MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA

April 25, 1995

The Board of County Commissioners of Brevard County, Florida, met in special session on April 25, 1995, at 2:05 p.m. in the Government Center Multipurpose Room, Building C, 2725 St. Johns Street, Melbourne, Florida. Present were: Chairman Nancy Higgs, Commissioners Truman Scarborough, Randy O'Brien, Mark Cook and Scott Ellis, County Manager Tom Jenkins, and County Attorney Scott Knox.

Growth Management Director Sue Hann gave a brief introduction and slide presentation on transportation issues, including road congestion, amenities, landscaping, sidewalks, curbways, bicycle and pedestrian issues, bridges, traffic signalization and signing projects, drainage and utility issues, and other various projects and programs.

Assistant County Manager for Community Development Dean Sprague advised objectives for the workshop include: (1) Transportation levels of services to provide general direction to staff regarding the appropriate quality and quantity of service for components of the transportation system, including consideration of preservation, alternative modes and major capacity projects; (2) Priorities for transportation projects and programs to provide general direction to staff regarding emphasis areas for transportation, including such areas as major capacity projects, public transportation, facility preservation (bridges, resurfacing, and striping) and enhancement (landscaping and street lighting); and (3) Desirable funding mechanisms to provide general direction to staff regarding appropriate funding mechanisms given desirable levels of service and established priorities for transportation programs, including discussion of pay-as-you-go versus financing transportation improvements and discussion of level of ad valorem contribution.

Ms. Hann advised the current status of major road projects in Brevard County include: (1) Dairy Road South Widening Project - U.S. 192 to Palm Bay Road. A petition for eminent domain was filed on March 15, 1995 for condemnation of the remaining right-of-way needed for the widening project; the County is using a slow take procedure; and approximately 40 parcels remain to be acquired; (2) Fortenberry Road - South Courtenay Parkway to Sykes Creek Parkway. The County is currently designing the intersection of Fortenberry Road and Plumosa Avenue, and no widening project is

scheduled; (3) Malabar Road - I-95 to Holiday Park Boulevard. Redesign to remove the medians is underway, and right-of-way acquisition is continuing for a few remaining parcels, pending redesign; (4) Malabar Road - Holiday Park Boulevard to Malabar Road. Right-of-way acquisition is commencing, and County staff is obtaining title searches and appraisals; (5) Minton Road - U.S. 192

to Emerson Drive. Design, right-of-way acquisition and construction are complete on this project; (6) North Courtenay Parkway - Kennedy Space Center Gate to Grant Street. Construction is substantially complete on this project; some acquisition is still pending; (7) South Courtenay Parkway - Magnolia Avenue to Cone Road. The County is currently redesigning the intersection of South Courtenay Parkway and Cone Road, and no widening project is scheduled; (8) Wickham Road - Pineda Causeway to I-95. Construction is 70% complete; and (9) Minton Road - Emerson Drive to Malabar Road. Design and right-of-way acquisition are complete; construction bids awarded on April 18, 1995; and construction expected to commence approximately May 16, 1995.

Ms. Hann reviewed the status of the County's road program, the cash balance by month for FY 1995 to 2001, budgeted revenue for the balance of the program for FY 1995 through 2001 which includes local option gas tax, constitutional gas tax, impact fees, and interest and miscellaneous, for total revenue of $85.5 million, and budget expenditures from the Transportation Program for FY 1995 through 2001 which includes debt service (principal), debt service (interest), capacity projects, and other transportation projects, for total expenditures of $87.9 million. She advised other budgeted transportation expenditures for FY 1995 through FY 2001 include support, SCAT, bicycle/pedestrian, resurfacing, signals and striping, and other, for total expenditures of $22 million; and impact fee allocations for FY 1988 through FY 1994 include major road projects, city projects, and other County projects, for total allocations of $22.1 million. She noted impact fees have made a significant contribution to the Transportation Program.

Ms. Hann outlined the levels of service, and how staff evaluates what the deficiencies are and determines what new transportation projects the County may want to do in the future; and stated the adopted levels of service in the Comprehensive Plan are "D" for minimum rural level of service and "E" for minimum urban level of service. She summarized the estimated cost of future road projects in Brevard County at approximately $200 million through the year 2020, which include Babcock Street from Grant Road to Malabar Road, Grant Road Extension from the east terminus to U.S. 1, Micco Road from Fleming Grant Road to U.S. 1, Palm Bay Bypass I from Malabar Road to U.S. 192, Palm Bay Bypass II and Connectors from I-95 to Malabar Road, Palm Bay Bypass III from U.S. 192 to Eau Gallie Boulevard, Minton Road from Malabar Road to U.S. 192, Hollywood Boulevard from Palm Bay Road to U.S. 192, Eber Road from Minton Road to Dairy Road, Florida Avenue from Minton Road to Dairy Road, Wickham Road from U.S. 192 to Aurora Road, John Rodes Boulevard from U.S. 192 to Sheridan Road, John Rodes Boulevard from Eau Gallie Boulevard to Aurora Road, Apollo Boulevard from Sarno Road to Eau Gallie Boulevard, Pineda Extension from U.S. 1 to I-95, Viera DRI, Grissom Road from Industry Road to Canaveral Groves Boulevard, Port St. John West Connector from Pine Street to Kings Highway, Port St. John East Connector from I-95 Interchange to Grissom Road, Kings Highway Extension from Port St. John West Connector to U.S. 1, and Fay Boulevard from East of the I-95 bridge to Tulsa Boulevard.

Transit Services Director Don Lusk gave a brief overview of the Space Coast Area Transit System; stated public transportation is moving more people with less cars; SCAT provides general public-type

services, including fixed routes, vanpools, and commuter assistance; and it provides special services, including paratransit, vanpools, and non-profit. He advised the benefits of public transit are mobility, mobility during crisis, reduced energy consumption, less traffic congestion, and rational

development. Mr. Lusk stated in the transit world, there are two different markets to cover; and those are the transit dependent market and the transit choice market. He advised the transit dependent persons are those persons with no personal transportation, no access to transportation, are unable to drive; and the transit dependent market is the human service face. He noted in terms of the transit choice market, those individuals do not have to rely on transit, but choose it for reasons of convenience, cost/comfort, speed, traffic congestion, and environmental; and the transit choice market is the alternative face. He stated community involvement is required and encouraged; and over the last two years, SCAT has conducted five public information meetings, provided two public hearings, arranged four focus groups, attended over 15 shows, fairs, and other community events, and presented at 30 community organization and homeowners groups.

Mr. Lusk advised there are two different types of grants and budget within the SCAT fund; the capital grant is $2,064,744, with 9% from state, 10% from local, and 81% from federal; and the operating grant is $3,573,894 with 37% from state, 18% from local, 30% from federal, and 15% from other. He stated the local and other funds come from fares at 6.9%, General Fund at 10.4%, Local Option Gas Tax at 26.7%, advertising at 0.6%, cash forward at 12.8%, special trips at 9.9%, agency transportation at 26.2%, summer transportation (parks and recreation) at 4.0%, and other revenue at 2.5%. He stated the Local Option Gas Tax and general operating funds multiplier is 1:6 which means for every one dollar the County puts in from local dollars, it gets six additional dollars back from Federal and State; the Local Option Gas Tax capital funds multiplier is 1:9; and that is how SCAT leverages local funds. Mr. Lusk explained the Programs Chart for capital, operating, transportation disadvantaged, and special trips, including the amount of Local Option Gas Tax, and the total amount of Federal and State funds leveraged. He advised out of 778,982 total trips SCAT did last year, approximately 18% was fixed route services, 27% was demand response services, 35% was vanpool services, and 20% was purchased transportation. He stated paratransit is different types of service, such as transportation disadvantaged, Medicaid, contracted service, and ADA (sponsored). He stated trips are divided in categories for transportation disadvantaged service as follows: (1) Medical Trips; (2) Food Shopping; (3) Work Trips; and (4) Other Trips.

Mr. Lusk outlined the fixed route service; advised it began operation on October 1, 1991; staff redesigned the south routes which went into effect in December, 1993; ridership is growing; the annual growth rate is 8%; and in looking over the last six months, the increase in fixed ridership average is 27%. He stated advantages of fixed route versus paratransit include lower cost to add additional passengers, more mobility options, and flexibility in boarding locations. He explained the ridership increase in 1994 and the route level information, including the 1994 and 1995 trips per hour; and stated all of the fixed routes have grown in terms of their usefulness in per hour service. He noted the uniqueness of SCAT buses, and provided an example showing different stages of one bus during the day, from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Mr. Lusk advised currently, SCAT has nine standard size heavy-duty (35-40 foot) buses used for fixed and contract routes, 19 medium-size heavy-duty (30 foot) buses used for fixed and contract routes, and 14 small medium-duty (under 30 feet) buses used for paratransit service; and according to a peak load survey, the following usage is required:

Two standard-size heavy-duty (40') buses (four in the summer); 10 medium-size heavy-duty (30') buses; seven small medium-duty (under 30') buses; and four spares (spares must be able to handle any route). He stated current buses in the procurement schedule include three 30-foot buses and 11 Vista-type buses; based on the peak load study, only the 11 Vista-type are needed; and the study does not take transportation disadvantaged service into account. Mr. Lusk advised future items the Board will be dealing with are grants, contracts, planning, and special projects including transportation disadvantaged eligibility, Medicaid contract expiration, service enhancement, vehicle procurement, and the south terminal relocation.

Bicycle Coordinator Barbara Meyer gave a slide presentation on the Comprehensive Bicycle/Pedestrian Program, including various projects in the County; and stated the success of such Program is basically done through a comprehensive program of engineering to promote a safer road system and improved bicycling and walking environment through physical improvements, education to train pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists to operate safely and legally in a cooperative manner, enforcement to improve the traffic behavior of bicyclists, pedestrians, and motorists through police intervention, and encouragement to promote increased use of bicycling and walking as an alternate form of transportation. She noted County staff evaluated all the school areas and attempted to upgrade them; it has been very successful; it has been able to upgrade over 20 different schools to provide safe crossings, sidewalks, and bikeways; and it has been upgrading the school zones throughout Brevard County. Ms. Meyer advised bicycling and walking factors include safety, security, convenience, continuity, system coherence, and comfort and attractiveness. She noted some roads include paved shoulders; it is the minimal treatment for bicyclists and pedestrians, but it works well; through a transportation grant, County staff was able to go into the schools and educate bicyclists and pedestrians; and it does Bicycle Safety Rodeos. She stated four years ago, Brevard County was No. 7 in bicycle accidents; it is now No. 15 Statewide; and in 1994, the County had no bicycle fatalities.

Ms. Meyer explained that the bicycle/pedestrian accident analysis is to determine the causes of bicycle/pedestrian motor vehicle collisions and to develop safety counter measures in an effort to reduce the number of injuries and fatalities, monitor accident data to identify deficiencies and problem areas, identify safety counter measures that address the causes of the most frequent collision types, and identify locations with a high frequency of bicycle/pedestrian motor vehicle collisions. She outlined engineering objectives, including providing bicycle/pedestrian facilities in accordance with accepted standards of practice to the maximum extent feasible, providing bicycle/pedestrian facilities to bicycle and pedestrian traffic generators, providing adequate separation of bicyclists and pedestrians from vehicles on all public roadways, providing route continuity, providing adequate maintenance of bicycle and pedestrian facilities, accommodating the needs of special bicyclists and pedestrians such as children, the elderly and the physically impaired, incorporating recreational bicycle and pedestrian facilities in County and State park development programs, and providing school zone safety treatment. Ms. Meyer advised bicycle/pedestrian issues for on-street include wide curb lanes, striped bike lanes and paved shoulders; and off-road include

sidewalks, bicycle paths and bicycle trails. Ms. Meyer advised the Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee as well as the Building and Construction Advisory Committee is working to put together an ordinance that would allow flexibility and alternative measures for bicyclists and pedestrians.

Projects Management Director Tom Lundeen showed a slide presentation on bridges in Brevard County, including Mathers, A. Max Brewer Causeway, South Tropical Trail, Valkaria Road Over Goat Creek, Gradick Road Over Goat Creek, Henderson Avenue Over Goat Creek, Wickham Road Over Crane Creek, North Banana River Drive Over Drainage Canal, and Fiske Boulevard Bridges. He advised such bridges are on the priority bridge reconstruction list through the year 2000; and explained various construction and maintenance problems with such bridges.

Commissioner Cook stated the County needs to start with those bridges that are used the most; and they will become less functional as time goes by. He inquired is there any possibility of matching funds or some sort of participation by the State and the County. Ms. Hann responded it is her understanding there is no State matching program of any nature; County staff can inquire about it; but she would not be optimistic; the State will not spend State funds on such County facilities; most of them, such as Mathers and Wickham Road Bridges are eligible for federal funds; and they are billed out on Statewide priority basis. Commissioner Cook requested staff check into it.

The workshop recessed at 3:30 p.m.

The workshop reconvened at 3:45 p.m.

Ms. Hann outlined existing transportation revenue sources, including the Constitutional Gas Tax, which is enacted, levied and collected by the State; it is two cents per gallon of motor fuel; 80% is used by the County for major road projects; and 20% goes to Road and Bridge. She stated authorized uses include acquisition, construction and maintenance of roads, construction and installation of traffic signals, sidewalks, bicycle paths and landscaping as necessary for safe and efficient operation of roads; no more than $250,000 annually can be spent on County forces; and it is not shared with the cities. She advised the Local Option Gas Tax (Six Cents) is currently enacted by Brevard County and is in effect until 2001; the Board may extend the Local Option Gas Tax by three-fifths majority vote or it may be re-enacted by referendum; cities representing more than 50% of the County population may adopt uniform resolutions establishing a Countywide referendum; and it must be shared with the cities. She stated currently, the County receives approximately 48%; the current formula is based 50% on population and 50% of previous five-year transportation expenditures; the County's minimum share is 47.14%; it may be used for any transportation expenditures; it generates approximately $6.5 million; and the tax must be imposed before July 1 to

be effective September 1 of the same year. She stated another existing transportation revenue source is transportation impact fees; and the FY 1996 budget and cash flow projections for the road program include the following impact fee allocations: Impact Fee District 2 - Fay Boulevard Reimbursement, $275,000; Impact Fee District 4 - Wickham Road, $250,000; Impact Fee District 5 - Apollo Boulevard Reimbursement, $225,000; Impact Fee District 6 - Dairy Road, $50,000; Impact Fee District 7 - Malabar Road, $100,000; and Impact Fee District 9 - Fortenberry Road, $250,000.

Ms. Hann defined the potential transportation revenue sources, including the Ninth Cent Local Option Gas Tax; it is one-cent per gallon on motor fuels and special fuels; Special Fuels Tax is already levied and collected by the State, and distributed to counties; currently, levied Special Fuels Tax is already incorporated into the road program; and enacting the balance of the tax would generate approximately $2 million annually. She advised it can be enacted by fourth-fifths majority vote or referendum; and it must be imposed before July 1 of each year to be effective September 1 of each year. She stated another source of transportation revenue is a one to five cents that the Board may levy by Statute; this has been referred to as the Growth Management Tax; it must be used to meet the requirements of the capital improvements element of an adopted comprehensive plan; it may be enacted by a four-fifths majority vote or referendum; and it must be imposed before July 1 in order to be effective by September 1 of each year. Ms. Hann explained a chart of the Board's revenue stream options for transportation for FY 1995 through FY 2020, and FY 2001 through FY 2020; it shows the current transportation revenue sources and includes the Board not extending the Local Option Gas Tax; and if it chose to extend it, the green line would essentially continue at the current slope at the beginning of the graph. She stated the maximum line includes enacting five of the five cents, continuing the Local Option Gas Tax, the impact fees, enacting the ninth-cent, and not sharing it with the cities; and the County has a very wide range of revenue options for transportation.

Ms. Hann advised staff did a short analysis as to the General Fund support for Road and Bridge as well as the MSTU funds for Road and Bridge support; these funds could be replaced by the ninth cent gas tax or by the Local Option Gas Tax, but not the one to five cents and not Constitutional. She stated there are no major projects scheduled beyond 1998; there are not any funding sources identified, other than what is currently enacted; with the Transit and Bicycle/Pedestrian Programs, the Local Option Gas Tax is the dedicated local funding source for that; and it expires in the year 2001. She noted there are a number of maintenance issues, including level of service on maintenance, and it depends on how aggressive the Board wants to be with respect to striping roads, maintaining traffic signals, putting in street lights, what types and level of amenities it feels are appropriate for major highways, and whether it wants to include landscaping, noise barriers, and those types of amenities on transportation projects.

Commissioner Ellis stated one issue he would like to discuss is the possibility of having a citizens match when using MSTU money; if the County paves a road with MSTU dollars, perhaps the citizens could put in 25% and the County put in 75%. Chairman Higgs inquired does Commissioner Ellis want information on it; with Commissioner Ellis responding yes and the possibility of setting up something.

Chairman Higgs stated there are three substantial areas of direction that staff is looking for from the Board; and the first one is general direction to staff regarding appropriate quality and quantity of service for components of the transportation system, including consideration of preservation, alternative modes, and major capacity projects. She noted that is big issue for the Board to wrap its hands around; with Ms. Hann responding it is very broad and difficult to quantify these issues. Ms. Hann stated the type of guidance staff is looking for is if the Board is comfortable with the current levels of service the County has and the programs staff presented today; and inquired does the Board want a substantial increase in any programs or decrease in any of the transportation programs, or would it prefer staff to continue with the approximate status quo on the County's transportation system. She noted the capacity projects are being done in arrears; there is a congestion problem on Malabar Road that is very severe; and that is the current level of service. She stated if the Board wants staff to try and correct those problems before they become quite so severe, then staff would need to move in a different direction financially with the transportation program.

Commissioner Ellis noted the last time the Board had a transportation workshop, it had a breakdown of how the Local Option Gas Tax was being distributed; a large part was going to engineering and some other things; and inquired since the County is out of the road building business, has it freed up some of those monies. Ms. Hann responded the money the County was expending previously was support services for the road program; it has about the same level of support; with the County in the road building business, it was simply the contractor; so that money was paid to Road and Bridge as opposed to being paid to the contractor; that was not in the support section, but the capacity section; and staff accounted for it that way. She noted the graphic Commissioner Ellis is referring to is on Page 7 and shows the commitment for the other transportation expenditures through FY 2001, if the County continues the level of support it has for each of these programs.

Commissioner O'Brien inquired on the $6.2 million for the SCAT system, how much is Federal and State dollars. Ms. Hann responded the $6.2 million is all local dollars; Mr. Lusk gave the Board a leverage rate of 1:9 or 1:6 for capital and operating; so the $6.2 million would leverage the State and Federal dollars; and this is the local share.

Discussion ensued on impact fees, transportation levels of service, striping, signs, pavement markings, technical standards, Wickham and Minton Roads, and Malabar, Phase 2.

Commissioner Ellis inquired does the County have to build its roads to State standards; with Ms. Hann responding from a liability perspective it should; and she believes the County is supposed to build its collector and arterial roads to State standards. County Attorney Scott Knox advised from a liability standpoint, that is what the County is supposed to be doing.

Chairman Higgs stated she does not believe level of service E and below is an acceptable level of service to the vast majority of people in Brevard County. She noted levels of service D and E, rural and urban, are the acceptable levels of service adopted in the Comprehensive Plan; in her mind, those are the worst that the County should get to; and transportation should plan to those levels and keep any roads from getting beyond that. Commissioner Cook noted the residents he has talked to would like a moratorium on taxes. Commissioner Ellis stated a lot of things are politically driven; you cannot have everything; so priorities need to be set. He noted what he does not like about the Comprehensive Plan is that it is too specific on how the County is going to do its transportation on roads and sidewalks; and many times the rules in such Plan drive up the cost of the County's transportation improvements. He stated he does not support extending the gas tax because it does not start until the year 2001; he does not believe it is proper to spend that money now; he does not support the Local Option Gas Tax; he would support the ninth cent gas tax if the Board would cut the millage by $1 million and trade that off with the Road and Bridge money; and that would leave $1 million to the cities.

Commissioner Scarborough inquired about level of service E and if the County were to drop below such level. Ms. Hann responded as the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) works through its long range plan, she will be able to come back to the Board with a more well defined list of potential County projects that it can choose from based on its priorities in the Districts; the Commissioners may have good familiarity with the local conditions and how bad things are; and in the analysis of the system, the road needs in South Brevard consumed most of the list. She advised there were very few projects in North Brevard; but in that area, there is a real opportunity to plan for the future in doing some alternative corridors; and it can prevent the deteriorating level of service problems that exists in South Brevard.

Commissioner Cook stated the Board is going to have to make some tough choices; if it can cut back and make its priorities, such as roads, it can do that and have the money to do it; but it needs to make the other choices in how it spends the money it collects; and that is what people are expecting of the Board, not just to raise taxes and spend more money. Commissioner Scarborough stated he would prefer to be sharing his wealth in a community sense, having level of service A and B than to be stuck in a traffic jam; the tax is well spent and is value returned to the taxpayer; and there are many taxpayers that believe that. Commissioner Cook stated maybe the Board wants to concentrate on roads and transportation; but that means it needs to cut in another area of County government; and it cannot keep going to the people and asking for more money. Commissioner Scarborough stated the Board has been reducing the millage and has not increased it; with Chairman Higgs responding that is correct. Chairman Higgs stated she is not interested in doing that either; but she is also not interested in sitting back and allowing deterioration of the road network.

Commissioner Ellis inquired would Chairman Higgs support cutting other areas of the budget then; with Chairman Higgs responding she would want to first look at what the options are before going to the taxpayer and asking for more money. She stated she is not sure where all of that money possibly could come from, but that is where the County needs to go to first; the Board needs to look at roads for the next 20 years; it needs to review the public safety issues; and it needs to figure out how it can pay for those necessary things.

Commissioner Ellis stated the Board is going to have to have self control for the next four or five years; if it wants continuous road improvements, it is going to have to cut elsewhere; and the only other option is to raise taxes. Chairman Higgs noted there is an option to go to the ninth cent or any of the one to five; but until the County knows what the dollar figure is on the needs and when those are going to come, it cannot do an adequate projection of what it needs to do; and it has to review the budget to decide what it can take out of there. She stated the Board needs to start by directing the staff on the kind of plan it wants, and staff giving it the financial options of what it can do.

Commissioner Scarborough stated publicly well-spent funds add to the wealth of the individual in a multiple sense. Commissioner Cook noted Brevard County will start scaring people away if the taxes are too high. Commissioner Ellis stated he has never seen any businesses attracted to high taxes. Chairman Higgs noted she has never seen one industry survey that said they are looking for places where there is a high crime rate, bad education, and polluted water. Commissioner Cook stated the Board can review the budget figures; instead of raising taxes, it needs to look at cutting government; and that is the bottom line. Chairman Higgs noted what the Board has to do is say what does it want it to be; nobody wants high crime and bad education; and businesses are not going to come here if the roads are crowded, the water is polluted, and there is no recreation. She stated she has never said raise taxes; the County needs to look at the quality of life it wants to have, and how it can pay for that; and the first thing she wants to do is look at the budget. She noted the Board can direct staff to give it a dollar figure to maintain an acceptable level of service according to the Comprehensive Plan; and come back with that cost. Commissioner Cook stated the County needs to look at pay as you go as much as it possibly and practically can; with Commissioner O'Brien concurring. Commissioner O'Brien stated the people voted for charter government; and it is about time the County address how it is going to affect these decisions.

Ms. Hann stated staff can provide the Board with a scenario with some basic assumptions; one is that there is no new transportation taxes; the County continue impact fees; the Local Option Gas Tax would be extended in the year 2001, but it would not be bonded; and it would be a pay as you go system. She noted the County would continue the same level of support it has for its other transportation programs, including SCAT and the Bicycle/Pedestrian Programs; and it will continue the general standard that it has for amenities now, including sidewalks and bikepaths, and some level of landscaping so it can make the road projects compatible with the community. She stated if the County makes those assumptions, it can move with the MPO long range plan and give the Board a list of projects that can be funded over the 20-year time period.

County Manager Tom Jenkins advised that will give the Board a starting point; and it will be a scenario it can review and see what that does.

Mr. Jenkins stated staff has heard speculation that there may be as many as 500 people to attend the public hearing on the nudity ordinance; and inquired would the Board entertain moving such hearing to a bigger facility to accommodate the people. He noted the facility that is available for the two public hearings is Brevard Community College (BCC) Gymnatorium in Titusville; and it will accommodate 700 or 800 people.

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Ellis, to approve holding public hearings to discuss the nudity ordinance at Brevard Community College Gymnatorium in Titusville, if possible. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

Commissioner Cook stated he believes the Board provided some direction to staff; with Chairman Higgs responding Ms. Hann told it what staff can provide. Commissioner Cook noted the Board looked at maintaining the level of service it has now; at this time, there is no inclination of the Board to raise the gas tax; and those are two things that have come out of this. Commissioner Ellis stated he could live with the ninth cent gas tax instead of property tax; and it is more appropriate to pay for the roads from the gas tax than from property taxes. Chairman Higgs stated the only thing she would want to see is a breakdown of the expenditures between city and County, and how that would work out when you use property taxes versus the gas tax; she does not have that information; so she is not ready to vote on that. Commissioner Cook noted there is no decision on the gas tax at this time; and he is against such tax.

Upon motion and vote, the meeting adjourned at 4:50 p.m.

ATTEST: __________________________________

NANCY N. HIGGS, CHAIRMAN

BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA

_________________________

SANDY CRAWFORD, CLERK

(S E A L)