MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA

November 30, 2000

11-30-00 Special Meeting Minutes - CBO, CDBG and CAA

The Board of County Commissioners of Brevard County, Florida, met in special session on November 30, 2000, at 1:05 p.m. in the Government Center Florida Room, Building C, 2725 Judge Fran Jamieson Way, Viera, Florida. Present were: Chairman Sue Carlson, Commissioners Truman Scarborough, Randy O'Brien, Nancy Higgs, and Jackie Colon, Assistant County Manager Don Lusk, and County Attorney Scott Knox.

DISCUSSION, RE: COMMUNITY BASED ORGANIZATION (CBO), COMMUNITY
DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT (CDBG), AND COMMUNITY ACTION AGENCY
(CAA)

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Chairman Carlson requested Don Lusk give an overview concerning the Community Based Organization (CBO), Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), and Community Action Agency (CAA) issues.

Assistant County Manager Don Lusk advised the CBO, CDBG, and CAA are three separate programs that provide services and capital funds in the community to improve it; and there are two basic issues that will be discussed, including the structure of the Advisory Boards and processes used to allocate dollars.

Gay Williams, Assistant Director of Housing and Human Services Department, advised on December 7, 1999, the Board approved the concept whereby the CAA, CBO, and CDBG Advisory Boards would work together providing a collective funding decision for FY 2000-2001; the goal was for the CAA, CBO, and CDBG funding programs to collectively make funding decisions to not-for-profit organizations in an effort to maximize funding for needed and assessable services throughout the communities in Brevard County; and the following strategies were recommended and most were implemented: The CAA, CBO and CDBG application was consolidated; Housing and Human Services and Housing and Community Development staff made joint presentations to neighborhood groups; the respective Boards met as a group where duplicate funding requests were presented to the combined body; however, the funding decisions were not collectively made, but separately made, as in the past, by the individual Boards.

Chenita Joiner, Housing and Human Services Department, advised in 1995, the Board voted to create a CBO funding program; the purpose of the program was to ensure accountability in organizations requesting funding, to provide an equitable and fair means to establish and fund public service agencies working to address community needs, and to assist and empower public service agencies to effectively plan and implement solutions to a wide range of needs that affect citizens in Brevard County. She stated the Board appointed the CBO Advisory Board to oversee the program and to provide a greater opportunity for citizen participation and input; and the CBO funding program is utilized to provide funding to eligible not-for-profit public service agencies that provide for the needs of Brevard County residents. Ms. Joiner stated some of the priorities the Advisory Board reviews when it is determining which agencies are getting funded include the identified needs for the service the agency is proposing, the capacity of the agency to provide the proposed service, the quality of the proposed service, and the cost associated with providing the service as opposed to the number of people to be served. She stated the origin of funding that is awarded through the CBO funding program are General Fund dollars; this current Fiscal Year, $500,000 was awarded to 27 agencies to provide 37 programs and services; and such services include, but are not limited to, programs for the elderly, youth, domestic violence victims, substance abusers, and child care. Ms. Joiner stated funding provided by the Board through the CBO funding program has enhanced the lives of many Brevard County residents and their families.

Denise Carter, Housing and Human Services Department, advised the CDBG Program was established by Congress under the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, as amended, to provide local governments and residents with the funds needed to work in a comprehensive manner toward the improvement of a quality of life in low to moderate income areas; and it consolidated the categorical funding programs to allow for local flexibility in determining needs and developing strategies to address those areas. She stated the primary objective of the Community Development Program is the development of viable urban communities by providing decent housing and a suitable living environment, and expanding economic opportunity, principally for persons of low to moderate incomes; and the United States Housing and Urban Development, sponsors of the CDBG Program, provide local qualifying governments with a federal grant that funds a number of activities and implements the Program's purpose. She stated Brevard County has received CDBG funds since 1986; the Housing and Community Development Program is responsible for carrying out the programs and policies established by the Housing and Community Development Act; Fiscal Year 2000-2001, the County was awarded $1,779,000 in CDBG funds; 15% of the County's CDBG funds were allocated for public service activities totaling $266,850; and Community Development funds are used on a number of activities including, but not limited to, land acquisition, public facilities and improvements, demolition and clearance, housing rehabilitation, code enforcement, economic development, affordable housing, and public services. Ms. Carter advised funds are also targeted to specific areas of the County which have needs and were determined eligible for funding; on May 15, 1990, the Board established the CDBG Advisory Board to provide an opportunity for citizen involvement and input relating to the CDBG Program; some of the goals and objectives of the Advisory Board are as follows: To build trust and understanding among residents and County officials regarding housing and community development problems by providing an opportunity for those who live in the neighborhood to identify problems, issues, goals and priorities as they perceive them; provide an opportunity for residents to influence the decision-making process by early and continuing involvement in planning and evaluation of housing and urban development assisted projects; provide an opportunity for local government, neighborhood strategy area residents, and program agencies to further assess and respond to the needs and preferences of the community; and provide an opportunity to submit recommendations to the Board on the allocation of funds from the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development CDBG Program. Ms. Carter stated funding recommendations for the Community Development Program are based on input from the community during the consolidated planning process; and community development activities build pride.

Sharon Fletcher, Housing and Human Services Department, stated the CAA Program is designed to provide a range of services to assist low income families to attain skills, knowledge and motivation necessary to achieve self sufficiency; the mission of the CAA Program is to work with the poor, and the private and public sector to identify and eliminate the causes of poverty within the County; and there is a nine-member CAA Advisory Board to oversee the CAA Program. She advised the CAA Plan states that annually a minimum of 65 eligible families will be assessed to identify obstacles and problems that inhibit them from becoming self-sufficient; although all 65 families will receive some level of service through the family self-sufficiency program, only 10 will be selected to participate in the intensive case management process; and the following were identified by the CAA Advisory Board as the most critical needs of this targeted population: job training, job placement, child care, affordable and suitable housing, primary and mental health care, and transportation. Ms. Fletcher stated acceptance into the family self-sufficiency program is determined through an analysis of the following assessment area: the families must be motivated and show some level of commitment; the CAA works with them to identify medical conditions and housing and utility issues; it assesses their educational level, financial situation, and any legal issues that may confront the family; it tries to identify their transportation needs; it looks into their employment history; and it is concerned whether they have received government assistance in the past and child care. She noted the family must also meet certain eligibility criteria, including a total annual income at or below the 125% poverty guideline; an example would be a family of three, including a single mother and two children; the income level must be at $17,687 or below in order to be eligible for the CAA Program; the family member, at the date of application, must be at least 18 years of age or older; and the applicant must reside within the boundaries of Brevard County. Ms. Fletcher stated the 2000-2001 funding year is the first year that a not-for-profit organization had the opportunity to competitively apply for CAA funds; and the CAA Advisory Board voted to award the entire amount of $24,000 to Mount Carmel of City Point Human Services, which is contracted to provide transportation, tutoring and parenting classes to CAA participants for the entire County. She noted the funds provided by the Board allow the CAA Program to continue in its goal of eliminating poverty in the midst of plenty, while enabling low-income citizens to become thriving self-sufficient members of the communities. Ms. Joiner stated each Commissioner has been provided a copy of a flow chart and the funding allocation process; in January, 2000, a workshop was held with all three Advisory Boards jointly to discuss issues and all phases related to the collective funding process; staff met following the workshop to revise and finalize the application based on input by the Advisory Boards; on January 20, 2000, an advertisement was published in the Florida Today newspaper notifying agencies of the availability of funding and the upcoming technical assistance workshop; and on February 8, 2000, the technical assistance meeting was held to provide information and to disperse application packets to the agencies. She advised on March 20, 2000, which was the deadline for all applications to be submitted to the Department, the eligible applications were submitted; staff reviewed all applications to ensure eligibility and compliance with the submission requirements; on April 6, 2000, the agencies that applied for more than one source of funding made their presentations before all three of the Advisory Boards; and following the meeting in April, 2000, the three Advisory Boards met separately to discuss funding recommendations for the agencies that made their presentations on April 6, 2000. Ms. Joiner advised on April 18, 2000, all three Advisory Boards again met jointly to review and finalize funding recommendations; during the meeting on April 18, 2000, the CAA and CDBG Advisory Boards voted not to participate in the collective funding process for FY 2001-2002; following the joint funding recommendation meeting in May, 2000, the CBO Advisory Board held the proposal presentation for those agencies applying for CBO funding only and made its recommendations for those agencies; and in June, 2000, the three Advisory Boards met jointly to hear the appeals of agencies that submitted requests for appeals. She stated on July 25, 2000 a public hearing was held by the Board of County Commissioners to hear citizens' input; and on August 1, 2000, the funding recommendations were approved by the Board.

Chairman Carlson stated when the Board first opened this process, staff mentioned funding decisions were not made collectively; when the Board tried to get the different Advisory Boards together to try to make some sort of collective decision, it was the idea behind going through this process; and the directive of the Board was to get the Advisory Boards to come together and make the funding decisions.

Mr. Lusk stated the Advisory Boards decided to make decisions in their individual groups, with the idea that they would come back at one final meeting, share information and possibly exchange things; and at that meeting, everything did not come together as anticipated.

Tony Boyles, CBO Chairman, stated when the CBO met in January, 2000, it was its understanding the purpose of the combined meeting was for the Advisory Boards to make a collective and coordinated decision on the allocation of funds; when the proposals came in requesting funding from both CBO and CDBG, the Advisory Boards met together and decided CDBG would make its recommendations by itself on the five requests and CBO would make its recommendations on those requests; when CDBG and CBO came back together, they discussed the five recommendations and looked at what each Advisory Board had recommended to see if they could hammer out a combined recommendation to fund the requests from one budget or the other, so there would only be one contract drawn, which was done; and that was the process they followed. He stated although staff did a fantastic job in trying to pull this all together, not enough time was allocated in the process; and the Advisory Boards were up against three deadlines to make the decisions on how to spend the money.

Reverend Edward Buckner, CDBG Chairman, stated the three Advisory Boards have different objectives; the CDBG Advisory Board makes a community assessment and prioritizes the needs; the main objective is to try to enhance the living conditions of the communities; he is concerned with the issues that are of the immediate need of people in the community; and there should have been a sit down discussion of the objectives of the Advisory Boards and then decide whether it was going to work the way the Board intended. He noted there was no insubordination or trying to evade what the Board requested, but what was asked was something that did not have a clear evaluation; these programs are not just to spend the dollars; the Commissioners, as well as the Advisory Board members, want to get the bang for the buck; and the reason it did not work is because of the objectives of the CDBG, CBO and CAA Advisory Boards.

Dr. George Fayson, CAA Chairman, inquired why was it necessary to go to the particular format; stated he did not see a wagon that needed fixing; the CAA looks at job training, job placement, child care, affordable and suitable housing, primary and mental health care, and transportation; there are 65 families and the CAA selects 10 families; and it does the best it can to meet the needs. He stated the CAA Advisory Board did not see the need for the workshop.

Chairman Carlson stated the County is trying to streamline the process. Commissioner Higgs stated there is also the desire to see a unified community working on significant human problems; and with the diversity of boards and lack of communication between them, the Board felt it was not coming together to focus on the problems. Commissioner Higgs stated there should be a shared strategy by the community and the Board in addressing the significant human problems, and prioritization of what the real problems are that the County wants to attack first; she is disappointed it did not work together and would like to try it again; and perhaps the Board needs to set priorities and let the groups work with it.

Michael McDonald, representing CDBG, stated time was an issue in pulling the Advisory Boards together to come up with a plan; County staff indicated the primary goal of pulling the three Advisory Boards together was to eliminate dual contracts; and when there were two different Advisory Boards with applications for the same thing, that is what staff brought to the Advisory Boards and they came together. He advised of the objectives of the CDBG Advisory Board; stated when he has community meetings, there are approximately 25 to 30 people in attendance; people see him as he walks through the community; and he receives input on a daily basis. He stated part of the reason it did not work with the three Advisory Boards coming together was because of the different objectives; and he does not see what was broken that needed to be fixed.

Juanita Barton, representing CDBG, concurred with Mr. McDonald's comments; stated she saw a young woman walking down the street who was on drugs; sometimes the County gets technically oriented and forgets this is about people; it needs to get back to thinking about people and what the services do for them; and one of the reasons she does not support certain areas is because they do not have services that serve her community, and her job is to bring in services to her community that serve the people where she lives.

Chairman Carlson stated she gets the feeling there is some defensiveness going on; it is not the Board's intent to strip anybody of the programs they have; the issue is that everybody is providing services on their own Advisory Boards and they are doing it effectively; and all the Board is trying to do is see if there is a better process and perhaps set priorities and goals.

Joe Steckler, representing CBO, stated he has never felt that the CBO has not had adequate time to present the true case of the problems it has in Brevard County; the 38 agencies in the County have a lot of problems that the Board never hears about; that is what he would hope would be discussed in the meetings; and he submitted five programs last year for CDBG/CBO funding and received three of them for a total of $39,500, which was a reduction of $4,000 in overall funding from the year before where CBO had increased its budget for social service programs in the County from $1.1 million to $1.5 million. He noted he has always advocated that there is not enough money in Brevard County for social service programs; $490,000 is not enough; the United Way funds $3.5 million for almost the same 38 agencies the County helps fund; and he does not believe the County should fund all these programs, but it is where the leverage dollars come into being. Mr. Steckler stated it is extremely difficult for the groups to work together having the type of funding issues they have; there is not enough money, which is the real problem; if everything is put together, it will eliminate dual funding in some programs; but the question of priorities has to come from the Board being more aware of what the real needs are in Brevard County.

Leigh Holt, representing United Way, stated she is responsible for the allocation of United Way funds; she understands the struggle of not having enough money to go around and trying to use every dollar wisely; in the document for CBO, there are goals and objectives, including maximizing funding; and it is critically important. She noted the County has moved to measurable objectives in the last few years; the United Way is moving in that direction also; it is important that all of the agencies be able to measure what they are doing; and a real measure is that the lives of 30 people in the program were changed. She noted it is important to have a fair and equitable process; citizen involvement is critical; she understands the reason for wanting to consolidate; and the agencies could accomplish more if the process was streamlined. Ms. Holt stated the County wants to know that its dollars are leveraged, programs are not being duplicated, and the agencies are collaborating; the United Way as funders first have to collaborate and work together to leverage its dollars; and it has to look at the interrelationships of the funding. Ms. Holt stated the County wants to have government, residents and agencies respond to needs and preferences; the community needs to do a better job of identifying the issues; she believes the United Way has done that well; and the County has a lot of people involved in its process who know the needs in their own neighborhoods and communities, but collaboratively, overall issues can be reviewed. She advised County government has a benchmarking document that statistically looks at issues; and by blending the community benchmarks and funding available together would make every dollar go further. She stated the United Way is in the process of looking at its funding distribution; it will be looking at how it can better utilize its dollars; and it would like to work with the County so that all its dollars are used better. Ms. Holt advised the United Way funds almost all of the same agencies the County funds; and it does not want to be duplicating and wants to be complementing what the County is doing and vice versa.

Bennie Hopkins, representing CAA, concurred with the comments of Reverend Buckner, Dr. Fayson, and Mr. McDonald concerning the question of consolidation; stated he was looking at an agenda item from the April 18, 2000 Board meeting and concurs with comments by Clarence Rowe; one of the issues he talked about was organizations that are able to raise money by their boot straps, and others that are able to raise $200,000 and $300,000; and the CAA needs to think about how it funds the small amount of money it has. He noted concerning the combative appearance that Chairman Carlson was talking about, it appears like that when the CAA is trying to explain how it works with the people it deals with in the community.

Clarence Rowe stated he had requested today's meeting be canceled and rescheduled so that the low-income people could attend; they are at work today and cannot afford to take the day off; they need the opportunity to participate in the public meeting; and it is not in the best interest of those low-income people not to be here to voice their concern. He stated the CDBG, CBO and CAA organizations do a beautiful job; if the County could spend the kind of money it talks about spending on the scrub jay for the poor blight areas, it could expedite and get people on their feet to the point of self-sufficiency; and in order to do that, they must have a job that pays money to make them self-sufficient. He noted the groups were beating up on themselves and playing cut-throat poker talking about the money, but there are insufficient funds; it is based on demand and supply; there is a lot of demand; and he serves on the Housing Authority which has a frozen list of at least 1,000 people since 1996. Mr. Rowe stated there is not enough rental space to get those people housing; the County knows what the problems are; and inquired is it willing to spend some money and do what it has to do. He noted the County is going to have to put some serious money in the pot if it wants to fund the different organizations; reiterated there are insufficient funds; and requested the County put half the money it spends on scrub jays into the pot to do positive things for humans. He stated all three Advisory Boards met, the public was invited, and input was given; consolidation was also discussed; he put a motion on the floor; and the motion passed not to consolidate. He requested the County do a survey showing what people are making, especially concerning tax abatements, and the salaries outside Brevard County; stated he is concerned about looking at the end results; and the County is not touching reality.

David Paterno, representing CAA, stated the Board has heard the people who sit on the Advisory Boards; they are very passionate about what they are doing and serving the low- income population; he was not aware that the Advisory Boards were required to get together; but he can see why there is a need to share information. He noted the CAA Advisory Board was coming back day after day and hearing things that did not pertain to it; that is one of the reasons it voted not to be involved; and the Advisory Boards were playing cut-throat, which is not a way to come together. He stated the Advisory Boards over load County staff with requests for information concerning programs; the Advisory Boards have separate purposes; and suggested the County have the Chairmans and one other person on the Advisory Boards get together to share information. Mr. Paterno stated other boards he sits on have not shared information together; and it needs to be done.

Reginald Stone, representing Alco-Rest, Inc., stated Alco-Rest, Inc. had a problem concerning a tax issue; he thought once the tax issue was resolved by Alco-Rest, Inc. that it would go back to doing business as usual with the County; such issue has been resolved; and Alco-Rest, Inc. was reimbursed some of the money from the previous Contract. He noted there are a couple of other Contracts that have not been completed; and inquired why Alco-Rest, Inc. is not able to have its 2000-2001 Fiscal Year contract signed. He noted the tax problem in previous years was because there was not enough funding; one of Alco-Rest, Inc.'s major funders is the County; it is not able to be reimbursed for the monies that CBO and CDBG awarded to Alco-Rest, Inc. as it has not signed the contract; and requested it be allowed to come together to get the issue worked out.

Chairman Carlson requested Mr. Lusk deal with the issue after the meeting and report back to the Board.

Wallace Perkins, representing Mt. Carmel of City Point Human Services, Inc., stated there are people in Brevard County who are having a difficult time; they need a jump start and helping hand; illiteracy could be dealt with through basic remediation and educational opportunities; and the technology is here to elevate each person up to an acceptable entry level standard. He noted 95% of the educational and training process is through motivation; the County needs to set a goal of how many people it is going to raise to the entry level; it will find that the people will be off the tax-supported rolls; and they will have a job and be on the tax-paying rolls.

Ginger Ferguson, representing Coalition for the Hungry and Homeless, stated the Coalition represents many service agencies in the monthly meetings it has in the Central area; it works with a lot of different agencies that provide services; many of them are funded through CDBG and CBO; and everyone that applies for the services desperately need assistance in funding. She noted it would be beneficial if those that apply and are not funded were able to see an evaluation of their application so the next time they apply they would be able to improve their application process and understand what the priorities are and understand what they were missing in their application; many applications the Coalition puts in for funding have a point system so it can evaluate its own application process for funding; it is imperative that everyone works together collaboratively to provide the services needed for individuals and families; and unfortunately, the groups are pitted against one another and have to compete for the same small amount of dollars which keeps them from partnershiping on a lot of things. Ms. Ferguson stated her agency finds that the most important aspect of helping a family become self sufficient is case management; it has to be able to work the family all the way through the system; every year, the Coalition has a process of meetings that Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires for it to bring federal funds to the community; and it has been successful in bringing about $1.5 million of federal funds into the area. She stated the Coalition has asked for some CDBG and CBO dollars to help leverage and bring those dollars in; many of the agencies serve all types of communities; they work with mental illness; and there are substance abuse and childcare issues that the Coalition must deal with. Ms. Ferguson stated she appreciates everything the Board does, especially the Advisory Boards; they serve the community and give their time; and it is a difficult decision to decide what projects need to be funded when there is little funding available. She noted if the groups work collectively they can leverage the funds; and if they can communicate better they can do a better job of serving those that are in crisis.

Akhabir Abduliahwali, representing Academy of Recovery, stated they are an agency that is in the heart of the community of University Boulevard in Melbourne; such agency provides education, prevention and shelter for the homeless, hungry and at-risk for substance abuse; and it has 42 units to house families.

He stated the agency has been in existence since June, 2000 and has not received any funds; and requested equal accessibility to the funds being provided. He noted it is independent living and the families pay their rent; the agency offers education on site; it has collaborated with other agencies, such as Florida Institute of Technology (F.I.T.), Prevent of Brevard, Children and Families, and the HOPE team; medical attention is also provided; and there is on-site security. He noted the individuals get jobs; there is a case manager, program director and volunteer coordinators; his agency will be applying for funds; and the grand opening is December 8, 2000 at the Lipscomb Community Center, from 12:00 noon to 2:00 p.m., and from 2:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., and the ribbon cutting will be at the actual site.

Kim Gabriel, representing South Brevard Habitat for Humanity, stated everyone needs to find a way to work together; Brevard County is one county with a myriad of problems that all effect the low-income citizens; everyone fights for the same dollars; in August, 2000, there was a meeting with all the groups; and one of the number one priorities was a communication device that had to be developed between all the non-profits. She noted the one thing they have in common is the client; a client she is serving can be served by another non-profit tomorrow; they have to find a way to link the organizations together to solve the problem; and everyone is seeing the need for communication by pulling the groups together. She stated there needs to be some leadership in doing it or the groups are going to end up with the same thing again; and perhaps there needs to be an advisory council made up of the organizations and agencies involved. Ms. Gabriel requested the Board's support in pulling together the groups that can help solve the problems and work with County staff who do a diligent job; stated there is a major problem in the County that is only going to continue to get worse; and everyone needs to learn how to work together to solve the problems of the very low-income citizens in the community.

Reverend Buckner stated there is one bone with a lot of hungry dogs; all the dogs are attacking each other and no one is really benefiting from the bone; and requested the Board make an evaluation and serious assessment of the needs of the poor in Brevard County, and set some standard. He suggested the Board commit not only to child care, but assist with slum and blight issues in the various areas; stated the primary issue is to consider the needs in such areas; to bring the Advisory Boards together to look at the money aspect is a secondary issue; and there needs to be a comprehensive plan with the County. He requested the Board, as policy makers of Brevard County, to sit down with the Advisory Boards and come up with a strategy and five-year comprehensive plan.

Mr. Boyles stated what the Board set out to accomplish last year was not a failure; it may not have finished the way it envisioned it when it started, but it has begun a process that is fruitful; the CBO Advisory Board embraced the Board's vision; there are 37 organizations on the list that received a total of $500,000; and the process worked. He noted where there are multiple proposals to CDBG and CBO, the two Advisory Boards can sit down and work those out; what the Board started was a good thing; and the Advisory Boards need to find out how to build on it as it goes into this year's funding cycle.

The meeting recessed at 2:55 p.m. and reconvened at 3:10 p.m.

Commissioner Higgs inquired what does the County have in the budget in this fiscal year in Housing and Human Services; with Housing and Human Services Director Bernice Jackson responding $19.5 million. Commissioner Higgs stated she is frustrated because the discussion has been about how things are moved around and not the overall goal; the County spent approximately one year talking about the needs of young people and how to address juvenile crime; the needs are great and the discussion has been about what advisory board makes what decision; and the big problem is how to address the housing needs of people so they are not living in slums, and how to help the young people be productive citizens. She noted she would rather spend time on how to address the bigger community problems and bring all those things and people together to recognize what those are and try to solve them; she and Reverend Buckner talked some time ago about infrastructure needs; the County has relied too much on CDBG in the target areas to do that instead of an MSTU and other Road and Bridge funds that should be used; and the County needs to bring the human services groups together to focus on the big problems and address them. Commissioner Higgs stated the County needs to move forward to address the issues; perhaps the Board needs to list its priorities and communicate them, including infrastructure issues; the people need to be brought together; and the County cannot continue doing it the same way it did. She advised there are more people not graduating from school today than 20 years ago; there is virtually the same number in poverty that there was 20 years ago; progress is not being made; and it is not smart to continue to do the same thing the same way when it is not working. She noted the bottom line is not to take money away, but to be more productive and deal with the big problems.

Chairman Carlson stated a lot of the comments focused on how the County has managed to dilute its ability to service the community; there are many non-profits who want to do something good for the community and they are all committed; and the County needs to get its arms around all of those that are committed in their niche areas and focus those activities to the greatest extent possible.

Commissioner O'Brien concurred with Commissioner Higgs' comments; stated the County needs to look at the bigger community problems in a larger picture than it has been doing; there is $1.7 million in CDBG available for funding of various programs; and he would like to see the County use those dollars to go into the blight communities, buy entire blocks at a time, become a partner with the Housing Authority, knock the blight down, and rebuild. He noted the County needs to bring affordable housing to the people who need it the most; and look for other federal funding as well.

Commissioner O'Brien stated the County has money for demolition; he has been trying to get 37 structures in his District demolished for over five years; the progress the County is looking for is not taking place; and he wants to get somewhere. He noted the $1.7 million in CDBG funds are supposed to be used to eliminate slums and blight; he feels very strongly about it; it is time to look at the broader picture; building a community center is important to a community; requested the Board set a much stronger goal and define it in a stern manner; and by doing so it can move forward toward expanding economic opportunities as well. He stated as the Board is going to continue giving to the non-profit organizations, it should have defined strict guidelines; one priority he would use is that CBO funds must be leveraged by those who accept the County's donation at a ratio of 3:1, and must be attained in matching dollars from other non-County sources; and the second priority for CBO funding would be a policy with a specific percentage of the CBO funds that are donations be used as seed money for a limited amount of time, such as three years. Commissioner O'Brien stated it is imperative that CBO funding is not repeated by the CDBG or CAA process, and it is one or the other; he was told there are four major studies in the Nation that point out there is severe duplication of services; and it diminishes the ability to deliver the service and increases the cost to operate. He noted Brevard County can be a leader in social issues as well; the CBO Advisory Board deserves the Board's most sincere appreciation for what it has to go through to discern between who is going to receive what in funding; and the County needs to restrict how the funds are delegated and how it is spending taxpayers' dollars.

Commissioner Colon stated it is the Board's duty as leaders to thank the people present today who are able to make a difference in the community and help change lives; the CDBG Program spends $827,000 on capital improvement and infrastructure; that does not include the public services that the CDBG Program is able to fund, which is $266,000; and expressed appreciation to the CDBG, CBO and CAA groups for the wonderful job they are doing. She noted it is also important to see the kind of services CBO is able to fund, which includes homeless shelters, Alzheimer's Foundation, prescription assistance program for the elderly and community, alcohol and substance abuse counseling for women, domestic violence shelters, and other concrete things that are making an impact in the community. She noted she is very conservative when it comes to taxpayers' money and she has a reputation for it; one of the things she will never do is insult an individual who is trying to put themselves on their feet and say the County is giving them a handout; she believes the three organizations need to be left intact; and the County needs to go back to the drawing board as it was very positive.

Commissioner Scarborough expressed appreciation to the three organizations for their hard work; stated Brevard County is touching people in a number of ways and is doing a lot of good things; what has been said continually is it has to have some sense in how all the programs come together to make things work; and he is concerned about combining all the organizations when the people in the field say it does not work and they need to keep their autonomy. He noted the job is complex enough and does not need to be made such that everyone has to work together; Brevard County has redundancy, such as Friends of the Library and library boards; people are able to look at it differently; and it does not mean the system is falling apart, it means more people are involved and there is the greater creativity of bringing more people into the system.

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner O'Brien, to approve keeping status quo for the CBO, CDBG and CAA Boards as separate organizations.

Commissioner Higgs stated she can agree with the motion if the Board makes some effort to bring the groups together. Commissioner Scarborough stated it is going to be imprudent on the part of the Board to give the groups instructions; if it gives them its intention that they continue along this course of action and request they come back to the Board, the County will be better off; and there will be less friction. Commissioner Higgs stated she has no problem with it as long as the Board is saying it needs to bring the three entities together in the decision-making process in regard to funding; with Commissioner Scarborough responding that is fine. Commissioner Scarborough inquired if Commissioner O'Brien concurs with that. Chairman Carlson requested Commissioner Scarborough restate the motion.

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Colon, to approve keeping status quo for the CBO, CDBG and CAA Boards as separate organizations; and request each Chairman representing their respective organization meet and report back to the Board of County Commissioners at the end of January, 2001, concerning suggestions of how they can share information, coordination efforts, and funding recommendations. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Colon, to direct the County Manager to assess projects that have been funded in the past three years by CDBG in terms of alternatives through the MSTU and other Public Works funding, and look forward two years, to allow a five-year window; review what funds may be available and how the County may move forward in the future to better meet infrastructure needs in the neighborhoods; and report back to the Board with recommendations. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

Commissioner O'Brien suggested County staff work with the three Chairmans of the Advisory Boards to develop a policy for the CDBG, CBO, and CAA, and review the percentage and ratio of the matching funds, and how much of the funding should be seed money.

Commissioner Higgs stated she has no problem looking at the leverage issue; there are ongoing services the County purchases through the CDBG and CBO that need to be maintained; there is a demonstrated need for child care; and she is not ready to jump into the seed money issue. Chairman Carlson stated there are a lot of non-profit organizations that are doing and can afford to take on additional duties; if the County can seed a non-profit and they can carry on that function or be absorbed by another non-profit to better leverage their money, it may be able to get a better bang for its buck. Commissioner O'Brien stated if the County sets aside a certain percentage of the funding for that purpose then it has done the right thing in seeding a secondary program within a program and getting it started; it gives time for the organization to find other funding sources; and at the end of three years the County stops paying for the program. Chairman Carlson noted there needs to be an assessment process. Commissioner O'Brien stated he knows how important child care is; the County should not be supporting it from CBO and CDBG funds; and it should be one or the other.

Chairman Carlson stated the CDBG, CBO and CAA want the Board to provide them with leadership and goals that will help them direct their energies in the right areas; the Board has addressed the current process and trying to find ways to improve such process by getting the Chairmans together; the County needs to go to the big picture; and requested Mr. Lusk give the Board feedback on what the organizations are doing in terms of trying to set goals. She noted there is the Commission on Aging, Together in Partnership, and whatever the United Way is doing; and there are a lot of organizations trying to consolidate and understand the needs to the community.

Mr. Lusk stated over the last couple of years the Board has slowly moved toward doing some human service infrastructure planning; it has done a lot of land planning and different kinds of comprehensive planning; it started with the County putting together the Juvenile Justice Comprehensive Planning Strategy; it has been working on it for over one year; and the Together in Partnership process and the interim report has been done. He noted it has become something the United Way used as part of its planning and needs assessment process; it is going to continue to grow; United Way has begun to look at the County's benchmarking document to see how it can blend with the documents they are putting together; and the other piece that has not come to fruition yet is the Commission on Aging. He stated the County received funding for such organization last Spring and got it started in the Summer; it is now getting down to brass tacks; and no later than the Fall of next year, the County will have a comprehensive plan for aging in Brevard County. Mr. Lusk stated the circles are starting to come together and the County is starting to have the assemblance of some human service infrastructure planning going on; staff has a housing plan that needs to be more inclusive with some of the things in the community, such as homelessness, etc.; and what the County is missing is something overall concerning the planning and allocation processes that puts it all together.

Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner O'Brien, to direct Assistant County Manager Don Lusk to provide the Board with a framework of what is happening in the community, who is doing what, and how the County may be able to create a consortium to identify the areas in need and the missing pieces; and provide a report to the Board in January, 2001. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

Mr. Lusk stated the Chairmans of the Advisory Boards have indicated they would have something to the Board by the end of January, 2001; staff will work with them right away, but it would be their desire not to rush them to any kind of judgment; and staff needs to get the allocations process started so that by the time it gets to the right point in the budget process it has the recommendation ready for the Board. He noted concerning the Alco-Rest report for Tuesday, there is information staff needs from them that has not been forthcoming; and he can provide the Board with a status report or wait until after Tuesday and get the information staff is looking for to give the Board a more definitive report. Commissioner Scarborough requested a definitive report from staff. Commissioner Higgs stated the Board needs a report by December 12, 2000; with Mr. Lusk responding that is no problem. Commissioner Higgs stated the Board discussed the benchmarking and juvenile justice planning document and process; it would be useful for both of those to be shared with the three groups so that they know where the County is in terms of benchmarking, juvenile justice, and prevention of juvenile crime activities; and perhaps they can put it into their planning process.

Chairman Carlson stated in the County's strategic plan and vision, the County Manager will be bringing back an agenda item concerning where the County sits on its strategy and what it is looking at in terms of a leadership forum; in January, 1999, the Board discussed getting a leaders forum together to try to bring in more of the sectors in the community that were missing from the previous visioning process in 1995; and the County is still working on it, and the Board should have a report in the near future. She noted it will hopefully provide a better overall vision of a lot of the things the Board has been talking about.

Upon motion and vote, the meeting adjourned at 4:00 p.m.

ATTEST: __________________________________
SUE CARLSON, CHAIRMAN
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA
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SANDY CRAWFORD, CLERK

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