an existing set up for the rabies vaccination so when some one is paying the fee for such, the person could pay for the-dog-on-the-beach-tag at the same time certifying the dog has been immunized, and sign a contract saying the dog will be picked up after; and if in violation, the person is zapped with a serious fine. He stated the cost is $15 to $20 to get the dog tag and if caught without a dog tag it is an $80 fine; he does not want to get into the potential of tourist monies; the City of West Melbourne passed an Ordinance for Doggie Dinning within businesses who choose to participate in outside dining areas; those businesses started raking in the money; some of the bars in downtown Melbourne let the dogs in all the time, which has made a serious financial impact, and has kept a couple of bars opened; but the whole point is this could be a potential boom if it is worked on properly, with some sort of enforcement, and that is where the volunteers would come in. He stated he will tell everyone listening that if he or she were to take a dog to the beach right now all he or she will get are evil looks because nothing is going to happen; and someone from Orange County could have some type of program set up where he or she can get a temporary permit for a couple of days in a hotel and allow visiting dogs in; the person who takes the dog to the beach maybe once or twice a year are obviously not going to spend the money for the tag, but for those who take the dog to the beach to have the girls in bikini's bend over and pet the dog gives him motivation to buy the tag.
Patricia McLelland stated when she took her two dogs to the beach, she saw signs everywhere about walking on the beach with a dog; she drove all the way to St. Lucie County looking for someplace to take her dogs to play in the water; she has traveled as far as St. Petersburg beach and Hutchinson Island spending her money in other counties; and she thinks responsible dog owners will pick up after their dog. She stated this is a phenomenal opportunity for the County; people will come to a dog friendly area and spend their money; and after spending the entire day listening to all of opportunity with community development, it is a great opportunity.
Val Phillips stated she is in favor of the proposal; she has driven to Jupiter beach, it has a wonderful facility; it is the people who are going to ignore the rules and regulations who penalize people like herself and other responsible dog owners who want to follow the rules; and when she visits Connecticut, she prefers to drive with her dog because there are some wonderful places along the way to visit that she can take her dog to. She keeps her dog on a long leash when she is going out to romp because her dog is well behaved, but she is going to react if another dog tried to attack her; and she is totally in favor of this, even if it is just a small area, the economic impact will be good because more people will be driving to the area instead of flying; and the dog population has been increasing significantly; and instead of having the reputation of being dog-unfriendly, this could turn that around and allow people to come here.
Nancy Garmer stated she is in full support of this proposal; she has 576 paper petitions with her of the people who have signed petitions in support of the dog beach; the fact that this keeps coming up is clearly stating there is a need and a desire in Brevard County to have a dog designated friendly beach; she thinks it needs to be emphasized that it is not all beaches, it is going to clearly be a designated beach, so the people who want to go there can; and the people who do not want to go do not have to. She stated there is 70 miles of beach in Brevard County; to have one section as a dog beach would just be another choice for the citizens; she thinks everyone that goes to the beach probably has a preferred area; sometimes people want to go to a park; facilities and pavilions are needed in the north or south; there is enough room to have what everybody wants; and to have one dog beach is another choice for the citizens of Brevard County. She stated tourism dollars are being focused on; one of the pictures shown is her with her two dogs at Gasparilla Island; she has traveled to St. Augustine and Key West; she goes there because she can travel with her animals and they are welcome on the beach, which is part of her vacation; she wants to spend her money that way; and for Brevard County to have a dog friendly beach would certainly entice people to come here. She stated she has heard economic enticements and inducements this morning; she thinks having a dog friendly beach would give such; she has read several letters to the editor in Florida TODAY about snow-birds, in particular, saying they come down here for six months out of the year; it would be a lot more welcoming to them because many retired people travel with pets, and that is a six-month economic impact for people; and that is their choice to come to this County. She thinks it is important to move forward and let the dog beach be a choice people can make in the County.
Theresa Clifton, Central Brevard Humane Society, stated from a shelter perspective level, giving value to something, people respect it more, animals in particular; this Board has bought into the No Kill Movement, which she is proud to say is moving in that direction; it warms her heart because it is very helpful for the animals in the community; and the dog beach represents another great step. She stated she is proud to see how animals are treated now and as progressing forward with a dog beach, it does make a statement; there are 70 miles of beach, and surely there is a place where dogs can go to the beach; she is a cat person and she really does not have a dog in this fight; but she does know that when people come and adopt from the shelter, people ask questions, and want to know if there is a beach where he or she can take his or her dog. She stated there are many dog parks; a dog beach would make it better; statically AAA shows 65 percent of people that go on vacation take their pet with them; there are a multitude of hotels on the beach in Brevard County that are pet friendly, but the people who visit here have to leave their pet in the hotel room or take them to a dog park and not the beach with them; and if there were a place to take them it could lead to longer vacations and spending more money. She stated from the shelter perspective, the more value a pet is given, the more value the community will hold them to; the famous words of Christine Abrams, "Well, it's just a dog" hit home when she spent eight months in Sharpes for what she did to her dog; she thinks if more of the community shows the interaction of the human pet bond with the things done with them in the community, the more beneficial it is to the community in general; and she would like to see Brevard County be a leader in the animal welfare industry versus a follower and coming up after it. She stated the No Kill Movement has been going on for 10 or 15 years; Brevard County is coming up on that curve; she sees it as a community that should be proud of what it has accomplished; in the last, year the County shelters have turned around, things have really started to improve for the animals benefit, and she sees this as a win-win; and she thinks it should be promoted, it should be something that could be regulated, and there is plenty of information and lots of dog beaches that are already successful that have no issues with poop left behind or animals going after people; and she thinks in the modules Sandy Paws is showing, it can be put into practice in a small area on the beach and people who do not want to see dogs on the beach would go where the dogs are not allowed. She stated there are people who are just doing it anyway, they are not supposed to be, but are just doing it anyway; if they had a spot to focus on. maybe that is where they would take their dog and they would not be all over the beaches; and with the price of gas, people would not have to drive out of Brevard County to have a little social interaction with their family and pet at the beach.
Lisa Grace Kestel stated she strongly believes Brevard County should allow dogs on a designated beach area; she agrees with the regulations proposed by Sandy Paws; as a 40-year Brevard County resident who loves Brevard County dearly, she fully supports the creation of a dog friendly beach; she will commit here and now to help make this endeavor a reality; and she respectfully asks each Member of the Board for its support for this endeaver.
Amanda Wolf stated her family is her husband and two dogs; she moved to Brevard County about two years ago; she and her husband were sorely disappointed to discover that there is no dog friendly beach nearby; she explained to the Board what she does to get her dogs to the beach, she does not take the dogs to a Brevard County beach because she cannot afford a two-dog fine, so consequently, she and her husband take a drive to Ponce Inlet, which is an hour plus drive each way; go to a local store in Volusia County to get some snacks, pay a fee to get onto the beach, and then go to a dog friendly restaurant. She stated she believes in supporting local business in Brevard County because local business is the backbone of the economy; it takes a lot of gas to drive to Ponce Inlet and unfortunately, they cannot go there as much as they would really like; and as a boost to the economy in Brevard County, she hopes the Board considers this proposal.
Chairman Fisher stated he heard several times that staff has looked at this; and he inquired what the concerns are that staff has found. Mel Scott, Assistant County Manger, responded staff is prepared to respond to the Policy direction the Board provides; he stated the records of the past show the complaint is responsible dog owners are self policing the resources to ensure the safety of the beach, not being provided of pet owners not cleaning up after their animals, which were the typical points raised; and ultimately not having the Board's support of this idea in the past.
Commissioner Anderson stated he goes to the beach often in the evenings; it is amazing how many people are there with their dogs, so it is already occurring; he suggested to pilot program for this so it is done in a responsible manner; other counties and communities in the State of Florida have dog friendly beaches; he would like staff to provide a matrix of the different counties, parks, and regulations, plus the negative experiences through speaking with those staff persons who monitor it; and once that is had, then he thinks the responsible thing would be to look at doing a pilot program on a very small beach area, with a caviat that it has to be supported by a volunteer organization of some sort, because obviously the County is in no financial position to go out and clean up after irresponsible dog owners; it is going to have to be done by some volunteer organization; and it will not be a quick-fix, but at least it is being looked into for feasibility or possibility. He stated these issues have been dealt with in other areas and staff should just take their data and see what those experiences have been with dogs on the beach and how it was handled.
Chairman Fisher inquired how many local hotels allows pets; he knows Commissioner Nelson sits on the Tourist Development Council (TDC); and TDC might have some of that data to go by.
Ms. Arnold stated there is a web site www.gopetfriendly.com that has a mechanism to put in the location being visited and it well give information on the pet friendly hotels; and on the coast she found at least 50 hotels allowing pets.
Commissioner Anderson stated KSC Visitor Center has a kennel there; he worked at KSC years ago; and it always had several dogs in it.
Commissioner Nelson stated the coastline is dotted with seven beach side communities, any of which could create their own ability for dogs to be on the beach; the County does not control that, they do; if the County decided to do something a Lori Wilson Park in Cocoa Beach or any other park, it is going to be up to the city to agree to that because the County does not have the ability to force them to do that; and there are seven communities that already control access to the beach, which pushes it down to Spessard Holland, south of Melbourne Beach, and further south, as the only areas that the County has access to and can control. He inquired if the cities would have to opt-in to any ordinance change the County made. Scott Knox, County Attorney, responded the cities could; the Board could pass an ordinance allowing the cities; and the cities could opt-out and say that it does not want to, in which case there would be no ordinance. Commissioner Nelson stated the cities could have a voice in it or it could be done without the County at Sheppard or Pelican Parks; and the City would not need the County.
Chairman Fisher inquired if it makes a difference if the County has an interlocal agreement with a city that the County maintains a certain park; and could that change. Commissioner Nelson responded there might be some specific quirks to it; he stated his experience has been if it is going to be done, one needs to be picked that does not already have a cliental because it will antagonize the existing users because every time this issue came up and a specific park was identified, people came out-of-the-woodwork saying they did not want them because it would have the users who use that park who do not have dogs and do not see it as being appropriate, and then there are the supporters; but once a site is identified, one will find out how people really do feel because that has always been the experiences with one being identified and had a public hearing to talk about it; the room was full for both sides; and it has never been an easy process. He stated the federal portion from the Space Center north, although Brevard has 72 miles of beach, 25 miles or more is taken up by the Space Center, so that area is off the table.
Commissioner Infantini stated there is a County Ordinance, which says no dogs on the beach; she inquired if cities are permitted to allow dogs on the beach, even though the County Ordinance says no dogs on the beach. Attorney Knox responded yes. Commissioner Infantini stated she thinks Canova Beach, that is not opened yet would be an excellent spot for a pilot program; and south next to the Barrier Island Ecosystems Center there is virtually no houses and north of that is Archie Carr; it will not interfere with individuals, there will be parking facilities available, and there are no showers there; but at least there would be parking available and people who live there would not be automatically going out their back door; and there is also Bondsteel Park that does not have a lot of residents anywhere in close proximity, so that would give a bunch of access in the south. She stated Canova Beach would be a straight-shot over, off of Eau Gallie, which is not already a frequented beach, so it would not interfere with the current cliental because there is none.
Commissioner Nelson advised that is not entirely true, because there are two pieces to Canova; there is the northern piece that has been there for years and years, that is the one that is right at the end of Eau Gallie Causeway; and then there is the piece to the north with the old Patsy Shell Shop.
Chairman Fisher inquired if it was Indian Harbour Beach. Commissioner Nelson responded it is actually Melbourne; the Conova piece that is at the end of the Eau Gallie Causeway is the City of Melbourne. Chairman Fisher inquired an ordinance would be needed from them for those areas. Commissioner Nelson stated it also called Rock Beach, which is called that for a reason; and this is what is going to happen while it may be desirable from a locational perspective, but it is just not as sandy.
Commissioner Bolin stated she would like to give direction to staff to bring this back to the Board; she is entertaining the idea of doing a pilot program; her concerns are the costs for signage for rules and brochures; she would like to explore more of the registration if there is going to be a fee; she inquired if people are coming from Orlando to come to Brevard County's dog-beach, how is there any income gained from them and not have the burden just on Brevard County residents paying for the registration; and there needs to be a group of volunteers who would be organized to patrol and support the policing of this because the County at this point in time does not have the ability to enforce a strong staffing to be able to do so. She stated the location should be at a place where it is not highly populated so the full attention is for the dogs and not having to deal with the sun bathers.
Commissioner Anderson stated this kind of opens the County up for liability; the County cannot enforce the existing Ordinance right now; there is not enough manpower in Animal Services; Law Enforcement is certainly not going to take on the role; those pet owners are already out there; if something happened, the County has already opened itself up to liability and cannot enforce it; and he inquired if he is correct. Attorney Knox responded no, that is a decision that is called a Planning of Decision in the court of law and the County is not liable for it. Commissioner Anderson stated it is ironic; it is one of those common sense things, that there is an Ordinance that is nearly impossible to enforce, at best, and why not cooperate with the people who are willing to help do this and find a way to pilot it, and to see what happens after that.
Frank Kneiser stated he volunteers as a Member of the Animal Advisory Board, to help do the research, a lot of it has already been done by Ms. Arnold; he is familiar with most of the dog beaches in Florida; he has a quick answer of how to collect from Orange County, it is similar in the way the County collects from parking meters, and buying a token to be on the beach; and Ms. Arnold has agreed to work with the Animal Advisory Board, as well.
Commissioner Nelson advised using caution on the fee side; whatever fee is charged, has to be for everyone; it cannot be differential and charge one for a County resident and one for a non-County resident; the reason is, federal dollars are used on the beaches; it has been experienced before with parking meters, which is having to be changed; and there is only one fee for everyone when the numbers are being put together on the cost.
Commissioner Anderson stated the parking meters on a dog beach makes sense to him because everybody is paying the same fee; he thinks people would pay .75 an hour to take their dog to the beach; it may be a way around it, although it does not get to the point of making sure the dogs are vaccinated; and he does not know how to handle that. He stated Mr. Kneiser's offer is welcome.
Chairman Fisher inquired how is all of the waste going to be handled. Mr. Kneiser responded he has been to almost every dog beach in Florida; there is a lot of self-policing that goes on; people do not let people walk away from it; there are times when people are in conversations and not watching their dog and when he sees that happen, he goes up to the owner and tell them where it is located; and it does happen a lot, plus the volunteers will be watching. He stated Fort Myers Beach has a dog park; it has volunteers that come every day to police the fecal problems; and it has doggie-bag stations that are provided.
Commissioner Nelson stated he would like the comparison done to be an apples-to-apples comparison.
Chairman Fisher stated staff has been given direction to look at it and come back with a report; the Board will probably see it in July, if he had to guess; he expressed his apologies for the July time frame, but that is the next time the Board meets; and he is impressed with the speakers being well prepared and presenting themselves very well.
Howard Tipton, County Manager, stated because of the intensity of the budget discussions coming up with preparations, he is suggesting August 9th, being the next best date.
The Board acknowledged presentation given by Barbara Arnold of Sandy Paws regarding a dog beach proposal; and directed staff to create a matrix of how other counties dog beach models work, parks and the regulations, negative experiences through speaking with those staff members who monitor it, and to identify a site for a possible pilot program, to bring it back to the Board at its August 9, 2011 Board meeting.
ITEM VII.E.2., CITIZEN REQUEST, RE: DR. SUNNY SHELLEY - BREVARD COUNTY ANIMAL SERVICES ABUSE OF POWER AND ENDANGERING THE LIFE OF A DOG
Dr. Sunny Shelley stated she is going to read aloud what she had taken to court with her on a lawsuit that Animal Services Enforcement Department is trying to place on her. She read aloud, "Brevard County Animal Services, without a legal petition or custody court order, came to my residence at 3000 Friday Lane, Cocoa, Florida on February 1, 2011. We had lost our lease and were in the midst of our move when Brevard County Animal Services came in and said that the dogs were not being watch in a kennel I placed them in, under an Ordinance for dangerous dogs. I placed them in a kennel that was gothic fencing and had hot-wire around the top and bottom, but I was out there with the animals. My car was parked right next to the fencing because personal items were being placed in the vehicle and my eyes were on them constantly. Brevard County came in and took both of my wolf dogs, they then proceeded to demand $10,000 in 10 days or they were going to euthanize them for fees of a dangerous dog certificates and citation fees, both dogs were taken to the Titusville shelter and both were in very good condition for their age, they are both 10 years old. Medical documentation she has available in reference to that. All of my animals have been given bottled water, holistic food, and treatments since they were six-weeks old. I am a Doctor of Holistic Medicine and a Psychologist, so my life is helping people, also helping animals, and I have a rescue and a sanctuary. White Hawk and Winter Dawn were six weeks when I got them and I brought them here from Arizona; at the time they were deemed dangerous by Brevard County when I was barely here a year, and was not familiar with any of Brevard County's Ordinances with dangerous dogs, so I kind of got railroaded with that, not knowing my rights of how Brevard County Animal Services did their dangerous dog thing; and had I known what I know now through the experiences I have been through in the past 10 years, I would have been in front of you guys a long time ago. My animals have always been well provided for, they have never in the 10 years I has had them, they have never had any generic food or tap water; in the environment that they are placed in is a very depressed environment in the Titusville shelter. My male wolf dog White Hawk, went into shock and within two weeks time he had turned from a very healthy senior dog to critical and I was told he had less than 48 hours to survive; and I also have documentation from the veterinarian verifying it. The veterinarian Dr. Meyerer, who is the veterinarian for Brevard County Animal Services in the Titusville shelter, had called Brevard County and asked them to contact me in regards to the condition of White Hawk; I had gone to see him and he had asked me to come on in there because he wanted to talk with me and show me the condition of my dog. When I went in there, I never seen anything like it before in my life; I have been around a lot of different animals throughout my lifetime; and during a rescue have seen abuse in animals". She stated to see her healthy dog laying on a blanket and not even able to pick up his head to look at her, with his eyes so bloodshot from dehydration, it looked like they were bleeding; he did not recognize her because the dehydration was so massive; she thinks there is slight brain damage, he has definite nerve damage, and she did not know if he was going to make it 24 hours; but Dr. Meyerer had agreed with her, that something needed to be done. She explained he could not understand why Brevard County had even done this because he has seen a lot of dangerous dogs and these are not dangerous dogs; and they killed a cat 10 years ago and that is why the dogs were deemed dangerous on a first offense. She stated Dr. Meyerer called the County Attorney and spoke with him about the condition of White Hawk and told him something needed to be done; this animal is being brought to him, doctored up, and put back into the same environment where he had got the health condition from; it is inhuman what is being done with this animal; and the only thing left to do was to euthanize the animal or give him back to his owner, because he believed White Hawk was going to die within 48 hours. She stated a black mass was found around his heart, it could not be identified; she thinks it was fluid from the pneumonia that was in both of his lungs; White Hawk was released to her, she carried him out of the shelter on a stretcher, took him home, and tended to him for approximately three weeks before he could even get up and walk; and because she is a Doctor of Holistic Medicine, she immediately went to work treating him with the appropriate natural antibiotics that he was familiar with in his diet. She added he still has major deficiencies and will never be the same quality of dog he once was before he was taken to the shelter. She stated at this particular point, there is still another dog that is being held; and both of these dogs have never been apart from each other since they were six weeks old. She continued to read, "Well, when they gave him back to me he was in critical condition with less than a 20 percent chance of surviving. The condition was severely deteriorated; kidney and enzymes were severely elevated. He is still alive only because of my background and education in holistic medicines and healing. He is still traumatized by what happened to him and he will never be the same. Brevard County is still holding my wolf dog Winter Dawn, with a $2,100 collateral over her head, or they are going to kill both of them. It makes sense you place an animal in a harmful environment and out of a healthy one, damage the health and well being of the animal, release him and then threaten him all over again. Something is very wrong here, well with Brevard County being, considering a lawsuit, slapping it on me, and then you can make some sense of why things have escalated to that point. So they're looking to come after me; two words come into mind, lynching and execution; and they are filing a suit against me for inhuman treatment of animals. My mare, Sahara, is dealing with an infection possibly from a gunshot wound; Brevard County took her from me and after I had my own vet come out to look at her condition, and they took her to a vet that has a history of euthanization of animals. They would not tell me where they even took her. I have documentation for the treatment for her from my vet. My vet had suggested an x-ray to see if there was some metal or buck shot in her. I have a lot of photos from my rescue and my rehabilitation on my animals. I had called the Director of Brevard County Animal Services, Michael McFarland, almost two years back and asked him to work with me with payment and a reduction after ten years of paying for the dangerous dog certificates. He said it will be a cold day in hell, you better get yourself a good damn lawyer. I have been a citizen of Brevard County for ten years and the discrimination and the ridicule and the false accusation I have suffered at the hands of Brevard County Animal Services is more than anyone should ever endure. I have paid out thousands and thousands of dollars and have been treated like less than an animal, and I have watched my animals that are an extension of my family. And being Native American, this is a part of my heritage and belief systems. Their suffering at the hands just as terribly as or worse than I had. They tried to turn this around on me, when all I asked of them was for some help and there was so much deception taking place here and undermined behavior. There are two particular Brevard County Animal Services Field Officers that I had talked with for hours in detail fully aware of the injustices. I can only reveal them, I was told by them if they spoke up, they would be fired from their jobs, so there is abuse of power right there. I am fighting to save the lives of my animals and I will reveal their names and the information that was stated to me for the sake of the safety and well being of my animals. I hope this will stop here and this does not fall on deaf ears because it will be at the cost of my animal’s lives. I am a rescue and a sanctuary; Brevard County Animal Services is not looking out for the well being of the people and certainly not of the animals. I am a citizen whose civil rights have been critically abused and violated, are still being abused in the hands of a corrupt power capitalizing on profit and gain at the expense and the well being of animals and people. I hope this will not fall on deaf ears because I will not stop and I will not let this injustice go any further. I will fight with my own life if need be. These animals are not property to me, they are family, and I will bring forth as many people, authorities, press, or government officials that is necessary to stop this injustice and violation of my rights and the rights of my animals, whatever it takes.
Morris Richardson, Assistant County Attorney, stated with regards to Ms. Shelley's animals, the County has filed a petition for Fitness to Own under State Statue; it was heard in court on a eight-plus hour trial with numerous witnesses; it was heard by Judge Friedland last week; Judge Friedland ruled that the animals are to stay where they are at; and the status quo is to be preserved. He advised the parties are not to move any animals until he makes a final judgment because he wanted to look over all of the exhibits and everything that was submitted; it did not finish up until about 9:00 p.m.; it is pending ruling right now; but it is properly in the court pursuant to State Statue and the decision rests with Judge Friedland.
Chairman Fisher stated since it is under the courts order, it is out of this Board's hands.
Commissioner Infantini inquired the disposition of this is in Judge Friedland's hands at this point; and there needs to be some resolution regardless of what it is. Attorney Richardson responded Judge Friedland will resolve it, he has 60 days from the date of the hearing under the State Statute to make that determination; and he assured that it would not take that long.
Ms. Shelly mentioned Judge Friedland did say he would take the full timeframe to make his decision; she received some documentation from him the other day in reference to that; and she is assuming that he is not going to be making a quick decision on this.
Commissioner Anderson stated the Board would be violating the Judge's orders if the Board took any action; it is bound by the Judge for now; and afterwards Ms. Shelly could come back to the Board and speak.
The Board acknowledged citizen request by Dr. Sunny Shelley regarding her belief that Brevard County Animal Services abused their power and inhuman treatment of wolf dogs, but took no formal action.
Commissioner Nelson advised he would present the resolution to Mr. Allen at a party in his honor.
The Board adopted Resolution No. 11-126 recognizing and celebrating Stanley D. Allen's 90th birthday; and encouraged those who lives he has touched to celebrate with him.
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Chuck Nelson, Commissioner District 2
SECONDER: Mary Bolin, Commissioner District 4
AYES: Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson
.
Upon Board consensus, the meeting adjourned at 4:00 p.m.
ATTEST: __________________________________
ROBIN L. FISHER, CHAIRMAN
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
_________________________ BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA
MITCH NEEDELMAN, CLERK