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

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The invocation was given by Pastor Chris Johnson, East Coast Christian Center of Merritt Island.

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Commissioner Trudie Infantini led the assembly in the Pledge of Allegiance.

 

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

 

The Board approved the February 23, April 20, May 4, and May 18, 2010 Regular Meeting Minutes; February 25, April 29, and May 4, 2010 Workshop Minutes; and May 6, 2010 Zoning Meeting Minutes.

 

MOVER:             Chuck Nelson, Commissioner District 2

SECONDER:     Andy Anderson, Commissioner District 5

AYES:                 Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

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RESOLUTION, RE:  RECOGNIZING REPRESENTATIVE RITCH WORKMAN

 

Commissioner Anderson read aloud a resolution recognizing Representative Ritch Workman.

 

The Board adopted Resolution No. 10-108, commending Representative Ritch Workman for his dedicated public service to the people of Brevard County and to Florida's Space Industry.

 

 

Representative Ritch Workman expressed his thanks to the Board and it is a big honor to receive the Resolution with his name on it for the first time.  He stated when he first joined the legislature, space was the biggest problem because it was know that it was going to go away; and while he was talking to the whose-who in Tallahassee he would get responses like space is important, but there are other needs in other areas; and it made him wonder how space was competing with other projects because all areas will be affected by space.  He stated he went to NASA and inquired how many dollars are spent in the 67 counties of Florida; he stated a coalition called the Florida Space Caucus; and he went to Dade County telling them that he does not want to hear about the roads, he wants them to know about the 1,500 jobs that will be lost in the space industry; and it seemed to him all of the sudden the tone changed in Tallahassee with realizing space is a leading industry in Florida.  He stated the Florida Space Caucus has helped bring tremendous awareness to the space industry; he is honored to be present today, to except the Resolution. 

 

MOVER:             Andy Anderson, Commissioner District 5

SECONDER:     Robin Fisher, Vice Chairman/ Commissioner District 1

AYES:                 Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

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RESOLUTION, RE:  RECOGNIZING AND CONGRATULATING THE JUVENILE ASSESSMENT CENTER ADVISORY BOARD AND CIVIL CITATION CORE TEAM

 

Commissioner Fisher read aloud a resolution recognizing and congratulating the Juvenile Assessment Center Advisory Board and Civil Citation Core Team.

 

The Board adopted Resolution No. 10-109, recognizing and congratulating Juvenile Assessment Center Advisory Board and Civil Citation Core Team for their outstanding collaborative work in bringing this innovative program to Brevard County.

 

 

A representative from the Juvenile Assessment Center Advisory Board and Civil Citation Core Team expressed his thanks to the Board for the honor of being recognized for all that hard work that has gone into these programs; it is a great benefit for the youth in Brevard County to help get juveniles back on the path, to do the right things in their lives.

 

MOVER:             Robin Fisher, Vice Chairman/ Commissioner District 1

SECONDER:     Trudie Infantini, Commissioner District 3

AYES:                 Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

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RESOLUTION, RE:  CONGRATULATING JUDITH B. INMAN UPON HER RETIREMENT

 

Commissioner Fisher read aloud a resolution congratulating Judith B. Inman for her years of service with the County.

 

The Board adopted Resolution No. 10-110, congratulating Judith B. Inman for 27 years of exemplary service to the Board of County Commissioners and the Parks and Recreation Department.

 

 

Judith B. Inman expressed her thanks to the Board for the Resolution; she has worked under many Commissioners, but worked for Commissioner Nelson when he was the Parks and Recreation Director; and she also appreciates her family's patience while she was at meetings.

 

MOVER:             Robin Fisher, Vice Chairman/ Commissioner District 1

SECONDER:     Trudie Infantini, Commissioner District 3

AYES:                 Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

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RESOLUTION, RE:  RECOGNIZING THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT

 

Commissioner Fisher read aloud a resolution recognizing the 20th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

 

The Board adopted Resolution No. 10-111, recognizing July 26, 2010 as the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act; and recognizing the Space Coast Center for Independent Living for their work in furthering the mission of Americans with Disabilities Act.

 

 

William Stanziano a Space Coast Center for Independent Living representative expressed his thanks to the Board for the Resolution; and he expressed his thanks to the County for partnering with the Space Coast Center for Independent Living, to help improve the lives of people with disabilities. 

 

MOVER:             Robin Fisher, Vice Chairman/ Commissioner District 1

SECONDER:     Trudie Infantini, Commissioner District 3

AYES:                 Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

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RESOLUTION, RE:  PROCLAIMING PROBATION, PAROLE, AND COMMUNITY SUPERVISION WEEK

 

Commissioner Anderson read aloud a resolution proclaiming Probation, Parole, and Community Supervision Week.

 

The Board adopted Resolution No. 10-112, proclaiming July 18 through 24, 2010 as Probation, Parole, and Community Supervision Week; and encouraged all citizens to honor these community corrections professionals and to recognize their achievements.

 

 

A administrative representative expressed his thanks for the recognition.

 

MOVER:             Andy Anderson, Commissioner District 5

SECONDER:     Chuck Nelson, Commissioner District 2

AYES:                 Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

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RESOLUTION, RE:  CONGRATULATING UNDER-13 BOYS SPACE COAST UNITED SOCCER TEAM

 

Chairman Bolin passed the gavel to Vice Chairman Fisher.

 

Chairman Bolin read aloud a resolution congratulating under-13 boys Space Coast United Soccer Team.

 

The Board adopted Resolution No. 10-113, congratulating Under-13 Boys Space Coast United Soccer Team on advancing to the final four of the Florida Youth Soccer Association State Cup Championship.

 

 

Coach Duguid expressed his thanks for the Resolution; and stated all of the soccer players are really the beneficiaries of the Resolution. 

 

MOVER:             Mary Bolin, Chairman / Commissioner District 4

SECONDER:     Trudie Infantini, Commissioner District 3

AYES:                 Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

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RESOLUTION, RE:  CONGRATULATING UNDER-15 GIRLS SPACE COAST UNITED SOCCER TEAM

 

Chairman Bolin read aloud a resolution congratulating under-15 girls Space Coast United Soccer Team.

 

The Board adopted Resolution No. 10-114, congratulating the Under-15 Girls Space Coast United Soccer Team on their Florida Youth Soccer Association State Cup Championship.

 

 

Coach Haig expressed his thanks to the Board for the Resolution.  He expressed his thanks to all of the girls for an outstanding season; and Coach Lynne Mills for all of her hard work. 

 

MOVER:             Mary Bolin, Chairman / Commissioner District 4

SECONDER:     Trudie Infantini, Commissioner District 3

AYES:                 Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

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RESOLUTION, RE:  CONGRATULATING UNDER-18 BOYS SPACE COAST UNITED SOCCER TEAM

 

Chairman Bolin read aloud a resolution congratulating under-18 boys Space Coast United Soccer Team.

 

The Board adopted Resolution No. 10-115, congratulating the Under-18 Boys Space Coast United Soccer Team on advancing to the final four of the Florida Youth Soccer Association State Cup Championship.

 

 

Coach Duguid expressed his thanks to the Board for the Resolution.

 

MOVER:             Mary Bolin, Chairman / Commissioner District 4

SECONDER:     Trudie Infantini, Commissioner District 3

AYES:                 Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

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RESOLUTION, RE:  CONGRATULATING UNDER-19 GIRLS SPACE COAST UNITED SOCCER TEAM

 

Chairman Bolin read aloud a resolution congratulating under-19 girls Space Coast United Soccer Team.

 

The Board adopted Resolution No. 10-116, congratulating the Under-19 Girls Space Coast United Soccer Team on their Florida Youth Soccer Association State Cup Championship.

 

 

Coach Haig expressed his thanks to the Board for the Resolution; and the girls under-19 for all of their hard work.

 

 

Vice Chairman Fisher passed the gavel back to Chairman Bolin.

 

MOVER:             Mary Bolin, Chairman / Commissioner District 4

SECONDER:     Trudie Infantini, Commissioner District 3

AYES:                 Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

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CITIZEN REQUEST - STANLEY GOLOVAC, M.D., RE:  PAIN CLINICS/FACILITIES

 

Stanley Golovac, M.D., stated he is present today to ask the Board for some consideration to implement a moratorium on allowing pain clinics and pill-mills to stop immediately, hopefully the Board can see there has been a huge insurgence of problems in Brevard County.  He mentioned there is an epidemic of 100 pill-mills in Broward County; the Broward County Commissioners have put an immediate moratorium in place, to stop anymore licensing to occur; and the same things has been done in Satellite Beach, Vero Beach, and Hillsboro County.  He stated the Board of Medicine has some clear-cut stipulations as to what a pain clinic is, what it does, and how it manages itself; he is a leader in the community to clarify it; and there is a integrated management system, with an ambulatory serving facility, dispensary, aquatics health fitness arena, to help keep it in a controlled manner.  He stated he does not know why the Space Coast has become the new location for pill-mills; it is a desirable place with possible simplicity to and from Melbourne International Airport; and there is something called the Oxycontin Express, which comes from West Virginia and goes to Melbourne, to come down here to buy pills and go back up north. He mentioned one individual bought 9,000 Percocet’s in one week; it takes nothing to go from one clinic to the next, to say they have pain, and get a prescription appropriately; he is not sure how this is done, because he does everything morally right for his patients; and he is a very proud individual, a father of two, he has lived in Brevard County for 18 years, and he thinks his medication labels sometimes end up in the hands of school children, because their grandmother inappropriately left her medication out.  He stated there is a huge market for these medications, he hopes the Board can do something about this, and if he can do anything to help he would like to know; and he comes before the Board today to implement something to stop these allowances of Occupational Licenses to stop the epidemic.

 

Commissioner Nelson stated before the Board went on its June break, he had an opportunity to sit down with a lieutenant from the Sheriff's Office, a representative from Satellite Beach, and Morris Richardson, Assistant County Attorney, to help develop a moratorium to present to the Board for its consideration; law enforcement is very aware of the fact that South Florida is tightening up, which is pushing it north; and the moratorium will help put the steps in place.  He expressed his thanks to Dr. Golovac for bringing this to the Board's attention; and it is very close to being ready to present it to the Board in August, to bring an ordinance for the Board's consideration.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated he supports Dr. Golovac's efforts; and he will support anything that will help to stop this epidemic.  He mentioned he read an article in National Geographic that stated over 50 percent of the Oxycontin going to West Virginia and Ohio were coming out of Florida; there are a lot of resources spent on going after bad guys on the streets with crack and heroin; and it is time to go after these bad guys too, because it is just as deadly.  He inquired if there is some State legislation that is supposed to take place that would assist in limiting these types of pain clinics.  Scott Knox, County Attorney, responded he does not know.  Commissioner Anderson mentioned that information can come back with the item in August, because it needs to be a Statewide thing to shut it down.

 

Commissioner Nelson stated his office will contact Dr. Golovac when the item is coming to the Board.                  

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REPORT, RE:  VETERANS MEMORIAL GARDENS GROUNDBREAKING CEREMONY

 

Commissioner Nelson stated on July 4th, he and Commissioner Anderson attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the Veterans Memorial Gardens on Merritt Island; it was well attended, the garden is going to be a remarkable memorial; and if someone has a loved one who is a Veteran, a brick can be purchased with different sizes and messages.  He mentioned he will be purchasing one for his dad and encourages everyone to do the same. 

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REPORT, RE:  CERTIFICATES OF ACHIEVEMENT FOR 2010 CYSTIC FIBROSIS GREAT STRIDE WALK PARTICIPANTS

 

Commissioner Anderson stated early in the year, he was approached by Congressman Bill Posey, who headed up the Great Stride Walk for Cystic Fibrosis event to raise money, to help continue research in developing cures.  He mentioned David Isnardi, Legislative Aide, got together with the Army Recruiting Command (ARC) in Brevard County and asked if ARC can help assist; the ARC had at its disposal a lot of young men and women who are in the Delayed Entry Program; and ARC turned in a crowd of people to participate.  He read aloud a list of names, consisting of SFC Jeffrey Weaver, SSG Yeimie Daly, SSG Kevin Clap, SSG Randy Clay, SSG Scott Sowards, Kayla Suggs, Rebecca Lorek, Celeste Howard, Evan Cochrane, Ryan Healey, Nick Twyman, Roman Whittaker, Justin Horsley, Whitney Horsley, and Benjamine Horsley; and expressed his thanks to them for supporting this event.   

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REPORT, RE:  ROAD AND BRIDGE WORKSHOP DISCUSSION

 

Commissioner Anderson mentioned he wants to get the Board thinking about when the budget process is complete; he thinks it is dire to spend some time talking about roads and bridges; he knows it is a passion for all Commissioners; and he thinks there needs to be a workshop that gets into the responsibilities of what roads will be fixed and/or maintenanced.  He stated in the last 10 years he has seen a 66 percent decrease in Road and Bridge funding and it needs to be addressed after the final budget process to have a workshop.

 

Commissioner Fisher stated he appreciated Commissioner Anderson bring this up, because he thinks it is very important; his concern is he would rather do it before the budget workshop, because once the budget has been established, if the concerns have not been addressed, it is just going to put the Board further and further behind; and there needs to be some additional funding if these types of projects are going to be completed.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated he is okay with Commissioner Fisher's suggestion; he is just concerned about distracting staff from the budget process; and he was just trying to do it in a manner where there can be a lot of focus rather than competing with the budget process.  He stated it may need to be a three or four workshop process.

 

Howard Tipton, County Manager, stated he looks forward to the road and bridge process; a series of workshops are planned in the fall for a variety of issues with sustainability; and the discussions can begin on July 29th or July 22nd, but there will certainly be a number of opportunities to do so before the final vote in September. 

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REPORT, RE:  MELBOURNE JULY 4, 2010 PARADE

 

Chairman Bolin stated she participated in the Melbourne, July 4th parade sponsored by Honor America; and on a personal note, she wants everyone to know that her mother has physically moved to Melbourne.

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ITEMS PULLED FROM CONSENT AGENDA

 

Commissioner Infantini stated the seven items she would like to pull from Consent Agenda are, Item III.A.3, Resolution, Re:  Supporting Brevard County Shore Protection Project; State Beach Management Long Range Budget Request; and State Cost-Share Request for Projects; Item III.A.6, Acceptance, Re:  Utility Easement from Phillip W. Finney in Favor of Brevard County for the Operation and Maintenance of Merritt Island Sanitary Sewer System and Sewer Line; Item III.A.12, Contract for Sale and Purchase, Re:  Green Light Industrial Air Park, Parcel #124 (Fee Simple) and Parcel #711 (Temporary Construction Easement); Item III.A.14, Approval, Re:  Tourism Development Office FY 2009-2010 Expenses over $100,000, Limited to Two Advertising Agency Vendors, and for Billboard Advertising Costs up to $375,000; III.B.1, Approval, Re:  Budget Change Requests; Item III.B.8, Resolution and Conservation Easement to St. Johns River Management District, Re:  North Brevard Senior Center Nature Trail; Item III.C.4, Approval, Re:  Dr. Heidar Heshmati as Director of the Brevard County Health Department; and Item III.C.8, Confirmation of Appointment, Re:  Ian Golden as Housing and Human Services Department Director.

 

CONFIRMATION OF APPOINTMENT, RE:  IAN GOLDEN AS HOUSING AND HUMAN SERVICES DEPARTMENT DIRECTOR

 

Carie Exline stated she comes before the Board today concerning the appointment of the Housing and Human Services Director; she stated she is sure the Board is aware of the problems Housing and Human Services department has had; this department requires someone who will identify the areas of need and make those changes; and Brevard County cannot continue, with business as usual.  She stated the Board knows her as the Internal Auditor for the Clerk of the Circuit Courts; however, today she does not come before the Board as an Internal Auditor; and she comes before the Board as a citizen of Brevard County.  She stated in October of 2009, the position for Directors of Parks and Recreation and Housing and Human Services became vacant; in the last budget process she thought the County should move quickly to fill these very important positions and hire someone with good innovated ideas, who would need to come onboard two-months before the next budgeting process begins in the March or April time frame; however, what happened was the positions were not posted until January, which is three months after the Board knew the positions were vacant; and the closing dates for the applicants March 1st and March 15th.  She mentioned there have been three or four months time before a recommendation has come to the Board; and inquired why the Board took so long.

 

Howard Tipton, County Manager, replied the positions did not become vacant; he stated he arrived in his position at the first of October, so the positions and those moves were only vacated after the first of the year.

 

Ms. Exline stated she was one of 40 applicants for the Housing and Human Services Director; she asked for the initial ranking of the applicants, who were ranked by Frank Abbate, Human Resources Director, Stockton Whitten, Assistant County Manager, and another individual, who ranked the applicants in three categories, such as strongly recommended for an interview, potentially recommended for an interview, and not recommended for an interview; and she received two potentially recommended for an interview and one not recommended for an interview.  She stated when she spoke with Mr. Abbate, he told her three things; one, he asked her what did she know about Housing and Human Services; two, he stated education does not mater at this level; and the third, at this level it is experience as a Director; and she stated she is sure the Board knows she has audited previous issues in the Housing and Human Services department over the last five-years, she has studied the Programs, talked with Housing and Urban Development (HUD), talked with other counties, and has provided the County with sound recommendations for the Housing and Human Services department, some of which have been implemented or will be implemented.  She mentioned her first Degree in education is in Home Economics, which includes Housing and Home Management; and before becoming a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) she worked with pregnant teenagers who for the most part were low income.  She stated she now has a Masters Degree in Accounting; her experience includes budgets, financial forecasting, grant accounting, improving operations, and she has a lot of experience in real estate rental properties, which include financing, debt restructure, and the purchasing of real estate; and the new director is going to be faced with those type of challenges.  She stated she was the Director of Internal Audit in Monroe County; because of her sound recommendations in Monroe County, the Clerk of the Courts promoted her to the Director of Administrative Services, the Clerk's Chief Deputy overseeing a staff of 75 individuals; she has  been an Accounting Operations Manager and a lot of people know she was the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for United Way Brevard, Grants, Healthy Families, and Hurricane issues; and she stated she thinks she has had some experience in order to be considered for this position.  She mentioned she is going to shock the Board, because it is not about her, it is about the process; all the applicants were first ranked based on their resumes; of the 40 applicants, four were interviewed, and when the ranking is looked at, Ian Golden was the only applicant who was ranked strongly recommended for an interview; Mr. Whitten gave only Mr. Golden a strong recommendation and no other applicant received that type of recommendation from Mr. Whitten; and she received two potentially recommended and one not recommended, and the not recommended came from Mr. Whitten.  She noted it is obvious that Mr. Whitten had favored Mr. Golden from the beginning; therefore, she is inquiring of the 40 applicants, who else was not considered; and she knows her time is up, but she does have a recommendation.

 

Chairman Bolin stated Ms. Exline can give the Board her recommendation.

 

Ms. Exline stated her recommendation is to start all over again; present a timeframe for implementation; it should begin after October 1st; a recommendation should be made to the Board before it leaves for Christmas; and this way the person can come onboard before the next budget process and truly make a difference.

 

Mr. Tipton stated the timeframe stated of when those positions became vacant was not accurate; the initial interview panel consisted of Stockton Whitten, Assistant County Manager, Frank Abbate, Human Resources Director, and Dr. Brenda Fettrow, City Manager of the City of Cocoa; and the reason somebody from outside of the County is brought in is to give an outside perspective.  He stated the interview panel recommended to him Ian Golden, who is the current acting Director for Housing and Human Services; and the recommendation was if not Mr. Golden then the process should be started over.  He mentioned he met with Ms. Exline, who requested a meeting with him, she presented her qualifications to him, which he did consider, and after having the chance to interview Mr. Golden and watch him under pressure in action, he was more than satisfied that he can be the leader for the Housing and Human Services department; and Mr. Golden not only had the vision, but the energy to face the challenging times.  He inquired if the Board will support him with appointing Mr. Golden as the Director of Housing and Human Services.

 

Commissioner Infantini stated she has worked with Mr. Golden in the past; she finds that he is doing a very good job; in the past, she has criticized the County Manager for not promoting within the organization rather than going outside the organization at this point; she stated if Mr. Golden proves himself to be not worthy then reevaluation can take place; but at this point, she is 100 percent in favor of Mr. Golden.

 

The Board confirmed the appointment of Ian Golden as the Housing and Human Services department Director.         

 

MOVER:             Trudie Infantini, Commissioner District 3

SECONDER:     Andy Anderson, Commissioner District 5

AYES:                 Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

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RESOLUTION, RE:  SUPPORTING BREVARD COUNTY SHORE PROTECTION PROJECT; STATE BEACH MANAGEMENT LONG RANGE BUDGET REQUEST; AND STATE COST-SHARE REQUEST FOR PROJECTS

 

Commissioner Infantini stated she is not in favor of this item because it does not include the South Beaches, it stops at Indialantic; she is not comfortable using Tourist Development Council's money, because tourists actually go to all of the beaches when going south and do not just stop at the northern border; and that is why she cannot support this item.

 

The Board adopted Resolution No. 10-117, supporting the Brevard County Shore Protection Project and requested State cost-sharing funding as match for Federal and dedicated local match, with estimated FY2010-11 costs for these projects totaling $29,871,978 including $14,693,285 Federal; $6,166,429 State; and $9,012,264 local funds; and all local match provided by the Tourist Development Council's (TDC) Dedicated Beach Improvement Fund.

 

MOVER:             Andy Anderson, Commissioner District 5

SECONDER:     Robin Fisher, Vice Chairman/ Commissioner District 1

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

NAYS:                 Trudie Infantini

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ACCEPTANCE, RE:  UTILITY EASEMENT FROM PHILLIP W. FINNEY IN FAVOR OF BREVARD COUNTY FOR THE OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE OF MERRITT ISLAND SANITARY SEWER SYSTEM AND SEWER LINE

 

Commissioner Infantini inquired how much the sewer is going to cost; and inquired if the easement is only going to cost $1,800.

 

John Denninghoff, Public Works Director, responded the sewer cost of construction and sewer service is going to be provided by the private property owners, not by the public; he stated he really does not know what the cost is going to be; and the need is for the easement to be provided.

 

Commissioner Infantini inquired if Merritt Island Redevelopment Agency (MIRA) is going to be paying for the sewer; and she stated this is just to have the easement there.  Mr. Denninghoff responded if MIRA is paying for it he is unaware of it; it is not part of his involvement with the project; and his involvement is being sure the appropriate legal descriptions are there; and the easements follow County policies and procedures regarding the acquisition.  He stated he does not believe MIRA is paying for the sewer; and he believes it is being paid for by the private property owner.  Commissioner Infantini stated that in the Agenda Report it states MIRA has proposed a public sanitary sewer system to serve the properties, so MIRA has proposed a public sanitary sewer system.  Mr. Denninghoff responded it will be owned and maintained by the County, which is standard procedure for a development, which requires the need for the easement; he thinks Commissioner Infantini needs to ask Greg Lugar, Merritt Island Redevelopment Agency Director, about the costs of installation; and he mentioned he would expect it to be a grant program through MIRA, because it certainly is not being paid for by the Utility or Public Works departments.

 

Commissioner Infantini stated as long as MIRA is not going to be paying for the sewer system she does not have a problem with the project.

 

Commissioner Nelson inquired why Commissioner Infantini would oppose to hooking up to a sewer system rather than it draining into the lagoon, regardless of who is paying for it.  Commissioner Infantini responded the property owners are going to be benefiting from this.  Commissioner Nelson stated the property owner will have to pay connection fees.  Commissioner Infantini stated she knows the Grill's Riverside or Sebastian Inlet Marina had to pay for their own septic system, to make sure that it did not drain into the lagoon; she stated she would hate to think that these property owners are currently draining the sewage into the lagoon; and she cannot imagine that, that is currently being done.

 

Commissioner Infantini inquired if Mr. Lugar can provide some information if MIRA will be paying for the sewer system.  Mr. Lugar responded yes, MIRA will be paying for the sewer lateral's and road right-of-ways; and MIRA will not be paying for the connections fees or on-site costs to the property owners.

 

Commissioner Nelson stated that is consistent with what Grill's Riverside has done too; and it had to pay to hook into Melbourne's system.  Commissioner Infantini stated that is correct and she is explaining it for the public about what happens in a redevelopment district if every one is paying in $2 to the General Fund to support the whole County; and MIRA  pays in $2, but $1 goes into the MIRA, which then develops and benefits only that small community.  Commissioner Nelson stated Commissioner Infantini's explanation of how redevelopment agencies work is wrong; the funding is established by the value levels and as the values increase, due to the improvements that are made in the community, those dollars are then used to recapture the expenses for infrastructures and those type of things, so what Commissioner Infantini just described is not what happens.  He stated what redevelopment agencies allow for is to improve redevelopment of those communities, and getting rid of slum and blight areas; and he does not see how using redevelopment dollars, for what were originally intended, to hook into a sewer system, is inappropriate.

 

Chairman Bolin inquired if there will be a workshop on Community Redevelopment Agencies (CRA); and what is the date.  Howard Tipton, County Manager, responded it is this coming Thursday.

 

Commissioner Infantini stated the General Fund dollars from the appreciation in property values for the last 20 years for Merritt Island is now going into the redevelopment district, whereas it is not going into the General Fund; and the dollars only go to one specific area that is unincorporated.  She inquired who owns half of that property that will be benefited by the new sewer system.  Mr. Lugar responded Phillip W. Finney is involved with this particular case; the easement is going to the back alleyway; it is a apartment complex with 27 units that is in a very high density populated area of commercial and multi-family; and it really is almost sitting on the ridge of the Indian River Lagoon, so it is a very imperative project in order to get the area off of septic tank, so the stormwater system will not be pushing stuff into the lagoon.  He stated this is the last phase of probably 10-years worth of work that has been done in these central business districts; and this will be the last big project MIRA has.  Commissioner Infantini stated she does not have any doubt, as to the need; she has a concern to the funding mechanism, because when other businesses and in other parts of the County that are not in the MIRA district, it goes to develop its properties, a large sum of their own money is paid to set up its own septic system; she knows the Sebastian Inlet Marina had to go onto a septic system and the Marina would have loved to have the County fund a sewer system, but it is not part of a redevelopment district system; and she stated the referred area is hardly blighted anymore and the County Manager recently purchased in the Merritt Island area.  She stated she is questioning where the funding is going and do the other MIRA people know that the money is going to build a sewer system for a select few, because the people the County is buying the easement from are the ones that are going to benefit; and she will not approve the funding at this point in time, because there is too much money on the line and the County should not be funding these redevelopment districts.

 

Commissioner Nelson stated the County Manager does not live in the district; the district is a commercial district, so it is not residential, but the Board will be discussing CRA’s in a workshop; and he thinks Commissioner Infantini represents three of those CRA's, so it is happening in her community on a grander scale than it is happening on Merritt Island.

 

Commissioner Fisher stated the Board is only approving an easement not funding.  Commissioner Nelson responded correct.

 

The Board approved and accepted an easement from Phillip W. Finney in favor of Brevard County needing for the proposed construction and installation of a public sewer system proposed by the Merritt Island Redevelopment Agency (MIRA).    

 

MOVER:             Chuck Nelson, Commissioner District 2

SECONDER:     Robin Fisher, Vice Chairman/ Commissioner District 1

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

NAYS:                 Trudie Infantini

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CONTRACT FOR SALE AND PURCHASE, RE:  GREEN LIGHT INDUSTRIAL AIR PARK, PARCEL #124 (FEE SIMPLE) AND PARCEL #711 (TEMPORARY CONSTRUCTION EASEMENT)

 

Commissioner Infantini stated she is trying to find out what the total cost is to the County, to purchase all of the necessary land; inquired how much money is left to be paid out to purchase all of the necessary right-of-ways or easements; and stated she does not believe in waiving the Phase I Environmental Assessment, because she is still trying to encourage the County to do the Environmental Assessments before it acquires the property instead of after.  She stated she will be voting against this item.

 

The Board waived the Phase I Environmental Assessment and survey requirements; and approved and authorized the Chairman to execute the Contract for Sale and Purchase between Brevard County Board of County Commissioners and Green Light Industrial Airpark, LLC.

 

MOVER:             Robin Fisher, Vice Chairman/ Commissioner District 1

SECONDER:     Andy Anderson, Commissioner District 5

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

NAYS:                 Trudie Infantini

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APPROVAL, RE:  TOURISM DEVELOPMENT OFFICE FY 2009-10 EXPENSES OVER $100,000, LIMITED TO TWO ADVERTISING AGENCY VENDORS, AND FOR BILLBOARD ADVERTISING COSTS UP TO $375,000

 

Commissioner Infantini stated she does not see a reason to increase the threshold over $100,000 for spending for the Tourist Development Office; she thinks up to $100,000 is sufficient; theoretically the Board is up here to for some type of purpose, such as oversight; and if people want to waive the oversight portion of their function, she is okay with that, she just cannot waive it.

 

Commissioner Fisher stated he represents this Board on the Tourist Development Council (TDC) Board and what is driving this in the marketing economy is billboard advertising is at a higher level then ever imagined; if a person drives around the State, billboard buying can be seen everywhere; and it is amazing to promote Brevard County.

 

Kalina Person, Tourism Development Office, stated right now there is a massive billboard campaign in the State and up to the Carolina's; she stated the Chairman of the Marketing Committee has really done a great job, negotiating some fabulous rates; and the tourism industry is 100 percent behind these billboards, and wonderful remarks and statements are being heard with how well the program is working.

 

Commissioner Fisher stated this is not General Fund money; it is TDC money, which comes out of a whole separate pot for tourism; and he thinks a great job is being done.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated each Commission gets to appoint an appointee to the TDC; he spoke with his appointee about the oversight; and she explained it to him and he is comfortable with it.

 

The Board approved the FY 2009-10 expenses over $100,000, but limited to $130,000 for advertising production to McBride Marketing and Brandt Ronat and to CBS Outdoor for billboard advertising expenses up to $375,000.

 

MOVER:             Robin Fisher, Vice Chairman/ Commissioner District 1

SECONDER:     Chuck Nelson, Commissioner District 2

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

NAYS:                 Trudie Infantini

.

 

APPROVAL, RE:  BUDGET CHANGE REQUESTS

 

Commissioner Infantin stated she is voting no on this item.

 

The Board approved the submitted Budget Change Requests.

 

MOVER:             Andy Anderson, Commissioner District 5

SECONDER:     Robin Fisher, Vice Chairman/ Commissioner District 1

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

NAYS:                 Trudie Infantini

.

 

RESOLUTION AND CONSERVATION EASEMENT TO ST. JOHNS RIVER WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT, RE:  NORTH BREVARD SENIOR CENTER NATURE TRAIL

 

Commissioner Infantini stated she brought something along for her fellow Commissioners, which is a very large rubber stamp.  She stated she did not have enough time in the past week to get enough information from St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD); she stated apparently there needs to be a conservation easement done; and she is inquiring about the proof from SJRWMD to establish that in fact the County does need to transfer and place the conservation easement on the property, because she would rather not give away property or place a conservation easement and transfer it over to SJRWMD.  She stated there was not sufficient time for her to get all of the information she needed; it would be great to table this item; and maybe staff has the proof with the regulatory requirement that states SJRWMD must have it.

 

Jack Masson, Interim Parks and Recreation Director, stated this item can be put on the next meeting if needed; however, this item has a recommendation by SJRWMD for the purpose of forever keeping this property as a conservation area; and this procedure is standard practice.

 

Commissioner Fisher stated, for the record, he thinks it is important to educate the public as to how some Commissioners operate; and then he will respond to the rubber stamp concept.  He stated as a Commissioner there are briefings that are held in offices with staff to educate on Agenda items; he stated a lot of the questions heard by Commissioner Infantini are questions that could have been asked for the last two or three weeks, but instead it was decided to ask the questions today at the podium; he explained, he tries to do his homework, understand the issue before it comes up for a vote, and then if there is a problem he will inquire at the meeting; but a lot of the questions are answered when he has his briefing and Commissioner's rely heavily on staff to give data and information on the issue with background.  He stated it is a way to manage better; some Commissioner's want to use the meeting as a time to do their research, and not have dialogue with staff; and some Commissioner's like to require dialogue with staff, to be comfortable with the Agenda item and the decision that is being made.  He stated he would like for the public to understand that the Board is not a rubber stamp; his homework is done before coming to the meetings; and he thinks that is what the constituents expect from the Board.

 

Commissioner Infantini stated if Commissioner Fisher has two or three weeks to get questions answered, then he is receiving his agenda book two or three weeks before she does; she received her agenda book one week ago, which was on Tuesday; and on Thursday she received the budget book, which is about six-inches thick; so in that amount of time, she was not able to get all the information needed; she tries to do research and gather as much information as prudent; she stated she does like to bring a lot of information before the County and voters, so it is known exactly what the Board is voting on and where the money is being spent; and she stated the voters can determine for themselves if it is prudent or not prudent.

 

Commissioner Fisher stated Commissioner Infantini might want to start meeting with staff to get some of the history on projects, so she is not guessing and starting from zero.  Commissioner Infantini advised she was not guessing and starting from zero; and she did gather most of her information.  Commissioner Fisher mentioned it is just like the Merritt Island Redevelopment Agency (MIRA) statement that was previously made incorrectly, about how it was funded or in an easement such as this that is standard practice; and he thinks the Board can get through meetings quicker if Commissioner Infantini would get with staff and study a little bit.  Commissioner Infantini stated she allocates a whole day for meetings; she was correct about the funding for MIRA, it is all how it is looked at; and she wants the public to know where the funding is going, it is not going to the General Fund, it benefits one small community.  Commissioner Fisher stated he is not trying to argue with Commissioner Infantini; he is just trying to tell her, so the public understands that others are having dialogues with staff other than today; and she is having dialogue for the first time today with staff on this issue.  Chairman Bolin mentioned she has two days of briefings; one is early in the week after she gets her Agenda book, so staff can do its research; and a second briefing before the meeting at 8:00 a.m. with Howard Tipton, County Manager, for a wrap-up in research.  She stated District 4 comes to the Board meetings totally prepared with information.

 

Commissioner Nelson stated he would like to point out the conservation easement it is part of the package; he stated Commissioner Infantini asked for the authority and it clearly states pursuant to Section 704.06 in the Florida Statues, so the information was readily available on the easement as to what the statutory authority is to require that.  He stated he finds it interesting that Commissioner Infantini has concerns with things being thrown in so quickly when there is add-ons to the Agenda, such as the one she threw in on a Friday, and did not give the rest of the Board the ability to look at it; and in addition to that, her member for the Charter Commission, Jim Rossasco, passed out something at the Charter Commission that he found interesting.  Commissioner Nelson read aloud a verbatim that says "I am now putting items on the agenda last minute, because I find if I give staff two weeks to review my Agenda item, they have more time to go to all of the individual Commissioners"; Commissioner Nelson stated that is what is called a briefing and he does not know why Commissioner Infantini believes that throwing things on at the last minute benefits the public or Commission; he inquired if that is Commissioner Infantini's method of operation to expect; he stated if there is an emergency with an item he can understand the placement on the Agenda, but to just sit here and say two weeks in advance is not enough time and putting things on at last minute seem to be contradictory.  Commissioner Infantini advised the horse stable was added on at the last minute, due to correspondence; she thinks it is germane to the budget discussions, because it is a way to raise revenue, and change what is currently being done, so rather than waiting two years to bring it back, as originally agreed, it was thought to be more appropriate to bring it back soon than later; and if an increase can be started for the County, it seemed like a good idea to her.  Commissioner Nelson stated he voted against doing what Commissioner Infantini voted to have; and had the horses been in there, it would have created over $100,000.

 

Chairman Bolin stated the Board will not be discussing the item at this time, it will be discussing the procedure of adding things on to the Agenda at the last minute; she stated she thinks the Board had voted on a cutoff time; and she inquired if was at 12:00 p.m. on Friday.  Mr. Tipton responded that is correct.  Chairman Bolin inquired if the item being discussed was added at 1:08 p.m.  Mr. Tipton responded he does not know, he was in a briefing at that time, and his office went ahead and put it on the Agenda; and he will take responsibility for adding the item.  Chairman Bolin stated the facts still remain that the item was added last minute.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated he thinks the Board is getting off its topic; and inquired if the Board could resume discussion of the item.

 

The Board adopted Resolution No. 10-119, and executed Conservation Easement to St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD) as required for the construction of the North Brevard Senior Center Nature Trail.         

 

MOVER:             Robin Fisher, Vice Chairman/ Commissioner District 1

SECONDER:     Chuck Nelson, Commissioner District 2

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

NAYS:                 Trudie Infantini

.

 

APPROVAL, RE:  DR. HEIDAR HESHMATI AS DIRECTOR OF THE BREVARD COUNTY HEALTH DEPARMENT

 

Commissioner Infantini stated she is opposed to this item now just like she was on April 6th; she stated she said in April, due to the high unemployment rate and the extreme budgetary challenges if somebody chooses to retire, such as what Dr. Heidar Heshmati had decided to do, a person should not get their retirement package and then apply for the same job again; and stated she will not be approving Dr. Heshmati's appointment as the Director of the Brevard County Health Department.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated he has spoken with Dr. Heshmati; what bothers him is, Dr. Heshmati is not a Brevard County employee; and he inquired how the County got into the situation with the State of Florida for the County, to confirm State employees, which the State does the interviews for; and no County staff member was able to sit in on interviews of the doctors who applied.  He inquired if staff can give him any history of the situation.  Howard Tipton, County Manger, responded the Health Department Director works for the Surgeon General and the Department of Health who reports to the Deputy Secretary of the State; he stated he thinks there is a close cooperative working relationship between the Department of Health and each of the individual counties; in some cases the Health Department Director works with multiple counties; he thinks it was kind of a past-practice of allowing a Board to give input; and he does not know of a case where an appointee had not been confirmed, but it is in the Statues that the State will pass it by a Board to confirm appointment.  Commissioner Anderson stated Dr. Heshmati is a great asset to the community, but it seems contrary to common sense that he has to look at approving this appointment; and there is no knowledge of who the other applicants are without a Brevard County staff member at the interview; and the State seems to be in a situation where it needs to look at its legislation.

 

Chairman Bolin inquired if Commissioner Anderson is referring to the group of five that interviewed the applicants.  Commissioner Anderson responded yes.  Chairman Bolin stated she was one of the five who were part of the interviewing process.  Commissioner Anderson inquired if Chairman Bolin was able to vote one way of the other as being apart the interviewing panel.  Chairman Bolin responded she interviewed all of the applicants.  Commissioner Anderson stated he does not want State people in County positions.

 

Commissioner Infantini stated she did not realize Chairman Bolin was on the panel to interview; she stated she feels there is a conflict of interest; it is not a reflection of the work Dr. Heshmati has done, because he has done a wonderful job, but she is against people retiring and coming back into the same position; she thinks there was a staff member who held the Interim position for Dr. Heshmati, which was probably hired by Dr. Heshmati, and the Interim employee interviewed Dr. Heshmati; she stated a County Commissioner who interviewed Dr. Heshmati, made campaign contributions to for at least one, if not two elections, would appear to be a bit of a conflict of interest and she is not comfortable with the interviewing panel; and it gives the appearance of impropriety.

 

Chairman Bolin stated she is going to comment on that, she prides herself to be a professional, she is a Commissioner, Chairman of the Board, and represents the Board fairly and honestly; she takes great offense to Commissioner Infantini making a statement that she is doing this for her own personal gain; and she reprimands Commissioner Infantini for it.  Commissioner Infantini stated she did not say that, she said it gives the appearance.  Chairman Bolin stated yes, it was said.  Commissioner Infantini stated she did not say Chairman Bolin did anything of the sort; and does not want Chairman Bolin to put words in her mouth.  Chairman Bolin stated she is just repeating what Commissioner Infantini said.

 

The Board approved the appointment of Dr. Heidar Heshmati as Director of the Brevard County Health Department.

 

 

Chairman Bolin expressed congratulations to Dr. Heshmati; and stated for him to continue to do good work for Brevard County.

 

Commissioner Nelson inquired if he can comment on this item.  Chairman Bolin responded yes.  Commissioner Nelson stated if Dr. Heshmati was coming back at his previous salary, then he would have had some concerns as well, but he is not, he is coming back basically at an entry level, and it is actually saving the County money; the County has the benefit of someone who has been doing a fabulous job for this County, coming back at a lesser salary than the County would have paid someone else coming in; the County is actually ahead of the game by having him available; and expressed his congratulations to Dr. Heshmati and welcomed him back.

 

Commissioner Fisher stated he wished Dr. Heshmati good luck.

 

MOVER:             Robin Fisher, Vice Chairman/ Commissioner District 1

SECONDER:     Chuck Nelson, Commissioner District 2

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

NAYS:                 Trudie Infantini

.

 

APPROVAL, RE:  MOSQUITO CONTROL TENTATIVE DETAILED WORK PLAN BUDGET FOR FY 2010-2011

 

The Board approved and authorized the Chairman to sign the Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services, Division of Agricultural Environmental Services, Detailed Work Plan Budget - Arthropod Control, for the fiscal year beginning October 1, 2010 and ending September 30, 2011, to qualify the Brevard Mosquito Control District as a State Certified Program.

 

MOVER:             Robin Fisher, Vice Chairman/ Commissioner District 1

SECONDER:     Andy Anderson, Commissioner District 5

AYES:                 Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

.

 

APPROVAL, RE:  AUTHORIZE MOSQUITO CONTROL DISTRICT TO OBTAIN BIDS FOR THE SALE OF THE AYRES TURBO THRUSH AIRPLANE

 

The Board approved and authorized the Mosquito Control District to surplus and obtains bids for the sale of the 2000 Ayres Turbo Thrush Airplane through the County Asset Management Office; and authorized the sale if the minimum sale/bid amount of $380,151 (90% of revised appraised value) is received.

 

MOVER:             Robin Fisher, Vice Chairman/ Commissioner District 1

SECONDER:     Andy Anderson, Commissioner District 5

AYES:                 Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

.

 

ACCEPTANCE, RE:  ROADWAY, DRAINAGE, AND UTILITY EASEMENT FROM MILDRED P. OLSEEN AND BRUCE E. OLSEEN FOR THE PURPOSE OF ACCESS AND MAINTENANCE OF A STORMWATER SEDIMENT REMOVAL

 

The Board accepted the Roadway, Drainage, and Utility Easement needed for access to a proposed stormwater baffle box for water runoff treatment at 540 Albatross Street in Merritt Island.

 

MOVER:             Robin Fisher, Vice Chairman/ Commissioner District 1

SECONDER:     Andy Anderson, Commissioner District 5

AYES:                 Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

.

 

ACCEPTANCE, RE:  QUITCLAIM DEED (QCD) FROM ST. JOHNS RIVER WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT FOR MITIGATION PROPERTIES TO BE TRANSFERRED BACK AND MANAGED BY THE ORIGINAL OWNER

 

The Board approved and accepted the Quitclaim Deed (QCD) for mitigation properties from the St. Johns River Water Management District (District) with restrictions; authorized the Chairman to execute a QCD to the original owner; and approved recording of both Quitclaim Deeds.

 

MOVER:             Robin Fisher, Vice Chairman/ Commissioner District 1

SECONDER:     Andy Anderson, Commissioner District 5

AYES:                 Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

.

 

APPROVAL, RE:  AGREEMENT WITH SANTA M. BAEZ FOR CARETAKER SERVICES AT ROAD AND BRIDGE FACILITY ON BABCOCK STREET IN PALM BAY

 

The Board granted permission for the Chairman to execute a Caretaker Agreement with Santa M. Baez for caretaker services at the Road and Bridge/Babcock Street Facility in Palm Bay; and authorized the County Manager or designee the authority to execute renewal options as outlined in the Agreement.

 

MOVER:             Robin Fisher, Vice Chairman/ Commissioner District 1

SECONDER:     Andy Anderson, Commissioner District 5

AYES:                 Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

.

 

APPROVAL FOR CHAIRMAN TO EXECUTE RIGHT-OF-WAY USE AGREEMENT WITH THE CITY OF PALM BAY, RE:  LANDSCAPE IMPROVEMENTS ON MINTON ROAD AND EXECUTE AMENDMENT TO INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT FOR MOWING COUNTY RIGHTS-OF-WAY WITHIN PALM BAY CITY LIMITS

 

The Board approved and granted permission for the Chairman to execute the Right-of-Way Use Agreement for installation and maintenance of landscaping improvements within the public right-of-way of Minton Road; and executed the Amendment to the Interlocal Agreement with the City of Palm Bay for mowing County rights-of-way within the Palm Bay City Limits.

 

MOVER:             Robin Fisher, Vice Chairman/ Commissioner District 1

SECONDER:     Andy Anderson, Commissioner District 5

AYES:                 Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

.

 

RESOLUTION AND CONVEYANCE AND MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT WITH FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, RE:  CONVEYING BREVARD COUNTY’S INTEREST FROM SARNO ROAD TO EAU GALLIE BOULEVARD

 

The Board adopted Resolution No. 10-118, and Conveyance and Memorandum of Agreement with Florida Department of Transportation for the purpose of conveying Brevard County's interest in that portion of Apollo Boulevard between Sarno Road and Eau Gallie Boulevard. 

 

MOVER:             Robin Fisher, Vice Chairman/ Commissioner District 1

SECONDER:     Andy Anderson, Commissioner District 5

AYES:                 Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

.

 

AUTHORIZATION, RE:  MUNICIPAL REVIEW OF LOCAL OPTION GAS TAX PERCENTAGE ALLOCATIONS

 

The Board certified the revenue percentage allocations, and directed County Finance to submit the allocations to the Department of Revenue.

 

MOVER:             Robin Fisher, Vice Chairman/ Commissioner District 1

SECONDER:     Andy Anderson, Commissioner District 5

AYES:                 Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

.

 

ACCEPTANCE, RE:  SIDEWALK EASEMENT FROM FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH OF TITUSVILE, INC., FOR CONSTRUCTION OF SIDEWALK ALONG RIGHT-OF-WAY OF OLD DIXIE HIGHWAY

 

The Board approved and accepted Sidewalk Easement from First Christian Church of Titusville, Inc., in favor of Brevard County needed for the proposed development of the First Christian Church of Titusville, Inc.

 

MOVER:             Robin Fisher, Vice Chairman/ Commissioner District 1

SECONDER:     Andy Anderson, Commissioner District 5

AYES:                 Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

.

 

ACCEPTANCE, RE:  QUITCLAIM DEED FOR THE TURTLE MOUND REMAINDER PROPERTIES FROM A. DUDA & SONS TO BREVARD COUNTY

 

The Board accepted the Quitclaim Deed and waived the title insurance; and waived the Phase I Environmental Assessment for the Turtle Mound Remainder properties from A. Duda & Sons.

 

MOVER:             Robin Fisher, Vice Chairman/ Commissioner District 1

SECONDER:     Andy Anderson, Commissioner District 5

AYES:                 Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

.

 

APPROVAL, RE:  TERMINATION BID #B-5-09-102 WITH GRASSINATORS LAWN SERVICE, LANDSCAPE/IRRIGATION MAINTENANCE AT GOVERNMENT CENTER VIERA AND HARRY T. AND HARRIETTE V. MOORE JUSTICE CENTER

 

The Board approved termination of Bid #B-5-09-102 with Grassinators Lawn Service for Landscape/Irrigation Maintenance at the Government Center and the Harry T. and Harriette V. Moore Justice Center in Viera; and authorized staff to solicit new bids and award a subsequent agreement.

 

MOVER:             Robin Fisher, Vice Chairman/ Commissioner District 1

SECONDER:     Andy Anderson, Commissioner District 5

AYES:                 Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

.

 

APPROVAL, RE:  REJECTION OF ALL BIDS IN RESPONSE TO BID #B-5-10-83, REMOVAL, TRANSPORTATION, AND FINAL DISPOSAL OF MULCH AND WOOD WASTE

 

The Board approved rejection of all bids received in response to Bid #B-5-10-83, Removal, Transportation, and Final Disposal of Mulch and Wood Waste; authorized staff to re-solicit bids and award; and authorized the Chairman to execute the contract.

 

MOVER:             Robin Fisher, Vice Chairman/ Commissioner District 1

SECONDER:     Andy Anderson, Commissioner District 5

AYES:                 Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

.

 

PERMISSION TO BID, RE:  ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND CONSERVATION BLOCK GRANT PROJECTS

 

The Board granted permission to bid and award projects being completed under the U.S. Department of Energy - Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant; and authorized the County Manager and/or Chairman to sign associated contracts as required by Policy BCC-25.

 

MOVER:             Robin Fisher, Vice Chairman/ Commissioner District 1

SECONDER:     Andy Anderson, Commissioner District 5

AYES:                 Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

.

 

REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS, RE:  HEATING, VENTILATING, AND AIR CONDITIONING (HVAC) SERVICE AGREEMENT

 

The Board granted permission to advertise Request for Qualifications (RFQ) from contractors for the maintenance and repair of Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems; authorized the establishment of a Selection Committee consisting of the Facilities Director or designee, Assistant County Manager Stockton Whitten or designee, and Interim Parks and Recreation Director Jack Masson or designee, to evaluate and select qualified contractors from whom bids will be accepted for an HVAC Service Agreement; authorized award of an Agreement to the lowest qualified bidder, the term of which is two years and three one-year renewal options; and authorized the Chairman to execute said Agreement, subsequent renewals, and amendments to add or delete buildings as is in the best interest in the County.

 

MOVER:             Robin Fisher, Vice Chairman/ Commissioner District 1

SECONDER:     Andy Anderson, Commissioner District 5

AYES:                 Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

.

 

APPROVAL, RE:  AMENDMENT TO HOME CONSORTIUM CONSOLIDATED PLAN, RECAPTURE GUIDELINES

 

The Board approved an amendment to the FY 2005-2010 Brevard County HOME Consortium Consolidated Plan to include Recapture Guidelines.

 

MOVER:             Robin Fisher, Vice Chairman/ Commissioner District 1

SECONDER:     Andy Anderson, Commissioner District 5

AYES:                 Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

.

 

APPROVAL, RE:  RENEWAL CONTRACT WITH BREVARD FAMILY PARTNERSHIP, INC. FOR RESIDENTIAL SERVICES AT COUNTRY ACRES CHILDREN’S HOME

 

The Board executed Renewal Contract with Brevard Family Partnership, Inc. (formerly Community Based Care of Brevard) for residential services provided at Country Acres Children's Home; and authorized the Chairman to execute future agreements, amendments, or modifications, contingent upon County Attorney and Risk Management approval.

 

MOVER:             Robin Fisher, Vice Chairman/ Commissioner District 1

SECONDER:     Andy Anderson, Commissioner District 5

AYES:                 Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

.

 

APPROVAL OF EXECUTIVE SESSION, RE:  TILLMAN/LENNEAR v. MILLER, ET AL, CASE NO. 83-cv-199-Orl-DAB

 

The Board approved the cost of advertising for, and the scheduling of, a private session on July 27, 2010, at 11:30 a.m., or as soon thereafter as possible, pursuant to Section 286.011(8), Florida Statute, in the case of Tillman/Lennear v. Miller, et al, Case No. 83-cv-199-Orl-DAB, for the purpose of discussing settlement negotiations or strategy related to litigation expenditures.

 

MOVER:             Robin Fisher, Vice Chairman/ Commissioner District 1

SECONDER:     Andy Anderson, Commissioner District 5

AYES:                 Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

.

 

APPOINTMENT, RE:  BREVARD COUNTY EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES AUTHORITY

 

The Board reappointed Philip Nohrr, Pamela Gatto, William Potter, Barbara Wall, and D. Travis Proctor, to the Educational Facilities Authority, with terms expiring December 31, 2011.

 

MOVER:             Robin Fisher, Vice Chairman/ Commissioner District 1

SECONDER:     Andy Anderson, Commissioner District 5

AYES:                 Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

.

 

ACCEPTANCE, RE:  PURCHASING CARD AUDIT REPORT AND THE CONTRACT COMPLIANCE REVIEW FOR SOLID WASTE/LANDFILL GAS PURCHASE AGREEMENT

 

The Board accepted the Audit Committee Reports for Purchasing Card and Contract Compliance Review for Solid Waste/Landfill Gas Purchase Agreement.

 

MOVER:             Robin Fisher, Vice Chairman/ Commissioner District 1

SECONDER:     Andy Anderson, Commissioner District 5

AYES:                 Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

.

 

RESOLUTION AND EASEMENT, RE:  SPACEPORT COMMERCE PARK ACCESS EASEMENT REQUEST BY CITY OF TITUSVILLE/NEWSPACE CENTER, LLC

 

The Board adopted Resolution No. 10-120, and executed a 160-foot by approximately 400-foot public access Easement with the City of Titusville for property located in the Spaceport Commerce Park.

 

MOVER:             Robin Fisher, Vice Chairman/ Commissioner District 1

SECONDER:     Andy Anderson, Commissioner District 5

AYES:                 Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

.

 

APPROVAL OF SUBGRANT AGREEMENT WITH FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY AFFAIRS, RE:  FY2010-2011 EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERFORMANCE GRANT

 

The Board executed Subgrant Agreement with Florida Department of Community Affairs for FY 2010/2011 Emergency Management Performance Grant; and authorized the County Manger or his designee to submit and execute any additional changes, documents, or amendments required under the grant contract.

 

MOVER:             Robin Fisher, Vice Chairman/ Commissioner District 1

SECONDER:     Andy Anderson, Commissioner District 5

AYES:                 Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

.

 

APPROVAL, RE:  AGREEMENT WITH FLORIDA POWER & LIGHT (FP&L) FOR EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS

 

The Board executed Agreement with Florida Power & Light Company (FP&L) for Emergency Preparedness; authorized the County Manager or his designee to sign all further submissions to the Agreement; and waived the general prohibition of mandatory arbitration clauses for the Agreement.

 

MOVER:             Robin Fisher, Vice Chairman/ Commissioner District 1

SECONDER:     Andy Anderson, Commissioner District 5

AYES:                 Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

.

 

APPOINTMENTS, RE:  BREVARD WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT BOARD

 

The Board appointed/reappointed Ann Luke, Jack Rood, Dr. James Drake, Dayle Olson, Tracy Anania, Travis Proctor, and Mike McBride, to the Brevard Workforce Development Board, with terms expiring June 30, 2013.

 

MOVER:             Robin Fisher, Vice Chairman/ Commissioner District 1

SECONDER:     Andy Anderson, Commissioner District 5

AYES:                 Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

.

 

APPOINTMENTS/REAPPOINTMENTS, RE:  CITIZEN ADVISORY BOARDS

 

The Board appointed/reappointed John W. De Bickes to the Contractor's Licensing Board, with term expiring December 31, 2010; Luba Parker to the Library Board, with term expiring December 31, 2010; David Hosley to the Titusville-Cocoa Airport Authority, with term expiring July 13, 2013; and Dave Pasley to the Zoning Board of Adjustment, with term expiring December 31, 2010.

 

MOVER:             Robin Fisher, Vice Chairman/ Commissioner District 1

SECONDER:     Andy Anderson, Commissioner District 5

AYES:                 Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

.

 

APPROVAL, RE:  BILLS

 

The Board approved the billfolder, as submitted.

 

MOVER:             Robin Fisher, Vice Chairman/ Commissioner District 1

SECONDER:     Andy Anderson, Commissioner District 5

AYES:                 Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

.

 

PUBLIC HEARING, RE:  FY 2010-2011 BREVARD COUNTY HOME CONSORTIUM CONSOLIDATED ACTION PLAN AND FY 2010-2011 ANNUAL CDBG ACTION PLAN

 

Chairman Bolin called for the public hearing to consider FY 2010-2011 Brevard County HOME Consortium Action Plan and FY 2010-2011 Annual CDBG Action Plan.

 

Chairman Bolin stated she would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge Bob Neighbors, a former long-term County Attorney in Brevard County; and she expressed her thanks to him coming today.

 

Chairman Bolin stated she would also like to take this opportunity to give heartfelt sympathies from the Board to Commissioner Nelson, because his mother passed away during the June break.  Commissioner Nelson expressed his appreciation.

 

Commissioner Fisher inquired if there are any speaker cards for this item.  Chairman Bolin responded no.

 

Ian Golden, Housing and Human Services Director, stated today’s item is approval for public hearing; and the final approval of the item will be July 27, 2010.

 

There being no further comments or objections, the Board held public hearing, as required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), for the purpose of receiving the public comments on the goals and priorities set forth in the HOME Investment Partnership (HOME) Consortium's Consolidated Annual Action Plan, and the recommended HOME and Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding priorities set forth in Brevard County's 2010-2011 Annual Action Plan.  Final approval of the funding allocations for the 2010-2011 Annual Action Plan will be presented to the Board on July 27, 2010.

 

MOVER:             Robin Fisher, Vice Chairman/ Commissioner District 1

SECONDER:     Andy Anderson, Commissioner District 5

AYES:                 Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

.

 

RESOLUTION, RE:  CREATING A WORKING GROUP TO EVALUATE AND PROVIDE RECOMMENDED CHANGES TO THE BREVARD COUNTY COMPREHENSIVE PLAN, CONSERVATION ELEMENT, SPECIFICALLY OBJECTIVE 4, FLOOD HAZARD AREAS AND OBJECTIVE 5, WETLANDS

 

Chairman Bolin stated there are four public speaker cards for this item.

 

Mel Scott, Assistant County Manager, stated this item is a proposal to put together a working group that evaluates two specific areas of the Comprehensive Plan; the Board has previously given direction to staff to investigated the possibilities of identifying some flexibility to these policies that have been in place for sometime; it addresses the Floodplain Policies that are found in the Conservation Element, and Wetland Policies, which are found in the same Element; and it also is consistent with previous Board direction.  He stated staff has been tasked to brainstorm various interests that would represent a broad cross section of interests of the users and beneficiaries of the policies; he stated there is a very tight timeframe, so what staff has done, as a preamble to this item, is to make sure if the Board should move on any of these interests, people would be in place, so the work can be done immediately; it is anticipated to only have about 30 days to brainstorm possible modifications to this policy if the implementations were to be put in the next Comprehensive Plan amendment cycle; and stated for the viewing public, the County is allowed to amend the Comprehensive Plan twice per year, the deadline for the pending amendment cycle has already come and gone, so the County will be attempting to craft some policy language to insert into this amendment package that is actually awaiting this exercise.  He stated he hopes his explanation helped set the table for the Agenda item.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated due to Mr. Scott's time dilemma, the Board is just looking at the working group structure, but each Commissioner has an appointee; and inquired when the appointee is needed.  Mr. Scott responded due to the uniqueness of the timeframe, he would also like for the Board to entertain relaxing some of the past practices that it has done, so success can be set up with doing this in such a short timeframe; and he stated if the Board were to approve this with its appointees, staff will take the appointees, start working, and the Board will then recognize the makeup of the committee at a previous Board meeting, but they must have had a meeting or two, because time is just that precious.  He stated he would like to add whatever makeup it turns out being, he wants to make it very clear to anyone who would be interested in participating, the public comment is going to be really a free willing session; and because the member would not be identified as a stakeholder in the working group, it does not translate into the inability to participate in the discussions and the brainstorming; and anybody is welcome that has a view to be part of this process.

 

Glen Storch stated this is a difficult issue that is trying to be resolved and worked together on; he wants to share some of his experiences he had in Volusia County when he was a member of the Smart Growth Implementation Committee; it dealt with very difficult issues in environmental development; and the committee was developed to ensure fairness and credibility, to split the groups equally such as home builders, Sierra Club, land owners, and Audubon Society, which worked very well in that regard.  He stated it was questioned how it would work, but in fact, a resolution was passed that in order to make any recommendations to the Board there had to be 70 percent of that working group agree to it; and that process may want to be used in Brevard County.  He stated he is recommending the 70 percent agreement based upon his own experiences, to make certain there is equal representation from all the different diverse areas; and a super majority vote type of regulations be put in place before it becomes before the Board.  He stated in his experience it worked out wonderfully; a conservation corridor was put in place to protect over 60,000 acres; and there were a lot of good things that came out of the working group, that are now in place in the Volusia County Comprehensive Plan.

 

Tom Schuller, Farm Bureau representative, expressed his appreciation to the Board for going ahead with the process of having input from interested parties; but he thinks the way this came about was at the last Board meeting when Ernie Brown, Natural Resources Management Director, explained the rules had changed because of the wetlands.  He stated the general consensus from everyone who was there was who wrote the proposed changes; he stated he thinks it was the Natural Resources Management Office that drafted the proposed changes; and the out-cry was why was there no input from interested parties, which he is glad now that is being done; but when he looked at the list that was put together, it was not a balanced group.  He stated as a representative from the Farm Bureau, he is glad they were included in the group; Deseret Ranch, which is the largest landowner, and will be dealing with the wetlands issues, the Cattlemen's Association, and on a County level, David Miller, Soil Conservation representative, who is funded, were all left out of the group.  He stated as a conservative, he has looked at the list, and there is nobody on the list from the Coalition of Private Property Rights; he stated anything that impacts a property, via regulation or a rule, they should have some input from some private property rights group; and he stated he thinks the list needs to be revisited and more balanced.  He stated Agriculture Extension was also left off of the list; the University of Florida is involved in all the research that is done with wetlands and related issues, which has a wealth of knowledge, and they were left out of the process.  He stated he urges the Board to look at the list and try to come up with a more balanced approach to this process.   

      

Commissioner Fisher stated he was going over the list of choices yesterday with Mr. Storch and Mr. Schuller; it helped him to see the big picture; he stated he put a "D" for developer or "E" for environmentalist next to each listed name; and he stated the American Society of Civil Engineers as a "D", and Florida Surveying and Mapping Society of Land Surveyors as a "D".  He inquired if Mr. Schuller agrees with him.  Mr. Schuller responded when one caveat group is added like that, it empowers them to make regulations that, that group will get a piece-of-the-pie in the process, which he noticed in the Landscaping and Tree Ordinance; and the same thing is going to happen with this.  Commissioner Fisher inquired if surveyors needed to be added, he thinks surveyors need to be a part of the equation.  Mr. Schuller responded he thinks surveyors understand the issues.  Commissioner Fisher stated Home Builders and Contractors Association is clearly a "D"; and Brevard Farm Bureau is a "D".  Mr. Schuller stated he thinks the Farm Bureau is neutral; and the last thing wanted to do is sell the farms; and build homes.  Commissioner Fisher stated the Florida Floodplain Manager's Association is ranked "E"; Society of Wetland Scientists has dropped out; the American Planning Association, Florida Chapter is an "E"; Turtle Coast Sierra Club is an "E"; Marine Resources Council is an "E"; Partnership for a Sustainable Future is an "E"; and Brevard Nature Alliance is a "D" and an "E".  He stated it will also include each Commissioner’s appointee, but the list provided on the Agenda Report has a ranking of four "D's" and four "E's"; he stated at first he thought there were more "E's" than "D's"; and it seems to be balanced.

 

Mr. Storch stated if there is equal representation from both groups, the working group will be in good shape with how to start the process; and it will be surprising to see how the different groups can work together.

 

Commissioner Fisher stated he does like the 70 percent suggestion; and he inquired if one or two of the group members does not move on the vote, is the suggestion dead.  Mr. Storch responded no, there can still be an individual report, but it cannot give a recommendation of the entire committee back to this Board.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated he has been corresponding with staff on this matter since he received the information; he stated he has some of the same concerns; it is nice to have ideology entered into the equation; he looks at stakeholders being prudent in the business community to be a part of the working group; and he was even thinking about the Chamber of Commerce being part of the working group, to get actual representation from business interests.  He stated he is adamant about the Cattlemen's Association being involved in this process; and he thinks there is no way to do this without their representation.

 

Commissioner Infantini stated she has asked staff for each of the support organizations email and website addresses; she stated one of the organizations would appear to be a party of one, she recommends removing Partnership for a Sustainable Future and adding Deseret Ranch, because of them being the largest property owner, or the Cattlemen's Association; it will even out the "D's" and "E's"; and she is aware of each Commissioner having an appointee, whether it be a "D" or "E", it will have an original balance.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated there is an email, which he added to the packet, from the Cattlemen's Association requesting representation too.

 

Commissioner Nelson stated he is going to disagree with Commissioner Infantini on the Partnership for a Sustainable Future; he thinks that by her comment alone it will now rally around that fact that she has now called them an organization of one; the Partnership for a Sustainable Future needs to stay on the working group; and he has no problem adding the Cattlemen's Association.  He stated he is going to disagree with the ranking of the American Planning Association, it is not an "E", because most of the representatives seen are speaking on behalf of the development community, so the ranking may be neutral at best.

 

Mr. Schuller stated he urges Commissioner Nelson to go to the American Planning Association's website and read their mission statement; and he thinks an "E" ranking would fit.  Commissioner Nelson stated he appreciates the information from Mr. Schuller, but he also knows from his experiences of being on the Board and going through major projects, he assures Mr. Schuller that the American Planning Association's represent their clients very well, in terms of what the clients would like to see done with properties; and he thinks they will do what their client wants to do; and he does not know if that gives them a position in that overall.  He stated he certainly thinks the Cattlemen's Association should be added.  

 

William Ferrell, Ferrell Ranch representative, stated he comes before the Board today wearing his farmers’ hat; and stated his family has been in the farming business for a very long time.  He stated he has a little bit of a problem with new ordinances and change; he has had a very difficult time with the business community in the farming community; he hopes that something else is not being added, because he went through the Tree Ordinance of filing a claim about where the trees and floodplain's are; and it can be very arbitrary.  He stated he did not know that Mr. Brown was out of town, he did not know much about this until before the meeting, but he thinks it would be good to get some of the large farming interests involved, because it involves their properties; he has been out and seen trucks and helicopters show up when he has been trying to plant some grass or clean a ditch; and he feels he is not doing anything bad.  He stated it seems that everybody wants fees and he thinks he has the right to farm without disturbing the land, because all he is doing is planting some new grass in some fields, which does need to be done every so often; then he feels like everybody comes after him wanting a bunch of money, because he is out of regulation; and it has been that way for 40 to 50 years as farmers.  He stated it is a bit aggravating and he does not know where this is all coming from, but he thinks it would be good to have balance on the working group; there are impacts every time something new is started; he is not seeing a lot of politics at the market; there needs to be some thinking done with balancing the finances; his investment advisor is telling him there is not much news that is good, there are no rules and regulations coming up this week, and the market is up 120-points; but every time regulations are in place, it stifles private enterprise in the market.  He stated he really does not know what this is all about or where it is coming from; he knows Mr. Brown is serving his country; and he wishes Mr. Brown were here, because this needs to be done right with the farmers.  He stated the Floodplain Regulations on a Comprehensive Plan could take a person's property away, it will have to be looked at very closely; and he has been a commercial appraiser for years and he has seen floodplain ordinances change property values.  He stated he does not know what the goal is, but changes to the Comprehensive Plan are very scary for him because it is very difficult to do business in Brevard County right now, with all of the regulations, which some are needed to protect resources; and he wants the Board to take a balanced look at it.

 

Maureen Rupe, President, Partnership for a Sustainable Future, inquired what Commissioner Infantini meant by the Partnership for a Sustainable Future being only one person.  Commissioner Infantini responded she went to each party involved websites and was not able to find any additional contact information other than Ms. Rupe's name; and she was trying to see the likelihood of different people being a part of the organizations.  Ms. Rupe stated the Partnership for a Sustainable Future does not have a website.  Commissioner Infantini stated she does not know what she found, but she did find something with Ms. Rupe's name on it; and she was not able to find any information about Ms. Rupe's organization.  Ms. Rupe expressed her thanks to Commissioner Fisher for ranking all the choices, because she was going to ask the Board to do so; she stated she thinks there are only two environmental groups on the list, which are the Marine Resources Council and the Sierra Club; and the membership in the Partnership for a Sustainable Future have members from the Marine Resources Council and the Sierra Club.  She stated some of the member partnerships that the Partnership for a Sustainable Future has are the Cocoa Beach Citizen Action Committee, South Mainland Citizen Coalition, and the League of Women Voters; there are quite a few members, that are not purely environmental; and there are members that are environmental.  She stated she was disappointed to not see the original groups of the law suit over these wetlands, which were the Native Plant and Audubon involvement; she stated she would have been willing to give up the Partnership for a Sustainable Future's spot for one of them; but she did put on the Partnership for a Sustainable Future a Native Plant member.  She stated she has been on a lot of these types of boards and committees in the past 24 years, and at the very end the environmentalist have always been at a disadvantage; and she is asking the Board to go ahead with the list as it is.

 

Commissioner Fisher stated he agrees to add the farmers and Cattlemen's Association; he stated he likes the 70 percent rule that Mr. Storch came up with, and the University of Florida is always good to have to tap into those resources; and inquired if the list can be expanded, not delete anyone, and add the University of Florida Extension, the Cattlemen's Association, and make a rule within the Board that 70 percent of them agree before it becomes a recommendation to this Board.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated he wants to make sure he is clear that each Commissioner will give Mr. Scott the name of his or her appointee and the Cattlemen's Association will be notified.  Mr. Scott stated yes.  He inquired if he could have clarification of the slight modification to the motion; he stated to actually utilize the Extensions recourses in helping the County through this process, to tap into University of Central Florida's resources, as facilitators for technical background, and add Deseret Ranch, Cattlemen's Association, and plug in the 70 percent for recommendations being forwarded, if that is the pleasure of Commissioner Fisher to work through this process, but not give Extension a vote necessarily.

 

Commissioner Nelson stated he thought the Board was talking about the Cattlemen's Association being a good representative rather than Deseret Ranch.

Mr. Scott expressed his thanks to the Board for the clarification, with Deseret Ranch being the representative for the Cattlemen's Association.

 

Chairman Bolin inquired about the suggestion of the soil conservation.  Commissioner Fisher responded he personally thinks more people around the table are good; and stated he does not have a problem with that.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated he is fine with it also.

 

Commissioner Nelson stated he thinks there has been a threshold reached where there are so many, that another one is not going to make a difference, and its either keep it small, or at the this point, the number does not matter.  He stated he wants to clarify something for Mr. Ferrell; this started by Commissioner Anderson asking staff to look at things that were actually restrictive; he knows Mr. Ferrell's concerns are he thinks it is going to become more restrictive; he thinks the original intent was to look at things that were causing it to be restrictive; and Mr. Ferrell needs to look in the other direction for it to be a better way as opposed to making it more restrictive.  He stated the County does not own any helicopters that would be swooping down on his property; and he just wanted to make it clear that it was not the County.

 

Commissioner Anderson inquired if the representatives for the Board can be read aloud for him to ensure he has the list correct.  Mr. Scott responded American Society of Civil Engineers; Florida Surveying and Mapping Society of Land Surveyors; Home Builders and Contractors Association; Brevard County Farm Bureau; Florida Floodplain Managers Association; American Planning Association, Florida Chapter; Turtle Coast Sierra Club; Marine Resources Council; Partnership for a Sustainable Future; Brevard Nature Alliance; Cattlemen's Association, with a representative from Deseret Ranch; and Soil and Water Conservation District.

 

Commissioner Anderson inquired if the representative from Deseret Ranch is necessary, because he thinks the Cattlemen's Assciation can select whoever it wants.  Commissioner Nelson stated to let the Cattlemen's Association pick whoever it wants.  Mr. Scott advised it is dually noted.

 

Commissioner Fisher inquired if Mr. Farrell has something to add.  Mr. Farrell inquired if the working group could have a couple of cattleman representatives.  Chairman Bolin responded if more than one is added then, more representatives or organizations will have to be added for the other group types.

 

Commissioner Fisher stated the Cattlemen will have representation.

 

The Board adopted Resolution No. 10-121, creating a stakeholders Working Group to evaluate and provide recommendations to the Board regarding changes to the Brevard County Comprehensive Plan, Conservation Element; specifically Objective 4, Flood Hazard Areas and Objective 5, Wetlands; and approved the following membership or organization to be a part of the Working Group:  American Society of Civil Engineers; Florida Surveying and Mapping Society of Land Surveyors; Home Builders and Contractors Association; Brevard County Farm Bureau; Florida Floodplain Managers Association; American Planning Association, Florida Chapter; Turtle Coast Sierra Club; Marine Resources Council; Partnership for a Sustainable Future; Brevard Nature Alliance; Brevard County Soil and Water Conservation District; Florida Cattlemen's Association; and five at large members representing the general citizenry who reside or operate in Brevard County to be appointed at each Commissioner's discretion.  The Board further directed the Working Group to have a 70 percent approval of recommendations regarding any proposed changes or revisions before presenting recommendations to the Board.

 

 

Commissioner Anderson inquired if staff can let him know as soon as the Cattlemen's Association tells who its representative will be, because he will be making his decision based on who its representative is; and stated staff can call him with the information.  Mr. Scott responded yes, he will call him once he knows who.

 

 

The Board recessed at 11:06 a.m. and reconvened at 11:18 a.m.

 

MOVER:             Robin Fisher, Vice Chairman/ Commissioner District 1

SECONDER:     Trudie Infantini, Commissioner District 3

AYES:                 Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

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BOARD DIRECTION, RE:  DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY AFFAIRS v. BREVARD COUNTY DOAH CASE NO. 10-1158GM EAR BASED AMENDMENTS (PART 1) AND FARMTON (PART 2)

 

Eden Bently, Deputy County Attorney, stated this item has to do with the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) v. Brevard County case regarding the Ear Based Amendments (Part 1) and Farmton Comprehensive Plan Amendments (Part 2); there was a offer made in a mediation by DCA to enter into a joint-motion to continue negotiating with the County regarding the Ear Based Amendments if the County would re-send the Farmton Amendments, which is an offer that was needed to be brought to the Board and gone through by staff with the various options available to the Board; Option 1 would be to reject the offer and proceed to trial; Option 2 would be to request more time, to negotiate, and authorize staff to advertise an amendment to Ordinance 09-36 Ear Amendments and Ordinance 09-37 Farmton Amendments, because as of yesterday evening, it requested an advertisement to amend the Farmton Amendments; Option 3 would be to accept the offer from DCA; and she stated staff is recommending Option 2.

 

Glenn Storch, Loughman, Storch, and Harris representing Farmton, stated he has reviewed the options with staff and there are two goals; one is to create an economic development gateway at the north part of Brevard County, which he thinks is so important for job production and Brevard County's future; and two is to do everything he can to help for it to prevent payment of taxpayer dollars with this issue.  He stated he recommends Option 2, to continue to work, to try to find a solution with DCA; and stated he will not give up on this process.  He stated there is now secured control of the northwest and southwest parcels at the intersection, and it will become a reality.

 

The Board directed staff to ask for more time to address offer, and to advertise, to rescind portions of Ordinance 09-36 and Ordinance 09-37, as requested by Farmton; and approved to continue negotiating and preparing for trial.

 

MOVER:             Robin Fisher, Vice Chairman/ Commissioner District 1

SECONDER:     Chuck Nelson, Commissioner District 2

AYES:                 Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

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DISCUSSION, RE:  DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE’S REQUEST FOR INPUT ON THE PROPERTY APPRAISER’S BUDGET REQUEST

 

Commissioner Infantini stated she wanted to get the Commissioners to approve going to the Department of Revenue (DOR), to let them know that it is expected of the Property Appraiser's Office, to adjust its budget just as the County had to adjust its budget, by a reduction of 12 percent; and she thinks it needs another three percent, possibly four percent cut, to keep it in line with the rest of Brevard County.  She stated it needs to be in a letter from the Board instead of a letter from her, because that is what she was told last year when she tried to do the same thing; and she stated that is the direction she would like to take.

 

Chairman Bolin inquired if there is any discussion needed for this item.

 

Commissioner Fisher inquired if this is something that the Board is going to request out of all of the Constitutional Officer's or is it just the Property Appraiser; he stated he knows the County is reducing by 12 percent; and is that being asked by all the Constitutional Officer's.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated his position on this is; first the abilities of their work has changed dramatically in the last five years with new legislation allowing them to do its  assessments from aerial views, and they do not have to have their feet on the ground anymore.  He stated, for example, the Sheriff cannot catch bad guys from the air, they need the feet on the ground, but in this incidence there is a formal process of steps to take with the Department of Revenue, to ask for them to get in line.  He stated Commissioner Infantini and he represent the Board with the Value Adjustment Board (VAB) process; the employees of the Property Appraiser are telling Commissioner Infantini and he that it is changing the scope in the amount of work it is doing, to support the VAB function; and that should be reflected in the Property Appraiser's budget also.

 

Commissioner Fisher stated he knows all the agencies came in and had some dialogue with staff; he was curious of the opinion of staff on this; inquired how much was staff able to look into those budgets and make any determinations of whether it is reasonable or not; and stated at the end of the day, the taxes are collected and the County wants to get the money.

 

Howard Tipton, County Manager, stated the Property Appraiser's Office are the ones who set the values of the properties upon which the taxes are collected; the conversations were held with each of the Constitutional Officer's, he asked them at the beginning of the budget process each to see if their budgets could be reduced by 15 percent, and the County departments to reduce by 20 and 40 percent; and in conversations with Mr. Ford specifically, his initial budget proposal was to reduce by three or four percent, and in subsequent conversations with him, he is going to come in around six percent or so in overall reduction, compared to last year.  He stated he thinks the Tax Collector has held steady or reduced slightly, the Sheriff is holding steady, Supervisor of Elections is down about 10 percent, and the Courts are down slightly; overall everyone is coming to the table; it would be wonderful if more could be reduced, but staffs perception is their mandated Constitutional responsibilities, to do it is difficult and  whether or not to reduce more is independent from the staff telling the Property Appraiser to reduce more.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated the budget that was handed out to the Board last week shows it has changed, because now it is showing a three percent decrease in their budget.

 

Mr. Tipton stated according to Mr. Ford, he made the initial budget submission; and he is working on an additional budget submission, that will double to six percent.

 

Commissioner Infantini stated unfortunately that is not in writing and there is a time certain deadline to get information to the Department of Revenue, which is why she tried to get this item on last weeks meeting, and it got moved to the 13th; it needs to be submitted by the 15th; and the other Constitutional Officer's are not really in play right now until all of the Board's numbers are found.  She stated she appreciates the comments, but she has finally seen Lori Scott, Supervisor of Elections, enhance and increase what her office does; she stated she knows Lisa Cullen, Tax Collector, has enhanced what she is doing in her office; and all that the Board got back at the VAB meeting was all the things the Property Appraiser is no longer going to do for the County, which is why she wanted to move forward on this.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated he appreciates it if the Property Appraiser has doubled the reduction; there is a deadline by the 15th to submit; and inquired if Mr. Tipton has anything in writing showing Mr. Ford will be reducing.  Mr. Tipton responded it was just a conversation.  Commissioner Anderson stated he still suggests a letter be sent, as a formality, and that way the Board will be covered all the way around.

 

Commissioner Nelson stated the Board is going to ask Mr. Ford for a 12 percent reduction, but the Board has no specifics of what its asking for.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated it was going to be six percent and there is nothing in writing.

 

Commissioner Nelson inquired what the motion was.  Commissioner Infantini responded the motion is to request the Department of Revenue require Mr. Ford to submit a budget of 12 percent less than he submitted last year.  She stated Mr. Ford does have an extensive fleet of vehicles, which she thinks are finally starting to be turned back in, but like Commissioner Anderson stated, the Property Appraiser's Office is allowed to do aerial inspections; and that should save a tremendous amount of costs in vehicles and time on the road.

 

Commissioner Nelson stated he is comfortable with the six percent, because it was a commentary that came from Mr. Ford; he stated 12 percent is just arbitrary; there is no basis for the Board to do that other than that is what the Board wants to give him; the Board does not have the ability to get into that budget, and anything else is just incidental commentary on how many vehicles the Property Appraiser's Office has; and he thinks it is a sure loss for the Board when it goes to the Department of Revenue.  He stated he is okay with the fact that Mr. Ford stated to the Mr. Tipton the six percent, but not 12 percent.

 

Commissioner Infantini stated if Mr. Ford would participate in the furloughs it will help him to get close to the 12 percent; and she is just asking Mr. Ford to do the same thing the County is doing.  She mentioned she is not asking any more of Mr. Ford, she is just asking him to do at least what the County is doing and requiring of its employees; when she starts thinking about other departments not requiring the same from its employees, she cannot support that; so she is going to leave her motion at 12 percent.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated an exact percentage does not have to be in there; and he thinks the critical thing is to get a letter stating Mr. Ford's budget decrease should reflect a decrease in other governmentally entities within the County.

 

Commissioner Infantini stated the letter should say Brevard County's budget is asking for a budget decrease of 12 percent, so it can give DOR a point of reference; and she expressed her thanks to Commissioner Anderson.

 

Commissioner Fisher stated he is fine with the letter of percentage decrease; and the County needs to be careful, because Mr. Ford is a revenue collecting agency for this County.

 

Commissioner Anderson inquired if Commissioner Infantini will amend her motion.  Commissioner Infantini responded she will amend the motion to give commentary that the County is reducing its budget by approximately 12 percent; and the County would like consideration from DOR with regards to Mr. Ford's budget.

 

The Board authorized Chairman Bolin to send a letter to the Department of Revenue, informing it that Brevard County is decreasing its budget by approximately 12 percent; and she is requesting consideration from Department of Revenue that the Brevard County Property Appraiser, Jim Ford, also decrease his budget.

 

MOVER:             Trudie Infantini, Commissioner District 3

SECONDER:     Andy Anderson, Commissioner District 5

AYES:                 Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

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DISCUSSION, RE:  WICKHAM PARK EQUESTRIAN CENTER

 

Commissioner Bolin stated in November 2000 the voters approved the South Brevard Recreation Bond Referendum, which the Equestrian Center was part of; the Equestrian Center was designed by an advisory committee, and was built in August 2006; she was elected Commissioner in November 2006; statements have been made that she designed the Center; and she would like to set the record straight that she was not even in office when the Center was built, but she inherited it.  She advised when she became Commissioner there was a lot of controversy as far as the best profitable use of the Equestrian Center; at that time, there was not a history of anyone on staff, nor the Board, with expertise in equestrian centers; and at that time, the Board decided to hire a consultant to provide information to help the Board decide what to do with the Equestrian Center, and whether it should be used for long-term boarding, or if it should be used for horse shows and short-term boarding.  She noted many meetings were held with the equestrian community; the final report suggested the most profitable use would be to use the Center for horse shows; as everyone knows, the economy has made a down-turn; the horse shows did not materialize; and the barns are what they are today.  She stated it is most certainly the concern of the Board that the barns are used for the best and highest use for business purposes; after discussion by the Board, she would like to direct staff to prepare an RFP to go out for bid; but she would like to make some comments on the RFP.  She noted because of the layoffs in the Parks and Recreation Department, there is not the staff to be the monitor, nor the manager, of the facility; she would suggest an RFP be put out in order to find a company that can run the Equestrian Center; the company would be in charge of the stalls and how they are rented or used; and it would also give local businesses that specialize in boarding the ability to bid on the RFP.  She noted at the time the Board was making a decision on the facility, there was a State Law in place prohibiting the County from leasing on a one-to-one basis for stalls; the Ordinance is still in place; and as of January 1, 2010, that law has been changed, which now allows the Board to move forward with an RFP.  She stated another item to consider under the RFP is that there should be dates set aside for non-profit agencies that use the Equestrian Center.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated as one of the original Commissioners who voted not to do boarding at the Equestrian Center, he agrees with the RFP process; when the Board made the motion to hold horse shows for dressage, a rubber-based material was laid down for the horses to walk on; in the last six months he has had the opportunity to attend some different horse events, such as barrel racing, which draws huge crowds; but barrel racing has been completely shut out of the Equestrian Center because of the rubber-based material, which would have to be scooped up and replaced at the cost of taxpayers; in hindsight, the Board should have been more open to junior rodeos, barrel racing, and not so much the show side; and he thinks that is where a mistake was made.  He stated if the Board wants to go out for an RFP, then he is fine with that; but he still thinks for the arena areas the Board needs to find out a way to still generate revenues and get more creative on how to attract those other activities that are not purely show activities.  He stated he believes there is the ability to generate a lot of money; he was at an impromptu barrel racing event in Fellsmere that had approximately 500 people and vendors; the event was held on private property; and the County is missing out on that business with a state-of-the-art arena. 

 

Commissioner Infantini stated she disagrees that the Board needs to have a business come in to manage the stable rentals; renting 48 stables and collecting rent from individuals is not a difficult task; she thinks the ability of the Parks and Recreation Department is being underestimated; in the past, it was the park ranger who was responsible for collecting the monthly rent; she does not think it is a difficult function; and she would like to find out what is a fair market rate for renting the stables and getting them open.  She stated the County has been losing approximately $100,000 per year for its prior lapse in judgment; and the sooner staff can get an RFP put together, the better.  She stated she does not think the Board needs to hire a professional manger, as it has already paid $12,000 in consulting fees to find out the best use of the Equestrian Center.

 

Jack Masson, Interim Parks and Recreation Director, advised the consultant fee was $12,000; and the decision as to the direction in which to go was made by the Board in February 2009.  He stated in reference to staffing, Parks and Recreation is facing unprecedented layoffs for the next proposed fiscal year; the Equestrian Center requires more than a park ranger for the collection of rent; there is also an accounting process; there is a lot of staff involvement in the maintenance of a stall area; and the Board may be slightly underestimating the responsibility of Parks and Recreation staff for the facility. 

 

Commissioner Fisher stated he would like to see the Board get out of the horse business all together; over 90 employees are going to be laid off in Parks and Recreation; it is going to be difficult to operate what the County already has; he would like to see the Board handle the Equestrian Center like it does its concessions; and the Board would then get a flat rental fee while providing a service to the community. 

 

Commissioner Anderson stated he agrees with Commissioner Fisher; if the Board is going to go towards a boarding situation, a private vendor should be able to bid on it, and run it as a concession; and inquired if a vendor takes control of the facility as a concession, what is the liability to the County.  Scott Knox, County Attorney, replied the County will require the vendor to carry insurance; if the County is sued for something that happens on the premises, the Board can expect a lawsuit to come through.  Commissioner Anderson inquired if the private company would still have to carry insurance; with Attorney Knox responding both the lessee and the County could still be sued; and whether the County would be liable or not would depend on the circumstance.

 

Commissioner Nelson stated what is being forgotten is if Parks and Recreation runs the facility, it is also collecting revenue, which would create the positions necessary to do the maintenance; and whether the Board goes with concession or County operation, either way it will generate revenue that should run the facility.  He noted the stables were assumed to be losing money, but that was not really the circumstance; the way the budget is put together for Wickham Park is that all those revenues go into a big pot that operates the entire park; in effect, other uses at the park were taking away those revenues for cleaning restrooms and other things that were not associated with the stables; but if it was broken out into its own enterprise piece it certainly would be breaking even, or better.  He stated he agrees with Commissioner Infantini; his point has always been that it was on the referendum; there is a 30-plus year history of being involved in stables; and at this late date, it is hard to say that the County should not be doing that.  He stated the horse community was promised the Equestrian Center; and he would like to see it go back in that direction.

 

Tom Schuller, Brevard County Farm Bureau, stated what the Board has in the Equestrian Center is a lemon; he is hearing the Board say it wants to put the stables out for bid; if horse boarding was such a great enterprise, foreclosed stables would not be on the Farm Bureau's website; there are ads every day on Craigslist for boarding; and it is not a great economic enterprise.  He stated if the Board decides to rent out the stables, it is going to be a money pit rather than a money maker; he cannot imagine the man hours the County will have to incur in dealing with running the stables; and it is not a good situation.  He stated he agrees with Commissioner Anderson in that he wishes the facility was built differently in order to hold multiple uses; currently it is only built for dressage shows; the fair holds a rodeo at the Equestrian Facility and receives nothing but complaints from the individuals that go to the Center because it is not built for a western-type of event; and if it was, he could see holding 4-H events there, as well as races, the junior ranch rodeos, and the new ranch rodeo programs that are happening all over the State.  He stated he would like the Board to try to look at more multi-uses with a different type of facility for other groups to be able to use it; other than that, he thinks it will be a lose/lose situation; and inquired what will happen when the County starts having to euthanize horses.  He stated every day on Craigslist, there are horses listed for giveaway to good homes because people cannot afford to feed them anymore; the same thing will happen at the Equestrian Center; and it will be a nightmare.

 

Commissioner Nelson stated he disagrees with Mr. Schuller; things did not happen before as he described; what the Board has is just an old facility; often, in a profit-motive circumstance, money is not made; and that is not what the Board is trying to do.  He stated the Board is trying to provide a service to break even, which is a different motivator; the Board does not have to pay for the land, as it is public land already; and he would like to hear from the other Commissioners.

 

Commissioner Fisher stated his vision is that the Board come up with a minimum monthly rent it collects; allow the operator to lease, or run programs, or whatever he or she needs to do to generate revenue; the operator will board horses at whatever rate he or she has to charge in order to make the return needed; the Board would still be providing the service to the community; pressure would not be put on County staff for the maintenance, as it would be under the operator's agreement; and if the process is put out for bid, then the Board will find out how many operators are out there willing to do it.

 

Chairman Bolin stated she agrees with Commissioner Fisher; she would like to have the facility go to a company because she would not want Brevard County government, as a entity, lease barns as a competitor against its fellow businesses that would do the same service; and she does not want to undermine any of the businesses in Brevard County.  She stated she is ready to make a motion to direct staff to prepare an RFP.

 

Commissioner Fisher inquired if the Board is going to ask staff to come back with a minimum rental rate with some terms of how the facility would operate; and inquired if the Board is ready for an RFP, or just ready for some suggestions for what should be included in the RFP. 

 

Chairman Bolin passed the gavel to Vice Chairman Fisher.

 

The Board directed staff to prepare a Request for Proposals (RFP) to lease the Wickham Park Equestrian Center to a bidder who will make the facility available for boarding; and directed staff to bring the RFP back to the Board for final approval.

 

Commissioner Bolin passed the gavel back to Commissioner Fisher.

 

MOVER:             Mary Bolin, Chairman / Commissioner District 4

SECONDER:     Robin Fisher, Vice Chairman/ Commissioner District 1

AYES:                 Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

.

 

APPROVAL, RE:  CONTRACT FOR SALE AND PURCHASE WITH WALGREEN CO. AND BREVARD COUNTY FOR A PURCHASE AMOUNT OF $110,000, PLUS CLOSING COSTS, ATTORNEY AND EXPERT FEES, WITH ALL COSTS TO BE PAID FROM THE BARNES BOULEVARD WIDENING PROJECT, LOCATED IN SECTION 21, TOWNSHIP 25, RANGE 26

 

John Denninghoff, Public Works Director, stated this item contains a contract for purchase of a parcel of land and a temporary construction easement from Walgreen Co., located at the northeast corner of the intersection of Murrell Road and Barnes Boulevard; the content of the agreement has been worked out, the plans have been modified in accordance with a great deal of negotiating with Walgreen Co. representatives; the appraisal amount is not to the liking of the Walgreen Co., in the amount of $15,770 and the Walgreen Co. wants to see the amount increased in the contract from $94,230 to $110,000, which is on the acquisition side.  He stated the Walgreen Co. has also requested compensation for its attorney and expert fees, which were incurred during the negotiating process; he stated the Walgreen Co. has been very forthcoming in working with the County, in an effort to minimize the impact to its business, and there has been cooperation in working together on this project and other projects in the past.  He stated Walgreen Co. initially requested the fees to be over $52,000 and agreed to settle for half that amount and are not willing to reduce it anymore; the proposal at this point is for the amount of $110,000 for the land transaction and the payment of the fees of $27,700; and in that effect of all of this is on the second page of the Agenda Report, with the options to agree to Walgreen Co. proposal or try to negotiate further; and he will tell the Board, that after his involvement in this matter he thinks further negotiations will not go lower, and the Board can not approve if it so desires, but in order to move forward with the property, it will need to be condemned.

 

Commissioner Infantini stated in the contract Walgreen Co. has offered the County, it has crossed-off the warranty stating the seller warrants there is no hazardous waste or environmental contamination; she stated that means Walgreen Co. is not warranting there is no hazardous waste; and she can appreciate Walgreen Co. making a lower offer, but she does not think it is a good one.  She stated on the Agenda Report it states the County will waive Phase 1 environmental assessment, so in addition, to Walgreen Co. waiving the fact that there is hazardous waste, it is waiving the environmental assessment, which if that is not done, there is no way to get out of this contract if hazardous waste is found on the material.  She stated it does not seem like a prudent recommendation to her, to allow Walgreen Co. to cross off the warranty, and then hazardous material is found; and stated she cannot support this.

 

Mr. Denninghoff stated staff can go ahead and do a Phase 1, which will give 45 days to do that; Walgreen Co. is warranting that it has no knowledge of any problems there, which they would have done at a Phase 1 at the time Walgreen Co. purchased the property; he stated at this point, the County has no reason to believe it is contaminated; and stated it could be contaminated without the County knowing it.  He stated the striking of the language regarding the warranties regarding hazardous waste is almost always stricken on almost every single contract prepared, it is in the language, as a prudent request on the County's part, but actually no one will actually warrant it; it is relied upon the County to hold the contracted party reliable if hazardous waste is found, and the County can then hold the contracted party liable at a later date if needed.

 

Commissioner Infantini stated it must not always be stricken, because it is part of a standard contract; she stated she knows whenever she purchased or sold something, the first thing the buyer wants, is to have the warranties stated there are no defects in the property; and she will defer to another Commissioner, until she finds another contract, which is contrary to the last statement.

 

Commissioner Fisher stated one of the things in the real estate world is to try and get an idea of the history of the property, and he is not sure what this property was before.  He inquired what the building is.  Mr. Denninghoff responded it is currently a Walgreen and he believes it was the original developer.  Commissioner Fisher inquired if it was vacant land before a Walgreen.  Mr. Denninghoff responded, that is correct.  Commissioner Fisher stated he can see if there previously was a gas station or an auto body shop, he would be concerned with a Phase 1 and some environmental issues; and the fact that it was raw-land that was developed, Phase 1 becomes less important to him.

 

The Board authorized the Chairman to execute the contract for Sale and Purchase between Brevard County and Walgreen Co., for a purchase amount of $110,000.00 plus closing costs, attorney, and expert fees; and waived the Phase 1 Environmental Assessment and survey requirements.  All costs will be paid from the from the Barnes Boulevard Widening Project, located in Section 21, Township 25, Range 36.

 

 

Commissioner Nelson stated he would like to point out in a road project that is already underway, Walgreen Co. does not want to sell the County the property, Walgreen Co. did not come to the County and tell it had a piece of property, and it is not going to be warranted; the County went to the Walgreen Co. and told it that the County needed the property for a road project; he stated to ask Walgreen Co. to warrant something that was not intended to be sold impacts the decision process; and if the County does not buy it, then the road project will be stopped; and there is a great likelihood that there are no issues here.

 

Commissioner Fisher stated another reason to not really warrant is it was vacant land and there are no known contaminates on the land; and there really is nothing to warrant to disclose it.

 

Commissioner Infantini stated she voted Nay on a Consent item the Board approved of a contract that stated the seller does keep the warranty, which means the seller does keep the warranty to warrant there is no hazardous waste or environmental contamination located on the property, and then waiver the Environmental Site Assessment and Survey.  She stated that is entirely different, it seems not prudent to her to purchase property that cannot be warranted, and she understands the property has to be purchased to widen there; but the Environmental Site Assessment should not be waived after it has been warranted that there may be contamination.  She stated that is the only way of getting out of purchasing this property.

 

Commissioner Fisher stated lets assume this vacant land had a contamination; and inquired what would it be contaminated from.  Commissioner Infantini responded she is not a environmental scientist; she cannot tell him; but if there is contamination when the property is purchased, the County can hold the property owner responsible to clean it up, once it is warranted.  She inquired if Scott Knox, County Attorney, can tell her if it is warranting that the landowner is giving the County a good, clean title.  Attorney Knox responded the title is being warranted, yes; and there is no warranting of hazardous materials.  He stated this is five one-hundreth of an acre property, which is small; he is sure the engineers have physically looked at it, and most of the time it is fairly evident that if there is some type of problem it would warrant a Phase 1; and typically when a Phase 1 is done, an issue is known of.  He stated this may be one case where it was already developed through the process once, with nothing hazardous being found; and stated at times those things have to be taken into consideration.

 

Commissioner Fisher stated the truth of the matter is, if there was contamination, he can make the argument that the causer and the user would have to clean it up; and there is no proof that the Walgreen Co. caused the contamination.

 

Commissioner Nelson stated why would the seller want to warrant the property that the County needs.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated the fact of the matter, whether there is contamination or not, the County would have to clean it up to build the road, because the seller has the right to say if the property is wanted then the County can clean it up; and otherwise, the property may not be sold and it could go to court, and he does not think the judge to going to force the seller to clean it up.

 

Commissioner Infantini stated she is glad to know that Brevard County has gone on record for everybody on Barnes Boulevard, to tell regardless of what toxic waste is on properties, the County is going to buy it, at any cost; and she will not be in favor of the acquisition.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated the property is only going to cost the County $110,000, which is a good price in the market now.

 

Attorney Knox stated he is going to follow-up on Commissioner Anderson's comments a little bit; if this were to go to court, the property would be taken as is, and the only issue that would come up about the hazardous waste would be the value of the property, and to the extent that there was hazardous waste determined, would offset the cost of the property.

 

MOVER:             Robin Fisher, Vice Chairman/ Commissioner District 1

SECONDER:     Chuck Nelson, Commissioner District 2

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

NAYS:                 Trudie Infantini

.

 

APPROVAL, RE:  CONTRACT FOR SALE AND PURCHASE WITH THE ROCKLEDGE CHURCH OF THE NAZARENE, INC. FOR A PURCHASE AMOUNT OF $160,000.00 (INCLUSIVE OF ALL ATTORNEY AND EXPERT FEES), PLUS CLOSING COSTS, WTH ALL COSTS TO BE PAID FROM THE BARNES BOULEVARD WIDENING PROJECT

 

John Denninghoff, Public Works Director, stated this item is at a different location on Barnes Boulevard; the Rockledge Church of the Nazarene is located west of the intersection of Barnes Boulevard and Murrell Road, on the south side of Barnes Boulevard; and there is a strip of property needed from the Church, the County has been in a lot of negotiations with the Rockledge Church of the Nazarene, and the issues have been resolved, however, the Church thinks the appraised value of $121,200  is low.  He advised initially the Rockledge Church of the Nazarene was asking for $190,000.  He stated the County has asked the Church to explain how it arrived at that value; it had some difficultly doing so, so it lowered the price and made a counter offer of $160,000; he still does not have an explanation as to how the Rockledge Church of the Nazarene got to $160,000, but there were some minor adjustments that could justify it; then the Rockledge Church of the Nazarene thinks it will have future expenses as a result of that; the Church already has its Master Plan for its site; he stated he is guessing that is why the  Church got to the $160,000; but he does not  believe that the County ever got the map to quite work.  He stated he requested the Rockledge Church of the Nazarene to provide the County with an offer basically in the form of a contract, to be able to bring it to the Board, without telling of any assurance how the County would dispose of it and ultimately how the Commission would dispose of it; but it is before the Board for its consideration.  He stated the value is approximately 32 percent above the appraised value; he would like to point out that basically the County has the same conditions, it could make a counter offer to the Rockledge Church of the Nazarene; and at this point the Rockledge Church of the Nazarene were tired of talking to staff about why it could not justify $160,000.   He stated if there are any other questions, he will be happy to answer them.

 

Commissioner Fisher stated he does have a problem with this item; and it is not so much the contamination and all of that kind of stuff, but just the whole purchase price and what that amount should be.  He inquired what is the difference in size of this property versus the one just purchased down the road.  Mr. Denninghoff responded this one is a bit larger than the other item just discussed; and this is a frontage off of a parcel of 10 acres, which is about one-third of an acre.  Commission Fisher inquired if this is the Rockledge Church of the Nazarene, trying to get the County for more than the value of the of the property.  Mr. Denninghoff responded it is certainly the opinion of the County's Appraiser.  Commissioner Fisher stated he thinks there needs to be more discussion with the Church to stick with the appraised value.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated he agrees with the appraised value; he wants to tell the Board something about the last item and this item; everybody knows he is a big property rights guy; here it seems the government is walking in and saying hey, sell the County the  property, or it will be taken from them; and that is why back to the other issue of the warranty; a private property owner cannot be told that the County is going to take the property from them; but as big, bad government telling them to warrant that everything is okay; and that is kind of contrary to the property rights principles in this country; but on this item, the County needs to go to the congregation and ask them to get back to the appraised value, because it is a little bit high.

 

Commissioner Infantini stated she is also a property rights person and she does understand condemnation when it for the good of the whole County, so the Rockledge Church of the Nazarene has to understand; and she thinks the Church has over charged the County and did not warrant anything.  She stated for the record, this contract does have the seller warranting; there are no hazardous wastes or defects on the property; but stated she is against this project parcel.

 

Commissioner Nelson inquired if Commissioner Infantini is against the whole project.  Commissioner Infantini responded she is against the project, because she has not seen the total cost; she stated she wants to know where all the funding is coming from; and inquired if it is all coming out of District 4 Road and Bridge; that will be fine, but she has yet to see the full layout of how much the County is going to pay for all of the road widening; it seems the County keeps buying little pieces of land, which she does understand the need to buy each of them to get the road widened; but when her engineer did an analysis, it looked like it was going to cost about $7 million.  She noted just like Commissioner Anderson brought up at the beginning of the meeting, the County needs to find out where it is going with its roads; and inquired if this is the biggest, best, and most important road that the County is going to widen and expand.  She stated every couple weeks the Board gets another one of these type cases for widening and purchasing land for Barnes Boulevard; there was a huge expansion on the Pineda Extension; and inquired when is it going to be the other Districts that get some of the expansions, because she is hearing Commissioner Fisher speaking of the need of his roads constantly.

 

Chairman Bolin stated she thinks she should jump up and down, because she was aggressive enough to get some of the things done, but this is also partnership with the City of Rockledge, and it has been on the books for a long time; the Pineda Extension has been on the books for 20 years and it now is finally finished; and she could probably say Hollywood Boulevard needs to be scrapped, because it does not have any needs.  She stated there are a lot of roads that have needs and just because the needs are in her District, she feels very proud that she is able to achieve the road issues; and inquired if there is any further discussion needed at this point.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated he wants to be clear that staff will go back and negotiate; he does not want to be getting into a situation where the County is in a taking mode; and he wants to make sure there is open dialogue with the Rockledge Church of the Nazarene.

 

Mr. Denninghoff stated there is still open dialogue; he anticipates going back to the Rockledge Church of the Nazarene for a timeline, and anticipates making progress to attempt moving the project forward pretty quickly at this point, so there will come a point in time where he will be coming back to the Board with a resolution of necessity, which will authorize the County to file suit over the outstanding items.  He stated he anticipates the Church will make the County a counter offer; he stated he is hoping it will give the County something to work with, and if so, he will present it to the Board for the opportunity to make a decision one way or another.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated the Rockledge Church of the Nazarene needs to understand this is a very difficult climate, at best, to ask taxpayers to pay for any parcel property over the appraised value; and hopefully the Church will understand that.

 

Commissioner Fisher inquired if the Rockledge Church of the Nazarene made a statement that this will impact its Master Plan.  Mr. Denninghoff responded that is correct, it believes it is going to have sufficient impact of where it is going to have to revise its Master Plan; stated he is a little skeptical about that, but it does have a Master Plan, and it is going to require some revision; he believes it will already have some revisions to it for other reasons, such as this one; he is sure it will have some sort of an expense; and he thinks the value set at $38,800 was stretched.

 

Commissioner Fisher inquired if during the negotiation, is there is a way to somehow share any set-backs with retention in there, or anything that can be used as part of its line versus the County's line, so maybe it does not impact the Master Plan as much.

 

Mr. Denninghoff mentioned the County is in close negotiations with the City of Rockledge, it has been granting waivers to a number of its development criteria as a result of the road acquisitions, so that has been minimized as well; the County has actually been doing that and working outside-of-the-box with the City of Rockledge's Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) and the property owners; and he thinks there has been a lot of  success, which has helped realize a lot of savings up to this point with the other acquisitions that have been done.

 

Commissioner Fisher stated he wants the Master Plan to be seen and what the impacts are, it could impact the frontage retention or set-back requirements;  and that is going to make something be pushed back further, and it can probably be worked out.

 

Mr. Denninghoff stated a good effort will be made there.

 

The Board directed staff to negotiate with the Rockledge Church of the Nazarene, Inc., to accept the appraised amount of $121,200 for property needed for the Barnes Boulevard widening project.

 

MOVER:             Robin Fisher, Vice Chairman/ Commissioner District 1

SECONDER:     Andy Anderson, Commissioner District 5

AYES:                 Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

.

 

BOARD AUTHORIZATION FOR CHAIR TO SIGN LETTER TO DCA, RE:  PALM BAY COMPREHENSIVE PAN AMENDMENTS

 

Robin Sobrino, Planning and Development Director, stated in 2007 the City of Palm Bay prepared some Comprehensive Plan Amendments regarding properties that had been annexed into its city limits; she stated at that time, the Board directed staff to do an analysis of those Comprehensive Plan Amendments, and to prepare a letter to the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) stating certain concerns related to those amendments; and those amendments were never completed by the City of Palm Bay, it is back before the Board today, it was brought to the attention of staff, and a cursory review has been performed in anticipation that the Board may choose to send a letter to DCA, to express concerns about the amendment package.  She stated the letter has been drafted simply to state that is has been reviewed and it is requesting the DCA review the amendment package pursuant to Florida Statutes; and if the Board directs staff to send the letter, staff will do so.

 

Mary Sphar stated she would like to commend staff for taking some proactive action in drafting a letter that the Board may be okay with; she does think it is a step in the right direction, because staff has asked the DCA, to make a review; and the City of Palm Bay's transmittal letter had asked the DCA to not review its amendments.  She expressed her concerns in one area with the floodplain; she stated she really does not know how much information the City of Palm Bay has on the 25-year floodplain, it was not even mentioned at the transmittal hearing, and it seemed like all that was discussed was the 100-year floodplain; and she would like to bring it to the Board's attention that in the 2007 letter the County commented on CP-6, which now formally is a different number.  She real aloud the 2007 letter "It is Babcock Boulevard property, it stated this area is characterized by large-scale agricultural pursuits and large lot residential development and environmental attributes include significant wetlands and floodplain's.  The entire site lies below the 100-year floodplain and approximately two-thirds of the property lies below the 25-year floodplain."  She noted this area is right next to Deer Run, so is the other center lane property, which is adjacent to a different portion of Deer Run.  She continued to read aloud, "This area is adjacent to lands under the ownership of St. Johns River Water Management District, this area is characterized by large-scale agriculture pursuits, and it is within the 25-year floodplain."  She stated the center lane is all in the 25-year floodplain; the Babcock Boulevard is two-thirds in the 25-year floodplain; and these two properties are adjacent to Deer Run, which she would like noted in the letter.  She stated in 2007 there was a map included and she would like to pass the map out showing actually where the 25-year floodplain is; and she thinks an updated map should be enclosed to show the DCA the area is actually in the 25-year floodplain, which can have significant flooding problems.  She stated CP-32-2006, which is now the center lane property and directly east of that is CP-15 being the Babcock Boulevard property; and the gray area indicated the 25-year floodplain, which all of the center lane property can be seen within that 25-year floodplain.  She stated she is asking the Board to go ahead with the letter, add a few sentences about the 25-year floodplain, and include a map.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated he has some concerns of when he was on the City Council and it was felt that some Commissioners, which are not present today, had adversarial relationships with the municipalities and a lot of different tactics were used to control what happened inside municipal boundaries, including prohibiting curb-cuts; and he thinks this Commission has come a long way in fostering a good relationship with the City Council's.  He stated the letter to DCA to him is kind of an adversarial stance to take when simply, as elected officials, the Board needs to communicate with the City Council members of any concerns; and the Board can create a resolution to the Mayor and City Council with highlighted concerns without getting the State involved and diminishing principle of home rule for the city.  He stated he thinks that is a better way to go with concerns being drafted and send a resolution to the Mayor and City Council expressing the County's concern.

 

Chairman Bolin inquired if the County has sent a letter the City of Palm Bay in this regard.  Ms. Sobrino responded no; she has spoken to the City Planner in Palm Bay, and she explained the backdrop of the previous Comprehensive Plan Amendment package; and she explained a letter had been prepared similar to one seen several years ago.  She stated the City Planner acknowledged that procedurally this was not done outside-of-the-norm.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated at that same time he knows the Space Coast Growth Management Committee was formed; the outcome from that was the Joint Planning Agreement (JPA); and he thinks the JPA was just swept to the side.  Ms. Sobrino advised the JPA was pre-dated in 2005.  Commissioner Anderson stated that is fine, but he thinks any concerns can be sent to the County's counterparts in good faith; and he is hoping the County will be listened to.

 

Commissioner Nelson stated as he understands this, is something that kind of got away and communication did not start immediately; what he did not see was a huge positional letter, it said facts or inconsistencies have been identified with information, and please look at those is what he saw; and he thinks correspondence or communication may not be understood as to what the County is doing.  He inquired if there has been any communication with the City of Palm Bay.  Ms. Sobrino responded she had communications with Cole Goatley, City Planner of Palm Bay yesterday explaining the philosophy behind preparing this agenda package; she stated Mr. Goatley told her that a mistaken impression was taken and he sent her an e-mail late yesterday stating his wish is to correct the misunderstanding now that the contents of the packet was understood; and Mr. Goatley stated it was now understood, and je was fine with it.  Commissioner Nelson stated now in fact there is a letter that identifies areas where there was some inconsistencies that the County wanted to make DCA aware of; and it still has a lengthy process to go through.  Ms. Sobrino advised that is correct; and this is just the beginning of the Comprehensive Plan review process for the State.

 

Commissioner Anderson inquired if the County is under any deadline to get the letter in; and is there time to table the item to give time to get a letter to the City Council with the concerns.  Ms. Sobrin responded the State Statue states that within 30 days of the time the amendment package is transmitted to the State, which was on June 22, 2010, that any affected parties needed to communicate in writing, to the DCA; and this was the only Agenda had prior to that date.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated he agrees that the Board is not trying to diminish what the City of Palm Bay is doing or its ability to rule things inside its municipal boundaries; he has had a bad experience with all of this, as a former City Councilman; and stated he cannot support sending the letter at this time.

 

Mel Scott, Assistant County Manager, stated he would like to add that he had a conversation with the City Manager yesterday; to some extent this letter is redundant; Mr. Goatley's perspective on this is this letter and attached highlighted areas of data and analysis will be required of the City when it puts together the adoption package; and if one were to hear this as a partnership between the County and the City, both looking after the smart-growth future of this area, it is helpful to point out certain things that the City might not have seen, such as, it is going to be required that the road network is going from 2,000 units to over 9,000 units; and the based map data would show road network to and through the City as being a rural major collector as it is and not identified as principle arterial's like it was in the transmittal.  He stated small points of data like that can be helpful to whomever receives this information; the County is coming at it from the perspective that there will be impacts outside the City by the vary nature of the amendment being proposed; and he would see this as being a partnership as well.

 

Commissioner Fisher stated his concern is some of this development will impact the County eventually.  Mr. Scott advised yes.  Commissioner Fisher stated as a true partnership the County and the City both should have some input on it; it is a stronger case when both parties go together than one going without the other; and he does not know if the timeline will allow it.

 

Chairman Bolin stated she would like for the calendar to be looked at to see when is the next time the Board will be together; and Mr. Goatley has not turned in a speaker card for this item.

 

Commissioner Fisher stated the next meeting is July 15th.  He inquired if Commissioner Anderson would like to take the lead in working with the staff in Palm Bay.  Commissioner Anderson responded yes, and suggested waiting until Thursday, have staff put out an email to the city for any concerns it may have with what was discussed today; and it can be revisited on July 15th with the City attending the meeting as well due to Sunshine Law.  Commissioner Fisher stated Commissioner Anderson does not have Sunshine Law with the City of Palm Bay.  Commissioner Anderson stated he knows, but the Board needs to hear what is said and he cannot tell the Board.

 

Cole Goatley, City Planner of Palm Bay, stated he has addressed some people here today regarding this matter and relayed the information to Bob Kamm, Transportation Planning Director, and requested the letter be written.  He stated he apologized to Mr. Kamm yesterday, as he realized there was an error, which is unfortunate, because he misinterpreted an earlier memo.  He stated it simply seems to be a lack of communication and cooperation; if a letter is forwarded to DCA, it complicates the process; but he does not think it is going to change much; and it will simply cause the DCA more work, it will cause the County staff more work, and it will cause the City of Palm Bay more work; and he thinks it will not produce anymore additional information.  He stated there is a JPA and it calls for exchange of information and cooperating with one another; he stated he knows both parties are guilty; he will speak for the City of Palm Bay that he knows information was not timely furnished to the County, but he thinks by addressing a letter to DCA at this point in time will simply complicate matters and will not accomplish anything; and he is asking the Board to vote against it.  

 

The Board tabled authorization for Chairman to sign a letter to the Florida Department of Community Affairs (DCA) requesting that the City of Palm Bay Comprehensive Plan Amendment transmittal package (DCA Amendment # Palm Bay 10-1) be reviewed by DCA pursuant to Chapter 163.3184, F.S. and Rule 9J-11.0009, FAC, to the July 15, 2010 meeting, to allow staff time to communicate with the elected officials in Palm Bay. 

 

MOVER:             Andy Anderson, Commissioner District 5

SECONDER:     Robin Fisher, Vice Chairman/ Commissioner District 1

AYES:                 Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

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AWARD OF REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL #P-1-10-18, RE:  BOND COUNSEL FOR THE COUNTY OF BREVARD, FLORIDA

 

The Board awarded Request for Proposals (RFP) #P-1-10-18 for Bond Counsel for the County of Brevard, Florida to the best ranked firm of Nabors Giblin & Nickerson, P.A.; and authorized the Chairman to execute the contract upon review by the County Attorney's Office and Risk Management.

 

MOVER:             Robin Fisher, Vice Chairman/ Commissioner District 1

SECONDER:     Andy Anderson, Commissioner District 5

AYES:                 Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

.

 

BOARD CONSIDERATION, RE:  REQUEST FOR REDUCTION OF FINE AND RELEASE OF CODE ENFORCEMENT LIEN FOR PAUL CONLAN

 

Robin Sobrino, Planning and Development Director, stated this is a request for a reduction of fine and release of Code Enforcement lien for Paul Conlan; the item went before the Special Magistrate and the Magistrate made a recommendation to reduce the fine to $1,000; it had been a life safety issue, because it related to a absence of an enclosure around a swimming pool, so it was a $250 a day fine; the fine was reduced by the Magistrate from $29,750 to $1,000; staff is requesting that the Board consider a slight modification to that recommendation by the Magistrate to allow County staff to recoup its hard costs totaling $1,962 relative to this case; and staff is seeking approval from the Board to adjust the recommended reduction to $1,962.

 

Paul Conlan stated his issues with Code Enforcement are directly related to a antagonistic neighbor; this particular issue has already been thrown out of court; and he has three compliance dates through Code Enforcement based on this issue.  He stated the reason he went through the Code Enforcement court was he thought his case was thrown out just like it was the first time; he stated every request Code Enforcement asked of him to do he complied with; and stated right now his house is 100 percent in compliance with the six-foot fence around the whole entire property.  He stated apparently a notice was sent saying there is a lien on his house and he had 30 days to appeal; he did not know about it, he did not receive a notice,  and he heard about it from a friend inside the Code Enforcement department about the lien; and he was then told that he could no longer appeal, because it was after his 30 days.  He stated after a number of discussions, he was in front of the Magistrate again, who reduced the fine, and said it had to go in front of the County Commission; so this is a case that has already been thrown out with no fines, it has three different compliance dates, the only reason it has got to this point is because of an antagonistic neighbor who has been calling on everybody's property since 2001, and the records will show that; and he is thankful for the Board's consideration today.  He stated he is shocked that he is at this point with this case; he understands the hard court costs; he thinks he would go after his neighbor who keeps calling Code Enforcement creating these issues; the life safety is not his concern, because immediately when he found out he was in violation, he built a fence; immediately it was said it was not good enough, so he built another fence; and when it was said a third time the fence was not good enough, he enclosed his entire property.  He stated the County has got to agree with him because his property is safe and the only thing he really has against him is the antagonistic neighbor.

 

Commissioner Anderson inquired if Ms. Sobrino can validate, confirm, or deny what Mr. Conlan  is telling the Board in regards to this case.  Ms. Sobrino responded she can speak to the matter that Mr. Conlan appeared before the Special Magistrate in 2009, at that time seeking the fine reduction, and the Special Magistrate had recommended that the fine be reduced to $1,000 provided that it was paid within 30 days of his action; there apparently was some misunderstanding on the part of Mr. Conlan in that he thought that the Magistrate had waived the fines completely; therefore, when the County did not receive payment, it notified him; in fact, it was probably about six months later; and he was notified and now a lien will be imposed, because he never paid the $1,000 payment that was stipulated.  She stated Mr. Conlan appeared before the Board back in March, at that time he was advised that he could go back to the Magistrate and see if the same offer will be made to him again; she stated Mr. Conlan was rescheduled before the Magistrate who reissued his finding that he was willing to reduce the fine to $1,000, so that is why the case is before the Board today for its routine review of the recommended fine reduction that is done for the Special Magistrate; and in this particular case, the County's court costs have gone up to $1,900, and is seeking to obtain full compensation for the hard costs.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated he is having a hard time; and inquired if staff communicated its hard costs to the Special Magistrate.  Ms. Sobrino responded yes.  Commissioner Anderson stated the Special Magistrate ignored it and went with the $1,000 reduction.  Ms. Sobrino stated she thinks what happened was the first time the $1,000 was not objectionable, it was just assumed since $1,000 worked a year ago, the Special Magistrate will issue the same order again; and she is only speaking hypothetically.  Commissioner Anderson inquired if Mr. Conlan is in 100 percent compliance.  Ms. Sobrino responded yes, otherwise it would not be before the Board today.  Commissioner Anderson stated he is inclined to go with what the Special Magistrate had ordered; the County probably did not communicate in its case that there was a little bit more outstanding due; it was not done intentionally, but it let the Special Magistrate probably assume something; and he does not know how to fix that at this point.

 

Commissioner Fisher inquired why Mr. Conlan did not go the next day for an explanation to the $1,000 fine reduction.  Mr. Conlan responded there was a misunderstanding, he thought this case had already been thrown out with no fines, the same way it was done the last time; and when he left the court, he was not aware there was a $1,000 fine.  Commissioner Fisher stated the courts actually threw it out with no fines.  Mr. Conlan responded yes, with no fines, and it was closed with a different case number.

 

Ms. Sobrino stated she thinks Mr. Conlan is referring to a 2007 Code Enforcement case, in which in that case the property had come into compliance, the case was closed, and there were no fines incurred; however, it did go back into violation in 2008, she cannot speak to the particulars as to why, but it did go back into violation.

 

Commissioner Fisher stated in 2007 Mr. Conlan was in violation, he goes to court, it was thrown out of court, and he was in violation again in 2008.

 

Mr. Conlan stated Tropical Storm Fay came through the area on August 30th; it again comes back to being incumbent about an antagonistic neighbor; by the 10th day after the storm, Code Enforcement was citing him as a second offender; what happened is he had some rotten wood on the fence that was attached to on his porch, and a six-foot section was blown off by the storm; he travels a lot with his job, and there was no way he was going to be able to get it fixed in one weekend.  He stated in the timeframe when his fence was down, the antagonistic neighbor called Code Enforcement on the 30th; on the 8th Code Enforcement was on his property; and by the 10th he was being fined $250 a day.  He stated he did not realize that fine until it was back in front of the Special Magistrate several months later, the fines were already up to $30,000, so he made the repairs; his house is once again in compliance; stated having gone through this he never intended to be involved in this situation; and inquired how does he get the neighbor off of his back, because she is an antagonistic person.  He stated if this Code Enforcement tactic was the first tactic, he is wondering what the next tactic will be; he had the idea to fence in his whole property, and was fined; in his last Special Magistrate hearing, he inquired why was he being fined $1,000, it could not be explained; at this point, to put this behind him, he will set up a payment program, and he will pay the County its money; but it still has not been explained to him what he has done wrong and why he is being fined.

 

Chairman Bolin stated she needs clarification, because Mr. Conlan just said he walked out of the meeting thinking there was no fine, but Mr. Conlan just said why was he being fined this extra $1,000.  Mr. Conlan advised two different court appearances are being talked about.  Chairman Bolin stated she is having a problem with walking out of the Special Magistrate meeting and not understanding that there is a fine; and that is all she is having trouble with.  Mr. Conlan stated it is a very good question, because if a person gets an $80 ticket, something has to be signed that the person is going to have to go to traffic court; he thinks with a fine of $1,000 or more, that the Code Enforcement procedures would come up with something that as simple as that; and since it was thrown out last time, he thought it was thrown out a second time.  Chairman Bolin stated that Mr. Conlan assumed that.  Mr. Conlan stated no, because when the Special Magistrate was listening to the scenario, saw how ridiculous it was, and the only thing that was really going on was a antagonistic neighbor, Code Enforcement responded it was ridiculous; and he has never received anything in the mail about the fine or received anything in the mail about the lien on his house.

 

Commissioner Nelson inquired if it was reduced in writing and furnished to the respondent.  Ms. Sobrino responded yes, and she has a copy of it with her.  Commissioner Nelson inquired how is that information furnished to the respondent.  Ms. Sobrino responded she believes it is mailed  certified; and she inquired if Wanda Scanes, Code Enforcement, can tell the Board how the information is mailed.  Ms. Scanes responded it is mailed through regular mail to the respondent.  Commissioner Nelson inquired if it is certified.  Ms. Scanes responded no.

 

Commissioner Fisher inquired if Ms. Scanes has a copy of that mail.  Ms. Scanes responded yes.

 

Chairman Bolin inquired if there is any track of the mail or is it just dropped in the mailbox.  Ms. Scanes responded she has a copy of the order, and it is not sent certified.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated there is no proof that Mr. Conlan ever received anything; and there is assumption again.

 

Ms. Sobrino stated it would be assumed, but it also would be assumed by Mr. Conlan being present at the hearing that he would have left the hearing with an understanding of the actions by the Special Magistrate.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated he is stuck on the Special Magistrates findings; and if $962 is lost, because there was no communication or the Special Magistrate misinterpreted something,  that is not the respondents fault.

 

Commissioner Fisher expressed his concern yesterday with staff, that the Special Magistrate gives 30 days; and he thinks there should be something in the County system to notify the individual right away of their 30 days being up.  He stated Mr. Conlan made a comment about the County filing a lien, and he thinks he heard Mr. Conlan say there is a six-month period from the time the $1,000 fine did not get paid, to the next time there was any communication with him; and inquired if that is true.  Ms. Sobrino responded yes, that is the circumstance.

 

Commissioner Fisher stated he thinks in the County system when the Special Magistrate makes a decision, the decision is accepted; and stated it puts the respondent on notice to enforce a lien or do whatever needs done.

 

Ms. Sobrino stated when the follow-up letter was sent, it showed the findings of the Special Magistrate, which was the communication after the Special Magistrate's hearing; and perhaps certified mail should be sent, so there is assurance of delivery.

 

Commissioner Fisher inquired if it can be done after 30-days, if the fine has not been paid and a  lien will be placed.  Ms. Sobrino responded it absolutely can be done.

 

Commissioner Anderson inquired if Mr. Conlan is willing to arrange a payment schedule.  Mr. Conlan responded yes, he cannot pay $1,000 right now, and would need four months or so.

 

Commissioner Anderson inquired if staff is okay with that timeline.  Ms. Sobrino responded a payment schedule can be set up at the office.

 

The Board adopted the Special Magistrate's recommendation to reduce the accrued fine for Case 09CE-03198 (08-0405/08CE-02826) from $29,750 to the reduced sum of $1,000; directed staff to arrange a six-month payment plan with Paul Conlan, to be paid in full no later than six months from July 13, 2010, and to prepare and execute release and satisfaction of lien, upon receipt of payment; and further directed staff to send certified mail to future violators advising if a fine is not paid within 30 days, a lien will be placed on the property.

 

MOVER:             Andy Anderson, Commissioner District 5

SECONDER:     Chuck Nelson, Commissioner District 2

AYES:                 Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

.

 

STAFF DIRECTION, RE:  SUNSET OF RESOLUTION NO. 2009-146, LOCAL BUSINESS PREFERENCE IN PURCHASING POLICY

 

Chairman Bolin passed the gavel to Vice Chairman Fisher.

 

The Board adopted Resolution No. 10-122, to extend Resolution No. 09-146 for local business preferences in purchasing policy, for an additional two-year period.

 

Vice Chairman Fisher passed the gavel back to Chairman Bolin. 

 

MOVER:             Mary Bolin, Chairman / Commissioner District 4

SECONDER:     Andy Anderson, Commissioner District 5

AYES:                 Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

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APPROVAL, RE:  AUTHORIZING CODE ENFORCEMENT MANAGER TO EXECUTE REQUESTED RELEASES OF LIENS

 

Scott Knox, County Attorney, stated he has been contacted by various title companies who are engaged in doing title work for foreclosed properties; and they have indicated a preference to see if the County can release its liens.  He stated normally, when a property is foreclosed, the County has a lien on it, and the lien is foreclosed, as well; but the title companies, for some reason, do not think that is satisfactory, and pay the County some money to release the liens; and it would be easier to get Bobby Bowen, Code Enforcement Manager, to get the authority to sign those on a rapid fire basis, given the number of foreclosures.

 

Commissioner Fisher inquired if the County is waiving any dollars.  Attorney Knox responded no, the County will be paid.

 

The Board authorized Bobby Bowen, Code Enforcement Manager, to execute the requested releases of Code Enforcement liens after a certificate of title has been issued on certain foreclosed real properties.

 

MOVER:             Robin Fisher, Vice Chairman/ Commissioner District 1

SECONDER:     Andy Anderson, Commissioner District 5

AYES:                 Fisher, Nelson, Infantini, Bolin, Anderson

.

 

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CITIZEN REQUEST - SARA ANN CONKLIN, RE:  NINTH CENT GAS TAX

 

Sara Ann Conklin stated she has been very diligent about sending the Board correspondence with a revenue enhancement opportunity in Brevard County, to substantially improve the public Transit Services on a permanent basis by implementing a revenue source that most would never notice; she stated it is a penny tax placed on fuel consumption; as many people know, everyone puts gas in their cars, and no one makes a fuel consumption decision based on a penny; there are many counties in Florida that have implemented this tax; and in general, the American Public Transportation Association tells that over 70 percent of transit-based initiatives are approved by referendum.  She stated there is a huge public support of public transportation; she expressed her appreciation to the Board for maintaining the current level of bus services in the budget; and stated she feels very grateful for it.  She stated the potential of this revenue source will enable the County to virtually double the current public transportation fixed-route and para-transit service with a nine-to-one federal match on this money; and there would be $2.3 million additional revenue coming in, it would be matched, and when doing the math, it would be about $20 million coming in from the State and fed's as a result of implementing this.  She stated this is the easier revenue enhancement implementable under many recommendations coming out of the Space Coast's Transportation Planning Operation (TPO) who recommend strongly that this tax be implemented; it is one that is implemetable by a super-majority vote by the Board; and it does not have to go to referendum.  She stated it is known, out of studies, that every dollar put into public transportation generates $3.20 in new business revenues, it also generates economic development in the area of improvements, and it specifically generates development in the area of transportation hubs; it is also known that 52 percent of tourists who visit anywhere are looking for public transportation; and this will help the primary tourism industry to enhance services.  She stated there has been inequity identified in how much public transportation has been received by each district; the figures are still out for tweaking, but it is known that there is inequity, and the money would fix that inequity without taking away service from any citizen who currently enjoys it; and she feels strongly that once someone gets public transportation, it should not be taken away, because it could be the individuals lifeline to employment, doctor visits, and other things that are greatly attached to his or her survival.  She stated she would appreciate the Board's serious consideration of this penny tax and what it could mean to bring other counties to spend money in Brevard County, and to be able to connect with adjacent counties for economic development purposes; she stated there are a lot of tansit transportation dreams that could be realized with this infusion; and she would appreciate the Board's consideration and adoption of this one penny tax on gasoline purchasing.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated he does not mind debating with a pleasant individual, such as Ms. Conklin; and he has a lot of respect for her.  He stated the small businesses, such as landscapers, plumbers, and electricians, are the ones who get the hardest hit by the penny; if typical small businesses are looked at that have vans, it could be $300 to $500 a year per vehicle, which will add up quickly; and he knows those customers are hard working people.  He stated he in not going to be in favor of anything that is only going to further take money away from the people that Ms. Conklin is trying to protect.

 

Ms. Conklin stated she always enjoys speaking with Commissioner Anderson; it is true that the people who have heavily fueled businesses would potentially feel this as a hit; by way of reference, the gas prices locally are three, four, and five percent less already than any of the surrounding counties; and it is quite possible the individual can go further away to purchase gas to avoid the penny tax if making a significant purchase.  She stated she does not share the same feeling of the magnitude of the impact of this; and she thinks it is a completely unavoidable tax if it does not want to be paid.

 

Commissioner Infantini stated she and Ms. Conklin have had nice debated conversations; she stated Ms. Conklin knows that she will not impose another tax, by way of reference the Environmentally Endangered Lands (ELL's) Program, which was set to end and it was agreed, to add onto the millage a certain couple of mills; after 20 years it is to go away; it is going away and it is being put somewhere else, because the taxpayers are used to paying it; once a certain tax is used to being paid, it is hard to remove it; and she would never intentionally try to increase somebody's tax.  She stated Ms. Conklin clearly does not have the four votes that she needs.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated he has the longest ongoing addition project ever in the history at his house; he stated he has become friends with the electrician that is doing the work; his electrician runs about 10 vans around the County; and he told him about the personal cuts taken just to keep people employed.

 

The Board took no action on the citizen request by Sara Ann Conklin for the Board to adopt a ninth cent gas tax as a new revenue source, to be allocated 100 percent to fixed-route and para-transit public transportation for the citizens of Brevard County.

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CITIZEN REQUEST - SARA ANN CONKLIN, RE:  EQUITABLE ALLOCATION OF COUNTY GENERAL FUNDS FOR PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION

 

Sara Ann Conklin stated she is requesting some action in form of a resolution by the Board for any future increases or cuts to the public transportation system, to direct those resources to address the equity situation that is present; certain districts have enjoyed a lot more fixed-route services than others; this current Board was not involved in any of those situations, and she is not pointing fingers; but there is a situation that does not comply with the fair funding initiative that was on the table at the last Board meeting.  She mentioned the numbers that she handed out to the Board will change; she received some guidance from Bob Kamm, Transportation Planning Director, to figure in some factors; in general, there is an equity, and she would like to have a resolution from the Board for allocation.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated the chart that she handed out for his district shows square miles totalling 336.7; and he inquired if she is adjusting the routes based on square miles.  Ms. Conklin responded there are two sets of figures and she would leave that to the adjudication of the Board; she is not telling the Board which way to go with it; and she is providing two different illustrations, with one being adjusted for the square miles of the district and the other set of figures give raw numbers and hours if not adjusting for the square mile difference.  Commissioner Anderson stated the reason he inquired is because Commissioners Fisher, Infantini, and he have a lot of agricultural land with not a lot of cows using the services; and the rural areas need to be adjusted; and the equity of the square miles need to be looked at.  He mentioned he forwarded an email to Howard Tipton, County Manager, and Stockton Whitten, Assistant County Manger, with an opportunity to meet with some unbelievably dedicated employees of Space Coast Area Transit (SCAT) in his office last week, for three hours, with positive enthusiasm and no gripes; those employees have a lot of good ideas of how to save money; he has shared that information via email; and he would like to share that information without violating Sunshine with the rest of the Board.  Ms. Conklin advised the operational staff in SCAT is outstanding and they have won awards for being so.  She stated she really wants the Board to come together, as a policy-making body, to decide as future resources aim towards equity.

 

Commissioner Nelson stated the difficulty is there are all sorts of ways to try and evaluate the service with each district being different, so on a service that is based on density and population of where businesses are, it is always going to be difficult to do; he thinks Ms. Conklin's point is well taken with her believing there is a need for additional services, to different parts of the County and that discussion needs to be held on its own merit due to calculations, which may or may not equate, to the reality of where the services are needed.  Ms. Conklin stated she thinks the needs always need to be looked at in discussions; her goal is to resolve towards equity, because there is such inequity; and if there was a little bit of difference between here and there, the Board would not be seeing her.  She stated she knows in Commissioner Nelson's district there was some additional funding that came, particularly for routes, which were able to be added due to funding; she does understand that it is also going to expire; but the routes will be kept.  She stated she wants everybody to have every bus wanted; but in the future she would like for the Board to have a fair funding goal with regards to the fixed route service hours.

 

Commissioner Fisher stated Ms. Conklin has done a great job putting both of her presentations together; and he wishes more people would get excited and involved as she.  He stated when talking about equity and fairness, if route five was eliminated, he would have two routes in his district; the argument could be the numbers of use, but sometimes it is about fairness and giving service to the people who are in rural areas; he stated he is already 550 hours of service versus the max of 2,000 hours; and when going through this in the future, there definitely needs to be thoughts of fairness, not the population base.  Ms. Conklin stated the reason she is asking for a resolution is it will provide some definitive guidance for the Transit Planners for the future of placing new routes and of ideas of what to do next; and she is asking for policy guidance.

 

James Liesenfelt, Transit Services Director, stated he does not like the word inequality; the routes are based on where there is usage and demand; the numbers provided by Ms. Conklin are good; he can tell the Board about a route that runs west of Minton Road and U.S. 192 and discovered it is a boundary between Districts 3 and 5; and he will give the Board of a couple of examples of how to do it equally.  He stated the biggest source for shopping and employment is Wal-mart, there are eight of them; there are nine dialysis's served; and above and beyond what the County's control is, the demand out there is separate, and there are riders that do not ride every district.  He stated when talking about policy and how to distribute equally, he has to put together what is known as a Transit Development Plan, it is a 10-year vision plan and the new one will be due on September 30, 2012, which has to be worked on next year; if the Board wants to talk quality or routes around the district and records changing of the policy, that would be the best way to do it; and that is where that type of conversation belongs, and he asked the consultants to look at it as part of the process.  He stated over the years there has been tons of services added; the trips of ridership is up on fixed-route 500 percent since 1997; the trips per hour, measuring people boarding a bus per hour, are up 140 percent; the fair-box return is up 75 percent, even with the increase of gasoline; the trips for full-time employees in 1997 for each employee was 8,700 trips and last year it was 25,000, so the employees are actually dealing with almost three times as many customers as they did before; and theyare working hard in dealing with air conditioners and a continuous fight with people who try to cheat SCAT out of its fairs.  He stated he would like to follow up on Commissioner Anderson's comment about the employees; the employees are doing a good job and are stretched thin at this point; and the public keeps riding.

 

Commissioner Fisher stated if frequency is created, it can create demand; and he thinks Mr. Liesenfelt and his staff are doing a great job.

 

The Board took no action on the citizen request by Sara Ann Conklin to resolve, as a matter of policy, that all future additions of County General Fund dollars to Transit Services be allocated first and foremost to promote equity between districts in the fixed route and paratransit public transportation service, and that all future cuts in public transportation services likewise be taken with a primary objective of promoting equity in public transportation services across Commission districts; and likewise, where inequities are identified in fixed route and/or paratransit services, County General Fund dollars would be allocated first and foremost to address those inequities, and before additional factors are concerned.                               

.

CONSIDERATION, RE:  REQUEST FOR RFP FOR EXTERNAL AUDITING SERVICES

 

Commissioner Anderson stated when he first was elected he had some concerns regarding the County's bid for the External Auditing Services and how it was handled; Berman Hopkins does a fine job and tries its best to do what it can do to make sure the Board is getting good information on the County's external audits; and he has done some of investigations and he has not been able to get back to the Board with what was evolved.  He stated there has been issues with an auditor who is onboard for longer than the advised time frame; in most private and government businesses the auditors should be changed out every three to five years, so there is a fresh set of eyes; it is suggested in standard auditing practices, so those auditors do not lose independence or objectivity, because there are people dealing with people and relationships get built; and stated it can happen as not a intentional, conscious thing that happens where a person will not be as objective as should be in auditing.  He stated he was concerned about a couple of items on the Findings and Management Report that a couple of things were blown over and a fresh pair of eyes may have dug right into it; he may be wrong, but for the sake of the taxpayers, there is an opportunity of the current contract, to stop the current contract with no penalty to either side, re-bid it, and tell of all of the external auditing finances to see if there is a difference.  He stated the current auditing firm has been with the County for 27 years, which is unheard of; the firm is an excellent firm, and they are good people; he stated he thinks it would be in the taxpayers best interest to go out to bid, cancel the current contract, because of the financial situation the County is in, and have some fresh eyes look at everything; and that is his suggestion to the Board.

 

Commissioner Fisher stated while he was looking at the contract last night, he noticed the services were through September 30, 2008, 2009, and 2010.

 

Commissioner Anderson inquired when would the County go back out to bid.  Commissioner Fisher responded he thinks the company will have to finish 2010 year audit; and then the County could go out to bid after that.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated the County cannot preclude Berman Hopkins from bidding in the future, they can bid, they were not the number one pick by staff last time, and they probably never should have been picked.

 

Howard Tipton, County Manager, stated he believes Berman Hopkins contract was renewed in 2008 for the budget years 2008, 2009, and 2010, so they will be finishing up work, as the County closes out its books early next spring/late winter; and then coming back to the Board after the first of the year with an Request for Proposals (RFP) to go out to bid for those services.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated he is fine with that, for some reason he had it stuck in his mind that it was a longer timeframe.

 

Stockton Whitten, Assistant County Manager, stated Mr. Tipton is correct; Berman Hopkins will finish up this fiscal years audit; due to the timeframe this will come back to the Board for setting up the external auditing committee sometime this fall, with the anticipations that Berman Hopkins will finish this fiscal year; and the three years are complete after they submit this actual audit for the current fiscal year.

 

Scott Knox, County Attorney, stated at the next meeting the anticipation of this contract is going to end and some lead-time will be needed on the RFP process to go out before the Board has to put together some proposed procedures to deal with the issues as last time; and that is coming up at the next meeting.  He stated that could be where issues can be addressed.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated hopefully Attorney Knox will handle it to the extent that he does not have to; he stated he knows it is a sore subject for staff and the Board; and it just did not go down really well last time.

 

The Board took no action on Commissioner Anderson's request to consider a review of the current External Auditing Contract to determine if continuance of the Contract is in the best interest of the County.

 

 

Upon consensus of the Board, the meeting adjourned at 1:18 p.m.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ATTEST:                                                             __________________________________

                                                                            MARY BOLIN, CHAIRMAN

                                                                            BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

____________________________                    BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA

SCOTT ELLIS, CLERK